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THE Castle Hill,? says Dr. Chambers, ? is partly ? an esplanade, serving as a parade ground for the garrison, and partly a street, the upper portion of that vertebral line which, under the names of Lawnbeen characterised as ? hovels that are a disgrace to Europe.? In lists concerning the Castle of Edinburgh, the first governor appears to have been Thomas de Cancia in I 147 ; the first constable, David Kincaid of Coates House, in 1542 ; and the first State prisoner warded therein Thomas of. Colville in 12 10, for conspiring against William the Lion. We may fittingly take leave of the grand old ?( Archzologia Scotica,? which contains an ? Elegie on the great and famous Blew Stone which lay on the Castle Hill, and was interred there.? On this relic, probably a boulder, a string of verses form , Castle in the fine lines of Burns?s ?Address to Edinburgh ? :- ~ ? There, watching high the least alarms, Thy rough, rude fortress gleams afar; Like some bold ver?ran, grey in arms, And marked with many a seamy scar ; The pond?rous wall and massy bar, Grim rising o?er the rugged rock, Have oft withstood assailing war, And oft repelled th? invader?s shock.? market, High Street, and Canongate, extends to I the doggerel elegy :- Holyrood Palace f but it is with the Esplanade and banks we have chiefly to deal at present. Those who now see the Esplanade, a peaceful open space, 5 10 feet in length by 300 in breadth,with the squads of Highland soldiers at drill, or the green bank that slopes away to the north, covered with beautiful timber, swarming in summer with little ones in care of their nurses, can scarcely realise that thereon stood the ancient Spur, before which so many men have perished RUNIC CROSS, CASTLE BANK. sword in hand, and that it was the arena of so many revolting executions by the axe and stake, for treason, hereay, and sorcery. It lay in a rough state till 1753, when the earth taken from the foundations of the Royal Exchange \vas spread over it, and the broad flight of forty steps which gave access to the drawbridge was buried. The present ravelin before the half-moon was built in 1723 ; but alterations in the level must have taken place prior to that, to judge from ?Our old Blew Stone, that?s His marrow may not be; Large, twenty feet in length His bulk none e?er did Doiir and dief, and run with When he preserved men. Behind his back a batterie Contrived with packs of Let?s now think on, since We ?re in the Castle?s dead and gone, he was, ken ; grief, was, woo, he is gone, view.? The woolpacks evidently refer to the siege of 1689. The Esplanade was impraved in 1816 by a parnpet and railing on the north. and a fea years after by a low mall on the south, strengthened by alternate towers and turrets. A bronze statue of the Duke of York and Albany, K.G., holding his marshal?s b%ton, was erected on the north side in 1839, and a little lower down are two Celtic memorial crosses of remarkable beauty. The larger and more ornate of them was erected in 1862, by the officers and soldiers of the 78th Ross-shire Highlanders, to the memory of their comrades who fell during the revolt in India in 1857-8 j and the ... Castle Hill,? says Dr. Chambers, ? is partly ? an esplanade, serving as a parade ground for the garrison, and ...

Book 1  p. 79
(Score 0.91)

THE CASTLE. 123 Along the deeply arched vault which leads into the Argyle Battery, may be traced the openings for two portcullises, and the hinges of several successive gates that formerly guarded this important pass. In Sandby’s view, already referred to, from which the vignette at the head of this chapter is copied, this gateway is shown as finished with an embattled parapet, and a flat roof, on which a guard could be statioued for its defence ; but since then it has been disfigured by the erection over it of an additional building, of a very unornamental character, intended for the use of the master carpenter. The apartment immediately above the long vaulted archway, is a place of peculiar interest, as the ancient state prison of the Castle. Within this gloomy stronghold, both the Marquis and Earl of Argyle were most probably confined previous to trial ; and here also many of lesser note have been held in captivity at different periods, down to the eventful year 1746, when numerous noble and gallant adherents of the house of Stuart were confined in it, as well as others suspected of an attachment to the same cause.l The last state prisoners lodged in this stronghold were Watt and Downie, accused of high treason, in 1794, the former of whom was condemned and executed. It was at first, intended to have fulfilled the sentence of the law at the ancient place of execution for traitors, on the Castle Hill, but this being considered liable to be construed into a betrayal of fear on the part of Government, as seeking to place themoelves under the protection of the Castle guns, he was ultimately executed in the Lawnmarket. The only other objects of ipterest in the outer fortress are the Governor’s House, a building probably erected in the reign of Queen Anne, and the Armoury, immediately behind it, where a well appointed store of arms \s preserved, neatly arranged, intermixed with some relics of ancient warfare. In the exterior fortificatione, to the west of the Armoury, may still be traced the archway of the ancient postern, which has been built up for many years. Here Viscount Dundee held his conference with the Duke of Gordon, when on his way to raise the Highland cla.ns in favour of King James, while the Convention were assembled in the Parliament House, and were proceeding to settle the crown upon William and Mary. With only thirty of his dragoons, he rode down Leith Wynd, and along what was called the Long-Gate, a road nearly on the present line of Princes Street, while the town was beating to arms to pursue him. Leaving his men at the Kirkbrae- head, he clambered .up the rock at this place, and urgently besought the Duke to accompany him to the HighlandR, and summon his numerous vassals to rise on behalf of King James. The Duke, however, preferred to remain and hold out the Castle for the terror of the Convention, and Dundee hastily pursued his way to Stirling.’ On this same site we may, with every probability, presume the ancient postern to have stood, through which the body of the pious Queen Margaret was secretly conveyed in the year 1093, while the fortress was besieged by Donald Bane, the usurper.* The most interesting buildings, however, in the Castle, are to be found, as might be ’ The rebel ladiw are also said to have been confined there, and Lady OgiMe made her escape in the drem of a * Minor Antiquitiea, p. 65. * Ante, p. 3. It has been stated (Walks in Edinburgh, p 52), but, we think, without su5cient evidence, that the Castle was without fortifications on the west and north siderr until recent period, tradition assigning their fimt erection to William 111. But the same walls that still exist appear in (lordon’s map, 1648, with the remains of ruinous buildinga attnched to them, proving their antiquity at that earlier date. washerwoman, brought by Wias Balmain, who remained in her stead ; she was allowed afterwards to go free. ... CASTLE. 123 Along the deeply arched vault which leads into the Argyle Battery, may be traced the openings for ...

Book 10  p. 134
(Score 0.9)

40 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH. * * * Ilk man efter thair qualitie, Thay did solist his Majestie, Sum gad him ravel1 at the rakket, Some harlit him to the hurly hakket. And sum to schaw their courtlie corsis, Wald ryid to,Leith, and rin tbair horsis. at the last thair vaiked ane benefice quhilk pat thame all at variance for the dispositioun of the same.”l And so, after dividing with more or less success the patronage of the crown, the nobles parted in greater disagreement than ever ; “ bot Bischope James Beatoun remained &till in Edinburgh, in his awin ludging, quhilk he biggit in the Frieris Wynd.” ’ C1525.1 The nominal rule of the youthful Sovereign proved of little avail to stay the turbulence of hia haughty nobles ; Angus again seized the government, nominating his uncle, Archibald Douglas, Provost of Edinburgh. And such waa the power he possessed, that, under his protection, the assassins of M’Lellan of Bombie, who was slain in open day at the door of St Giles’s Church, walked with impunity about the streets ; while the Queen herself deemed his safe conduct. necessary, while she resided in Edinburgh, though the Parliament was sitting there at the time. And so the King returned again to honourable durance in the dilapidated palace of the Castle ; or only made his appearance to act as the puppet of his governor. At this time it was that Arran and his faction demanded that the Parliament should assemble within the Castle, to secure them against popular coercion ; but Angus, and a numerous body of the nobles, and others, protested ‘‘ that the Parliament be kept in the accustomed place, and that the King be conveyed along the High Street, and in triumph shown to his own people.” And this being denied them, they surrounded the Castle with two thousand men in arms, completely preventing the supplies of the garrison. Those in the Castle retaliated, by firing on the town : but their differences were happily accommodated, and “ the King in. magnificence and pomp is convoyed from the Castle to his palace at Holyrood House, and the Estates assemble in the wonted place of the town of Edinburgh.” C1526.1 The Earl of Lennox assembled a numerous body of adherents in the following year, and marched towards Edinburgh to the rescue of the King; but Angus not only caused the provost to ring the alarum bell, and raise the town in his defence, but he persuaded the Eing, though much against his will, to head the burgher force against his own friends. “Then the King caused sound his trumpets, and lap upon horse, and caused ring the commoun bell of Edinburgh, commanding all manner of men to follow him ; so he issued forth at the Wast Port, and the touoes of Edinburgh and Leith with him, to the number of thrie thousand men, and passed forwards with thame,” but only to arrive in time to witness the death of the Earl of Lennox, and the complete discomfiture of his Paw. C1528.1 Frequent attempts were made thereafter for the King’s delivery from this thraldom ; but that which so many had failed in securing, he at length effected, by his’ own Pitscottig vol. ii p. 312. Ibid, p. 313. 8 Hawthornden, p. 93. ... MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH. * * * Ilk man efter thair qualitie, Thay did solist his Majestie, Sum gad him ravel1 ...

Book 10  p. 43
(Score 0.9)

the following day, accompanied by twelve armed ? men, disguised as seamen, with hoods over their helmets, he appeared at the Castle gates, where they contrived to overturn their casks and hampers, so as to prevent the barriers being closed by the guards and warders, who were instantly slain. At a given signal-the shrill blast of a bugle-horn- Douglas and his companions, with their war-cry, rushed from a place of concealment close by. Sir Richard de Limoisin, the governor, made a bitter resistance, but was overpowered in the end, and his garrison became the prisoners of David II., who returned from France in the following month, accompanied by his queen Johanna; and by that time not an Englishman was left in Scotland. But miserable was the fate of Bullock. By order of a Sir David Berkeley he was thrown into the castle of Lochindorb, in Morayshire, and deliberately starved to death. On this a Scottish historian remarks, ? It is an ancient saying, that neither the powekful, nor the valiant, nor the wise, long flourish in Scotland, since envy obtaineth the mastery of them all.? When, a few years afterwards, the unfortunate battle of Durham ended in the defeat of the Scots, and left their king a prisoner of war, we find in the treaty for his ransom, the merchants of Edinburgh, together with those of Perth, Aberdeen, atid Dundee, binding themselves to see it paid. In 1357 a Parliament was held at Edinburgh for its final adjustment, when the Regent Robert (afterwards Robert 11.) presided ; in addition to the clergy and nobles, there were present delegates from seventeen burghs, and among these Edinburgh In 1365 we find a four years? truce with England, signed at London on the 20th May, and in the Castle on the 12th of June; and another for I appeared at the head for thejrst time. fourteen years, dated at the Castle 28th October, 1371- So often had the storm of war desolated its towers, that the Castle of Edinburgh (which became David?s favourite residence after his return from England ?in 1357) was found to require extensive repairs, and to these the king devoted himself. On the cliff to the northward he built ?David?s Tower,? an edifice of great height and strength, and therein he died on the zznd February, 1371, and was buried before the high altar at Holyrood. The last of the direct line of Brucea name inseparably connected with the military glory and independence of Scotland-David was a monarch who, in happier times, would have done much to elevate his people. The years of his captivity in England he beguiled with his pencil, and in a vault of Nottingham Castle ?he left behind hini,? says Abercrornbie, in his ? Martial Achievements,? I? the whole story of our Saviour?s Passion, curiously engraven on the rock with his own hands. For this, says one, that castle became as famous as formerly it had been for Mortimer?s hole.? It was during bis reign that, by the military ingenuity of John Earl of Carrick and four other knights of skill, the Castle was so well fortified, that, with a proper garrison, the Duke of Rothesay was able to resist the utmost efforts of Henry IV., when he besieged it for several weeks in 1400. The Castle had been conferred as a free gift upon Earl John by his father King Robert, and in consequence of the sufferings endured by the inhabitants when the city was burned by the English, under Richard II., he by charter empowered the citizens to build houses within the fortress, free of fees to the constable, on the simple understanding that they were persons of good fame. ? . - CHAPTER IV. CASTLE OF EDINBURGH-(continucd). Progress of the Cuy-Ambassador of Charles VI.- Edinburgh burned-Henry IV. batAed-Albany?s Prophecy-Laws regarding the Building of House-Sumptuary Laws, 1457-Murder of James I.-Coronation of James 11.-Court Intrigues-Lord Chancellor Crichton-Arrogance of the Earl of Douglas-~-Faction Wars-The Castle Besieged-? The Black DinneF?-Edinburgh walled-Its Strength-Bale-fires. THE chief characteristic of the infant city now was that of a frontier town, ever on the watch to take arms against an invader, and resolute to resist him. Walsingham speaks of it as a village ; and in 1385 its population is supposed to have barely exceeded 2,oooj yet Froissart called it the Pans of Scotland, though its central street presented but a meagre line of thatched or stane-dated houses, few of which were more than twenty feet in height. Froissart numbers them at 4,000, which would give a greater population than has been alleged. With the accession of Robert 11.-the first of the ... following day, accompanied by twelve armed ? men, disguised as seamen, with hoods over their helmets, he ...

Book 1  p. 26
(Score 0.9)

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. ... MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH. Dederyk, Alderman of Edinburgh, with the whole community of the town, swore fealty ...

Book 10  p. 7
(Score 0.9)

discharged by the hand of the Major-General commanding. From the ? Archieologia Scotica ? we cull the following curious anecdote :-Soon after the death of Cromwell, the English Council, in 1660, suspecting General Monk?s fidelity, sent an order to remove him from the head of their forces in Scotland. Their ordinary special messenger, who received it, concealed its nature, and at once began his march southward, with the army of Scotland, to accomplish the Restoration. When the Puritan gunners in the Castle were ordered to fire a salute in honour of that event, an old ?saint? of Oliver?s first campaigns bluntly refused obedience, saying, ?May the devil blaw me into the air gif I lowse a cannon this day ! If I do, that the principal servant of the former met, near the Canongate- head, his old friend the messenger, whom he accosted with cordiality. ? How comes it,? he asked, ?that you go in this direction, and not, as usual, to the General at Dalkeith?? ?Because my despatches are for the Castle.? With ready wit the servant of Monk suspected that something was wrong, and proposed they should have a bottle together. The messenger partook freely ; the servant purloined the despatch; Monk Tower on the accusation of ?complying with Cromwell in the death of Charles I.? Thus he found himself a captive in the dungeons under the same hall in which he had feasted the Protector, and where he could hear the salutes fired as the remains of his rival Montrose were laid in the church of St. Giles. He was brought to trial in the Parliament House, where Middleton, with fierce exultation, laid before the peers certain letters written by the Marquis to Cromwell, all expressive of attachment to him personally and ... by the hand of the Major-General commanding. From the ? Archieologia Scotica ? we cull the following ...

Book 1  p. 56
(Score 0.9)

AFTER the royal marriage and coronation of Tames 111. with Margaret of Oldenburg-both of which ceremonies took place with great pomp at Edinburgh in 1476, he unfortunately contrived to lisgust his proud nobility by receiving into favour many persons of inferior rank. Thus, deep and dangerous intrigues were formed against him, and by those minions he was soon made aware that his brothers-Alexander Duke of Albany, and John Earl of Mar-were forming a conspiracy against him, and that the former aimed at nothing less than wresting the sceptre from his hand, and getting himself, with English aid, crowned as Alexander IV., King of Scotland and the Isles-a fact since proved by authentic documents. Instead of employing his authority as Warden of the Marches in the repression of outrage, Albany THE ROYAL LODGING OR PALACE, FROM THE GRAND PARADE. I than once; he slew John of Scougal in East Lothian; and surrounded himself with a band of desperadoes, who at his behest executed the most nefarious crimes. The dark accusations under which he lay roused at length the suspicions of the king, who ordered the arrest of both him and Mar. Over the latter's fate there hangs a strange mystery. One historian declares that he died of fever in the Canongate, under the spells of witches who were burned therefor. Another records that he was bled to death in Craigmillar Castle; and the singular discovery there in 1818 of a man's skeleton built erect into the north wall was thought to warrant the adoption of the last account. In 1482 Albany was committed to the Castle of Edinburgh, a close prisoner in the hands of ... the royal marriage and coronation of Tames 111. with Margaret of Oldenburg-both of which ceremonies took ...

Book 1  p. 32
(Score 0.9)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 91 The seconds think it proper to add, that both parties behaved with the utmost coolness and intrepidity. “ RAWDON. ‘ I WINCHILSEA ‘‘ Tuesday evening, May 26th.” It is reported that her Majesty the Queen, who might have been supposed inclined to resent an attempt upon the life of her son, so far from appearing to do so, politely received the Colonel shortly afterwards at the Spanish ambassador’s gala. On the 28th Colonel Lennox found it necessary to solicit his Royal Highness, as Colonel of the Coldstream Guards, to permit a call of the officers to colisider of “ certain propositions touching his conduct and situation,” which the Duke at once agreed to. The opinion of this military convention was as follows :-“ It is the opinion of his Majesty’s Coldstream Regiment of Guards, that Colonel Lennox, subsequent to the 15th instant, has behaved with courage, but from the peculiarity of the circumstances, not with judgment.” In consequence of this ambiguous decision, the Colonel and his friends deemed it proper for him to leave the Guards. He, accordingly, on the 16th of June, exchanged with Lord Strathaven of the 35th, which regiment was then stationed in Edinburgh Castle ; previous to joining, however, Colonel Lennox had occasion to fight another duel, a pamphlet having been published by one Theophilus Swift, Esq., throwing reflections on the character of the Colonel. The latter immediately called on Mr. Swift ; a meeting was the consequence, on the morning of the 3d July, in a field near to the Uxbridge road-Mr. Swift attended by Sir William Brown, and Colonel Lennox by Colonel Phipps. The principals took their stations at the distance of ten paces, when Lennox, being the injured party, was allowed to fire first. The ball took effect in the body of Rlr. Swift,’ whose pistol went off without injury. Mr. Swift soon recovered from the effects of the wound. Colonel Lennox at length arrived in Edinburgh on the 21st of the month. In the evening the Castle was illuminated in honour of his joining the regiment, on which occasion he gave “ an excellent entertainment to the officers, and ten guineas to the privates, to drink his health,” the officers also giving ten guineas for the same purpose. Shortly after, he visited Gordon Castle, where he was married to Lady Charlotte, eldest daughter of the Duke of Gordon, and niece to the celebrated Lady Wallace. About this time the Incorporation of Goldsmiths in Edinburgh made the Colonel an honorary member of their body, and presented him with the free- ’ This gentleman’s father was nearly related to the celebrated Dean Swift, a life of whom he published. After the Colonel’s succession to the Dukedom, and his appointment to the Lieutenancy of Irelaud, in 1807, it occurred that &. Swift was one of the party at a ball given at Dublin Castle. On being presented to the royal depute, Mr. Swift humorously remarked, “ This is a Werent ball from that your Highness favoured me with the last time we met.” ... SKETCHES. 91 The seconds think it proper to add, that both parties behaved with the utmost coolness ...

Book 8  p. 129
(Score 0.89)

70 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Edinburgh Castle. ?? by a net tied to an iron ring ; he fell and fractured by Miss Balrnain, who remained in her stead, and who was afterwards allowed to go free. , In 1752 the Castle received a remarkable prisoner, in the person of James Mhor Macgregor of Bohaldie, the eldest of the four sons of,Rob Roy, who had lost his estate for the part he had taken in the recent civil strife, ?and holding a major?s commission under the old Pretender.? Robin Oig Macgregor, his younger brother, having conceived that he would make his fortune by at his captious employers. ~ ?An old and tattered great-coat enveloped him ; he had donned a leather apron, a pair of old shoes, and ribbed stockings. A red night-cap was drawn to his ears, and a. broad hat slouched over his eyes.? He quitted the Castle undiscovered, and left the city without delay; but his flight was soon known, the city gates were shut, the fortress searched, and every man who had been on duty was made a prisoner. A court-martial, consisting of thirteen officers, sat - considered as the chief instigator of this outrage, thus the vengeance of the Crown was directed against him rather than Robin, ?who was considered but a half-wild Highlandman ; ? and in virtue of a warrant of fugitation issued, he was arrested and tried. The Lords of Justiciary found him guilty, but in consequence of some doubts, or informality, sentence of death was delayed until the 20th of November, 1752. In consequence of an expected rescue-meditated by Highlanders who served in the city as caddies, chairmen, and city guards, among whom Macgregor? s bravery at Prestonpans, seven years before, made him popular-he was removed by a warrant from the Lord Justice Clerk, addressed to General Churchill, from the Tolbooth to the Castle, there to be kept in close confinement till his fatal day amved. But it came to pass, that on the 16th of November, one of his daughters-a tall and very handsome girl-had the skill and courage to disguise herself as a lame old cobbler, and was ushered into his prison, bearing a pair of newlysoled shoes in furtherance of her scheme. The sentinels in the adjacent corridors heard Lady Bohaldie scolding the supposed cobbler with considerable asperity for some time, with reference to the indifferent manner in which his work had been his- skull,? on tlie rock facing Livingstone?s Yards, -the old tilting ground, oin the south side of the Castle? rock. This was a singularly unfortunate man in his domestic relations. His eldest son was taken prisoner at Carlisle, and executed there with the barbarity then usual. His next son, Thomas, was poisoned by his wife, the famous and beautiful Katherine Nairne (who escaped), but whose paramour, the third son, Lieutenant Patrick Ogilvie of the 89th or old Gordon Highlanders (disbanded in 1765), was publicly hanged in the Grassmarket. In July, 1753, the last of those who were tried for loyalty to the House of Stuart was placed in the Castle-Archibald Macdonald, son of the aged Cole Macdonald of Barrisdale, who died a captive there in 1750. Arraigned as a traitor, this unfor. tunate gentleman behaved with great dignity before the court; he admitted that he was the person accused, but boldly denied the treason, and asserted his loyalty to his lawful king. ?On the 30th March he was condemned to die; but the vengeance of the Government had already been glutted, and after receiving various successive reprieves, young Barrisdale was released, and permitted to return to the Western Isles.? From this period till nearly the days of Waterloo the Castle vaults were invariably used in every war ... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Edinburgh Castle. ?? by a net tied to an iron ring ; he fell and fractured by Miss ...

Book 1  p. 70
(Score 0.89)

66 About this time a strange story went abroad concerning the spectre of Dundee ; the terrible yet handsome Claverhouse, in his flowing wig and glittering breastplate, appearing to bis friend the Earl of Balcarres, then a prisoner in the Castle, and awaiting tidings of the first battle with keen anxiety. .\bout daybreak on the morning when Killiecrankie was fought and lost by the Williamites, the spectre of Dundee is said to have come to Bal- OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. ?After this??(says C. K. Sharpe, in a note to ? Law?s Memorials I), ? it moved towards the mantelpiece, remained there for a short time in a leaning posture, and thed walked out of the ? chamber without uttering one word. Lord Balcarres, in great surprise, though not suspecting that what he saw WAS an. apparition, called out ?repeatedly on his friend to stop, but received no answer, and subsequently learned that at the very moment the [Edinburgh Castle.? CHAPTER vIr. EDINBURGH CASTLE ( G O Z C ~ ~ ~ ) . The Torture of Neville Payne-Jacobite Plots-Entombing the Regalia-Project for Surprising the Foitress-Right of Sanctuary Abolished- Lord Drummond?s Plot-Some Jacobite Prisoners-? Rebel Ladies?-James Macgregor-The Castle Vaults-Attempts nt Escape-Fears as to the Destruction of the Crown, Sword, and Sceptre-Crown-room opened in ~;rg+-Again in 7817, and the Regalia brought forth-Mons Meg-General Description of the whole Castle. AMONG the many unfortunates who have pined as prisoners of state in the Castle, few suffered more than Henry Neville Payne, an English gentleman, who was accused of being a Jacobite conspirator. About the time of the battle of the Boyne, when the Earl of Annandale, Lord ROSS, Sir Robert hlontgomerie of Skelmorlie, Robert Fergusson ? the plotter,? and others, were forming a scheme in Scotland for the restoration of King James, Payne had been sent there in connection with it, but was discovered in Dumfriesshire, seized, and sent to Edinburgh. Lockhart, the Solicitor- General for Scotland, who happened to be in London, coolly wrote to the Earl of Melville, Secretary of State at Edinburgh, saying, ? that there was no doubt that he (Payne) knew as much as would hang a thousand; but except you put him to the torture, he will shame you all. Pray you, put him in such hands as will have no pity on him!?* The Council, however, had anticipated these amiable instructions, and Payne had borne torture to extremity, by boot and thumbscrews, without confessing anything. On the loth of December, under express instruction signed by King William, and countersigned by Lord Melville, the process was to be repeated; and this was done in the presence of the Earl of Crawford, ?with all the seventy,? he reported, ? that was consistent with humanity, even unto that pitch that we could not preserve life and have gone further, but without the least success. He was so manly and resolute under his sufferings that such of the Council as were not Melville?s Coiiespondence. acquainted with the evidence, were brangled, and began to give him charity that he might be innocent. It was surprising that flesh and blood could, without fainting, endure the heavy penance he was in for two hours.? This unfortunate Englishman, in his maimed and shattered condition, was now thrown into a vault of the Castle, where none had access to him save a doctor. Again and again it was represented to the ?I humane and pious King William? that to keep Payne in prison Id without trial was contrary to law;? but notwithstanding repeated petitions for trial and mercy, in defiance of the Bill of Rights, William allowed him to languish from year to year for ten years ; until, on the 4th of February, 1701, he was liberated, in broken health, poverty, and premature old age, without the security for reappearance, which was customary in such cases. Many plots were formed by the Jacobites-one about 1695, by Fraser of Beaufort (the future Lovat), and another in 1703, to surprise the Castle, as being deemed the key to the whole kingdom-but without success ; and soon after the Union, in 1707, its walls witnessed that which was deemed ?I the last act of that national tragedy,? the entombing of thz regalia, which, by the Treaty, ? are never more to be used, but kept constantly in the Castle of Edinburgh.? In presence of Colonel Stuart, the constable ; Sir James Mackenzie, Clerk of the Treasury ; William Wilson, Deputy-Clerk of Session-the crown, sceptre, sword of state, and Treasurer?s rod, were solemnly deposited in their usual receptacle, the crown-room, on the 26th of March. ?Animated by the sam- glow of patriotism that fired the ... this time a strange story went abroad concerning the spectre of Dundee ; the terrible yet handsome ...

Book 1  p. 66
(Score 0.88)

CHAPTER I. T H E CA S TLE. HE historical incidents narrated in the earlier part of the work, exhibit the Castle of Edinburgh as the nucleus round which the town Tg#&g l _ _ _ l _ ~ _ has gradually arisen. Notwithstanding the numerous sieges which it has stood, the devastations to which it has been subjected by successive conquerors, and above all, the total changes in its defences, consequent on the alterations introduced in modern warfare, it &ill contains remains of an earlier date than any that are to be found in the ancient capital. The main portion of the fortifications, however, must be referred to a period subsequent to the siege in 1572, when it was surrendered by Sir 'CVilliam Kirkcaldy, after it had been reduced nearly to a heap of ruins. In a report furnished to the Board of Ordnance, from documents preserved in that department, it appears that, in 1574 (only two years after the siege), the governor, George Douglas of Parkhead, repaired the walls, and built the half-moon battery, OIL the site, it may be presumed, of David's Tower, which wag demolished in the course of the siege.' Tradition affixes the Protector's name to a small tower, with crow-stepped gables, built to the east of the great draw-well, forming the highest point of this battery. It is, without doubt, a building erected long before Crom- MS. Report, R M'Kerlie, Esq., Ordnance Office, wherein it is further stated that,-"In 1675, the Citadel contained eight distinct Towers, fronting the Old Town and south-west, and twelve buildings were outside the Citadel but within the walla, eight of which were in a castellated form." VIaNsmE-Edinburgh castle, from a drawing by T. Sandby, about 1750. Q ... I. T H E CA S TLE. HE historical incidents narrated in the earlier part of the work, exhibit the Castle ...

Book 10  p. 132
(Score 0.88)

James IV., while preparing for his fatal invasion rn 1513, went daily to the Castle to inspect and prove his artillery, and by the bursting of one of them he narrowly escaped a terrible death, like that by which his grandfather, James II., perished at Roxburgh. ? The seven sisters of Borthwick,? referred to by Scott in ?Marmion,? were captured, with the rest of the Scottish train, at Flodden, where the Earl of Surrey, when he saw them, said there were no cannon so beautiful in the arsenals of King Henry, -. After the accession of James V,, the Castle was , THE BLUE BLANKET, OR STAXDARD OF THE INCORPORATED TRADES OF EDINBURGH. (From #he T Y ~ S ? Maiden?s HosjiiaZ, RiZZbank.) named the Forge and Gun Houses, Lower Ammunition House, the Register and Jewel Houses, the Kitchen Tower, and Royal Lodging, containing the great hall (now a hospital). Westward were the Butts, still ?so-called, where archery was practised. There were, and are still, several deep wells ; and one at the base of the rock to the northward, in a vault of the Well-house Tower, between the west angle of which and the rock was an iron gate defended by loopholes closing the path that led to St. Cuthbert?s church, A massive rampart and two circular bastions washed by the improved by the skill of the royal architect, Sir James Hamilton of Finnart, and greatly strengthened ; but its aspect was very different from that which it bears now. The entire summit of ~e stupendous rock was crowned by a lofty wall, connecting a series of round or square towers, defended by about thirty pieces of cannon, called ? chambers,? which were removed in 1540. Cut-throats, iron slangs, and arquebuses, defended the parapets. Two tall edifices, the Peel and Constable?s Towers connected by a curtain, faced the city, overlooking the Spur, a vast triangular ravelin, a species of lower castle that covered all the summit of the hill. Its walls were twenty feet high, turreted at the angles, and armed with cannon. The Constable?s Tower was fifty feet high. Wallace?s Tower, a little. below it, defended the portcullis. St. Margaret?s Tower and David?s we have already referred to. The others that abutted 00 the rocks were respectively Flodden on the 9th of September, 1513, caused a consternation in Edinburgh unusual even in those days of war and tumult. The wail that went through the streets is still remembered in ... IV., while preparing for his fatal invasion rn 1513, went daily to the Castle to inspect and prove his ...

Book 1  p. 36
(Score 0.87)

20 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH. the order of the Blue Blanket was indituted by Pope Urban II., about 1200, and so is older than any order of knighthood in Europe. According to this author, vast numbers of Scottish mechanics having followed to the Holy War, took with them a banner bearing the inscription- “ In bona voluntate tua ed9center muri Jerusalem,” which they styled the banner of the Holy Ghost, though, from its colour, familiarly called “ The Blue Blanket; ” and this, on their return, they dedicated to St Eloi’s altar in St Giles’s Church. Whatever foundation there may be for this remoter origin, it is undoubted that James 111. at this time, in requital of the eminent services of the burghers, confirmed them in many privileges, and bestowed on them this ensign, with their heraldic bearings embroidered by the Queen’s own hands. It has eYer since been kept in the charge of the kirk-master or deacon-convener of the crafts for the time being ; every burgher, not only of the capital, but of Scotland, being held bound to rally at the summons, when it is unfurled. Within a brief period after the incidents related, the Duke of Albany being confined a prisoner in the Castle, succeeded in effecting his escape in a very daring fashion. His rivals having just obtained their own deliverance, “ counselled the King to justfy the Duke his brother ; ” which being known at the court of France, a French ship arrived in Leith Roads the very day before his intended “justification,” the captain of which sent a messenger to the Duke, offering to supply him with a stock of wines ; and a confidential servant being thereupon sent for “two bosses full of Malvesy ; ” they were returned by him, the one containing a letter informing him of the design against his life, and the other filled with cord to aid him in his escape. Acting on this advice, he invited the captain of the Castle to supper, and so liberally dispensed the supposed new supply of wine among his guard, that watching his opportunity, he and his faithful attendant succeeded in overpowering them, and putting them to the sword; and escapiug to an unguarded wall of the Castle, they let themselves down by the cord, and so escaped to the French ship ; the Uuke carrying his attendant on his back, his thigh having been broken in dropping from the wall. So that his escape was not discovered till the nobles arrived on the following morning to wait on the King-then himself residing in the Castle-and to witness the execution. During this and succeeding reigns, the Parliaments continued to assemble generally at Edinburgh, although Stirling Castle was the favourite residence of‘ James IIL, where he retired from the cares of the state ; and there in particular he found opportunity for displaying that love for “ building and trimming up of chapels, halls, and gardens,” ’ with which Drummond charges him, as a taste that usually pertains to the lovers of idleness. His love of display seems to have been shown on every opportunity during his residence at Edinburgh. We learn from the same authority, he acquired an easily won character for devotion, by his habit of riding in procession from the Abbey of Holyrood to the churches in the high town, every Wednesday and Friday. King James 111. was slain on the 8th of June 1488, by his own rebellious nobles, on the field of Stirling, nearly on the same arena as had been the scene of Scotland’s greatest victory under the Bruce. Whatever view the historian may take of this Monarch’s character and influence on the nation, he contributed more than any other of the , Put to death. Hawthornden, p. 81. ... MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH. the order of the Blue Blanket was indituted by Pope Urban II., about 1200, and so ...

Book 10  p. 22
(Score 0.86)

12 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. the politics of the day, or more intimately acquainted with the affairs of the Lawnmarket. His widow carried on business till her demise in 1804, and was succeeded by her son Henry, who died about 1832. He died suddenly one Sabbath morning in 1784. MR. MALCOLM WRIGHT, the next of the centre pair, was born about the year 1750, at Dolphinton, in Lanarkshire, on the borders of Tweeddale, where his father occupied a farm. He was originally bred to the profession of a writer in Edinburgh, and employed his leisure hours in keeping the books of a widow,’ who had a haberdashery shop in the Lawnmarket, betwixt Liberton and Forrester’s Wynds. In the course of time, having formed a matrimonial alliance with his employer, he took the management of the business into his own hands, and continued it for a considerable number of years-latterly under the firm of Wright and Henderson, having assumed a gentleman of that name into partnership with him. Mr. Wright was a member of the Town Council during a great part of the period he was in business, and frequently held office as a Magistrate. After retiring from the shop he obtained the office of agent for the French prisoners of war confined in Edinburgh Castle ; and, being unacquainted with the language, carried on the necessary intercourse with his constituents by means of an interpreter, who always attended him on his visits to the Castle. The duties of this office brought him into frequent contact with official persons. Upon one of these occasions the Lord President and Lord’Advocate had appointed to meet him in the Council Chamber, in order that they might accompany him to the Castle on some business relating to the prisoners. Mr. Wright, being unavoidably prevented from attending, desired his clerk hlr. Alexander Fraser, who usually officiated in his absence, to wait upon their lordships. This gentleman appears to have entertained no small opinion of his own consequence ; for, not only did he detain their lordships considerably beyond the time specified, but after apologising for his absence, had the effrontery to thrust an arm under that of each of these high legal dignitaries, and actually swaggered up between them in this fashion to the Castle. After the peace of 1815, his office being rendered no longer necessary, Mr. Wright got the appointment of Bulker at the Port of Leith, which he continued to hold till the period of his death in November 1825. His second wife, who survived, was a daughter of the late Convener Rankine, tailor to his Majesty for Scotland, Mr. Wright was twice married. 1 This lady was at that time among the most extensive and spirited haberdashers in Edinburgh ; as a proof of which, she went regularly every season to London to make purchases-a journey then attended with much diculty and delay. She always went by sea ; but in those days the only conveyance was by what were called the Berwick traders--arclass of vessels much inferior to the “Leith Smacks,” afterwards established ; and it is worthy of remark, in contrast with the remarkable improvements of our own times, that when any of the “ traders” were about to sail from Leith, the circurnstanwf was always announced throughout the streets of Edinburgh by the betlman, at least a fortnight previous to the day of sailing. ... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. the politics of the day, or more intimately acquainted with the affairs of ...

Book 9  p. 14
(Score 0.86)

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

Book 10  p. 146
(Score 0.85)

Count?s troops, chiefly cavalry, now gave way, but still fighting with the dogged valour of Walloons. Part of them that fled by Sk Mary?s Wynd were nearly cut to pieces by Sir David de Annan, who led his men battle-axe in hand. The few that escaped him joined others who had reached the Castle. There they slaughtered their horses, made a rampart of the bodies,andfought behind it with an energy born of despair, till hunger and thirst on the following day compelled them to capitulate, and the Earl of Moray suffered them to depart on giving oath never again to beararms against David 11. of Scotland. In 1867 agreat q u a n t i t y of bones-the relics of this conflictwere discovered about five feet below the surface, on the northern verge of the Eurghmuir, where now Glengyl e Terrace is built, and were decently re-interred by the authorities. In 1336 Edward III., still prosecuting the cause of the minion ~~ cunning enemy to whom the secret is unknown. The entrance is still seen in the side of the deep draw-well, which served alike to cloak their purpose and to secure for the concealed a ready supply of pure water. From this point Ramsay often extended his ravages into Northumberland. ?? WALLACE?S CRADLE,? EDINBURGH CASTLE. Baliol against King David, re-fortified the ruin ; and on the 15th June Sir John de Kingeston was again appointed its governor ; but he had a hard time of it ; the whole adjacent country was filled by adventurous bands of armed Scots. The most resolute and active of these was the band of Sir Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie, whose place of retreat was in the caves beneath the romantic house of Hawthornden, then the abode of a traitor named Abernethy, and which are so ingeniously constructed as to elude the vigilance of the most 4 Covered with glory and honour, the noble King Robert, the skilful Randolph, and the chivalrous Sir James Douglas, had all gone down to the silent tomb ; but other heroes succeeded them, and valiant deeds were done. The Scots thought of nothing but battle; the plough was allowed to rust, and the earth to take care of itself. By 1337 the Eoglish were again almost entirely driven out of Scotland, and the Castle of Edinburgh was recaptured from them through an ingenious strai% gem, planned by William Bullock, a priest, who had been captain of Cupar Castle for Baliol, ?and was a man very brave and faithful to the Scots, and of great use to them,? according to Buchanan. Under his directions, Walter Curry, of Dundee, received into his ship two hundred select Scottish soldiers, led by William Douglas, Sir Simon Fraser, Sir John Sandilands, and Bullock also. Anchoring in Leith Roads, the latter presented himself to the governor as master of an English ship just arrived with wines and provisions, which he offered to sell for the use of the garrison. The bait took all the more Keadily that the supposed captain had closely shaven himself in the Anglo-Norman fashion. On ... troops, chiefly cavalry, now gave way, but still fighting with the dogged valour of Walloons. Part of ...

Book 1  p. 25
(Score 0.85)

smaller cross was raised, " In memory of Colonel Kenneth Douglas Mackenzie, C.B., who served for forty-two years in the 92nd Highlanders-who saw much of service in the field, and deserved well of his country in war and in peace. . . . Died on duty at Dartmoor, 24th August, 1873." On the green bank behind the duke's statue is a Two relics of great autiquity remain on this side of the Castle bank-a fragment of the secret passage, and the ruins of the Well-house tower, which, in 1450, and for long after, guarded the pathway that led under the rock to the church oi St. Cuthbert. Within the upper and lower portion of this tower, a stair, hewn in the living rock, was EDINBURGH CASTLE, FROM THE KING'S MEWS, 1825. (AfterEw6ank.) very curious monumental stone, which, however, can scarcely be deemed a local antiquity-though of vast age. It was brought from the coast of Sweden by Sir -4lexander Seton, of Preston, many years ago. On it is engraved a serpent encircling a cross, and on the body of the former is an inscription in runes, signifying- ARI ENGRAVED THIS STONE I q MEMORY OF HIALM, HIS FATHER. . GOD HELP HIS SOUL! found a few years ago, buried under a mass of rubbish, among which was a human skull, shattered by concussion on a step. Many human bones lay near it, with various coins, chiefly of Edward I. and Edward 111. ; others were Scottish and foreign. Many fragments of exploded bombs were found among the upper layer of rubbish, and in a breach of the tower was found imbedded a 48-pound shot. At certain seasons,. woodcock, snipe, and waterducks are seen hovering near ... cross was raised, " In memory of Colonel Kenneth Douglas Mackenzie, C.B., who served for forty-two ...

Book 1  p. 80
(Score 0.85)

THE STUARTS TO THE DEATH OF JAMES 111. 15 age was exercised to devise more novel and exquisite tortures to satisfy the indignation of the people. The sderings of the Earl of Athol were prolonged through three days ; on the second of which he was elevated on a pillar at the cross, to the gaze of the people, and with a hot iron coronet, crowned in derision as the King of Traitors. On the third day, he was dragged on a hurdle through the High Street to the place of public execution, where, after further indignities, he was at length beheaded, and his head exposed on a pole at the cross-the body being quartered and sent to the four chief towns of the kingdom. With the like barbarous indignities, Robert Graham, the most active of the regicides, suffered at the same time and place. Bneas Sylvius, who afterwards filled the papal chair as Pope Pius 11.) was at this time resident in Edinburgh, as the Pope’s nuncio for Scotland, and witnessed, as Abercromby says, ‘‘ with some horror, but more admiration,” The remark of the Italian ecclesiastic, ‘( that he was at a loss to determine whether the crime of the regicides, or the punishment inacted on them by the justice of the nation, was the greatest ”-would not seem to imply any censure on the bloody revenge with which the Scottish Capital thus expressed her indignation on the murderers of her King. King James 11. was not above seven years old, when the officers of state called a Parliament in his name, which accordingly met at Edinburgh on the 20th of March 1438. Their fist act was the condemnation, already recorded, of the regicides ; and thereafter, the youthful Sovereign was brought from the Castle, where he had been lodged since shortly after his birth, attended by the three estates of the kingdom ; and being conducted in state to Holyrood Abbey, was there crowned with great magnificence-the first of the Scottish Kings that is thus united, in birth and royal honours, with the capital of the kingdom. During the two succeeding years, he continued to reside entirely in the Castle, under custody of the Chancellor Crichton, greatly to the displeasure of the Queen and her party, who thus found him placed entirely beyond their control. She accordingly visited Edinburgh, professing great friendship for the Chancellor, and a longing desire to see her son; by which means she completely won the goodwill of the old statesman, and obtained ready access, with her retinue, to visit the Prince in the Castle, and take up her abode there. At length having lulled all suspicion, she gave out that she had made a vow to pass in pilgrimage to the White Kirk of Brechin, for the health of her son ;’ and bidding adieu to the Chancellor over night, with many earnest recommendations of the young King to his fidelity and care, she retired to her devotions, having to depart at early dawn on the ensuing morrow. Immediately on being left at liberty, the King was cautiously pinned up among the linen and furniture of his mother, and so conveyed in a chest to Leith, and from thence by water to Stirling, into the hands of Sir Archibald Livingstone. h e d i a t e l y thereafter, the latter raised an army and laid siege to the Chancellor in the Castle of Edinburgh ; but the wary statesman, having lost the control of the King, wisely effected a compromise with his opponent, and delivering the keys into the King’s own hands, they both supped with him the same night in the Castle, and, on the following day, he confirmed the one in his oEce of Chancellor, and the other in that of guardian of his person. This state of af€airs did not continue long, however, for Sir Archibald Livingstone having quarrelled with the Queen, the King was shortly afterwards again carried off and restored to the guardianship these executions. Martial Achievements, vol. ii. p. 310. ’ Lindsay of Pitscottie, vol. i. p. 7. ... STUARTS TO THE DEATH OF JAMES 111. 15 age was exercised to devise more novel and exquisite tortures to satisfy ...

Book 10  p. 16
(Score 0.85)

84 HEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH. nobility. The simple eloge pronounced by the Regent over his grave, has been remembered from its pointed force--“ There lies he who never feared the face of man.” The old churchyard has long since been payed, and converted into the Parliament Bquare, and all evidence of the spot lost. It cannot but excite surprise that no effort should have been made to preserve the remains of the Reformer from such desecration, or to point out to posterity the site of his resting-place.’ If the tradition mentioned by Chambers a may be relied upon, that his burial place was a few feet from the front of the old pedestal of King Charles’s statue, the recent change in the position of the latter must have placed it directly over his grave ;-perhaps as strange a monument to the Great’ Apostle of Presbyterianism as fancy could devise I On the death of the Earl of Mar, Morton was elected Regent, and the brief truce speedily brought to a close. Within two days thereafter, Kirkaldy sallied out of the ’ Castle towards evening, and set fire to the houses on the south side of the Castle rock ; a strong wind was blowing at the time from the west, and the garrison of the Castle kept ’ up a constant cannonade, so as to prevent any succour being attempted, so that the whole mass of houses was burnt down eastward to Magdalen Chapel,-a piece of useless cruelty, that gained him many enemies, without answering any good purpose. The EngIish Queen now sent Sir William Drury, with a body of troops and a train of artillery, to assist the Regent in reducing the Castle, the last stronghold of the adherents of Queen Mary. . The fortress was gallantly defended by Sir William Kirkaldy, and the siege is perhaps one of the most memorable in its history. The narrative of an eye-witness, given in Holinshed’s Chronicles, shows, even by its exaggerated descriptions, the difficulties experienced by the besiegers. It is understood to have been written by Thomas Churchyard, the poet, who was present at the siege, and has been reprinted in the Bannatyne Miscellany, accompanied by aJemarkably interesting bird’s-eye view of the town and Castle during the siege, engraved, as is believed, from a sketch made on the spot. In anticipation of the siege, the citizens erected several strong defences of turf and faggots, so as to protect the Church and Tolbooth. One is especially mentioned in the Diurnal of Occurrents, 88 ‘ I biggit of diffet and rnik,’ betuix the thevis hoill, and Bess Wynd, tua e h thick, and on the gait betuix the auld tolbuyth, and the vther syid tua speir heicht.”’ About three weeks latet, on the 17th of January, ‘‘ the nobility, with my Lord Regent, passed through St Giles’s Church, at an entrance made through the Tolbooth wall to the laigh council-house of the town, on the west side of the Tolbooth, and there choose the Lords of the Articles, and returned the same way. The Earl of Angus bore the Crown, the Earl of Argyle the Sceptre, and the Earl of Morton the Sword of Honour. These were made of brass, and double overgilt with gold, because the principal jewels were in the Castle of Edinburgh, and might not be had.”6 So effectual did these ramparts prove, that the Parliament assembled as safely in the Tolbooth, and the people went as quietly to church, as they at any time did before the war began.e The brave Captain, Sir Williarn Kirkaldy of Grange, was already short of provisions . . . A few paces to the west of King Charles’s atatue, there has recently been placed 8 amall surface-bronzed stone in the ground, with the iuitials “ J. K.,” indicating the Reformer’s burial-place. * Traditions, voL ii. p. 195. i.e., Turf and mud. ’ Diurnal of Occurrenta, p. 332. Diurnal of Occurrenta, p. 324. Journal of the Siege, Bannatyne Misc., vol. ii. p. 74. ... HEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH. nobility. The simple eloge pronounced by the Regent over his grave, has been ...

Book 10  p. 92
(Score 0.85)

132 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH. defences of the tower were principally directed. The walls are here of very great thickness, and pierced by a square cavity in the solid mass, for the reception of a sliding beam to secure the door, while around it are the remains of various additional fortifications to protect the covered way. During the same operations, indications were discovered of a pathway up the cliff, partly by means of steps cut in the shelving rock, and probably completed by moveable ladders and a drawbridge communicating with the higher story of the Well-house Tower. About seventy feet above, there is a small building on an apparently inaccessible projection of the cl3, popularly known as ‘ I Wallace’s Cradle ” (an obvious corruption of the name of the tower below), which would seem to have formed a part of this access from the Castle to the ancient fountain at its base. In excavating near the tower, and especially in the neighbourhood of the sally port, various coins were found, chiefly those of Edward 111. and Cromwell, in very good preservation. There were also some foreign coins, and one of Edward I., many f r a p e n t s of bombshells, a shattered skull, and other indications of former warfare. The coins are now in the Antiquarian Museum, and are interesting from some of them being of a date considerably anterior to the supposed erection of the tower.a The ancient fortifications .of the town of Edinburgh, reared under the charter of James 11.) formed, at this part, in reality an advanced wall of the Castle, the charge of which was probably committed entirely to the garrison. The wall, after extending for a short way from the Well-house Tower, along the margin of the Loch, was carried up the Castle bank, and thence over the declivity on the south, until it again took an easterly direction towards the ancient Overbow Port, at the first turning of the West Bow, so that the whole of the Esplanade was separated from the town by this defence. There was in the highest part of the wall, a gate which served as a means of communication with the town by the Castle Hill, and was styled the Barrier Gate of the Castle. This outer port was temporarily restored for the reception of George IT., on his visit to the Castle in the year 1822, and it was again brought into requisition in 1832, in order completely to isolate the garrison, during the prevalence of Asiatic cholera. Previous to the enclosure and planting of the Castle bank and the bed of the ancient North Loch, the Esplanade was the principal promenade of the citizens, and a road led from the top of the bank, passing in an oblique direction down the north side, by the Well-house Tower, to St Cuthbert’s Church, some indications of which still remain. This church road had existed from a very early period, and is mentioned in the charter of . 1 The following extracts from the Diurnal of Occurrents, p. 332-3, in reference to the siege of the Castle by Sir William Drury in 1573 (ante, p. 84), embrace various interesting allusions to the local detail :- “ Wpoun the xxij day of Maij, the south quarter of the toure of the Castell, callit Dauid’s toure, fell through the vehement and continual1 achuting, togidder with some of the foir wall, and of the heid wall beayd Sanct Margaretia set. “ Wpoun the xxiiij day, the eist quarter of the said tour fell, with the north quarteris of the port cuheis ; the tour als callit Wallace tour, with some mair of the foir wall, notwithstanding the Castell men kust thair hand with schutting of small artailzerie. . . . . Wpoun the xxvj day, the hail1 cumpangis of Scotland and Ingland, being quietlie convenit at vij houris in the mornyng, passed with ledders, ane half to the blookhous, the vther half to Sanct Katherin’a eet, on the west syd, quhair the syid wea schote doun.” The Caatle vwa at length rendered by Sir William Kirkaldy on the 29th of the month. In Calderwood’s History, Wodrow Soc., vol. iii. 281, the followiug occurs, of the same date :-“Captain Nitchell waa layed with his band at Sanct Cuthbert’a Kirk, to atoppe the passage to St Margaret’a Well.” Also in “The Inventory of Royal Wardrobe,” dcc,, p. 168,-“1tem, am irne yet for Sanct Margareth’a t.o ur*, ”A &rcch. wlogia Scotica, vol. ii. pp. 469-477. ... MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH. defences of the tower were principally directed. The walls are here of very great ...

Book 10  p. 143
(Score 0.84)

THE CA S TL E. I33 David I. to Holyrood Abbey, in the description of the lands lying under the Castle. the old song, entitled added some verses, the laird addresses his mistress?- In The Young Laird and Edinburgh Katy,” to which Allan Ramsay My dear, quoth J, thanks to the Night That never wisht a Lover ill; Since ye ’re out of your Nither’s sight, Let ’8 take a walk up to the Hill. In a footnote the poet adds--“ The Castle Hill, where young people frequently take the air on an evening,” but the local allusions of the earlier stanza are not carried out in his additions,’ This favourite walk of the citizens has been greatly improved since then, by levelling and the construction of parapet walls. In an act passed in the reign of Queen Anne, for the better keeping of the Lord’s Day, it is specially mentioned, along with the King’s Park ahd the Pier of Leith, as the most frequent scene of the Sunday promenadings that then excited the stern rebukes of the clergy ; and, notwithstanding the great changes that have occurred since that period, the same description might still be given, with the single addition of the Calton Hill to the list. 1 The Castle Hill was very often made the scene of public executions, and waa particularly famous for the burning of witches, and those convicted of unnatural crimes. In the reign of James IT., in 1538, John Lord Forbes was beheaded here, and a few daya afterwards, the Lady Glamis, sister of the Earl of Angus, was burnt alive, on a charge of high treason. Here also, during the following reign? Foret, the Vicar of Dollar, and several others of the earliest reformers, perished at the stake, The Diurnal of Occurrents records many other executions, such as-“September Ist, 1570, thair wer tua personis brint in the Castell Hill of Edinburgh, for the committing of ane horrible sinne.” Bhel again mentions, e.g., July 1605, “Henry Lourie brunt on the Castell Hill for witchcraft, committed and done by him in Kyle; ” and in Nicol’s Diary, from 1650 to 1667, including the period of the Commonwealth, executions on this spot occur with painful frequency, as on the 15th of October 1656, when seven culprits, including three women, were executed for different crimes, two of whom were burut. Again, “ 9th March 1659, thair wer fyve wemen, witches, brint on the Castell Hill for witchcraft, all of them confeasand thair covenanting with Satan, sum of thame renunceand thair baptisme, all of thame oft tymes dancing with the DevilL” In the reign of Charles I. a novel character was assigned to it. The Earl of Stirling, having obtained leave to colonise Nova Scotia, and sell the honour of the baronetage to two hundred imaginary colonists, the difficulty of infeoffing the knights in their remote possessions was overcome by a royal mandate converting the soil of the Castle Hill of Edinburgh, for the time being, into that of Nova Scotia, and the new baroneta were accordingly inrested with their honours on this spot. ... CA S TL E. I33 David I. to Holyrood Abbey, in the description of the lands lying under the Castle. the old ...

Book 10  p. 144
(Score 0.84)

BIO GRAPH1 GAL SKETCHES. 159 considerably annoyed by the frequent messages from the Castle concerning the much-wanted cook. One day the Governor’s black lackey came into the shop to make the usual inquiry. The Bailie observed Macpherson pass the door at the moment, and determining to get rid of his black tormentor by any means, directed Mungo’s attention to the bacchanalian, who happened to be sober at the time, it being then early in the forenoon. The servant, assured that Macpherson was a cook in want of a situation, marched boldly after the lawyer, and giving him a gentle tap on the shoulder, said “ The Governor wants to see you at the Castle.”-u Just now 1” inquired Macpherson, his .countenance brightening up with the anticipation of something to his advantage,-“ Soon as possible,”said Mungo. Macpherson immediately returned to the West Bow, cropped his beard of three days’ standing, and, assisted by Sodom and Gomorrh, prepared for the appointment. His sisters were equally on the tiptoe of expectation as to what the Governor could possibly be wanting in such haste. Macpherson made various conjectures, but in vain. Every suggestion appeared to him unlikely, save the commencement of some important process, which nothing but his superior talents could have pointed him out as the proper person to undertake. Brushed up, and bedecked in something like the style of his better days, the renovated Writer to the Signet hurried to the Castle, and was ushered into-the lobby ! where, to his astonishment, he was desired to wait till the Governor came. This, to a W.S., was the reverse of courtesy ; but he naturally supposed the apparent incivility arose from the ignorance of the lackey, and imagined the mistake would soon be rectified by the Governor himself. “ Well, have you got a character?” was his first salutation. ‘‘ A character !” said Macpherson, astonished beyond measure at such a question being put to a lawyer. “ Why, what do you mean by a character I”-“ Have you not got a character P” repeated the Governor. “TO be sure I’ve got a character ! ’’ replied Macpherson, still more astonished. “Where is it then, can’t you show it Z”-“ Show it !” reiterated the lawyer, his bluff cheeks colouring with a sense of insult, “ there’s not a gentleman in Edinburgh but knows me !’I--“ That may be,” said the Governor, “but no one should presume to ask a place without having a character in his pocket.”--“ The d-1 take the place-what place have I solicited? Why, I was sent for to speak with the Governor.”--“ What are you P” said the latter, at last conceiving the possibility of a mistake. “I’m a Writer to the Signet,” answered Macpherson, with corresponding dignity of manner. “Writer to the Signet ! astonishing-this is all a mistake-1 wanted a Cook ! ”-‘‘ Confound you and your cook both!” vociferated the indignant W.S., turning on his heel and hurrying off to drown his mortification in a meridian libation. Nothing so easily irritated Macpherson in after times as any allusion to this unlucky incident. There was one redeeming virtue in the character of Macpherson rarely to be found in professional men, and least of all in such a character ag himself, which speaks more than language can do for the natural goodness of his heart, The Governor came. ... GRAPH1 GAL SKETCHES. 159 considerably annoyed by the frequent messages from the Castle concerning ...

Book 8  p. 224
(Score 0.84)

Edinburgh Castle. 44 old one with France. So their young queen was betrothed to the Dauphin, and 6,000 French auxiliaries came to strengthen the power of Mary of Guise, widow of James V., who was appointed Regent during the minority of her infant daughter. During the year 1545-6, the Castle was for a brief period the scene of George Wishart?s captivity. Mary of Guise was imprudent, and disgusted the haughty nobles by bestowing all places of trust upon Frenchmen, and their military insolence soon roused the rage of the people, who were at all sword in hand, and the ports closed upon them. and well guarded. On March 28, 1559, Mary of Guise, with a sorely dinhished court, took up her residence in the fortress ; she was received with every respect by Lord Erskine, who, as the holder of the Queen?s garrison, was strictly neutral between the contending parties. The Reformers were now in arms with the English auxiliaries, so the French, who had waged war through all Fife and the Lothians, were compelled to keep within the ramparts of Leith, times impatient of restraint. Thus fierce brawls ensued, and one of these occurred in the city in 1554, between an armourer and a French soldier ; a quarrel having arisen concerning some repairs on the wheel-lock of an arquebuse, the latter, by one blow of his dagger, struck the former dead in his own shop. The craftsmen flew to arms; the soldier was joined and rescued by his countrymen ; and a desperate conflict ensued with swords, pikes, and Jedwood axes. Sir James Hamilton of Sbnehouse, who was now Provost of the city as well as governor of the Castle, marched at once to aid the citizens. He was slain in the m2Z8e1 and left lyinz on the causeway, together with his son James and the operations against which the fair Regent, though labouring under a mortal illness, which the cares of state had aggravated, watched daily from the summit of David?s Tower. Her illness, a virulent dropsical affection, increased. She did not live to see the fall of Leith, but died on the 10th of June, 1560. Her death-bed was peaceful and affecting, and by her own desire she was attended by Knox?s particular friend, John Willox, an active preacher of the Reformation. Around her bed she called the * Pinkerton is of opinion that this painting was a species of satire directed at the intrigues of the persons depicted. The figurt behind the Queen is believed to be that of a Scots Guard ; and the butterfly, inkstand, dice, and other minute accessories, are all rupposed to have a significance that would be re3dily understood at the time when the ... Castle. 44 old one with France. So their young queen was betrothed to the Dauphin, and 6,000 ...

Book 1  p. 44
(Score 0.83)

The Castle Hill.] THE DUKE OF GORDON?S HOUSE. 89 ter of the Duke of Norfolk and wife of Duke George, who SO gallantly defended the Castle against the troops of William of Orange; during the lifetime of the duke she retired to a Belgian convent, but afterwards returned to the old mansion in Edinburgh, where she frequently resided till her death, which took place at the abbey in 1732, life, destroyed utterly the ancient Gothic fireplace, which was very beautiful in its design. This house is mentioned in the ?Diurnal of Occurrents? as being, in 1570, the residence of ~ Patrick Edgar; and after it passed from the Gordons it was possessed by the family of Newbyth, who resided in it for several generations, and ALLAA RAMSAY?S HOUSE. sixteen years after that of the duke at Leith. The internal fittings of the mansion are in many respects unchanged since its occupation by the duchess. It is wood-panelled throughout, and one large room which overlooks the Esplanade. is decorated with elaborate carvings, and with a large painting over the mantelpiece the production of Norrie, a famous housedecorator of the eighteenth century, whose genius for landscapes entitles him to a place among Scottish painters. An explosion of gunpowder which took place in the basement of the house, in 1811, attended with serious loss of 12 therein, on the 6th December, 1757, was born the gallant Sir David Baird, Bart., the hero of Seringapatam and conqueror of Tippoo Saib ; and therein he was educated and brought up. Returning years after, he visited the place of his birth, which had long since passed into other hands. Chambers relates that the individual then occupying the house received the veteran hero with great respect, and, after showing him through it, ushered him into the little garden behind, where some boys were engaged in mischievously throwing cabbage stalks at the chimneys of the Grassmarket. On ... Castle Hill.] THE DUKE OF GORDON?S HOUSE. 89 ter of the Duke of Norfolk and wife of Duke George, who SO ...

Book 1  p. 89
(Score 0.83)

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