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230 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
The carriage, however, the plainest imaginable, contained no other inscription
than the initials ‘( J. G.” Until within a year or two of his death, when no
longer able to walk any distance, he almost never made use of it-not even on
Sabbath, for the church of Colinton is not above five or ten minutes’ walk from
Spylaw. He, notwithstanding, held Cameronian principles, and regularly
attended the annual tent-meetings of that body at Rullion Green.
Mr. James Gillespie survived his brother John about two years, and carried
on the business till his death, which occurred at Spylaw on the 8th of April
1797, in the seventy-first year of his age. He was buried in the churchyard of
Colinton, in the same vault with his brother John.
By his will, executed in 1796, Mr. Gillespie bequeathed his estate, together
with %12,000 sterling (exclusive of 52700, for the purpose of building and
endowing a School), ‘‘ for the special intent and purpose of founding and endowing
an Hospital, or charitable institution, within the city of Edinburgh, or
suburbs, for the aliment and maintenance of old men and women.” In 1801,
the Governors, on application to his Majesty, obtained a charter, erecting them
into a body politic and corporate, by the name and style of “ The Governors
of James Gillespie’s Hospital and Free School.”
‘The persons entitled to be admitted into, and maintained in the Hospital,
are-“ lst, Mr. Gillespie’s old servants, of whatever rank they may be. 2d,
Persons of the name of Gillespie, fifty-five years of age and upwards, whatever
part of Scotland they may come from. 3d, Persons belonging to Edinburgh,
and its suburbs, aged fifty-five years and upwards. 4th, Failing applications
from persons belonging to Edinburgh and its suburbs, persons belonging to
Leith, Newhaven, and other parts in the county of Mid-Lothian. 5th, Failing
applications from all these places, persons fifty-five years, of age, coming from
all parts of Scotland.” It is further provided, “That none shall be admitted
who are pensioners, or have an allowance from any other charity. And seeing
the intention of Mr. Gillespie, in founding the Hospital, was to relieve the poor,
none are to be admitted until they shall produce satisfactory evidence to the
Governors of their indigent circumstances ; and the Governors are required to
admit none but such as are truly objects of this charity; and it is hereby
ordained and appointed, that none but decent, godly, and well-behaved men and
women (whatever in other respects may be their claims) shall be admitted into
the Hospital ; and the number of persons to be constantly entertained shall be
so many as the revenue of the Hospital can conveniently maintain, after deducting
the charge of management, and of maintaining the fabric, and keeping up
the clothing and furniture of the house.”
The Board of Management consists of the Master, Treasurer, and twelve
assistants of the Merchant Company ; five members of the Town Council, who
are elected by that body ; and the ministers of the Tolbooth and St. Stephen’s
Churches,
The Hospital, a commodious and not inelegant structure, designed by the
late Mr. Burn, is built on the site of a property called Wrytes House, an ancient

... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. The carriage, however, the plainest imaginable, contained no other inscription than ...

Book 9 p. 293
(Score 0.81)

96 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [The Mound.
arts classes as well as those for theology; and
accordingly Mr. Patrick C. Macdougal was appointed,
in 1844, Professor of Moral Philosophy,
the Rev. John Millar was appointed Classical Tutor,
and in 1845 the Rev. Alexander C. Fraser was
appointed Professor of Logic. To give effect to the
view long cherished by the revered Dr. Chalmers,
that logic and ethics should follow the mathematical
and physical sciences in the order of study, the
usual order thereof was practically altered, though
not imperatively so.
procured in George Street, and there the business
of the college was conducted until 1850.
These class-rooms were near the house ot
Mr. Nasmyth, an eminent dentist, and as the
students were in the habit of noisily applauding
Dr. Chalmers, their clamour often startled the
patients under the care of Mr. Nasmyth, who by
letter requested the reverend principal to make the
students moderate their applause, or express it
some other way than beating on the floor with
their feet. On this, Dr. Chalmers promptly informed
THE BANK OF SCOTLAND, FROM PRINCES STREET GARDENS.
The provision thus made for arts classes was
greatly due to the circumstance that at that time
the tests imposed upon professors in the established
universities were of such a nature and mode of
application as to exclude from the professorial
chairs all members of the Free Church.
When these tests were abolished, and Professors
Fraser and Macdougal were elected to corresponding
chairs in the University of Edinburgh, in
1853 and 1857, this extended platform was renounced,
and the efforts of the Free Church of
Scotland were concentrated exclusively upon training
in theology.
Premises-however, inadequate for the full
development of the intended system-were at once
them of the dentist?s complaint, and begged that
they would comply with his request. ?I would
be sorry indeed if we were to give offence to any
neighbour,? said the principal j adding, with a touch
of that dry humour which was peculiar to him,
?but more especially Mr. Nasmyth, a gentleman
so very much in the mouths oi the public.?
Immediately after the Disruption, Dr. Chalmers
had taken active steps to secure for the Free
Church a proper system of theological training, in
full accordance with the principles he had
advocated so long, and subscription lists were at
once opened to procure a building suited to the
object. Each contributor gave Lz,ooo, and
Dr. Welsh succeeded in obtaining from twentp

... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [The Mound. arts classes as well as those for theology; and accordingly Mr. Patrick C. ...

Book 3 p. 96
(Score 0.81)

472 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
in the magistracy, had, through negligence, allowed a poinding of his furniture
to be executed for assessed taxes, Archie advanced the money, amounting to
&14 ; and, singular to relate, he encountered the utmost daculty and delay in
procuring repayment, as the debtor, though possessed of very considerable
wealth, was of a most penurious disposition.
On all occasions of public rejoicings, processions, and spectacles of every
kind, Archie acted a most prominent part in marshalling the forces and acting
as master of ceremonies ; and the authorities have often confessed, that without
his powerful aid and experience, they would have many times been completely
nonplussed. At public executions, whippings, and other exhibitions of a like
nature, Archie was always the officer on duty.
Notwithstanding all his honours and employments, he never forgot his poor
relations in the Highlands, but was in the constant practice of remitting them
small sums of money. He exerted himself to procure situations for his two
brothers, Finlay and John ; for the former of whom he obtained the appointment
of city officer, and for the latter, that of porter to the Bank of Scotland.
When he had occasion to speak of this last-mentioned personage, he always
styled him--“ My brither the bankier.” His mother having died in Edinburgh,
Archie hired a hearse and carried her to the Highlands to be buried. He
returned, it was rumoured, with the hearse full of smuggled whisky. A friend
one day began to tease him on the subject. “Wow, man,” replied Archie,
“there’s nae harm done. I only carried awa’ the body, and brought back the
speerit.”
For some years previous to his death, and especially after the losses he had
sustained, Archie’s robust bodily frame was visibly impaired. He lived just
sufficiently long to learn the entire demolition of the system of self-election,
and had many surmisings as to the working of Eurgh Reform. Indeed, it is
said that these coming events so preyed upon his spirits as to be the principal
cause of his death ; for he was observed to be completely crestfallen, and all
his energies were prostrate and subdued. He died in October 1833, within a
few weeks of the accession to office of the popularly elected Councillors.
It may be added that the Print of Archibald Campbell was the last of all
Kay’s Etchings. The venerable artist, then about eighty years of age, complimented
several of his friends with impressions, as the farewell production of
his pencil, at the same time apologising for its unfinished state.

... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. in the magistracy, had, through negligence, allowed a poinding of his furniture to be ...

Book 9 p. 630
(Score 0.81)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 297
the world,” delighting in his “horses, and in feats of bodily agility and vigour.”
He was first led to the serious consideration of religion on being requested to
take the sacrament at his College; and from that time he became not fnly
strongly impressed with the truth and efficacy of divine revelation but displayed
the sincerity of his conversion by devotedly attaching himself to the service of
religion.
Having been elected a Fellow of King’s College, he was ordained a deacon
in the Cathedral Church of Ely in 1782 ; and his first sermon in Trinity Church,
to which he had been appointed minister, was delivered the following year.
Like most of his contemporaries in England, whose exertions were conspicuous in
the advancement of religion during the last half-century, Mr. Simeon experienced
his own share of the contumely which then attached to all who were zealous
for purity in the church and piety in the people. The opposition he met with was
considerable ; and he was abandoned by all who, from community of profession,
ought to have been his warmest supporters. Some of the principal persons of
his own parish joined the clamour against him, not only refusing to attend themselves,
but locking their pew-doors that others might not occupy them.
Thus persecuted, Mr. Simeon steadily maintained his course with all the vigour
and fortitude which his native energy of character and a good cause could so well
inspire, while his fame as a preacher extended far beyond the limits of his locality.
His acquaintance and favour were earnestly sought by the more serious ; and
among Dissenters he was regarded as one assimilated to them in all but in name.
In 1796 he was induced to visit Scotland for the first time, making a tour
through the more populous districts of the country. In Edinburgh he preached
in various of the established churches: and was attended by immense audiences.
Several instances are recorded of the awakening power of his eloquence. When
about to leave Mouh, the horses of the party being actually saddled, (‘ he was
induced, from unusual fatigue, to defer his departure. This led to his spending
a Sabbath there, which happening to be the sacramental occasion, he preached
and assisted in administering the ordinance, himself serving, as they express it,
one of the tables.” In reference to his ministry on that occasion, the Rev.
(afterwards Dr.) Alexander Stewart has the following observations :-“ I cannot
omit mentioning in this connection the blessing I enjoyed in the preaching, the
prayers, and the conversation of that much-favoured servant of Christ, the Rev.
C. Simeon. He was a man sent from God to me, and was my guest for two
days in June 1796 ; preached in my church ; and left a savour of the things of
God which has remained among us ever since.”
Liberal in principle as he was, however, and maintaining as he did a friendly
intercourse with sectarians, more particularly in the earlier part of his career,
Mr. Simeon continued steadily within the pale of the Church of England, apparently
more anxious to distinguish himself by re-animating the old fabric than
A hint uttered by Mr. Simeon on one of these occasions, led to the formation of the “Leith Female
Society for relieving Aged and Indigent Women”--sn institution which has been the means of effecting
signal benefit to many whose age or infirmities incapacitated them for labouring for their own support.
VOL. IL 2 Q

... SKETCHES. 297 the world,” delighting in his “horses, and in feats of bodily agility and ...

Book 9 p. 396
(Score 0.81)

238 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Leith.
-to hir lovite suitore, Johne Chisholme, his airis and
. assignais, all and hailk hir lands callit the King?s
Werk in Leith, within the boundis specifit in the
infeftment maid to him thairupon, quhilkis than
-war alluterlie decayit, and sensyne are reparit and
re-edifit, he the said Johne Chisholnie, to the policy
.and great decoration of this realme, in that office,
place, and sight of all strangeris and utheris re-
- sortand to the Schore of Leith.?
In 1575 it had been converted into a hospital
- for the plague-stricken ; but when granted to Bernard
Lindsay in 1613, he was empowered to keep
four taverns in the buildings, together with the
tennis-court, for the then favourite pastime of
?catchpel. It continued to be used for that purpose
till the year 1649, when it was taken pos-
2 session of by the magistrates of Edinburgh, and
. converted into a weigh-house.
? In what part of the building Bemard Lindsay
commenced tavern-keeping we are unable to say,?
observes Campbell, in his ? History of Leith,? ? but
.are more than half disposed to believe it was that
old house which projects into Bernard Street, and
is situated nearly opposife the British Linen Com-
,pany?s Bank.? ?? The house alluded to,? adds
Robertson on this, ?has a carved stone in front,
representing a rainbow rising from the clouds, with
a date 165-, the last figure being obliterated, and
-can hatre no reference to Bernard Lindsay.?
The tennis-court of the latter would seem to have
been frequently patronised by the great Marquis of
Montrose in his youth, as in his ?? Household Accounts,?
under date 1627, are the following entries
.(Mait. Club Edit.) :-
?? Item to the poor, my Lord taking coch . . qs.
Item, carrying the graith to Leth . . . . 8s.
Item, to some poor there . . . . . . 3s
Item, to my Lord Nepar?s cochman . .
Item, for balls in the Tinnes Court of Leth..
. . 6s. Sd.
16s.?
The first memorial of Bernard Lindsay is in
the Parish Records ? of South Leith, and is dated
17th July, 1589 :-? The quhilk days comperit
up Bemard Lindsay and Barbara Logan, and gave
their names to be proclamit and mareit, within
this date and Michaelmas.-JoHN LOGANE, Cautioper.?
Another record, 2nnd September, I 633, bears
that the Session ? allowis burial to Barbara Logane,
-.elict of Bernard Lindsaye, besyde her husbande in
the kirk-yeard, in contentation yairof, 100 merks to
be given to the poor.?
From Bernard Lindsay, the name of the present
Bernard Street is derived. Bernard?s Nook has
long been known. ?? In the ? Council Records? of
Edinburgh, 1647,? says Robertson, ?is the following
entry :-? To the purchase of the Kingis Werk,
in Leith, 4,500 lib. Scot.? A previous entry, 1627,
refers to dealing with the sons of Bernard Lindsay,
?for their house in Leith to be a custom-house. . . .?
We have no record that any buildings existed beyond
the bounds of the walls or the present
Bernard Street at this time, the earliest dates on
the seaward part of the Shore being 1674-1681.?
The old Weigh-house, or Tron of Leith, stood
within Bernard?s Nook, on the west side of the
street ; but local, though unsupported, tradition
asserts that the original signal-tower and lighthouse
of Leith stood in the Broad Wynd.
Wilson thus refers to the relic of the Wark
already mentioned :-?? A large stone panel, which
bore the date 1650-the year immediately succeeding
the appropriation of the King?s Wark to
civic purposes-appeared in the north gable of the
old weigh-house, which till recently occupied its
site, with the curious device of a rainbow carved
in bold relief springing at either end from a bank
of clouds.?
? So,? says Arnot, ?? this fabric, which was reared
for the sports and recreations of a Court, was
speedily to be the scene of the ignoble labours of
carmen and porters, engaged in the drudgery of
weighing hemp and of iron.?
Eastward of the King?s Wark, between Bernard?s
Street and chapel, lies the locality once so curiously
designated Little London, and which, according to
Kincaid, measured ninety feet from east to west,
by seventy-five broad over the walls. ? How it
acquired the name of Little London is now
unknown,? says Camphell, in his ? History ? ;
?but it was so-called in the year 1674, We do
not see, however,? he absurdly remarks, ?that it
could have obtained this appellation from any
other circumstauce than its having had some
real or supposed resemblance to the [English]
metropolis.?
As the views preserved of Little London show it
to have consisted of only four houses or so, and
these of two storeys high, connected by a dead
wall with one doorway, facing Bemard Street in
1800, Campbell?s theory is untenable. It is much
more probable that it derived its name from being
the quarters or cantonments of those 1,500 English
soldiers who, under Sir Williani Drury, Marshal of
Berwick, came from England in April, 1573, to
assist the Regent Morton?s Scottish Companies in
the reduction of Edinburgh Castle. These men
departed from Leith on the 16th of the following
June, and it has been supposed that a few of them
may have been induced to remain, and the locality
thus won the name of Little London, in the same

... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Leith. -to hir lovite suitore, Johne Chisholme, his airis and . assignais, all and ...

Book 6 p. 238
(Score 0.81)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 21
practice at the bar having become so great that he was unable to continue the
duty of the chair.
In 1788 he was appointed Sheriff-Depute of the county of Renfrew; and,
on the death of Lord Abercromby in 1796, promoted to the bench by the title
of Lord Meadowbank In 1804, on the resignation of Lord Methven, he was
constituted one of the Lords of Justiciary. In both of these judicial capacities
he conducted himself with the greatest ability.
In politics, Lord Meadowbank was decidedly of the Pitt and Dundas school,
or, in other words, a Tory; but his was an enlightened attachment to the constitution,
springing from judicious and comprehensive views of social and
political economy.' When trial by jury-the bulwark of the subject's libertywas
proposed to be introduced into Scotland, Lord Meadowbank evinced the
soundness and liberality of his sentiments by warmly advocating the measure.
He wrote an excellent pamphlet on the subject, entitled '' Considerations on the
Introduction of Trial by Jury in Scotland ;'I and in 1815, when the Jury Court
was instituted, he was appointed one of the Lords-Commissioners.
Amid the multifarious duties arising from official engagements, Lord Meadowbank
still found leisure to continue his acquaintance with literature and the
progress of the sciences, of which he was a warm promoter. He was one of the
earliest members of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, to which he contributed
several valuable papers, and was for many years Vice-President. He was likewise
one of the Directors of the Astronomical Institution.
Like many of his contemporaries, Lord Meadowbank was a keen agriculturist;
and to his ingenious speculations and inquiries into this important science the
country is indebted for the invention of moss mhure, now extensively employed
in various counties in Scotland.'
The character of Lord Meadowbank as a judge has been recently given by
one in every way qualified to form a just and impartial estimate of his merits.
" Above all," said Lord Brougham, in deciding a recent cme in the House of
Lords (Inglis v. Mansfield, 10th April 1835), " we have, what with me is of
the highest authority and of the greatest weight, the very valuable opinion of
the late Lord Meadowbank, one of the best lawyers-one of the most acute
men-a man of large general capacity, and of great experience-and with
hardly any exception, certainly with very few exceptions, if any-the most
diligent judge one can remember in the practice of the Scotch
Lord Meadowbank died on the 14th of June 1816, in the sixty-ninth year
of his age.' In 1792, prior to his elevation to the bench, he resided in what
was then No. 33 Hanover Street. His lordship left several children, the eldest
of whom was raised to the bench under the same title of Lord Meadowbank.
'
. See his opinion in the case of Andrew w. Murdoch, 1806.
His lordship printed, for private distribution, a tract on the subject.
Shaw an4 Maclean's Reports in the House of Lords, 1835.
For interesting notices of this judge see Cockbum's MmOriaZs of hi9 Time, and his fife of
Buchanan's Reports.
Jofrey.

... SKETCHES. 21 practice at the bar having become so great that he was unable to continue the duty of ...

Book 9 p. 27
(Score 0.8)

DUNGEONS IN THE CASTLE BELOW QUEEN MARY?S ROOM.
CHL4PTER 111.
CASTLE OF EDINBURGH-(cantinued.~~e~.)
The Legend of the White Hart-Holyrood Abbey founded-The Monks of the Castrum Puellarum-David 1,?s numerous Endowments-His
Death-Fergus, Lord of Gallaway. dies there-William the Lion-Castle Garrisoiied by the English for Twelve Years-The Castle a Royal
Residence-The War of the Scottish Succession-The Castle in the hands of Edward I.-Frank?s Escalade-The Fortress Dismantled
-Again in the hands of the English-Bullocks Stratagem for its Resapture-David?s Tower.
?THE well-known legend of the White Hart,??
says Daniel Wilson, ? most probably had its origin
in some real occurrence, magnified by the superstition
of a rude and illiterate age. More recent observations
at least suffice to show that it existed
at a much earlier date than Lord Hailes referred
it to.?
It is recorded that on Rood-day, the 14th of
September, in the harvest of 1128, the weather
being fine and beautiful, King David and his
courtiers, after mass, left the Castle by that gate
before which he was wont to dispense justice to his
people, and issued forth to the chase in the wild
country that lay around-for then over miles of the
land now covered by the new and much of the
old city, for ages into times unknown, the oak-trees
of the primeval forest of Drumsheugh had shaken
down their leaves and acorns upon the wild and
now extinct animals of the chase. And here it
may be mentioned that boars? tusks of most enormous
size were found in 1846 in the bank to the
south of the half-moon battery, together with an
iron axe, the skull and bones of a man.
On this Rood-day we are told that the king
issued from the Castle contrary to the advice of
his confessor, Alfwin, an Augustinian monk of great
sanctity and learning, who reminded him that it
was the feast of the? Exaltation of the Cross, and
should be passed in devotion, not in hunting; but
of this advice the king took no heed.
Amid the dense forest and in the ardour of the
chase he became separated from his train, in ? the
vail that lyis to the eist fra the said castell,? and
found himself at the foot of the stupendous crags,
where, ?under the shade of a leafy tree,? he was
almost immediately assailed by a white stag of
gigantic size, which had been maddened by the
pursuit, ?noys and dyn of bugillis,? and which,

... IN THE CASTLE BELOW QUEEN MARY?S ROOM. CHL4PTER 111. CASTLE OF EDINBURGH-(cantinued.~~e~.) The Legend ...

Book 1 p. 21
(Score 0.8)

head,? and without the aid of which he could perform
nothing, was cast in also, and it was remarked
by the spectators that it gave extraordinary twistings
and dthings, and was as long in burning as
the major himself. The place where he perished
was at Greenside, on the sloping bank, whereon,
in 1846, was erected the new church, so called.
If this man was not mad, he certainly was a
singular paradox in human nature, and one of a
TRINITY CHURCH AND HOSPITAL, AND NEIGHBOURHOOD. (From Curdon of Rothiemas Map.)
57, Halkerston?s Wynd ; 58, Leith Wynd ; 6. St. Ringan?s Suburbs, or the Beggar Row ; 27, the North Craigs, or h?eil?s Craigs ; 24, the
Correction House ; p, the Colh qe Kirk ; i, Trinity Hospital j i, Leith Wynd Port ; s. St. Paul?s Work.
ing to the Tolbooth from Greenside, she would not
believe that her brother had been burned till toldthat
it had perished too ; ? whereupon, notwithstanding
her age, she nimbly, and in a furious rage, fell upon
her knees, uttering words horrible to be remembered.?
She assured her hearers that her mother
had been a witch, and that when the mark of a
horse-shoe-a mark which she herself displayedcame
on the forehead of the old woman, she could
kind somewhat uncommon-outwardly he exhibited tell of events then happening at any distance, and
the highest strain of moral sentiment for years, and to her ravings in the Tolbooth must some of the
duringall that time had been secretly addicted to
every degrading propensity ; till evenhially, unable
to endure longer the sense of secret guilt and
hypocrisy, With the terrors of sickness and age
upon him, and death seeming nezr, he made a
confession which some at first believed, and on
that confession alone was sentenced to die.
If Weir was not mad, the ideas and confessions
of his sister show that she undoubtedly was. She
evidently believed that her brothefs stick was
one possessed of no ordinav power. Professor
Sinclair tells us, that on one of the ministers returndarkest
traditions of the West Bow be assigned.
She confessed that she was a sorceress, and
among other incredible things, said that many years
before a fiery chariot, unseen by others, came to
her brother?s house in open day j a stranger invited
them to enter, and they proceeded to Dalkeith.
While on the road another stranger came, and
whispered something in the ear of her brother, who
became visibly affected ; and this intelligence was
tidings of the defeat of the Scottisl army, that very
day, at Worcester. She stated, tow, that a dweller
in Dalkeith had a familiar spirit, who span for her

... and without the aid of which he could perform nothing, was cast in also, and it was remarked by the ...

Book 2 p. 312
(Score 0.8)

222 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [High Street
On becoming provost, he was easily led by his
religious persuasion to become a sort of voluntary
exchequer for the friends of the National Covenant,
and in 1641 he advanced to them IOO,OOO merks
to save them from the necessity of disbanding their
army; and when the Scottish Parliament in the
same year levied 10,000 men for the protection of
their colony in Ulster, they could not have embarked
had they not been provisioned at the expense
of Sir William Dick. Scott, in the ? Heart
of Midlothian,? alludes to the loans of the Scottish
Crcesus thus, when he makes Davie Deans say,
?My father saw them toom the sacks of dollars
out 0? Provost Dick?s window intil the carts that
carried them to the army at Dunse Law; and if
ye winna believe his testimony, there is the window
itself still standing in the Luckenbooths, five doors
aboon the Advocates? Close-I think it is a claithmerchant?s
the day.?
And singular to say, a cloth merchant?s ?booth ?
it continued long to be. ?
In 1642 the Customs were let to Sir William
Dick for zoz,ooo merks, and 5,000 merks of
gassum, or ? entrense siller;? but, as he had a
horror of Cromwell and the Independents, he advanced
~20,000 for the service of King Charlesa
step by which he kindled the wrath of the prevailing
party; and, after squandering his treasure
in a failing cause, he was so heavily.mulcted by
extortion of L65,ooo and other merciless penalties,
that his vast fortune passed speedily away, and he
died in 1655, a prisoner of Cromwell?s, in a gaol at
Westminster, under something painfully like a want
of the common necessaries of life.
He and Sir William Gray were the first men of
Edinburgh who really won the position of merchant
princes. The changeful fortunes of the former are
commemorated in a scarce folio pamphlet, entitled
?The Lamentable State of the Deceased Sir William
Dick,? and containing .several engravings.
One represents him on horseback, escorted by halberdiers,
as Lord Provost of Edinburgh, and superintending
the unloading of a great vessel at Leith ;
a second represents him in the hands of bailiffs;
and a third lying dead in prison. ?The tract is
highly esteemed by collectors of prints,? says Sir
Walter Scott, in a note to the ?Heart of Midlothian.?
?The only copy I ever saw upon sale
was rated at L30.?
Sir James Stewart of Goodtrees (a place now
called Moredun, in the parish of Liberton) who
was Lord Advocate of Scotland from 1692 until
his death in 1713, a few months only excepted,
gave a name to the next narrow and gloomy
alley, Advocates? Close, which bounded on the
east the venerable mansion of the Lords Holyroodhouse.
His father was provost of the city when Cromwell
paid his first peaceful visit thereto in 1648-9,
and again in 1658-9, at the close of the Protectorate,
The house in which he lived and died
was at the foot of the close, on the west side,
before descending a flight of steps that served te ;
lessen the abruptness of the descent. He had
returned from exile on the landing of the Prince of ,
Orange, and, as an active revolutionist, was detested
by the Jacobites, who ridiculed him as /amc
Wyhe in many a bitter pasquil. He died in 1713,
and Wodrow records that ? so great was the crowd
(at his funeral) that the magistrates were at the
grave in the Greyfriars? Churchyard before the
corpse was taken out of the house at the foot of
the Advocates? Close.?
In 1769 his grandson sold the house to David
Dalrymple, afterwards Lord Westhall, who resided
in it till nearly the time of his death in 1784.
This close was a very fashionable one in the days
of Queen Anne, and was ever a favourite locality
with members of the bar. Among many others,
there resided Andrew Crosbie, the famous original
of Scott?s ?Counsellor Pleydell,? an old lawyer
who was one of the few that was able to stand his.
ground in any argument or war of words with Dr.
Johnson during that visit when he made himself
so obnoxious in Edinburgh. From this dark and
steep alley, with its picturesque overhanging
gables and timber projections, Mr. Crosbie afterwards
removed to a handsome house erected by
him in St. Andrew?s Square, ornamented with lofty,
half-sunk Ionic columns and a most ornate attic
storey (on the north side of the present Royal
Bank), afterwards a fashionable hotel, long known
as Douglas?s and then as Slaney?s, where even
royalty has more than once found quarters. By
the failure of the Ayr Bank he was compelled to
leave his new habitation, and?died in 1784 in such
poverty that his widow owed her whole support to
a pension of A50 granted to her by the Faculty of
Advocates.
The house lowest down the close, and immediately
opposite that of Sir James Stewart of
Goodtrees, was the residence of an artist of some
note in his time, John Scougal, who painted the
well-known portrait of George Heriot, which hangs
in the council room of the hospital. He was a
cousin of that eminent divine Patrick Scougal,
parson of Saltoun in East Lothian and Bishop of
Aberdeen in 1664.
John Scougall added an upper storey to the old
land in the Advocates? Close, and fitted up one of

... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [High Street On becoming provost, he was easily led by his religious persuasion to ...

Book 2 p. 222
(Score 0.8)

as for sale, ?together with those new subjects
lying in Water Lane, adjoining Messrs. Elder and
Archibald?s vaults.?
Many years ago Mr. Macfie was a well-known
sugar refiner in Leith. His establishment stood
in Elbe Street, South Leith, when it was destroyed
by fire; and about 1865 there was started the
extensive and thriving Bonnington Sugar Refining
Company in Breadalbane Street, I.eith, which was
described in a preceding chapter.
THE BANK OF LEITH, 1820. (AferStowr.)
of the incidental allusions to it. It is, however,
supposed to have included a royal arsenal, with
warehouses and dwellings for resident officials,
and according to Robertson?s map seems to have
measured about a hundred feet square.
?( The remains of this building,? says Amot,
writing in 1779, ?with a garden and piece of
waste land that surrounded it, was erected into a
free barony by James VI., and bestowed upon
Bernard Lindsay of Lochill, Groom of the Chamber
The Broad Wynd opens westward off Water
Lane to the shore. The first number of n e Leith
and Edinburgh TeZegrajh and General Adveriiser,
published 26th July, 1808, by William Oliphant,
and continued until September, 1811, appeared,
and was published by a new proprietor, William
Reid, in the Broad Wynd, where it was continued
till its abandonment, 9th March, 1813,
comprising in all 483 numbers. It was succeeded
by me fiith Commercid List. An extensive
building, of which frequent mention is made by
early historians as the King?s Wark, seems to have
occupied the whole ground between this and the
present Bernard Street, but the exact purpose for
which it was maintained is not made clear in any
(or Chamber CheiZd, as he was called) to that prince.
This Lindsay repaired or rebuilt the King?s Wark,
and there is special mention of his having put its
anci?enf imer in full repair. He also built there
a new tenniscourt, which is mentioned with
singular marks of approbation in the royal charter
? as being built for the recreation of His Majesty,
and of foreigners of rank resorting to the kingdom,
to whom it afforded great satisfaction and delight j
and as advancing the politeness and contributing
to the ornament of the country, to which, by its
happy situation on the Shore of Leith, where there
was so great a concourse of strangers and foreigners,
it was peculiarly adapted.??
The reddendo in this charter was uncommon,

... for sale, ?together with those new subjects lying in Water Lane, adjoining Messrs. Elder and Archibald?s ...

Book 6 p. 236
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82 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
ing alighted at Campsie, about twelve miles distant, where he was received by
the Rev. Mr. Lapsley, minister of that place, who transmitted an account of his
descent to one of the Glasgow journals.
The fifth ascent of Lunardi in Scotland, and the second at Edinburgh, again
occurred at Heriot’s Hospital Green. He made offer of the profits of this second
exhibition for the benefit of the Charity Workhouse, but the directors politely
declined accepting his offer, on the ground that, however desirous they might be
to promote the interest of the institution, they were unwilling that any one
should rbk his Zife for its benefit. On Tuesday the 20th December, Lunardi took
his flight a few minutes before one o’clock. On this occasion he was dressed in
the uniform of the Scots Archers, having been previously admitted an honorary
member of that body, as well as having had the freedom of Edinburgh conferred
upon him. He was also provided with a cork jacket, as on the former occasion
furnished by Dr. Rae, togeLher with other precautionary means of safety, in case
of an immersion in the German Ocean.’ These, as it happened, were not without
their use. The balloon ascended with great rapidity, taking a more easterly
direction than formerly, and was seen, by means of a telescope, about two
o’clock, in rather a perilous situation, about two miles north-east of Gullanness.
Not far from this place, it appears the balloou had descended so low as to immerse
the car in the water, when some fishermen observing the occurrence, imniediately
proceeded to his rescue. Owing, however, to the rapidity with which
the car was dragged, nearly three quarters of an hour elapsed before they were able
to render any assistance ; and when they came up, Lunardi was breast deep in the
water, and benumbed with cold. They were then five or sib miles from land.
He would have cut away the balloon, but seeing the fishermen approaching, he
was unwilling to lose it by doing so. On leaving the car for the boat, however,
the balloon, being thus lightened, rose with great force, carrying every appendage
with it in its flight. hir. Lunardi was then taken to Mr. Nisbet’s of Dirleton,
where he spent the evening. In a letter dated that night to the magistrates of
Edinburgh, he speaks lightly of his danger, expresses reget at losing the balloon,
but was hopeful that the people would be satisfied with his conduct. Fortunately
the balloon was picked up next day by the May cutter, about twelve miles
off Anstruther.
Lunardi then returned to England, exhibiting his aerial ingenuity in the provincial
towns (having been in London some time previous to his arrival in Scotland);
A very unfortunate occurrence took place on his ascending at Newcastle :
-A Mr. Heron having hold of one of the ropes, incautiously twisted it round
his arm, and not being able to disentangle himself in time, he was lifted up to a
considerable height, when the rope giving way, he fell, and was killed on the
spot. Mr. Heron was on the eve of marriage, and at the time the accident
occurred the lady of his affections-was by his side.
wind, that he would be driven into the German Ocean.
me up.” Fortunately for him somebody didpick him up.
On this occasion, says our informant, Lunardi was positively assured, from the diction of the
“ Me don’t mind that-somebody will pick

... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. ing alighted at Campsie, about twelve miles distant, where he was received by the Rev. ...

Book 8 p. 117
(Score 0.8)

66 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES,
disposal, as President of the Board, he set about accompiishing the great objects
he had in view. Among his first proposals was a statistical account of England
similar to the one then in progress for Scotland ; but this he was compelled to
abandon, from a fear on the part of the Church, that such an exposure of the
tithe system as it would necessarily involve, might prove injurious to her
interests. All remonstrance was vain-the heads of the Establishment were
inexorable, Thus discouraged, he had recourse to county reports-and in this
way accomplished partially the object in view.
Shortly after the institution of the Board, the following lines-too curious
to be omitted-went the round of the newspapers :-
“THE FARMER’S CREED.
BY SIRJ OHNS INCLAIRB,A RT.,
President of the Board of Ap‘dture.
Let this be held the farmer’s creed :
For stock seek out the choicest breed ;
In peace and plenty let them feed ;
Your land sow with the best of seed ;
Let it not dung nor dressing need ;
Enclose and drain it with all speed,
And you will soon be rich indeed.”
Sir John continued President of the Board for a period in all of thirteen
years, during which the most active and useful measures were pursued, and
much benefit conferred on the country. On the earnest recommendation of the
Board, Sir Humphrey Davy was induced to undertake his well-known lectures
on Agriculture, in relation to chemistry, by which the light of science was for
the first time thrown upon the art of cultivating the soil, Among the numerous
individuals patronised and brought forward by the president, were the
celebrated road improver, Macadam-and Meikle, the inventor of threshingmachines.’
Deprived of Sir John’s superintendence, the Board gradually declined,
and was finally abolished.
Although he had not entirely coincided with the foreign policy of the Administration,
the call to arms in 1794 was responded to with alacrity by the
patriotic Baronet. In an incredibly short space of time he appeared in the
field at the head of the “ Rothesay and Caithness Fencibles,” so called in compliment
to the Scottish title of the Prince of Wales. The uniform of this
body consisted of bonnet, plaid, and trews, from a belief that the latter was
The threshing-machine was considerably improved by the late Mr. John Paton, an unassuming
but ingenious millwright at Stewarton, in the county of Ayr; and we believe it is to him the
country owes the invention of sheet-iron sieves for sifting meal in corn-mills, in place of the handsieve,
whereby 80 much manual labour is saved. These, after three years’ experiment, he brought
to great perfection, and they are now in general use. Mr. Paton was cut off suddenly in the prime
of life, in January 1829, much regretted in the district where his abilities and private worth were
well known. His character a8 a pious, exemplary member of society was fully and feelingly
adverted to in a sermon preached on the occasion, from these words-“For me to live is Christ, but
to die is great gain,” by the clergyman of the parish, the Rev. Charles B, Steven, A.N.

... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, disposal, as President of the Board, he set about accompiishing the great objects he ...

Book 9 p. 88
(Score 0.79)

23 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
No. VII.
LORD GARDENSTONE.
MR. FRANCIS GARDEN, judicially denominated Lord Gardenstone, was distinguished
as a man of some talent and much eccentricity. Born in 1721, the
second son of it Banffshire gentleman, he chose the profession of an advocate, and
was admitted a member of Faculty upon the 14th of July 1744, On the 3d of
July 1764, he was raised to the Bench. Re is here represented in the latter
part of life, as he usually appeared in proceeding from his house at Morningside
(the one next the Asylum), to attend his duties in the Court. Kay has endeavoured
to represent him as, what he really was, a very timid horseman, mounted,
moreover, on a jaded old hack, which he had selected for its want of spirit, preceded
by his favourite dog Smash; and followed by a Highland boy, whose duty
it was to take charge of his Rosinante on arriving at the Parliament House.
In early life, Mr. Garden participated largely in the laxities of the times.
He was one of those ancient heroes of the bar, who, after a night of hard
drinking, without having been to bed, and without having studied their causes,
would plead with great eloquence upon the mere strength of what they
had picked up from the oratory of the opposite counsel.‘ In 1745, being in
arms as a loyal subject, he was despatched by Sir John Cope, with another
gentleman, to reconnoitre the approach of the Highland army from Dunbar.
As the two volunteers passed the bridge of Musselburgh, they recollected a
house in that neighbourhood where they had often regaled themselves with
oysters and sherry, and the opportunity of repeating the indulgence being
too tempting to be resisted, they thought no more of their military duty till a
straggling Highland recruit entered and took them both prisoners. John Roy
Stnart made a motion to hang them as spies ; but their drunkenness joined so
effectually with their protestations in establishing their innocence, that they
were soon after liberated on parole?
In his more mature years, Lord Gardenstone distinguished himself by a benevolent
scheme of a somewhat unusual kind. Having, in 1762, purchased the
estate of Johnstone, in Kincardineshire, he devoted himself for some years to
At one time there seems to have been a speculation set on foot to provide a convenient place
for vyk.shing the members of the College of Justice ; for in the minutes of the Faculty of Advocates,
13th February 1741, there is au entry relative to a petition presented to the Dean and Faculty by Jaines
Balfour of Forrett, stating that he intended to build a coffee-house adjoining to the west side of the Parliament
House, “for the conveniency and accommodation of the members of the College of Justice, and
of the Senators of Couit,” and that he was anxious for the patronage of the Society. He also men*
tioned that he had petitioned the judges, who had unanimously approved of the project. A remit was
made to the curators of the library, and to Messrs. Cross and Barclay, to consider the petition, and
report whether it should be granted ; but nothing appears to have been done by the committee.
a Lord Rain- once took it upon him to reprove his brother judge for his love of the fair-
“Gang to the deil, my lord I ” was the rejoinder ; “ my fauts aye grow the langer the less ; but
yours (alluding to his parsimony) aye the lnnger the waur.”

... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. No. VII. LORD GARDENSTONE. MR. FRANCIS GARDEN, judicially denominated Lord ...

Book 8 p. 27
(Score 0.79)

438 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
estimation in which his character was held. In 1812 he received the additional
appointment of Solicitor of Teinds.
Mr. M'Cormick was remarkable for benevolence of disposition, gentlemanly
appearance, and deportment. He married, on the 6th April 1786, Miss Joanna
Hamilton of Grange (Ayrshire), by whom he had four sons and two daughters.
His eldest son, Samuel, after serving some time as an Advocate-Depute, was
promoted to the Sheriffship of Bute, which office he held until his death, which
occurred in 1834. Another son was a lieutenant in the East India Company's
service, and died at the age of twenty. His two daughters only survived.
V.-GEORGE CRANSTOUN, afterwards LORD COREROUSE. This admirable
judge was a son of the Hon. George Cranstoun of Longworton. He was
originally designed for the military profession. He passed advocate in 179 3 ;
was appointed one of the Depute-Advocates in 1805 ; chosen Dean of Faculty
in 1823 ; and elevated to the bench, on the death of Lord Hermand, in 1826,
from which he retired in 1839, and was succeeded by Lord Murray.
His lordship is known as the author of the "Diamond Beetle Case," an
amusing but not overcharged caricature of the judicial style of several judges of
a bygone era. An excellent Greek scholar, Mr. Cranstoun, on that account, was
a great favourite with Lord Monboddo, who used to declare that " Cranstoun
was the only scholar in all Scotland!" The scholars, in Lord Monboddo's
opinion, being all on the other side of the Tweed.
While on the bench Lord Corehouse was the beau-ideal of a judge ; placid
and calm, he listened with patience to the long-winded orations which it was too
often his fate to hear, although he endeavoured as much as he could, with
propriety, to keep counsel to the proper merits of their case. A first-rate lawyer,
especially in all feudal questions, his opinions were uniformly listened to with
the deepest respect.
VI.-JOHN CLERK, afterwards LORD ELDIN. This well-known and able
lawyer was the eldest son of John Clerk, Esq. of Eldin, sixth son of Sir John
Clerk of Penicuik, and author of a celebrated work on Naval Tactics. He
was born in April 1757, and educated with the view of proceeding to India;
but the expectations of his friends having been disappointed by the occurrence
of certain political changes, his attention was turned to the legal profession.
After completing his apprenticeship as a Writer to the Signet, and having
practised for a year or two as an accountant, he qualified himself for the bar,
and was admitted a member of the Faculty of Advocates in 1785.
Possessed of the most promising intellectual requisites, Mr. Clerk speedily
rose to distinction ; and it is said that at one period he had nearly one-half of
all the business of the Court upon his hands. His style of pleading was
" distinguished by strong sense, acuteness, and the most profound reasoning,
His sole object being to convince, his mode of stating the argument was brief,
simple, and clear. His eloquence was a constant appeal to legal reason, in the
masterly exposition of which thewhole collected force of his intellect was displayed.

... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. estimation in which his character was held. In 1812 he received the ...

Book 9 p. 587
(Score 0.79)

35 2 OLD AND KEW EDINBURGH. [North Brid~c
Neaves was to be delivered, the house was filled in
every quarter; and to those who remember it the
bill of the last performance may not be without
~~ -
and a farewell address from the pen of Lord 1 Afm which hlr. JVyndhanr wifl DelPxr
A FAREWELL ADDRESS.
To k follmd by the Laughable Farce oj
HIS LAST LEGS.
Felix O?Callaghan, a man of genius, by Mr. Wyndhaminterest.
THEATRE ROYAL., EDINBURGH.
Sole Lessee, R. H. Wyndham, 95, Princes Street.
Final Closinr of this Theatre
Charles, i y Mr. Irving-Mr. Rivers, by Mr. Errser
Jones-Dr, Banks, by Mr. Foote-John, by Mr. R.
Saker--Thomas, by Mr. Davis-Mrs. Montague, by
Miss Nicol-Tulia. by Miss Tones-Mrs. Bank, by Mrs. - . -
On Wednesda; kay zgth, 1859. I E. Jones-Betty, by Miss S:Davis.
ME. CLINCH AND DIRS. YATES AS THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF BXAGANZA. (AfterKny.)
The Performance will commence with the celebrated
Comedy written by Tom l?aylor and Charles Reade, Esq:.,
entitled
MASKS AND FACES.
Sir Charles Pomander, by Mr. Wyndham.
Triplet, by Mr. Edmund Glover, Theatre Royal, Glasgow-
Ernest Vane, by Mr. E. D. Lyons-Colley Cibber, by
Mr, Foote-Quin, by Mr. Errser Jones-Snarl, by Mr.
Fisher-Call Boy, Mr. R. Saker-Soaper, by Mr. Irving
-Humdon, by Mr. Vahdenhaff-Colander, by Mr.
Tames-Burdoch, by Mr. Carroll.
Kitty Clive, by Miss M. Davis-Mn. Triplet, by Mrs.
E. Jones-Roxalana, by Miss M. Foote-Maid, by
Miss Thompson - Mabel Vane, bx Miss Sophia
Miles.
Peg WoBngton, by Mrs. Wyndham.
A ffer which the Nafional Drama of
CRAMOND BRIG.
lames I.:, King of ScotZand by Mr. G. Melv21e.
Jock Howieson, by Mr. Fisher-Birkie of that Ilk, by Mr.
Rogerson-Murdoch, by Mr. Wallace-Officer, by Mr.
Banks-Grime, by Mr. Douglas-Tam Maxwell, by Mr.
Davis-Tibbie Howieson, by Miss Nicol-Marion, by
Miss M. Davis, in which character she will sing the
incidental song,
?A Kiss ahint fk Door!?
To Conclude with a Moving and Removing Valedictory
Sketch,
Mr. Wjmdham, by himev-Mrs. Wyndham, by AcrseZf
Spirit of the Past, Miss Nicol-Spirit of the Future, Miss
THE NATIONAL ASTHEM BY THE ENTIRE COMPANY.
Davia.

... 2 OLD AND KEW EDINBURGH. [North Brid~c Neaves was to be delivered, the house was filled in every quarter; and ...

Book 2 p. 352
(Score 0.79)

260 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Margate, Deal, and Dover, but lost sight of him altogether j and after eighteen
days’ fruitless search, returned to Edinburgh. But for Brodie’s own imprudence,
impelled apparently by a sort of fatuity frequently evinced by persons similarly
situated, there was every chance of his finally escaping. He remained in
London, it appears, until the 23d March, when he took out his passage in
the name of John Dixon, on board one of the smacks bound for Leith, called
the Endeavmr. After the vessel had gone down the river Thames, Brodie
came on board in a small boat, about twelve o’clock at night, disguised as an
old gentleman in bad health. He was accompanied by two of the owners, who
stopped on board for a short time. On going out to sea, as it no doubt had
been previously arranged, the Endeavour steered for Flushing instead of Leith,
where Brodie was put ashore, and immediately after took a Dutch skiff for
Ostend.
So far so well : but, unfortunately for Brodie, there had been a Mr. Geddes,
tobacconist in Mid-Calder, and his wife, fellow passengers, with whom he frequently
entered into conversation. On parting he had given Geddes three letters
to deliver in Edinburgh-one addressed to his brother-in-law, Matthew Sherr8,
upholsterer ; another to Michael Henderson, Grassmarket ; and the t,hird to
Ann Grant,’ Cant’s Close. These letters, as he might well have expected, were
the means of his discovery. On landing at Leith, Geddes became acquainted
with the circumstances of the robbery, and immediately suspecting that Mr.
John Dixon was no other than Deacon Brodie, he opened the letters, and became
doubly strengthened in his opinion ; but not having made up his mind how to
proceed, Mr. Geddes did not deliver the letters to the authorities till near the
end of May. Even then, however, they were the means of Brodie’s apprehension,
and were afterwards put in evidence against him. Information of the
circumstances was instantly despatched to Sir John Potter, British Consul at
Ostend, in consequence of which Brodie was traced to Amsterdam, where, on
application to Sir James Harris, then Consul, he was apprehended in an alehouse
through the instrumentality of one Daly, an Irishman, on the eve of his departure
to America, and lodged in the Stadthouse. A Mr. Groves, messenger, was
despatched from London on the 1st of July for the prisoner, by whom he was
brought to London ; and from thence to Edinburgh by Mr. Williamson, who
was specially sent up to take charge of him. On the journey from London,
Brodie was in excellent spirits, and told many anecdotes of his sojourn in
Holland.
The trial took place at the High Court of Justiciary, on the 27th August
1788, before Lords Hailes, Eskgrove, Stonefield, and Swinton.’ The Court,
.
’
Brodie’s favourite mistress. She had three children to him.
a The counsel for the Prosecutor were-Ilay Campbell, Esq., Lord Advocate (afterwards Lord
President) ; Robert Dundas, Esq., SolicitorGeneral (aftermrds Lord Chief-Baron) ; William Tait,
Esq., and Jam- Wolfe Murray, Esq. (afterwards Lord Wigletie), Depute-Advocates ; and Mr. Robert
Dundas, Clerk to the Signet.
For William Brodie-The Hon. Henry Erskine, Dean of Faculty ; Alexander Wight, Esq. ; Charles

... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Margate, Deal, and Dover, but lost sight of him altogether j and after ...

Book 8 p. 364
(Score 0.79)

410 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
the army at an early period, and was present at the siege of Havannah in 1762.
In 1803, shortly after the Fencible regiments were disbanded, Major Clarkson
obtained the majority of the Berwickshire Militia, which commission he held
till his death, which took place in 1811 or 1812. His daughter, an only child,
married Lieutenant Norton of the Royals; and the wife of Mr. Sinclair, the
vocalist, is the offspring of that marriage.’
No. CLXI.
MR. JOHN ADARIS,
NASTER OF THE ROYAL RIDING MENAGE.
MR. ADAMS, who is here represented in the uniform of the Royal Mid-Lothian
Volunteer Cavalry, originally belonged to the 16th Light Dragoons, of which
regiment he was Quartermaster. He was subsequently a Lieutenant of the
Cinque Port Light Dragoons, commanded by the Earl of Liverpool, then
Colonel Jenkinson ; which corps was embodied in 1794, and had their colours
presented, in a field before Walmer Castle, the seat of the Lord Warden of the
Cinque Ports, by Lord Viscount Melville, then Mr. Secretary Dundas.
In 1797 Mr. Adams was brought to Edinburgh for the purpose of drilling
and organising the Mid-Lothian Cavalry, then about to be formed; and to
which regiment he was appointed adjutant. The duties of this situation he
discharged to the entire satisfaction of that highly respectable corps ; and when
old Tremamondo retired from the Riding-School,’ he was chosen his successor.
He died at the premature
age of forty-six, on the 18th of May 1804. His remains were interred in the
Greyfriars Churchyard with military honours-a company of the Edinburgh
Volunteers forming the firing party.
Adams was succeeded by Colonel Letham, whose son, Captain Letham,
afterwards held the appointment.
Mr. Adams did not long enjoy the Mastership.
1 A daughter of Mr. and Nrs. Sinclair was married, 23d June 1837, to Mr. Forrest, the celebrated
American tragedian.
a “he Riding-School was established in 1763, and Mr. Angelo wra the first master.-In a periodical
work of that year we find the following notice of the institution :-“A branch of education, not
formerly taught in this country, is lately established at Edinburgh-homemanship, or the art of
riding. For the purpose, a menage is erected by subscription ; and, at a general meeting, held 12th
December, the ordinary directors having reported that the building of the Riding-School and stables
was nearly finished, and that a sufficient number of homes, both foreign and English, was provided,
and several of them properly dressed by Mr. Angelo, it was agreed that the menage should be opened
for the reception of scholars on the first Monday of January. Each scholar pays four guineas the
first month, and two guineas every other month ; sixteen teaching days in the month. Gentlemen,
whose business will not allow them to attend regularly, get sixteen tickets for amonth, and pay three
guineas for the fist month, and two pounds six shillings for every other month.”

... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. the army at an early period, and was present at the siege of Havannah in 1762. In ...

Book 8 p. 569
(Score 0.79)

132 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Restalrig.
oxen, and other things belonging to a field, by the
hands of him, namely, who is called Hood of Leith,
from me and my heirs for ever, as freely, quietly,
and honourably free from all service and secular
exactions as any other gifts more freely and quietly
given, are possessed in the Kingdom of Scotland.
And that this gift may continue, I have set my
seal to this writing.?
Among those who witnessed this document were
the Lord Chancellor of Scotland, Hugh de Sigillo,
In May, 1398, Sir Robert Logan of Restalrig
granted to the citizens of Edinburgh, by charter,
full liberty to carry away earth and gravel, lying
upon the bank of the river, to enlarge their port of
Leith, to place a bridge over the said river, to
moor ships in any part of his lands, without the
said port, with the right of road and passage,
through all his lands of Restalrig. ?All which
grants and concessions be warranted absolutely,
under penalty of A200 sterling to be uptaken
RESTALRIG CHURCH, 1817. (A / t e r m Etckirrg8y3amcr Skene of Rdislaw.)
Bishop of Dunkeld (called the ?Poor Man?s
Bishop lJ) ; Walter, Abbot of Holyrood, previously
Prior of Inchcolm, who died in 1217 ; W. de
Edinham, Archdeacon of Dunkeld ; Master R. de
Raplaw ; and Robert Hood, of Leith.
In 1366, under David II., Robert Multerer
(Moutray?) received a charter of lands, within the
barony of Restalrig, before pertaining to John Colti ;
and some three years afterwards, John of Lestalrick
(sic) holds a charter of the mill of Instrother, in
Fifeshire, granted by King David at Perth.
Towards the latter part of the fourteenth century
the barony had passed into the possession of the
Logans, a powerful family, whose name is insepsrably
mingled with the history of Leith.
by the said burgesses and community in the name
of damages and expenses, and LIOO sterling to
the fabric of the church of St. Andrews before
the commencement of any plea.? (Burgh Charters.)
In 1413-4 another of his charters grants to the
city, ?that the?piece of ground in Leith between
the gate of John Petindrich and a wall newly built
on the shore of the water of Leith, should be free
to the said community for placing their goods and
merchandise thereon, and carrying the same to and
from the sea, in all time coming.?
Westward of the village church, and on the
summit of a rock overhanging Loch End, are the
massive walls of the fortalice in which the barons of
Restalrig resided ; but a modem house is engrafted

... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Restalrig. oxen, and other things belonging to a field, by the hands of him, namely, ...

Book 5 p. 132
(Score 0.79)

266 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Formerly, the purses gifted to the Blue-Gowns were delivered to them at the
Old Tolbooth ; from which circumstance a portion of the building was designated
the “ Poor Folk‘s Purses.” In later times the whole ceremony was confined
to the Canongate, the parish church of which was built about 1688. Here
the Blue-Gowns heard sermon ; then assembling in the aisle, they received
from the King‘s Almoner, or his deputies, the usual allowance of bread and
beer, their new gowns, and purses. These, as already mentioned, were made
of leather, and furnished by the King’s Glover.
At no period did the Hue-Gowns muster in greater strength than during the
patriarchal reign of George the Third; and although no longer required to
“ tell their beads” in procession, as of yore, their assembling in the capital from
all parts of the country, to receive their aumma, was a day of momentous interest
to the poor old veterans. Fergusson, the laureate of “Auld Reekie,” thus
alludes to their feelings on such occasions :-
“ Sing, likewise, Muse ! how blue-gown bodies,
Like scarecraws new ta’en down frae woodies,
Come here to cast their clouted duddies,
Than them what magistrate mair proud is,
An’ get their pay :
On King’s birthday ?”
As George the Third lived to the advanced age of eighty-two, there were an
unusual number of Blue-Gowns on the roll at the conclusion of his reign. At
the present moment it is believed there are about thirty in existence, For the
last few years no new badges have been issued ; and the annual bounty is no
longer to be continued after the demise of the present recipients. One reason
assigned for abolishing this ancient aristocracy of beggars is, that the original
object of the privileges granted to them is superseded by the provision of Chelsea
Hospital. Until the erection of this institution, no badge or gown was
conferred on any one save those who had served in the army, although latterly
the King’s Almoner was instructed to use his own discretion in the selection of
objects of charity,
Mr. C.
Campbell, teacher, and formerly precentor in the Canongate Church, for many
years officiated, not only at the.desk, but in distributing the alms of his Majesty
to the assembled Bedesmen. For these duties he was allowed one guinea
per annum,l which was regularly paid until the year 1837, when it was
discontinued by Her Majesty’s Remembrancer.
The late Rev. John Paton, of Lasswade, was the last Almoner,
His salilry was originally two pounds, eighteen shillings, Scots (i.e. four shillings and tenpence,
sterling). He was indebted for the augmentation to a son of the late Lord Chief Baron,
Dundarr of Arniston, who, then a youth, and happening to be in Edinburgh on the King’s birthday
1814, he was curious to witness the ceremonial connected with the Blue-Gowns. Accompanied by
his tutor, the Rev. Mr. M‘Kenzie of Lasswade, he proceeded to the Canongate Church, and with
much affability lent a hand in dispensing the charity. On questioning Mr. Campbell a8 to the
amount of his salary, he expressed his astonishment at the smallness of the sum, and that year,
through his father, the Lord Chief Baron, procured the addition already stated.

... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Formerly, the purses gifted to the Blue-Gowns were delivered to them at the Old ...

Book 9 p. 354
(Score 0.79)

130 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Princes Strat
municipal oflices, and was twice Lord Provost. It
is from the studio of John Hutchison, R.S.A. In
the same year there was placed in West Gardens
the bronze statue of the great and good physician,
Sir James Sinipson, Bart. It is from the
PROFESSOR WILSON'S SI'ATUE
studio of his friend, William Erodie, R.S.A., and
is admitted by all to be an excellent likeness,
but is unfortunately placed as regards light and
shadow.
Another monument erected in these gardens of
Princes Street is the bronze statue of Dr. Livingstone,
which was inaugurated in August, 1876.
It is from the hands of Mrs. D. 0. Hill (widow of
the well-known artist of that name), sister of Sir
Noel Paton. It has the defect of being-though
an admirable likeness of the great explorer-far too
small for the place it occupies, and is more suitable
for the vestibule of a public building.
In the spring of 1877 great improvements were
begun in this famous street. These included the
widening of the foot pavement along the north
side by four feet, the removal of the north line of
tramway rails to the south of the previous south
lice, the consequent inclusion of a belt of gardens
about ten feet broad, the shifting of the parapet
wall with its iron railing ten feet back, and the
erectibn of an ornamental rail along the whole line
of gardens ahout two feet from the north edge of
the sloping bank, at the estimated cost of about
A6,084 from St. Andrew Street to Hanover Street,
and ~ 1 2 , 1 6 0 from thence to Hope Street.
The width of the new carriage-way is sixty-eight
feet, as compared with some fifty-seven feet before
these improvements commenced, whilt! the breadth
of the pavement on the south side has been
increased from seven and nine feet, to a uniform
breadth of twelve feet, and that on the north to
eighteen feet. The contract price of the carriage
road was Azo,ooo, a fourth of which was payable
by the Tramway Company and the remainder by
the Town Council.
Some idea of the extent of this undertaking niay
be gathered from the fact that about one million of
whinstone blocks, nine inches in length, seven
in depth, and three thick, have been used in connection
with the re-paving of the thoroughfare,
which is now the finest in the three kingdoms.
On either side of the street square dressed chahnel
stones, from three to four feet in length by one foot
ALLAN RAMSAY'S STATUE
in breadth? slightly hollowed on the surface, have
been laid down, the water in which is canied
into the main sewers by surface gratings, placed at
suitable intervals along the whole line of this magnificent
street.

... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Princes Strat municipal oflices, and was twice Lord Provost. It is from the studio of ...

Book 3 p. 130
(Score 0.79)

268 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
than his son should fill his place; and they appointed an assistant till Sir
Henry should be qualified.’ Sir Henry
then repaired to the University of Edinburgh ; and, on attaining the proper
age, although he had not completed the full term of attendance required at the
Divinity Hall, he was licensed to preach, and ordained to the charge of Blackford
in 1771. He was not, however, allowed to remain long in the obscurity
of his native parish, his talents, while a student at Edinburgh, having singled
him out for the first vacancy that might occur in the city. In 1775 he was
accordingly translated to the extensive charge of St. Cuthbert’s, where he continued
during the subsequent years of his ministry.
The life of Sir Henry was devotedly spent in the practical duties of his
sacred office, and in zealously forwarding the general interests of the Church.
As a preacher, he was I‘ strong and masculine ” in his eloquence, but very seldom
indulged in the pathetic ; yet there was often, particularly towards the close
of his life, a tenderness in his modes of expression, as well as in the accents of
his voice, which came home to the heart with the energy of pathos itself.” In
the Church Courts he took an active and decided part, and from his character
and talents soon became a powerful leader in opposition to the party, who,
under Dr. Robertson, had obtained nearly entire supremacy in the General Assembly.
Sir Henry was proposed as Moderator in 1780, in opposition to
Dr. Spens of Wemyss ; and so strong had the minority then become, that his
opponent was only elected by a majority of six votes. In 1785, being again
nominated, he was unanimously chosen.
Sir Henry acted as Collector for the Widow’s Fund during a period of more
than forty years. He felt deeply interested in the welfare of this institution :
and to his excellent management it is indebted for much of its prosperity. He
was also one of the original members of the Society of the Sons of the Clergy ;
and on all occasions a sincere friend to every practical scheme for the amelioration
of society. His office of Collector for the Widows’ Fund affording him
a thorough knowledge of the pecuniary circumstances of the clergy, many of
whom, in poor and distant parishes, were living on very inadequate incomes, he
pressed the subject warmly on the attention of the General Assembly-drew up
a plan for augmenting the livings-and, though his scheme was not adopted by
Parliament, his exertions may justly be considered as having led to the Act
by which a minimum salary has been fixed throughout the bounds of the
Church.’
Sir Henry seems to have left himself almost no leisure for literary pursuits.
His chief productions were-“ Discourses on the Evidences of the Jewish and
Christian Revelations ;” two volumes of Sermons; a “Life of John Erskine,
D.D;” and a “Life of Dr. [Robert Henry, the Historian,” prefixed to the last
volume of his History, which was edited by Sir Henry, as his executor. He
This arrangement took place in 1768.
1 This was rather an extraordinary stretch of the law affecting settlements. With the consent
of the patron and all concerned, the parish waa actually kept zracant for nearly four years. His
father died on the 9th December 1767, and Sir Henry was not inducted till the 15th August 1771.

... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. than his son should fill his place; and they appointed an assistant till Sir Henry ...

Book 9 p. 357
(Score 0.78)

the N ~ S , attracted by the dampness of the soil,
where for ages the artificial loch lay. A few feet
eastward of the tower there was found in the bank,
in 1820, a large coffin of thick fir containing three
skeletons, a male and two females, supposed to be
those of a man named Sinclair and his two sisters,
who were all drowned?in the loch in 1628 for a
horrible crime.
Eastward of this tower of the 15th century are the
remains of a long, low archway, walled with rubble,
but arched with well-hewn stones, popularly known
as ?the lion?s den,? and which has evidently formed
a portion of that secret escape or covered way
from the Castle (which no Scottish fortress was ever
without), the tradition concerning which is of general
and very ancient belief; and this idea has been still
further strengthened by the remains of a similar
subterranean passage being found below Brown?s
Close, on the Castle Hill. At the highest part of
the latter stood the ancient barrier gate of 1450,
separating the fortress from the city. This gate
was temporarily replaced on the occasion of the
visit of George IV, in 1822, and by an iron
chuaux de fdse-to isolate the 82nd Regiment and
garrison generally-during the prevalence of Asiatic
cholera, ten years subsequently.
There stood on the north side of the Castle
Hill an ancient church, some vestiges of which were
visible in Maitland?s time, in 1753, and which he
supposed to have been dedicated to St, Andrew the
patron of Scotland, and which he had seen referred
to in a deed of gift of twenty merks yearly, Scottish
money, to the Trinity altar therein, by Alexander
Curor, Vicar of Livingstone, 20th December, 1488.
In June, 1754, when some workmen were levelling
this portion of the Castle Hill, they discovered a
subterranean chamber, fourteen feet square,
wherein lay a crowned image of the Virgin, hewn
of very white stone, two brass altar candlesticks,
some trinkets, and a few ancient Scottish and French
coins. By several remains of burnt matter and two
large cannon balls being also found there, this
edifice was supposed to have been demolished
durbg some of the sieges undergone by the Castle
since the invention of artillery. Andin December,
1849, when the Castle Hill was being excavated
for the new reservoir, several finely-carved stones
were found in what was understood to be the
foundation of this chapel or of Christ?s Church,
which was commenced there in 1637, and had
actually proceeded so far that Gordon of Rothiemay
shows it in his map with a high-pointed spire,
but it was abandoned, and its materials used in
the erection of the present church at the Tron.
Under all this were found those pre-historic human
remains referred to in our first chapter. This was
the site of the ancient water-house. It was not
until ~ 6 2 1 that the citizens discovered the necessity
for a regular supply of water beyond that which
the public wells with their watef-carriers afforded.
It cannot be supposed that the stagnant fluid of the
north and south lochs could be fit for general use,
yet, in 1583 and 1598, it was proposed to supply
the city from the latter. Eleven years after the
date above mentioned, Peter Brusche, a German
engineer, contracted to supply the city with water
from the lands of Comiston, in a leaden pipe of three
inches? bore, for a gratuity of 650. By the year
1704 the increase of population rendered an additional
supply from Liberton and the Pkntland Hills
necessary. As years passed on the old water-house
proved quite inadequate to the wants of the city.
It was removed in 1849, and in its place now stands
the great reservoir, by which old and new Edinburgh
are alike supplied with water unexampled in
purity, and drawn chiefly from an artificial lake
in the Pentlands, nearly seven miles distant. On
the outside it is only one storey in height, with a
tower of 40 feet high; but within it has an area I 10
feet long, go broad, and 30 deep, containing two
millions of gallons ofwater, which can be distributed
through the entire city at the rate of 5,000 gallons
per minute,
Apart from the city, embosomed among treesand
though lower down than this reservoir, yet
perched high in air-upon the northern bank of the
Esplanade, stands the little octagonal villa of Allan
Ramsay, from the windows of which the poet would
enjoy an extensive view of all the fields, farms, and
tiny hamlets that lay beyond the loch below, with
the vast panorama beyond-the Firth of Forth,
with the hills of Fife and Stirling. ?The sober
and industrious life of this exception to the race
of poets having resulted in a small competency,
he built this oddly-shaped house in his latter days,
designing to enjoy in it the Horatian quiet he had
so often eulogised in his verse. The story goes:
says Chambers in his ?? Traditions,? ? that, showing
it soon after to the clever Patrick Lord Elibank,
with much fussy interest in its externals and accommodation,
he remarked that the vyags were already
at work on the subject-they likened it to a goosepie
(owing to the roundness of the shape). ? Indeed,
Allan,? said his lordship, ?now I see you in it I think
the wags are not far wrong.? ?
Ramsay, the author of the most perfect pastoral
poem in the whole scope of British literature, and
a song writer of great merit, was secretly a
Jacobite, though a regular attendant in St. Giles?s
Church. Opposed to the morose manners of his

... N ~ S , attracted by the dampness of the soil, where for ages the artificial loch lay. A few feet eastward of ...

Book 1 p. 82
(Score 0.78)

.BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 181
tion in being enabled, from the gradual increase of his salary, to contribute to
her comforts. By his undeviating rectitude, steady application, and the display
of very superior qualifications for the profession, he had early attracted the
notice of Messrs. Coutts, with whom he was, in 1761, admitted into partnership,
with only a small share in the profits. Owing to the death of one of these
gentlemen, and the retirement of the other on account of bad health (the other
two brothers being settled in London), a new company was formed in 1763,
consisting of Sir William Forbes, Mr. James Hunter (afterwards Sir James
Hunter Blair), and Sir Robert Herries. Although neither of the Messrs. Coutts
had any share in the new concern, the firm continued under the old name until
1773, when, on the withdrawal of Sir Robert Herries, who forme& a separate
establishment in London, the name of the firm was changed to that of Forbes,
Hunter, and Co. Sir William was at the head of the concern, over which he
ever after continued to preside, and the uncommon success which attended its
operations is in no small degree attributable to his peculiar sagacity and prudence.
In 1783 the Company commenced to issue notes, which obtained an extent of
credit almost without parallel.
Sir William married, in 1770, the eldest daughter of Dr. (afterwards Sir
James) Hay, which event obliged him to separate from the " venerated guide of
his infant years," who lived to a good old age, happy in the growing prosperity
and kind attention of her son.'
Sir William had now fairly commenced that career of usefulness which so
much distinguished his long life. Naturally of a benevolent disposition, his
attention was early directed to the charitable institutions of the city, many of
which, previous to his taking an interest in them, were in a languishing state.
The Charity Workhouse, of which he became a Manager in 1771, felt, in an
especial manner, the effects of his persevering solicitude. In 1777 he published
a pamphlet on the improvement of this institution, which was characterised as
'' full of practical knowledge and enlightened benevolence ;I' and he continued
through life to take an active interest in its welfare. Of the Orphan Hospital,
too, he was a Manager for many years, and always, from 1774, one of its most
zealous and efficient directors.
The erection of the late High School, in which Sir Walter Scott and other
eminent men were educated, is another proof of Sir William's public spirit as a
citizen, and his active perseverance and power of overcoming difficulties. He
was a zealous Manager of the Royal Infirmary, to which, at his death, he left
Q200. The Lunatic and Blind Asylums owed much to his exertions ; and, in
short, no improvements were contemplated, and no benevolent work projected,
which did not find in Sir William ready and efficient support.
In accordance with a long-cherished desire of restoring his family, which had
been reduced by attainder, to its former dignity and fortune, Sir William
embraced a favourable opportunity of purchasing seventy acres of the upper
1 She died in 1789.

... SKETCHES. 181 tion in being enabled, from the gradual increase of his salary, to contribute to her ...

Book 8 p. 256
(Score 0.78)

CONTENTS. ix
CHAPTER XLII.
JAURISTON.
The New UniveAity Buildmgs-The Estimates and Ammmodation-George Watsods HospitaI-Fonnded-Opencd and Sold-The New
Royal Infirmary-Its Capabilities for Accommodation-Simpn Memorial Hospital-Sii children?s Hospital-Merchant Maiden
H a s p i t a l - W ~ n ? s S c h w ~ ~ s t o n U n i t e d P r r s b ~ ~ h u r c h - S ~ C p t h u i m ? s ~ ~ . . . - . - . .355
CHAPTER XLIII.
GEORGE HERIOT?S HOSPITAL AND THE GREYFRIARS CHURCH.
Norice o f h r g e Heriot-Dies Childless-His Wd--The Hospital founded-Its Pmgrcss-The Marter Masons--Opmed-Number of
Scholars-Dr. Ralcanquall-Alterations-The EdificcThe Amhit- of it-Heriot?s Day and Inht Schools in the City-Luudi?s
Balloon Ascent-Royal Edinburgh Volunteers-The Heriot Breweryald Greyfriars Church-The Cwcnant-The Cromwellii-The
Coveuanting Prisoners-The Martyr?s Tomb-New Greyfriars-Dr. Wallace--I)I. RobeWn-Dr. E r s k i n 4 l d Tombs in the Church
-Grant by Queen Marg-Morton Interred-State of the Ground in 177pThe Gravea of B u c k and others-Roneo from SL Giles?s
Church - . . . . , . . . . , . . . . . . . - . .36j
ERRATA.
Page 135 col I, lines 3,+ from foot, for ?he preached on the death of Dr,,? k, read ?preached at hi4
Page 145 col. 2, delete lines 14 to 25 tium top.
Page I#, col. I, delete Lines 3 to 6 from top.
Page 156, COL a, line 10 from foot, for ? w? read ?is?
Page 158, col. I, lie 13 from top, for ?? 1876? read 4? 1871.-
Page 168, col. I, line 22 from top, for ?was till 1879 ? read ? is.?
Page 168, COL i, line 31 from top, for ?now? read ?was till 1879.-
Page ~m col. 2, line 4 from top, for ? Provident Institntion,? read ?Scottish Union and National Insuranc-
z Company;? and for ?6?read ?47, George Street, and24 st. Andrew Squan, these two
companies having been amalgamated in 1879.?
Page 171, col. I, line 10 from top, for ?west ? read ?( east.?
Page r71, col. I, l i e 12 from top, for I? Provident Institntion I* read ?Scottish Unim and National Insuranc-
z Company.?
Page 172. The engraving repmnts the ?Scottish Union and National Iosurancc Company? and not
the ?Scottish Provident Institution.?
Nom-Mr. Hugh James Ro110, W.S., factor for the Walker trustees, Mites:-?At page 1x1 it is IC.
presented that a capital of &mow was bequeathed by the Mims Walker for the erection d S t .
Mary?s Cathedral, whereas the amount of personal estate left was about ,&&,om, besides heritage
very valuable for feuing purposes, which at the death of Miss Mary Walker yielded an income
of about .44,om a year. The income at preseat is about .46,504 the first charge on which is a
sum of f;1,4oo for stipends to clergy of the cathedral, bursaries to students, and allowance to the
poor of the cathedral. Then there is a sum of & I , X ~ to be anndly set aside for thirty year4
to repay part of the cost of the cathedral, and the interest on this &minish;ng loam The surplus
income is at the d e of the trustees for behoof of the Episcopd Church in Scotland, the City of
Edinburgh having always a p?cf- The ultimate income will be about L8,om a yeu.?
death by Dr.,? &c.

... ix CHAPTER XLII. JAURISTON. The New UniveAity Buildmgs-The Estimates and Ammmodation-George Watsods ...

Book 4 p. 391
(Score 0.78)

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