Leith.1 THE CUSTOM-HOUSE 259
EASTWARD of Leith lie those open downs called
the Links, once of much greater extent than we
find them, and doubtless at one time connected
ground to the westward of the pier, when it was
blowing fresh, with a heavy sea, and before any
assistance could be given she was driven upon
the beach, near the citadel, having beaten off her
rudder and otherwise considerably damaged herself
[sic]. They are employed in taking out the
cargo, and if the weather continues moderate, it
is expected she will be got off.?
The waves of the sea are now distant nearly two
thousand feet north from the spot where the wreck
took place.
Three of the bastions, and two of the gates of
the citadel, were standing when the old ?Statistical
Account ? was published, in 1793.
Before quitting this quarter of North Leith we
may quote the following rather melancholy account
given of the latter in 1779, in a work entitled ?The
Modem British Traveller,? folio, and now probably
out of print.
About a mile from the city is Leith, which may
be called the warehouse of Edinburgh. It is
divided into two parts by a small rivulet, over
which is a neat bridge of three arches. That part
called South Leith is both large and populous ; it
has an exceeding handsome church, a jail, a
custom-house [the old one in the Tolbooth Wynd],
but the streets are irregular, nor do any of the
buildings merit particular attention. It was
formerly fortified, but the works were destroyed
by the English in 1559 [?I, and not any remains
are now to be seen. That part called North
Leith is a very poor place, without any publick
building, except an old Gothic church ; there is a
small dock, but it is only capable of admitting
ships of a hundred and fifty tons. The harbour is
generally crowded with vessels from different parts;
and from here to Kinghorn, in Fifeshire, the
passage-boat crosses every tide, except on Sundays. . . . Great numbers of the citizens of Edin-
?burgh resort to Leith on parties of pleasure, and
to regale themselves with the sea air and oysters,
which are caught here in great abundance. . . .
with the wide, open, and sandy waste that extended
beyond the Figgate Burn to Magdalene
Bridge,
The town is under the jurisdiction of a bailiff CT],
but it may be called a part of, and is subject to the
jurisdiction of, Edinburgh, in virtue of a charter
granted by King Robert the Eruce.?
The Manners? Church, a rather handsome building,
with two smail spires facing the east, is built
upon a portion of the site of the citadel, and
schools are attached to it. The church was designed
by John Henderson of Edinburgh, and
was erected in 1840.
In this quarter Sand Port Street, which led to the
then beach, with a few old houses neax the citadel,
and the old church of St. Ninian, comprised the.
whole of North Leith at the time of the Union.
There the oldest graving-dock was constructed in
1720, and it yet remains, behind a house not far
from the bridge, dated-according to Parker
Lawson-162 2.
The present custom-house of Leith was built in
1812, on the site where H.M. ship Fu~y was built
in I 780 ; and an old native of Leith, who saw her
launched, had the circumstance impressed upon
his memory, as he related to Robertson (whose
?Antiquities ? were published in 185 I), ?by a carpenter
having been killed by the falling of the
shores.?
The edifice cost A12,617, is handsome, and in
the Grecian style, adorned in front with pillars and
pediment It stands at the North Leith end of the
lower drawbridge.
The officials here consist of a collector, twb
chief clerks, three first and seven second-class
clerks, with one extra ; eight writers, two surveyors,
eighteen examining officers, and a principal coast
officer for Fisherrow. The long room is handsome,
and very different from its predecessor in the Tolbooth
Wynd, which was simply divided by long
poles, through which entries were passed.
In May, 1882, the building at Dock Place (in
this quarter) known as the Sailors? Home, was
converted into the Mercantile Marine Department
and Government Navigation School.
C H A P T E R XXIX.
LEITH -THE LINKS.
The etymology of the word Links has been a
puzzle to Scottish antiquaries. By some it has
been supposed, that fiom the position generally
occupied by links, in the vicinity of the sea or
great rivers, the word is a corruption of Innis,
or Inches, signifying islands ; and it is said that in
some of the old records of Aberdeen the word is
spelt Linchs and Linkkes.
The whole of Leith Links must, at one time,
have been covered by the sea, and above their
level there stand distinctly up the great grassy
mounds (one named by children the Giant?s Brae)
from which the guns of Somerset and Pelham
bombarded the eastern wall of Leith during the
siege in 1560.
During the seventeenth
and eighteenth
centuries, the Links of
Leith were the chief
resort of the aristocracy
resident in Edinburgh
as .the best
place for playing golf;
nobles of the highest
rank and the most
eminent legal and political
officials taking
part with the humblest
players-if skilful-in
the game.
In 1619 a curious
anecdote is recorded,
connected with golfing
on Leith Links, by
Row, in his ?History of
the Kirk of Scotland.?
no such thing,? he was silent, went home trembling,
took to bed instantly, and died.?
The (( Household Book ? of the great Montrose
shows that in 1627 hewas in the habit ofgolfing here.
March 10. Item: for balls in the Tennis Court
Item : for two goffe balls, my Lord
of Leith.. ............................... 16sh.
going to the goffe ther .............. 10 sh.
in Leith that nicht in come and
Item : to the servant woman in the
Item : for carrying the graith to the
9- ?I. Itern : for my horse standing
straw 7 sh. 8d. ....................................
house .................................... 12 sh.
(Bumtisland) boat .................. 3 sh.
SCULPTURED SSONE, COBOURG STREET.
William Cowper, Bishop of Galloway, ((a very
holy and good man, if he had not been corrupted
with superior powers and worldly cares of a
bishopric and other things ? (according to Johnston),
became involved in various polemical controversies,
among others, with ((the wives of Edinburgh
;? and one went so far as to charge him with
apostasy, and summoned him to prepare an answer
shortly to the Judge of all the world, at a time
when it would appear that the health of the bishop
was indifferent. ((Within a day or two after,?
says Row, ((being at his pastime (golf) on the
Links of Leith, he was terrified with a vision or
an apprehension; for he said to his playfellows,
after he had in an affrighted and commoved way
cast away his playinstruments (i.e., clubs) : ?I vow
to be about with these two men who have come
upon me with drawn swords !? When his play
fellows replied, ? My Lord, it is a dream : we saw
Charles I., who was
passionately fond of
golf, was engaged in
the game on the Links
of Leith when news of
the Irish rebellion
reached him in 1642,
and the circumstance
is thus detailed in
Wodrow?s amusing
?Analecta,? on the
authority of William,
Lord Ross of Hawkhead,
who died at a
great age in 1738, and
to whom it had been
related, when in England,
by Sir Robert
Pye :-
The latter was then
an old man of eighty
years, ?and he told
him that when a young man, he came down
(1642) with King Charles the First to Edinburgh.
That the king and court received frequent
expresses from the queen ; that one day the
king desired those about him to find somebody
who could ride post, for he had a matter
of great importance to despatch to the queen,
and he would give a handsome reward to any
young fellow whom he could trust. Sir Robert
was standing by, and he undertook it. The king
gave him a packet, and commanded him to deliver
it out of his own hand to the queen. Sir Robert
made his journey in less than three days, and
when he got access to the queen, delivered the
packet. She retired a little and opened it, and
pretty soon came out, and calling for the person
that brought the letters, seemed in a transport of
joy; and when he told her what he was, and his
diligence to bring them to her Majesty, she offered
