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Kay's Originals Vol. 1

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138 B I 0 GRAPH I C AL S KE T C 11 E S. In the month of November 1777 he married Jean Wilson, daughter of John Wilson, bookseller in Edinburgh, a connection which, as will immediately be seen, turned out to be a very unfortunate one. Williamson had the merit of establishing the first Penny-Post in Edinburgh. He also published a Directory, “which he sold at his General Penny-Post Office, Luckenbooths.” The copy before us, for 1788, is dedicated to the Lord Provost and Magistrates of Edinburgh ; and the following dedicatory epistle is prefixed :- “MY LORDS AND GENTLmEN-At the earnest request of a respectable part of the inhabitants of Edinburgh, I have been induced once more to make an actual survey of the city and its much-extended suburbs, and to publish a Directory for the present year, ‘‘ The patronage I have always received from the Magistrates of Edinburgh I acknowledge with gratitude j and I flatter myself they will approve of the present publication. “ That the city may flourish to the remotest ages-that the noble efforts made by the present Chief Magistrate for its embellishment, the convenience of its inhabitants, and for the desirable object of making the port and harbour of Leith (so intimately connected with the city) more extensive and commodious for trade, may be crowned with success-is the sincere wish of, My LORDS and GENTLEMEN, “ Your most obedient humble servant, (‘ P. WILLIAMSON.” At this period his wife and daughter appear to have contributed their assistance to the maintenance of the family, as the following notice is printed on the cover of the Directory :- “ MRS. WILLIAMSON AND DAUGHTER, at their House, first fore stair above the head of Byres’s Close, Luckenbooths, Engraft Silk, Cotton, Thread, and Worsted Stockings, make Silk Gloves, and every article in the engrafting branch, in the neatest manner, and on the most reasonable terms ; likewise Silk Stockings washed in the most approved stile ; also Grave Cloaths made on the shortest notice. Orders given in at P. Williamson’s General Penny-Post Office, Luckenbooths, will be punctually attended to.’) “N.B.-Mantua-Making carried on in all its branches as formerly. From a process of divorce which he instituted in the year 1789 against his wife, and in which he was successful, it appears that but for the gross misbehaviour of the former, he might have attained pretty easy circumstances. The F’rocurator for the defender, in the case just alluded to, represents his
Volume 8 Page 196
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