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244 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
to assume. These two gentlemen *had been acquainted from infancy; and
duriug a long period their intimacy had suffered no interruption. His lordship’s
name was Alexander Murray. He was the son of Archibald Murray,
Esq. of Murrayfield, advocate, and born at Edinburgh in 1736. Being early
designed for the profession of the law, he was admitted a member of the Faculty
of Advocates in 1758. He was appointed to the Sheriffdom of Peebles in
1761, and succeeded his father as one of the Commissaries of Edinburgh in
1765. In the course of a few years he became Solicitor-General for Scotland,
in the room of Mr. Henry Dundas, who had been made Lord Advocate. He
was elected member of Parliament for the county of Peebles, and soon after
was raised tQ the bench, and received what is called a double gown,-on which
occasion he assumed the designation of Lord Henderland, from an estate he
possessed in Peeblesshire. He also held the office of Clerk of the Pipe in the
Court of Exchequer; an office which, through the interest of Lord Melville,
was given to his two sons.
Lord Henderland died in 1795, leaving two sons and a daughter, the issue of
his marriage with Katherine, daughter of Sir Alexander Lindsay of Eveleck.
Mrs. Murray died in 1828. The eldest son, William, joined the English bar.
John Archibald, his youngest son, while Lord Advocate for Scotland, was four
times elected member of Parliament for the Leith district of burghs.’ His
daughter, Amelia Jane, died unmarried in 1798.
MR. GEORGE PATON, whose figure occupies the centre division, was a
keen bibliographer and antiquary. His father, hlr. John Paton, a respectable
bookseller in the Old Parliament Square, was one of the committee of philanthropic
citizens who, in conjunction with the worthy Provost Drummond,
originated that invaluable institution, the Royal Infirmary. The facts and circumstances
in the history of Mr. Paton, the younger, are scanty. He received
a liberal education, but without any professional design, having been bred by
his father to his own business. This, however, he relinquished, on obtaining a
clerkship in the Custom-House, at a salary for many years of only 360. In
this humble situation, the emoluments of which were subsequently augmented to
S80, he continued during the remainder of his long life, apparently without the
smallest desire of attaining either to higher honour or greater wealth.
The chief aim of his ambition seemed to be the acquisition of such monuments
of antiquity as might tend to elucidate the literature, history, and topography
of his native country. His father had been an antiquary of some
research, and at his death left a valuabIe collection, which the subject of our
sketch took care, by every means within the compass of his narrow income, to
augment. As illustrative of the strong bibliomania both in father and son, it
is told of them, that whenever they happened to meet with any curious publication,
instead of exposing it in the shop for sale, they immediately placed it in
Nr, Murray was afterwards raised to the bench, and took the title of Lord Mumy. ... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. to assume. These two gentlemen *had been acquainted from infancy; and duriug a long ...

Book 8  p. 342
(Score 0.78)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 15
adcounts are closed. Take up your papers, man, and go home with an easy
mind ; your titles are excellent.”
- . Amongst his lordship’s singularities, which were not a few, was an unaccountable
predilection for a certain word, more remarkable for its vigour than its
elegance, which he used freely even on the bench, where it certainly must have
sounded very oddly. This peculiarity is pointed out in the amusing poem
entitled the CL Court of Session Garland,” by James Boswell-
“Alemoor the judgment as illegal blames-
“Tis equity, you b-h,’ replies my Lord Kames.”
About a week before his death, which was the result of extreme old age,
feeling his end approaching, he went to the C o d of Session, addressed all
the judges separately, told them he was speedily to depart, and bade them a
aolemn and affectionate farewell. On reaching the door, however, he turned
round, and, bestowing a last look on his sorrowing brethren, made his exit,
exclaiming, “Fare ye a’ weel, ye b-ches!”
Not more than four days before his demise, a friend called on his lordship,
and found him, although in a state of great languor and debility, dictating to
an amanuensis. He expressed his surprise at seeing him so actively employed.
“ Ye b-h,” replied Kames, “ would you have me stay with my tongue in my
cheek till death comes to fetch me!” A day or two after this, he told the
celebrated Dr. Cullen that he earnestly wished to be away, because he was
exceedingly curious to learn the nature and manners of another world. He
added-‘‘ Doctor, as I never could be idle in this world, I shall willingly perform
any task that may be imposed on me in the next.”
During the latter part of his life, he entertained a dread that he would outlive
his faculties, and was well pleased to find, from the rapid decay of his
body, that he would escape this calamity by a speedy dissolution. He died,
after a short illness, on the 27th of December 1782, in the eighty-seventh year
of his age.
His lordship lived in the self-contained house at the head of New Street,
fronting the Canongate, east side, a house which was then considered one of the
first in the city.
, The works of Lord Kames are-“Remarkable Decisions of the Court of
Session, from 1706 to 1728,” folio; “Essays upon several Subjects in Law,”
1732; “Decisions of the Court of Session, from its first institution till the year
1740,” 1741-two volumes were afterwards added by Lord Woodhouselee, and
a Supplement by M‘Grugar j “ Essays on several Subjects concerning Brit,ish
Antiquities,” 1747 ; “Essays on the Principles of Morality and Natural Religion,
in two pads,” 1751, 8vo; “The Statute Law of Scotland, abridged with
Historical Notes,” 1757, 8vo; “Historical Law Tracts,” 1759, 8vo; “The
Principles of Equity,” 1760, folio; “Introduction to hte Art of Thinking,”
1761, 12mo ; ‘‘ Elements of Criticism,” 1762, 8v0, 3 vols. ; Remarkable
Decisions of the Court of Session, from 1730 to 1752,” 1766, folio; “Gentle-
‘man Farmer,” 1772, 8vo; “Sketches of the History of Man,” 1773, 2 vols. ... SKETCHES. 15 adcounts are closed. Take up your papers, man, and go home with an easy mind ; your ...

Book 8  p. 19
(Score 0.78)

AND THE VALE OF THE ESK. 141
‘by Sir John Vanbrugh. Here she lived in almost regal splendour till her
death at the age of eighV4ne. She was buried in the aisle of Dalkeith
Chapel.
Dalkeith PaIace is one of the favourite pilgrimages of the Scottish tourist :
Twice a week, during the absence of the present Duke’s family, the grounds,
the Palace, and the picture-galleries, are thrown open to visitors. The Palace
stands on a slightly rising ground between the two rivers. In front of it a fine
lawn stretches almost down to the banks of the wooded South Esk. At the
back of the Palace, in a deeper channel, seen from the terraces above, flows
the North Esk. Both wind through the grounds towards the sea, and between
the two the land is laid out in deer park, in hay fields, and in farms. Herds
of homed deer lie breastdeep in the long grass of the park, their ears alert at
the most distant sound, and their mild bright eyes raised to scan the passing
pedestrian.
About a mile below the Palace, the two Esks at last converge, the meetingpoint
being hidden from the road above by the mass of foliage on the
banks. At this point, however, a path winds down among the tangle to
the water edge; and from a rustic seat under a rock the ‘meeting of the
waters ’ may be seen. And now the Esk proper, larger and fuller than before,
flows on in its rocky bed, with only three miles between it and the blue Firth
of Forth.
INVERESK TO MUSSELBURGH.
For these three miles the river flows through the parish of Inveresk, the
site of a great Roman settlement or mzcllicz~ium, remains of which have from
time to time been discovered in its soil Bath-houses, altars, and sepulchres have
been excavated in the neighbourhood of Inveresk hill, with coins, pots of fireclay
earthenware, and wreath-omamented urns. Inveresk ploughshares have
been known to strike against Roman pavements in the fields ; and the corn
has died from being sown upon a substratum of Roman cement. In this
parish, on the right bank of the Esk, is the field of the Battle of Pinkie.
When the news came from the Border that the Protector Somerset was
approaching at the head of 14,000 men to extort a mamage between the baby
Queen of Scots and young award VI., the l Fiery Cross ’ was sent out through
Scotland, and, in immediate answer to the summons, no fewer than 36,000
Scots assembled around Pinkie. The battle was fought and lost. The English
pursued the Scotch in three directions, with great slaughter ; so that ‘ the dead ... THE VALE OF THE ESK. 141 ‘by Sir John Vanbrugh. Here she lived in almost regal splendour till her death at ...

Book 11  p. 200
(Score 0.78)

160 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Here he had a wider field for his exertions, both as a temporal and spiritual
physician ; but although he readily acquired extensive practice, and was highly
esteemed by all belonging to the Connection in that quarter, he remained
amongst them only a very few years. Yielding to the repeated solicitations of
his friends in London, Dr. Hamilton repaired to the metropolis about the year
1796. Soon after his arrival, he was elected Physician to the London Dispensary-
a situation for which he was peculiarly adapted. The conscientious
manner in which he discharged his duties, and the solicitude manifested by him
for the meanest of his patients, at once endeared him to the Directors of the
Institution, and to the poor, by whom his services were principally. required.
An instance of the esteem in which he was held is thus related by his biographer
:-“ He was mercifully preserved in the haunts of misery and crime.
Going one day to visit a poor person in a place noted for both (Petticoat Lane),
he was surrounded by a gang of thieves, but was wondrously delivered by a
woman screaming from one of the upper windows, ‘ Don’t touch the gentleman ;
that’s the good Doctor that saved the life of Mrs. Moses.’ The rogues slunk
away in all directions.”
Having been some years in London, Dr. Hamilton married for the third
time.’ By this union it is understood he obtained a considerable addition to
his fortune. His subsequent progress was eminently successful ; but uninterrupted
as was his course of usefulness, he was not without his own share of the
afflictions which less or more fall to the lot of every one. Several of his sons
were in the army. Thomas and William held commissions in a Highland regiment.
They served in Egypt, and were present at the unsuccessful attack on
Rosetta in 1807. They survived the disaster, having been only slightly
wounded ; but shortly after the return of the army to Alexandria, Thomas, the
adjutant, was seized with fever, and died in a few days’ illness. The brother,
Lieutenant William, returned with his regiment to England, and was for some
time stationed in Scotland ; but having negotiated exchange for a Captaincy in
the Buffs, then under Wellington in the Peninsula, he repaired thither ; and,
after the French had been driven out of Spain, was unfortunately wounded in
the south of France, on the 13th of November, when “ foremost of the. brave
men who mre pursuing the enemy.” He died on the 29th of the same month.
These bereavements were severely felt by Dr. Hamilton j yet he manifested
in his conduct that steady bearing and submission to events, nobly characteristic
of the Christian. Until extreme old age, he continued in the exercise of his
professional and ministerial duties, “dispensing the word of life in several of
the most respectable congregations (besides that to which he belonged) in the
metropolis.” ‘In B letter to a lady in Scotland, writben in 1826, the Doctor
During his residence in Dunbar he was twice married ; first, to a Miss Coutts ; and, secondly,
What is perhaps a little singular, a brother of the latter afterwards
a Dr. Hamilton’s eldest son, was Colonel James Hamilton, of the Colombian army, South
to a Miss Amot from Alnwick.
married a daugter of Dr. Haniilton by hia firvt wife.
America. Another of his sons, Francis, resided in Kentish-town. ... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Here he had a wider field for his exertions, both as a temporal and ...

Book 9  p. 215
(Score 0.78)

352 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Roslin.
? scratching on a pewter plate two verses, which are
~ preserved among his works, and run thus :-
? My blessings on you, sonsie wife ! . I ne?er was here before ;
Nae heart could wish for more.
You?ve gien us walth for horn and knife,
? IIeaven keep you free frae care and strife,
Till far ayont fourscore?;
And while I toddle on through life,
I?ll ne?er gang by your door.?
Bums and Nasmyth, it would appear, had spent
the day in ?a long ramble among the Pentlands,
which, having sharpened the poet?s appetite, lent
an additional relish to the evening meal.?
It is stated in a recent work that the old inn is
still kept by the descendants of those who estab
lished it at the Restoration.
nected with the victory : the ?Shinbones Field,?
where bones have been ploughed up ; the ? Hewan,?
where the onslaught was most dreadful; the
? Stinking Rig,;? where the slain were not properly
interred ; the ?? Kill-burn,? the current of which was
reddened with blood j and ? Mount Marl,? a farm so
called from a tradition that when the English were
on the point of being finally routed, one of them
cried to his leader, ? Mount, Marl-and ride ! ?
Many coins of Edward I. have also been found
hereabout.
confirmations of this charter from James VI.
and Charles 11. In modern times it has subsided
into a retreat of rural quietness, and the abode
of workers in the bleaching-fields and powdermills.
In the old inn of Roslin, which dates from 1660,
Dr. Johnson and Boswell, in 1773, about the close
of their Scottish tour, dined and drank tea. There,
also, Robert Bums breakfasted in company with
Nasniyth the artist, and being well entertained by
Mrs. Wilson, the landlady, he rewarded her by
ROSLIN CHAPEL:-THE CHANCEL. ( A f t r a Pkologtagh Sy G. w. ki?ilson b CO.)
In 1754, near Roslin, a stone coffin nine feet
long was uncovered by the plough, It contained
a human skeleton, supposed to be that of a chief
killed in the battle ; but it was much more probably
that of some ancient British wamor.
The village of Roslin stands on a bank about a
mile east of the road to Peebles. About 1440,
this village, or town, was the next place in importance
to the east of Edinburgh and Haddington;
and fostered by the care of the St. Clairs of Roslin, it
became populous by the resort of a great concourse
of all ranks of people. In 1456 it received from
James 11. a royal charter creating it a burgh of
barony, with a market cross, a weekly market, and
an annual fair on the Feast of St. Simon and Jude
-the anniversary of the battle of Roslin; and
respectively in the years 1622 and 1650 it received ... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Roslin. ? scratching on a pewter plate two verses, which are ~ preserved among his ...

Book 6  p. 352
(Score 0.77)

144 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Until within a few weeks of his death he enjoyed uninterrupted good
health-possessed a happy, cheerful temper-and was a universal favourite.
Wherever he travelled, his place by the “ farmer’s ingle ” was readily conceded j
and all were delighted with his tales of the ‘( olden time,” while, by joining in
the song and in the dance-notwithstanding his years-he contributed in no
common degree to the mirth of the younger members of the domestic circle.
About twelve years before his death, Old John entirely lost his sight ; but what
is rather remarkable, he speedily regained it ; and to the last, his vision, as well
’as his recollection, continued vigorous. He was twice married, and had twentyeight
children registered on the record of baptisms.’ To his second wife, who
survived him, he had been united upwards of sixty years.
From the artful arrangement of the inscription on the Print, it will naturally
occur to tthe reader that the title-
“AN EMINENT JUDGEOF
BROOM BESOMS ! ! ! ”
however worthy of such a distinction Old John may have been-was meant to
satirise an individual in a much higher station in society. The Etching bears to
have been published in 1805, shortly after the Police Act for the city of Edinburgh
came into operation, when JOHTNA IT,E sq., W.S., was appointed JUDGE
OF THE COVRTj and to this gentleman the inscription evidently applies.
Prior to this period, the guardianship of the city was entirely in the hands of
the Town Guard, who were then disbanded, with the exception of a small body,
retained for a limited and special purpose. A Board of Police was institutedthe
extent of jurisdiction defined-the duties of the Commissioners and other
officials explained-and the Judge of the Court was empowered, under certain
limitations, to fine and imprison the offending lieges, without the interference of
a Magistrate, as under the old system.
As the opening of the Court of Police, on the 15th July 1805, was an event
of considerable importance at the time, and conducted with an unusual degree
of “ pomp and circumstance,” the following account of the proceedings may
not be uninteresting to our readers :-
“ On Monday, July 15, at twelve o’clock, the Right Hon. the Lord Provost and Magistrates
in their robes, the Sheriff of the county, the Member for the city, and the Commissioners of
Police, met in the Parliament House, when John Tait, Esq., delivered his commission as Judge
of Police, and was sworn in ; after m-hich they walked in procession to the Police Office, the
military and city-guard lining the streets. The Judge of Police was invested in the robe and
insignia of office, and supported on his right hand by the Rev. Sir Henry Moncreiff, Bart., and
on his left, by Sir William Forbes, Bart. (who had been chairman of the committee of citizens
who originally met to frame the bill).
“After they arrived at the Court of Police, the Rev. Sir Henry Moncrieff, Bart. (one of the
Commissioners) consecrated the institution in a very eloquent, impressive, and appropriate
prayer. The Lord Provost then desired Mr. Tait to take his seat as Judge of Police, which he
clid. The Lord Provost then addressed him in the following speech :-
His own account of it was, that he had had twenty-eight children who mfered baptism. ... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Until within a few weeks of his death he enjoyed uninterrupted good health-possessed a ...

Book 9  p. 193
(Score 0.77)

146 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
the present system unavoidably produces.-To the various duties of my office I shall pay unremitting
attention. And trusting in a conscious desire to discharge my duty in an upright
manner ; trusting to the support of those around me ; and trusting, above all, in the direction
and support of that Power which has been so fervently invoked, I now take that seat, to which
I have been so honourably appointed, and so honourably introduced.’
“Mr. Sheriff Clerk’ then addressed the Judge of Police in a very sensible and appropriate
speech, pointing out the arduous duties of his office (which his experience as Chief Magistrate
of the county for twelve years enabled him with propriety to do), and expressing his satisfaction
that it was filled by a gentleman of so much ability and integrity.
“ The Judge of Police then returned thanks to the Commissioners, particularly to Sir
William Forbes, by whose unremitting attention this institution, calculated to promote virtue
and happiness, has been fostered, from the first proposal of the plan, and brought at last to its
present honourable state of maturity.
‘‘ The different officers were then sworn in by the Judge of Police, -rho gave them a very
proper exhortation respecting the duties of their office.
“The Court of Police waa accordingly opened the same day (July 15) at the Office of Police,
in Riddell’s Close, Lawnmarket, where apartments have been commodiously fitted up for the
purpose.”
Whether from a too exalted idea entertained of the trust reposed in him, or
from a dislike on the part of the public to the new system of police-or probably
from a combination of both-certain it is “ Judge Tait ” was not among
the most popular of the civic rulers. Hence the satire of the artist-“An
Eminent Judge of-broom-besoms ! ” Mr. Tait was, notwithst,anding, a man
of talent, as well as of considerable literary attainments ;’ and his speech above
quoted is highly creditable to him. “I am bound,” is his declaration, “ by the
sacred oath which I have taken, to discharge my duty as my conscience dictates;
and that conscience tells me that I am not to look to persons but to crimes.”
That this was not mere idle declamation on the part of Mr. Tait very speedily
appeared by his decisions. On the 13th of August following, two gentlemen
having been brought before him, charged with giving and accepting a challenge
-which they admitted-he caused them to be fined, and bound over in heavy
penalties to keep the peace. At the same time, while he delivered his sentiments,
in a forcible manner, on “ challenging and duelling, as crimes against the
laws of the land,” he expressed his determination strictly to enforce the authority
with which he was invested, for the peace of society :-“ Hereafter, if persons
are brought before me, and convicted of having given or accepted a challenge, I
shall consider it my duty to send such persons to the Tolbooth of Edinburgh,
for a certain period by way of punishment, besides binding them over to keep
the peace ; and if persons are brought before me, and convicted of having fought
a duel, I shall equally consider it my duty to send them to Bridewell. Because
all respect of persons must be attached to their strict observance of the laws of
their country ; and those who bid defiance to the laws, in whatever situation
they may otherwise be placed, are equal in that respect, and ought equally to
feel the force of those laws which they contemn.”
That the situation to which Mr. Tait had been appointed was no sinecure,
Aftenvards one of the Barons of Exchequer.
e In his early years he had cultivated the Muses. He published. two or three thin quarto
volumes of poetry. Amongst his poems is an elegy on Goldsmith. ... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. the present system unavoidably produces.-To the various duties of my office I shall pay ...

Book 9  p. 195
(Score 0.77)

208 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Great Stuart Street.
shire, and of Amelia, daughter of Alexander Graham,
of Duntrune, who died in 1804 and was thus
the last lineal representative of Claverhouse.
In addition to her accomplishments, she possessed
wit and invention in a high degree, and was
always lively, kind, and hospitable. She had a
keen perception of the humorous, and was well
known in Edinburgh society in the palmy days of
Jeffrey. Gifted with great powers of mimicry, her
personifications at
private parties were
so unique, that
even those who
knew her best were
deceived. One of
the most amusing
of these took place
in 18z1, at the
house of Jeffrey.
He asked her to
give a personation
of an old lady, to
which she consented,
but, in
order to have a
little amusement at
his expense, she
called upon him
in the character of
a ? Lady Pitlyal,?
to ask his professional
opinion
upon an imaginary
law plea, which she
alleged her agent
was misconducting.
On this occasion
she drove up to
his house in? the
carriage of Lord
Gillies, accompagood
humour. Her conversation, so far as I have
had the advantage of hearing it, is shrewd and
sensible, but noways brilliant. She dined with us,
went off as to the play, and returned in the character
of an old Scottish lady. Her dress and behaviour
were admirable, and her conversation
unique. I was in the secret of course, and did
my best to keep up the ball, but she cut me out of
all feather. The prosing account she gave of her
WILLIAM EDMONSTOUNE AYTOUN.
(F7m a Ph&-ra#h ay MCSSYX. Ross and Tbmsa.)
nied by a young lady as her daughter, and so
complete was the personification, that the acute
Jeffrey did not discover till next day that he had
been duped ! This episode created so much amusement
in Edinburgh that it fdund its way into
the pages of Blachood. Sir Walter Scott, who
was a spectator of Miss Graham?s power of personation,
wrote thus regarding it :-
Went to my Lord Gillies to dinner,
and witnessed a singular exhibition of personification.
Miss Stirling Graham, a lady of the family
from which Claverhouse was descended, looks like
thuty years old, and has a face of the Scottish cast,
with good expression, in point of good sense and
? March 7.
son, the antiquary,
who found an old
ring in a slate
quarry, was extremely
ludicrous,
and she puzzled
the professor of
agriculture with a
merci!ess account
of the succession
of crops in the
parks around her
old mansion house.
No person to
whom the secret
was not entrusted
had the least guess
of an impostor,
except the shrewd
young lady present,
who.observed
the hand narrowly,
and saw that it
was plumper than
the age of the lady
seemed to warrant.
This lady and Miss
Bell, of Coldstream,
have this
gift of personation
to a much greater
degree than any
person I ever saw.? Miss Graham published in
1S29 the ?Bee Preserver,? translated from the
work of M. de Gelieu, for which she received the
medal of the Highland Society. She possessed a
large circle of friends, and never had an enemy.
Her friend William Edmondstoune Aytoun died
on the 4th August, 1865, sincerely regretted by all
who knew him, and now lies under a white marble
monument in the beautiful cemetery at the Dean.
Charles Baillie, Lord Jerviswoode, who may well
be deemed by association one of the last of the
historical Lords of Session, for years was the occupant
of No. 14, Randolph Crescent, and his name
is one which awakens many sad and gentle ... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Great Stuart Street. shire, and of Amelia, daughter of Alexander Graham, of Duntrune, ...

Book 4  p. 208
(Score 0.77)

4-40 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
An’ then there ’s the Major, sin’ less winna ser’ him,
His servitude haulds o’er the crook 0’ the Bow,
Wi’ his tittie, sin’ better folk wunna gang near him,
Come thundering at midnight in glamour a’low ;
The Deil for their coachman ; a whup wi’ some smeddum,
AE needs maun wha drive wi’ auld Clooty to lead ’em.
Hurrying doun, &c.
Or belyve, for a change, just as twal’ is a bangin’,
Whir, out frae the pend, in a whirlwind 0‘ flame,
Ilk cloot, wi’ a low frae the causey it ’8 clangin’,
The headless hell-charger gangs galloping hams ;
Ill luck to the loon says gude e’en as he ’8 gangin’,
He were better gae doun the Wast Bow to his hangin’.
Hurrying doun, Cc. .
An’ dinna forget, 0’ the auld gousty alley,
At his bidin’ on errands a shopin’ wad sally,
Yet ne’er a m wagged his tongue ‘gainst the Major’s queer vally
As he chanced on him daunderin’ doun the auld alley.
The Major’s black caddie, his stick 0’ a’ sticks,
Wad chap at the counter an’ play aff its tricks ;
Hurrying doun, &c.
An’ then there’s Jock Porteous’s gaist took an airin’,
Ance a year, at the fit 0’ the Bow dieappearin’,
Deil ane, gaist or gomrell, wad think 0’ repairin’,
To the new.fangled Bow for to tak him an airin’.
Wi’ his gun o’er his shouther just primed for a shot,
Whar the dyster’a pole ser’ed for the raxin’ he got.
Hurrying doun, &c.
Fuul fa’ the Commissioners wi’ their improvements,
May the Major, when neist bent on ane 0’ his movements,-
Whisk his coach doun the Bow, just for ilk anes behovements,
Wi’ a team 0’ Commissioners 0’ the Improvementa.
Their biggins, an’ howkins, an’ sweepins awa ;
’Tis the warst-waled retour that I wus may befa’,-
Hurrying doun, stoiterin’ an’ stumblin’,
The gleger ye gang better luck against tumblin’ !
XI. OLD BANK CLOSE. ASSASSINATION OF‘SIR GEORGE
LOCKHART BY CHIESLEY OF DALRY,
THE following is the circumstantial narrative of this savage act of vengeance, furnished in Father Hay’s
Manuscript Memoirs (Advocate’s Library, tome iii p. 135) :-
“ It was not known that the villain waa com’d fiom London till Sunday the 31st, which day he came to the
New Church, and offered money to the bedler for a part of my Lord Castlehih seat, just behind the Presidents,
whom @ designed to have murdered theri ; but not getthg the seat, he would have none at all, and ... MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH. An’ then there ’s the Major, sin’ less winna ser’ him, His servitude haulds ...

Book 10  p. 479
(Score 0.77)

470 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
the head, and was styled the Provost's Officer, it being his chief duty to wait
upon that civic dignitary. This with hini was truly a labour of love ; and indeed
towards all the Magistrates his civility and attention were unremitting.
Whatever occurred of a public nature, during their absence, was sure to be made
known to them by a note in the hand-writing of this devoted servant, at all
hours of the day, and frequently before they had risen out of bed. He was a
steady advocate for giving honour to whom honour was due ; and whoever happened
to be in office for the time was with him a most especial object of respect.
In his eyes the reigning Lord Provost was the greatest man upon earth. Nor
did this enthusiastic feeling originate in any slavish or mercenary motive-it
owed its existence solely to his innate desire to fulfil to the uttermost his humble,
but highly useful and honourable duties. If he happened to meet two of his
mastcrs together, his salutation of " Gentlemen-both," with a strong emphasis
on the latter word, seemed to imply that he reckoned no one but a Magistrate
fully entitled to that appellation. The dialect of his native-mountains never
entirely lcft poor Archie, who was a sad murderer of the King's English ;
and his ludicrous mistakes and mispronunciations of words mere a source of
infinite amusement at the Council Board. At the fencing of the Magistrates'
Court, after -an election, when he had to repeat 'after the clerk certain Latin
words, his mode of doing so was extremely characteristic and amusing. For
instance, when he came to the legal phrase " in. statu quo," he pronounced it
with a sonorous emphasis thus :-$' In stutter quoh."'
When the Lord Provost or any of his brethren were called on public business
to London, Archie, and none but he, was their faithful satellite ; and if
any Scotsman happened to inquire at their hotel for admission to speak with
these functionaries, Archie's kindly feelings towards his countrymen, rendered
more acute by his distance from home, broke out into most exuberant welcome,
while he 'would address the applicant thus :-" Ou ay, sir, walk in; ta Lord
Provost and Bailies, and a' the Council's here. They'll be unco glad to see
Besides his situation of City Officer, Archie held numerous subordinate
appointments. He was officer to-the Society of High Constables, to the Convention
of Royal Burghs, to the Highland Club, and latterly to the Dean of
Guild Court. He was King's Beadle at the meetings of the General Assembly,
etc.; also a Justice of Peace Constable, and officer to the Stent-masters of
Edinburgh ; and, in short, he monopolised almost every office of a like nature
in the city. At one time, as Officer to the Bailie Court, he had nearly the
whole business of summoning parties and witnesses, and executing other matters
of form before that Court. His duties in this department were so very
The following specimen of Archie's &$ish was found among the papers of the late Dr.
M'Cleish ; the manuscript in the Doctor's handwriting :-"The Mag. of Edinrs. Proclamation for
an iluination on account of au aledgel victory in Rusia over the French Grand Army, 6th Nov.
1813, by Archd. Campbell, their Chief Officer.-'This days gud news caus lumination, but no till
mouday, because the Lord's Supper is to be dispeilued-the moma night frae 7 OG to 10 luminate
weel."'
you." ... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. the head, and was styled the Provost's Officer, it being his chief duty to ...

Book 9  p. 628
(Score 0.77)

456 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
He is represented in the prosecution of a favourite walk in the Meadows ; and
half a century after the execution of the Print, he might still be seen frequenting
the accustomed promenade during the early morning hours, when most of
the younger citizens of Edinburgh were still in bed. His step, though not so
stately, nor his carriage so erect, yet the spirit of youth remained ; and it was
impossible not to recognise in his general bearing and appearance the well-bred
beau of fifty years back. The cocked hat, to be sure, was long before superseded
by a more modern chapeau, but the coat, vest, and short inexpressibles (composed
in summer of nankeen), are of the identical colour and fashion j and the stockings,
too, are white, though no longer silk or cotton, as they used to be in the
palmy days of his meridian.
MR. SYMs,e cond son of a respectable merchant in Glasgow, was born in
that city on the 29th of February 1’752. He came to Edinburgh when about
fifteen years of age ; and, after serving his apprenticeship with an uncle of his
own name, was admitted as a Writer to the Signet in 17’75, and lived to be
the oldest member but one of that influential Society. He enjoyed a pretty
fair share of business-which it is believed might have been increased to his
own advantage, but for his high and punctilious sense of professional honour.
He was indeed characterised by a great spirit of independence even in early
life ; and he has been heard to say that he had never cost his father a shilling,
nor received the slightest assistance from him, after leaving his birthplace at
the boyish age above mentioned. He however succeeded to his share of a considerable
fortune on the death of the old gentleman. Mr. Sym withdrew from
all professional occupation while still in the vigour of life. He never held any
public ofice, but he was appointed a member of the “ Judicature Commission,”
composed of the highest legal functionaries, the English Master of the Rolls,
etc., Sir Walter Scott being clerk. It is believed that the subject of our present
notice and the late Mr. Mathew ROSS, then Dean of Faculty, were the only
Commissioners whose services were strictly honorary-the others being all in
the receipt of large allowances from Government. Among other legal subjects
submitted for the opinion of the Commissioners was that of trial by jury in civil
cases j and it is understood that bfr. Sym’s sentiments, in common with those
of his friend Mr. Rose, were adverse to the introduction, in such cases, of that
mode of trial into Scotland. While serving on this Commission, he drew up
the various schedules still in use by the ‘(Extractors ” in giving out the interlocutors
of the Court of Session ; and in so doing greatly shortened and simplified
the form of these writings-reducing, at the same time, their expense to the
parties concerned. Mr. Sym is understood to have devoted a great portion of his
leisure hours to literary pursuits. He furnished anonymously many articles for
the periodicals of the day, and is known to have been a man of very extensive
reading and information, with no inconsiderable talent for poetical composition.
“hough not unobservant of contemporaneous literature, he dwelt with far greater
fondness on the remarkable works produced by the worthies of his own early
days-the Humes, Robertsons, and Smiths ; and there were few of his contemporaries
more conversant with the writings of these great authors. ... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. He is represented in the prosecution of a favourite walk in the Meadows ; and half a ...

Book 9  p. 608
(Score 0.77)

446 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
then in his forty-sixth year, while Miss Dawson (from the vicinity of Doncaster)
was no more than seventeen, the union was understood to be one of real affection,
and proved most happy in its results.’
Strictly constitutional in his political views, and foreseeing the error into
which the Friends of the People were betraying themselves, Mr. Fletcher took
no part in the memorable proceedings of 1793-4. He shrunk not, however,
from the fearless avowal of his opinions. He acted gratuitously as counsel for
Joseph Gerrald and others accused of sedition, and was one of the minority
of thiTty-eight who, in 1796, opposed the deposition of the Hon. Henry
Erskine, then Dean of Facaulty. In 1797 he was one of the counsel for the
late Mr. John Johnstone, printer and publisher of the Scots Chronicle, in an
action of damages brought against him and John Morthland, Esq., advocate,
(who was connected responsibly with the paper), in the name of the late Mr.
Cadell of Tranent, Deputy-Lieutenant and a Justice of the Peace for the county
of Haddington. A quonim of the Justices had met at Tranent for the purpose
of balloting for men liable to serve in the militia; and as this was tl
measure which was unpopular with a great proportion of the people, especially
the working classes, a crowd collected at Tranent with the design of impeding
the Lieutenancy in the discharge of their duty. The mob, by intimidation and
threats, and by maltreating the peace-officers, obliged the Justices to send an
express to Piershill barracks for a troop of dragoons, part of the Cinque Ports
Cavalry regiment, then lying there. The dragoons were soon on the spot, and
scoured the streets, when a considerable number of the mob got down the closes,
and took to the roofs of the houses, from which they assailed the soldiers with
stones and brick-bats, and some, it is believed, had firearms. This so exasperated
the soldiers, that they became regardless, fired in all directions, and killed
several persons. Mr. Johnstone inserted in his newspaper an account of the
proceedings, forwarded to him by one Rodgers (whose sister had been shot
within her own house), in a letter from Tranent, wherein it was insinuated, if
not directly stated, that the soldiers had been guilty of deliberate murder, and
that Mr. Cadell and the other magistrates were accessories. This gave rise to
the action of damages, in which a long and voluminous proof was taken, printed,
and prepared for the Court; and Mr. Fletcher was one of the counsel who
stated the defence. As may be anticipated, the decision was unfavourable (or
rather ruinous) to the defenders.
Though at one time, in consequence of his political predilections, almost a
“ briefless barrister,” and occasionally, it is said, reduced to his last guinea,
1 By his wife Mr. Fletcher had several children. His eldest son, Miles, was brought up to the
bar. He married Miss Angusta Clavering, daughter of General Clavering (who attracted so much
notice during the investigation of the charges against the Duke of York), by whom he had a family.
He died in the prime of life, much regretted. His widow afterwards married John Christison, Esq.,
advocate. The second son, Angus, relinquished the profession of a Writer to the Signet, for which
he had been educated, and became a sculptor in London. One of Mr. Fletcher’s daughtem married
John Taylor, Esq., at one time a member of Parliament, and another, Dr. Davy, a brother of the
late Sir Humphrey Davy. ... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. then in his forty-sixth year, while Miss Dawson (from the vicinity of Doncaster) was ...

Book 9  p. 595
(Score 0.77)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 1 83
He was one of the original members Fof the Antiquarian Society, instituted
chiefly by the exertions of the Earl of Buchan;’ and so early as 1768 he had
spent nearly twelve months in London, in the familyof Sir Robert Herries,
where he became a member of the London Literary Club, and formed an
acquaintance with the principal literary characters of that period. Among the
latter was the celebrated painter, Sir Joshua Reynolds, who executed two
admirable portraits of Sir William Forbes.
By such an extended circle of acquaintance, Sir William was led into an
interesting and extensive correspondence, for which he evidently had a high
relish, although almost the only relic of his talents in composition is an
“Account of the Life and Writings of James Beattie, LL.D.,” author of the
“Essay on Truth” (in answer to some of the Essays of David Hume, the
celebrated philosopher and historian), ‘‘ The Minstrel,” etc. This work was
published in 1806, and has passed through three or four editions. It includes
many original letters of his early and esteemed friend, and is an excellent
specimen of what might have been expected from Sir William’s pen, had not
perhaps higher and more important duties engrossed the greater portion of his
time.
Sir William’s circle of friends, however, was by no means confined to men
of professional literary talents, or to those who might benefit by his patronage.
He wit~i intimately acquainted with Lord Melville and with Mr. Pitt, who had
frequent interviews with Sir William on subjects of finance. In short, his house
in Edinburgh was the resort of all ranks; and few foreigners of distinction
visited Scotland without having letters of introduction to him. He was
frequently offered a seat in Parliament, both for the city of Edinburgh and the
county of Aberdeen, but he uniformly declined the honour; in doing so he
sacrificed the gratification of a laudable ambition to a sense of duty, which he
conceived to be limited to the sphere in which he had already been the promoter
of so many benefits. From similar praiseworthy motives he also declined the
honour of an Irish Peerage proposed to him by Mr. Pitt in 1799,
The health of Sir William began to decline in 1791, at which period he had
a severe illness, and in 1802 Lady Forbes died, a circumstance which sensibly
affected his spirits. On his return from London in 1806, whither he had
been summoned as a witness on Lord Melville’s trial, he began to feel
symptoms of decay ; and, after having been confined to the house from the 28th
June, he expired on the 12th November 1806, surrounded by his friends, and
inspired by every hope which a virtuous and useful life is so capable of affording,
Sir William had a large family; besides his eldest son and successor, he left
Lord Medwyn, Mr. George Forbes, and five daughters, four of whom are now
married-Lady Wood, Mrs. M‘Donnell of Glengarry, Mrs. M‘Kenzie of
Portmore, and Mrs. Skene of Rubislaw. His successor, Sir William, was cut
off in the middle of his years and usefulness, leaving three sons. The eldest,
1780 t i the period of his demise.
1 Sir William held the situation of Treasurer of the Antiquarian Society, from ita institution in ... SKETCHES. 1 83 He was one of the original members Fof the Antiquarian Society, instituted chiefly by ...

Book 8  p. 258
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 457
Few men ever enjoyed a course of uninterrupted good health equal to Mr. Sym.
When confined to the house for a few days in the latter part of his life, he used
to say that no medical man had ever felt hispulse, and that he did not remember
having ever in his life taken 6reakfast in bed. Truly B favoured son of Hygeia,
he attributed his exemption from disease chieffy to regular living, and to his
fondness for early morning exercise.
He and
Osborne (formerly noticed) were the right-hand men of the grenadiers; and
from his stature (six feet four inches), the former had to procure a firelock
considerably longer than the common regimental ones. He acted for some time
as fugleman to the first regiment; and it is told that, in his anxiety on one
occasion to perform his part well, he so twisted his body, while his arms were
poised above his head, as to be completely Zoclce&incapable of movement. In
tliis painful predicament he stood a few moments, till aided by the famous
Major Gould, who, on observing the circumstance, ran to his assistance.
Mr. Sym belonged to the old school of Tories, and was intimate with Lord
Melville, Chief Baron Dundas, and the other contemporary leaders of the
party. The well-known Editor of Blackwood’s Magazine, Professor Wilson, was
his nephew; as were also Robert Sym Wilson, Esq., Secretary to the Royal
Bank ; James Wilson, Esq., of Woodville, the eminent Ornithologist ; and the
Rev. John Sym, one of the ministers of the Old Greyfriar’s Church, Edinburgh.
Though in his younger years a gallant of no mean pretension, and in high
favour with the ladies, Mr. Sym continued all his life a bachelor. At one
period he resided in the buildings denominated “ The Society,” Brown Square,
but for the last forty years and upwards he was an inhabitant of George
Square.
Mr. Sym was a member of the Royal Edinburgh Volunteers.
No. CCCXXIV.
REV. HENRY GREY, AM.,
MINISTER OF ST. MARY’S CHURCH, EDINBURGH.
MR. GREY was born at Alnwick, in the county of Northumberland, in the year
1778. In early life
he was left to the care of a kind and pious mother, who watched over her son
with the most tender and anxious assiduity, and lived to receive the reward of
her love and devotedness in her son’s clerical reputation and unceasing affection.
Mr. Grey received the elements of English education at a private school in his
native town. When eight years old he was placed at a seminary in Highhedgely,
conducted by an intelligent curate of the Church of England, where he
His father was a gentleman of the medical profession.
VOL 11. 3N ... SKETCHES. 457 Few men ever enjoyed a course of uninterrupted good health equal to Mr. Sym. When ...

Book 9  p. 610
(Score 0.76)

Xigh Street.] EXCISE OFFICE. 217
not only to inspire his enthusiasm, but improve his
seamanship ; and there was something prophetic
in the poem, as the frigate Azlroru, in which he
served, perished at sea in 1769.
Eastward of Knox?s manse is an old timberfronted
land, bearing the royal arms of Scotland
on its first floor, and entered by a stone turnpike,
the door of which has the legend Beus Benedictat,
and long pointed out as the excise office of early
times. ? The situation,? says Wilson, ? was peculiarly
convenient for guarding the principal gate of
das?s splendid mansion in St. Andrew?s Square,
now occupied by the Royal Bank. This may be
considered its culminating point It descended
thereafter to Bellevue House, in Drummond Place,
built by General Scott, the father-in-law of Mr.
Canning, which house was demolished in 1846 in
completing the tunnel of the Edinburgh and Leith
Railway; and now we believe the exciseman no
longer possesses a local habitation ? within the
Scottish capital.?
The interesting locality of the Nether Bow takes
the city, and the direct avenue (Leith Wynd) to
the neighbouring seaport. . . . . . Since
George 11.?~ reign the excise office had as many
rapid vicissitudes as might mark the ?areer of a
profligate spendthrift. In its earlier days, when a
floor of the old land in the Nether Bow sufficed
for its accommodation, it was regarded as foremost
among the detested fruits of the Union. From
thence it removed to more commodious chambers
in the Cowgate, since demolished to make way for
the southern piers of George IV. bridge. Its next
resting place was the large tenement on the south
side of Chessel?s Court in the Canongate, the scene
of the notorious Deacon Brodie?s last robbery.
From thence it was removed to Sir Lawrence Dun-
28
its name from the city gate, known as the Nether
Bow Port, in contradistinction to the Upper Bow
Port, which stood near the west end of the Eigh
Street. This barrier united the city wall from St.
Mary?s Wynd on the south to the steep street known
as Leith Wynd on the north, at a time when, perhaps,
only open fields lay eastward of the gate,
stretching from the township to the abbey of Holyrood.
The last gate was built in the time of Tames
VI. ; what was the character of its predecessor
we have no means of ascertaining; but to repair it,
in 1538, as the city cash had run low, the magistrates
were compelled to mortgage its northern
vault for IOO rnerks Scots; and this was the gate
which the English, under Lord Hertford, blew open ... Street.] EXCISE OFFICE. 217 not only to inspire his enthusiasm, but improve his seamanship ; and there was ...

Book 2  p. 217
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Infirmary Street.] DR. HAMILTON. ? 301
of the instruments for the use of the wards ; and
to each of these four surgeons, after 1766, was
assigned a salary in proportion to what the funds
of the institution admitted.
Distinct as these regulations were, they did not
work well, and a committee was appointed to confer
with the managers in 1769 to adjust certain
matters that were in dispute, and new arrangements
were made. Under these ?? one of the substitutes
was to be changed annually, and his place supplied
by a brother duly elected by the Incorporation
of Surgeons according
to seniority-
at least
in the order in
which they could
find any disposed
to accept
of the trust : all
this was to be
.done under the
authority of the
managers, and
to continue in
force until they
saw cmse to
alter it.?
About 1769
.the ordinary
patients, exclusive
of soldiers
and servants,
averaged about
sixty; but the
funds having
grown apace,
eighty were accommoda
t ed.
?If the phybe
mentioned that?between 1770 and 1775 the
numbers admitted yearly at an average amounted
to 1,567Q, and the number of deaths 634, and,
omitting fractional parts, the deaths were to the
numbers admitted as I to 25.
In 1778 the total number of patients with their
attendants made up a family of 230, but so rapid
has been the increase of the population, that betweenoctober
1846 and October 1847 no fewer
than 7,576 patients sought refuge within its walls.
Of these 1,059 died-? a large number no doubt,?
THE OLD ROYAL INFIKMARY, 1820. (Affer Storm..)
sicians, on -a due consideration of certain cases
thought otherwise, no more were to be admitted,
and those taken in, so long as they remained
supernumeraries, were expected to pay sixpence
per day.?
Dr. John Stedman, on the 2nd of August, 1773,
was elected in place of Dr. Drummond, who had
emigrated to Bristol ; but his health was so infirm,
that in 1775 Dr. Black was chosen in his place,
and afterwards Dr. James Hamilton senior, long
one of the ornaments of the city; and after obtaining
also the office of physician to George
Heriot?s, the Trades Maiden, and Merchant Maiden
Hospitals, he superintended these benevolent insti-
&u$ions for upwards of fifty years.
As an estimate of the good accomplished it may
says a report,
?still, but for
such a house of
refuge, how
many more
would have
breathed out
their last amidst
the noxious
abodes of our
city, spreading
wider and wider
the pestilential
calamity which
has swept away
its thousands of
victims in all
parts of the
country.?
In the year
1848 the chap
lain was required
by new
regulations to
read a portion
of the Scrip
tures, and engage
in devotional
exercises in every ward in the house-a
duty which generally occupied about five hours ;
he had to meet the convalescent patients in chapel
for religious duty every evening ; to be ready to
attend the dying, and he had to preach twice on
Sunday to the nurses, servants, and all patients
who could attend.
In the old house over 5,000 patients were admitted
annually, of whom about 2,300 were surgid
cases. The average number of out-door patients
yearly was about 12,000, obtaining the benefit
of the highest professionai skill of the medical and
surgical officers, and receiving all the necessary
dressings, appliances, and comforts at the expense
of the house, which has an admirable sta?f of nurses
under a lady-superintendent. ... Street.] DR. HAMILTON. ? 301 of the instruments for the use of the wards ; and to each of these four ...

Book 4  p. 301
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454 BI 0 GRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
specimens brought home, a sketch of the geology of the different coasts disy
covered and touched upon by our enterprising navigators, which was published,
together with the botanical observations of his friends Brown and Hooker, and
formed the scientific companion to Parry’s interesting narrative.”
During the thirty-four years of his Professorship Mr. Jarneson had the
honour of sending forth from his class-room many pupils who afterwards
acquired a name in the world; and not a few of whom filled distinguished
places in the seminaries and scientific institutions of Europe. It wonld be
tedious to enumerate a tithe of these illustrious names ; but among others may
be mentioned-Dr. Flitton, late President of the Geological Society of London ;
Sir George Mackenzie, author of “ Travels in Iceland ;” Dr. Boue, President
of the Geological Society of France ; Dr. Daubeny, Professor of Chemistry at
Oxford; Dr. Grant, Professor of Zoology in the University of London; Dr.
Turner, Professor of Chemistry in the same seminary ; Dr. Hibbert, author of
the “ History of the Shetland Isles,” etc. etc.
Professor Jameson, equally respected at home and abroad, was connected,
lionorarily or otherwise, with almost every society for the promotion of natural
history throughout the world. He was a fellow of the Royal Societies of
London and Edinburgh ; President of the Wernerian, and fellow of the Antiquarian,
Koyal-Medical, Royal-Physical, Plinian, Highland, and Horticultural
Societies of Edinburgh ; honorary member of the Royal Irish Academy, and
of the Royal Society of Dublin; fellow of the Royal LinnEan, and Royal
Geological Societies of London; honorary member of the Asiatic Society of
Calcutta, etc. etc.’ .
ROBERT JOHNSTON, Esq., the extreme figure to the right, behind
Professor Jameson, was an active, public-minded citizen. His father, Robert
Johnston, at one period a banker, but latterly a grocer on the North Bridge,
and his uncle, the late Dr. Johnston, minister of North Leith, have both been
described in a previous part of this Work. Mr. Johnston was born in 1765.
Though not destined for any of the learned professions, he received an excellent
education, and possessed a taste and extent of information decidedly
superior to the generality of men in a mercantile sphere of life.’ On the death
of his father he succeeded to the business, which he carried on throughout a
period of nearly forty years with considerable success.
Mr. Johnston first became a member of the Town-Council in 1810, and was
elected one of the Bailies in 1812. In 1814 he was chosen Dean of Guild,
the duties of which office he discharged in an efficient manner, effecting many
improvements throughout the city, even in districts beyond the proper range of
Professor Jameson died at Edinburgh on 17th April 1854, in the fiftieth year of his Professor-
An inteiwting memoir of him by his son, Laurence Jame-
His bust by Sir
He was a member of the Antiquarian Society, and on terms of intimacy with Sir Walter Scott,
Sir Walter presented him
ship, and the eightieth year of his age.
son, was published in the “ Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal for July 1854.
John Steel1 may be seen in the University library.
whose school-fellow he had been, and by whom he was highly respected.
with a copy of hi8 poetical works, accoinpanied by a very flattering letter. ... BI 0 GRAPHICAL SKETCHES. specimens brought home, a sketch of the geology of the different coasts disy covered ...

Book 9  p. 605
(Score 0.76)

204 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Moray Place.
~~
reputation, but he was too much a votary of the
regular old rhetorical style of poetry to be capable
of appreciating the Lake school, or any others
among his own contemporaries; and thus he was
apt to make mistakes, draw wrong deductions as
to a writer?s future, and indulge in free-and-easy
condemcation.
He \vas passionately attached to his native city,
Edinburgh, and was always miserable when away
from it. It was all
the same through
life - he never
could reconcile
himself to new
places,new people,
or strange habits ;
and thcs it was
that his letters, in
age, from Oxford,
from London? and
America, teem
with complaints,
and longing for
home. His in.
dustry was indefatigable,
and his
general information
of the widest
range, perfectly
accurate, and alway-
s at command
He died in 1850,
in his seventyseventh
year, and
was borne from
Moray Place to
his last home in
the cemetery at
the Dean.
In No. 34 lived
the Hon. Baron
successively Sheriff of Berwickshire and of West
Lothian, Professor of Scots Law in the University
of Edinburgh, and Baron of Exchequer till the
abolition of the Court in 1830. His great work on
the Criminal Law of Scotland has been deemed the
text-book of that department of jurisprudence, and
is constantly referred to as an authority, by bench
and bar. It was published in 2 vols. quarto in
1799. He died at Edinburgh on the 30th August,
FRANCIS, LORD JEFFRLY. (A/er fhe Pmt7a.i 6y Cnluin Smith, R.S.R.)
David Hume, of the Scottish Exchequer in 1779
and 1780, nephew of the historian, and an eminent
writer on the criminal jurisprudence of the country,
one of the correspondents of the Mirror Club, and
who for many years sat with Sir Walter Scott, at
the Clerks? table in the first Division of the Court
of Session. . No. 47 was long the abode of Sir
James Wellwood Moncreiff, Bart., of Tullibole in
Kinross-shire, who was called to the Scottish bar
in 1799, and was raised to the bench in 1829,
under the title of Lord MoncreifT, and died in
1851.
His contemporary Baron Hume, tilled various
important situations with great ability, having been
1S38, and left in
the hands of the
secretary of the
Royal Society of
Edinburgh a valuable
collection of
MSS. and letters
belonging to, or
relating to his
celebrated uncle,
the historian of
England.
In Forres Street
-a short and
steep one opening
south from Moray
Place-No. 3 was
the residence of
the great Thomas
Chalmers, D.D.,
the leader of the
F r e e C h u r c h
movement, a largehearted,
patriotic,
and devout man,
and of whom it
has been said,
that he was preeminently
in the
unity of an undivided
life, at
once a man of
man of the world. God, a man of science, and a
He was born on the 17th of March, 1780. As a
preacher, it is asserted, that there were few whose
eloquence was capable of producing an effect
so strong and irresistible as his, without his ever
having recourse to any of the arts of common
pulpit enthusiasm.
His language was bold and magnificent; his
imagination fertile and distinct, gave richness to his
style, while his arguments were supplied with a vast
and rapid diversity of illustration, and all who ever
heard him, still recall Thomas Chalmers with serious
and deep-felt veneration.
He is thus described in his earlier years, and ... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Moray Place. ~~ reputation, but he was too much a votary of the regular old ...

Book 4  p. 204
(Score 0.76)

CRAMOND. 89
property of the bishops, which was not inconsiderable, was very unjustly
seized on by the greedy hand of Sir James Elphinstone, subsequently Lord
Balmerino.
Chambers tells us that on
the opposite bank of the creek of the Almond, on a craggy eminence, was
placed a fortification, and from that circumstance the name Car-Almond,
vulgarised into Cramond, is derived-Car-Almond meaning simply the Castle
on the Almond, Maitland, on the other hand, maintains that the name is
Saxon in its derivation, and signifies the mouth of the Cra. ‘Originally,’ he
says, ‘the name was Cra-muthe,’ as he has so read it amongst the benefactions
made to the church of Lindisfern, or Holy Island in Northumberland,
and which is synonymous with Cramond. ‘Now,’ he continues, ‘as there is an
easy transition between Cra and A, the name of the river may have been
changed from Cra-mter to AZmon-water.’ It is only right to add, however,
that our authority does not by any means dogmatise here, but only ‘humbly
submits it to the judgment of the curious reader.‘
Within the parish, and on one of the north-eastem slopes of the Corstorphine.
Hill, stand the fine old mansion-house and lands of Craigcrook Castle.
It belonged at one time to a certain John Strachan, Esq., of whom we know
nothing more than that at his death, in the year 1720, he mortified it as a
charitable gift-the income then amounting to A300, but now considerably
more than doubled-to be disbursed in annual sums of &3 each to a
specified number of poor old men, women, and orphans, in the city of Edinburgh.
But other memories, and no less dear, than those of the benevolent
Jolin Strachan, linger about it. Here, in this very romantic and picturesque
old mansion, with its battlemented walls and slate-covered turrets, clad with
ivy and roses, and nestling so warmly in its arbour of foliage, resided for
many years that sweet-blooded and noble-souled man, Lord Francis Jeffrey, of
Edinburgh Review renown, and here too were composed many of those
brilliant and trenchant articles which adorned the pages of by far the ;blest
Quarterly of the period. That Jeffrey’s pen was occasionally dipt in gall,
and that bitterly cruel and savagely earnest words now and then were born
of it, is true enough-the case of the poor, consumptive, richly-gifted Keats
is to the point,-but such fierce and terrific onslaughts appear rather to have
been accidental to the man than of set purpose: his papers on the whole
evincing a genial, generous, and encouraging tone, in perfect accord with his
naturally kind and amiable disposition. Subsequently, and not over twenty
years ago, the poet Gerald Massey, likewise, spent a short time in this same
The origin of the name is yet a mooted point.
M ... 89 property of the bishops, which was not inconsiderable, was very unjustly seized on by the greedy hand ...

Book 11  p. 142
(Score 0.76)

204 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
heirs, extended it first to the female line, and then vested in him the power of
nomination. Of this power he availed himself, having a short time before his
death nominated Sir John Hay of Killour-the immediate ancestor of the
present Earl-his successor ; and of course, under that character, he held it by
an undoubted right. The Lord Chancellor concluded by moving, “That the
Earl of Errol is duly elected,” which motion passed unanimously.
He died, after several months’ illness,
at London, on the 14th June 179s.’ His lordship married at Portpatrick, in
1790, Miss Blake, daughter of Joseph Blake of Ardfiy, county of Galway, in
Ireland ; but leaving no issue by her, the iitle devolved on his brother.
The Earl did not long enjoy his seat.
The other noble friend represented in the Print, is the Right Honourable
LORD HADDO, eldest son of the third Earl of Aberdeen, and brother to
Lord Rockville, noticed in an early part of this work. He married, in 1782,
Charlotte, youngest daughter of William Baird, Esq. of Newbyth, Haddingtonshire,
and sister of the late gallant Sir David Baird, Bart. and K.B.
Lord Haddo was a young nobleman of considerable public spirit, and much
esteemed by the citizens of Edinburgh. He was Grand Master Mason of Scotland
in 1783 and the two following years, and presided at the meeting of the
Grand Lodge in 1785, when the charter was granted for the institution of the
“ Lodge of the Roman Eagle,” formerly alluded to in our sketch of Dr. Brown.
His name is also associated with one of the most important improvements in
Edinburgh, he having the same year laid the foundation-stone of the South
Bridge. The masonic display on this occasion was very splendid-upwards of
eight hundred of the brethren walked in procession. The Grand Master was
supported on the right by the Duke of Buccleuch, and on the left by the Earl
of Balcarras. In the evening the Grand Lodge and a number of the nobility
and gentry were invited by the Lord Provost to an elegant entertainment in
Dunn’s Assembly-room.
Lord Haddo was cut off in the prime of life, in consequence of a fall from
his horse. His lady did
not long survive him: she died on the 8th October 1795. Their eldest son,
George, succeeded to the earldom on the death of his grandfather in 1801 ; the
second, William, entered the navy-he is presently M.P. for Aberdeenshire ;
the third, Alexander Gordon, was a lieutenant in the 3d Regiment of Foot Guards.
He was aide-de-camp t.0 his uncle, Sir David Baird, at the taking of the Cape of
Good Hope, Buenos Ayres, and Copenhagen-and in the Spanish expedition in
1808. He was sent home with the despatches respecting the battle of Corunna,
Lord Haddo left three other sons and one daughter.
He died at Formartine, on the 2d October 1791.
1 His lordship accompanied the expedition undertaken against Ostend the year previous. He was
then labouring under the disease which terminated his existence, and was subject to occasional attacks
of delirium. In this state of mind he is said to have disclosed the object of the expedition prematurely. ... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. heirs, extended it first to the female line, and then vested in him the power ...

Book 8  p. 287
(Score 0.75)

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 0.75)

344 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. Gwrge squarc
for transporting a finelydressed lady in a powdered
toupee. The public sedans were, for the most
part, in the hands of Highlanders, who generally
wore short tartan coats, and whose strange jargon
and fiery irritability of temper, amid the confusion
of a dissolving assembly or a dismissed theatre,
were deemed highly amusing. Now there is no
such thing as a private sedan in Edinburgh any
more than in London, and the use of public ones
has entirely ceased.
North of George Square, No. I, Park Place (now
removed to niake way for .the new university Medical Schools), was the town house of the Campbells of Succoth. Sir Islay, the first baronet, was Lord
distance from the east end of Teviot Row, the
class-room of the chair of music. This handsome
hall, though inadequate to the purposes for
which it is required, is in the Italian style, and is
the finest of the university class-rooms. It was
erected by order of the CouJt of Session, in 1861,
from funds which were bequeathed for the purpose
by General John Reid, the composer of the
spirited march, ?The Garb of Old Gaul,? to
words written by General Sir Harry Erksine,
and it has a museum containing an almost unique
collection of instruments, both acoustic and musical,
together with various other objects of interest
There is also a library of musical compositions
PARK PLACE, SHOWING CAYPBELL OF SUCCOTH?S HOUSE.
President of the Court of Session, under the title 01
Lord Succoth, and was descended from the house
of Argyle, and his mother was the only daughte1
and heiress of John Wallace of Elderslie. He was
one of the counsel for the defence in the great
Douglas cause, and brought to Edinburgh the first
tidings of Lord Douglas?s victory in the House of
Lords. A baronetcy was conferred upon the Lord
President when he retired from office in 1808, and
he died in 1823, after being long resident on his
estate of Garscube, whither his son, Sir Archibaldwho
in 1809 became a senator under the title of
Lord Succoth-also retired in 1824; and his great
house in PArk Place was latterly occupied as the
Edinburgh Ladies? Institution for Education, and
near it was the new Jewish Synagogue.
In Park Place (where Dr. Tait, the present
Archbishop of Canterbury, was born) stands, about
ninety yards west of Charles Street and the same
and treatises, which is one of the most complete
at present existing.
Perhaps the special feature is the magnificent
organ by Messrs. Hill and Son, which in some
points is unsurpassed. It contains four manuals
and sixty-six stops, of which latter eleven belong
to the ?pedal organ.? In this department of the
instrument are two specimens, both in wood and
in metal, of the rare register of ? 32 feet? These
pedal stops, and several on the manuals, of the
most exquisite softness and delicacy, are the
great points of this renowned instrument, which
has been completed by the present occupant of the
chair of music, Professor Sir Herbert Oakeley, who,
during the university term, gives fortnightly open
? I recitals,? which are much prized by students and
citizens. During late years the interior of the hall
has been much improved. Under ten panels the
name aHd date of the ten greatest composers have ... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. Gwrge squarc for transporting a finelydressed lady in a powdered toupee. The public ...

Book 4  p. 344
(Score 0.75)

62 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
No. XXVITI.
SIR JAMES HUNTER BLAIR, BART.,
LATE LORD PROVOST OF EDINBURGH,
Is here represented in his robes, and holding a plan of the South Bridge
in his hand. From Kay’s own authority we learn, that “he etched this Print
by express commission, for which he received a guinea for the first impression
and at the rate of half-a-guinea for another dozen.”
Sir James was the second son of Mr. John Hunter, merchant in Ayr, and
was born in that town on the 21st day of February 1741. His father acquired
considerable property in land and money, and left his children, who were still
young at his death, in easy circumstances. In the year 1756, Sir James was
placed as an apprentice in the house of the brothers Coutts, bankers in Edinburgh.
It was at this time that his friendship commenced with Sir William Forbes, who
was then a fellow-clerk in the Bank. Sir William, in a letter written after the
death of Sir James, observes, “Our friendship terminated only with his life,
after an intimacy which few brothers can boast of, during thirty-one years, in
which long period we never had a difference, nor a separation of interest.’’
After the death of Mr. John Coutts, the principal partner of the house, Sir
William and Mr. Hunter were admitted to a share of the business in 1763,’ and
gradually rose to the head of the copartnery.
In December 1770, he married Jane, eldest daughter of John Blair, Esq. of
Dunskey, in the county of Wigton. This lady’s father, at his death, left no
fewer than six sons, four of whom were alive at the time of their sister’s
marriage, but all having died, she succeeded, in 1777, to the family estate. Sir
James on this occasion assumed the name of Elair, and was afterwards, in the
year 1786, created a Baronet of Great Britain.
On the estate which had thus unexpectedly devolved to him he commenced
a plan of most extensive and judicious improvements. He nearly rebuilt the
town of Portpatrick ; he repaired and greatly improved the harbour ; established
packet-boats of a larger size on the much-frequented passage to Donaghadee
in Ireland ; and lastly, while the farmers in that part of Scotland were not
very well acquainted with the most approved modes of farming, he set before
them a successful example of the best modes of a,giculture, perhaps the greatest
service to his country which can be performed by a man in private life.
In September 1781, he was called, without any solicitation on his part, to
represent the city of Edinburgh in Parliament ; and at the general election in
summer 1784, he received the same honour; but before the end of the first
About this time Sir James fimt became a member of the Town-Council. ... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. No. XXVITI. SIR JAMES HUNTER BLAIR, BART., LATE LORD PROVOST OF EDINBURGH, Is here ...

Book 8  p. 88
(Score 0.75)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 121
On the way‘the prisoner behaved with much levity of manner, and
Williamson used to tell several amusing stones respecting him. While at
Amsterdam, Brodie met a Scots woman who asked him if he had been long
from Scotland, adding, that one Brodie, a citizen of Edinburgh, was accused of
robbing the Excise Office ; and that a great reward was offered for his apprehension.
In the same city he became acquainted with the person who had
committed a forgery on the Bank of Scotland. “He was a very clever fellow,”
said Brodie, “ and had it not been for my apprehension, I could have mastered
the process in a week.”
Before arriving in Edinburgh, Brodie was anxious to have his beard cropped,
an operation in which he had not indulged for several days. Afraid to trust
the razor in the hands of a person in his circumstances, Mr. Williamson offered
to act the part of tonsor, assuring the prisoner that he was well qualified for
the task. Brodie patiently submitted to the process, which was awkwardly and
very indifferently performed by thb man of captions and hornings. “ George,”
said he, as the last polishing stroke had been given, “ if you are no better at
your own business than you are at shaving, n person may employ you once, but
I’ll be - if ever he does so again ! ”
Williamson acquired considerable notoriety in his official capacity in 179 3
and subsequent years, among the “ Friends of the People,” to whom he became
obnoxious for his activity as an emissary of the law. Muir of Huntershill and
Palmer from Dundee were among the first and most distinguished of the
Reformers whom he arrested; and when the late Mr. Hamilton Roman,
accompanied by the Hon. Simon Butler, came from Dublin to challenge the
Lord Advocate,’ Williamson was prepared to welcome them, on their arrival
at Dumbreck‘s Hotel, with a’warrant for their apprehension.
In the performance of his duty Mr. Williamson displayed considerable tact
and address ; and, without rudeness, was firm and decided. He was a man of
more gentleness and humanity than individuals of his profession are generally
supposed to be. There are many instances in which he has been known, rather
than resort to extreme measures, to have himself paid the debt of the unfortunate
individual against whom he had diligence. Being Excise Constable, at that
time all the decreets for arrears of licenses were put in force through his hands,
under the direction of the late Mr. James Bremner, depute-solicitor of stamps, to
whom he invariably reported all cases of distress. The reply of that goodhearted
gentleman usually was-“I leave the matter to yourself, Mr. Williamson
; the Government do not wish to make beggars, though they may be
fond of the revenue.”
In extensive employment, T.7Tilliamson is understood to have at one time
realised a considerable fortune. He lived in the Lord President’s Stairs,
Parliament Square, but had a country house at Liberton, where he and his
1 Hamilton Rowan was then Secretary to the Society of United Irishmen j and some reflections
in which the Lord Advocate had indulged at the trial of Mnir were the -use of offence,
VOL. 11. R ... SKETCHES. 121 On the way‘the prisoner behaved with much levity of manner, and Williamson used to ...

Book 9  p. 162
(Score 0.75)

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