Edinburgh Bookshelf

Edinburgh Bookshelf

Search

Index for “dreghorn castle”

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)

  Previous Page Previous Results   Next Page More Results

  Back Go back to Edinburgh Bookshelf

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