22 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [University.
that young men are sent here from Ireland, from
Flanders, and even from Russia ; and the English
of the true old stamp prefer having their sons here,
than in Oxford and Cambridge, in order to remove
them from the luxury and enormous expense which
prevail in these places.?
In the olden time, as now, a silver mace was
borne before the principal. The original was one
of six, traditionally said to have been found, in the
year 1683, in the tomb of Bishop Kennedy, at
St. Andrews. Two of these are now preserved
there, in the Divinity College of St. Mary?s ; one, of
gorgeous construction, is now in the College of St.
Salvator, and the other three were respectively presented
to the Universities of Aberdeen, Glasgow,
and Edinburgh. They are supposed to have been
constructed for Bishop Kennedy in 1461, by a
goldsmith of Paris named Mair.
From Kincaid we learn that, unfortunately, the
silver mace given to the Edinburgh University was
stolen, and never recovered, though a handsome
reward was offered; and on the 2nd October,
1788, a very ornamental new one was presented to
the senatus by the Magistrates, as patrons of the
University.
Halls and suites of chambers had been added
to the latter from time to time by private citizens ;
but no regular plan was adopted, and till the time
of their demolition the old College buildings presented
a rude assemblage of gable-ended and
crowstepped edifices, of various dates, and little
pretension to ornament.
So early as 1763 a ?memorial relating to the
University of Edinburgh ? was drawn up by one of
its professors, containing a proposal for the rebuilding
of the College on the site of the old
buildings, and on a regular plan j voluntary contributions
were to be received from patriotic individuals,
and, under proper persons, places were
opened for public subscriptions. The proposal
was not without interest for a time ; but the shadow
of the ? dark age ? lay still upon Edinburgh. The
means proved insufficient to realise the project;
thus it was laid aside till more favourable times
should come; but the interval of the American
war seemed to render it hopeless of achievement.
In 1785, however, the design was again brought
before the public in a spirited letter, addressed to
the Right Hon. Henry Dundas (afterwards Viscount
Melville), ?? On the proposed improvements
of the city of Edinburgh, and on the means of
accomplishing them.? Soon after this, the magistrates
set on foot a subscription for erecting a new
structure, according to a design prepared by the
celebrated architect, Robert Adam. Had his plans
been carried out in their integrity, the present
structure would have been much more imposing
and magnificent than it is ; but it was found, after
the erection began to progress, that funds failed,
and a curtailment of the original design became
necessary.
After a portion of the old buildings had been
pulled down, the foundation stone of the new
college was laid on the 16th of November, 1789,
by Lord Napier, as Grand Master Mason of Scotland,
the lineal descendant of the great inventor of
the logarithms. The ceremony on this occasion
was peculiarly impressive.
The streets were lined by the 35th Regiment
and the old City Guard. There were present the
Lord Provost, Thomas Elder of Forneth, the whole
bench of magistrates in their robes, with the regalia
of the city, the Principal (Robertson, the historian),
and the entire Senatus Academicus, in their gowns,
with the new silver mace borne before them, all
the students wearing laurel in their hats, Mr.
Schetkey?s band of singers, and all the Masonic
lodges, with their proper insignia. Many Scottish
nobles and gentry were in the procession, which
started from the Parliament Square, and passing by
the South Bridge, reached the site at one o?clock,
amid 30,000 spectators.
The foundation stone was laid in the usual form,
and, amid prayer, corn, oil, and wine were poured
upon it. Two crystal bottles, cast on purpose at
the Glass House of Leith, were deposited in the
cavity, containing coins of the reigning sovereign,
cased in crystal. These were placed in one bottle;
in the other were deposited seven rolls of vellum,
containing an account of the original foundation
and the then state of the university. The bottles,
being carefully sealed up, were covered with a plate
of copper wrapped in block tin. On these were
engraved the arms of the city, of the university,
and of Lord Napier. The inscription on the plate
was as follows, but in Latin :-
? By the blessing of Almighty God, in the reign
of the most magnificent Prince George III., the
buildings of the University of Edinburgh, being
originally very mean, and almost a ruin, the Right
Hon. Francis Lord Napier, Grand Master of the
Fraternity of Freemasons in Scotland, amid the
acclamations of a prodigious concourse of all
ranks of people, laid the foundation stone of this
new fabric, in which a union of elegance with convenience,
suitable to the dignity of such a celebrated
seat of learning, has been studied. On the
16th day of November, in the year of our Lord
1789, and of the era of Masonry 5789, Thomas
