JAMES VI. TO RESTORATION OF CHARLES 11. 97
to the street, at the head of the West Bow, till 1822, when it was hastily pulled down, to
widen the approach to the Castle, preparatory to the public entry of George IT.
When the authority of the English Parliament was completely established in Edinburgh,
the leaders of the army proceeded to arrange matters according to their own views. General
Lambert applied to the Town Council of Edinburgh (‘ to appropriate to him the East Kirk
of Edinburgh, being the special kirk, and best in the town, for his exercise at sermon.”
The request was granted, and the pulpit was thereafter occupied by “ weill giftit ” captains,
lieutenants, and troopers, as well as occasional English ministers, while others of the
troopers taught in the Parliament Houae,l and like convenient places of assembly.
The citizens of Edinburgh were alarmed at this time by the settlement of a number of
English families in Leith, and proposals for the fortification of the town, that threatened
them with the loss of their highly-prized claim of superiority. The question afforded matter
for appeal and tedious litigation, and the rights of Edinburgh were only secured to them
at last on condition of theif contributing 225000 sterling towards the erection of a citadel in
Leith. I
The fortification which was erected, in consequence of this arrangement, was almost
entirely demolished shortly after the Restoration, to the great satisfaction of the jealous
citizens of Edinburgh, who seemed to dread no enemy so much as the rival traders of the
neighbouring port, The cemetery belonging to the ancient Chapel and Hospital of St
Nicolas was included within its site, and some of the old tombstones removed to the burying-
ground at the river side. One small fragment of the citadel still remains on the north
side of Couper Street, of which we furnish a view. Many still living can remember it
to have stood on the beach, though now a wide space intervenes between it and the new
docks ; and the Mariners’ Church, as well as a long range of substantial warehouses, have
been erected on the recovered land.
So acceptable had the sway of the Lord Protector become with the civic rulers of Edinburgh,
notwithstanding the heavy taxes with which they were burdened for the maintenance
of his army, and the general expenses of the government, that they commissioned a large
Nicol’s Diary, p. 94.
V I G N E T T ~ i t a d d , kith.
N
98 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
block of stone, for the purpose of erecting a colossal statue of his Highness in the Parliament
Square.
The block had just been landed on the shore of Leith, when the news arrived of Cromwell’s
death. Monk altered his policy, and the magistrates not only found it convenient to
forget their first intention, but with politic pliability, some years after, they erected the fine
equestrian statue of Charles II., which still adorns that locality. The rejected block lay
neglected on the sands at Leith, though all along known by the title of Oliver Cromwell,
till, in November 1788, Mr Walter ROSSt,h e well-known antiquary, had it removed, with
no little difficulty, to the rising ground where Ann Street now stands, nearly opposite St
Bernard’s Well. The block was about eight feet high, intended apparently for the upper
half of the f i p e . The workmen of the quarry had prepared it for the chisel of the statuary,
by giving it, with the hammer, the shape of a monstrous mummy, and there stood the
Protector, like a giant in his shroud, frowning upon the city; until after the death of
Mr Ross, his curious collection of antiquities was scattered, and the ground feued for
building.‘
General Monk, commander-in-chief of the army in Scotland, having resolved, after the
death of Cromwell, to accomplish the restoration of Charles II., proceeded to arrange matters
previous to his march for London. He summoned a meeting of commissioners of the
counties and boroughs to assemble at Edinburgh on the 15th of November 1659; and after
having communicated his instructions to them, and ,received a special address of thanks
from the magistrates of Edinburgh for his many services rendered to the city during his
residence in Scotland, he returned to England to put his purpose in force.
On the 11th of May, in the following year, the magistrates sent the town-clerk to the
King, at Breda, to express their joy at the prospect of his restoration. The messenger
paved the way to the royal favour by the humble presentation of ‘‘a poor myte of 31000,
which the King did graciously accept, as though it had been a greater business I ”
The ‘‘ happy restoration ” was celebrated in Edinburgh with the customary civic rejoicings,
bonfires, banquets, ringing of bells, and firing of cannon ; though some difficulty was
experienced in reconciling the soldiers to the unwonted task of firing the Castle guns on
such an occasion of national rejoicing.a There was much wine spent on the occasion, ‘ I the
spoutes of the Croce ryning and venting out abundance of wyne, and the Magistrates and
Council of the town drinking the King’s health, and breaking numbers of glasses I ”
Caledonian Mercury, Nov. 10, 1788. The block was afterwards replaced at the end of Ann Street, overhanging
the bed of the Water of Leith, and, either by accident or designedly, waa shortly afterwards precipitated down the steep
bank, and broken in pieces. a Nicol‘s Diary, p. 283.
I
