![Cockburn Street.] MACLAREN
tiny sheet at first. ?To the daily and bi-weekly
editions, a weekly publication, composed of selections
from the others, was added in 1860, representing
also the venerable CaZedoninn Mercury. A
few years ago the bi-weekly paper was merged into
the daily edition, whicA most of the subscribers
had come to prefer. In all its various forms
the Scofsman has enjoyed a most gratifying run of
prosperity.?
By 1820 the paper having become firmly established,
Mr. Maclaren resumed the editorship,
and very few persons now can have an idea of the
magni6de of- the task he
had to undertake. ?Corruption
and arrogance,? says
the memoir already quoted,
? were the characteristics of
the party in power-in
power in a sense of which
in these days we know
nothing. The people of
Scotland were absolutely
without voice either in vote
or speech. Parliamentary
elections, municipal government,
the management of
public bodies-everything
was in the hands of a few
hundred persons. In Edinburgh,
for instance, the
member of Parliament was
elected and the government
of the city camed on by
thirty - two persons, and
almost all these thirty-two
took their directions from
4ND RUSSEL 285
of the proudest proofs of his mechanical sagacity is
his having clearly foreseen and boldly proclaimed the
certain success of locomotion by railways, while as
yet the whole subject was in embryo or deemed a
wild delusion. A series of his articles on this
matter appeared in the Scofsman for December,
1824 and were translated into nearly every
European language; and Smiles, in his life of
Stephenson, emphatically acknowledges Maclaren?s
keen foresight in the subject. His great conversational
and social qualities lie apart from the
history of his journal, which he continued to edit
till compelled by ill-health
UEXANDER RUSSEL.
(Fmm a Phfograjh by 7. Moffat, Edidurgk.)
the Government of the day, or its proconsul.
Public meetings were almost unknown, and a free
press may be said to have never had an existence.
Lord Cockburn, in his ? Life of Jeffrey,? says :-? I
doubt if there was a public meeting held in Edinburgh
between the year 1795 and the year 1820,?
and adds, in 1852, that ? excepting some vulgar,
stupid, and rash? newspapers which lasted only
a few days, there was ?no respectable opposition
paper, till the appearance of the Scofsman, which
for thirty-five years has done so much for the
popular cause, not merely by talent, spirit, and
consistency, but by independent moderation.??
Its tone from the first had been that of a decided
Whig, and in church matters that of a ?? voluntary.?
Apart from his ceaseless editorial labours, Mr.
Maclaren enriched the literature of his country by
many literary and scientific works, the enumeration
of which is somewhat unnecessary here ; but one
td resign in 1847. He
died in 1866, sfter having
lived in comparative retirement
at his suburban
villa in the Grange Loan, in
his eighty-fourth year, having
been born in 1782, at
Ormiston, in West Lothian.
In the management of
the paper he was ably succeeded
by Alexander Russel,
a native of Edinburgh,
who, after editing one or
two provincial journals,
became connected with the
Scotsmen in 1845, as assistant
editor. . He was a Whig
of the old Fox school, and
contributed many brilliant
articles to the Edinburgh
and Quurferb Reviews, the
?Encyclopzedia Britannica,?
and also B/ackwood?s Magazine.
As editor of the Scotsman he soon attracted
the attention of Mr. Cobden and other
leaders of the Anti-corn-law agitation, and his
pen was actively employed in furtherance of the
objects of the League ; and among the first subjects
to which he turned his attention in the S2ofsman
was the painful question of Highland destitution in
1847. A notable local conflict in which the paper
took a special interest was that of ~ 8 5 6 , on the
final retirement of Macaulay from the representation
of Edinburgh, and the return of Adam Black,
the eminent publisher ; and among many matters
to which this great Scottish journal lent all its
weight and advocacy in subsequent years, was the
great centenary of Robert Bums.
To the change in the Stamp Act we have already
referred-a change which, by the introduction of
daily papers, entailed an enormous increase of
work upon the editors ; but we are told that ? Mr.](images/thumbs/old_new_edin_v2p105.gif "Old and New Edinburgh Vol. II Page 285")
... Street.] MACLAREN
tiny sheet at first. ?To the daily and bi-weekly
editions, a weekly publication, ...
Book 2 p. 285
(Score 0.22)
![296 MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
its quaint old lions, in which the Unionists are said to have been scared while signing
some of their preliminary treaties, is still there. The upper terrace is shaded by a magnificent
thorn tree, which appears to be much older than the house; on the second, a
curious arbour has been constructed by the interlacing stems of trees, twisted into the
fantastic forms in which our ancestors delighted; and on the lowest terrace, a fine fountain
of clear water is guarded by the marble statue of a little fisher, with his basket at his feet,
5lled with the mimic spoils of the rod and line. The garden has a southern aspect, and
is of large dimensions, and both it and the house might still afford no unsuitable accommodation
to the proudest Earl in the Scottish Peerage.’
Directly opposite to the Old Tolbooth, and not far removed. from the stately mansion
of the Earls of Moray, is an antique fabric of a singularly picturesque character, associated
with the name of one of the adversaries of that noble house-George, first Marquis of
Huntly, who murdered the Bonny Earl of Moray in 1591.. The evidence, indeed, is not
complete which assigns this as the dwelling of the first marquis, but it is rendered exceedingly
probable from the fact that his residence was in the Canongate, and that this
fine old mansion was occupied at a later period by his descendants. In June 1636, he
was carried from his lodging in the Canongate, with the hope of reaching his northern
territories before his death, but he got no farther than Dundee, where he died in his
seventy-fourth year.8 The aame noble lodging was the abode of the unfortunate Marquis,
who succeeded to his father’s title, and perished on the block at the Cross of Edinburgh in
1649. Ten years before that, their old mansion in the Canongate was the scene of special
rejoicing and festivity, on the occasion of the marriage of his eldest daughter, Lady Ann
with the Lord Drummond, afterwards third Earl of Perth, who was ane preceise puritane,
and therfore weill lyked in Edinburgh.” * The house was occupied, when Maitland wrote,
by the Duchess-Dowager of Gordon; and through a misinterpretation of the evidence
given by some of the witnesses concerned in the murder of Darnley in 1567, he pronounces
it to have been the Mint Office of Scotland at that period. If the date on the building,
which is 1570, be that of its erection, it settles the question. But, at any rate, an examination
of the evidence referred to leaves no doubt that the Mint was situated at the period
entirely without the Canongate, and in the outer court of the Palace of Holyoood,’ though
this has uot prevented the historian being followed, as usual, without investigation by later
writers. We have engraved a view of this curious old mansion as it appears from the
Bakehouse Close. It presents an exceedingly picturesque row of timber-fronted gables
to the street, resting on a uniform range of ornamental corbels projecting from the stone
basement fitory. A series of sculptured tablets adorn the front of the building, containing
certain pious aphorisms, differing in style from those so frequently occurrikg on the buildings
of the sixteenth century. On one is inscribed :-“ CONSTANTPIE CTORI RES MOBTALIVM
Moray House was for aome time occupied by the British Linen Company’s Bank ; and, since 1847, has been used as
the Free Church Normal School, and the fine terraced gardens deacribed above transformed into a playgronnd for the
wholam. ’ Spaldmg’e History of the Troublea, vol. i p. 42. ’ Ibid, vol. i p. 177.
4 “Incontinent the Erle [Bothwell], French Paris, William Powry, semitar and porter to the eaid Erle, Pat. Wil-
~ouna, nd the deponar, geid down the turnpike altogidder, and endlong the back of the Queenis garden puhiZZ mo cum
to the Cunzie-Eow, and the back of the stabilk [seemingly what is now called the Howa Wynd], quhill eow cum to the
Cannongate foreanent the Abbey eet.”-Deposition of Cfeorge Dalgleiah ; Crim. Trials, Supp. p. 495.](images/thumbs/memorials/memorials_v1_Page_340.gif "Memorials of Edinburgh in the Olden Time Page 322")
... MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
its quaint old lions, in which the Unionists are said to have been scared while ...
Book 10 p. 322
(Score 0.22)
... SKETCHES. 349
'' On Saturday, November 24, Mr, Foote gave us the Minor; that piece of his ...
Book 8 p. 487
(Score 0.22)
![Leith Walk.] MCCULLOCH OF ARDWELL.
~ _ _ _
ofArdwell, a commissioner of the Scottish Customs,
and a man famous in his time for hospitality, pleasantry,
and wit, and known as a spouter of halfinjury
to the new and?splendid one at Inverleith
Row.
Shrub Hill, the villa on a little eminence north.
ward of the Botanical Gardens, in 1800 was the
property of the dowager Lady Maxwell, and appears
as such in the map of 1804. She was Lady Maxwell
of Monreith, whose husband died in 1771, and
whose second daughter Jane became Duchess of
Gordon in 1767,
The Leith Directory for 1811 gives Lady Nairn
a residence in Pilrig Street, but she must have
held this title through Scottish courtesy, as the
attainted peerage was not restored by Act of Parliament
till 17th June, 1824. She must have been
Brabazon Wheeler, widow of Lieut.-Colonel John
Nairn, who but for the attainder would have succeeded
as fourth Lord Nairn.
Pilrig Free Church, at the north corner of this
street and Leith Walk, was built in 1861-2, and
is in the early Decorated Gothic style, with a double
transept, and has a handsome steeple 150 feet in
height.
The fine old but unused avenue of stately trees,
that opened westward from the Walk to the old
Manor House of Pilrig, has now given place to a
street of workmen?s houses, named after the pro.
prietor, Balfour Street, and lower down, near the
bottom of the Walk, is Springfield Street, named ,
he may he is no mean hand at an epigram.?
Ardwell came forward to apologise for his fun.
?My dear sir,? said Foote, ?no apology is nechaise
with four horses from the Kh$s Arms Inn,
at the same time that two strangers did so in another
vehicle, and with difficulty amid the drifted
snow they all reached the summit of Erickstane
Brae, a lofty hill at the head of Clydesdale, along
the side of which, above a most perilous declivity,
the public road passes.
,Further progress being impossible, a consultation
was held, and they all resolved to return to Moffat ;
but, as wheeling the carriage round proved a dangerous
operation, ? Wee Davie ? was wrapped up
and laid on the snow till that was accomplished,
and after reaching the inn Ardwell discovered that
his two companions were Samuel Foote the cele.
brated player and another favourite son of Thalia.
On reaching the inn, Foote entered it in no good
humour-as he walked with difficulty, having lost a
leg-and ordered breakfast, while his luggage was
taken off the chaise; and after this was done, he
?ound a written paper affixed to the panel. In
some anger he demanded, ?What rascal has been
placarding this ribaldry on my carriage I? Then
pausing, however, he read the following lines :-
? While Boreas his flaky storm did guide,
Deep covering every hill o?er Tweed and Clyde,
The North-wind god spied travellers seeking way,
Sternly he cried : ? Retun your steps, I say ;
Let not OIK hot, ?tis my behest, urofane
time.?
It would appear that in the winter of 1774-5
Mr. McCulloch visited his country mansion of
Ardwell (near Gatehouse in Kirkcudbright), which
is still possessed by his descendants, in order to be
present at an election, together with a friend named
Mouat. After a week or two they set out on their
return to Edinburgh, Mr. McCulloch bringing with
him his infant son, familiarly known as ?Wee
Davie,? and the trio, after quitting Dumfries, were
compelled by a snowstorm to tarry at Moffat for
the nighr Early next morning they departed in a
occasion when afterwards at the Theatre Royal, he
set apart a night or two for a social meeting with
I McCulloch of Ardwell, at Springfield, on Leith
Walk. ?In the parlour, on the right hand side in
entering the house, the largest of the row,? says
Chambers in 1869, ? Foote, the celebrated wit of
the day, has frequently been associated with many
Edinburgh and Leith worthies, when and where he
was wont to keep the table in a roar.?
McCulloch of Ardwell died in 1794 in his fiftythird
year. ? Wee Davie? died thirty years afterwards
at Cheltenham.](images/thumbs/old_new_edin_v5p174.gif "Old and New Edinburgh Vol. V Page 163")
... Walk.] MCCULLOCH OF ARDWELL.
~ _ _ _
ofArdwell, a commissioner of the Scottish Customs,
and a man famous ...
Book 5 p. 163
(Score 0.21)
... 111. *333, 334 .
Leopdd Place,?IlI. 158; Greenside
Church from, Ill. * 161
Leper Hospital, ...
Book 6 p. 382
(Score 0.21)
... 111. *333, 334 .
Leopdd Place,?IlI. 158; Greenside
Church from, Ill. * 161
Leper Hospital, ...
Book 6 p. 384
(Score 0.21)
... 111. *333, 334 .
Leopdd Place,?IlI. 158; Greenside
Church from, Ill. * 161
Leper Hospital, ...
Book 6 p. 383
(Score 0.21)
![404 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
effectual mode of procedure, the forces were brought to a halt within a short
distance of the enemy’s stronghold ; and by the judicious manner in which the
line was extended-reaching from the sea at Hochmatoch to the Gullet-bridge
at the Lake, and from the Lake to the Well of Spaw, near Pettycur harbourno
elector could possibly escape without inspection.
Thus secured against a sortie, after maintaining the position for a day or
two, Colonel Erskine,’ and several gentlemen from the west of Fife, accompanied
by a small detachment, entered Kinghorn in military array, with flags
and other insignia of electioneering warfare displayed. On arriving at the inn,
Lucky Skinner, true to her trust, refused to give any information concerning
the runaway electors, but endeavoured to appease Colonel Erskine, by inviting
him int8 the parlour to taste from the landlady’s bottle-a kindness she
invariably extended to strangers of respectable appearance. Somewhat irritated,
and wheeling precipitately round, the Colonel was about to retire, when Lucky,
1 Colonel James Francis Erskine waa brother of John the twelfth Earl of Mar, in whom the forfeited
title was revived in 1824. He is
understood to have spent a vast deal of money in electioneering contests. The first election, connected
with the Dunfermline district of burghs, in which he was known to take an active interest,
occurred in 1774, when Archibald Campbell, Esq., of Inverneil, successfully opposed Colonel
Masterton of Newton, the former member, and friend of Sir Laureiice Dundas. This contest wyas
rendered memorable by the unusual bitterness with which it was maintained, and the mutual
recrimination indulged in by the parties, even after it had been decided. To such an extent was
this carried, that the Fbv. Mr. Thomson, one of the ministers of Dunfermline, actually preached a
sermon from the pulpit on the subject, choosing for hi., text Ephesians iv. 25, ‘ I Wherefore putting
away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour ; for we are members one of another.’, In
the course of the sermon he alluded to various circumstances connected with the election, and pointing
to particular individuals then seated in the church, accused them of lying. This produced the
retort courteous in no measured terms. As a specimen of the unseemly exhibition, we quote the
following passages from a report of the discourse published at the time :-
The Colonel was a jolly, stout man, and a keen politician.
‘{ - Having thus explained to you, my brethren, the different kinds of lying by which we
may hurt either our neighbour or sin against our own souls, will any man pretend to tell me, after
being informed by three incontestable evidences, that that man [pointing to a certain person C h
congregation] does not lie, who will pretend to maintain that he had not engaged to support Col.
Campbell’s interest, when he waa voted into the council by the friends of Col. Campbell alone, and
had not a single vote from the other party ? I am convinced that these gentlemen had more wisdom
and judgment thau to bring in any man into the council of Dunfermline, unless they had got the
most convincing promises that he would stand by them and the interest of COL Campbell ; yet,
notwithstanding, he did not so much a3 give them one vote. [Ewe Mr. F. S. rose up and told him
he waa telling gross lies a d falsehoods.]
There ia another species of lying, with a view to hurt and defame the name and characters of
our neighbours, aa for one to say, ‘Such and such a person has got money from Col. Campbell to
induce them to support his interest, and that his brother has their receipts for the same ;’ yet that
very man, upon being examined aneut such defamatory aasertions, to deny the having said such
things.
“And you, Rob& Scotland, who have wrote a paper which appeared in the Caledonian Mer-
CU~Jg,i ving me the epithet of an old military chaplain. This is a name I glory in, having lived
fourteen yenrs in the army, where I was always happy, and well satisfied with my situation. You
also term me a blustming bZwn&xb2Lss, which I r,efnse, and will refer to the whole congregation if
that cap does not more properly fit your head than mine.
“ I have, however, stronger thmga to say than this. Will any man pretend to maintain but that
you Zk, by saying that you were a faithful and diligent agent for COL Campbell, when the contrary
can be proven by the evidence of three indisputable witnesses ! If you had been a faithful
[HeTe Mr. D. S. rose up and told him t k t he was uttere‘ng great lies.]](images/thumbs/kays_thumb_pages/kays_v2__Page_548.gif "Kay's Originals Vol. 2 Page 540")
... BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
effectual mode of procedure, the forces were brought to a halt within a short
distance ...
Book 9 p. 540
(Score 0.21)
![Edinburgh Cad:.] CORONATION OF CHARLES I. 51
and long it was since Edinburgh had been
the scene of anything so magnificent. Every
window was crowded with eager faces, and every
house was gay with flowers, banners, and tapestry.
*? Mounted on a roan horse, and having a saddle
of rich velvet sweeping the ground, and massive with
pasements of gold, Alexander Clark, the Provost,
appeared at the head of the bailies and council to
meet the king, while the long perspective of the
crowded street ( then terminated by the spire of
the Nether Bow) was lined (as Spalding says) by
a brave company of soldiers, all clad in white
satin doublets, black velvet .breeches, and silk
stockings, with hats, feathers, scarfs, and bands.
Thesegallants haddaintymuskets, pikes, and gilded
partisans. Six trumpeters, in gold lace and scarlet,
preceded the procession, which moved slowly from
But most of the assembled multitude looked
darkly and doubtfully on. In almost every heart
there lurked the secret dread of that tampering
with the Scottish Church which for years had been
conspicuous.
Charles, with great solemnity, was crowned king
of Scotland, England, France, and Ireland, by the
Bishop of St. Andrews, who placed the crown upon
his head; and on the 18th July he left Edinburgh
on his return to London. Under the mal-influence
of the zealot Laud ruin and civil war soon came,
when Episcopacy was imposed upon the people,
A committee of Covenanters was speedily formed
at Edinburgh, and when the king?s commissioner
arrived, in 1638, he found the Castle beset by
armed men. His efforts at mediation were futile ;
and famous old ?Jenny Geddes? took the initiative
the- Privy Seal;
Morton the Treasuw?s golden mace,with its globe of
sparkling beryl ; the York and Norroy English kingsat-
arms with their heralds, pursuivants, and trumpeters
in tabards blazing with gold and embroidery;
Sir James Balfour, the Scottish Lion king, preceding
the spurs, sword, sceptre, and crown, borne
by earls. Then came the Lord High Constable,
riding, with ,his blton, supported by the Great
Chamberlain and Earl Marshal, preceding Charles,
who was arrayed in &robe of purple velvet once
worn by James IV., and having a foot-cloth embroidered
with silver and pearls, and his long train
upborne by the young Lords Lorne, Annan, Dalkeith,
and Kinfauns Then came the Gentlemen
Pensioners, marching with partisans uplifted ; then
the Yeomen of the Guard, clad in doublets of
russet velvet, with the royal arms raised in embossed
work of silver and gold on the back and
breast of each coat-each company commanded
by an earL The gentlemen of the Scottish Horse
Guards were all armed d la cuirassier, and carried
swords, petronels, and musketoons.?
of trained Scottish
officers and soldiers, who had been pushing
their fortune by the shores of the Elbe and the
Rhine, in Sweden and Germany, came pouring
home to enrol under the banner of the Covenant ;
a general attack was concerted on every fortress
in Scotland; and the surprise of Edinburgh was
undertaken by the commander of the army, Sir
Alexander Leslie of Balgonie, Marshal of Sweden
under Gustavus Adolphus-a soldier second to
This he achieved successfully on the evening of
the 28th March, when he blew in the barrier gate
with a petard. The Covenanters rushed through
the Spur sword in hand, and the. second gate fell
before their sledge-hammers, and then Haldane of
Gleneagles, the governor, gave up his sword.
That night ieslie gave the Covenanting lords a
banquet in the hall of the Castle, .w&reon they
hoisted their blue standard with. the miotto, ? For
an oppressed kirk and broken? Covenant? Montrose?s
regiment, 1,500 strong, replaced the gamson ;
Lord Bdmerbo was appointed goxernor, and many](images/thumbs/old_new_edin_v1p063.gif "Old and New Edinburgh Vol. I Page 51")
... Cad:.] CORONATION OF CHARLES I. 51
and long it was since Edinburgh had been
the scene of anything so ...
Book 1 p. 51
(Score 0.21)
... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [New Tom.
- ~~~~ ~ ~
Cockburn, the former spoke thus affectionately
.of the High ...
Book 3 p. 114
(Score 0.21)
... MEMORIALS OF EDINBURGH.
believe, was the place whither the Reformer withdrew for private study and devotion, ...
Book 10 p. 280
(Score 0.21)
![H o l y d . ] MODERN IMPROVEMENTS. 79
bade them farewell in the Gallery of the Kings,
while a vast concourse assembled outside, all
wearing the white cockade. Another: multitude
was collected at Newhaven, where the Fishermen's
Society formed a kind of body-guard to cover the
embarkation.
'' A few gentlemen," says the editor of " Kay's
Portraits," " among whom were Colonel Macdonel,
the Rev. Mr. (afterwards Bishop) Gillis, John Robinson,
Esq., and Dr. Browne, accompanied His
Majesty on board the steamer, which they did not
leave till she was under weigh. The distress of the
king, and particularly of the dauphin, at being
obliged to quit a country to which they were so
warmly attached was in the highest degree affecting.
The Duc de Bordeaux wept bitterly, and the Duc
d'AngouEme, embracing Mr. Gillis d la 3ranfaise,
gave unrestrained scope to his emotion. The act
of parting with one so beloved, whom he had
known and distinguished in the salons of the
Tuileries and St. Cloud, long before his family had
sought an asylum in the tenantless halls of Holyrood,
quite overcame his fortitude, and excited
feelings too powerful to be repressed. When this
ill-fated family bade adieu to our shores they
carried with them the grateful benedictions of the
poor, and the respect of all men of all parties who
honour misfortune when ennobled by virtue."
In Edinburgh it is well known that had H.K.H.
the late Prince Consort-whose love of the picturesque
and historic led him to appreciate its
natural beauties-survived a few years longer, many
improvements would have taken place at Holyrood
; and to him it is said those are owing which
have already been effected.
Southward of the palace, the unsightly old tenements
and enclosed gardens at St. Anne's Yard
were swept away, including a quaint-looking dairy
belonging to the Duke of Hamilton, and by
1857-8-9 the royal garden was extended south
some 500 feet from the wall of the south wing, and
a new approach was made from the Abbey Hill,
a handsome new guard-house was built, and the
carved door of the old garden replaced in the wall
between it and the fragment of the old abbey
porch ; and it was during the residence of H.R.H.
the Prince of Wales at Holyrood that the beautiful
fountain in the Palace Yard was completed, on the
model of the ancient one that stands in ruin nowy
in the quadrangle of Linlithgow, and which is
referred to by Defoe in his "Tour in Great
Britain."
The fountain rises from a basin twenty-four feet in
diameter to the height of twenty-eight feet, divided
into threestages, andby flying buttresses has theeffect
of a triple crown. From the upper of these the water
flows through twenty ornate gurgoils into three
successive basins. The basement is of a massive
character, divided by buttresses into eight spaces,
each containing a lion's head gurgoil. This is surmounted
by eight panels having rich cusping, and
between these rise pedestals and pinnacles. The
former support heraldic figures with shields. These
consist of the unicorn bearing the Scottish shield, a
lion bearing a shield charged with the arm of
James IV. and his queen, Margaret of England;
a deer supports two shields, with the arms of the
queens of James V., Magdalene of France, and
Mary of Guise ; and the griffin holds the shields of
James IV. and his queen, Margaret of Denmark.
The pinnacles are highly floriated, and ,enriched
with flowers and medallions
It is in every way a marvellous piece of stone
carving. The flying buttresses connecting the stages
are deeply cusped. On the second stage are eight
figures typical of the sixteenth century, representing
soldiers, courtiers, musicians,' and a lady-falconer,
each two feet six inches in height. On the upper
stage are four archers of the Scottish Guard, supporting
the imperial crown. It occupies the site whereon
for some years stood a statue of Queen Victoria,
which has now disappeared.
Still, as of old, since the union of the cron-ns:
for a fortnight in each year the Lord High Conimissioner
to the General Assembly of the Church
of Scotland holds semi-royal state in Holyrood,
gives banquets in its halls, and holds his ledes in
the Gallery of the Kings.](images/thumbs/old_new_edin_v3p091.gif "Old and New Edinburgh Vol. III Page 79")
... o l y d . ] MODERN IMPROVEMENTS. 79
bade them farewell in the Gallery of the Kings,
while a vast concourse ...
Book 3 p. 79
(Score 0.21)
... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [High Street.
THE mansion of the Earls of Iiyndford immediately
adjoined that of the ...
Book 2 p. 274
(Score 0.21)
... INDEX.
Abbey Church, I-IoIyod, 11. 28,
I; west front of, 11. 53, mass
celebrated there, 11. 59; ...
Book 6 p. 369
(Score 0.21)
... 18 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [University.
meant as a check upon the teacher and the taught,
as it depended upon ...
Book 5 p. 18
(Score 0.21)
... CANONGA TE AND ABBEY SANCTUAR Y. 303
on his tomb-which existed in Maitland‘s time in the cemetery attached ...
Book 10 p. 330
(Score 0.21)
![ST LEONARD’S, ST MARY’S WYND, AND COWGATE. 329
however, that his hostess had a fair and witty daughter, with whom he fell in love, and
forgetting his early sorrows, he married her, and spent the remainder of his life in
Edinburgh. The young couple continued to reside for some time. after their marriage
in the old lady’s house in the Cowgate; and thereafter removing to No. 19 St Andrew’s
Square, Henry Brougham, the future Lord Chancellor of England, was born there in the
year 1779.
Almost directly opposite to St Magdalene’s Chapel, a large and heavy-looking old
mansion faces the street, with a broad arched gateway opening into an enclosed court,
and two entrances from the street to the interior of the mansion, each of them surmounted
with its appropriate legend. Within, a handsome but wofully dilapidated
oaken staircase remains, and the interior exhibits otker traces of bygone splendour,
amid the shreds and tatters of poverty that form the chief tapestry of the old halls of
the Cowgate in modern days. This extensive tenement is t.he mansion built by the
celebrated Sir Thomas Hope, king’s advocate of Charles I., and yet the foremost among
those who organised the determined opposition to that monarch’s schemes for remodelling
the Scottish Church, which led at length to the great civil war. Over one of the doorways
is inscribed, TECVMH ABITA1,6 16, while the lintel of the principal entrance bears
this laconic motto, now so much defaced as to be nearly undecipherable, AT HOSPES
HVMOw, hich proves to be an anagram of the name of its celebrated builder.’ The
philosophy of its old founder’s motto seems to acquire a new force in the degradation that
has befallen the dwelling-place of the crafty statesman, wherein he schemed the overthrow
of the throne and government. In this ancient mansion, in all probability, the
bold councils were held that first checked the unfortunate Charles I., and gave confidence
to those who were already murmuring against his impolitic measures. Here too we may,
with considerable confidence, presume the National Covenant to have been drawn up,
and the whole scheme of policy matured by which the unhappy monarch found himself
foiled alike in the Parliament, the Assembly, and in the decisive Battle of Longmarston-
Moor. In the same house, Mary, Countess of Mar, daughter of Esme, Duke of Lennox,
died on the 11th of May 1644.2 Both Bailie’s Court-at one time the residence of Lord
Kengetand Allison’s Close, which a few years ago was one of the most picturesque
alleys in the Cowgate-are decorated at their entrances with passages selected from the
Psalms, a custom that superseded the older mottoes towards the latter eud of the
seventeenth%?entury. Beyond these, however, there -still remain several tenements of
considerable antiquity and great variety of character; and in particular one old timberfronted
land, with the rude unglazed loop-holes, or shot w i n h s , which were doubtless
The elder Brougham lies buried in Restalrig Churchyard.
.
1 “ If the house near Cowgeat-head, north sgde that street, waa built by Sir Thomas Hope, as is supposed, the inscription
upon me of the lintall-stones supporta this etymologie-[viz., that the Hopes derive their name from Eoublan
the Hop plant, and not from Espemme; the virtue of the mind]-for the anagram is At Hoapea Hum, and haa all the
lettera of Thomas Houpe.”-Coltness Collections, Maitland Club, p. 16.
The “Extracts from the Countess of Mar’s Household Book,” by C. K.
Sharpe, Esq., contains many very curious local allusions, e.g. :-“Jan. 7, 1639.--(fiven to the poor at Nidriea wynd
head, as my Lady cam from the Treasurer deputes [Lord Carmichael], 6 sh. Aug. 1641.-Payit to the cnatome of
the Water Gate for ten horaea that enterit with my La. carryage, 10d. 6 Sept.-To the gardener in ye Abay yard who
presentit to my Laidy ane flour, 6 sh. 16 Sept.-Payit for twa torches to lighten on my Laidy to the Court with my
Laidy Marqueeae of Huntlie, 24 Eh. 1641,-6 Oct. J’ day to ye Abay Kirk broad, aa my Laidy went to the sermon,
6 sh., &e.”
a Sir Thomas Hope’s Diary, p. 205.
2T](images/thumbs/memorials/memorials_v1_Page_377.gif "Memorials of Edinburgh in the Olden Time Page 359")
... LEONARD’S, ST MARY’S WYND, AND COWGATE. 329
however, that his hostess had a fair and witty daughter, with ...
Book 10 p. 359
(Score 0.21)
... INDEX. 379
.Her!or brewery, The, 11.374
Henot free schools, 11. 374 37:
Heriot Kow, 11.1~5, 158,194, ...
Book 6 p. 378
(Score 0.21)
... of reptiles. ? Thus was dissipated the illusion,
founded on the Burdiehouse fossils, that saurian
. reptiles ...
Book 6 p. 343
(Score 0.21)
... OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH. [Leith.
up to the full average of poets, yet his vanity was
of a very inoffensive ...
Book 6 p. 242
(Score 0.21)
... UCKENBOOTHS AND PARLIAMENT CLOSE. 207
pedestal. Its panegyric we suspect had proved too fulsome even for the ...
Book 10 p. 226
(Score 0.21)
![THE MESSRS, NELSON. 355 The Meadows.]
G. H., cut in wood, remained in Several parts of the
l?ouse. The Rev. Dr. Steven, gpvernor of the
hospital, presented a coloured drawing of the house
to the Messrs. Nelson, as ?the country residence
of the founder of the hospital.? It perished in the
fire of 1878, but another is preserved.
The house was also, about 1800, the abode of an
aged lady, well known to those of Jacobite proclivities
in Edinburgh, Mrs. Hannah Robertson, an
alleged grand-daughter of Charles II., and whose
sister was ancestress of the Mercers of Gorthy.
She died in 1808.
The well-known firm of the Messrs. Nelson and
Sons was originally established by the late Mr.
Thomas Nelson, whose first business premises were
in a small corner shop at the head of the West Bow,
only lately removed, where he published cheap
editions of the ? Scots Worthies,? Baxter?s ?Saints?
Rest,? and similar works; but it was not until
his sons entered the business that the work of the
firm was placed upon a wider basis.
Mr. Nelson was born at a village called Throsk,
near Stirling, in 1780. When twenty years of age
he went to London, and after experiencing his own
share of difficulties, familiar to young men in
pushing their way in the world, he at last entered
the service of a publishing house in Paternoster
Row. This determined the course of his career.
One of his early associates in London was the late
Mr. Kejly, publisher, afterwards raised to the Lord
Mayor?s chair. Mr. Nelson had begun by this time
to show that love for the standard works of the old
theological school which characterised him in afteI
iife. He remained for some years in London, and
then came to Edinburgh, where he soon signalized
himself as a publisher.
Cheap issues are a common feature of the
publishing trade of the country now, but it was
otherwise in the beginning of the century, and he
was among the first to introduce the new order 01
things by the publication of works like those ol
Paley, Leighton, Romaine, Newton, and many
ithers.
For several years in the latter part of his life
le was more or less of an invalid. He died, at the
ige of eighty, on the 23rd of March, 1861. He
.ies buried in Edinburgh in the Grange cemetery,
iext to the grave of Hugh Miller.
The Messrs. Nelsons? range of offices at Hope
Park were on a scale surpassing any similar place
2f business in Edinburgh, as it consisted of three
:onjoined blocks of neat and plain design, forming
as many sides of a square. In the main building
were three floors, and machinery was used
wherever it was available, and by means of that
and an admirably organised system of the division
of labour, the amount of literary work turned out
was enormous. The process of stereotyping, which
was invented by Mr. William Ged, a goldsmith in
Edinburgh, and has been brought to the highest
perfection in the place of its birth, was here greatly
in practice. By 1870 the Messrs. Nelson employed
fully 600 workpeople, the half of whom were young
women, and on theii own premises they manufactured
all the inks used in printing, and the varnishes
for bookbinding.
The whole of their extensive premises were destroyed
by a calamitous fire, after which the Messrs.
Nelson erected new offices and workshops upon
several acres of land, known as Parkside, with a
fine frontage to the old Dalkeith Road, south of
?The Castle of Clouts,? and near what was called
of old the Gibbet TolL
Erected by the Messrs. Nelson in 1881, two
handsome pillars, surmounted respectively by
the Unicorn and Lion, now ornament the entrance
to the Melville Drive at the east end of the
Meadows. These pillars stand near the site of
their former premises, and were erected as a gift to
the city, in commemoration of the kindness and
sympathy shown to tkm by the magistrates at the
time of the great fire.
CHAPTER XLII.
LAURISTON.
The New University B u i l d h ~ l ? h c Estimates and Accommodation-George Watson?s Hospital-Founded-Opened and Sold--The New
Infirmary-Its Capabilities for Accommodation-Simpwn Memorial Hospital-Sick C h i l M s Hospital-Mberdust Maiden Haspitai-
Watson?s SchoobIauriston United Resbyterian Church-St. Catharine?s Convent.
IN the district of Lauriston we find quite a cluster
of charitable institutions ; but before treating of the
more ancient one-Heriot?s Hospital-we shall
describe those edifices which lie between the street
and the northern walk of the Meadows
In the city map of 1787, after Watson?s Hospital,](images/thumbs/old_new_edin_v4p175.gif "Old and New Edinburgh Vol. IV Page 355")
... MESSRS, NELSON. 355 The Meadows.]
G. H., cut in wood, remained in Several parts of the
l?ouse. The Rev. Dr. ...
Book 4 p. 355
(Score 0.21)
![BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 383
Dictionary of Decision8 of the Court of Session,
vols. iii and iv. 1778. Folio.
Plan and Outlines of a Course of Lectures on'Universa1
History, Ancient and Modern, illustrated
with Maps of Ancient and Modern Geography,
and a Chronological Table. 1782. Afterwards
much enlarged, and published under the title of
Elements of Qeneral History.
Nos. 17, 37, 59, 79, of the Mirror, first publishad in
1779 and 1780; also Nos. 7, 19. 24, 44, 63, 70, 79,
of the Lounger, tirst published in 1785 aud 1786.
Account of the Life and Writings of Dr. John Grego~y,
pretixed to an edition of his works, published at
Edinburgh in 1787.
History of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, making
the First Part of the First Volume of the Transactions
of the Royal Society, printed in 1787.
Biographical Account of Lord President Dundas,
printed in the Second Volume of the Transactions
of the Royal Society.
Account of some extraordinary Structures on the
tops of Hills in the Highlands, with Remarks on
the Progress of the Arts among the Ancient Inhabitanta
of Scotland. Printed in the Second
Volume of the Tnrnsnctions of the Royal Society.
Essay on the Principles of Translation, 8vo. Pablished
by Cadell, London Second edition, with
additions, 1797. 8vo.
Critical Examination of Yr. Whitaker's Course of
Hmnibal over the Alps.
New edition of Derham's Physic+Theology, with
large Notes and an Account of the Life and
Writings of the Author. Published, January
1789.
Ireland ProUting by Example, or the Question whether
Scotland haa Gained or Lpst by a Union, ilnally
discussed, 1799.
Remnrks on the Writings and Qenius of Allan
Rameay. Prefixed to a new edition of his works,
in 2 vols. 8v0, edited by the lata George Chalmers,
Eaq. 1800. 8vo.
An Essay on Military Law, and the Practice of C o d -
Martial. Edinburgh, 1800. 8vo.
Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Henry Home,
Lord games. 1807. 2 vols. 4h. Republished
in three vols. 8vo.
Historical and Critical Essay on the Life and Character
of Petmch Crown 8vo.
Published, 1798.
WILLIAM ROBERTSON (LORDR OBERTSONth),e figure next to Lord
Woodhouselee, was the eldest son of Dr. Robertson, the eminent Historian
and Principal of the University of Edinburgh. He was born in December
1754; and became a member of the Faculty of Advocates in 1775. In 1779
he was chosen Procurator of the Church of Scotland, after a keen contest, in
which he was opposed by the Hon. Henry Erskine, whose professional eminence
is so well known.
In 1805, after thirty years' successful practice at the bar, Lord Robertson
was promoted to the bench, on the death of David Ross (Lord Ankerville),
where he was distinguished not more for his legal talents than for his sagacity
and good sense. His appearance is thus described by the author of Peter's
Letters to his Kinsfolk :-
" In his [the Lord Justice Clerk's] Division of the Civil Court, one of his most respected
aqsessors is Lord Robertmn, son to the great historian ; nor could I see, without a very peculiar
interest, the son of such a man occupying and adorning such a situation, in the midst of a people
in whose minds his name must be associated with so niany feelings of gratitude and admiration.
" The son of such a man as the Historian of Scotland is well entitled to share in these
honourable feelings of hereditary attachment among the people of Scotland ; and he does share
in them. Even to me, I must confess, it afforded a very genuine delight, to be allowed to
contemplate the features of the father, aq reflected and preserved in the living features of his son.
A more careless observer would not, perhaps, be able to trace any very striking resemblance between
the face of Lord Robertson and the common portraits of the Historian ; but I could easily do so.
In those of the prints which represent him at an early period of hie life, the physiognomy of
Robertson is not seen to its best advantage. There is, indeed, an air of calmness and tastefuluess
even in them which cannot be overlooked or mistaken ; but it ie in those later portraits,
which give the features after they had been divested of their fulness and smoothnesa of outline,
and filled with the deeper lines of age and comparative extenuation, that one traces, with most
ease and satisfaction, the image of genius, and the impress of reflection. And it is to these lnst
portraits that I could perceive the strongest likeness in the general aspect of the Judge, but most
of all in his grey and overhanging eye-brows, and eyes, eloquent equally of sagacity of intellect
and gentleness of temper."](images/thumbs/kays_thumb_pages/kays_v2__Page_520.gif "Kay's Originals Vol. 2 Page 512")
... SKETCHES. 383
Dictionary of Decision8 of the Court of Session,
vols. iii and iv. 1778. Folio.
Plan ...
Book 9 p. 512
(Score 0.21)
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