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332 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
many a gentleman’s stable-yard, with the chief approach to it by a pend, or archway,
from the head of the Candlemaker’s Row. Rank and fashion, however, alone resorted to
the admired locality, while it was no less worthy of note as a haunt of the muses. Here
was the residence of Dr Austin, already referred to, in a ‘house at the north-west
corner; and a few doors from this, in the building on the west side through which the
arched entry led into Candlemaker Row, dwelt for above twenty years Miss Jeanie Elliot,
the author of the beautiful version of the Flowers 0’ the Forest,’’ beginning, “I ’ve
heard them lilting at the ewe-milking.” She was the daughter of Sir Gilbert Elliot of
Minto, and is described by a contemporary as “ a remarkably agreeable old maiden lady,
with a prodigious fund of Scottish anecdote.” It is added, as worthy of record, that she
was perhaps the only lady of her time in Edinburgh who had her own sedan chair,
which was kept in the lobby of her house ! Henry Mackenzie first took up house for himfielf
in the middle tenement, still standing on the south side, while the celebrated Lord
Woodhouselee occupied one of those now demolished. The middle house on the north’
side, a large and commodious mansion, still retains abundant traces of former grandeur,
and chiefly in the large drawing-room on the first floor, which is decorated with a series
of landscapes, interspersed with floral groups and other fancy devices, evidently in imitation
of the painted chamber at Milton House, though the work of a less skilful artist.
This was the residence of Sir Thomas Miller, of Barskimming and Glenlee, Bart., Lord
President of the Court of Session, who died there in 1789. He was succeeded in it by his
son, Sir William, promoted to the bench under the title of Lord Glenlee, and who, when
all other claimants to rank or gentility had long deserted every nook of the Old Town,
resisted the fashionable tide of emigration, and retained this as his town mansion till his
death in 1846. Indeed, such was the attachment of this venerable judge to his old dwelling,
that he rejected a handsome offer for the reversion of it, because the proposing purchaser,
who designed converting it into a printing office, refused to become bound to preserve the
paintings on its walls.
VI(tNETTE-aothic Niche, College Wynd. ......

Book 10  p. 362
(Score 0.77)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 67
the Royal Society of Edinburgh, in the first volume of whose Transactions it
was published ; and by the public in general, as well as by the author himself,
it has always been numbered among the h e s t productions of the poet.
It is much to be regretted that Dr. Carlyle favoured the world with so little
from his own pen, having published scarcely anything except the Report of the
Parish of Inveresk, in Sir John Sinclair’s Statistical Account, and some detached
pamphlets and sermons. To his pen has been justly attributed “An Ironical
Argument, to prove that the tragedy of Douglas ought to be publicly burnt by
the hands of the hangman.”-Edinburgh, 1757, Svo, pp. 24.‘ It is understood
that Dr. Carlyle left behind him, in manuscript, a very curious Memoir of his
time, which, though long delayed, we have now reason to believe will soon in
part be given to the world.’
With the following description of the personal appearance of Dr. Carlyle,
when advanced in years, the proprietor of this work has been favoured by a
gentleman to whom the literature of his country owes much :
“ He was very tall, and held his head erect like a military man-his face had
been very handsome-long venerable gray hair-he was an old man when I met
him on a morning visit at the Duke of Buccleuchs at Dalkeith.”
’
No. XXX.
THE MODERN HERCULES.
THIS is a humorous piece of satire upon Dr. Carlyle and the opposition he
has uniformly met with from the leading men of the popular party. The uppermost
head on the hydra is that of Professor Dalzell of the University of Edinburgh-
the one below it that of the Rev. Dr. John Erskine of Carnock, minister
of Old Greyfriars’ Church, intended for the bar by his father, but his own
inclination was for the pulpit-the undermost head that of the much-esteemed
Rev. Dr. Andrew Hunter of the Tron Kirk-and the figure with the hand up,
cautioning Dr. Carlyle, that of the Hon. Henry Erskine, advocate, who was generally
employed as counsel on the side of the popular party. The other three
were intended by Kay, according to his MS., for the Rev. Colin Campbell of
Renfrew, the Rev. Mr. Burns of Forgan, and the Rev. Dr. Balfour of Glasgow.
Dr. Carlyle is said to have written the prologue to Herminius and Espccsia, a tragedy acted at
Edinburgh, 1754, and printed that aame year in 8vo. * This has now been published by Messrs. William Blackwood & Sons, one volume 8v0, 1860.
A second edition was iasued the same year, entitled “Autobiography of the Rev. Dr. Alexander
Carlyle, Minister of Inveresk, containing Memorials of the Men and Events of his tie.’’ ......

Book 8  p. 96
(Score 0.77)

54 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
one of which, called St Anthony's Gate, he was able to trace with certainty.' This port
st&d at the north-west corner of St Anthony's Wynd, and some remains of the ancient
bastion by which it was protected may still be seen 'in a neighbouring garden.
This gate, as well as the street that now occupies its site, were so named from their
picinity to the preceptory of St Anthony--a detailed account of which, as well as its aneient
dependency on Arthur's Seat, will be found in a later part of the work.
We have introduced here the view of
a very curious house, the date of erection
of which may be referred to this period.
It stood on the west side of the Kirkgate,
and wa8 only taken down in 1845. It had
an inscription over the doorway, boldly cut
--____~ _~ ~ --._-~ -- __~-_ __- ~~ _-_ =-- -_---__ -.__
\\ in old English letters- '4 ' 3Ebems flaria,
Q and a niche above it, in which there had
doubtless been a statue of the virgin and
child. Local tradition pointed it out as
a chapel founded by Mary of Guise, but
apparently without any sufficient evidence.
The English, before their last departure
from Leith, had erected fortifications on the
neighbouring island of Inchkeith, and left
there a strong garrison, composed in part of
a troop of Italian mercenaries in their pay,
by whom it was held to the great detriment
of vessels navigating the Firth. But now,
as soon as Monsieur D'EssB had got the
fortifications of Leith in a state of forwardness,
a general attack was made upon Inchkeith,
on Corpus Christi day, 1549,' by a
combined force of Scotch and French troops, who embarked at break of day, in presence
of the Queen Dowager ; when, after a fierce contest, the enemy were expelled from their
stronghold, and .compelled to rjurrender at discretion, with the loss of their leader, and
above 300 slain.' The island continued from that time to be held by a French garrison,
on behalf of the Queen Dowager, until her death in 1560, and the remains of their fortifications
are still visible there.
But the Scottish nation were not long in experiencing the usual evils consequent on the
employment of foreign troops. We have already, in an earlier part of the work,' given an
illustration of the popular eatminxationo f such allies, and the gratitude of the common
people on the present occasion does not seem to have been in any degree more sincere.
Heartburnings and animosities had already been manifested during the campaign, and
they at last broke out into open and fatal tumult in the capital.
Maitland, p. 486. Bishop Lealie, p. 228. 8 Diurnal of OccurrentR, p. 48. * Chap. ii. p. 12. ......

Book 10  p. 59
(Score 0.76)

194 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
No. LXXX.
REV. GREVILLE EWING.
AS the subject of this sketch is still alive, and engaged in public service, propriety
forbids our entering into the minuter details of his personal history,
He is a native of Edinburgh, where he was born in 1767. Being originally designed
for a secular profession, he was, at the usual age, bound apprentice to an
engraver. A strong desire, however, to be engaged in the work of the ministry
induced him, at the close of his apprenticeship, to relinquish his intended profession
and devote himself to study. He accordingly entered the University of
Edinburgh, where he passed through the usual curriculum of preparatory discipline
; and, in the year 1792, he was licensed to preach in connection with the
National Church by the Presbytery of Hamilton. A few months after this he
was ordained, as colleague with Dr. Jones, to the office of minister of Lady
Glenorchy’s Chapel, Edinburgh.
A deep interest in the cause of missions seems, at an early period of Mr.
Ewing’s ministry, to have occupied his mind. At that time such enterprises
were to a great degree novelties in this country; and even, by many who
wished them well, great doubts were entertained of their ultimate success. By
his exertions and writings he contributed much to excite a strong feeling in regard
to them in Edinburgh ; nor did he content himself with this, but, fired with
a spirit of true disinterested zeal, he determined to devote himself to the work
of preaching the gospel to the heathen. For this purpose he united with a
party of friends, like-minded with himself, who had formed a plan of going out
to India and settling themselves there as teachers of Christianity to the native
population. The individuals principally engaged in this undertaking besides
Alr. Ewing, were the Rev. David Bogue, D.D., of Gosport; the Rev. William
Innes, then one of the ministers of Stirling, now of Edinburgh; and Robert
Haldane, Esq. of Airthrey, near Stirling,-by the latter of whom the expenses
of the mission were to be defrayed. With the exception of Dr. Bogue, all these
gentlemen still survive. The peremptory refusal of the East India Company,
after repeated applications and memorials on the subject, to permit their going
out, caused the ultimate abandonment of this scheme. Mr. Ewing, however, and
his associates, feeling themselves pledged to the missionary cause, and seeing no
opening for going abroad, began to exert themselves for the promotion of religion
at home. A periodical, under the title of The Missionary Magazine, was started
in Edinburgh, of which Mr. Ewing undertook the editorship, the duties of
which office he discharged in the most efficient manner for the first three years
. ......

Book 8  p. 272
(Score 0.76)

THE PALACE BURNED AND REPAIRED. 73
~
gesse !?? Then the castle fired a salute, while
silver was scattered to the multitude. Three years
afterwards the king and court had departed, and
Holyrood was consigned to silence and gloom.
On James VI. re-visiting Scotland in 1617, the
palace was fitted up for him with considerable
splendour, but his project of putting up statues
of the apostles in the chapel caused great excitement
in the city. Taylor, the Water-poet, who was
at Holyrood in the following year, states that he
~~
the gardens known as Queen Mary?s sundial,
although the cyphers of Charles, his queen, and
eldest son appear upon it. Cromwell quartered
a body of his infantry in the palace, and by accident
they set it on fire, on the 13th November,
1650, when it wzs destroyed, all save the Tower of
James V., with its furniture and decorations.
Of this palace a drawing by Gordon of
Rothiemay has been preserved, which shows the
main entrance to have been where we find it
HOLYROOD PALACE AKD ABBEY CHURCH, FROM THE SOUTH-EAST.
saw this legend over the royal arms at the gate :
CC4Nobis hec invicta misanf 106 proovi.? I inquired
what the English of it was. It was told me
as followeth, which I thought worthy to be recorded :
-6 106 foreJ&%ws h i e I& this to ux unconpumed..? ?
When Charles I. visited Edinburgh, in 1633,
the magistrates employed the famous Jameson to
paint portraits of the Scottish monarchs, and,
imitative of his master Rubens, he wore his
hat when Charles I. sat to him ; but it is probable
that after the latter?s last visit, in 1641, the palace
must have become somewhat dilapidated, otherwise
Cromwell would have taken up his residence
there. The improvements effected by Charles
were considerable, and among other memorials of
his residence still remaining, is the beautiful dial in
68
now. Round embattled towers flank it, with bow
windows in them, and above the grand gate are
the royal arms of Scotland. On either side is a
large range of buildings having great windows ;
and the now empty panels in the Tower of James V.
appear to have been filled in with armorial bearings,
doubtless destroyed by Cromwell. In his map of
1657 the same artist shows a louyingdn-stone in
the centre of the palace yard.
The palace was rebuilt to a certain extent, by
order of Cromwell, in 1658, but the whole of his
work, at the Restoration, was pulled down by
royal warrant two years after, as the work ? built
by the usurper, and doth darken the court?
Engrafted on the part that survived the conflagration,
and designed, it is said, after the noble ......

Book 3  p. 73
(Score 0.75)

NOTES TO VOL- I.
BY PROFESSOR DANIEL WILSON,
AUTEOR OF ‘MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH IN THE OLDEN TIME,E’T C. ETC.
Page 7, JAMIDEU FF.
Strictly speaking, Widow Duffs lodging was in the College Wynd ; though, as it
was at the foot of the wynd, its windows niay have looked into the Cowgate. Scott,
whose birthplace was in the same wynd, has introduced Jamie Duff in “ Guy Mannering,”
in attendance on the funeral of Mrs. Margaret Bertram of Singleside, to the family
burial-place in the Greyfriars’ Churchyard.
Page 18, ARNOT’RSE SIDENCE.
Mr. Arnot, according to information communicated to me, resided for a time on the
south side of the Canongate, immediately below St. Mary’sn Wynd. From thence he
removed to the New Town, where he occupied a floor in South St. Andrew Street-the
probable scene of the above occurrence.
Page 20, LORD MONBODDO.
An allusion will be found in Lord Cockburn’s dlemm‘als of his Time to the suppers
of Lord Moiiboddo as the most Attic of his day. Burns enjoyed them while in Edinbur,
qh, and was greatly charmed by the beauty of his daughter Eliza, of whom he makes
special note in his “ Address to Edinburgh,” “ Thy daughters bright thy walks adorn,”
etc. See the poem, and also Burns’s letter to Chalmers, in which he says-“ Fair Bis
the heavenly Miss Burnet, daughter to Lord Monboddo, at whose house I have had
the honour to be more than once,” etc. etc. See also the poet’s “ Elegy” on her premature
death from consumption,
Page 22, LORD GARDENSTONE.
In The Court of Session Garland, by James Baswell, notices of this and others of the
Judges will be found. It is reprinted by Robed Chambers in his Traditions, with
notes of his own.
Page 30, Dr. WEBSTER
Dr. Webster was one of the rare exceptions to Dr. Samuel Johnson’s antipathy
to a Scotsman. Brown’s Court, Castle Hill, where he entertained the lexicographer, bore
in his day the name of Webster’s Close.-Vide Dr. Johnson’s letters to him, relative
to his “Journey to the Western Islands.”
Page 37, MARIONVILLE.
Marionville is, or was, a handsome old-fashioned house near Restalrig, which originally
bore the popular name of “Lappet Ha’,” owing to its having been built by a
fashionable milliner of Auld Reekie with the proceeds of her professional services
among the grandees of the old closes and wynds.
Page 54, Dr. BLACJL
Dr. Black’s earlier residence was in the College Wynd, not far from the house in
which Sir Walter Scott was born, and in the immediate vicinity of the College. ......

Book 8  p. 600
(Score 0.75)

24 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
horsis under the Castle wall, in the barrace,” the Scottish knight’s horse having failed
him in the first onset, they encountered on foot, continuing the contest for a full hour, till
the Dutchman being struck to the ground, the King cast his hat over the Castle wall a8 a
signal to stay the combat, while the heralds and trumpeters proclaimed Sir Patrick the
victor.
A royal experiment, of a more subtle nature, may be worth recording, as a sample of
the manners of the age. The King caused a dumb woman to be transported to the neighbouring
island of Inchkeith, and there being properly lodged and provisioned, two infants
were entrusted to her care, in order to discover by the language they should adopt, what
was the original human tongue. The result seems to have been very satisfactory, as, after
allowing them a suficient time,
it was found that ‘‘ they spak very
guid Ebrew I ”
But it is not alone by knightly
feats of arms, and the rude chivalry
of the Middle Ages, that
the court of James IV. is distinguished.
The Scottish capital,
during his reign, was the residence
of men high in every department
of learning and the arts.
Gawin Douglas, afterwards
Bishop of Dunkeld, the wellknown
author of “ The Palice of
Honour,” and the translator of
Virgil’s Bneid into Scottish
verse, was at this time Provost
of St Giles’s,’ and dedicated his
poem to the
“ Maist gracious Prince ouir Souerain Jamea the Feird,
Supreme honour renoun of cheualrie.”
Dunbar, “ the greatest poet that Scotland has produced,” ’ was in close and familiar
attendance on the court, and with him Kennedy, “ his kindly foe,” and Sir John Ross, and
“ Gentill Roull of Corstorphine,” as well as others afterwards enumerated by Dunbar, in his
“ Lament for the Makaris.” Many characteristic and very graphic allusions to the manners
of the age have been preserved in the poems that still exist, by them affording a curious
insight into the Scottish city and capital of the James’s. Indeed, the local and temporary
allusions that occur in their most serious pieces, are often quaint and amusing, in the highest
degree, as in Kennedy’s “ Passioun of Grist :”-
“ In the Tolbuth then Pilot enterit in,
Callit on Chrid, and sperit gif He wea King I ”
Keith’a Bishops, 8v0, 1824;~. 468. ’ Ellis’ Specimens, Svo, 1845, vol. i. p. 304.
VIGNETTE-North-e118t pillar, St Qiles’s choir. ......

Book 10  p. 26
(Score 0.75)

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 ......

Book 10  p. 479
(Score 0.73)

178 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
No. CCXXXII.
REV. JOHN WALKER, D.D.,
PROFESSOR OF NATURAL HISTORY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH.
JOHNWA LKERD, octor of Divinity, was born in the Canongate of Edinburgh.
His father-Rector of the grammar school there-was an excellent classical
scholar, and is said to have bestowed such attention to the education of his son,
that when ten years of age he could read Homer with considerable fluency.
At a proper age he entered the University, where he studied with merited
approbation, and was in due course of time licensed to preach by the Presbytery
of Edinburgh.
Dr. Walker’s first presentation was to the parish of Glencorse, about seven
miles to the south of Edinburgh, and whic4 includes part of the Pentland Hills
within its range. Here an excellent opportunity presented itself to the young
clergyman for improvement in his favourite study of botany-a scienceit0 which
he had been early attached, and in which he had already made considerable
progress, as well as in other branches of natural history. In this sequestered
and romantic district Dr. Walker passed some of the pleasantest years of his
life. Those hours which he could spare from his pastoral duties were generally
spent in exploring the green hills of the Pentlands, and in making additions to
his botanical specimens.
This pleasing pursuit could of course only be prosecuted during the spring
and summer months, but the winter was not without its amusements. The
talents and acquirements of Dr. Walker were not allowed to remain unnoticed
by the more distinguished of his neighbours and parishioners. Among these
were, Twilliam Tytler, Esq., of Woodhouselee, well known for his historical
researches, particularly into that portion of Scottish history which relates to
Mary Queen of Scots ; James Philp, Esq., of Greenlaw, Judge of the High Court
of Admiralty ; and Sir James Clerk, Bart., of Penicuik-a gentleman whose
skill and taste in the fine arts was undisputed j and whose collections of paintings
and memorials of antiquity have rendered the mansion-house of Penicuik a
place of great interest to the cur ion^.^ By these gentlemen the company and
conversation of Dr. Walker was greatly estimated : and a constant intercourse
existed between them.
In 1764, the General Assembly, in prosecution of a benevolent design
Among other remains at Penicuik is the buff coat worn by the Viscount Dundee at the battle
of Killiecrankie : the hole through which the fatal bullet passed is underneath the arm-pit. Sir
George Clerk, late M.P. for Edinburghshire, vas the son of the late Sir James. ......

Book 9  p. 238
(Score 0.73)

tion, such as David Laing, Robert Chambers, and
Cosmo Innes. In his ? Diary? Scott writes of him
as ?a very remarkable man. He has infinite wit
and a great turn for antiquarian lore. His
drawings are the most fanciful and droll imaginable
-a mixture between Hogarth and some of those
foreign masters who painted ?Temptations of St.
Anthony ? and such grotesque subjects, My idea
is that Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, with his oddities,
tastes, satire, and high aristocratic feelings,
resembles Horace Walpole.?
THE EXCISE OFFICE, DRUMMOND PLACE
portraits, some on the walls, but many more on the
floor. A small room leading out of this one was
the place where Mr. Sharpe gave audiences. Its
diminutive space was stuffed full of old curiosities,
cases with family bijouterie, &c. One petty object
was strongly indicative of character, a calling card of
Lady Charlotte Campbell, the once adored beauty,
stuck into the frame of a picture. He must have
kept it, at that time, about thirty years.?
This lady, one of the celebrated Edinburgh
beauties, was the second daughter of John, Duke of
The resemblance in their abodes was more
strictly true. The house of Sharpe, No. 28 Drummond
Place, was one of the sights of Edinburgh to
the select few who found admittance there, with its
antique furniture, tapestries, paintings, and carvings
-its exquisite enamels, weapons, armour, bronzes,
bijouterie, ivories, old china, old books, and cabinets-
the mighty collection of a long life, and the
sale of which, at his death, occupied six long days
at the auction rooms in South Hanever Street.
Robert Chambers deseribes a visit he paid him
in Princes Street. ?? His servant conducted me to
the first floor, and showed me into what is called
amongst us the back drawing-room, which I found
carpeted with green cloth and full of old family
(From a Drawing Sy She&%?, #&shed in 1829.)
Argyle, who died in 1806, and the visit referred to
took place about 1824.
To Mr. Sharpe Sir Walter owed many of the
most graphic incidents which gave such inimitable
life to the productions of his pen ; and a writer in
the Gentleman?s Magazine justly remarked that
?his collection of antiquities is among the richest
which any private gentleman has ever accumulated
in the north. In Scottish literature he will be
always remembered as the editor of ?Law?s Memorials?
and of ? Kkkton?s History of the Kirk of
Scotland.? His taste in music was no less cultivated
than peculiar, and the ~ curious variety of
singular and obsolete musical instruments which
enriched his collection, showed how well t b ~ ......

Book 3  p. 192
(Score 0.71)

300 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
eminent occupants of Queensberry House are Charles, the third Duke, who was born there
in 1698, and his celebrated Duchess, Lady Catherine Hyde, the patroness of the poet
Gay, and the beauty of the court of George I., whose sprightliness and wit have been
commemorated in the numbers of Pope, Swift, and Prior ; and whom Horace Walpole,
Earl of Orford, celebrated in her old age as-
Prior's Kitty, ever fair !
The eccentric beauty espoused the cause of Gay with such warmth, that on the Lord
Chamberlain refusing to 'sanction the representatiod of PO&, a piece intended as a
continuation of the Beggar's Opera, she received the poet into her house as her private
secretary, and both she and the Duke withdrew
in high dudgeon from court. Gay
accompanied his fair patroness to Edinburgh,
and resided some time at Queensberry House.
!ilk hl!..? L. h . /;2-': His intercourse with the author of "the
Gentle Shepherd," has already been referred
to, as well as his frequent visits to the poet's
shop at the cross.' We furnish a view of
another .and much humbler haunt of the
i poet during his residence in Edinburgh.
It is a small lath and plaster edifice of
1 considerable antiquity, which still stands
directly opposite Queensberry House, and
is said to have been a much frequented
tavern in Gay's time, kept by an hospitable
old dame, called Janet Hall; and, if tradition
is to be believed, Jenny Ha's changehouse
was a frequent scene of the poet's relaxations with the congenial wits of the Scottish
capital.''
The huge dimensions of Queensberry House are best estimated from the fact of its
having been subsequently converted into barracks and an hospital. The latest purpose to
which this once magnificent ducal residence has been applied, as a House of Refuge for
the Destitute," seems to complete its descent in the scale of degradation. Little idea,
however, can now be formed, from the vast and unadorned proportions which the ungaiuly
edifice presents both externally and internally, of its appearance while occupied by its
original owners. "he
wings were surmounted with neat ogee roofs. The centre had a French roof, with storm
windows, in the style of the Palace of Versailles, and the chimney stalks were sufficiently
ornamental to add to the general effect of the building, so that the whole appearance of
the mansion, though plain, was perfectly in keeping with the residence of a nobleman and
the representative of majedy. The internal decorations were of the most costly description,
including very richly carved marble chimney pieces. On the house being dismantled,
many of these were purchased by the Earl of Wemyss, for completing his new mansion
IIl,ii~~~,,,~_~--i,- l ,~y<I~z~- I~. J' / . L ~ ~ - - - !\i,llAl' ~c l<-. $ &+I /--L \
i
"&A J,,
;I
-=- '
The whole building was then a story lower than it is at present.
. Ante, p. 199. a Traditions, vol. i p. 291. ......

Book 10  p. 327
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86 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
tongue desired his presence, which he obeyed by entering the Church. After sermon, a
more lively representation was prepared for him ; Bacchus appeared on the Cross distributing
his wine freely to all; the streets through which he passed were strewed with flowers,
and hung with tapestry and painted histories ; and the whole fanciful pageant wound up
with a very characteristic astrological display, exhibiting the conjunction of the planets, in
their degrees and places, as at his Majesty’s happy nativity, vividly represented by the
assistance of King Ptolomd ! ”
The King then passed on to his Palace of Holyrood, attended by two hundred horsemen,
and the Parliament assembled immediately after in the Tolbooth, and contiuued its
delibemtions there for some weeks. The influence of Morton had been rapidly lessening
with the King, while the number and power of his enemies increased. Towards the close
of 1580, he was arraigned to stand his trial for the murder of Darnley ; and he was executed
the following year by an instrument called
the Naiden, a species of guillotine which he
had himself introduced into Scotland. His
head was placed on the Tolbooth, and his
body ignominiously buried at the Borough
Muir-the usual place of sepulture for the
vilest criminals.
Considering the high hand with which
the civic rulers of the capital contrived to
carry nearly every point during the reign of
Queen Mary, it is astonishing how speedily
James VI. brought them into subjection. ,He
interfered constantly in their elections,
though only with partial success, and used
their purse with a condescending freedom
that must often have proved very irritating.
They were required to maintain a bodyguard
for’ him at their own expense ; and whenever
it suited his Majesty’s convenience, were commanded to furnish costly entertainments to
foreign nobles and ambassadors.2
In October 1589, the King suddenly sailed from Leith to bring home his Queen, Anne
of Denmark, leaving orders of a sufficiently minute and exacting nature for their honourable
reception on his return. One of the first articles requires, that the town of Edinburgh,
the Canongate, and Leith, shall be in arms, ranked on both sides of the way between
Leith and Holyrood House, to hold off the press; and the Council are directed to deal
earnestly with the town of Edinburgh for providing ships and all other necessaries.
Various acts of the Town Council show the straits they were put to in the accomplishment
of this. “ The Baillies were ordained to pass through their quarters, and borrow
fra the honest nychtbouris thairof, ane quantitie of the best sort of thair naiperie,
to serve the strayngeris that sal1 arryve with the Quene.” Orders were given for
Hist. of James the Sext., p. 178-180. &itland, p. 37, * Haitland, p. 44, 5.
YIONETTE-The Maiden. ......

Book 10  p. 94
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6 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
Dederyk, Alderman of Edinburgh, with the whole community of the town, swore fealty to
the usurper.
Immediately after the final triumph of the Bruce, few occurrences of importance, in connection
with Edinburgh, are recorded ; though here, on the 8th March 1327, his Parliament
held its sittings in the Abbey of Holyrood,' and here also his sixteenth and last Parliament
assembled in March 1328. From the glimpses we are able to obtain from time to
time, it may be inferred that it still occupied a very secondary station among the towns
of Scotland; and while the Cast,le was always an object of importance with every rival
power, its situation was much too accessible from the English border to be permanently
chosen as the royal reaidence. In the interregnum, for example, after the death of Margaret,
the Maid of Norway, we find, in 1304, when a general Parliament was summoned
by Edward to be held at Perth, for the settlement of Scotland, sheriffs are appointed for
each of twenty-one burghs named, while Edinburgh is grouped with Haddington and
Linlithgow, under '' Ive de Adeburgh ; " and the recapture of the Castle, on two successive
occasions, by Edward, obtains but a passing notice, amid the stirring interest of the
campaigns d Bruce.
Towards the close of 1312, when the persevering valour of Bruce, and the imbecility of
Edward II., had combined to free nearly every stronghold of Scotland from English garrisons,
we find the Castle of Edinburgh held for the English by Piers Leland, a Gascon
knight; but when Randolph, the nephew of the Bruce, laid it under strict blockade, the
garrison, suspecting his fidelity, thrust him into a dungeon, and prepared, under a newly
chosen commander, to hold out to the last. Matters were in this state, when a romantic
incident restored this important fortress to the Scottish arms. William Frank, a soldier,
who had previously formed one of the Scottish garrison, volunteered to guide the besiegers
by a steep and intricate path up the cliff, by which he had been accustomed in former years
to escape during the night from military durance, to enjoy the society of a fair maiden
of the neighbouring city, of whom he was enamoured. Frequent use had made him familiar
with the perilous ascent ; and, under his guida,nce, Randolph, with thirty men, scaled
the Castle walls at midnight; and after a determined resistance, the garrison was overpowered.
Leland, the imprisoned governor, entered the Scottish service on his release,
and, according to Barbour, was created by the King Viscount of Edinburgh ; but afterwards,
headds, he thought that he had an English heart, and made him to be Aangit and
dramen.'
Acta of Parliament of Scotland, vol. i. fol. Hailes' Annals, vol. i. p. 285.
Ibid., vol. ii. p. 38.
VIGNETTE-Ancient atone from Edinburgh Castle, now in the Antiquarian Museum. ......

Book 10  p. 7
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92 MEMORIALS .OF EDINBURGH.
of St Giles as its Cathedral. The new
service-book, which had been expressly prepared for the use of the Scottish Church,
was, after considerable delay, produced in the public services of the day, on Sunday,
23d July 1637.
In St Giles’s Church, the Dean ascended the reading-desk, arrayed in his surplice, and
opened the service-book. The church was crowded on this memorable occasion, with the
Lord Chancellor, the Lords of the Privy Council, the Judges and Bishops, as well as a vast
multitude of the people.’ No sooner did the Dean commence the unwonted service, than
the utmost confusion and uproar prevailed.
The service being at a pause, the Bishop,
from his seat in the gallery, called to him
to proceed to the Collect of the day.
“ De’il colic the wame 0’ thee I ” exclaimed
Jenny Geddes, as the Dean was preparing
-- to proceed with the novel formulas; and,
hurling the cutty stool, on which she
sat, at his head, ‘( Out,” cried she, “thou
false thief I dost thou say mass at my Jug?”
Dr Lindsay, the Bishop of Edinburgh, now attempted to quell the tumult; he ascended
the pulpit, and reminded the people of the sanctity of the place ; but this only increased
their violence. The Archbishop of St Andrews and the Lord Chancellor interfered with
as little effect; and when the Magistrates at length succeeded, by flattery and threats, in
clearing the church of the most violent of the audience, they renewed their attack from
the outside, and assaulted the church with sticks and stones, shouting meanwhile, Pape,
Pape, Antichrist, pull Aim down! The Bishop was assaulted by them on his leaving the
church ; and, with great difficulty, succeeded in reaching his house in the High Street.
The access to the first floor was, according to the old fashion, still common in that locality,
by an outside stair. As he was endeavouring to ascend this, one of the rabble seized his
gown, and nearly pulled him backward to the street. An old song is believed to have
been written in allusion to this affray, of which only one verse, referring to this scene, has
been preserved :-
The consequences of his efforts are well known.
---------
Put the gown upon the bishop,
That’s his miller‘sdue 0’ haveship;
Jenny Geddes was the gossip,
Put the gown upon the bishop.
The poor Bishop at length reached the top of the stair; but there, when he flattered
himself he was secure of immediate shelter, he found, to his inconceivable vexation, that
the outer door was locked; and he had again to turn round and try, by his eloquence, to
mollify the wrath of his unrelenting assailants. Often did he exclaim, in answer to their
reproaches, that (( he had not the wyte of it,” but all in vain ;-he was hustled down again
to the street, and was only finally rescued, when in danger of his life, by the Earl of
1 Maitland, p. 71. ’ D. Laing, spud Carlyle’s Cromwell, vol. i. p. 137.
VIGNETTE-Jenny Qeddea’s Stool. ......

Book 10  p. 100
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76 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
those of the Queen, and communicating with them by a private staircase. Darnley himself
first ascended the stair, and, throwing back the tapestry that concealed the doorway,
entered the small closet, still pointed out in the north-west turret, where the Queen and
her guests were seated at supper. He threw his arm round her waist, and seated himself
beside her at the table; when Lord Ruthven, a man of tall stature, clad in complete
armour, and pale and ghastly from the effects of disease, burst like a frightful apparition
into the room.
The Queen, now far advanced in pre,pancy, sprung up in terror, and commanded him
instantly to depart ; hut the torchea of hia accomplices already glared in the outer chamber,
and Darnley, though he affected ignorance of the whole proceedings, sat scowling with
looks of hate on their intended victim. The other conspirators crowded into the little
room; and Ruthven, drawing his dagger, attempted to lay hold of Rizzio, who sprang
behind the Queen, and wildly besought her to save his life,
Ker of Fawdonside, one of the conspirators, held his pistol to the Queen’s breast,
threatening her life if she gave any alarm. Darnley at length interfered, and grasped her
in his arms; and George Douglas, snatching Darnley’s own dagger from him, struck at the
wretched Italian over the Queen’s shoulder, and plunging it in his side, left it there. He
was then dragged through the adjoining chamber to the outer entrance, where the Earl of
Morton and his associates rushed in andstruck their daggers into his body, leaving a pool
of blood, the marks of which, according to popular tradition, still remain on the floor, and
are pointed out by the keepers to the credulous visitor.
I
The Queen was kept a close prisoner in
her apartment, while her imbecile husband
assumed the regal power, dissolved the Parliament,
and commanded the Estates immediately
to depart from Edinburgh on paiq of treason.
The Earl of Morton, who had kept guard,
with one hundred and sixty followers, in the
outer court of the Palace while the assassins
entered to complete their murderous purpose,
was now commanded to keep the gates of
the Palace, and let none escape ; but the chief
actors in the deed contrived to elude the
guards, and, leaping over a window on the
north side of the Palace, they fled across the
garden, and escaped by a small outhouse or
lodge, still existing, and known by the name
of Queen Mary’s Bath.
We have been told by the proprietor of this
house, that in making some repairs on the roof,
which required the removal of the slates, a rusty
dagger was discovered sticking in one of the
. planks, and with a portion of. it more deeply corroded than the rest, as- though from the
VIGHETTE--&Ueell Marq’d Bath. ......

Book 10  p. 83
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8 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
supply of water. From thence they sallied out from time to time, as occasions offered,
and not only harassed the enemy in the neighbouring capital, but extended their inroads
even as far as into Northumberland.’
In 1341, the Castle was recovered from the English by an ingenious stratagem, planned
by William Bullock, who had previously held the castle of Coupar for Baliol. Under his
directions, one Walter Curry of Dundee received into his ship two hundred Scots, under
the command of William de Douglas, Frazer, and Joachim of Kinbak, and casting anchor
in Leith Roads, he presented himself to the governor of the Castle, as master of an English
vessel, just arrived with a valuable cargo of wines and provisions on board, which he offered
to dispose of for the use of the garrison. “he bait took; and the pretended trader appeared
at the Castle, according to appointment, early on the following morning, attended by a dozen
armed followers, disguised as sailors. Upon entering the Castle, they contrived to overturn
their casks and hampers, so as to obstruct the closing of the gates, and instantly slew
the porter and guard. At an appointed signal, Douglas and his men sprung from their
concealment in the immediate neighbourhood, and, after a fierce conflict, overpowered the
garrison, and took possession of the Castle, in the name of David 11. In the following
month the young King, with his consort, Johanna, landed from France, and, within a short
time, the English were expelled from Scotland. When, a few years afterwards, the disastrous
raid of Durham terminat,ed in the defeat of the Scottish army, and the captivity
of the King, we find, in the treaty for his ransom, the merchants and burgesses of Edinburgh,
along with those of Aberdeen, Perth, and Dundee, are held bound for themselves,
and all the other merchants of Scotland, for its fulfilment. And, ultimately, a Parliament
was held at Edinburgh, in 1357, for final adjustment of the terms of the royal ransom, where
the Regent Robert, the steward of Scotland (afterwards King Robert II.), presided ; at
which, in addition to the clergy and nobles, there were delegates present from seventeen
burghs, among which Edinburgh appears for the first time placed at the head.
After David 11. returned from
England, he resided during his
latter days in the Castle, to
which he made extensive additions,
enlarging the fortifications
so recently rebuilt; and
adding in particular an extensive
building, afterwards known
by the name of David’s
Tower,” which stood for 200
years, till battered to pieces in
the regency of James VI. ; and
here he died on the 22d February
.
1370, in the forty-second year of his age, and was buried in the church of the Abbey of Holyrood,
before the high altar. He was a brave and gifted prince, who in happier times might
1 Caledonia, vol. ii. p. 290.
VIQNETTdThe Castle, from a map engraved in 1575, showing King David’s Tower. ......

Book 10  p. 9
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188 EIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
manners ; and one or two others are supposed to glide around the door of the
Guard-House, assigned to them at the Luckenbooths, when their ancient refuge
in the High Street was laid low. But the faith of manuscripts bequeathed to
friends and executors is so uncertain, that the narrative containing these frail
memorials of the Old Town Guard of Edinburgh, who, with their grim and
valiant corporal, John Dhu (the fiercest looking fellow I ever saw), were in my
boyhood, the alternate terror and derision of the petulant brood of the High
School, may perhaps only come to light when all memory of the institution has
faded away, and then serve as an illustration of Kay’s Cakztures, who has preserved
the features of some of their heroes.”
Towards the close of last century several reductions had taken place in the
number of the Guard; and, in 1805, when the New Police Bill for Edinburgh
came into operation, the corps was entirely broken up. At the same time, however,
partly from reluctance to do away all at once with so venerable a municipal
force, and by way of employing, instead of pensioning off, some of the old
hands, a new corps, consisting of two sergeants, two corporals, two drummers,
and thirty privates, was formed from the wreck of the former. Of this new
City Guard, as it was called, the subject of our sketch, Mr. James Burnet-the
senior Captain-was appointed to the command, and was the last who held the
situation.
CAPTAINB URNETw as a native of East-Lothian. He was one of the Captains
of the Guard who had not previously been in the army ; and if we except his
experience as a member of the First Regiment of Edinburgh Volunteers, may be
supposed to have been a novice in military matters. Previous to his appointment,
he kept a grocer’s shop at the head of the Fleshmarket Close.
The personal appearance of Mr. Burnet is well delineated in the Portrait.
He was a man of great bulk ; and when in his best days, weighed upwards of
nineteen stone. He was, nevertheless, a person of considerable activity, and of
much spirit, as will appear from the following instance. Along with one or two
gentlemen, he was one summer day cooling himself with a meridian draught in
a well-known tavern, when the late Mr. James Laing, Deputy City Clerk, who
was one of the party, took a bet with the Captain that he would not walk to
the top of Arthur’s Seat, from the base of the hill, within a quarter of an
hour, Mr. Eurnet at once agreed to the wager ; and Mr. Smellie, who happened
to be the lightest and most active of the company, was appointed to proceed
with the pedestrian in the capacity of umpire. The task, it must be admitted
by all who know anything of the locality, was an amazing one for a person of
nineteen stone on a hot summer day! The Captain courageously set about
his arduous undertaking, steering his way by St. Anthony’s Well, up the
ravine. But to describe his progress, as he literally melted and broiled under
the rays of the pitiless sun, would require the graphic pen of a Pindar. Never
did “ fodgel wight or rosy priest ” perform such a penance. When he reached
the most difficult part of his jonrney, the Captain looked as if about to give up ......

Book 9  p. 252
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372 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
‘approach to our cc Modern Athens” from the neighbouring coast. When, some two or
three centuries hence, the New Town shall have ripened into fruit for some twenty-second
century Improvements Commission, their first scheme will probably lead to the restoration
of Gabriel’s Road, and its counterpart from Charlotte Square to Pitt Street, marking the
saltier of Scotland’s patron saint on the antiquated parallelograms of James Craig I
The village of Silvermills, the remains of which lie concealed behind St Stephen’s
Church and the modern streets that surround it, may not improbably owe its origin to
some of the alchemical projects of James IT. or V., both of whom were greatly addicted
to the royal sport of hunting for the precious metals, with which the soil of Scotland was
then believed to abound. Sir Archibald Napier, the father of the philosopher, was
appointed Master of the Mint and superintendent of the mines and minerals within the
kingdom; and we are assured, on the authority of an ancient manuscript in the Cotton
Library, that The Laird of Merchiston got gold in Pentland Hills.”‘ The village of
Silvermills consists almost entirely of a colony of tanners, but one or two of its houses
present the crow-stepped gables of the aeventeenth century; and though now enclosed
within the extended town, we. can remember many a Saturday’s ramble through green
fields that ended at this rural Aamlet.
Another and more important village, which has experienced the same fate as that of
Silvermills, is the ancient baronial burgh of Broughton. Its name occurs in the charter
of foundation of Holyrood Abbey, granted by David I. in 1128, and implies, according to
Marnitlandt,h e Castle town. If it ever possessed B fortalice or keep, from whence its name
was derived, all vestiges of it had disappeared centuries before its fields were invaded by
the extending capital. The Tolbooth, however, wherein the baron’s courts were held, and
offenders secured to abide his judgment,
or to endure its penalties,
stood within these few years near
the centre of the old village, bearing
over its north door the date 1582.
Its broad flight of steps was appropriately
flanked with a venerable
pair of stocks; a symbol of justice
of rare occurrence in Scotland,
where the joug3 were the usual and
more national mode of pillory. The
annexed vignette will srdice to
convey some idea of this antique
structure, which stood nearly in the
centre of the New Town, on the ground now occupied by the east end of Barony Street,
from whence it was only removed with all its paraphernalia of obsolete minners and
laws in the year 1829. The curious rambler may still stumble on one or two of the
humble tenements of the old village, lying concealed among the back lanes of the modern
town. A few years since, its rows of tiled and thatched cottages, with their rude fore-
Niaoellane Scotioa, Napier of Herohiaton, p, 228.
VIOXETTE--The Tolbooth, Broughton. ......

Book 10  p. 409
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278 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
wes almaist at the port, and the said men of weare standand in clois heids in readines to
haue enterit at the bak of the samyne, movit Thomas Barrie to pass furth of the port,
doun to the Cannogait, to have sene his awne hous, quhair in his said passage he
persavit the saidis ambushmentis of men of weare, and with celeritie retiirnit and warnit
the watchemen and keiparis of the said port; quhilk causit thame to steik the samin
quicklie, and sua this devyse and interpryse tuke na prosperous effect.”l The citizens
took warning from this, and built another gate within the outer port to secure them
against any such surprise. There is something amusingly simple both in the ambuscade
of the besiegers, and its discovery by the honest burgher while taking his quiet morning’s
stroll beyond the walls. But the whole incidents of the siege display an almost total
ignorance of the science of war, or of the use of the engines they had at command. The
besiegers gallop up Leith Wynd and down St Mary’s Wynd, on their way to Dalkeith,
seemingly unmolested by the burgher watch, who overlooked them from the walls ; or
they valorously drag their artillery up the Canongate, and after venturing a few shots at
the Nether Bow they drag them back, regarding it as a feat of no little merit to get them
safely home again.
Many houses still remain scattered about the main street and the lanes of the Canongate
which withstood these vicissitudes of the Douglas wars; and one which has been
described to us by its owner as of old styled the Parliament House, may possibly be that
of William Oikis, wherein the Regent Lennox, with the Earls of Morton, Mar, Glencairn,
Crawford, Menteith, and Buchan; the Lords Ruthven and Lindsay and others
assembled, and after pronouncing the doom of forefaulture against William Maitland,
.
younger of Lethington, and the chief of their opponents,
adjourned the Parliament to meet again at Stirling,
This house,’ which was situated on the west side of the
Old Flesh Market Close, presented externally as mean
and uninviting an appearance as might well be conceived.
An inspection of its interior, however, furnished
unquestionable evidence both of its former
magnificence and its early date. The house before
its entire demolition was in the most wretched state
of decay, and was one of the very last buildings
in Edinburgh that a superficial observer would have
singled out for any assemblage except a parliament of
jolly beggars; but on penetrating to an inner lobby
of its gloomy interior, a large and curiously carved
niche was discovered, of the. same character as those
described in t8he Guise Palace. The workmanship of
it, as will be seen in the accompanying view, though
in a style ap_ _p arently somewhat later, is much more
elaborate than any of those previously noticed, except the largest one on the east side of
Diurn. of Occurrents, pp. 239, 240.
The house, with several of the adjoining closes here referred to, has been taken down, at the instance of the City
Impmvementa’ Commission. ......

Book 10  p. 302
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32 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH,
of the Scottish army from the capital, though familiar to many, are too intimately associated
with our local history to be omitted here. The King had already been warned against the
war, by an apparition of St John, at Linlithgow; “yet this but hasted him fast to Edinburgh,
to make him ready, and to make provision for himself and his army against the day
appointed. That is, he had seven great cannons out of the Castle of Edinburgh, called
the Seven Sisters, casten by Robert Borthwik, the master-gunner ; furnished with powder
and lead to them at their pleasure; and in the meantime, they were taking out the artillery,
the King himself being in the Abbey, there was a cry heard at the Market-cross of Edinburgh,
about midnight, proclaiming, as it had been, a Bummons, which was called by the
proclaimer thereof the summon of Plotcok,’ desiring all earls, lords, barons, gentlemen,
and sundry burgesses within the town, to compear before his master within forty days ; and
so many as were called, were designed by their own names. But whether this summons
was proclaimed by vain persons, night walkers, for their pastime, or if it was a spirit, I
cannot tell. But an indweller in the town, called Mr Richard Lawsoun, being evil disposed,
ganging in his gallery-stair, foment the Cross, hearing this voice, thought marvel
what it should be : So he cried for his servant to bring him his purse, and took a crown
and cast it over the stair, saying, ‘ I, for my part, appeal from your summons and judgment,
and take me to the mercy of God.’ Verily, he who caused me chronicle this, was
a sufficient landed gentleman, who was in the town in the meantime, and was then twenty
years of age ; and he swore after the field there was not a man that was calledat that time
that escaped, except that one man, that appealed from their judgment.”* But neither this,
nor the entreaties of his Queen, who urged that ‘(she had but one son to him, quilk was
over weak ane warrand to the realme of Scotland!” could turn back the King from his
rash purpose. In defiance, as it seemed, alike of earth and heaven, the gallant, but headstrong
and devoted Monarch led forth the flower of Scottish chivalry to perish with him on
the bloody field of Flodden. The body of the King having fallen, as is understood, into
the hands of the victors, he was believed by many to have gone on his intended pilgrimage
to the Holy Land; and popular tradition continued long after to regard him as another
King Arthur, or Sebastian, who was yet to return in the hour of danger, and right the
nation’s wrongs.
We shall close this chapter with a curious, and we believe unique fragment of a ballad,
embodying this tradition, with other more local and apposite allusions.
An about the mids 0’ the night.
He crap to the field 0’ the bluid ;
Laigh he bowit an dour he lookit,
Eut never a worde he spak.’
He turned the dead knight round about,
Till the moon shon on his bree ;
But hia Both wm tined wit a bluidy gash,
Drumbelee grew his ee.
1 Pluto. Pitscottie, vol. i. p. 266. Probably should be “said” ......

Book 10  p. 34
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I54 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
mnnicathg with some curious and intricate machinery within.”’ This interesting relic
was obtained from a relative of the discoverer by Robert-Chambers, Esq., the author of the
‘‘ Traditions of Edinburgh,” by whom it was
presented to Sir Walter Scott. It was empty
at the time of its discovery, but is supposed to
have been used for holding the smaller and
more valuable furnishings of the altar. It is
now in the collection at Abbotsford, and
has all the appearance of great antiquity.
Portions of another curious relic, found near
the same spot, and presented by the late
E. A. Drummond Hay, Esq., to the Society
of Antiquaries, are thus described in the
list of donations for 1829 :-‘‘ An infantine
head and hand, in wax, being all thatremained
of a little figure of the child Jesus,
discovered in May 1828, in a niche carefully
walled up in the chapel of the house
formerly occupied by Mary of Lorraine, in
Blyth’s Close, Castle Hill.”
Considerable fragments of very fine carvin-g
in oak remained in the chapel till within these few years. One specimen in particular,
now in the possession of C. K. Sharpe, Esq., presents a richly carved and exceedingly
beautiful design of grapes and vine leaves, surmounted by finial6 ; and other portions of
the same decorations have recently been adopted by the Duke of Sutherland, as models
for the carved work introduced by him in the interior fittings of Dunrobin Castle. The
windows of the chapel were very tall and narrow, and singularly irregular in their
height; their jams were splayed externally on the one side, as is not uncommon in the
narrow closes of the Old Town, to catch every ray of light, and exhibited the remains
of stone mullions with which they had been originally divided.
In the east wall of this building, which still stands, there is a curious staircase built in
the thickness of the wall, which afforded access from the chapel to an apartment below,
where there was a draw-well of fine clear water, with a raised parapet of stone surrounding
it. Immediately to the north of this, on the same floor, another room existed with interesting
remains-of former grandeur; the fireplace was in the same rich style of Gothic design
already described, and at the left side there was a handsome Gothic niche, with a plain one
immediately adjoining it. The entrance to this portion of the Palace was locked and
cemented with the rust of years ; the door leading to the inner staircase was also built up,
and it had remained in this deserted and desolate state during the memory of the oldest of
the neighbouring inhabitants ; excepting that ‘‘ ane sturdy beggar ” lived for some time,
rent free, in one of the smaller rooms, hia only mode of ingress or egress to which was by
Traditions, vol i. p. 85. * The genuineness of this relic. has been oalled in question, from its reaemblance to the fragments of a large doll, but
those who have viaited the Continent will readily acknowledge the groundlessnesa of such an objection. ’ ......

Book 10  p. 167
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148 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
occupied, the outer framework on one side being nearly cut away ; but its original position
was doubtless one of importance, suited to its highly decorated character. The
armorial bearings, though suggesting no relation to those of the Queen Regent, serve to
prove that it had been executed for the mansion in which it was found, as the game arms,
impaled on one shield, was sculptured over the uorth doorway of the building on the
east side of the close, with the date 1557, already alluded to, as the oldest then existing
on any house in Edinburgh,’ and the initials A. A., as represented below. The lintel
had been removed from its original position to heighten the doorway, for the purpose of
converting this part of the old Palace into a stable, and was built into a wall immediately
adjacent ; but its mouldings completely corresponded with the sides of the doorway from
which it had been taken, and the high land was rent up through the whole of its north
front, owiug to its abstraction.e This portion of the Palace formed a sort of gallery,
extending across the north end of the whole buildings, and internally affording communication
from those in Todd’s and Nairn’s Closes, and that on the west side of Blyth‘s
Cloae, with the oratory or chapel on the east side of the latter. The demolition of these
buildings brought to light many interesting features of their original character. The whole
had been fitted up at their erection in a remarkably elegant and highly ornate style ; the
fieplaces especially were all of large dimensions, and several of very graceful and elegant
proportions. One of these we have already alluded to, with its fine Gothic niche at the
side; another in Todd’s Close was of a still more beautiful design, the clustered pillars
were further adorned with roses filling the interstices, and this also had a very rich Gothic
niche at its side, entirely differing in form from the last, and indeed from all the others
that we have examined, in the apparent remains of a stoup or hollowed basin, the front of
1 It is not necessarily inferred from this that no older house exists. The walla of Holyrood admitted of being
roofed again after the burning in 1544, and it is not unlikely that some of the oldest houses still remaining passed
through the same fiery ordeaL
This stone, which is in good preservation, is now in the interesting collection of antiquities of A. 0. Ellis, Esq.
W e have failed to trace from the shield any clue to the original owner or builder of this part of the Palace ; but the
data now furnished may perhaps enable others to be more successful. Sir Robert Carnegie of Kinnaird, who WBB
appointed one of the Senatora of the College of Justice in 1547, and as Ambassador to France in 1551, had a great
share in persuading the Duke of Chatelherault to resign the regency to Mary of Guise,-bore for arms an eagle displayed,
aeure ; but his wife’s arms,-a daughter of Outhrie of Lunan,-do not correspond with those impaled with
them, and the initials are also irreconcilable, The same objediom hold good in the cue of his son, a faithful adherent
of Queen Mary. ......

Book 10  p. 160
(Score 0.68)

CONTENTS.
- --
CHAPTER I
THE KIRK OF ST. MARY-IN-THE-FIELDS.
YhCD
Memorabilia of the Edifice-Its Age-Altars-Made Collegiate-The Prebendal Buildings-Ruined-The House of the KW-of Field-The
Murder of Darnley-Robert Balfour, the Last Pmvost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . I
CHAPTER 11.
T H E UNIVERSITY.
A n ~ l s of the Old Co:lege-Chartem of Queen Mary and James VI.-OM College described-The lirst Regems-King Jdmes?s Letter of
1617-Quarrel with Town Council-Students? IZlot in 1 6 b T h e Principal Dismissed-Abolished Offices-Dissection for the first
time-Quarrel with the Town Council-The Museum-The Greek Chair-System of Education introduced by Principal Rollock-The
Early Mode of Education-A Change in r7jo-The Old Hours of Attendance-The Silver Mace-The Projects of 1763 and 1789 for a
New College-The Foundation laid-Completion of the New College-Its Corporatiop after ~8~&-Pnnapal.-Chairs, and First
Holders thereof-Afew Notable Bequests-Income-The Library-The Museums . . . , . . . . . . . 8
CHAPTEK 111.
THE DISTRICT OF THE BURGHMUIR.
The Muster by James 111.-Eurghmuir feued by James 1V.-Muster before Flodden-Relics thereof-The Pest--The Skirmish of Lowsie
Low-A Duel in 17zz-Valleyfreld House and Lmen Lodge-Barclay Free Church-Bruntsfield Links and the Golf Clubs . . . 27
CHAPTER IV.
DISTRICT OF THE BURGHMUIR (concZrr&d).
Morningside and Tipperlin-Provost Coulter?s Funeral-Asylum for the Insane-Sultana of the Crimea4ld Thorn Tree-The Braids of that
Ilk-The FairleF of Braid-The Plew Lands-Craiglockhart Hall and House-The Kincaib and other Proprieto-John Hill Burton-
The Old Tower-Meggatland and Redhan-White House Loan-The White House-St. Margaret?s Convent-Bruntsfield House-The
Warrenders-Greenhill and the Fairholm-Memorials of the Chapel of SL Roque-St. Giles?s Grange-The Dicks and Lauders-
Grange Cemetery-Memorial Churches , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:
CHAPTER V.
THE DISTRICT OF NEWINGTON.
The Causewayside-Summerhall-Clerk Street Chapel and other Churches-Literary Institute-Mayfield Loan-Old Houses-Fre Church-
The Powbnrn-Fernde Blind Asylum-Chapel of St. John the Baptist-Dominican Convent at the Sciennes-Scienns Hill House-Scott
and Burns meet-New Trades Maiden Hospital-Hospital for Incurables-Pratonfield House--The Hamiltons and Dick-Cunninghams
--Cemetery at Echo Bnnk-lhe Lands of Gmemn-Craigmillar-Dption of the Castle- James V., Queen Mary, and Damlev.
wraentthere-QueenMary?sTree--ThePrestonsandGilmours-PeBerMillHo~~. ......

Book 6  p. 393
(Score 0.68)

98 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
block of stone, for the purpose of erecting a colossal statue of his Highness in the Parliament
Square.
The block had just been landed on the shore of Leith, when the news arrived of Cromwell’s
death. Monk altered his policy, and the magistrates not only found it convenient to
forget their first intention, but with politic pliability, some years after, they erected the fine
equestrian statue of Charles II., which still adorns that locality. The rejected block lay
neglected on the sands at Leith, though all along known by the title of Oliver Cromwell,
till, in November 1788, Mr Walter ROSSt,h e well-known antiquary, had it removed, with
no little difficulty, to the rising ground where Ann Street now stands, nearly opposite St
Bernard’s Well. The block was about eight feet high, intended apparently for the upper
half of the f i p e . The workmen of the quarry had prepared it for the chisel of the statuary,
by giving it, with the hammer, the shape of a monstrous mummy, and there stood the
Protector, like a giant in his shroud, frowning upon the city; until after the death of
Mr Ross, his curious collection of antiquities was scattered, and the ground feued for
building.‘
General Monk, commander-in-chief of the army in Scotland, having resolved, after the
death of Cromwell, to accomplish the restoration of Charles II., proceeded to arrange matters
previous to his march for London. He summoned a meeting of commissioners of the
counties and boroughs to assemble at Edinburgh on the 15th of November 1659; and after
having communicated his instructions to them, and ,received a special address of thanks
from the magistrates of Edinburgh for his many services rendered to the city during his
residence in Scotland, he returned to England to put his purpose in force.
On the 11th of May, in the following year, the magistrates sent the town-clerk to the
King, at Breda, to express their joy at the prospect of his restoration. The messenger
paved the way to the royal favour by the humble presentation of ‘‘a poor myte of 31000,
which the King did graciously accept, as though it had been a greater business I ”
The ‘‘ happy restoration ” was celebrated in Edinburgh with the customary civic rejoicings,
bonfires, banquets, ringing of bells, and firing of cannon ; though some difficulty was
experienced in reconciling the soldiers to the unwonted task of firing the Castle guns on
such an occasion of national rejoicing.a There was much wine spent on the occasion, ‘ I the
spoutes of the Croce ryning and venting out abundance of wyne, and the Magistrates and
Council of the town drinking the King’s health, and breaking numbers of glasses I ”
Caledonian Mercury, Nov. 10, 1788. The block was afterwards replaced at the end of Ann Street, overhanging
the bed of the Water of Leith, and, either by accident or designedly, waa shortly afterwards precipitated down the steep
bank, and broken in pieces. a Nicol‘s Diary, p. 283.
I ......

Book 10  p. 107
(Score 0.68)

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