Edinburgh Bookshelf

Edinburgh Bookshelf

Search

Index for “Royal Edinburgh Volunteers”

84 QUEENSFERRY TO MUSSELBURGH.
the year 1636, when it was disjoined and erected into a parish and royal
burgh. The reasons which led to this we have not been able to learn ; but
no doubt they were quite satisfactory to the movers in the matter of that day.
As a regality its magistracy consists of a provost, a land bailie, two sea bailies,
a dean of guild, and a towncouncil. How these worthies demeaned themselves
in their ‘sage devisings for the public weal’ in days long gone by is
very amusing, as the burgh records relate ; but hardly less so than their more
distant successors, especially on the occasion of the election of a parishminister
or parliamentary representative. It is but a year or two since this
little sea-side town bulked very largely in the‘ public eye in these respects ; and
really, the way in which ‘those then in authority’ conducted themselves on
both occasions was ludicrously picturesque. We remember reading the
reports of their sayings and doings at the period, as given in the journals,
with the intensest zest-the Scotsman and the Dati‘y Revkw, for the time
being, actually taking the place of Punch and Fun, and affording almost as
great an amount of real hearty, laughable enjoyment. Not that we thought
meanly of the little burgh then, 01‘ wouId speak depreciatingly of it now : we
merely felt how absurdly funny it was that ‘honest folks,’ as a douce towncouncil,
should so entirely lose their heads, and break with common sense,
as to make themselves the 4pl dif of the nation in that very unenviable sense
of the phrase. -
The surroundings of this breezy little seaside town are very interesting.
A little to the west is a place called the Binks, rendered historical by the
landing of Edgar Atheling,. with his mother Agatha, and his sisters Margaret
and Christina, when driven forth by Norman conquest from home and
country ; Port Edgar, farther westward still, is hardly less memorable from
the twofold circumstance, of being the rock on which the same Saxon prince
landed a year after,-when again driven to seek safety in flight from the highhandedness
of dynastic usurpation, and the place selected, a few centuries
later, for the embarkation of his Majesty George IY., on his return, from his
visit to Scotland, into England ; then on the right again, and nearly half-way
to the other ferry, stands ‘ old Garvey’s castled cliff,’ abruptly lifting its huge
black back from the waters of the Firth, and threatening ‘ with its teethed
embrasures every daring foe,’ a bold and picturesque object; while on the
opposite shore, and within tidal mark, as sung by Cririe-
-
Rosyth
Lifts high her towering head, in ruins now,
Of noble Stuarts once the fortress strong,’

... QUEENSFERRY TO MUSSELBURGH. the year 1636, when it was disjoined and erected into a parish and royal burgh. ...

Book 11 p. 135
(Score 0.34)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 401
ance there than you will do with that vile, old-fashioned black wig which you
have worn for these last twenty years ! ”
The good clergyman, tired of private expostulation, resolved to change his
tactics. One Sabbath, when Sibby sat in the meeting-house, as she sometimes
did, her father chose to be very severe on the vanity and sinfulness of female
ornaments ; and went so minutely to work as to describe the very bonnet and
dress of Miss Sibilla ; yet this availed not. Sibby did not abridge the rotundity
of her bonnet a single inch, until compelled by an influence more powerful
than her father’s sermon-the dictates of fashion.
Sibby at length got tired of what appeared to her the everlasting sameness
of Edinburgh, and the dull monotony of a trip to Dalkeith. Besides, she considered
her professional talents worthy of a wider field. She therefore resolved
to establish herself in London, which she actually did about the year 1790, and
was succeeded in the shop and business by a sister, Mrs. Kid, wife of Captain
Kid, master of one of the London traders.
Respecting Miss Sibilla’s success in the great metropolis-how long she
remained, or how she relished the change of scene-we can say nothing; but
that she returned to Edinburgh is certain. She died there in the month of
February 1808. Her death is thus recorded :-“Lately at Edinburgh, Miss
Sibilla Hutton, daughter of the late Rev. William Hutton, minister of the gospel
at Dalkeith.”
No. CLIX.
MR. JOHN BENNET,
SURGEON.
THIS gentleman was born in Edinburgh, where his father, who originally came
from Fifeshire, carried on the business of a brewer. His mother was a daughter
of the Rev. Mr. Taylor, one of the ministers of the city. After completing
his studies at the University, MR BENNET obtained the appointment of Surgeon
to the Sutherland Fencibles, which were embodied in 1779. With his corps
he continued until it was disbanded in 1783, when he returned to Edinburgh,
and entered into partnership with Mr. Law of Elvingston, it medical gentleman
in good practice.‘
The late James Law, Esq., of Elvingston (East L0thian)descended from a family of some
antiquity in Fifedied at his house in York Place on the 3d June 1830. He w8s a member of the
Royal College of Physicians-much distinguished for his professional skill-and not less respected
for his virtues and benevolence in the domestic relations of life. An engraving, from a portrait of
Mr. Law by Sir Henry Raebnrn, was given to the public in 1836, by the Publisher of this Work.
3 F

... SKETCHES. 401 ance there than you will do with that vile, old-fashioned black wig which you have ...

Book 8 p. 559
(Score 0.34)

.BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 227
No. XCIV.
MR. MOSS,
IN THE CHARACTER OF '' CALEB."
THE fist notice of this comedian which we have been able to discover
occurs in the year 1773, when he is announced as performing at the Theatre-
Royal, Edinburgh. Gibbet, the first grave-digger in Hadet-Alonzo, in The
Tempest-and Justice Shallow, are the principal characters we find noted,
as personated by him, in the newspapers of that time.
After a lapse of nine years, during which period history or tradition say not
how or where he was employed, he returned to the Edinburgh boards ; and, immediately
after his benefit, the following advertisement occupied a conspicuous
place in the columns of the Evening Courant :-
" Mr. Moss takes the earliest opportunity of returning his sincere thanks,
and expressing his warmest gratitude to the public, for the uncommon favour
shown to him at his benefit on Monday night last [April 71. The great overflow
from every part of the theatre is a new proof that the liberal and generous
spirit of the inhabitants of this city never overlooks the smallest endeavours to
please them ; and their kindness, shown to a stranger, evinces that that hospitality
for which Scotland was ever renowned still flourishes in its pristine
vigour. He begs leave to add, that such a distinguished mark of approbation
will constantly stimulate him to increase his endeavours to contribute all in his
power to the entertainment of the public.-cANONGATE, 12th April 1783."
The play appears to have been a " comedy, never performed here, called
The School fur Mirth; or, Woman's a Riddle,"-in which be acted Aspen,
with the additional attraction of Miss Farren being cast for the part of Miranda.
The afterpiece was The Agreeable Surprke,-in which Moss played Lingo.
The next season was also passed in Edinburgh ; and, on the night of his
benefit (19th April 1784), Moss acted the part of Croaker, in Goldsmith's very
excellent, and, in our opinion, best comedy? The Good-natured Man, which,
in the advertisement, is stated never to have been before acted in Edinburgh.
Not content with the title conferred on it by the author-and perhaps, with
the view of rendering it still more attractive-it was styled, " or, The Whimsieul
Alarm."
Between the play and farce was produced a new comic interlude, called The
Good Woman without a Head;: or, Dhrmugh M'Finnan's Voyage to Am&+
the Good Woman without a Head, Mr. Moss. To which was added, for that
night only, a new musical farce, called Lingo's Wedding; being a sequel to
The song of " I'm the Daudy, 0," was written, as stated on the engraving, by R. T. Crosfield,
then a student of physic at the University, and first sung by Mr. Moss on the Edinburgh stage.

... SKETCHES. 227 No. XCIV. MR. MOSS, IN THE CHARACTER OF '' CALEB." THE fist notice ...

Book 8 p. 320
(Score 0.34)

30 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
No less remarkable for his wit and convivial powers, than for his more solid
qualities, Dr. Webster was as great a favourite at the social board as in the
pulpit.
A friend on whom he called one
day, and who was aware of his predilection for this liquor, said he would give him
a treat, adding that he had a bottle of claret which was upwards of forty years
old. The bottle was accordingly produced, but proved to be only a pint bottle.
“ Dear me,” said the disappointed Doctor, taking it up in his hand, “ but it’s
unco little 0’ its age !”
Upon another occasion, after he had, with a few friends, not spared the
bottle, some one inquired, “What would hie parishioners say if they met
him thus 1”-‘‘ What 8” says the Doctor, “ they wadna believe their ain een
although they saw it.”
This excellent and much-respected man died on the 25th January 1784, in
the seventy-seventh year of his age.
He was particularly fond of claret.
No. XI.
DR. JAMES GRAHAM GOING ALONG THE NORTH
BRIDGE IN A HIGH WIND.
HE is here represented in the dress’ in which he attended the funeral of Dr.
Gilbert Stuart, who died 28th August 1786, in white linen clothes and black
silk stockings, his usual attire. The lady walking before him is said to
resemble a Miss Dunbar, sister of Sir James Dunbar, Bart.
Dr. James Graham was born at the head of the Cowgate, Edinburgh, 23d
June 1745.
His father, Mr. William Graham, saddler in Edinburgh, was born in Burntisland
in 1710. He married in 1738, in Edinburgh, Jean Graham (born 1715),
an English lady; they had issue three daughters and two sons. The eldest
daughter was married to a Jlr. Smith ; the second to the celebrated Dr. Arnold
of Leicester, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh ; and the
third ta Mr. Begbie, town smith. James was the eldest son j both he and his
younger brother William studied medicine. The two brothers, in their early
years, were not unfrequently mistaken for one another, from their strong family
likeness, and from following the same profession. William, after practising
some time as physician, abandoned medicine entirely, and entered into holy
orders. He was an Episcopalian, and married the celebrated writer, Mrs.
Catharine Macaulay: sister to Alderman Sawbridge j she died at Binfield, in
1 This lady’s writings were 80 enthusiastically admired by the Rev. Dr. Wilson, prebendary of
Westminster, that during her lifetime he caused a statue of her, as the Goddess of Liberty, to be
aet up in the chancel of his church in Walhrook, which was, however, removed at hi8 death, by his
successor in office.

... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. No less remarkable for his wit and convivial powers, than for his more solid qualities, ...

Book 8 p. 39
(Score 0.34)

he barbarously threw the bodies on a great fire
that blazed in the fireplace of the tower; ?and
there in their armour they broiled and sweltered
like tortoises in iron shells.? Locking the doors,
the fugitives hurriedly and stealthily reached the
tower-head unseen. The attendant lowered himself
down first over the abutting crag, which there is
more than zoo feet in height, but the cord proving
too short it slipped from his hands, and he fell to
the bottom senseless.
This must have been a terrible crisis for the
blood-stained Albany ! Hurrying back to his now
horrible apartment in the tower, he dragged the
sheets from his bed, added them to the rope,
looped it round an embrasure, and lowered himself
safely down over rampart and rock to the bottom,
where he found his attendant lying helpless, with a
broken thigh Unwilling to leave him to ptrish,
Albany, with a sentiment that contrasts singularly
with his recent ferocity, raised him on his shoulders,
and being a man of unusual strength and
Stature, he actually conveyed him to Leith, a distance
of two miles; and, when the sun rose, the
ship, with Albany, was out on the German sea.
Daylight revealed the rope and twisted sheets
hanging over the rampart of the tower. An alarm
was given, which the dreadful stench from the
locked chamber must have increased. The door
was opened. Albany was gone, but the half-con-
Qumed corpses were found in the fireplace; and
James 111. refused to believe in a story so incredible
till he had visited the place in person.*
Albany fled to England, the king of which refused
to deliver him up. Thus war was declared,
and James marched from the Burghmuir with
$0,000 men and a train of guns, under the master
of the ordndnce, a stone-mason, whom, with great
impolicy, he had created Earl of Mar. At Lauder
the nobles halted; hanged all the king?s minions
over the bridge in horse-halters, and disbanded
the troops j and then the humbled and luckless
James returned to the Castle, where for many
months, in 1481, he remained a species of prisoner
in the custody of its commanders, the Earls of
Athol and Buchan, who,? it has been supposed,
would have murdered him in secret had not the
Lord Darnley and other loyal barons protected
him, by never leaving his chamber unguarded by
night or day. There he remained in a species of
honourable durance, while near him lay in 3 dungeon
the venerable *Earl of Douglas, who scorned
to be reconciled, though James, in his humility,
made overtures to him. He appealed at last to
Lindesay, Diummond, Scott, Buchan, &c.
England for aid against his turbulent barons, and
Edward IV. (though they had quarrelled about a
matrimonial alliance, and about the restoration of
Berwick) sent Richard, Duke of Gloucester; north,
at .the head of 10,000 auxiliaries, who encamped
on the Burghmuir, where the Duke of Albany, who
affected a show of loyalty, joined them, at the very
time that the rebellious nobles of lames were
sitting in council in the Tolbooth. Thither went
Albany and Gloucester, the ? crookbacked Dick?
of Shakspere and of Bosworth, attended by a
thousand gentlemen of both countries, and the
parties having come to terms, heralds were sent to
the Castle to charge the commander thereof to
open the gates and set the king at liberty; after
which the royal brothers, over whose fraternisation
Pitscottie?s narrative casts some ridicule, rode
together, he adds, to Holyrood, ? quhair they remained
ane long time in great merrines.?
William Bertraham, Provost of Edinburgh, with
the whole community of the city, undertook to
repay to the king of England the dowry of his
daughter the Lady Cecil, and afterwards they
fulfilled their obligations by repaying 6,000 merks
to the Garter King-at-Arms. In acknowledgment
of this loyal service James granted to the city the
patent known as its ?Golden Charter,? by which
the provost and bailies were created sheriffs of
their own boundaries, with other important privileges.
Upon the craftsmen he also conferred a
banner, said to have been made by the queen and
her ladies, still preserved and known popularly as
the ? Blue Blanket,? and it was long the rallying
point of the Burgher-guard in every war or civic
broil. Thus, Jarnes VI., in the ? Basilicon Doron,?
points out to Prince Henry-? The craftsmen think
we should be content with their work how bad
soever it be ; and if in anything they be controuled,
up goes the Blue Blanket ! ?
This banner, according to Kincaid, is of blue
silk, with a white St. Andrew?s cross. It is swallowtailed,
measuring in length from the pole ten feet
two inches, and in breadth six and a half feet. It
bears a thistle crowned, with the mottoes : ?Fear
God and honour the King with a long lyffe and
a prosperous reigne ; ? and ?? And we that is Trades
shall ever pray to be faithful1 for the defence of
his sacred Maiesties royal person till Death.?
Jarnes 111. was noted about this time for the
quantity of treasure, armour, and cannon he had
stored up in the Castle, his favourite residence.
In David?s Tower stood his famous black kist
(probably the same which is now in the Crown
room), filled with rare and costly-gems, gold and
silver specie, massive plate, and a wonderful C6!-

... barbarously threw the bodies on a great fire that blazed in the fireplace of the tower; ?and there in their ...

Book 1 p. 34
(Score 0.34)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 377
trable to all such assaults. It did not fail, however, to excite the notice of his
opponents north of the Tweed ; and we have seen by the ‘‘ Patent of Knighthood”
how the artist improved upon the suggestion.
Notwithstanding his temporary unpopularity, Sir James was subsequently
at the head of the Magistracy in 1794-5, and again in 1798-9. During the
latter warlike period his conduct was truly meritorious. Scottish commerce
had suffered considerably from the attacks of French and Dutch privateers,
even on our very coasts, which had been left in a shamefully unguarded
condition. By the representations of Sir James, and his judicious applications
to Government, proper convoys were obtained for the merchantmen, and due
protection afforded to our bays. He zealously forwarded the plan of arming
the seamen of Leith and the fishermen of Newhaven, by which a strong body
of men were organised in defence of the harbour and shipping.
So highly were the services of Sir James appreciated, that at the annual
Convention of the Royal Burghs of Scotland (of which he was preses), held at
Edinburgh in 1799, the thanks of the Convention were presented to him in a
gold box, “for his constant attention to the trade of the country, and in
testimony of the Convention’s sense of his good services in procuring the
appointment of convoys, and in communicating with the outports on the
subject .”
In private life he was
very much respected : of mild, gentlemanly manners, but firm in what he judged
to be right. His habits were economical, but not parsimonious ; and the party
entertainments given at his house were always in a style of magnificence. In
person, he was tall and extremely attenuated.’
At one period Sir James resided in St. Andrew Square, the first house
north from Rose Street; and latterly at the west end of Queen Street, not
far from the Hopetoun Rooms. He acquired the estate of Larbert, in
Stirlingshire, which, with his title of Baronet, descended to his son, Sir Gilbert
Stirling, then a Lieutenant in the Coldstream Guards. He left another son,
George, who on the 25th December 1820 married Anne Henrietta, daughter
of William Gray of Oxgang, Esq. He had also two daughters, Janet and Joan,
the former of whom was married to Admiral Sir Thomas Livingstone of Westquarter,
near Falkirk.
Sir James Stirling died on the 17th February 1805.
1 It is related of Sir James, that on being pointed out to a countq woman while walking, attired
in his velvet robes, in a procession, she exclaimed-‘‘ Is that the Lord Provost I I thocht it was the
corpse rinnin’ awa’ wi’ the mort-cloth.”
30

... SKETCHES. 377 trable to all such assaults. It did not fail, however, to excite the notice of ...

Book 8 p. 526
(Score 0.34)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 155
No. CCXXIV.
THE CITY T R 0 N -31 EN ;
CHPNNEY-S WEEPERS.
THE personal history of these men is almost entirely unknown ; and probably
few incidents in their humble progress through life would be found worthy of
recording. The elder of the two, DAVIDG ILCHRISTw,a s a worthy enough
person in his way ; and he is still remembered by some of the sable fraternity
of Edinburgh. He lived in the College Wynd, off the Cowgate.
At a remote period, there was only one individual of the name of Hamilton
-resident in the West Port ‘--who devoted his attention solely to the sweeping
of chimneys. He kept a number of men and boys in his employment;
but the city, notwithstanding, was very indifferently supplied. In order to
remedy this state of things-as well as to avoid the barbarous system of
“ climbing boys ” twelve men, previously porters, were appointed chimneysweepers
for the city, with an annual allowance of one guinea, and certain other
perquisites. They were called “ Tron-men,” from the circumstance of their
being stationed at the Trone,’ or public beam for weighing, which formerly
stood in front of the Tron Church.
A small wooden apartment was subsequently erected for them at the east end
of the City Guard-House, in which to deposit their apparatus ; and where the
men themselves were daily in waiting, ready to supply, in rotation, the demands
of their customers. In case of fire occurring, the duty of keeping watch at
night in the Guard-House devolved on one of their number alternately.
In the Print, the dress and apparatus of the “ City Tron-men ” are accurately
described. They wore flat bonnets--a coat peculiarly formed-and kneebreeches
and buckles-with a short apron. A ladder-a besom-with a coil
Hamilton resided a little to the west of the Vennel, and w89 known by the name of “ Sweep
The Trone appears to have been used as a pillory for the punishment of crime. In Nichoh Diary
for 1649, it is stated that “much falset and cheitting was dailie deteckit at this time by the Lords of
Sessioune ; for the whilk there was dailie hanging, skucging, nailing of lugs [ears], and Ending of
people to the TRONE, a d boring of tongues ; so that it was one fatal year for false notaries and
witnesses, as dailie experience did witness.” The wagh-house, wbich stood at the head of the West
Bow, built probably about the beginning of the seventeenth century, 85 a substitute for the Tmm,
was removed in 1822, on the King’s visit to Scotland, in order to make way for the Royal procession
to the Castle.
Jack.” He died about the end of last century.

... SKETCHES. 155 No. CCXXIV. THE CITY T R 0 N -31 EN ; CHPNNEY-S WEEPERS. THE personal history of ...

Book 9 p. 208
(Score 0.34)

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 0.34)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 19
While Mackay was a subaltern, he travelled through France and Italy, and
other parts of Europe, for the purpose principally of acquiring a knowledge of
modern languages. While the members of the
Royal Family of France resided at Holyrood House, where the Adjutant-
General’s office was then kept, he often had occasion to meet them, and sometimes
to act as an interpreter, particularly at dinner parties, to which he was
frequently invited.
At the commencement of the second French war, in 1803, he became a
Major-General ; and at different periods subsequently the Chief Command of
the Forces in Scotland devolved upon him.
The Print affords an excellent portraiture of the Adjutant-General.’ He
obtained the soubriquet of ‘‘ Buckram,” from the stiffness of his appearance. In
military phrase, he walked as if he had swallowed a halbert; and his long
queue, powdered hair, and cocked hat, were characteristic of a thorough-bred
soldier of the olden time. He was much esteemed by all with whom he was
connected. He was rather abstemious in diet, and singularly correct and
methodical in all his habits of life. He lived a bachelor, and died after a short
illness, at his house, South St. Andrew Street, on the 26th April 1809, in the
sixty-eighth year of his age. He had thus been on the Staff in Scotland during
a period of not less than thirty years ; and, in discharging the important duties
of his various appointments, his conduct was characterised by the strictest
fidelity and honour.
A handsome tribute was paid to his memory by Lord Cathcart, wllo was
then Commander of the Forces in Scotland.
He spoke French fluently.
No. CLXXVII.
ALLAN DIACONOCHIE, LORD MEADOTVBANK.
THE late LORDM EADOWBANKso, n of Alexander hfaconochie, writer in Edinburgh,
was born on the 26th January 1748. He was in early age placed
under the tuition of Dr. Alexander Adam, afterwards Rector of the High School
of Edinburgh, who acted as his private teacher, and from whom he acquired
that taste for classical studies which he retained throughout life. He subsequently
entered the University of Edinburgh ; and being destinqd for the bar, attended
the usual classes. In 1764 he and other five students: with the view of
1 Wet and dry the old General was daily to be seen with the umbrella under hi8 arm.
These were, William Creech (bookseller) ; John Bonar (afterwards Solicitor of the Excise) ;
John Brace (Professor of Logic) ; Henry Mackenzie (author of “The Man of Feeling ”) ; and Mr.
Belches. Eilr. Charles Stuart was admitted a member at their firat meeting.

... SKETCHES. 19 While Mackay was a subaltern, he travelled through France and Italy, and other parts of ...

Book 9 p. 25
(Score 0.34)

the permanent and undisputed capital of Scotland.
Sorrow and indignation spread over all the realm
when the fate of James was heard, and no place
seemed to afford such security to the royal person
as the impregnable Castle of Edinburgh j thus
Queen Jane, ignorant of the ramifications of that
.conspiracy by which her princely husband was
,slain (actually in her arms), instantly joined her
.son James II., who since his birth had dwelt
there. It was then in the hands of William Baron
.of Crichton-a powerful, subtle, and ambitious
statesman, who was Master of the Household.
with every solemnity, on the 25th of March, 1437.
The queen-mother was named his guardian, with
an allowance of 4,000 merks yearly, and Archibald
the great Earl of Uouglas and Angus (Duke of
Touraine) was appointed lieutenant-general of the
kingdom. During the two subsequent years the
little king resided entirely in the Castle under the
custody of Crichton, now Lord Chancellor, greatly
to the displeasure of the queen and her party, who
found him thus placed completely beyond their
control or influence.
In short, it was no longer the queen-mother,
RUINS OF THE WELL-HOUSE TOWER. (~m a D7awifirb W ~ Z Z ~ ~ X . paton, R.s.A.)
Within forty days nearly all concerned in the
imurder of the late king were brought to Edinburgh,
where the ignoble were at once consigned
to the hangman; but for the Earl of Athol and
bother titled leaders were devised tortures worthy
.alone of Chinese or Kaffir ingenuity. Crowned
by a red-hot diadem as " King of Traitors," at the
Market Cross, after undergoing three days of un-
.exampled agonies in sight of the people and the
Papal Nuncio, afterwards Pius II., the body of the
earl was dragged nude through the streets ; it was
then beheaded and quartered.
On the assembly of the Lords of Parliament,
-their first care was the coronation of James II.,
-who was conducted in procession from the Castle
$0 the church of Holyrood, where he was crowned,
but the crafty Crichton, who had uncontrolled
custody of the little sovereign, and who thus was
enabled to seize the revenues, and surround him
by a host of parasites, who permitted neither her,
nor the Regent, Sir Alexander Livingstone of
Callender, to have any share in the government
A bitter feud was the consequence, and Scotland
again was rent into two hostile factions, a state of
matters of which the English could not, as usual,
make profit, as they were embroiled among themselves.
The queen remained with the regent at
Stirling, while her son was literally a prisoner at
Edinburgh ; but, womanlike, the mother formed a
plan of her own to outwit the enemy.
Visiting the Castle, she professed a great regard
for the Chancellor, and a desire to be with her son,

... permanent and undisputed capital of Scotland. Sorrow and indignation spread over all the realm when the fate ...

Book 1 p. 29
(Score 0.34)

II 7 7 AND THE VALE OF THE ESK. I39
Dalkeith, there to remain solitary.” Charles I., on his progress to and from
Edinburgh in 1633, rested there one night each way, being entertained with
much splendour by the Earl of Morton. Dalkeith, too, was chosen for the place
of sitting of the Council and Exchequer in 1637 ; and here must have been
discussed the sore subjects of the Book of Canons and Laud‘s Service Book.
A year later, when the King and the Covenanters were in strife, Dalkeith was
among the places attacked. ‘On Saturday, the 22d March 1639,’ some of
the chief Covenanters went thither, ‘and with them 1000 commandit musqueteires’
On the estate being delivered to them they discovered, in a ‘ seller,
dowcat, and draw-well,’ shot, powder, and muskets, all of which they carried at
night to Edinburgh, together with the royal insignia of the kingdom, crown,
sword, and sceptre. As they were proceeding with their regal burden from
Dalkeith to the capital t thrie staris fell doun above the thrie honoris of the
kingdome,’ and the omen was understood by the Covenanting lords as ‘prognosticating
the falling of the monarchical1 government from the royal1 family
for a tyme.”
The Castle and Manor of Dalkeith were purchased in 1642 by Francis,
second Earl of Buccleuch, who, dying in 1651, left two little daughters, Mary
and Anne. Cromwell had entered Scotland in the July of the year before.
Dunbar was fought in September ; and, when Cromwell pursued Charles 11.
into England, General Monk was left in Scotland to keep that country in
order. Dalkeith, only six miles from the capital, was then an important place.
Here met the Eight Commissioners appointed by the English Long Parliament
to manage the incorporation of Scotland with the English Commonwealth.
The town was filled with the representatives of the counties and
burghs, called to consult with the Commissioners as to the great business.
’After Cromwell was proclaimed Protector, and ‘the session of the Eight
Commissioners was at an end, the ‘great concourse of the English army’ was
still in Dalkeith. The seats of the old church of St. Nicholas were taken
out, the kirk being so filled with horse and guards that neither sermon nor
session could be kept therein.’ The key of the poor‘s-box was lost; the
contents of the penalty-box were stolen ; and the very minister was drighted
to come near his own parish !
Here one of his
sons died. The body was buried in the chancel of the parish church. Here
For five years the Palace was leased by General Monk.
Chambers‘s DornufiC Annals of ScotZand-Reign of James VI.
NicoZrs Diary. p. 78, Bannatyne Club, Edinburgh. x838,-&fe Statistical Account of
&tland-Dalkeith.

... 7 7 AND THE VALE OF THE ESK. I39 Dalkeith, there to remain solitary.” Charles I., on his progress to and ...

Book 11 p. 198
(Score 0.34)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 45
to the window, when, 10 ! the '' battalion " turned out to be Lord Binning
(afterwards Earl of Haddington) who was receiving military instructions from
the redoubtable Sergeant-Major.
On
one occasion, when at drill, Gould called out to the regiment" Steady, gentlemen,
steady ; a soldier is a mere machine. He must not move-he must not
speak-and, as for thinking, no ! no !-no man under the rank of a field-officer
is allowed to think !"
In short, what between his broad humour and absurd pomposity, the gentlemen
privates of the regiment bore from him what they would not have submitted
to from the Lieutenant-Colonel or any of the officers. When the regiment
was reduced in 1814, his full-pay was continued to him for life-a benefit he
did not long enjoy. Until the day of his death he always wore his full-dress
regimentals.
Gould's notions of military discipline are best given in his own words.
No. CLXXXVI.
MR. BENJAMIN BELL,
SURGEON.
THIS eminent surgeon was a native of Dumfriesshire,l where his progenitors
possessed the estate of Blackett House for several centuries. This property
having devolved to him on the death of his grandfather, he gave a remarkable
instance of disinterested generosity, by disposing of it, and applying the proceeds
in educating himself and the younger branches of the family-fourteen in nnmber.
The judgment displayed in this step continued to characterise Mr. Bell
through life ; and few instances are on record in which a sacrifice so liberal has
been followed by a more complete reward.
Having received an excellent classical education under Dr. Chapman, Rector
of the grammar-school at Dumfries, Mr. Bell became the apprentice of Mr. Hill,
a much esteemed surgeon there ; and, by the ardour with which he discharged
his duties, speedily acquired the confidence and friendship of his master.
In 1766 he repaired to the University of Edinburgh; and, while he eagerly
embraced the numerous opportunities of improvement afforded by the eminent
Professors of the day, he commended himself to their regard by his uncommon
assiduity, and laid the foundation of that celebrity which he afterwards
attained.
In 1770, Mr, Bell was admitted a member of the Royal College of Surgeons;
and, after devoting two years to study in London and Paris, he returned to
Edinburgh, and commenced business about the close of 1772. He entered into
public life with no adventitious support, having scarcely any friends in Edinburgh,
His father, Mr. George Bell, had in early life been engaged in the Levant trade ; but, haring
met with serious losses, and been made prisoner by the Spaniards, he retired to a farm in Eskdale,
belonging to the Duke of Bucclench, where he lived to an advanced age.

... SKETCHES. 45 to the window, when, 10 ! the '' battalion " turned out to be Lord ...

Book 9 p. 60
(Score 0.34)

21 EIOG RAP HI GAL SKETCH E S.
No. CLXXVIII.
GENERAL JAMES GRANT OF BALLINDALLOCH.
GENERAL GRANT entered the army as an ensign in the Royal Regiment in
1741, at the age of twenty-one, having previously applied himself to the study
of the law. In 1747 he was Aide-de-camp to General St. Clair on his embassy
to Vienna, to which David Hume, the historian, acted as secretary. On the
journey, Hume and Sir Henry Erskine, General St. Clair’s other Aide-de-camp,
quarrelled, and would not exchange words, on which occasion Captain Grant
had the difficult task of keeping up the conversation, while all four travelled
in the same carriage, so as to conceal from General St. Clair the terms on
which the other two stood. He saw a good deal of service both in the Low
Countries and in America : in the latter he held several high commands during
the war. He was second in command to Lord Albemarle at the taking of the
Havannah, directed the attack on the Morne Fortunbe at St. Lucia, and was
afterwards Governor of East Florida, After having been for some years
Governor of Dumbarton Castle, he was appointed in 1789 to the Government
of that of Stirling, in the room of Lieutenant-General Mackay, and was Colonel,
first of the 55th, and afterwards of the 11th Regiment of Foot. He represented
the county of Sutherland in Parliament for many years, and was an intimate
friend of Lord Melville and Mr. Pitt, as also of the Earls of Sutherland and
Panmure! and of General Scott of Balconie. When walking one day with the
last of these, Nisbet of Dirleton satirically remarked--“ There go the Imepam6Zes
-an honest but a simple pair.“
General Grant was one of the most noted bow vivants of his day; and
when travelling was always accompanied by his cooks. It was an established
rule with him not to hazard his palate on any dish until its quality had been
previously ascertained. While in command of the forces in the north of
England, where he kept an open table for his military friends, he would say to
his Aide-de-camp--“ Monypenny, have you ate of that dish more than once 8”
If answered in the affiative, he would add-“Then be kind enough to help
me.” He usuallf spent the winter in London, where the Prince of Wales
and the Duke of York frequently partook of his good cheer, and where he
daily entertained small and select parties. During summer he kept open house
at his country residence of Ballindalloch, beautifully situated on the banks of
the Spey and Avon, in Morayshire ; and spared no expense on its improvement.
Some parts of the waste lands, it is said, cost him at the rate of one hundred
pounds per acre ; but he used to say that he would rather “ Buy land at that
rate on his own estate than at a very low one anywhere else.’’ It was a maxim

... EIOG RAP HI GAL SKETCH E S. No. CLXXVIII. GENERAL JAMES GRANT OF BALLINDALLOCH. GENERAL GRANT entered the ...

Book 9 p. 28
(Score 0.34)

276 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
where he greatly distinguished himself, he was severely wounded, but was soon
enabled to join the regiment.
In 1818 he was promoted to be Sergeant-Major; and in 1825 had the
honour of being raised to the rank of Adjutant. Not long after he retired on
half-pay, and died at Ayr, on the 8th October 1833.
Sergeant Duff (for we must still call him Sergeant) was twice married. The
manner in which he obtained his first helpmate is somewhat romantic. The
lady was daughter to a Lieutenant Hay, who happened to be quartered at Leith
Fort at the time the Forty-second Regiment remained in Edinburgh Castle.
An intimacy had existed betwixt the L?eutenant and Duff; and on occasion
of his daughter’s intended marriage with some neighbouring swain, the latter
was invited to the nuptial ceremony, which was to take place at her father’s
residence in Perthshire. This occurred in 1817. Duff was then with the
regiment in Glasgow, but he travelled all the way; and unluckily for the
bridegroom, arrived a post too soon. He was of course introduced to the
bride, a blooming, beautiful girl, whom he rallied on the subject of her marriage.
(‘ What a pity,” said he, (( that one so young should be bound with hymeneal
chains: had I known sooner”-but this is all that is recorded of the
“sweet words” employed at the interview by the veteran, though still young
and handsome, soldier of Waterloo. From that moment the lady would have
nothing more to say to her former lover. The marriage feast had been prepared
-the parties were met, and the priest was there; but “ in vain they sought
the bride by bower and ha”’-the discarded bridegroom went home without
.his bride. Sergeant Duff, in the meantime, returned to his regiment at Glasgow ;
but in a very few weeks thereafter revisited his friend the Lieutenant, and
was married to his daughter.
Unfortunately she did not long enjoy the society of her (‘ soldier laddie,”
as she died in a few years afterwards, Sergeant Duff subsequently married
while stationed in Ireland. His widow and three children survived, but according
to information received they were not left in affluent circumstances.
It is gratifying to reflect that the “ Royal Highlanders” still maintain the
high character they so early obtained for sobriety and orderly conduct ; and that
they invariably carry with them the esteem and best wishes of those amongst
whom they have been quartered. After an absence of twenty years-in Ireland,
Gibraltar,’ the Island of Malta, Corfu, etc.-they arrived in Edinburgh in
September 1836 ; and although not received with such demonstrations as
awaited them in 1816, the welcome was such as to convince them that they
were hailed as countrymen and friends.
During the period of eleven yearn, in which the regiment was stationed at Gibraltar, Malta,
and the Ionian Isles, only one hundred and fifteen died, sixty of whom were carried off by the
epidemic which raged in Gibraltar in 1828.

... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. where he greatly distinguished himself, he was severely wounded, but was soon enabled ...

Book 9 p. 366
(Score 0.34)

84 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [The Water of Leith.
he was again in his native city, when he re-entered
.the Academy, then under the charge of Sir
William Allan, and won the friendship of that
eminent landscape painter the Rev. John Thomson,
minister of Duddingstone, whose daughter he
married. After remaining five years on the Continent,
studying the works of all the great masters
in Venice, Bologna, Florence, and Rome, he settled
in London in 1838, &here his leading pictures began
to attract considerable attention. Among them
brance,? as the inscription recods it, ?of his unfailing
sympathy as a friend, and able guidance as
a master.?
His brother, James Eckford Lauder, R.S.A., died
in his fifty-seventh year, on the 29th of February,
1869-so little time intervened between their deaths.
In an old house, now removed, at the north end
of Silvermills, there lived long an eminent collector
of Scottish antiquities, also an artist-W. B. Johnstone,
soine of whose works are in the Scottish
THE EDINBURGH ACADEMY.
were the U Trial of Effie Deans ? and the ? Bride
of Lammermuir,? ?? Christ walking on the Waters,?
and ? Christ teaching Humility,? which now hangs
in the Scottish National Gallery. His pictures are
all characterised by careful drawing and harmonious
colouring. He was made a member of the Royal
Scottish Academy in 1830.
Returning to Edinburgh in 1850,he was appointed
principal teacher in the Trustees? Academy, where
he continued to exercise considerable influence on
the rising school of Scottish art, till he was struck
with paralysis, and died on the zIst April, 1869,
at Wardie. A handsome monument was erected
over his grave in Wamston Cemetery by his students
of the School of Design, ? in grateful remem-
Gallery, where also hangs a portrait of him, painted
by John Phillip, R.A.
At the north-west corner of Clarence Street, in
the common stair entering from Hamilton Place,
near where stands a huge Board School, there long
resided another eminent antiquary, who was also a
member of the Scottish Academy-the well-known
James Drurnmond, whose ? Porteous Mob ? and
other works, evincing great clearness of drawing,
brilliancy of colour, and studiously correct historical
and artistic detail, hang in the National Gallery.
Immediately north of Silvermills, in what was
~ formerly called Canonmills Park, stands the
Edinburgh Deaf and Dumb Institution, a large
square edifice, built a little way back from Hender

... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [The Water of Leith. he was again in his native city, when he re-entered .the Academy, ...

Book 5 p. 84
(Score 0.34)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 249
gentleman of our acquaintance relates that he one day happened -to pounce upon
him at his seat of Tarlogie. Lord Ankerville had then reached his seventy-fifth
year. Being alone, he had just sat down to dinner ; and not having expected a
strauger, he apologised for his uncropped beard. Our friend was, of course,
welcomed to the board, and experienced the genuine hospitality of a Highland
mansion. After having done ample justice to the table, and when his lordship
had secured a full allowance of claret under his belt, he went to his toilette, and,
to the astonishment of his guest, appeared at supper cleanly and closely shaved,
to whom he remarked, that his hand was now more steady than it would have
been in the morning.
Lord Ankerville died at his seat of Tarlogie on the 16th August 1805, in the
seventy-eighth year of his age. His residence in Edinburgh was in St. Andrew
Square.
No. CI.
FRANCIS HOME, M.D.,
PROFESSOR OF MATERIA MEDICA IN THE UNIVERSITY OB EDINBURGH!
AND ONE OF THE KING’S PFIYSICIANS FOR SCOTLAND.
DR. HOME was born on the 17th November 1719. He was the third son of
Mr. Home of Eccles, an advocate, and author of fieveral works, professional and
historical. He placed his son under the charge of Mr. Cruickshanks of Dunse,
then esteemed one of the best classical scholars and teachers, and who had the
faculty of inspiring his scholars with a taste for classical learning. Mr. Home
having chosen medicine as a profession, served an apprenticeship with Mr.
Rattray, then the most eminent surgeon in Edinburgh. He afterwards studied
under the medical Professors of the University of Edinburgh of the period ;
and applied with so much zeal and assiduity as frequently to obtain the approbation
of his teachers. He contracted friendships with many of his fellow students,
which lasted through life ; and he was among the few who founded the Royal
Medical Society, which has continued to the present day, and has contributed
greatly to the celebrity of the Edinburgh school of medicine. After finishing
his studies Mr. Home obtained a commission of surgeon in a regiment of
dragoons, and joined it on the same day with his friend the late Sir William
Erekine. He served in Flanders with that regiment during the whole of the
“ seven-years’ war.” Amidst the din of arms, and the desultory life of soldiers,
Mr. Home did not spend his time in idleness. He discharged his duty so faithfully
that he often received the approbation of his superior officers, and especially
of Sir John Pringle, the head of the medical department of that army ; and he
laid up a store of medical facts, many of which he afterwards published. At the
end of several campaigns, instead of partaking of the relaxation and dissipation
. of winter quarters, Mr. Home, as often as he could obtain leave of absence, went
2 K

... SKETCHES. 249 gentleman of our acquaintance relates that he one day happened -to pounce upon him at ...

Book 8 p. 349
(Score 0.34)

76 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [The Water of Leith.
~ ?? Raeburn married Ann Edgar, daughter of Peter
Edgar, Esq., of Bridgelands, Peebles-shire, and
widow of James Leslie, Count of Deanhaugh, St.
Bernard?s. Ann Leslie had by her first husband
one son, who was drowned, and two daughters
-Jacobina, who married Daniel Vere, Sheriffsubstitute;
and Ann, who married James Philip ?
Inglis, who died in Calcutta, and left two sons-
Henry Raeburn Inglis, deaf and dumb, and Charles
James Leslie Inglis, late of Deanhaugh . . . .
was a favourite residence for those connected with
art and literature; for, in addition to her father,
the professor, and Robert Chambers, many others
bad their dwellings here at different times.
The chief of these was Sir Henry Raeburn, who
was born on the 4th of March, 1756, in a little
slated cottage that stood by the side of the mill-lade,
where the western part of Horn Lane now stands.
It was within a garden, and pleasantly situated,
though immediately adjoining the premises of his
ST. RHRNARD?S WELL, 1825. (Afi?wEwbik.)
father, Rob& Raeburn, who was a yarn-boiler.
Northward of it was a fruit orchard, where Saunders
Street now stands. Southward and west Iay the
base of the beautiful grounds of Drumsheugh, where
now India and Mackenzie Places are built.
In his sixth year Henry Raeburn lost both his
parents, and he was admitted into Heriot?s Hospital
in 1765, and in 1772 he left it, to be apprenticed
to a goldsmith, Mr. James Gdliland, in the
Parliament Close, to whom he soon gave proofs of
his ingenuity and artistic taste We have already
referred to Raeburn in our account of the Scottish
Academy, and need add little here concerning his
artistic progress and future fame.
?At the age of twenty-two,? says, a writer,
Raebum painted a portrait of his much cared-for
half grandson, Henry, holding a rabbit, as his
diploma picture, now in the private diploma room
of the Royal Academy, London.?
? He received a handsome fortune with Mr. Edgafs
daughter, with whom he had fallen in love while
painting her portrait ; and after travelling in Italy
to improve himself in art, he established himself
in 1787 in Gorge Street, where he rapidly rose to
the head of his profession in Scotland-an eminence
which he maintained during a life the history of
which is limited to his artistic pursuits. His style
was free .and bold ; his drawing critically correct ;
his colouring rich, deep, and harmonious; his
accessories always appropriate. He was a member

... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [The Water of Leith. ~ ?? Raeburn married Ann Edgar, daughter of Peter Edgar, Esq., of ...

Book 5 p. 76
(Score 0.34)

240 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
as a glazier ; yet, if your lordship’s merited influence, in concert with that of my valuable friend
Lord Dundas, would procure for me a renewal of my commission, connecting with me in said
commission, an active and prospering young man, a freeman glazier of this city, it would prove
the happy means of placing me in a situation truly comfortable in my advanced age, and tend
not only to atone for past neglect, but soothe and render the closing scene of life tranquil and
serene !
“ MY LORD,
Your lordship favouring me with an answer will be highly esteemed by,
“Edidurgh, 21st Feb. 1807.
‘‘Right Hon. HENRYE ESKINEM, .P.
“ Your lordship’s truly devoted and very humble Servant,
“T. S.”
“ Lord Advocate of Scotland, LONDON.”
Nothing beneficial appears to have resulted from this memorial, if indeed it
ever was presented. Mr. Sommers latterly obtained a situation connected with
the Convention of Royal Burghs, for which he had a salary of $40 a year. This
small sum was his chief dependence. He was also Clerk to the Incorporation of
Fleshers, for which he had a trifling allowance; and much of his time was
occupied in drawing up petitions, and otherwise assisting those who sought the
aid of his pen. Having no children, though twice married, his domestic establishment
was limited ; and to the last he maintained a degree of respectability
in his appearance. He always dressed in black ; and when his own hair failed,
wore a neatly tied and powdered wig. His house in the Advocate’s Close contained
a small apartment, lighted from above, where, even in advanced age, he
used to sit for days together, occupied in some literary project-a species of
amusement he has been often heard to declare essential to his happiness. He
contemplated several extensive works. The last of these was a History of the
Improvements of Edinburgh. Proposals for this work-of which the following
is a copy-were issued in 18 16 :-
“ Soon will be published, in one. Yolume Octavo, in hoards, Price 7s.
THE RIGHT HON. WILLIAM SRBUTHNOT, LORD PROVOST, MAGISTRATES,
AND COUNCIL,
DEDICATED TO
A
RETROSPECT
OF THE
PUBLIC BUILDINGS, AND THE OTHER EXTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS,
OF
THE CITY OF EDINBURGH,
From the 14th of Scptentber 1753, to the 9th July 1816, inclusive;
SIXTY-THREE YEARS PERSONAL OBSERVATION :
RELIGIOUS, MORAL, AND POLITICAL CHARACTER OF ITS INHABITANTS ;
A VIEW OF THEIR MANNERS DURING THAT PERIOD.
ADDRESS TO THE CITIZENS AT LARGE.
THOMAS SOMMERS,
Bwrgess ami Fretmum of Edinburgh, and dIis Maje-sty78 Glmier for Xcotland.”
BEING THE RESULT OF
WITE OCCASIOKAL REMARKS, NOT ONLY ON THESE IMPROVEMENTS, BUT ON THE
AND
CONCLUDING WITH A WARM, SEASONABLE, ARD AFFECTIONATE
BY

... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. as a glazier ; yet, if your lordship’s merited influence, in concert with that of my ...

Book 9 p. 319
(Score 0.34)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, 269
also wrote a “ Life of the Rev. Dr. Alexander Murray: Professor of Oriental
Languages in the University of Edinburgh,” which was prefixed to a work by
the Professor, entitled “ Researches into the Mnity and Origin of the Greek
and Teutonic:Languages.” A Treatise on the Constitution of the Church of
Scotland, which had formed an appendix to the Life of Erskine, was reprinted ;
and another volume of Sermons was published posthumously. These were
well received by the public ; and prove the author to have been a writer of no
common ability.
Sir Henry married in 1773, Susan, daughter of Mr. James Robertson Barclay,
of Keavil, W.S., who was his cousin. She died in 1826, and Sir Henry
only survived her one year.
So highly sensible was the General Assembly of the services of this excellent
divine, that a character of him was drawn up at their unanimous request,
by the Rev. Dr. Macgill, Professor of Divinity in the University of Glasgow,
and ordered to be inserted in the records of Court, ‘‘ an honour which has been
bestowed on but few individuals in the Scottish Church.” Amongst other traits
of his amiable disposition, it is stated that “pious young men were always
sure of his protection j and he left nothing unessayed to promote their improvement
and their success in life.”
He died in the month of August 1827;
No. CCLXI.
SERGEANT WILLIAM DUFF,
OF THE 4 2R~EG IMENT, OR ROYAL EIGHUNDERS.
THE 42d Regiment, or, as it is commonly called in Scotland, the “Forty-
Twa,” was originally formed about the year 1729, and obtained the name of
the ‘‘ Black Watch,” from the nature of the duty, and the appearance of the
soldiers, whose Celtic dress was of a mo,& sombre description than the showy
scarlet uniform of the regular troops.
The corps consisted
of six independent companies, raised by gentlemen favourable to constitutional
principles, and was scattered over the Highlands in small detachments, for the
purpose of averawing the disaffected, and checking plunder and ‘‘ lifting of
Dr. Mmay was altogether unknown and destitute of patronage ; notwithstanding, he became,
in very early youth, and entirely by his own exertion, completely master of the Greek, Latin, and
Hebrew languages. While living in an ohscure situation in the country, almost without any
assistance whatever, and hardly able to procure the most ordinary elementary books, he is said to
have made himself proficient in aeven languages before he was twenty years of age. ’ A very elegant tablet was erected in the weat porch of St. Cuthbert’s Church by the kirksession
and congregation in 1841, on which there is inscribed a rare specimen of composition.
The services of the (‘ Black Watch ” were strictly local,

... SKETCHES, 269 also wrote a “ Life of the Rev. Dr. Alexander Murray: Professor of ...

Book 9 p. 359
(Score 0.34)

High Street.] THE ROYAL MINT. 267
Fortune?s tavern, removed from Skinner?s Close to
a house at the north-west corner of Nicolson
Square, and latterly at No. 2, St. Andrew Square
(now the London Hotel), where he died, in his
eightieth year, in ISOZ.
In his lordship?s time the office of Commissioner
to the Church, which he held from 1783 to 1801, was
attended with more ?pomp and circumstance?
Treasurer, under date February, 1562-3 :-
? Item, allowit to the carpenter, be payment maid
to Johne Achesoun, Maister Congreave, to Maister
William M?Dowgale, Maister of Werk, for expensis
maide be him vpon the bigging of the Cwnge-house,
within the castell of Edinburgh, and beting of the
qvnge-hous within the Palice of Halierud-house,
fra the xi. day of Februar, 1559, zens, to the
Comniissioner proceeded on foot, escorted by his
guard of honour.
South Gray?s, or the Mint Close, was one of the
stateliest alleys in the old city, and herein stood the
Cunzie flous, as the Scottish Mint was named
(after its removal from near Holyrood in Queen
Mary?s time) till the Union in 1707, and until lately
its sombre and massive tower of finely polished
ashlar projecting into the narrow thoroughfare of
Cowgate, for three hundred and four years formed
one of the leading features of the latter, and to the
last the old edifice retained many traces of the important
operations that once went on within its
walls.
The first Mint House had been originally erected
in the outer court of the palace of Holyrood, somewhere
near the Horse Wynd, fromwhence, for greater
safety, it was removed to the castle, in which a new
Mint House had been built in 1559, as shown by
edifices of the period,? says Wilson, describing
the edifice prior to its removal. ?The whole
building was probably intended, when completed,
to form a quadrangle, surrounded on every side by
the same substantial walls, well suited for defence
against any ordinary assault, while its halls were
lighted from the enclosed court. The small windows
in this part of the building remain in their
original state, being divided by an oaken transom,
and the under part closed by a pair of folding
shutters. The massive ashlar walls are relieved
by ornamental stringcourses, and surmounted by
crowsteps of the earliest form and elegant proportions.
. . . . The internal marks of former
magnificence are more interesting than their external
ones, notwithstanding the humble uses to
which the buildings have latterly been applied ;
in particular some portions of a very fine oak
ceiling still remain, wrought in Gothic panelling,

... Street.] THE ROYAL MINT. 267 Fortune?s tavern, removed from Skinner?s Close to a house at the north-west ...

Book 2 p. 267
(Score 0.34)

41 0 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Seeing how her humour went, Fox thought he would have better success j
and being very anxious to ascertain the amount of the election dinner bills, he
began in a round-about way to quiz her on the subject :-
“ Had Jfr. Skinner sometimes particularly good dinners in his house P”
“Not sometimes, but always, to those who could pay for them.”
“Had you a particular good dinner for the Dunfermline party ?”
“ Very good ; an’ they needed it-for the gentlemen had come far to be out 0’ the way 0’
“What might a dinner cost for a party at the inn kept by Mr. Skinner ?”
“ Whiles mair and whiles less-just accordiug to circumstances,” was the cautious answer.
“Well, well ; but can’t you tell what the entertainment cost on the occasion referred to ? ”
“ Indeed, sir, it’s no the custom for gentlmn in our quarter to ask the price 0’ a dinner,
“ Come, now, say what was the amount of the bill 1”
‘‘ Indeed, sir, I wonder to hear a gentleman 0’ your sense expect me to ken, or be able to
tell sic a piece 0’ my husband‘s business-Ehhfyl”.
The examination of Lucky Skinner, which was brought to a termination without
eliciting anything of consequence, afforded much merriment to all parties ;
and having so shrewdly evaded the queries put to her by the members of the
Select Committee, she no doubt claimed a due share of the honour acquired
in the triumph of her party. The Committee gave in their report to the House
of Commons on the 30th of March 1797, finding that the Hon. Andrew Cochrnne
Johnstone was duly elected ;1 but that the petition of Sir John Henderson’
was not “ frivolous or vexatious.”
For many years after this memorable contest, the fame of Lucky Skinner’s
journey to London, and the admirable manner in which she baffled the learned
members of the Committee, brought numerous visitors to her house. She had
the knack of setting off her narrative to the greatest advantage ; and since the
days of Patie Birnie, the famous fiddler, and Johnnie Stocks, the dwarf, who used
to entertain the passengers detained at the ferry-the one with his music, and
the other by dancing among the punch-bowls and glasses. on the table, all as related
by the author of “ The Gentle Shepherd ”-the royal burgh of Kinghorn
has had nothing half so attractive as the stories of the redoubted Lucky Skinner.
being pestered.”
unless they mean to pay for’t 1”
No. CCCVIII.
MR. PIERIE AND MR. MAXWELL.
THE LADIES ARE IN THE COSTUME OF 1785.
VERY little is known of the two portly citizens who figure in this Print.
They were both bachelors, however ; hence the humour of the artist in representing
them in the company of ladies.
Col. Johnstone having been appointed Governor of Dominica, a new election took place in
a Sir John left one child, a daughter, married to Sir Philip Durham, Bart., proprietor of the
1797, when the late William Tait, Esq., advocate, was returned without opposition.
estate of Fordel.

... 0 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Seeing how her humour went, Fox thought he would have better success j and being very ...

Book 9 p. 546
(Score 0.34)

124 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
partial to them at all.”-“How, sir,” faltered out the querist--“how should
that be ‘I ”-“ Why,” replied the southron, “ because they are so much read, and
so generally known, that our clergymen can’t borrow from them.” The whole
company, hitherto in a state of considerable embarrassment, were quite delighted
at this ingenious and well-turned compliment.
Dr. Blair died in the 83d year of his age, on the 27th December 1800. He
was buried in the Greyfriars’ Churchyard-the Westminster Abbey of Scotland
-where a tablet to his memory, containing a highly elegant and classical Latin
inscription, is affixed to the southern wall of the church. He married, in 1748,
his cousin, Katherine Bannatyne, daughter of the Reverend James Bannatyne,
one of the ministers of Edinburgh, by whom he had a son and daughter. The
former died in infancy, and the latter when about twenty-one years of age.
Mrs. Blair also died a few years previous to the demise of her husband. Dr.
Blair’s usual place of residence in summer was at Restalrig-in winter in Argyle
Square.‘
No. LVIII.
THE HONOURABLE HENRY ERSKINE,
DEAN OF THE FACULTY OF ADVOCATES.
MR. ERSKINE, in consequence of holding an appointment from the Prince of
Wales, generally presided at the anniversary meeting of his Royal Highness’s
household in Edinburgh on the 12th of August ;’ hence the reason why Kay
has placed the Prince’s coronet at the bottom of the Print. The motto, “ Seria
mixta jocis,” is in allusion to the uncommon humour and vivacity which characterised
his legal pleadings.
The Hon. Henry Erskine was the third son of Henry David, tenth Earl of
Buchan, by Apes, daughter of Sir James Stewart of Goodtrees, and was born
at Edinburgh on the 1st November 1746. His patrimony was trifling, and had
it not been for the exemplary kindness of his eldest brother, who took a paternal
charge both of Henry and his younger brother Thomas, afterwards Lord Erskine,
he would not have been able to defray the expenses attendant upon the course of
study requisite to be followed in order to qualify him for the bar. In the year
1765, Mr. Erskine was admitt,ed a member of the Faculty of Advocates. He
had previously prepared himself for eztempore speaking, by attending the Forum
Near the present Industrial Museum.
On one of these occasions, while a gentleman was singing after dinner, the Prince’s tobacconist
accompanied the song with his fingers upon the waiwcoting of the room, in a very accurate manner.
When the music finished, the chairman said, “He thought the Prince’fl tobacconist would make a
capital King’s Counsel.” On being asked I‘ Why?” Harry replied, “Because I never heard a man
make so much of a pannel.”

... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. partial to them at all.”-“How, sir,” faltered out the querist--“how ...

Book 8 p. 180
(Score 0.34)

70 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [The Water of Leith.
of Badajoz is extolled by Napier, and who died
fort major of Edinburgh Castle. On the opposite
side of the path, a modest stone marks the spot
where lies Captain John Grant, the last survivor
of the old Peninsula Gordon Highlanders, who
covered the retreat at Alba de Tormes, and was
the last officer to quit the town.
Near it is the grave of Captain Charles Gray of
the Royal Marines, the genial author of so many
Scottish songs ; and perhaps one of the most interesting
interments of recent years was that of Lieutenant
John Irving, R.N. (son of John Irving, W.S.,
the schoolfellow and intimate friend of Sir Walter
Scott), one of the officers of the ill-fated Franklin
expedition, who died in 1848 or 1849, and whose
remains were sent home by Lieutenant Sohwatka,
of the United States Navy, and laid in the Dean
Cemetery in January, 1881, after a grand naval and
military funeral, in accordance with his rank as
Lieutenant of the Royal Navy."
CHAPTER VII.
VALLEY OF THE WATER OF LEITH (continlced).
The Dean Bridge-Landslips at Stockbridge-Stone Coffins-Floods in the Leith-Population in 174a-St. Bemard's Estate-Ross's Tower
-I' Christopher North" in Anne Street-De Quincey there-%. Bernard's Well-Cave at Randolph Cliff-Veitch's Square-Chuiches in.
the Localit$-Sir Henry Raebm-Old Deanhiugh-House.
ABOUT a hundred yards west by north of Randolph
Crescent this deep valley is spanned by a stately
bridge, built in 1832, after designs by Telford.
This bridge was erected almost solely at the expense
of the Lord Provost Learmonth of Dean,
to form a direct communication with his property,
with a view to the future feuing of the latter.
It was when an excavation was made for its northern
pier that the Roman urn was found of which
an engraving will be seen on page 10 of the first
volume of this work. Over the bridge, the roadway
passes at the great height of 106 feet above the
rocky bed of the stream. The arches are four in
number, and each is ninety-six feet in span. The
total length is 447 feet, the breadth thirty-nine feet
between the parapets, from which a noble view of
the old Leith village, with its waterfall, is had to
the westward, while on the east the eye travels
along the valley to the distant spires of the seaport.
That portion of it adjoining Stockbridge is still
very beautiful and picturesque, but was far more
so in other days, when, instead of the plain back
Views of Moray Place and Ainslie Place, the steep
green bank was crowned by the stately trees of
Drumsheugh Park, and tangled brakes of bramble
and sweet-smelling hawthorn overhung the water
of the stream, which was then pure, and in some
places abounded with trout. Unconfined by stone
walls, 'the long extent of the mill-lade here was
then conveyed in great wooden ducts, raised upon
posts. These ducts were generally leaky, and
being patched and mended from time to time, and
covered with emerald-green moss and garlands of
creepers and water-plants, added to the rural
aspect of the glen. Between the bridge and the
mineral well, a great saugh tree, shown in one of;
Ewbank's views, overhung the lade and footpath,.
imparting fresh beauty to the landscape.
'' At Stockbridge," says the Edinburgh Advertiser
for 1823, '' we cannot but regret that the rage for
building is fast destroying the delightful scenery
between it and the neighbouring village of the:
Water of Leith, which had so long been a prominent
ornament in the envGons of our ancient
city."
At the southern end of the bridge, where
Randolph Cliff starts abruptly up, dangerous landslips
have more than once occurred ; one notably
so in March, 1881, when a mass of rock and earth
fell down, and completely choked up the lade which
drives the Greenland, Stockbridge, and Canonmills,
flour-mills.
At the north-westem end of the bridge is the
Trinity Episcopal Church, built in 1838, from a.
design by John Henderson, in the later English
style, with nave, aisles, and a square tower. To the
north-eastward an elegant suburb extends away
down the slope until it joins Stockbridge, comprising
crescents, terraces, and streets, built between
1850 and 1877.
The following is a detailed explanation of the woodcut on the
previous page :-I, View looking along the West Wall, showing, on the
right, the monument to Buchanan, founder of the Buchanan Institute,
Glasgow, and on the extreme left, the grave of Mr. Ritchie, of Tlu
Smlmruz (the pyramid at further end of walk is Lord Rutherford's
tomb, and Lord Cockbum's is near to it); z, Sir Archibald Alison's
gave (the larger of the Gothic mural tablets in white marble): 3,
Grave of George Combe ; 1, Monument to Alexander Russel, Editor
>f T/u Scoismm; 5, Tomb, on extreme left, of Lord Rutherford, next
to it that of Lord Jeffrey, the Runic Cross in the path is erected to.
Lieut. Irving of the Franklin Expedition; 6, Grave of Prof. W%on
:obelisk under tree), and of Prof. Aytoun (marble pedestal with crose
>U top).

... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [The Water of Leith. of Badajoz is extolled by Napier, and who died fort major of ...

Book 5 p. 70
(Score 0.34)

Onmond.1 HARBOUR AND ISLAND. 31.5
In the reign of David 11. Roger Greenlaw
obtained a royal charter of the Butterland in the
town of Cramond, ? quhilk? William Bartlemow
resigned ;? and Robert 11. granted, at Edinburgh,
in the eighteenth year of his reign, a charter of
certain lands in King?s Cramond to William
Napier, on their resignation by John, son of Simon
Rede, in presence of the Chancellor, John, Bishop
of Dunkeld, and others.
In 1587 Patrick Douglas of Kilspindie became
the south as the Pinnacle. In December, 1769,
a whale, fifty-four feet long, was stranded upon it
by the waves. About a mile northward and east
of it, lies another rocky islet, three or four furlongs
in circumferkhce, named Inchmickery, only remarkable
for a valuable oyster bed on its shore,
and for the rich profusion of sea-weed, mosses,
and lichens, on its beach and surface.
North from the point known as the Hunter?s
Craig or Eagle?s Rock, westward of the harbour,
THE ?TWA BRIGS,? CRAMOND.
caution for John Douglas, in Cramond, and his son
Alexander, that they would not molest certain
parishioners there, nor ?? their wives, bairns, or
servants.?
The little harbour of Cramond is specified in the
Exchequer Records as a creek within the port of
Leith. It possesses generally only a few boats,
but in 1791 had seven sloops, measuring 288 tons,
employed by the iron works. Cramond Island, 19
acres in extent, lies 1,440 yards NNE of the
pretty village. It rises high in the centre, with
steep granite cliffs on the east, formerly abounded
with rabbits, and is generally accessible on foot
at low water. It now belongs to Lord Rosebery.
The north point of the isle is known as the Binks;
the stretch known as the Drum Sands extends for
more than a mile.
In 1639, Alexander, sixth Earl of Eglinton, h,$ed
for two days at Cramond with his contingent for
the Scottish army, consisting of zoo horse and
1,800 foot, en route for?Leith.
In the time of Charles I. Cramond gave a title
in the Scottish peerage, when Dame Elizabeth Beaumont,
the wife of Sir Thomas Richardson, Lord
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in England,
was, for some reason now unknown, created
Baroness Cramond for life, with the title of baron
to the Chief Justice?s son and his heirs male; ??in
failure of which, to the heirs male of his father?s
body?-the first female creation on record in

... HARBOUR AND ISLAND. 31.5 In the reign of David 11. Roger Greenlaw obtained a royal charter of the ...

Book 6 p. 315
(Score 0.34)

Previous Results More Results

Go back to Edinburgh Bookshelf

Creative Commons License

The scans of Edinburgh Bookshelf are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License.