OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [High Street.
High Street and other thoroughfares, where they
indulged in wild humours and committed heinous
crimes. At this time-1611-the old system of
lighting had ceased to exist ; and after twilight the
main street and those narrow steep alleys, like stone
chasms, diverging from it, were all sunk in Cimmerian
gloom, into which no man ventured to
penetrate without his sword and lantern.
In 1631 the Town Council passed an Act forbidding
all women to wear plaids over their heads
or faces, under a penalty of A5 Scots and forfeiture
of the garment. But so little attention was paid
to the Act by ladies, some of whom were of
rank, that the incensed Council in 1633 passed a
new one, strictly enjoining all women, of whatever
quality, not to wear a plaid under pain of corporal
punishment, and granted liberty to any person
to seize and appropriate the plaid as their own
property.
As the fair offenders paid not the least attention
to these ridiculous Acts, in 1636 the Provost, David
Aikenhead, and the Council, passed a thundering
enactment, that no females residing in their jurisdiction
should either wear plaids or cover their
faces with anything whatsoever, velvet masks not
being uncommon among Scottish ladies in those
days.
U Forsaemikell as, notwithstanding of divers and
sundrie laudabill actes and statutis, maid be the
Provost, Baillies, and Counsall of this Burgh in
former tymes, discharing that barbarous and uncivil1
habitte of women wearing plaids; zit, such
has been the impudencie of monie of them, that
Thus runs the ukase :-
they have conthewit the foresaid barbarous habitte,
and has addcd thereto the wearing of their gownes
and petticottes about their heads and faces, so that
the same has become the ordinar habitte of all
women within the cittie, to the general imputation of
their sex, matrones not to be decerned from . . .
and lowse living women, to their owne dishonour
and scandal of the cittie ; which the Provost,
Baillies, and Counsall have taken into their serious
consideration ; thairfore, have statute and ordaynit,
&c., that none, of whatsomever degrie or qualitie,
presume, after this day, under the payne of
escheitt of the said plaids, not onlie be such as
shall be appoyntit for that effect, but be all persons
who shall challenge the same. And that nae women
weir thair gownes or petticottes about thair heads
and faces, under the payne of ten pundis to be
payit by women of qualitie for the first falt, twenty
pundis for the second, and under such furder paynes
as sal1 pleas the Counsall to inflict upon them for
the third falt; and under the payne of fourtie
shillings to be payit be servandis and others of
lower degrie for the first falt, five pundis for the
second, and banishment from the cittie for the
third falt ; and ordaynes this present statute to be
intimate throwgh this Burgh be Sound of Drum,
that nane pretend ignorance hereof.?
The Act fell pointless, as did another passed in
1648, against the coquettish Scottish mantilZa, and
till nearly the close of the last century a tartan
plaid, or screen, was the common headdress ok
women of the lower order in Edinburgh, as everywhere
else in Scotland.
CHAPTER XXII.
THE HIGH STREET (conlinurd)
The City in xgg8-Fynes Matison on the Manners of the Inhabitants-The ? Lord ? Provost of Edinburgh-Police of the City-Taylor the Water
Poet-Banquets at the Cross-The hard Case of the Earl of Tmquair-A Visit of HansThe Quack and his Acrobats-A Procession of
Covenanters-Early Stages and Street Coaches-Sale of a Dancing-girl-Constables appointed in 17q-FirSt Number of the Courani-The
CaZedmiaB Memry-Carting away of the 5trata of Street FiIth-Condition of old Houses.
BEFORE proceeding with the general history of the
city, it may not be uninteresting to the reader if we
quote the following description of the manners of
the inhabitants in 1598, but to be taken under great
reservation :-
U Myself,? says Monson, in his Ifincrav, ?was
at a knight?s house, who had many servants to
attend him, that brought in his meat with their
heads covered with blew caps (Le., bonnets), the
table being more than half furnished with great
platters of porridge, each having (in them) a little
piece of sodden meat; and when the table was
served, the servants sat down with ? us ; but the
upper mess, instead of porridge, had a pullet, with
some prunes in the broth. And I observed no art
of cookery, or furniture of household stuff, but
rather a rude neglect of both, though myself and
my companion, sent from the Governor of Berwick,
about Bordering affairs, were entertained in their
best manner. The Scots living then in factions,
used to keep many followers, and so consumed their
revenue of victuals, living in some want of money.
They vulgarly eat hearth cakes of oats, but in cities
have also wheaten bread, which for the most part
