241 CoWgab.1 THE EPISCOPAL CHAPEL.
to preach openly, by taking the oaths to Govemment,
had been founded in Edinburgh by Baron
Smith, and two smaller ones were founded about
1746, in Skinner?s and Carrubber?s Closes; but as
these places were only mean and inconvenient
apartments, a plan was formed for the erection of
a large and handsome church. The Episcopalians
of the city chose a committee of twelve gentlemen
to see the scheme executed. They purchased from
the Royal College of Physicians the area of what
had formerly been the Tweeddale gardens, and
opened a subscription, which was the only resource
they had for completing the building, the
trifling funds belonging to the former obscure
chapels bearing no proportion to the cost of so
expensive a work. But this impediment was removed
by the gentlemen of the committee, who
generously gave their personal credit to a considerable
amount.
The foundation stone was laid on the 3rd of
April, 1771, by the Grand Master Mason, Lieutenant-
General Sir Adolphus Oughton, K.B.,
Colonel of the 31st Foot, and Commander of the
Forces in Scotland. The usual coins were deposited
in the stone, under a plate, inscribed thus :-
EDIFICII SAC. ECCLESIW EPISC. ANGLIB,
PRIMIlM POSUIT LAPIDEY,
I. ADOLPHUS OUGHTON,
CURIO MAXIMUS,
MILITUM PRWFECTUS,
REONANTE GEORGIO 111.
TERTIO APR. DIE,
A.D. MDCCLXXI.
IN ARCHITECTONICA storm RFPUB.
Towards this church the Writers to the Signet
subscribed zoo guineas, and the Incorporation
of Surgeons gave 40 guineas, and on Sunday, the
9th of October, 1774, divine service was performed
in it for the first time. ?This is a plain,
handsome building,? says Arnot, ? neatly fitted up
in the inside somewhat in the form of the church
of St. Martin?s-in-the-Fields, London. It is 90
feet long by 75 broad pver the walls, and is omamented
with a neat spire of a tolerable height. In
the spire hangs an excellent bell, formerly belonging
to the Chapel Royal at Holyrood, which is
permitted to be rung for assembling the congregation,
an indulgence that is not allowed to the
Presbyterians in England. This displays a commendable
liberality of sentiment in the magistrates
of Edinburgh ; but breathes no jealousy for the
dignity of their national Church. In the chapel
there is a fine organ, made by Snetzler.of London.
In the east side is a niche of 30 feet, with a
Venetian window, where stands the altar, which is
adorned with paintings by Runciman, a native of
Edinburgh. In the volta is the Ascefision; over
the small window on the right is Christ talking
with the Samaritan woman ; on the left the Prodigal
returned. In these two the figures are halflength.
On one side of the table is the figure of
Moses ; on the other that of Elias.?
At the time Arnot wrote L6,Soo had been spent
on the building, which was then incomplete. ? The
ground,? he adds, ?? is low ; the chapel is concealed
by adjacent buildinis ; the access for carriages inconvenient,
and there is this singularityattending it,
that it is the only Christian church standing north
and south we ever saw or heard of. . . . . . . . . There are about I,ooo persons in this
congregation. Divine service is celebrated before
them according to all the rites of the Church of
England. This deserves to be considered as a
mark of increasing moderation and liberality among
the generality of the people. Not many years ago
that form of worship in all its ceremonies would
not have been tolerated The organ and paintings
would have been downright idolatry, and the
chapel would have fallen a sacrifice to the fury of
the mob.?
Upon the death of Mr. Can; the first senior
clergyman of this chapel, he was interred under its
portico, and the funeral service was sung, the voices
of the congregation being accompanied by the
organ. In Arnot?s time the senior clergyman was
Dr. Myles Cooper, Principal of New York College,
an exile from America in consequence of the revolt
of the colonies.
In the middle?of February, 1788, accounts
reached Scotland of the death and funeral of Prince
Charles Edward, the eldest grandson of James VII.,
at Rome, and created a profound sensation among
people of all creeds, and the papers teemed with
descriptions of the burial service at Frascati ; how
his brother, the Cardinal, wept, and his voice broke
when singing the office for the dead prince, on
whose coffin lay the diamond George and collar of
the Garter, now in Edinburgh Castle, while the
militia of Frascati stood around as a guard, with
the Master of Nairn, in whose arms the prince
expired.
In the subsequent April the Episcopal College
met ?at Aberdeen, and unanimously resolved that
they should submit ? to the present Government of
this kingdom as invested in his present Majesty
George III.,? death having broken the tie which
bound them to the House of Stuart. Thenceforward
the royal family was prayed for in all their
churches, and the penal statutes, after various
modifications, were repezled in 1792. Eight years
afterwards the Rev. Archibald Alison (father of
