Chronicles of Saint Mungo : or, Antiquities and traditions of Glasgow

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CHRONICLES OF SAINT MUNGO:

ANTIQUITIES AND TRADITIONS

OF GLASGOW.

"Books are yours,

Within whose silent chamber treasure lies,
Preserved from age to age, more preciouu far
Than that accumulated store of gold
And orient gems, which, for a dajr of need.
The Sultan hoards in his ancestral tombs."

WORDSWORTH.

GLASGOW:— JOHN SMITH & SON.

LONDON & EDINBURGH:— WILLIAM BLACKWOOD & SONS.
MDCCCXLin.

GLASGOW:
PRINTED BY BELI AMD BAIR, 15 ST. ENOCH SQUARE.

HENRY MONTEITH, OF CARSTAIRS, ESQ.,

AM)

JAMES EWING, OF LEVENSIDE, ESQ., LL.D.,
©entlemen,

WHOSE HEREDITARY CONNECTION WITH THE CITY OF GLASGOW
AND CORDIAL INTEREST IN ITS AFFAIRS,

iPatir plarrD fiigii in tfic tstrcm of tfinr jFrllodj Vimrnv
THE PRESENT VOLUME

B Mtg|jectfu5Ig

PREF AC E.

IT is perhaps unnecessary to state, that the present vol-
ume, consisting of a series of antiquarian and general
notices, illustrative of the history of Glasgow, lays claim
to no literary merit beyond that of garnering up, in a
somewhat novel form, those scattered fragments of
knowledge, which, according to Milton, the world does
not willingly suffer to perish.

The antiquities and traditions of Glasgow, in differ-
ent points of view, are objects of interest to the Scottish
reader. Dating its foundation from a very early period,
and bearing a hand in all the most remarkable events con-
nected with civil and ecclesiastical history, — whether in
the assertion of the truth and dominion of Popery, or
contributing by might and main to its downfal — whether
in the, at one time, zealous support of Episcopacy, at
another, the waging against it, under the banner of Pres-
byterianism, the most relentless war, — Glasgow pos-
sesses much interest, to which few other towns can lay
claim. Always one of the principal cities in Scotland,
its rise and progress have been marked by those occur-
rences which usually characterise places of importance.

VI PREFACE.

From perusal, it is trusted, the reader will be able to
glean information conducive both to his amusement and
instruction.

In the Chapter embracing Lives of " Eminent Natives
of Glasgow," he will probably be, for the .first time,
made acquainted with those " sparks of immortality,"
who, reared amid the same scenes with himself, have
more than general claims upon his attention.

Throughout, the Editor has been largely indebted to
the various Histories of Glasgow which have already
appeared, especially to the new edition of M'Ure's work,
published in 1831 by Mr. D. M'Vean, — a gentleman of
much sound general antiquarian knowledge. Acknow-
ledgments are also due to the volume entitled, " Notices
and Documents illustrative of the Literary History of
Glasgow," presented in 1831 to the Maitland Club, by
Richard Duncan, Esq. of this city, from which the
Chapters on the " Literary Antiquities" and " Ancient
Academy of the Fine Arts" have been almost wholly
compiled, as well as to Professor Simpson of Edinburgh,
whose papers on Leprosy, contributed to the Edinburgh
Medical and Surgical Journal, have supplied a large
amount of the materials of Chapter Fourth.

In conclusion, the Editor would express his personal
obligations to his friend, Mr. William Park, M.A.,
Librarian to the University, for his ready assistance in
affording perusal of works necessary for consultation.

GLASGOW, June, 1843.

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION. pAQE

TRADITIONARY ACCOUNT OP THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME OF
GLASGOW. — SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ST. MDNGO OR KENTI-
GERN. — DIFFERENT ORDERS OF THE ANCIENT POPISH
ESTABLISHMENT, 3

CHAPTER I.

ANCIENT ASPECT OF THE CITY, 25

CHAPTER II.

REMARKABLE OLD EDIFICES FORMERLY EXTANT, ... 49

CHAPTER III.

REMARKABLE OLD EDIFICES STILL EXTANT, ... 76

CHAPTER IV.

THE LEPROSY AND PLAGUE IN GLASGOW, .... 97

CHAPTER V.

THE PRETENDER IN GLASGOW, 116

CHAPTER VI.

LITERARY ANTIQUITIES OF GLASGOW, 133

CHAPTER VII.

ANCIENT ACADEMY OF THE FINE ARTS, 173

VU1 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VIII.

PAGE
MEMORABLE RIOTS IN GLASGOW, 190

CHAPTER IX.

MEMORABLE FIRES AND FLOODS, 273

CHAPTER X.

ANCIENT AND MODERN POLITICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE CITY, 285

CHAPTER XI.

SKETCH OF THE PROGRESS OF COMMERCE AND MANUFACTURES, 295

CHAPTER XII.

ANCIENT AND MODERN NAVIGATION OF THE CLYDE, . . 307

CHAPTER XIII.

EMINENT NATIVES OF GLASGOW, 315

CHAPTER XIV.

REMARKABLE PUBLIC CHARACTERS, 396

CHAPTER XV.

OUR ANCESTORS, 414

427

CHRONICLES OF ST, MUNGO.

INTRODUCTION.

"'Let Glasgow Flourish,' St. Mungo said,
As he bowed his white and sacred head
Over the first foundation stone
Of a town, where the wild stretched waste and lone."

AN acquaintance with the customs and habits of our
ancestors, contributes as much to our advancement in
useful knowledge as the instructions dictated by personal
experience improve us in the art of conducting our lives
with wisdom and prudence. In both cases, a retrospec-
tive view furnishes the means of preventing many mis-
takes which might otherwise be committed. The indi-
vidual, it has been remarked, who zealously labours in
the promotion of the study of antiquity, is somewhat
allied to the philosopher who, ardent in the elucidation
of those principles which regulate the operations of the
universe, confers a benefit on his fellow creatures. By
accurate researches into what is past, and candid in-
quiries into what is present, a wide field of useful con-
templation is open to the mind.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MTJNGO.

In the present age, the importance of this truth seems
to have become apparent ; for the now living generation,
more, perhaps, than any which has gone before, is pecu-
liarly distinguished for a spirit of antiquarian research;
and to procure any relic of by-gone times, every part of
the world is now diligently searched by the inquisitive
eye of the virtuoso and natural historian. And few
countries teem with things of the past like our own land.
In every district are to be seen objects, which, when con-
templated, call up before the mind's eye some great
event of a former day, the remembrance of which serves
at once as a beacon to warn us, and as a lamp to guide
our path in the pursuit of knowledge.

No branch of the history of man is so much involved
in obscurity as that which relates to manners and the
progress of the useful arts. In the progression of civil
society things are perpetually changing. Improvements
are made proportioned to the state of our knowledge at
the time; and to resist the march of improvement is
impossible, since progress is the characteristic of civilized
man. The true wisdom of a nation lies in cautiously
advancing, and providing for the slow but sure eradi-
cation of popular errors, by the extension of information.
Peculiar customs originate from certain states of arts,
which, after prevailing for a season, gradually disappear
as the circumstances that gave rise to them fall into
oblivion. What deserves most to be regretted is, that
those circumstances, though of much importance in the
history of civil society at the time they prevail, are no

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 5

sooner passed than they are entirely forgotten. At the
time they are in existence no person attempts to describe
them with care, because they are then deemed to be of
such public notoriety as to be known to all ; and, when
they begin to fall into disrepute, they are despised as
unworthy of notice, and are suffered to slide imper-
ceptibly into oblivion. From this obscurity they are
sometimes attempted to be recovered by the antiquary,
who, from incidental allusions of poets, or casual notices
of other authors, is able, at best, to give but a faint and
imperfect view, often an erroneous picture of them, while
a few lines from a contemporary observer would have
transmitted them with indelible force to posterity.

But the knowledge which man receives from the
study of antiquity is not merely derived from those
national muniments, the verity of which all consider as
indisputable. Popular tradition, also, is a subject preg-
nant with useful knowledge, although often hold in light
estimation, as if the mere fiction of the mind, and desti-
tute of all foundation in truth. Many accounts, to be
sure, are handed down to us, both by oral and written
tradition, of events which probably never took place, and
which were, in all likelihood, at first the invention of
some over-credulous or idle mind; but this is not a
reason why all the statements made to us through this
medium are to be branded as fabulous. Tradition, when
it refers to the great events of a nation, is not unfre-
quently a faithful historian, especially among a people
like the Scots, whose wandering bards were, from time

6 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

immemorial, employed in celebrating these events, and
perpetuating their memory. Some fables, and not a
few errors, may have been interwoven with their narra-
tions ; but these fables, or what to us now may seem
to deserve that appellation, were, in many instances,
we have reason to believe, founded on facts. Shall the
wildest fables of Greek and Roman historians be, with
almost a sacred care, faithfully transmitted to posterity,
and be made to refer to events which actually took place,
and shall the history of our own nation, for several com-
plete centuries, be wholly rejected, as having no basis in
truth, because there may be some things mentioned in
that history for which we cannot easily account?

The foundation of Glasgow, if we believe the tradi-
tional account of the name, must be assigned to a very
remote date. It is only by tradition, indeed, that the
origin of most nations and families are discovered ; for,
carrying us back to some remote period, we have pre-
sented to our view certain persons and actions, the re-
membrance of which many ages have not been able to
obliterate. Proper names not unfrequently remain un-
altered during the obscurity of barbarism, and amidst
the devastations of war ; they often survive the greatest
changes that take place in the customs and manners of
nations, and retain their original meaning, though some-
times obscured by the wildest fables, ajid most gloomy
superstition. The name of Glasgow is dubious in its
signification, but would seem to be of Celtic etymology.
By some, the word is said to import a grey smith, which

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 7

is, indeed, the most literal etymon ; while others under-
stand it to mean a dark glen, in allusion to the ravine
at the east side of the Cathedral, near which the earliest
settlements were made. Which is the most correct
explanation, we presume not to decide.

The Romans, while they remained in Britain, had a
station about the spot where the Cathedral now stands.
The wall of Antoninus, extending between the friths of
Forth and Clyde, a few miles north of the city, embraced
what was called the province of Valentia. Though often
harassed by the inroads of the Caledonians, the Romans
did not abandon this station till some time about the year
420, when they took their final leave of the island, to
defend the " Eternal City," which was then assailed by
the barbarous tribes which eventually overthrew the
Roman empire. History tells us little more of this
locality, till about the year 560, when the See of Glasgow
was founded by Saint Kentigern. This holy man was
the son of Eugenius the Third, by Thamata, daughter
of Locht, king of the Picts, by Ann, daughter of the
famous liter Pendragon, and heiress of Britain. Having
given early indications of piety, he was placed under the
educational charge of Servanus, bishop of Orkney, with
whom he became a great favourite, and who designated
him by the familiar appellation of Mongah, which, in
the Norse tongue, signifies "dear friend," whence the
name Mungo, by which he and the See are generally
known. He was contemporary with St. Columba, the
celebrated Culdee, bishop of lona, and was highly

8 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

esteemed by that divine. It is believed that St. Co-
lumba and St. Ninian, of Candida Casa, at Whitehorn,
in Galloway, jointly consecrated St. Kentigern at his
installation.

As to what were the motives which influenced St.
Kentigern in selecting Glasgow as his peculiar place of
residence, we are not informed. Probably they were
much the same as those which have regulated the choice
of ecclesiastical sites in all ages. The natural beauty of
the situation, and, at the same time, its proximity to the
Clyde, whose stream would afford his infant establish-
ment the means of safe and speedy communication with
the parent institution in lona, we may conceive to have
been some of the advantages which swayed him to this
determination.

Not long after his settlement in the west, Marken,
king of the Strath Cluyd Britons, taking offence at his
great popularity, compelled him to flee into "Wales, where
he founded the monastery of St. Asaphs. Marken,
however, soon dying, he was recalled to Glasgow by his
successor Roderic, and remained here until his death,
which is said to have happened on the 13th January,
601. According to tradition, he was buried in the then
Cathedral. So high was the estimation in which he
was held, that many chapels were dedicated to him,
particularly in Annandale, Culross — the supposed place
of his birth — Auchterarder, Peebles, and Pennycuik.

Like all the other saints in the calendar, many
miracles are attributed to St. Mungo, which, however,

CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO. 9

it would require some little stretch of our credulity to
receive as gospel. Spottiswood, in his history of the
sufferings of the Church of Scotland, gravely relates one,
which, since it is popularly cited as the origin of a com-
ponent part of the arms of the city, we shall here record :
— A lady of rank in the country, having had occasion to
cross the Clyde, by accident lost the ring which had been
presented to her by her husband as a token of his regard.
In order to save herself from the jealousy of her lord, she
repaired to St. Mungo, stated her calamity, and implored
his interposition. The man of holiness, with all the
complaisance of his office, and willingness to befriend
the unfortunate, acceded to her request. Having finished
his devotions he betook himself to the spot where the fair
had sustained her loss, and desiring an individual whom
he saw angling, to bring him the first fish he should catch,
he found in its mouth the redoubtable ring! The pious
may place this miracle in the same category with
Balaam's Ass and St. Peter's Haddock.

The origin of the armorial bearings of the city, are
assigned to its first foundation by the Saint. They
consist of the following : — Argent, a tree growing out of
a mountain base, surmounted by a bird in chief, all pro-
per ; a salmon with an amulet in its mouth, Or, on the
dexter side ; a bell pendant to the tree on the sinister.
Discarding, however, the monkish fables respecting the
origin of each separate part of this cognisance, we may
conclude, with little danger of mistake, that the tree and
the bird referred to the ancient forest which surrounded

B2

10 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

the Cathedral, — the bell to the Cathedral itself, —
the ring to the Episcopal office, — and the fish to the
scaly treasures poured by the beautiful river below, at
the foot of the venerated metropolitan. The motto is
" Let Glasgow Flourish," to which in former times was
added, "through the preaching of the word." Prior
to the Reformation, the saint, mitred, appeared on the
dexter side of the shield, which had two salmon for sup-
porters.

Saint Mungo was succeeded by one Baldredus, who
founded a religious house at Inchinnan, near Renfrew ;
but how long this bishop lived, or who were his suc-
cessors, no account can be given. For the long space of
four hundred and fifty years after this period, a veil of
impenetrable mystery hangs over the history of the See ;
and to account for this blank, it is supposed that the
church was destroyed by the Danes, during their inroads
into this country, who either slew or drove away the reli-
gious community from Glasgow. During this period
Scotland presented a picture of human nature in its
most barbarous form. Civil wars, and an utter disregard
to laws and property, were the distinguishing features
of its policy.

The first mention which we find made of the city of
St. Mungo after this time, occurs under the year 1050, in
the history of York Cathedral, when it is recorded, that
three bishops in succession, Magsuen, John, and Michael,
were consecrated to the See of Glasgow, by the Arch-
bishop of York. Considerable doubts, however, are

CHKOMCLES OF ST. MUNGO. 11

entertained by historians, whether these records were
not interpolated, as precedents to support the claim of
superiority over Scotland, set up by the See of York.
On the reference of the question to Pope Alexander the
Third, his holiness pronounced his decision in favour
of Scotland; and when the subject was subsequently
revived, the former judgment was corroborated, with a
confirmation of the entire independency of the Scottish
bishops, by Pope Sextus the Fourth, who at the same
time erected the See of St. Andrews into an Arch-
bishopric, in 1466.

The first incontrovertible account, however, of the
revival of the See, is to be found under the reign of
Alexander the First, when David, subsequently king,
but at that time Prince of Cumberland, inducted his
chaplain, John Achaius, a man of great learning, to
the Bishopric.

To Bishop Joceline, an individual high in the favour
of William, surnamed the Lyon, Glasgow owes many
obligations. Him, indeed, more than any other of her
prelates, has she reason to regard as the greatest of her
benefactors ; for it was by his interest with the king that
the town was raised to the rank of a royal burgh, and
its inhabitants had many privileges conferred upon them,
to encourage them in the cultivation of commerce and
trade. From an old deed, still extant, the town appears
at this time to have been governed by a provost and
bailies, and to have been in all respects an organized
corporation, having persons in official situations for the

12 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

investing and transferring of property, with courts of
justice for determining disputes among the inhabitants.

Royal Burghs were first erected by the wisest of our
monarchs, with a view to rescue mankind from the
oppressive power of the barons. For this purpose
certain portions of the king's lands were bestowed upon
them, and the management of the rights and privileges
belonging to these lands were committed to the inhabi-
tants. They are, consequently, to be viewed as so many
free, and almost independent communities, existing in
the midst of oppression and slavery. Justice was to be
found in their courts; the lives and properties of the
inhabitants were secured from the rapacity of the
haughty barons ; arts, commerce, and industry, prospered
within their territories ; and from them the cheering rays
of liberty were widely diffused.

The next individual who largely contributed to the
prosperity of Glasgow, was Bishop C ameron of the family
of Lochiel. After the installation of this prelate to the
bishopric in 142G, he was promoted to the chancellor-
ship of Scotland, which office he held with great ability
for thirteen years. The See during his incumbency was
in the zenith of its splendour, and his character has
become the subject of unbounded praise and unlimited
censure, as different parties have become his historians.
It was not, however, till about the year 1484, during the
incumbency of Bishop Blackadder, that the diocese of
Glasgow was raised to an archbishopric.

Perhaps one of the greatest eras in the history of

CHRONICLES OF ST. 1IUNGO. 13

Glasgow, was the foundation of her University, in 1450,
during the incumbency of Bishop Turnbull, — an institu-
tion which has ever continued to shed a lustre on the
city and the country in general. The founding of this
great national seminary for tho diffusion of learning,
together . with that of St. Andrews forty years pre-
viously, we may regard as the first decided struggles of
the human mind in northern Britain to wrest itself from
the trammels of barbarism.

It is impossible even to take a cursory retrospect of
the events which followed this era in the history of
our country, without being almost impressed with a belief
that the history of ten centuries was comprised within
the limits of that brief period. In the course of human
affairs there are certain mighty .crises, in which alone the
energies of men and nations are fully developed, — in
which great crimes are committed, great sufferings
endured, and a great reversion of ultimate good secured.
At these grand epochs, happily few, the human mind,
acted upon by a prodigious number of concurrent impul-
ses, gradually emancipated from the bondage of ancient
prejudices, and having fully fathomed the depths of that
degradation in which it has been plunged, soon reaches
the point where the worn-out and decayed defences of
old established error become too feeble to resist the con-
stantly accumulating force by which it is urged forward,
and where, bearing down every obstacle before it, it
rushes onward with an impetuosity proportioned to the
time by which its native energies have been repressed,

14 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

and the strength of the barriers it has overturned. Such
a crisis was the Reformation, — that tremendous conflict
between the spirit of ignorance and the spirit of improve-
ment,— that first and bloodiest act of a mighty drama of
which the catastrophe is even yet to be seen. The lead-
ing events to which this gigantic movement gave birth,
are too well known to require to be detailed here. The
destruction of the ancient hierarchy, consummated by the
expulsion from their authority of its chief abettors, was
followed by a system which, though evidently an improve-
ment, was nevertheless an abortion, — a combination of
every heterogeneous element — the temporary triumph of
terrorism and anarchy. It was, indeed, but a poor prac-
tical argument in favour of the new creed, or the strength
of the moral and religious convictions upon which it was
founded, to consider as necessary for its safety, the total
destruction of every object which could call up the
remembrance of the old, and of that imposing ritual by
which, as by an irresistible tenure, the church of Rome
had so long bound the understandings of men. The con-
duct of the Reformers, instead of exhibiting the calm
and settled conviction of the superior reasonableness and
truth of their doctrine, bore more affinity to the prepos-
terous resolve of the drunkard, who, in a fit of remorse,
and to secure himself against a repetition of his folly, had
destroyed the beautifully wrought cup, the innocent
instrument of his intemperance, instead of restoring it
to its sacred position on the altar.

Archbishop Beaton, nephew of the celebrated Cardi-

CHRONICLES OP ST. MUXGO. 15

nal, was the last popish incumbent of the See. This
prelate finding his power over the members of his dio-
cese every day diminishing from the spread of the Re-
formed doctrines, and auguring the immediate ruin of
the ancient system, abdicated, in the year 1560, carry-
ing with him to France all the writs, images, archives,
and relics, belonging to the Bishopric of Glasgow, which
he deposited in the Scot's College and Monastery of the
Carthusians, at Paris. The same year the doctrines
of the Reformation were established by law, but long
and stormy was the period that intervened, between the
fall of the papal power, and the reconstruction of society
on the firm and well defined basis on which we now find
it fixed in this country. Released, as we have seen,
without due preparation, from the bonds of Romanism,
the minds of men flew into every wild extreme ; fierce
and daring natures, influenced by fanaticism, strove to
blend all social and political institutions into what they
deemed conformity with the religious views that every
i new and extravagant sect thought proper to set up as
the guide of their conduct. To the hatred engendered
by political differences, religious bitterness was now
superadded, and the ordinary enmity of adverse factions
was carried even to an excess of savage madness, that
ceased not on the verge of battle, but pursued its victims
to the very scaffold. The stormy nature of these wild
times was well calculated, however, to bring forward
men of bold daring and decided characters; and as
planets and meteors, unobserved during the tranquil

16 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

light of day, shine out in full splendour through the
stormy darkness of night, so does the fame of many of
the worthies of that period shine out with noble light
through the gloom that gathered over their native land
during the stormy years of the sixteenth century. This
constellation of honour, loyalty, and gallantry, redeems
by its lustre much of the blackness which evil deeds and
evil passions cast in those days upon our country.

Glasgow having, before the Reformation, been the
residence of the second church dignitary of Scotland,
and a numerous retinue of clergy, from whom its chief
importance was derived, it may, perhaps, be not unin-
teresting to take a slight glance at the principal orders
of the popish establishment as they existed in this
country. There is nothing regarding which, at the
present day, a greater want of knowledge prevails, than
of this subject ; and such ignorance should not exist, since,
however much the system as a whole may appear to
us ridiculous, it is still venerable as being the great
parent of the ecclesiastical economy of our own time.

The Clergy were divided into two great classes, —
Regular and Secular. The former were so denominated
because they were under an obligation to live according
to certain rules, prescribed to them by St. Augustine or
St. Bennet; — the latter received their appellation from
their living in the world abroad, without being shut up
in convents and cloisters like the former.

Of the Regular Clergy several distinct societies
existed. The principal of these classes constituted an

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 17

Abbey, and were ruled by an abbot. Some abbots
were independent of the bishop, and were called abbotes
exempti. Others were invested with episcopal power,
wore a mitre, and were called sovereign mitred abbots,
and had a seat in Parliament.

The second subdivision of the Regular Clergy formed
a Priory. In early times the prior was only the ruler of
the abbey, under the abbot, who was primate in the
monastery, the former not being considered a dignitary;
but afterwards, a party of monks becoming detached
from the mother abbey, and obtaining a settlement in
some other place, were formed into a separate convent.
A prior was set over them, and their house was called
cella obedentia, denoting that they depended upon a
superior monastery. This personage was denominated
a conventual prior, and held dignity ; while a prior in the
abbey was only a daustral prior. In general, the priory
lands were erected into a regality, of which the prior
was lord.

The third subdivision of the Regular Clergy was
composed of monks, friars, and nuns. It is generally
supposed, that the terms monk and friar are synony-
mous: such, however, is not the case. They differed in
this respect, that the former were seldom allowed to go
out of their cloisters, while the latter were commonly
mendicants, who travelled about and preached in the
neighbourhood. They agreed so far as that they both
wore the tonsure, or shaved crown, an emblem, they said,
of their hope of a crown of glory. They vowed chastity,

18 CHRONICLES OF ST. MTJXGO.

poverty, and obedience, besides the titles of their respec-
tive orders. The nuns were never allowed to appear out
of their cloisters, after they had made their vows. They
wore a grey gown and a rotchet, and followed St.
Austin's rule.

The principal orders of the friars were, —

1st, — The Dominicans, or Black Friars, so called
because they wore a black cross on a white gown, and
were instituted by Dominicus, a Spaniard. They were
first brought into Scotland by William Malvoisin, bishop
of Glasgow, about the year 1200.

2d, — The Franciscans, or Grey Friars, so named from
their wearing a grey gown and cowl, with a rope about
their waist, and from being established by St. Francis,
an Italian, in the year 1206.

3d, — The Carmelite, or White Friars, a less numerous
order, were instituted about the same period.

The Secular Clergy consisted of the bishops and
parish ministers, &c., and lived in the world abroad.

Of this class, colleges or associations were formed, for
the performance of divine service, and singing masses
for the souls of their founders and their friends. These
colleges were sometimes removed to Cathedrals, some-
times to ordinary churches, which then became colle-
giate churches. In the former case, the bishop was
the ruler; the latter were governed by a provost or
dean. The members of the colleges were canons, or
prebendaries, who had their stalls for singing the
canonical hours, &c. Canons secular, (so called to

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 19

distinguish them from the regulars in convents,) were
ministers, or parsons, within the diocese, chosen by the
bishop to be members of his chapter or council. They
lived within the college, performed divine service in the
cathedral, and sung in the choir, according to the rules
of the chapter. Prebendaries had each a portion of
land allotted him for his service. The difference between
Canons and Prebendaries lay chiefly in this, that the
Canon had his canonica, or portion, merely for his being
received, although he did not serve in the church ; but the
Prebendary had his prebendum only when he officiated.

Every Canonry had a Vicarage annexed to it, for the
better subsistence of the Canon, who had the great
tithes of both parishes, and was generally the patron of
the annexed Vicarage.

The Dignitaries of the church, exclusively of the
bishop, were five in number: — The Dean, who presided
in the chapter, or during the absence of the bishop.
The Archdeacon, who visited the diocese, examined for
candidates' orders, and was the bishop's vicar. The
Chanter, who regulated the music, and when present,
presided in the choir. The Chancellor, who was the
judge of the bishop's court, the secretary of the chapter,
and the keeper of their seal. The Treasurer, who
had the charge of the common revenue of the diocese.
All these had rich livings, and deputies to officiate
for them ; and, with the addition of some canons and
prebendaries chosen by the bishop, constituted his privy

20 CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO.

council, and in a vacancy, elected for bishop whom the
king recommended.

The inferior clergy were parsons, vicars, ministers of
mensal churches and of common churches, and chaplains.

Parsons were those who had a right to the tithes,
and were the ministers and rectors of parishes.

Vicars were the curates of the rectors. In order to
augment the revenues of the bishop, and the other dig-
nitaries of the church, and the canons, parish churches
were annexed to the churches in which the rectors
served, who were the rectors and parsons of such
annexed churches. They claimed the tithes as a right,
and they appointed Vicars to perform the duties of the
cure, to whom an allowance was made of a portion of
the tithes as their stipend, which generally consisted of
the small tithes.

Ministers of mensal churches took charge of furnishing
the bishop's table.

Common churches were so called, because the tithes
of them were for the common good, or for the common
exigencies of the diocese.

Chaplains were those who officiated in chapels. These
chapels were of different kinds. In parishes of great
extent, chapels were erected in out corners for conve-
nience, and the rector of the parish maintained a curate
there to read prayers and say masses. These were
called Chapels of Ease. Some chapels were called free
chapels, which were not dependent on any parish, but

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 21

had proper endowments for their own ministers, whose
charge was called a chaplainry. Besides these, there
were domestic chapels, or oratories, built near the resi-
dence of great men ; and almost in every parish there
were private chapels built by individuals, that mass
might be celebrated for the souls of themselves or their
friends. The office of saying mass in such chapels, was
called chantery. The priest's salary was termed alter-
age. The service performed for the dead was called the
obit, and the register of the dead, the obituary. In the
first part of the obit, are the words, Dirge nos domine,
and hence came the dirge.

The government of the diocese was vested in the
bishop, who had for his convenience, officers and courts,
ecclesiastic, civil, and criminal.

These courts were five in number : — The Chapter was
the principal. The legislative power was lodged in the
court, or rather in the bishop, who, with the advice of the
Chapter, made laws, canons, and regulations for the
diocese, erected, annexed, or disjoined parishes, pur-
chased, sold, or let in tack church lands.

Diocesan Synods were called at the pleasure of the
bishop, who (or the dean in his absence, ) was president.
Cases of discipline, and appeals from deaneries were
cognosced in these synodical meetings ; and from them
the protestant church took the plan of provincial synods.

The diocese was divided into deaneries, which seem
to have been, in some respect, what presbyteries are
in our own day.

22 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUJTGO.

The Consistorial Court was held in the bishop's name,
by his official. It judged in all matters of tithes, mar-
riages, divorces, testaments, and mortifications, &c.
This court granted dispensations, allowing marriages
betwixt persons within the degrees of consanguinity or
affinity.

The bishop also seized on the effects of those who
died intestate, to the exclusion of the widow, children,
relations, and even creditors, under pretence of applying
them for promoting the good of the soul of the deceased.
This court is now succeeded by the Commissary Court.

The next court was that of Regality, the jurisdiction
of which also extended over the diocese.

The chief revenues of the clergy arose from tithes,
from church lands mortified to them by the crown, and
from private mortifications and donations ; and such was
the power and wealth of the church, that before the
Reformation it possessed no less than fifty-three votes
in the Scotch Parliament.

The Diocese of Glasgow was very extensive, com-
prising the counties of Dumbarton, Renfrew, Ayr, and
JLanark, with part of Roxburgh-shire, Peebles-shire,
Selkirk-shire, and Dumfries-shire, and included no less
than two hundred and forty parishes. When the bishop
was raised to the rank of an Archbishop, the Sees of
Galloway, Argyle, and the Isles, were put under his
jurisdiction.

The Reformation, in destroying the spiritual and
temporal monopolies which the Roman Catholic bishop-

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUXGO. 23

rics had so long enjoyed, contributed also to their destruc-
tion in all other points of view. Trade and commercial
enterprise being as yet almost completely unknown,
the church was the sole source of subsistence to the
lower as well as higher orders of society ; consequently
when this was withdrawn, many towns were thrown
back into that obscurity from which the greater number
were destined never again to emerge. It was for-
tunate, however, for Glasgow, that the same natural
qualities which had first made it valuable as a religious
station, were found to be equally applicable to the pur-
poses of commerce. Its inhabitants, compelled to turn
their industry into new channels, were not slow in avail-
ing themselves of these advantages ; and from vassals of
the will and stipendiaries on the bounty of arrogant
churchmen, on becoming free agents in their own affairs,
they laid the foundation of a system of commercial en-
terprise, which the industry of successive generations,
though long retarded by the incessant civil wars which
existed in the land, has at length so extended, as fully to
realize the pious ejaculation of St. Mungo, when he
"bowed his white and sacred head" over the first stone
of the city of Glasgow.

What is in reality the great distinguishing difference
between our citizens of the existing and those of preced-
ing generations, the present work will attempt to explain.
"Are we better or worse than our ancestors?" — is a
question which has been often asked. At the close of
each revolving century, it is true we can point out

24 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

immense improvements, and greater advances toward
wisdom, than the beginning of that century could
indicate. But instead of taking much credit to ourselves
on this account, we ought to inquire whether we have
made more or less use of our means and opportunities.

We must at all times regard the feelings of our
ancestors with respect, for they are to be looked upon
both as the great artificers of our knowledge and as
those who have preserved unbroken the vast chain of
human acquisition — who have bequeathed to us the
richest of all legacies, the

' Gold of the dead

Which time does still dispense, but not devour."

25

CHAPTER I.

ANCIENT ASPECT OF THE CITY.

Non te pontificum luxus, non insula tantum

Ornavit, divi quae tibi causa mail,
Glottidse quantum decorantte, Glasgua, musse,

Qua1 celsurn attollunt clara sub astra Caput,
Glotta decus rerum piscosis nobilis undis,

Finitimi recreat jugera Iseta soli,
Ast Glottse decus, et vicinis gloria terris,

Glasgua, ftecundat flumine cuncta suo.

ARTHUR JOHNSTON.

OUB notions respecting the earliest appearance of Glas-
gow, are confused and undefined. They picture to the
imagination a rural hamlet composed of a few straggling
houses, which, with advancing time, also increased in
numbers; till upon the foundation of the Cathedral, it
began to assume the appearance of a town, destitute of
trade, and inhabited only by religious devotees. Nor even
after this period does its progress seem to have been
rapid, for two centuries subsequently, long after it had
been erected into a royal burgh, it was reckoned so
inconsiderable as not to be admitted into the number
c

26 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

of cautionary towns assigned to Edward of England for
payment of the ransom of David II.

Upon the building of the bridge over the Clyde, by
Bishop Rae, in the year 1350, the town seems gradually
to have extended itself in that direction, from the high
grounds near the Cathedral, but it was not till after the
accession of Bishop Cameron in 1426, that it increased
rapidly in size. This prelate obliged the whole preben-
daries of the diocese to erect houses, and to live in the
city, while their cures in the country were served by
vicars. He also laid out the town upon a new plan, by
forming the High Kirk- Street, the Drygate, and Rotten-
row;* and the intersection of these streets was at that
period considered as the cross of Glasgow, and conse-
quently the place of public resort. About this period also,
many of the nobility erected houses in the city, and
royalty itself made it the place of its occasional residence.

When the University was founded in 1450, the build-
ings went on with such alacrity, that about the latter end
of the reign of James V., the High-Street extended
the length of the present cross. The Saltmarket, Gal-
lowgate, and Trongate streets were formed, and many
houses built in each of them, particularly in the Salt-
market, which continued to be the thoroughfare towards

* With regard to the two former of these words, their etymon
suggests itself at once to the reader. The etymology of the word
Rottenrow, however, is somewhat obscure, but would seem to be
derived from two French words, routine, signifying usual, and route,
way; from the circumstance of that street, in ancient times, being
the common road to the west part of the city from the Cathedral.

CHRONICLES OF ST. JMUNGO. 27

the bridge, from the most ancient part of the city.* To
these streets may be added the Bridgegate, which ap-
peal's to have been in these times inhabited principally
by fishermen, who supported themselves by supplying the
community with the fish caught in the river, and was
known before this period as the Fishergate.

If we take a view of the style of architecture that
prevailed during the early stages of the history of the
town, we will find that it was in general mean, gloomy
and inconvenient. The houses of the greatest antiquity
were built, like those in the rural districts, of stone and
turf, covered with thatch, to the height of one storey. In
process of time, wooden fronts became frequent ; when the
houses began to be constructed of two or more storeys, each
projecting a little way farther out upon the street than the
one immediately under it. The greater part of these,
however, appear to have been still covered with thatch,
and it was not till the fire in 1652, when many of them
fell a prey to the violence of the flames, that stone build-
ings covered with slate, became more general.

But the long period of civil wars which devastated
Scotland, after the accession of James VI. to the
English throne, effectually prevented the rapid increase
of Glasgow ; and accordingly we find that at the period

* The origin of these designations is palpable. " Saltmarket-
Street " seems to have been so called, from its being a place of
extensive traffic in the commodity of salt ; — "Gallowgate" from
the circumstance of that street being the road to the " Gallow-
Muir," on the east part of the city; — and " Trongate," from the
fact of a public " Trone" or balance for weighing heavy wares
being situated in that locality in the vicinity of the cross.

28 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

of the Union, in 1707, it extended to the eastward only
so far as the Saracen's Head Inn in the Gallowgate, and
westward to the Black Bull Inn in the Trongate. The
grounds upon which Bell's Wynd, Candleriggs, King-
Street, Prince's-Street, and Stockwell-Street now stand,
though formerly included within the precincts of the
city, were at that time corn fields, relieved only by an
occasional house surrounded by a garden. Shortly after
the period of the Union, however, these streets began to
be laid out, and in a few years were completely built up
with handsome and commodious houses, inhabited by the
wealthier class of citizens.

About the year 1730, there were altogether within the
city, ten principal streets, viz., High Kirk-Street, Dry-
gate, Bottenrow, Gallowgate, Saltmarket, Gibson's
Lane, (now Prince's-Street,) Bridge- Street or Bridge-
gate, King-Street, Stockwell-Gait, (now Stockwell-
Street,) Trongate. There were also sixteen wynds: —
Limmerfield Wynd, Greyfriars Wynd, New Vennal,
Grammar- School Wynd, Blackfriars Wynd, (now Buns
Wynd,) Bell's Wynd, Old Vennal, Spoutmouth Wynd,
Baker's Wynd, (now St. Andrew's-Street,) Armour's
Wynd, Main's Wynd, (now Back Wynd,) New Wynd,
Old Wynd, Aird's Wynd, (Goosedubs,) Moody's Wynd,
St. Enoch's Wynd.

CITY PORTS.

In the ruder ages, before the uncouth nature of man
gave place to the progress of civilization, it was con-
sidered necessary that all towns of importance should be

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 29

furnished with gates or ports at their different avenues
of approach, the opening and shutting of which were
under the control of the civil authorities, — as well to
prevent the intrusion of any dangerous foe, as to afford
the means of ingress and egress to peaceable and well
disposed lieges.

It does not appear that Glasgow in ancient times was
fortified by a wall ; but at the different avenues leading
to the city, there were situated from an early period,
eight gates or ports : —

At the northern boundary, between the wall sur-
rounding the garden attached to the castle inhabited by
the bishop, and the west side of the street, stood the
" Stable-G-reen Port," so named from its contiguity to the
castle stables ; and upon the opposite side of the prelate's
palace extending across the street to the Cathedral, and
in immediate proximity to the High Church yard, was
situated what was called the " Castle Gate." A part of
the wall of this gate was in existence till within a few
years of the close of last century, when it was removed
with an old tower that bounded it on the south, to
make room for the Barony Church.

At the western extremity of the Rottenrow there ap-
pears also to have been a " Gate," as also at the eastern
termination of the Drygate ; the space between which,
measuring 1118 ells, was anciently reckoned the breadth
of the city from east to west.

The avenue leading to the city by the east, along
Gallowgate- Street, was guarded by what was termed
the " Gallowgate Port," situated immediately to the west

30 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

of the entry to St. Mungo- Street, (more anciently known
by the name of Burnt Barns*) and extended across the
street to a well frequented hostelry, known as the Sara-
cen's Head Inn.

The gate which guarded the western extremity of the
city, at the termination of the Trongate, was designated
the " West Port," and extended from the house situated
on the south side at the head of Stockwell- Street, to that
which stood on the north side. Till the middle of last
century, when they were both taken down, the Gallow-
gete and "West Ports" were regarded as the eastern
and western boundaries of the city ; and up to that period
there existed only a few thatched houses outside.

At the foot of Stockwell- Street was situated a gate,
called the " Water Port," the vestiges of which were to
be seen about the commencement of the present century,
adjoining to the wall of a house at the western extremity
of the Bridgegate.

The junction of Bell's Wynd with Candlerigg- Street,
was guarded by a " Gate," which, in point of architec-
tural beauty, far surpassed the others. It was taken
down about the year 1715.

PUBLIC GREENS.

The city was anciently furnished with three public
parks or " greens," which, however, in the course of time

* So called from the circumstance of Sir William Wallace, when
he gained a victory over the English general, Percy, having set
fire to the barns in this spot, then a rural suburb of the town.—
See page 194.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 31

have very much changed in appearance. They were
situated outside the city ports, and were at all times
pleasant places of resort to the inhabitants.

The first was situated on the north-east corner of the
city, and was known as the Merchants' Park.* It was
highly ornamented with a stately grove of fir trees, and
while it overlooked the gloomy pile of the Cathedral, it
afforded to the visitor a fine view of the whole city and
adjacent country. A continuation of this park a little to
the north, was the ancient washing green of the citizens.

The second was that which was known a century ago
as the " New Green," but is now generally described as
" Glasgow Green." It is situated on the south-east
corner of the city, and is bounded on the south by the
Clyde. It was anciently enclosed with a stately stone
wall, 2500 ells in length, the last vestiges of which, how-
ever, have now disappeared ; the building up of the south
side of Great Hamilton- Street having necessitated their
removal. It was also formerly encircled by fine rows of
elm trees, which have in modern times been in a great
measure removed.!

The third was generally known by the name of the
" Old Green," and was situated at the beginning of last

* The site of the Necropolis.

-\- It is here worthy of remark, that the Clyde is conjectured to
have flowed at an early period over that portion of the green known
in modern times as the " Flesher's Haugh." This conjecture is
founded upon the fact of the soil in this part being of an alluvial
character, and upon the circumstance of this appearing from ex-
amination to be the natural course of the river.

32 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

century at the south-west corner of the city, — viz., be-
tween the Old Bridge and the foot of Jamaica-Street.
It was much smaller than the other two, and was fenced
round with a "paling," and a hundred and fifty large
trees. It extended to the north nearly as far as Dunlop-
Street, and was occupied by the "ropework," which still
exists, and the " glasswork " on the west end. Upwards
of a century ago, the Old Green appears to have been tilt-
fashionable promenade of the city.

BRIDGES.

As already remarked, the Old Bridge, situated at the
foot of Stockwell- Street, was built by Bishop Rae in 1350.
It consisted of eight arches, and was erected at his own
private expense, with the exception of the third arch from
the northern side of the river, the cost of which was
defrayed by a certain Lady Lochow, then resident in
the city.* To commemorate her benefaction her bust was
placed in a niche of this arch, which remained till about
the middle of last century. In the year 1671, an accident
of rather a serious nature occurred, by the falling of the
most southerly arch of the bridge. What is rather
singular, this happened about noon of the 7th of July, —
the fair Friday ; and although hundreds of persons must
have passed and repassed previously, not an individual
lost his life, or sustained any injury. The deficient arch
was speedily replaced at the expense of the city, and a
century after, in the year 1777, it was widened ten feet

* For further information respecting Lady Lochow, see page 97.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 33

by an addition made to its eastern side. Between the
centre of the bridge and its southern extremity, at one
time stood a " Gateway " or " Porch," which was " taken
down in order to open a wider communication." The
bridge was still further widened in the year 1821.

Although there were anciently twelve one arch bridges
in different parts of the town, one only now remains to
claim our notice. It leads across the Molendinar Burn,
from the eastern extremity of the High Church- Yard
to the Merchants' Park, and is now covered over by
the handsome arch leading to the Necropolis. Its anti-
quity is unknown.

DESCRIPTIONS OF GLASGOW BY VARIOUS AUTHORS.

In order to give the reader a notion of the appearance
and conveniences of the city after it began to acquire
importance about the end of the sixteenth century, we
will quote the descriptions given of it by different authors
at various periods, during the subsequent hundred years.

1650. — In this year Cromwell and his army arrived in
Glasgow, and the appearance of the town seems to have
made a favourable impression on the eyes of the
soldiers : —

" On Friday, October 24th, in the afternoon, we
reached Glasgow ; that morning my lord at a rendez-
vous, gave a special charge to all the regiments of the
army, to carry themselves civilly and do no wrong to
C2

34 CHKONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

any. The town of Glasgow though not so big and rich,
yet to all seems a much sweeter and more delightful
place than Edinburgh, and would make a gallant head
quarters were the Carlisle forces come up. We found
the magistrates and the chief of the town all fled, and
they had possessed the generality of the people with the
same opinion of us here as elsewhere, although I do not
hear of the least injury that the soldiers'ofiered to any
during our abode there. And they say, that if ever we
come that way again, they will persuade their friends to
abide at home. Our stay at Glasgow was but for two
days ; so that we effected nothing more than to say, we
had been there." — Several Proceedings in Parliament.

1658. — Glasgow, a city of a pleasant site, upon a river
navigable for small boats, which usually bring up pro-
visions from Patrick' s-town, ten miles fhence, where
ships of good burthen may ride. In Glasgow the streets
and houses are more neat and clean than those of Edin-
burgh ; it being also one of the chiefest universities in
Scotland. — The Perfect Politician.

The following is a description of Glasgow from
Franck's Northern Memoirs, written in the above year.
It enumerates, in the form of dialogue, the various
beauties of which it could at that time boast, in the most
grandiloquent terms. The speakers are represented as
two tourists, bearing the classic-looking appellations of
Arnoldus and Theophilus: —

CHKONICLES OP ST. MUNGO. 35

Arnoldus. — Nor will Glasgow be any impediment in
our way whilst we only survey her beautiful palaces so
direct to the lofty turrets of Dumbarton.

Theoph. — Let the sun or his star the beautiful Aurora
arrest me if otherwise I arise not before the break of day,
and be in rer diness for a march to the famous Glasgow,
where yo . purpose to refresh, and briefly examine the
city cu iosities ,* as also the customs of their magnificent
situ .tions; whose academic breasts are a nursery for
e ucation, as the city for hospitality. And let this be
your task as we travel to Dumbarton, to give us a nar-
rative of the antiquities of Clyde, as also the town of
Kilmarnock, where we slept this night, that so bravely
refreshed us.

Arn,. — That I can do as we ride along.

Theoph. — Must we dismount these hills to traverse
those valleys?

Arn. — Yes, surely, we must, if designing to trace the
fertile fields and beautiful plains of the now famous and
flourishing Glasgow, where we may accommodate our-
selves with various curiosities; for the days are long
enough, and our journey no more than a breathing to
Dumbarton. Now, the first curiosity that invites us to
gaze at, is a large and spacious bridge of stone, that
directs to the fair embellishments of Glasgow. But our
next entertainment is the pleasant meadows, and the
portable streams of the river Clyde, eminent in three
capacities. The first is, because of her numberless num-
bers of trout. The second is, because of her multiplicity

36 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

of salmon. But the third and last is, from her native
original, and gradual descents ; because so calmly to
mingle her streams with the ocean. Not that we now
consider her florid meadows, nor shall we recount her
nativity from Tintaw, (Tintoc,) because so strongly
opposed and presumed from Erricsteen, distant from
thence some few odd miles.

Theoph. — If you please, let that argument drop till
farther opportunity.

Am. — I am thinking to do so, and proceed to discourse
this eminent Glasgow. Which is a city girded about
with a strong stone wall, within whoso flourishing arms
the industrious inhabitant cultivates art to the utmost.
There is also a cathedral (but it's very ancient) that
stands in the east angle, supervising the bulk of the city,
and her ornamental ports. Moreover, there are two
parish churches ; but no more to the best of my observa-
tion. Then, there is a college, which they call an uni-
versity ; but I'm at a stand what to call it, where one
single college completes a university.

Now, let us descend to describe the splendour and
gaiety of this city of Glasgow, which surpasseth most, if
not all the corporations in Scotland. Here it is you may
observe four large fair streets, modelled, as it were, into
a spacious quadrant ; in the centre whereof their market-
place is fixed ; near unto which stands a stately tolbooth,
a very sumptuous, regulated, uniform fabric, large and
lofty, most industriously and artificially carved from the
very foundation to the superstructure, to the great ad-

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 37

miration of strangers and travellers. But this state-
house, or tolbooth, is their western prodigy, infinitely
excelling the model and usual built of town halls ; and
is, without exception, the paragon of beauty in the west ;
whose compeer is nowhere to be found in the north,
should you rally the rarities of all the corporations in
Scotland.

Here the reader (it's possible) may think I hyperbolize ;
but let him not mistake himself for I write no ambigui-
ties. Truth stands naked in plain simplicity ; and par-
tiality I abhor as a base imposture. He that reads my
relation, and the morals of this famous Glasgow, will
vindicate my description, and place the fault to him that
invents the fable ; for it's opposite to my genius, as also
to my principles, either to deface a beautiful fabric, or
contract a guilt by magnifying it beyond its due merit.
I have, and therefore shall, as near as I can, in an equal
poise balance things aright. Permit me, therefore, as a
licentiate, to read you but a short, yet pertinent lecture,
and I'll tell you what entertainments we met with in
Glasgow, as also what hopes we have to meet with the
like in the circuit of our intended northern progress.
But this I offer to the dubious only ; if, peradventure,
there be any such as scruple, I'll refer them to the
natives to evidence for me, which I am satisfied they will
with ten thousand manifestoes.

In the next place, we are to consider the merchants
in this eminent Glasgow, whose storehouses and ware-
houses are stuffed with merchandise, as their shops swell

38 CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO.

big with foreign commodities, and returns from France,
and other remote parts, where they have agents and
factors to correspond, and enrich their maritime ports,
whose charter exceeds all the charters in Scotland;
which is a considerable advantage to the city-inhabitants,
because blest with privileges as large, nay, larger than
any other corporation. Moreover, they dwell in the face
of France, and a free trade, as I formerly told you. Nor
is this all, for the staple of their country consists of linens,
friezes, furs, tartans, pelts, hides, tallow, skins, and
various other small manufactures and commodities, not
comprehended in this breviat. Besides, I should remind
you, that they generally exceed in good French wines,
as they naturally superabound with fish and fowl ; some
meat does well with their drink. And so give me leave
to finish my discourse of this famous Glasgow, whose
ports we relinquish to distinguish those entertainments
of Dumbarton, always provided we scatter no corn.

Theoph. — What to think, or what to say of this emi-
nent Glasgow I know not, except to fancy a smell of my
native country. The very prospect of this nourishing
city reminds me of the beautiful fabrics and the florid
fields in England, so that now I begin to expect a plea-
sant journey. Pray, tell me, Amoldus, how many such
cities shall we meet with in our travels, where the
streets and channels are so cleanly swept, and the meat
in every house so artificially dres't? The linen, I also
observed, was very neatly lapped up, and, to their praise
be it spoke, was lavender proof; besides, the people were

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 39

decently dressed, and such an exact decorum in every
society, represents it, to my apprehension, an emblem of
England, though, in some measure, under a deeper die.
However, I '11 superscribe it the nonsuch of Scotland,
where an English florist may pick up a posie ; so that
should the residue of their cities, in our northern pro-
gress, seem as barren as uncultivated fields, and every
field so replenished with thistles that a flower could
scarcely flourish amongst them, yet would I celebrate
thy praise, 0 Glasgow! because of those pleasant and
fragrant flowers that so sweetly refresh 'd me, and, to
admiration, sweetened our present enterments.

Note by Sir Walter Scott. — The panegyric which the
author pronounces upon Glasgow gives us a higher idea
of the prosperity of Scotland's western capital, during
the middle of the 17th century, than the reader perhaps
might have anticipated. A satirist with respect to
every other place, Frank describes Glasgow as the
"nonsuch of Scotland, where an English florist may
pick up a posie." Commerce had already brought
wealth to Glasgow, and with wealth seems to have
arisen an attention to the decencies and conveniences of
life, unknown as yet in other parts of Scotland.

1661. — From Stirling we went, Aug. the 22d, to
Glascow, which is the second city in Scotland, fair,
large, and well built, cross-wise, somewhat like unto
Oxford, the streets very broad and pleasant. There is
a cathedral church built [repaired] by Bishop Law;

40 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

they call it the high kirk, and have made in it two
preaching places, one in the choir, and the other in the
body of the chnrch ; hesides, there is a church under
the choir like St. Faith's in London ; the walls of the
church-yard round about are adorned with many monu-
ments, and the church-yard itself almost covered with
grave stones ; and this we observed to be the fashion in
all the considerable towns we came to in Scotland. The
bishop's palace, a goodly building near to the church, is
still preserved. Other things memorable in this town
are, — 1. The college ; 2. A tall building at the corner,
by the market-place of five stories, where courts are kept
and the sessions held, and prisoners confined, &c. ; 3.
Several fair hospitals, and well endowed; one of the
merchants now in building ; a very long bridge of eight
arches, four whereof are about fifty feet wide each ; and
a very neat square flesh market, scarce such a one to be
seen in England or Scotland. — Rae's Account of Glas-
gow.

1689. — Glasgow is a place of great extent and good
situation ; and has the reputation of the finest town in
Scotland, not excepting Edinburgh, though the royal
city. The two main streets are made crosswise, well
paved and bounded with stately buildings, especially
about the centre, where they are mostly new with piazzas
under them. It is a metropolitan see, and at the upper
end of the great street stands the archbishop's palace,
formerly without doubt a very magnificent structure, but

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 41

now in ruins, and has no more left in repair than what
was the ancient prison, and is at this time a mean
dwelling. — Morer's Account of Scotland.

About 1700. — The following verses are given by
M'Ure in his history of *he city, and represents its ap-
pearance about the close of the seventeenth, or commence-
ment of the eighteenth century. Rome herself, in her
palmy days, could scarcely, in the opinion of the writer,
have outvied our city: —

Glasgow, to thee thy neighbouring towns give place,

'Bove them thou lifts thine head with comely grace.

Scarce in the spacious earth can any see,

A city that's more beautiful then thee.

Towards the setting sun thou'rt built, and finds

The temperate breathings of the western winds.

To thee, the winter colds not hurtful are,

Nor scorching heats of the canicular.

More pure then amber is the river Clyde,

Whose gentle streams do by thy borders glide.

And here a thousand sail receive commands,

To traffic for thee into foreign lands.

A bridge of polish 'd stone doth here vouchsafe,

To travellers o'er Clyde a passage safe.

Thine orchards full of fragrant fruits and buds,

Come nothing short of the Corcyran woods.

And blushing roses grow into thy fields,

In no less plenty then sweet Psestum yields.

Thy pastures, flocks, thy fertile ground, the corns,

Thy waters, fish, thy fields the woods adorns,

Thy buildings high and glorious are; yet be

More fair within than they are outwardly.

Thy houses by thy temples are outdone,

Thy glittering temples of the fairest stone;

And yet the stones of them however fair

The workmanship exceeds which is more rare.

42 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

Not far from them the place of justice stands,

Where senators do sit and give commands.

In midst of thee Apollo's court * is plac'd

With the resort of all the muses grac'd.

To citizens in thee, Minerva arts,

Mar's valour, Juno staple wealth imparts;

That Neptune and Apollo did, its said,

Troy's fam'd walls rear, and their foundations laid.

But thee, O GLASGOW ! we may justly deem

That all the gods who have been in esteem,

Which in the earth and ocean are,

Have joined to build with a propitious star.

1715. — The chief city of this county is Glasgow, the
best emporium of the west of Scotland ; it is a large,
stately, and well built city, and for its commerce and
riches is the second in the kingdom; it is pleasantly
situated upon the east bank of the river Clyde, which is
navigable to the town by ships of considerable burthen,
but its port is new Port- Glasgow, which stands on the
mouth of Clyde, and is a harbour for ships of the greatest
burthen. The city obliges merchants to load and unload
here; have a large public house, and the customhouse
for all the coast is in this place. The city is joined to
the suburbs on the west bank of Clyde by a noble and
beautiful bridge of eight arches, built with square hewen
stone. Most of the city stands on a plain, and lies in a
manner four square ; in the middle of the city stands the
tolbooth, a magnificent structure of hewen stone, with a
very lofty tower, and melodious chimes, which ring
pleasantly at the end of every hour. The four principal

* The College.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 43

streets that divide the city into four parts centre at the
tolbooth, a magnificent structure, and all of them are
adorned with several public buildings.: — Tfie Present State
of Scotland.

1727. — Glasgow is the emporium of the west of Scot-
land, being, for its commerce and riches, the second in
this northern part of Great Britain. It is a large,
stately, and well built city, standing on a plain, in a man-
ner four square ; and the four principal streets are the
fairest for breadth, and the finest built that I have ever
seen- in one city together. The houses are all of stone,
and generally uniform in height, as well as in front.
The lower stories, for the most part, stand on vast square
Doric columns, with arches, which open into the shops,
adding to the strength, as well as beauty of the building.
In a word, 'tis one of the cleanliest, most beautiful, and
best built cities in Great Britain.

It stands on the side of an hill, sloping to the river;
only that part next the river, for near one-third of the
city, is flat, and by this means exposed to the water, upon
any extraordinary flood ; it is situated upon the east bank
of the Clyde, which is not navigable to the town but by
small vessels. Its port therefore is new Port-Glasgow,
which stands near the Clyde's mouth, and is an harbour
for ships of the greatest burden. Here it is on a good
wharf or quay the merchants load and unload. Their cus-
tomhouse is also here, and their ships are here repaired,

44 CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO.

laid up, and fitted out either here, or at G-reenock, where
work is well done, and labour cheap. — Defoe's Tour.

1760. — We may now be permitted to give the humorous
account of our city by Dougal Graham,* the Glasgow
bellman, and author of the history of the rebellion, and
many other works in prose and verse. He puts the
description into the mouth of a rustic Celt, and desig-
nates it as —

JOHN HIGHLANDMAN'S REMARKS ON GLASGOW.

Her nainsel into Glasgow went,

An erran there to see't ;
And she ne'er pe saw a ponier town,

Was stan 'ing on her feet.

For a' the houses that be tere,

Pe theiket wi' plue stanes,
And a stane ladder to gang up,

No fa' to prack her banes.

She'll gang upon a staney road,

A street they do him ca',
And when me seek the shapman's house,

Her name be on the wa'.

I gang to seek a snish turnback,

And standing at the corse,
And tere I saw a dead man,

Was riding on a horse.

And O he pe a poor man,

And no hae mony claise,
Te progs be worn aff her feet,

And me see a' his taes.

* For a particular account of Dougal Graham, see page 166.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MXJNGO. 45

Te horse had up his muckle fit,

For to gie me a shap,
And gaped wi' his great mouth,

To grip me by the tap.

He had a staff into his hand,

To fight me an he could,
Put hersel' pe rin awa frae him,

His horse be unco proud.

But I be rin around about,

And stand about the guard,
Where I see the deil chap the hours,*

Tan me grow unco fear'd.

Ohon! ohon! her nainsel said,

And whare will me go rin?
For yonder pe te black man,

Tat burns te fouks for sin.

I'll no pe stay nae langer tere,

But fast I'm rin awa,
An' see the man a thrawing rapes.

Peside the Proomielaw.

An' O she be a lang tedder,

I speir fat they do wi't;
He said, To hang the Highlandman's,

For stealing o' their meat.

Hout, hersel's an honest shentleman,

I'm never yet be steal,
But whan I meet a muckle purse,

I like her unco weel.

Tan fare you weel you saucy loon,

I fain your skin would pay;
I came to your town the morn, but.

And I'll gang out yesterday.

* At that time a clockmaker in Trongate had a figure of the
devil which struck the hours.

46 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

Tan she'l gaed to her quarter house,
The toor was unco pra',

For tere they had a cow's husband
Was pricket on the wa'.

0 tere we gat a shappin ale,
And tan we gat a supper,

A filthy choud o' chappit meat,
Was boil'd amang a butter.

It was a filthy dirty beef,
His bains was like te horn ;

She was a calf wanting the skin,
Before that he was born.

Next day I'm gang upon the kirk,
To hear a lawland preach,

And mony a ponny sang they'l sing,
Tere pooks they did him teach.

And tere I saw a ponny mattam,
Wi' feathers on her wame,

1 wonder an' she be gaun to flee,
Or what be in her min'.

Another mattams follow her,

Wha's nerse was round like cogs ;

And clitter clatter cries her feet,
She" had on iron brogues.

And tere I saw another mattam,

Into a tarry seek,
And twa poor man's be carry her,

Wi' rapes about liims neck.

She pe sae fu' o' fanity,
As no gang on the grun',

Put twa poor mans pe carry her,
In a barrow covered abune.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 47

Some had a fish tail till her mouth,

And some pe had a bonnet,
Put my Shanet and Donald's wife,

Wad rather hae a bannock.

SUBURBS OF THE CITY.

GORBALS. — This prosperous Barony, once an insig-
nificant village, is situated on the south bank of the
Clyde, opposite the city, running parallel with it nearly
a mile. The origin of the ancient village, and the ety-
mology* of its name, are rather uncertain; but ever
since the building of the Old Bridge, it has been indif-
ferently distinguished by the name of Gorbals, and that
of Bridge-end. The village and barony, in 1571, were
feued from Archbishop Porterfield, by Sir George
Elphinston, merchant in Glasgow, and by his interest it
was erected into a burgh of regality. The adjacent
districts of Hutchesontown, Laurieston, and Tradeston,
are not of ancient date, and have originated from the
progressive extension of Gorbals.

ANDERSTON. — This suburb lies about a mile west
from the cross of Glasgow, and on the same side of the
Clyde. It derived its name from Anderson of Stob-
cross, who, as early as 1725, formed the design of erect-
ing a village. The estate was purchased, in 1735, by
John Orr, Esq. of Barrowfield, who found the pro-
jected village in a state of infancy, consisting only of a

* In the Celtic of the ancient Strathclyde Britons, "Gorbal"
signifies the ample expansion, the wide level plat.

48 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

few thatched houses. By the proper encouragement of
manufactures, however, it has quickly risen to be a large
and populous suburb.

COWCADDENS. — This district derives its designation
from the circumstance of it being anciently the grounds
where the citizens pastured their cattle. The direct
road leading to it from the city was through the West
Port and up the Cow Loan.*

C ALTON. — At the commencement of the last century,
this place was called Blackfauld, from the ground on
the east of Glasgow, upon which it was built, having
been formerly occupied as a fold for black cattle. This
property was purchased in 1705, from the community of
Glasgow, by Walkingshaw of Barrowfield, who first
projected the village. It was chiefly completed, how-
ever, by John Orr, Esq., who acquired the Barrowfield
estate.

BRIDGETON. — This district is not of ancient date, and
is so named from its vicinity to the bridge thrown over
the river in 1777, leading to the ancient borough of
Rutherglen.

* The site of Queen-Street.

49

CHAPTER II.

REMARKABLE OLD EDIFICES FORMERLY EXTANT.

• Time has seen, that lifts the low,
And level lays the lofty brow;
Has seen this broken pile complete,
Big with the vanities of state."

PRIOR.

To a reflecting mind it is something more than merely
amusing to mark the contrast betwixt Glasgow as it has
been, and Glasgow as it is. When, from accident or
design we find ourselves wandering among

" Those noble, stately domes,

Where Scotia's kings, of other years,
Fam'd heroes, had their royal home,"

it is impossible to resist the associations which are con-
nected with a spot so venerable. We examine the
dilapidated walls of the noble mansions which on all
sides surround us, and discover symbols of their former
importance. We gaze on the arched passways — the
square courts — the narrow windows — and the ruined
D

50 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

offices, with an interest which no other circumstance
than historical association can excite, and in one moment
we are present with men of other times. We hear the
clattering of horses feet, — we see knights clad in
armour, — feudal dames mounted on spirited palfreys,' —
and obsequious esquires, moving like pieces of machinery,
at the nod of their superiors. We are too intent on the
usages of the feudal age to reflect on the long period of
time which separates us from men who have mingled
three hundred years with their native earth ; and cast-
ing a melancholy glance on the marks of time which
every where meet the eye, start from our abstraction
with feelings of deep and reverent humiliation. There
stand the walls on which our ancient monarchs and
their courtiers, and "the monks of olden time" have
often gazed, and these paved courts, which have often
resounded to the tread of many a proud steed, now heavily
answer to the whoop of noisy ragged little urchins, or
to the more ponderous summons of some herculean
mechanic, as he passes onward, unmindful either of the
place or the imperishable associations with which they
are connected.

Every thing has changed. — The chivalrous aristocracy
and the lordly priesthood of these ages have gone, and
with them outward turbulence and disorder, and chi-
canery and hypocrisy. No trace is left by which we
might detect the habits and manners of people whose
existence, chronologically speaking, is not remote ; and
the whole frame-work of society is so perfectly altered,

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 51

that the recollection of the events which gave celebrity
to the scene, seems like an idle dream or an airy fiction.
But while these remarks apply more particularly
to such buildings of the "olden time," as still remain
like monumental pillars in the stream of time, inscribed
with the names of our native chivalry and early hier-
archy, we will endeavour to " snatch from the grave " a
slight memorial of such whose material semblance has
long since passed away, but the remembrance of which,
serves strongly to remind us of the time when —

" In Saxon strength proud Abbeys frown'd
With massive arches, broad and round,
That rose alternate, row and row,
On ponderons columns, short and low."

MANSIONS INHABITED BY THE BISHOP AND PREBEN-
DARIES OF THE DIOCESE.

The dignitaries of the diocese, who, as already re-
marked, were obliged by Bishop Cameron to erect man-
sions within the city, are handed down as having been
the prebendary of Cadzow, dean of the chapter; the
prebendary of Peebles, archdeacon of Glasgow ; the pre-
bendary of Ancrum, archdeacon of Teviotdale; the
prebendary of Monkland, subdean; the prebendary of
Cambuslang, chancellor; the prebendary of Carnwath,
treasurer; the prebendary of Kilbride, chantor; the
prebendary of Glasgow primo, the bishop's vicar; the
prebendary of Glasgow secundo, subcharitor ; the preben-
dary of Campsie, sacrist; the prebendary of Balernock,
styled lord of Pro van ; the prebendary of Carstairs ; the

52 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

prebendary of Erskine ; the prebendary of Cardross ; the
prebendary of Renfrew ; the prebendary of Eaglesham ;
the prebendary of Govan ; the prebendary of Kirkmahoe ;
the prebendary of Manor ; the prebendary of Morbottle ;
the prebendary of C alder ; the prebendary of Lanark ;
the prebendary of Moffat ; the prebendary of Tarbolton ;
the prebendary of Killearn ; the prebendary of Douglas ;
the prebendary of Durisdeer ; the prebendary of Edle-
stoun ; the prebendary of Stobo ; the prebendary of Ayr ;
the prebendary of Roxburgh ; the prebendary of Ashkirk ;
the prebendary of Luss ; the prebendary of Hawick ; the
prebendary of Bothwell ; the prebendary of Sanquhar ;
the prebendary of Cumnock; the prebendary of Strath-
blaue and Polmadie.*

Such are the names of dignitaries of the Roman
Catholic Church, whom history records as having inhabi-
ted handsome and commodious residences in the vicinity
of the Cathedral. Of a considerable number of these
mansions no traces nor tradition can now be gleaned ;
those buildings, however, the existence of which has been
distinctly ascertained, are the residences of the preben-

* It is handed down as a tradition, that upon the completion of
the prebendal houses in 1440, Bishop Cameron made a grand pro-
cession to the Cathedral, entering by the grand western entrance.
He was preceded on this occasion by twelve officers bearing his
pastoral crosier, and eleven silver maces, followed by his Dean and
numerous Chapters, and attended by a lengthened train of nobility
and gentry. His approach to the sacred edifice was announced by
the ringing of bells and the acclamations of the multitude, and
his entry within its precincts, welcomed by the choral swell of
the majestic organ.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 53

dariesof Cadzow, Peebles, Ancrum, Monkland, Cambus-
lang, Glasgow primo, Campsie, Carstairs, Balernock,
Cardross, Erskine, Eaglesham, Renfrew, Govan, Luss,
Edlestoun, Morbottle, and Stobo.*

ARCHIEPISCOPAL PALACE.

This ancient fabric stood on the site now occupied by
the Royal Infirmary, and its last remaining, but ruined
portions, were removed about the year 1792, to make
room for that building. At what period the bishop's
castle was founded is unknown, but it appears that
Bishop Cameron about the year 1420, founded the Great
Tower which constituted the principal portion of the
building. The precincts of the castle were enclosed by
a wall by the first Archbishop Beaton, about the year
1510, who placed upon it in several places the armorial
bearings of his family. At one angle of this wall was
constructed a Bastion, and at the other a stately Tower
of a square form and embattled. Beaton's immediate
successor, Archbishop Dunbar, completed the castle edi-
fices by erecting a " noble Gatehouse," flanked with round
towers, machiolated and adorned on the side next the
Cathedral, with the royal arms of Scotland, and below
with those of the Bishop, viz., "three cushions within a
double treasure." From the imposing appearance which

* While fourteen of the above edifices are considered to have
perished, it is somewhat certain that the walls of most of them are
still extant. To determine, however, of what mansions they
anciently formed a part, is considerably beyond the power of the
antiquary.

54 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

this antique building presented, even up to the period of
its final removal, it was sufficiently apparent that the
prelates of the diocese of Glasgow were accommodated
with a residence suited to their dignity and station in
the church.* A fine painting representing its appear-
ance in a dilapidated condition, is in the possession of
John Smith, Esq., LL.D.

PREBENDARY OF BALERNOCK'S MANSE.

The house of this dignitary stood in the neighbourhood
of the Stable- Green Port. He was an individual of
considerable consequence, and held the title of the Lord
of Provan, from his rectory, which constituted a local
barony, generally styled the Lordship of Provan, situated
a little east of the city.f A tradition handed down by
M'Ure, informs us, that, in one instance, royalty itself
bore this title, in the person of King James II. who
was a canon of Glasgow Cathedral, and prebend of
Balernock. The building was removed about the com-
mencement of last century.

* It is here worthy of remark, that in addition to their town
residence, the Bishops of Glasgow had one on the banks of the
Kelvin, and according to tradition, another at Polmadie. The
remains of the former continued in existence till about the year
1836, when they were removed to make room for the erection of
a mill; all remnants of the latter have long since disappeared.
Bishop Cameron had a residence at Lochwood, a few miles north
of the town, where, according to Buchanan, he died under circum-
stances of peculiar horror.

f In 1652, the city acquired the lands, lordship and barony of
Provan, from Sir Robert Hamilton of Silverton Hall.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 55

HOUSES OP THE PREBENDARIES OP LUS8 AND CARSTAIKS.

The spot on which these mansions were situated, is
now completely unknown. With respect to the former,
all the information that can be gathered, states that it
was built on ground in ancient times held by the lairds
of Luss, and on which, in the early part of last century,
Mr. John Robertson, a merchant of the city, built several
tenements. With regard to the latter, tradition records,
that after the Reformation it became the residence of Mr.
David Wemyss, first presbyterian minister of the city,
through the marriage of whose daughter with Mr. John
Hall, surgeon, the house became the property of the
latter, and from him descended to his heirs.

PREBENDARY OF CADZOW OE HAMILTON'S HOUSE.

This dignitary as Dean of the Chapter, occupied the
DEANERY, which, with its extensive garden, was situated
at the western termination of Rottenrow-Street, imme-
diately outside the gate termed the Rottenrow Port, at
the head of the street known at the present day as the
Deanside or Balmanno " Brae." In 1505, this property
was bestowed by the crown on the city, under condition
that, with the revenue accruing from it, the Cathedral
and the bridges that had been constructed at the ex-
pense of the church, should be kept in repair.

PREBENDARY OF ERSKINE'S HOUSE.

This dignitary had his residence at the foot of Rotten-
row-Street, on the south side. Several years before the

56 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

era of the Reformation, it was sold by David Stuart, at
that time Rector of Erskine, to a Mr. James Fleming.
Its site is now occupied by a modern tenement.

PREBENDARY OF RENFREW'S MANSE.

The site of the manse of this clergyman was in the
Rottenrow. At the Reformation it was in the possession
of a Mr. John Wardlaw, who bestowed it on his nephew,
a younger son of the house of Torie. It subsequently
passed into the hands of Mr. John Bell, minister of
Cardross, and afterwards became the property of one of
the city clergy, from whom, by a succession of other pro-
prietors, it fell into the hands of a Mr. Crawford.

PREBENDARY OF GOVAN'S HOUSE.

The mansion of this dignitary has passed away, leaving
neither a "wreck" nor memorial behind. It is sup-
posed to have stood in the Rottenrow.

PREBENDARY OF ANCRUM'S HOUSE.

This mansion stood a little north from the Castle. At
the Reformation it was sold to Graham of Knockdolian,
by whom it was transferred by purchase, to the Earl of
Montrose, and afterwards by the latter to John, Earl of
Wigton.

PREBENDARY OF MONKLAND'S HOUSE.

This house was situated on the margin of the Molen-
dinar Burn, a little southward from the Cathedral.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 57

PREBENDARY OF MORBOTTLE'S HOUSE.

This mansion stood a little south of the street now
known as St. Nicholas' Lane. It was purchased by
the corporations of Glasgow about the period of the
Reformation, and converted into an Alms' House and
Trades' Hall*

PREBENDARY OF STOBO'S HOUSE.

This fabric stood a little below the Drygate. It does
not appear, however, to have been built so soon as the
others, in proof of which conjecture, M'Ure remarks
that the coat armorial, sculptured in front of the manse,
was erected by Adam Colquhoun, Rector of Stobo, and
Commissary of Glasgow, in the reign of King James
V. It disappeared about the middle of last century.

RECTOR OF EAGLESHAM'S HOUSE.

This stood at the end of Drygate, on the site of what
is now called the Duke's Lodgings, f

PARSON OF GLASGOW'S HOUSE.

This mansion stood near the upper end of Limmerfield
Lane. Its occupant was commonly designated Glasgow
Primo, and held the office of Bishop's Vicar. By Mr.
Archibald Douglas, parson of Glasgow, at the Reforma-
tion, and one of the senators of the College of Justice,!

* See Trades' Hospital, page 63. f See Chapter III.

+ At this period, churchmen often held the office of civil judge.

58 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

the manse was conveyed to Captain Crawford, of Jordan-
hill, a younger son of the Kilbimie family.* From
Captain Crawford it passed into the hands of Lord
Boyd, and was sold by the Earl of Kilmarnock in the
year 1730, to a Mr. Hill. In 1816 it was occupied as a
public-house, since which period it has disappeared.

PREBENDARY OF EDLESTOUN'S HOUSE.

This mansion was situated near the head of the Rot-
tenrow. The occupant at the period of the Reformation
was George Hay, a son of the house of Linplume, in
Renfrewshire. From Hay's hands it passed into the
possession of his brother, Andrew, Rector of Renfrew.
Having remained in the possession of his family for two
subsequent generations, it became the property of the
Crawfords of Jordanhill. In 1736 it belonged to the
Incorporation of "Weavers.

VICAR ALLEYS.

At the back of the Cathedral stood in ancient times a
suite of buildings known by this title, from their having
been inhabited by the vicars-choral of the Cathedral.
Although no record exists of the form of these edifices,
yet from extant specimens of similar structures, we may
suppose that they formed a small court of a square
shape, having in front of each side an arcade or cloister,

* The same individual who surprised and captured Dumbarton
Castle.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUfrGO. 59

beneath the shade of which the reverend inmates would
be wont to pace up and down in holy meditation.

It is highly probable, also, that these houses were
built by Bishop Muirhead about the year 1460 ; by which
prelate the Priest- Vicars themselves are said to have
been introduced.

SEMINARY OF CANONS REGULAR.

Tradition informs us, that a building under this desig-
nation stood at the head of the street, named with refer-
ence to it, Canon- Street. Nothing, however, is known
respecting it, farther than the simple fact of its existence.

ANCIENT PEDAGOGIUM, OR COLLEGE OF ARTS.

The University, although confirmed by a papal bull
in 1450, did not possess premises on the site of the pre-
sent University, till ten years subsequently. The build-
ings used as such during this interim were situated in
the Rottenrow. In the year 1459, James, Lord Hamilton,
bequeathed to the University a tenement lying on the
north side of the convent of Blackfriars, with four acres
land in the Dowhill.* In 1466, another adjoining tene-
ment was bequeathed to the College, by Mr. Thomas
Arthurlie. In the course of a century, however, the

* By the terms of his lordship's bequest, the regent and students
were required every day after dinner and after supper, to stand up
and pray for the souls of the testator, of Euphemia his spouse,
Countess of Douglas, of his ancestors and successors, and of all
from whom he had received any benefit for which he had not
made a proper return.

60 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

building became so completely ruinous that they were
obliged to be removed, and the present fabric erected in
their stead.*

RELIGIOUS AND CHARITABLE PAPAL HOUSES.
MONASTERY OF BLACKFRIARS.

This convent was founded by the bishop and chapter
in the year 1270. It stood a little to the south of the
College Church, upon the east side of the High-Street,
in immediate vicinity to the Blackfriars Wynd.f It was
an elegant and extensive fabric. The church attached to
it was built in the same style as the Cathedral, and was
surmounted by a square tower with a lofty spire. In
1668, the whole building was so much damaged by light-
ning as to necessitate its removal. This establishment
was maintained by contributions from private individuals.
The first benefaction recorded as having been given for
this purpose, was made by King Robert Bruce, on April
28th, 1327, in the shape of an annuity of 20 merks ster-
ling, out of the crown's lands of Cadzow. The other
benefactors of high rank whose names are handed down
to us are, "Allan Cathcart, Lord Cathcart, (1336;)
Margaret Stuart, Lady Craigie, (1399;) John Stuart,
Lord Darnley, (1419 ;) Duncan Campbell, Lord Lochow,
(1429, and 1451;) Alexander Cunningham, Lord Kil-
maurs, (1450;) Isabella, Duchess of Albany and Countess
of Lenox, (1451;) Matthew Stuart, of Castlemilk, (1473,
and 1540.)"

* See Chapter III. f Now called Regent-Street.

CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO. 61

The ground upon which the monastery stood has long
since been appropriated to other buildings. The right
to the property, and superiority of the tenements so
erected, were given by the crown, at the dissolution of
the religious houses, to the University, and they, in right
of the Blackfriars, have the uplifting of the feu duties,
the property itself being long since transferred.

MONASTERY, OR CONVENT OF GREYFRIARS.

This convent stood at the foot of the wynd, called
Greyfriars Wynd,* but now Buns Wynd, leading from
the High- Street to Shuttle-Street, and in a place called
Craignaught.t No traces of this building are now visible,
it having almost been completely demolished by the
Duke of Chatleherault and the Earl of Argyle in 1560.
It was at the special request of a prior of this order, that
the fair which is held in Glasgow from the second Mon-
day of July, was established. In consequence of his pro-
curing the community this favour, the magistrates and
principal inhabitants, upon the last day of the fair, an-
nually went and paid their respects to the prior of the
order at the convent. And, indeed, for many years, the

* The name of Greyfriars Wynd has in modern times been
transferred to what was formerly called the Grammar School
Wynd.

f There is a whinstone rock or dyke opposite to west end of
College Street. In digging the foundation of a house in 1830, it
appeared about two feet above the level of the street. It is pro-
bable that in former times some part of the rock appeared above
the surface, and hence the name.

62 CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO.

fair was fenced within the inclosure or garden where the
convent stood.*

CHAPEL OF ST. ROQUE, OR ROLLOX.

This chapel stood a little way without the Stable-
Green Port, near the head of that street now called
Castle- Street. No vestiges of it have been visible for
upwards of a century, though the wall that inclosed the
burying-ground remained to a much later period. In the
cemetery were buried a number of persons of distinction,
who died of the plague in the city, during the year 1649.
This church belonged to the Blackfriars, one of whom
officiated in it weekly.

ST. NICHOLAS' HOSPITAL.

This charitable institution was founded and endowed
by Bishop Muirhead, about the year 1450, for the main-
tenance of twelve poor men and a chaplain. The funds
of this charity were, however, almost entirely dilapidated
at the Reformation, and notwithstanding donations by
Archbishop Leighton, after that event, they at present
afford but a scanty subsistence to four old men, presented
by the magistrates and council, who are the patrons.
The receipt of each pauper amounts to little more than
£2 sterling. The building, which was a neat Gothic
edifice of ashler, stood at the head of the Kirk- Street,
upon the left hand, and nearly opposite to the new Barony

* For an account of the " Fair," see Chapter XVI.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 63

Church. On the front and above the door were the
founder's arms.

ALMS' HOUSE AND TRADES' HOSPITAL.

This hospital was founded and endowed by the incor-
porations, but at what particular time is now uncertain,
though probably about the period of the Reformation ;
they having, about that time, acquired for this purpose
the parsonage-house of the rector of Morbottle, arch-
deacon of Teviotdale. It stood in the Kirk- Street, upon
the left hand, betwixt the entry of the Rottenrow and
St. Nicholas' Hospital. It had a small projection
towards the street, with a turret and bell, called the Alms'
House. The bell tolled at the passing of every funeral,
and most commonly a small sum was left or put into a
box appropriated for the purpose, in a window of the
house. Above this box was the inscription cut in stone,
" Give to the pvir and thou sal have treasur in Heavin,
Matt, xix chap." In this hospital was a hall where the
incorporations used to convene at their elections and upon
other public business, prior to the building of the Trades'
Hall in Glassford-Street. This room, which was only
betwixt twenty and thirty feet in length, contained
paintings emblematic of the fourteen professions, and six
portraits of the most distinguished donors in favour of
the charity, besides inscriptions, mentioning many others
of its benefactors.

64 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST CHAPEL.

This religious structure was dedicated to St. John the
Baptist, but at what time, or by whom founded, we can-
not tell. It stood at the head of the Drygate, at the
back of that large house, some time belonging to the
heirs of Sir George Elphinstone.

ST. THANEW'S CHAPEL.

St. Thanew or Thametes was daughter of Locht, king
of the Picts, and mother to St. Mungo, or Kentigern.
From this circumstance, a chapel was founded and
dedicated to her. Its situation was in the High-Street,
upon the right hand, at no great distance above the
Cross.

ST. MUNGO'S CHAPEL.

This building was situated in the Dovehill.

CHURCH OF ST. ENOCH.

This church, whose founder is now unknown, stood
with a cemetery around it, nearly in the situation of the
church at present situated in the square of that name in
Argyle- Street. Its ruins were visible, as well as the tomb
stones, about the commencement of last century.

ST. NINIAN'S HOSPITAL.

This building was founded by Lady Lochow,* in Gor-
bals, for the reception of lepers, about the year 1350.

* For a particular account of the hospital and its purposes, see
page 97.

CHRONICLES OP ST. MtJNGO. 65

HOSPITAL AT POLMADIE.

Though this hospital was not situated within the city,
yet it appears to have been connected with it, and under
the superintendence of the bishop and clergy. It appears
to have been a considerable institution, intended for
paupers of either sex. The time of its foundation is now
unknown ; we are, however, certain of its having existed
before the year 1391, as we find from the chartulary,
that Bishop Grlendening, that year, preferred a person
of the name of Gillian Waugh to its benefits.

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE EDIFICES.
THE TOLBOOTH.

The tolbooth was a lofty edifice, placed at the angle
formed by High and Trongate Streets. Towering to
the height of five stories, — embattled,— its upper comer
adorned with quadrangular turrets, it was certainly a
distinguished ornament of the very heart of the city.
Below the royal arms above the portico, was cut in stone
the following inscription : —

" Hsec domus odit, amat, punit, conservat, honorat,
Nequitiam, pacem, crimina, jura, probos."

In the angle formed by the projection of the steeple
from the eastern side or end of the jail, at a due degree
of elevation from the pavement below, and fronting both
to the south and east, was constructed a platform sur-
rounded by an iron railing. On this platform, to which
a door opened from the east end of the jail, public execu-
tions were exhibited ; and on it were also exposed, with
labels indicative of their offence suspended from their

66 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

necks over the front of the railing, those Avho for less
atrocious crimes were condemned to the pillory. Enter-
ing the building by the principal door of the prison, the
visitor of the ulterior of this structure found himself in a
spacious lobby, the roof of which rested on massy pillars ;
and on the east and west sides of which were entrances
leading, the former to jail apartments, the latter to the
Town Hall. The prison rooms were divided into those
for debtors, and those for criminals ; the apartments of
each class being clean and well aired. The Justiciary
Hall was tolerably large, commodious, and well fitted up.
In a niche at the north end of it were placed, over a
figure of Justice with her balance and sword, the royal
arms. Near the hall, which was at once ornamented
and lighted by a large Venetian window looking towards
High-Street, were apartments for the Town Clerk, for
the preservation of records, &c. These were not, how-
ever, in the tolbooth itself; but, as well as the hall of
justice, formed part of an adjoining building on the north,
purchased by the town about the year 1800 for the pur-
pose of adding to the tolbooth. The length of the tol-
booth was G6 feet ; its breadth about 25 feet. What was
termed the King's Hall, was 44 feet by 24. It was taken
down in the year 1814, for the erection of the tenement
which now occupies its site, but its memory is everlast-
ingly chronicled in Scott's novel of " Bob Boy."

MERCHANTS' HOUSE.

This old building, sometimes called the Guild Hall,
was built in 1659, and was situated on the south side of

CHKONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 67

Bridgegate- Street. The facade of the Hall presented
two stories of architecture, the steeple rising from the
middle of the back part of the edifice. In the centre of
the lower front division opened a spacious gate of
entrance, consisting of a rustic archway, semicircular in
form, wrought beneath an entablature supported by
Doric columns, that flanked also the entrance. From the
centre of the entablature rose on their pedestals two Ionic
globes placed over the capitals of the Doric columns
below. Between the Doric columns, which supported a
pediment, on the apex of which rested a second, larger
pediment, were two compartments of sculpture, — the
lower one exhibiting, along with the city arms, the
appropriate emblem of a ship in full sail, — the upper
one, in allusion to the charitable design of the insti-
tution, three old men clad in the habit of pilgrims, and
meant to represent decayed members of the house.
The whole upper part of this edifice was formed into
one spacious Hall, lighted by eight windows fronting
the street, provided with two fire places, hung round
with portraits of several of the more eminent benefac-
tors to the poor of the Merchants' House, and farther
ornamented by the model, large and beautiful, of a full-
rigged ship, pendant from the roof. In the room hung
also a list of all the Gruildry Deans of Glasgow, and a
variety of boards, on which were recorded, in gilt letters,
the names, styles, bequests, &c., of numerous bene-
factors to the Hospital part of the institution. At one
time the Hall contained also a board on which were

68 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

inscribed scripture directions for buying and selling with
a safe conscience.

Among the paintings were full length portraits of
Provost and Dean of Guild Aird, of Deans of Guild
James Govan, Thomas Peter, and Thomas Thomson,
and of Robert Sanders of Auld-house, printer in Glas-
gow, all of whom were very liberal benefactors to the
Hospital. Adjoining to the Merchants' House, on the
south, was at one time a Flower-garden of about 200
feet by 70, surrounded, except where the house consti-
tuted its fence, by a substantial wall of stone, 9 feet high.
The steeple is still standing, and known by the designa-
tion of the " Bridgegate Steeple."

HUTCHESON'S HOSPITAL.

On the northern side of Tron gate- Street stood, till it
was removed in order to make way for the opening of
Hutcheson-Street, Hutcheson's Hospital. The aggregate
buildings of the Hospital were, it is thought, intended
to form a quadrangle, of which, however, only the
southern and western sides were actually built. A
leaded spire, 100 feet high, graced the principal i'ront of
the edifice. Beneath this steeple, which contained a
public clock, was wrought the grand entrance to the
Hospital, and to the inner court. Up to the gateway,
which was decorated with rustic, a flight of steps led ;
and over it, in gilt capital letters upon marble, was the
following inscription : —

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 69

" GERONTOCOMEION ET ORPHANOTROPHE1ON

DUORUM FRATRUM
GEORGII ET THOM^: HUTCHESONORUM

MUNIFICENTIA DEDICATUM, 1642.
Nobilis hospitii si forte requiris alumnos

Orphanus hie habitat pauper, inopsque senex ;
Tu ne temne domes, ignarus sortis; egestas
Forte tuum senium progeniemque premet.
Quis scit, an hinc veniant quos publica fama celebret
Sine armis surgat gloria sive toga?"

Within the court, on each side of the steeple, were full
length effigies, in niches, of the two brothers, George
and Thomas Hutcheson, co-founders of the Hospital.
On this side was a second inscription in gilt letters. —

" Adspicis Hutehesonos fratres; his nulla propago
Cum foret, et numero vix caperentur opes;

Haec monumenta pii, votum immortale, dicarunt
Dulcia quse miseris semper asyla forent,

O bene testatos! hseredes scripsit uterque
Infantes inopes invalidosque senes."

North of the Hospital were pleasant and well kept
gardens, much resorted to for the recreation of walking.

CROMWELL'S HOUSE.

The house known by the above designation, from the
circumstance of the Protector, when in Glasgow, in the
year 1650, having there taken up his lodgings, was
situated in Saltmarket-Street, at the northern corner of
Steel-Street, and nearly opposite to the Bridgegate.
The room in which he held his levees was possessed for
many years before the building was finally removed by
a Mrs. Morrison, as a sale-room for old furniture.

70 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

HOUSE OF THE NOBLE FAMILY OF LENNOX.

The house inhabited by this noble family, which long
exercised great power and influence in the City,* stood
on the west side of High-Street, between the Cross and
Bell-Street.

PROVOST GIBSON'S HOUSE.

The fabric known by this designation stood in the
Saltmarket, and formed the north corner of Prince's-
Street. It was built at the close of the seventeenth
century, by Walter Gibson, merchant, Provost of the
city, after designs by Sir William Bruce, a well known
architect of that time. It was supported by eighteen
pillars.

On Sunday morning, February 16th, 1823, this fine
old house fell with a tremendous crash. The south
part struck the house on the opposite side of Prince 's-
Street, and shattered it in a dreadful manner. On the
preceding day the inhabitants had been warned to quit
the house. One man was killed, and a woman was
taken alive out of the ruins.

SIR JOHN BELL'S HOUSE.

Sir_John Bell, Provost of Glasgow, in the year 1681,
was a zealous loyalist, and was with the royal army at
the battle of Bothwell-Bridge. The house which he

* See Chapter X.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 71

inhabited stood on the south side of the Bridgegate.
What renders it worthy of particular remembrance is
the circumstance, that on October 3d, 1681, when the
Duke of York (afterwards the unfortunate James II.)
came to Glasgow, he took up his residence in the
Provost's house.*

CAMPBELL OF SHAWFIELD'S HOUSE.

This was a house built in 1711, by Daniel Campbell,
.Esq. of Shawfield, at the foot of the modern Glassford-
Street. In front was a wall of hewn stone that separ-
ated the small area before the house, from the street
itself. On this wall were placed two sphinxes, the effect
produced by which, together with the fine house that
appeared rising from behind, while it improved greatly
the perspective of Trongate-Street, was particularly im-
posing on the stranger, who, by Stockwell- Street, entered
Glasgow from the south. In 1725, the windows of this
house were smashed by a mob.t Having afterwards
become the property of William M'Dowall, Esq. of
Castle Semple, it was by him sold for 1700 guineas,
to Mr. John Glassford, of Dougalstone, in whose posses-
sion it was, at the visit of Prince Charles to the city

* His Royal Highness was welcomed on this occasion by the
military and the citizens in the city with a salute, and every accla-
mation of joy. He was presented by the town council with the
freedom of the city, enclosed in a gold box. Addresses were also
delivered to him from the rector, principal, and professors of the
university.

t See page 254.

72 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

in 1745, and is worthy of peculiar consideration, as
being the place of his Royal Highness' residence on that
occasion.* By Mr. Glassford's son, Henry Glassford,
Esq. M.P., it was sold in 1792 to Mr. William Home,
for the purpose of being demolished, in order to allow
the opening of Glassford- Street. On the demolition of
the building, the two sphinxes mentioned above, were
transported to the vicinity of Cathcart, and they now
surmount the porch in front of Woodeud House, the
property of William Barclay, Esq.

SPREUL'S HOUSE.

This building, which presented a very stately appear-
ance, stood a few yards east from that built by Campbell
of Shawfield, on the site of that modern tenement desig-
nated " SpreuFs Land." It was built about the close
of the seventeenth century by a Mr. Spreul, a merchant
in the city, whose name is handed down to us in " death-
less fame,'"' from the sufferings which he endured "for
conscience sake," during the long era of religious perse-
cution, f The house and the name of Spreul are immor-
talized in the celebrated novel of " Cyril Thornton."

OLD COFFEE HOUSE.

This building, the first house of the kind, built by the
merchants of the city for their own convenience, stood
upon the south east corner of the Trongate, and was

* See Chapter V. + See Memoir of Mr. Spreul, Chapter XV.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 73

built near the close of the seventeeeth century. After
falling into disuetude, from similar houses starting
through course of time in the town, it was used for various
purposes, and in the years 1766-69, as an auction-room
by Messrs. R. &. A. Foulis, the celebrated printers.*

TRADES' LAND.

The building formerly thus designated by the citizens
stood at the very corner of the Gallowgate, and occupied
the site of the entrance to the modern London- Street
It stood upon eighteen arches and stately pillars, and
presented a fine and imposing appearance.t

PROTESTANT CHURCHES.
TRON, OR LAIGH KIRK.

Although a church was founded on the site of the
modern erection in the palmy days of Catholicism, still
by the time of the Reformation, it had gone much into
decay. A new church was therefore erected by the pro-
testant community in 1594, which, having survived for
the space of two centuries, was destroyed by fire in the
year 1793, when the present building was erected.

* For a notice of the Messrs; Foulis see Chapter VI.
t About thirty years ago, when many handsome old edifices still
remained, the air of grandeur which arches and pillars imparted
to the Saltmarket, Trongate, and High Streets, was particularly
fine. Only one specimen is now extant, at No. 27 High-Street.

74 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

THE WYND CHURCH.

This building was situated to the west of King- Street,
with which it had a free communication, and betwixt the
Back and New Wynds, about halfway d.own towards the
Bridgegate. This church was originally built by a party
of Presbyterians in the year 1687, in consequence of an
indulgence at that time allowed them by government,
to hear their own preachers, in place of the curates, then
in possession of the established churches. It was after-
wards rebuilt at the expense of the community, and neatly
finished within, but has now altogether disappeared.

THE NORTH-WEST, OR RAMSHORN CHURCH.

This building was situated at the northern extremity
of the Candleriggs-Street, to which with its lofty steeple
it had a fine termination. It was erected by the town
in the year 1724, in consequence of the increasing
population of the city. Its form was that of a parallelo-
gram, lying east and west. From the front towards the
south, rose a square tower with a ballustrade.

MARKET PLACES.
MEAL MARKET.

The oldest Meal Market connected with Glasgow, of
of which we have any account, stood on the west side of
the High- Street, opposite the College. It was built
during the provostship of Sir Patrick Bell, about the
year 1645, and existed till the year 1 796. Before it was
built there appears to have been another, as the College

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 75

claimed in 1633 "the privileges of the Meil-mercatt
situat besyde the Blackfrier Kirk." A part of the south
wall still remains, behind the houses on the north side
of College-Street. On the spot being abandoned in 1796,
the Meal Market was removed to the foot of Montrose-
Street, on the east side.

VEGETABLE MARKET.

The old Vegetable or " Green Market" connected
with the city, stood outside the East Port on the site of
Charlotte- Street. It consisted of a garden whither the
housewives of the city daily repaired for the purchase of
their " kail," and was occupied at the rental of 365 merks
Scots per annum. Hence arose the name of " Merk
Daily-Street," by which designation, till recently, the
place was recognised by many of the older inhabitants.

Upon the building up of Charlotte-Street, the sale of
vegetables was carried on in Candleriggs- Street, but an
enclosed market having beeu erected about the com-
mencement of the present century in King-Street, the
latter has always been regarded as the " Green Market."

FLESH MARKET.

The oldest Flesh Market connected with the city, stood
on the north side of the Trongate, between Hutcheson-
Street and Candleriggs- Street. Ray, an old author,
speaks of this market in 1661, as " a very neat square
flesh market, scarce such an one to be seen in England
or Scotland."

76

CHAPTER III.

REMARKABLE OLD HOUSES STILL EXTANT.

' How reverend is the face of this tall pile,
Whose ancient pillars rear their marble head
To bear aloft its arch'd and ponderous roof,
By its own weight made steadfast and immoveable,
Looking tranquillity!" MOURNING BRIDE.

THE CATHEDRAL.

WITH the Cathedrals of our country are associated
the names of the earliest votaries and first patrons of
our national literature. In them we have evidences of
the skill, the taste, and the public spirit of our ancestors,
no less than of their piety ; — the ecclesiastical buildings
of an early period exhibiting a splendour, size, and fit-
ness of proportion unequalled by more recent structures.
The magnificence of their architecture, — the number and
richness of the shrines, tombs, and chapels, — the elegance
of design and beauty of workmanship by which they
were distinguished, carries back the mind and memory
to the days when the genius of architecture was fostered

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 77

by the spirit of religion. Majestic when perfect, in ruin
they induce the gazer to moralize with Scott: —

" When yonder broken arch was whole,
'Twas there was dealt the weekly dole;
And where yon mould'ring columns nod,
The abbey sent the hymn to God.
So fleets the world's uncertain span;
Nor zeal for God nor love for man,
Gives mortal monuments a date
Beyond the power of time and fate."

Situated in a large and populous city, the Cathedral
of St. Mungo has the appearance of the most sequestered
solitude. High walls divide it from the buildings of the
city on one side ; on the other it is bounded by a ravine,
through the depth of which murmurs a wandering rivulet,
adding by its rushing noise to the imposing solemnity of
the scene. On the opposite side of the ravine rises a
steep bank, covered, as far as the eye can reach, with
newly erected sepulchral monuments, and bordered with
fir trees closely planted, whose dusky shade extends itself
over the cemetery with an appropriate and gloomy effect.

The cemetery itself is of a striking and peculiar
character ; for though in reality extensive, it is small in
proportion to the number of inhabitants who are interred
within it, and whose graves are almost all covered with
tombstones. There is, therefore, no room for the long
rank grass, which in the ordinary case, partially clothes
the surface in those retreats, " where the wicked cease
from troubling, and the weary are at rest." The broad
flat monumental stones are placed so close to each other,
that the precincts appear to be flagged with them, and

78 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUJVGO.

though roofed only by the heavens, resemble the floor of
an old English Church, where the pavement is covered
with sepulchral inscriptions. The contents of these sad
records of mortality, the vain sorrows which they record,
the stern lessons which they teach of the nothingness
of humanity, the extent of ground which they so closely
cover, and their uniform and melancholy tenor remind us
of the roll of the prophet, which was " written within and
without, and there were written therein lamentations,
and mourning, and wo."*t

The Cathedral itself corresponding in impressive
majesty with these accompaniments, never fails to inspire
the stranger with awe and admiration. Its lofty square
tower meets the eye of the traveller in various approaches
to the ancient city, and conjures up a host of names and
events that have made a figure in history during the
long lapse of centuries. Of the nave from whatever
point contemplated, laterally or longitudinally, grandeur
of design and elaborate execution are the leading charac-
teristics. This is the oldest part of the edifice, and was
built by Bishop Achaius in 1136. To enter into minute
detail of its architectural beauties were impossible in our
narrow compass. The general effect is all that we can
presume to describe ; and of this, the reader will have
little difficulty in forming a just estimate of the mag-
nificence that reigns in this venerable temple of our

* Rob Roy.

t For several of the curious epitaphs to be seen in the Cathedral
church-yard, vide Appendix.

CHBONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 79

ancestors. There is one feature particularly deserving
of notice as a boundary line between different epochs in
•ecclesiastical architecture ; namely, the points where the
labours of successive bishops ended and commenced.

The whole fabric is externally divided on both sides
into compartments, by buttresses of equal dimensions,
between which are placed windows in the pointed style,
all somewhat dissimilar in the ornaments. This succes-
sion of windows is interrupted by the transepts directly
under the great tower in the centre of the church. The
north and south windows in the transepts are 40 by 22
feet, divided with mullions and tracery. Above the first
range of windows the wall terminates in a battlement,
within which springs the lowest roof, till it meets the
second or inner wall, which rises from thence for a
number of feet. This, in like manner, is divided into
compartments by small square projections, between each
•of which are placed three narrow windows in the pointed
style, directly above each of those in the first storey. It
then terminates in the same manner as the lower wall,
and is capped with a leaden roof.

The chapter-house was in the north cross of the Cathe-
dral, and had a communication with the nave by a
vaulted entry. The south cross was never completed,
and was till lately used as a burying-place for the clergy
of the city. The architecture of it appears to have been
finer than that of the rest of the building, and is supposed
to be of no older date than the year 1500. Its arched
roof is supported by columns adjoining to the outer walls.

80 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

There is also a row of pillars in the centre, and the
capitals of the whole are highly ornamented with figures
and flowers. The area of its top is formed into an orna-
mented piece of garden ground.

The consistorial house in which the bishops held their
ecclesiastical courts, projects from the south-west corner
of the Cathedral. Between this and the tower was the
ancient entrance, by a large magnificent door, which is
now shut up. The usual entry at present is on the south,
which leads immediately into the choir.

The appearance of the choir is very grand and im-
pressive. Majestic columns decorated with monumental
tablets of marble and other memorials of the dead, divide
the space and support the roof.

The vaulted cemetery is situated immediately beneath
the nave. It is supported by 65 clustered pillars, exceed-
ingly strong and massive ; and, by their position and the
smallness of the windows, rendering the interior dark
and gloomy.

Such buildings as the Cathedral of Glasgow are
eminently suggestive. The historian must class them
as records of the onward career of national history, —
the philosopher sees in them signs and tokens, not to
be mistaken, of the progress of human improvement, —
the antiquary lingers over the outward and tangible evi-
dences of old times, old feelings, quaint customs and
mode of life, as relics of the living moving throng, who,
having gone before us and our train, are, in the dim
vista of antiquity, invested with an interest peculiarly

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUJfGO. 81

their own ; — while the poet, weaving the thoughts and
feelings of all the rest in one mingled sensation of the
romantic and the beautiful, flings about the battered wall
and mouldering ruin the spell of fancy and the glow of
imagination, to light up the remnants of a bygone time,
in colours that fact and common sense may criticise, but
fancy and feeling gladly hail, and fondly and securely
cherish.

One of the many interesting customs which were wont
to be observed in connection with Cathedrals, is worthy
of remembrance, namely, the "distribution of alms,"
which usually took place at the church door, on particular
festivals, when " give ale " and the " dole" drew together
the neighbouring poor. The "give ale," so called, was
distributed on anniversaries, often with bread and other
dole to the poor, for which purpose land had been left to
the church by the person whose birth day, saint's day,
or burial day, was to be commemorated. Anniversaries
were sometimes kept on the birth day of a donor, during
his lifetime, or on the saint's day of the church where it
was appointed. The doles of money and bread were
distributed at some altar in the church, or at the tomb
of a deceased benefactor. The " give ale " being chiefly
allotted to great festivals, was usually distributed in the
church porch, where the people assembled, and where
they sometimes remained wassailing in the church-yard
till it became a scene of merriment and tumult.*

"The Castles and Abbeys of England," by W. Seattle, M.D.
E2

82 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO,

DUKE'S LODGINGS.

In Drygate Street, nearly opposite to Limmerfield
Lane, stood the manse belonging to the rector of
Eaglesham. Its site is now occupied by an edifice, dis-
tinguished by a wide arched gateway in front ; but which
does not seem to have received completion according to
the original design. This was an intended town resi-
dence for the ducal family of Montrose. The present
building is understood to have been only a wing of the
purposed erection ; but, although unfinished, it occasion-
ally accommodated the family, and is, to this day,
popularly termed the Duke's Lodging. The first Duke
of Montrose bought the ancient tenement from Mr.
James Corbet, a merchant, into whose possession it had
come, (after passing through several intermediate hands,)
from the laird of Crawfurdland, to whom, at the Re-
formation, a conveyance was made of the property by the
rector of Eaglesham.

HECTOR OF CAMBUSLANG'S HOUSE, AND OLD BRIDEWELL.

This edifice stood a little beyond the lodging built by
the Duke of Montrose, on the south side of Drygate.
After the reformation it passed into the hands of the
Earl of Glencairn, from whom it was purchased by the
city in 1635, and converted into a House of Correction,
which it continued to be till 1782, when the present
buildings in Duke- Street were begun to be erected.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 83

ARCHDEACON OF GLASGOW'S MANSE.

This house is situated on the southern side of the
Drygate, and west of the Duke's Lodgings. At the
Reformation, it was purchased by Sir Matthew Stuart
of Minto, by whom, in 1605, great paxt of it was rebuilt.
Having descended to his grandson Sir Ludovic Stuart,
it was, by the latter, conveyed to Dame Isabel Douglas,
Marchioness Dowager of Montrose, in the frequent
occupation of whose family it continued to be till towards
the middle of the last century.

ANCIENT MINT.

The antique building which stands immediately ad-
joining to that formerly used as a House of Correction, is
supposed to have been the mint of the see of Glasgow ; —
in early times mints being not unfrequently appendages
of episcopal seats. The date of its foundation is un-
known, although commonly assigned to the reign of
Robert III. some of whose coins were minted here. On
one side of these coins was impressed the royal effigy,
crowned, but without a sceptre ; and the motto Robertus
Dei Gratia Scotorum. The other side bore the inscrip-
tion, Villa de Glasgow, within, the words Dominus Pro-
tector. About the year 1734, coins of this description
were found by masons among the rubbish of some out-
buildings belonging to the House of Correction.

RECTOR OF CAMPSIE'S MANSE, OR DARNLEY'S COTTAGE.

At the head of Limmerfield Lane, on the eastern
side, yet stands a house formerly inhabited by the -rector

84 CHRONICLES OF ST. MTJNGO.

of Campsie,— famed in Scottish annals from its con-
nection with the history of Mary Queen of Scots, and
her consort Lord Darnley. In the month of January,
1667, the king having been seized with a severe illness
at Stirling Castle, in order to escape the din and bustle
of a court, retired to Glasgow, where he might at once
be under the immediate guardianship of his relations,
and be able to obtain that quiet and repose of which he
stood so much in need. In a few days, he was followed
by his wife, who, whatever might have been his faults or
conduct towards her, had to appearance by no means lost
all affection towards him. After a short time, being
pronounced convalescent, and prevailed upon by the
entreaties of the Queen, he was removed to Edinburgh,
and located in a solitary mansion, known by the name
of Kirk-a-field. The melancholy catastrophe which
followed, is one to which the reader can be no stranger,
and involves one of the most mysterious subjects in
Scottish history. It is supposed that in this house, also,
resided King James VI. during his sojourn in the city,
in the year 1588, on occasion of his retiring from Edin-
burgh to escape the effects of a mutinous spirit which
had arisen among the citizens, after the murder by Lord
Huntly of the Earl of Moray, a young nobleman tenderly
beloved by the people, and son of the "good regent."
The house is now occupied as a sort of tavern, designated
" Darnley's Cottage."

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 86

THE UNIVERSITY.

" Here science rears

Her proud emblazoned front on high, and here
By these time-darken'd pillars, and beneath
These reverend colonnades, in distant times,
Did sages send those words of wisdom forth,
Which circled all the echoes of the land,
And yet are in our ears. "

Situated in a dark and densely populated street, the
University of Glasgow presents something fine and im-
posing in its proud and massive front. It seems to stand
forth in aged dignity, the last and only bulwark of
science and literature, among a population by whom
science is regarded but as a source of profit, and litera-
ture despised. On passing the outer gate, the visitor
enters a small quadrangle, which, though undistinguished
by any remarkable architectural beauty, yet harmonises
well in its air of Gothic antiquity, with the general
character of the place. This leads to another of larger
dimensions, of features not dissimilar ; and having crossed
this, you stand in a third, designated from the large
building which fronts you, the " Museum Square." A
turn to the left brings the visitor to a fourth, entirely ap-
propriated to the residence of the professors. There is,
indeed, something fine and impressive in the sudden
transition from the din and bustle of the streets which
surround it, to the stillness and the calm which reigns
within the time-hallowed precincts of the University.
You seem at once to breathe another and a purer atmos-
phere; and if you be of an ardent and enthusiastic
temperament, you are apt to imagine that here you could

86 CHRONICLES OF ST. MTJJVGO.

cast off the coil of the world and its contemptible reali-
ties, and yield up your spirit to the lore of past ages,
where nothing is visible around, to intrude the idea of
the present.

The University of Glasgow was founded in 1450 by
Turnbull, Bishop of Glasgow, and constituted by a bull
of Pope Nicolas V. The bull was dated at Rome, Jan-
uary 7th, 1450; and as the reason for constituting a
University in Glasgow, says, " it being ane notable place,
with gude air and plenty of provisions for human life."
The Pope, by his apostolical authority, ordained that the
doctors, masters, readers, and students of the University
of Glasgow, should enjoy all the privileges, liberties,
honours, exemptions and immunities, which he had
granted to those of Bononia in Italy. He likewise ap-
pointed William Turnbull, Bishop of Glasgow, and his
successors in the see, chancellors of the University, and
to have the same authority over the doctors, masters,
readers, and scholars, as the chancellors of the University
of Bononia. By the care of the bishop and his chapter,
a body of statutes was prepared, and the University
finally established in 1451. For the first ten years of its
existence, the University was situated in the Rottenrow ;*
at the end of which period, a large tenement having been
bequeathed to it, it was transferred thither ; which tene-
ment having in the course of time also fallen into decay,
the present edifice was erected.

* See page 59.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 87

What the exterior appearance of the buildings first
erected was, it is now difficult to say. All the efforts of
the members were unable, for more than a century, to
provide even decent rooms for teaching ; so that, in the
year 1563, the whole establishment is described in Queen
Mary's charter, as presenting a very mean and unfinished
appearance. There is no reason to believe that the
buildings were ever materially improved till after the
year 1630, when a subscription was obtained for this
purpose, as well as for the benefit of the library. From
this time to the year 1660, the moderators and masters
of the University bestowed great pains in forwarding the
work. Some of them contributed largely themselves ;
and on particular occasions they borrowed considerable
sums on their own personal security, (5000 merks in
1656) that the operations might not be interrupted in
consequence of the irregular payment of the workmen.
The undertaking could scarcely have succeeded as it did,
if it had not been for the liberal bequests of a few private
individuals. By the will of Mr. Michael Wilson, who
died about the year 1617, great sums were bestowed on
the fabric. Mr. Alexander Boyd, Regent, left 1000
inerks for the same purpose, in 1610. Mr. Thomas
Hutcheson, (distinguished for his munificence, and one
of the founders of Hutchesons' Hospital, Glasgow,) in
1641, left £1000 Scots, for rebuilding the south quarter of
the College ; and when this sum was paid in 1655, the
addition of the interest raised it to £1851 Scots. At the
same time, 2000 merks, mortified by Robert and John

88 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNOO.

Fleming, were paid for the help of the building. In the
course of that year, 10,000 merks of the money left by
Mr. Zachary Boyd, were applied to the same purpose;
and the whole donations obtained from this clergyman
at different periods, amounted to three times the sum
now mentioned. — Houses for the principal and two pro-
fessors of Divinity, were built when the fabric was re-
newed and enlarged, between the years 1640 and 1660.
About the year 1 720, houses for the accommodation of
other professors and their families, began to be built;
and to defray the expense, money was borrowed, to be
repaid out of the surplus profits of the Archbishopric.
In all, there are thirteen houses of this description kept
in repair out of the general funds of the College. The
date above the archway in the outer court is 16.56, and
that on the west front, facing the High- Street, is 1658.
The royal arms above the great entrance with C. R. II.,
must have been set up after the Restoration.*

During the session of College, which lasts for six
months, from October till the first of May, the middle
court when thronged with the Togati, has a fine and
imposing appearance. The colour of the gowns used by
students in the Scottish Universities, it is difficult to ex-
plain. The following theory is hazarded as a conjecture
by the author of the " History of the University of Edin-
burgh."

" In the first place, the principal intention of wearing a

* Report of the Commissioners on the Universities and Colleges
of Scotland.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 89

gown at all is declared in the following minute : — ' That
all the students in the several Universities and Colleges
within the kingdom, should be obliged to wear constantly
gowns during the time of sitting of the Colleges ; and
that the regents or masters be obliged to wear black
gowns, and the students red gowns, that thereby vaging
and vice may be discouraged.'' Secondly, it is well known
that the origin of the uniforms of the different European
nations being also different, was, that the numerous
armies employed during the Crusades, might be distin-
guished from one another, not only in their marching to
the Holy Land, but in the field of battle, when actually
engaged with the infidels. In the arrangement which was
made, scarlet was assigned to the British forces, which
has continued to this day. The Lord Mayors and Alder-
men of London and Dublin, and the Lord Provost and
Bailies of Edinburgh, who are the chief civil magistrates
within their several cities, wear re?id gowns, their liveries
being the same. As the black was appropriated to per-
sons holding a clerical office, so the red seems to have
been the distinguishing badge of those who were employed
in civil offices. The students, as long as they did not
take any degree, were considered as occupying a civil
station, and therefore wore red gowns ; but when they
graduated, they commenced clerks, by undergoing a
clerical economy, and therefore commenced with putting
on a black robe. Students of divinity, upon being en-
rolled in the divinity hall, threw off the red, and wore no
gowns whatever. So late as the days of Charles I. uni-

90 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

formity of dress was prescribed to the principal, pro-
fessors, and students of King's College, in a letter from
Laud to the Bishop of Aberdeen."*

The first of May is the day fixed by immemorial
usage in the University, for the distribution of the prizes ;
a day looked forward to with " hopes, and fears that
kindle hope," by many youthful and ardent spirits. The
great hall of the college on that day certainly presents
a very pleasing and animated spectacle. The academi-
cal distinctions are bestowed with much of ceremonial
pomp, in presence of a vast concourse of spectators, and
it is not uninteresting to mark the flush of bashful
triumph on the cheek of the victor, — the sparkling of his
downcast eye, as the hall is rent with loud applause,
when he advances to receive the badge of honour assigned
him by the voice of his fellow-students. It is altogether
a sight to stir the spirit in the youthful bosom, and stimu-
late into healthy action faculties which, but for such
excitement, might have continued in unbroken slumber.

GRAMMAR SCHOOL.

This ancient edifice is situated in the narrow street,
branching off the west side of the High-Street, called by
a misnomer, the " Greyfriars Wynd.t It was built in
the year 1601 on the site of the old " Grammar Scule,"
but in the year 1782 was abandoned for an edifice in
George-Street, and is now occupied as a blacksmith's

* Bower's History of the University of Edinburgh, f See page 61.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MTJNGO. 91

shop. This seminary is of very remote antiquity, and
was organised long before the foundation of the univer-
sity. From the period of the reformation in 1560, till
the present day, it has always been considered of a high
standing among Scottish classical seminaries. In look-
ing into its history, we find that on the 28th of October,
1595, the presbytery, or the exercise, as it was then
called, ordained the regents in the college to try the Irish
scholars "twiching" the heads of religion. At that
period the school met at five o'clock in the morning.
On the 3d of January, 1598, the scholars were ordered
to assemble together in the "Hie Kirk," during divine
service. It appears that at this period, the master of the
"Grammar Scule" was, ex officio, a member of the
Presbytery of Glasgow. The school buildings in the
Grammar School "VVynd having become very old and
gone into decay, the exercise, which had been formerly
held there, was, on the llth of March, 1601, ordered to
meet in the " Hie Kirk" during the time of "bigging
the Grammar Scule." In 1615, when Mr. John
Blackburn, the master of the school, was appointed
minister of the Barony Church, it does not appear that
there were any other authorised teachers, the drudgery of
tuition bemg principally performed by ushers. In 1685,
the magistrates desired the ministers of the city, and the
regents in the college, to inspect and consider the state
of the school, and to report their opinions, which they
accordingly did, recommending that there should be five
distinct classes. Two years after the Revolution, it

92 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

would appear that the school had been formed into
several classes, for, on the 30th of July, the testimonials
for the rectors and doctors of the Grammar School, were
ordered to be laid before the " Committee for visiting
schools and colleges." From this period till the year
1834, when it was remodelled under the name of the
" High School," the ordinary curriculum seems to have
been four years, the business being conducted by the
same number of teachers. In 1834, however, the num-
ber of classical teachers was reduced to two, and other
branches of education introduced.

Among the old but now exploded customs formerly in
vogue in the Grammar School, none is more worthy of
remembrance than that attached to the ceremony of
presenting candlemas offerings to the teachers, when the
boys, according to the amount of their gratuity, were
greeted with the applause of their class-fellows. When
a boy gave a moderate offering, the whole school shouted
out, " Vivat," let him live, and gave one round of
applause ; — when a larger sum was presented, the word
"Floriat," let him flourish, was vociferated, and two
rounds of applause given, — and when the largest sum
of the occasion was bestowed, the word " Gloriat," let him
be glorious, was sounded with great applause amid the
thunder of three times three, and the happy donor
exalted on the shoulders of his compeers.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.
THE TOWN'S HOSPITAL.

This house was erected, in 1733, for the reception of
the poor. It is three stories in height, near the end of
the old bridge, and at the eastern extremity of the old
Green, and consists of a front and wings, which project
till they are upon a line with the street. Behind the
hospital, and from which it is separated by a broad area,
is another building, in the first storey of which, called
the cells, lunatics and disorderly persons are confined.
On the second is an infirmary for the sick.
M'Ure thus describes the Hospital : —
" As you walk westward from the great bridge to-
wards the stately harbour of the city, stands the most
celebrated Hospital built by the city of Glasgow, for
alimenting and educating upwards of one hundred and
fifty two old and decayed men, widows, and orphans of
this city.

The building is of modern fashion, and exceeds any of
that kind in Europe, and admired by strangers, who
affirm that Button's Hospital, called the Charter House,
at London, which indeed is a noble foundation ; but the
house, neither of that nor Christ's Church, or any thing
of that kind at Rome, or Venice, comes not up to the
magnificence of this building, — when it is finished,
resembling more like a palace than the habitation for
necessitous old people and children. I confess Heriot's
Hospital, at Edinburgh, is more embellished over the
windows thereof (!)"

94 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

SIR GEORGE ELPHINSTON'S HOUSE AND CHAPEL IN
GORBALS.

Sir George Elphinston, who acquired the lands of
Gorbals from Archbishop Boyd, was Provost of Glasgow
in the reign of James VI, and lord justice clerk of Scot-
land in that of Charles I. He built a splendid mansion
on the east side of the Main-Street, (nearly opposite
Malta- Street,* ) which even till the present day wears the
appearance of pristine grandeur. Its fine projecting
turrets, and its handsome and commodious chambers,
with the roofs elaborately carved, afford admirable speci-
mens of the graceful styles of architecture cultivated
about the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the
seventeenth centuries. The chapel which he erected as
an appendage to his establishment, is situated a few
yards farther up the street, and constitute the north
corner of Rutherglen or Paisley Loan.

Over the door- way are carved the armorial bearings .
of the Elphinstone family, with the letters S. G. E. and
D. V. B. ; the former of which constitute the initials of
Sir George Elphinstone, the latter, those of his nephew
and successor Douglas Viscount Belhaven. Sir George
Elphinstone himself, although at one period of his life
possessed of great wealth, died bankrupt, and was buried
in his chapel in the year 1640. Viscount Belhaven

* It is worthy of remark that this Street, originally " Malt-
Street," seems to have been so named from the circumstance that,
from time immemorial, that part of Gorbals was inhabited by
maltmen, " who made malt and brewed ale."

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 95

purchased the barony from the creditors, and according
to tradition, made several additions to the mansion,
but before his death sold house and lands to the city
of Glasgow, the Trades' House, and Hutchesons' Hospi-
tal, jointly.

The various mutations which have taken place in
the quality of the inhabitants of the Lord Justice
Clerk's mansion, are monitory. First, the residence of
a judge of the supreme judicature of the land, and of a
peer of the realm, then a prison-house for thieves, it has
at length become the abode of the poor and wretched,
who regard with feelings of neither awe nor admiration
the defaced escutcheons which look frowning from the
walls around them.*

CAMPBELL OF BLYTHSWOOD'S HOUSE.

Tradition assigns that fine old building situated at the
south east corner of Bridgegate- Street, to have been
built by Coh'n Campbell, Esq. of Blythswood, about the
close of the seventeenth century, and to have been the
residence of the Blythswood family for several genera-
tions. It is now occupied by a funeral undertaker.

* It may be here remarked, that Sir George Elphinstone erected
for the use of his tenants a windmill, at the western extremity of
his lands, which were bounded in that direction by what is still
known as the " Kinninghouse Burn." This windmill was taken
down in 1749, but the spot on which it stood is still populary re-
cognised as the " Windmill Croft."

96 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

GRAHAM OF DOUGALSTON'S HOUSE.

The mansion of this wealthy family, which, about the
commencement of last century, was among the most in-
fluential in Glasgow, was situated a few houses from the
head of Stockwell- Street, on the west side. It is now
occupied as a tavern, designated the "Tarn o' Shanter."

EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF KING WILLIAM.

This fine equestrian statue was presented to the city
in the year 1734, hy James M'Crae, Esq., who, after
having filled the dignified office of governor of Madras,
retired and resided in Glasgow.

97

CHAPTER IV.

THE LEPROSY AND PLAGUE IN GLASGOW.

" And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and
Ms head bare, and he shall put a covering on his upper lip, and shall cry,
Unclean, unclean." — LEV. xiii 45.

" I will stretch out my hand that I may smite thee and thy people with
pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth."— EXOD. ix. 15.

THE founder of the Leper Hospital in Glasgow,
alluded to in a former part of the present work, was
Marjory Stewart, the legitimate daughter of Rohert,
Duke of Albany, son of King Robert the Second. She
married early in life Duncan Campbell, Lord Lochow,
and became the mother of Archibald, whose sou, Colin,
was afterwards known to the world as the first Earl of
Argyle.

What led this lady first to settle in Glasgow, can now
be only explained by the fact of the city being at that
time, next to St. Andrews, the principal seat of ecclesi-
astical learning in Scotland, and therefore a place well

98 CHKONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

suited to her religious disposition. After her settlement
in the town, she acquired that whole space of ground
on which the Bridgegate is now built, in these days
known by the name of Fishergate ; and not long after,
she made an addition to her property, by her acquisition
of that portion of land on the south bank of Clyde,
stretching from the Old Bridge, on the west, to the, at
that time pleasant rivulet, called the Blind Burn, on
the east. This space of ground she denominated St.
Ninian's Croft.

At the time of which we speak, the disease of leprosy
was by no means uncommon on the continent of Europe ;
and although, at the present day, it is almost completely
unknown as a native endemic in any part of our quarter
of the globe; yet from the 10th to the 16th century it
prevailed in nearly every district of it. Laws were
enacted by princes and courts to arrest its diffusion ; the
pope issued bulls with regard to the ecclesiastical sepa-
ration and rights of the infected ; a particular order of
knighthood was instituted to watch over the sick, and
leper hospitals, or lazar houses, were every where founded
to receive the victims of the disease. Indeed, when we
examine the old records of any of the towns of Great
Britain, in almost every case we will find some enact-
ment with regard to leprosy.

Regarding, however, the first appearance of the disease
in Great Britain and Western Europe generally, there
has been much conflict of opinion. Some authors have
averred, that it was introduced from the east by those

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 99

who returned from the Crusades, and that by this means
it first reached Great Britain. It is quite possible that
through the increased international intercourse of that
period, it may have been propagated more rapidly and
widely than would otherwise have occurred ; but there
are ample reasons and proofs for believing that it existed
on the continent of Europe, and even as far westward as
England, before the Crusade fanaticism had drawn any
converts from this country. The first relay of English-
men engaged in the Crusades, left in 1096, and returned
two years afterwards.

Few subjects in pathology are more curious, and at
the same time more obscure, than the changes which, in
the course of ages, have taken place in the diseases
incident, either to the human race at large, or to par-
ticular divisions and communities of it. A great pro-
portion of the maladies to which mankind are liable
have, it is true, remained entirely unaltered in their
character and consequences, from the earliest periods of
medical history down to the present day ; — as, for ex-
ample, gout and epilepsy, which show the same symp-
toms and course now as the writings of Hippocrates
describe them to have done upwards of 2000 years ago.
But still we have strong grounds for believing, that in
regard to our own individual species alone, the diseases
to which mankind are subject have already undergone,
in some respects, marked changes within the historic
era of medicine. Since the first medical observations
that are now extant on disease were made, and recorded

100 CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO.

in Greece, various new species of human maladies have,
there can be little doubt, made their original appearance,
as, for example, small pox, measles, and hooping-cough.
Again, some diseases which prevailed formerly, seem to
have now entirely disappeared from among the human
race, such as the lycanthropia of the sacred writings,
and of various old medical authors. Other maladies, as
that most anomalous affection, the English sweating
sickness of the fifteenth century, have only once, and
that for a very short period, been permitted to commit
their ravages upon mankind. And lastly, we have still
another and more extensive class, including maladies
that have changed their geographical stations to such
an extent, as to have made inroads upon whole districts
and regions of the world, where they were formerly un-
known, leaving now untouched the localities which, in
older times, suffered most severely from their visitations.
To this class belongs the European leprosy, or tubercu-
lar elephantiasis of the middle ages.* The nature of
this disease, which has been well depicted in Holy writ,
was, perhaps, such as we can but very inadequately con-
ceive. Comparatively simple in its origin, in its early

* The present writer would here refer the curious reader to a
series of papers entitled, " Antiquarian Notices of Leprosy and
Leper Hospitals in Scotland and England," a lucubration pub-
lished in 1842 in the Edin. Med. and Surg. Journal, by the pre-
sent learned Professor of Midwifery in the University of Edin-
burgh, in which will be found an admirable compendium of all
the knowledge we possess of this " omnium malorum ftjedissimus,"
as it formerly existed in this country.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 101

stages it was far from auguring to the patient that horrible
disfiguration which he was doomed to undergo. A num-
ber of small dull crimson spots making their appearance
on different parts of the body were its most menacing
heralds, which, however, gradually rising above the
surface of the skin, and assuming the process of ulcera-
tion, in the course of time presented to the eye of an
onlooker the most loathsome spectacle. Many years
generally elapsed before death came to the relief of the
wretched sufferer, during which period his general health
was. but little affected. The joints were the principal
parts attacked, which, as the disease gradually increased,
"Jwrribik dictu," often caused the limbs to drop off one
by one. The ill-fated patient felt no pain during all its
various stages, but retaining his senses to the last, was
himself a witness to the most awful mutilations of his
corporeal nature.

To enter, however, upon an extensive inquiry into all
the various features of the disease of leprosy — its rava-
ges in different localities of Great Britain, and its causes,
would expand the subject beyond prescribed limits. The
object in the present instance is much more humble,
being only to give some account of the prevalence of the
malady in Glasgow — the Hospital which benevolence
founded for the reception of its unfortunate victims —
and the conduct which was observed by the citizens
towards these wretched beings.

At or about what time the malady in question first
made its appearance in Glasgow, no records now inform

102 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

us; but from the fact of the Leper Hospital having
been founded in the year 1350, in the reign of David II.,
it would appear, that at least previous to that time its
ravages had not been confined to a very limited range.
The benevolent foundress of the institution had seen
with an eye at once of wisdom and commiseration the
benefits which the public, and the affected themselves,
would derive from such an institution, and, accordingly,
since her whole by-past life had been spent in healing
the sick and comforting the broken-hearted, she crowned
her benevolent actions by building an Hospital on St.
Ninian's croft, "for the use and behoof" of individuals
infected with leprosy, which she ordained in all time
coming to be called St. Ninian's Hospital. The exact
site of the Hospital and its adjuncts, at the present day,
is understood to have been near the brink of the river
Clyde, on a space of ground extending from the foot of
Muirhead- Street, by the bottom of St. Ninian-Street,
to the foot of Hospital-Street, the two latter of which
are BO named with reference to the ancient existence of
the institution: — Hospital- Street, from the building
having stood in that locality — St. Ninian-Street, from
that having been the title of its tutelary saint.

Lady Lochow, in order to the support of this Leper
Hospital, obliged all builders of houses on her grounds
of Bridgegate and St. Ninian's Croft, to pay a feu duty,
to be devoted to that purpose. The great-grandfather
of the garrulous historian of the city, M'Ure, according
to the latter's own account, was the last preceptor of

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 103

this Hospital, employed by the family of Argyle for the
uplifting the feu duties of the Bridgegate and St.
Ninian's Croft, for the use and behoof of the poor per-
sons residing therein afflicted with leprosy. A statue of
the foundress stood anciently in front of the building.
When the magistrates and council of the city, however,
became proprietors of the Barony of Gorbals, they feued
the ground on which the hospital and its adjuncts were
situated to several individuals, one of whom, probably
some pious covenanter, devoutly detesting any relic of
popery, defaced the effigy, and made a lintel of the
stone.

The magistrates of the city seem to have exercised
the privilege both of searching for lepers among the
inhabitants, and of consigning them to this Hospital.
From a work entitled " Burgh Records of Glasgow,"
(being a reprint of these documents from 1673 to 1581,)
presented in 1832 by Dr. Smith to the Maitland Club, it
appears, that between these years the magistrates
ordained four persons, named as lepers, "to be viseit,
and gif they be found so, to be secludit of the town to
the Hospital at the Brigend." A similar edict was
issued in regard to two other individuals, in 1575 ; and
in 1581, eight more seem to have been dealt with in the
same manner. The bishops of Glasgow appear also to
have had a right to present patients to the Hospital.
In 1404, Andrew Muirhead, who then held the bishop-
rick, availed himself of the privilege, by presenting one
patient.

104 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

Lepers were compelled by other reasons than mere
custom or common law, to retire from society. They
were of necessity driven to seek the asylum of the lazar
hospitals, in consequence of the statutes, both of the
general country and of local communities, prohibiting
every citizen from retaining a person labouring under
leprosy in his house, and preventing the infected from
entering within the gates of the city.

The old Scottish " Burrow-Lawes " have stringent
clauses upon this head, for they hold that " na man
should presume, or be so bauld, as to harberie or ludge
ane lipperman within the burgh under ane full amercia-
ment." And further, " Lippermen sail not enter within
the towne, bot in passing throw it, and sail not gang fra
dure to dure, but sail sit at the ports of the burgh, and
sail seek almes fra them that passes in and comes furth."

The dress of the inmates of St. Ninian's Hospital was
similar to that of the lazars of any other institution.
They wore a tunic or gown of russet, with a hood, and
sleeves closed to the tips of the fingers, but not laced,
with knots or thread after the secular fashion. Thus
apparelled, the wretched leper trudged along, rattling
his clappers, as if to proclaim — " Unclean, unclean! "

The principal subsistence of the lepers seems to have
been derived from casual alms. Each of the doomed
inmates of the hospitals was, like the leper-struck
heroine of the old Scottish poet, Henryson, by

• • • • " cauld and hunger sair,
Compellit to be ane rank beggair."

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 105

The inmates of the Brigend hospital were allowed a
certain sum per week, and for the remainder of their
subsistence they were, according to the Brigend rules of
the institution, obliged to have recourse to begging.

Notwithstanding the " Burrow-Law " just cited, the
lepers seem to have been allowed the liberty of entry
into some towns, provided they used their clappers, to
advertise the passing inhabitants of their presence, and
thus allowed them to shun the supposed danger of their
contact. The magistrates of Glasgow made the carry-
ing of clappers one of the conditions on which they
admitted the occasional entrance of the inmates of the
Brigend hospital into the city, one of their edicts for
October, 1610,' running thus: — " It is statut and ordanit
that the lipper of the hospital sail gang (walk) only on
the calsie (street) syde near the gutter, and sail haif
clapperis and ane claith upoun their mouth and face,
and sail stand afar of quhill they resaif almous, or answer
under the payne of banischeing them from the toun and
hospital."

The malady, it would appear, was not confined entirely
to one class of people, but sometimes attacked the high-
est as well as the lowest. Nay, royalty itself was not
exempt from its ravages, as in the well-authenticated
case of our own king, Robert Bruce, who, after labour-
ing under the disease from an early period of his life,
fell a victim to its power, in the fifty-sixth year of his age.
It seems, however, to have had its largest share of
victims in the lower classes of society, — amongst the

F2

106 CHRONICLES OF ST. JIUNGO.

" villeyns," or bondsmen of these times, and the poorer
peasantry and burgesses, who, when shut up in the
hospitals, were obliged either to depend upon the funds
of these institutions, or to beg for their support.

The exact trade and calling of the individuals admitted
into the different Leper Hospitals of the country can
only be very imperfectly gathered from one or two casual
records ; but while this is a subject of regret with regard
to these institutions in general, it does not apply so par-
ticularly to the Leper Hospital of Glasgow.

Amongst those citizens who were at different times,
in the latter part of the 16th century, ordered by the
magistrates to be visited, under the suspicion of labour-
ing under leprosy, most are recorded by their mere
Christian name and surname; but two or three are
entered in the burgh records in such terms as to show

their occupation and probable rank, as, Robert ,

flesher, in 1573 ; " Mr. James , flesher ; " " Patrick

Bogle, maltman;" and "Andrew Lawson, merchand,"
in 1581. One of these individuals is reported by the
water baillies as confined in the Glasgow Leper Hospital,
at the Brigend, in 1589, along with five other lepers.
The whole list is interesting: viz., " Andro Lawson,
merchand; Stevin Gilmor, cordiner; Robert Bogill, sone
to Patrick Bogill; Patrick Birstall, tailzeour; Johne
Thomsoun, sone to John Thomsoune, tailzeour; Daniel
Cunninghame, tinclar."

Few facts in the history of tubercular leprosy seem
to be more universally admitted by all writers on the

CHKONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 107

disease, both ancient and modern, than the transmission
of the predisposition to it from father to offspring. Amid
the scattered fragments relative to the former history of
leprosy in our own city, it can scarcely be expected that
we should have many individual data bearing directly
upon the transmission of the disease from father to son.
Yet we have one instance of it in the cases just cited,
where, in 1581, " Patrick Bogle," is ordered to be in-
spected for leprosy, and fifteen years after, " Robert
Bogill, sone to Patrick Bogle," is reported as an inmate
of the leper house belonging to the city.

It is not to be supposed that St. Ninian's Leper Hos-
pital, or, indeed, any of the other hospitals which then
existed for the reception of leprous patients, were
intended as places where a cure of the disease was to
be attempted. They were charitable and hygienic
rather than medical institutions. At that time, and up
to the present day, tubercular leprosy was regarded as a
disease which sets at defiance all the powers of the
medical art. Its exciting causes no one has ever been
able satisfactorily to demonstrate ; consequently, reme-
dies have been applied without knowledge. The fre-
quency of the disease in former times has been confi-
dently ascribed by different authors to peculiarities in
the diet, dress, personal and domestic habits of their
forefathers. When butchers slew cattle on the streets,
and the proprietors or tenants of houses had dungsteads
at their very thresholds, the prevalence of disease, to be
sure, is not to be wondered at. But at the same time it

108 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

would be no easy matter to point out the exact differ-
ences in those physical conditions of the inhabitants of
this country, in former and modern times, which may
have led to the prevalence of the disease amongst our
ancestors, and to its disappearance amongst us. If
poverty in diet, or personal wants, and filth, and wretch-
edness, in their deepest degrees, could generate the
malady, there are certainly still numerous localities in
Glasgow and other cities, where, unfortunately, all those
elements of disease are, in our own day, in full and active
operation, without any such specific result following.

Most modern pathologists seem inclined to call in
question the contagious nature of tubercular leprosy, as
it at present exists in different parts of the globe. But
a very few physicians of latter times have admitted the
contagious character of the disease, and that not from
personal observation. The evidence bearing against the
doctrine of this mode of its diffusion is principally of a
simply negative kind. In some of the districts in which
the malady is endemic, the sick are seen to maintain a
free intercourse with the -healthy, without the disease
being frequently or at all communicated to the latter ;
the nurses of the lazar hospitals are alleged to remain
uninfected ; lepers often continue in the midst of their
families without spreading the scourge to any of the
other members; and occasionally a husband and wife
have been seen living in wedlock for years, one of them
deeply affected by the disease, and the other remaining
erfectly sound.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 109

Individuals stricken with leprosy were sometimes
looked upon by the superstitious spirit of the age as
persons directly smitten by the hand of G-od ; and we
find in history traces of rich and noble, and even of royal
devotees, endeavouring to expiate their sins, and pro-
pitiate the good will of Heaven, by occasionally devoting
themselves, and that with perfect impunity, to such
duties to the sick as offered the most certain means of
calling down the disease upon their own bodies, provided
it had been at all so contagious as was generally supposed.

But from this it is not to be imagined that the victims
of the malady were looked upon by the general com-
munity with feelings of devotion and pious commisera-
tion. On the contrary, the subjects of this " most vile
of all diseases," were, as a body, regarded, alike by the
church and by the people, as objects of disgust. The
canons of the church of Scotland, as drawn up in the
thirteenth century, deal with the unfortunate lepers
more humanely than most other ecclesiastical judica-
tories ; for after recommending them to be admonished
to respect the churches of their districts, it is added,
that if they cannot be induced to do so, let no coercion
be employed, seing that affliction should not be accumu-
lated upon the afflicted, but rather their miseries com-
miserated. But the contempt displayed towards them
seems to have been almost proverbial, so late as the age
of Elizabeth. Thus Shakspeare makes Margaret of
Anjou exclaim to the afflicted and suspicious Henry VI.,
after the murder of his uncle, the Duke of G-loucester, —

110 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

" Why dost thou turn away and hide thy face ?
I am no loathsome leper, look on me."

According to the tenor of various old civil codes and
local enactments, when a person became affected with
leprosy, he was looked upon as legally and politically dead,
and lost the privileges belonging to his right of citizen-
ship. By the laws of England, lepers were classed with
idiots, madmen, outlaws, &c., as incapable of being heirs.
But it was not by the eye of the law alone that the
affected was looked upon as defunct, for the church also
took the same view, and performed the solemn ceremo-
nials of the burial of the dead over him, on the day on
which he was separated from his fellow creatures, and
confined to a lazar house. The various forms and cere-
monies which were gone through on this occasion are
described by French authors ; but it is highly probable
that the same observances were common in our own
country, and, therefore, adhered to in the Leper Hos-
pital of the Brigend : —

A priest, robed with surplice and stole, went with the
cross to the house of the doomed leper. The minister
of the church began the necessary ceremonies, by ex-
horting him to suffer, with a patient and penitent spirit,
the incurable plague with which God had stricken
him. He then sprinkled the unfortunate leper with
holy water, and afterwards conducted him to the church,
the usual burial services being sung during their march
thither. In the church, the ordinary habiliments of the
leper were removed ; he was clothed in a funeral pall,

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUKGO. ill

and, while placed before the altar, between two trestles,
the libera was sung, and the mass for the dead cele-
brated over him. After this service he was again
sprinkled with holy water, and led from the church to
the house or hospital destined for his future abode. A
pair of clappers, a barrel, a stick, cowl, and dress, &c.,
were given him. Before leaving the leper, the priest
solemnly interdicted him from appearing in public with-
out his leper's garb, — from entering inns, churches,
mills, and bakehouses, — from touching children, or
giving them ought he had touched, — from washing his
hands, or any thing pertaining to him, in the common
fountains and streams, — from touching in the markets
the goods he wished to buy with any thing except hie
stick, — from eating and drinking with any others than
lepers, — and he specially forbade him from walking in
narrow paths, or from answering those who spoke to
him in roads and streets, unless in a whisper, that they
might not be annoyed with his pestilent breath, and
with the infectious odour that exhaled from his body, —
and last of all, before taking his departure, and leaving
the leper for ever to the seclusion of the lazar house, the
official of the church terminated the ceremony of his
separation from his living fellow-creatures, by throwing
upon -the body of the poor outcast a shovelful of earth,
in imitation of the closure of the grave.

According to the then customary usage, Leper Hospi-
tals were always provided with a cemetery for the recep-
tion of the bodies of those who had died of the malady.

112 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

The present writer has conversed with an old lady, whose
mother remembered, on foundations being dug for the
erection of several houses in Muirhead- Street, of bones
and parts of coffins being thrown up. That these were
the remains of those unfortunates, who. in life had been
separated from their fellow-beings, and whose bones in
death were not permitted a resting-place by the sides of
their ancestors, we can have no reason to doubt. The
feelings naturally excited by the contemplation of such a
spot, are in a great measure dispelled by the bustle
which, at the present day, surrounds it on all sides,
so strikingly contrasted with the silence which must at
one time have enshrouded it. What a change has taken
place! The common on which the leper was once
doomed to live and die, and whose sod, when all his
calamities were over, covered his body from human
sight, is now occupied by power-loom factories !

THE PLAGUE.

It appears from the bishop's chartulary, that during
the years 1350, 1380, and 1381, the pest or plague raged
in Glasgow with great severity. The precise features
of this disease, in its various stages, we are unable at
the present day satisfactorily to determine, although a
similar malady under the same designation still exists
in different quarters of the globe.

In former times the terms pest, pestilence, and plague,
were employed in Great Britain, as were the corres-
ponding terms in other languages, to denote simply a

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 113

disease, attacking a great number of persons simul-
taneously and in succession, and destroying a large pro-
portion of those whom it attacked— in short, a widely
diffused and malignant epidemic. At the present day,
these terms are restricted to signify a particular form
of disease, of frequent occurrence in the countries border-
ing on the eastern extremity of the Mediterranean, the
Levant and Archipelago, but occasionally appearing also
in countries more or less remote from these regions.

The malady exhibits not in every individual case, but
in a large proportion of those affected in the progress of
its epidemic prevalence, two classes of symptoms, the
constitutional and the local. Under the constitutional
symptoms may be comprehended those indicatory of
fever of a malignant character, with various concomi-
tant phenomena that are in wont to attend fevers of this
nature, in different regions of the globe; the local
consist chiefly of glandular swellings or buboes, as they
are termed,, and of malignant or gangrenous boils or
carbuncles.

To enter, however, upon a lengthened inquiry into the
exciting cause of this dreadful malady, would be here
somewhat out of place, and it may be perhaps, therefore,
only sufficient to mention that physicians are at variance
on this subject: one class supposing that insects, inhaled
into the lungs by respiration, so mix with the blood and
fluids as to have a pestilential effect on the intestines ;
another party being of opinion, that a , damp, hot, and
stagnated atmosphere, and the exhalations arising from

114 CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO.

the putrefaction of animal substances, especially locusts,
are the principal elements accessory to its production.

To account, however, according to these opinions for
the appearance of the " pest" in our own country, would
be somewhat difficult; yet, without endeavouring to
reconcile apparently inconsistent circumstances, certain
it is, that, in the years above mentioned, the dreadful
malady ravaged Glasgow with the most exterminating
fury. According to tradition, the whole population of
the city was almost swept away, and the holy fathers of
the church were even not exempted. The high and the
low were alike smitten by the terrible pestilence, which
was looked upon by all as a direct visitation of the ven-
geance of the Almighty. The streets were silent, and
the scene around was indescribably awful. The sick
and the dead lay in every house, aud the aims of all
were apparently involuntary and purposeless. The state
of moral lassitude which prevailed can scarcely be con-
ceived. The city was ruined and deserted, and such
M^as the extent of the calamity, that the scarcely ever
extinguishable feeling of hope had now almost abandoned
the terrified inhabitants ; — happiness lay cold and dead
at every threshold; — dust lay dry over all, and there
seemed to be no sign of vegetation, or promise of change.
After the desolating scourge had spent its fury in the
annihilation of nearly two-thirds of the inhabitants, its
violence seemed at length to be exhausted.

Such may be regarded as a feeble picture of the effects
of that awful epidemic malady, which ravaged our city

CHRONICLES OP ST. MTJNGO. 115

and the whole of Britain, about the middle and the close
of the fourteenth century.

Simultaneously also with its appearance in our own
city and country, the plague visited the greater part of
Europe, and in every locality its ravages were fearfully
apparent. Whole towns were depopulated; — estates were
left without claimants or occupiers ; — priests, physicians,
grave-diggers, could not be found in adequate numbers,
and the consecrated earth of the churchyards no longer
sufficed for the reception of its destined tenants. In
every place it was viewed as an unequivocal sign of the
wrath of God, who, it was inferred, in his righteous
wrath, intended nothing else than the extirpation of the
whole sinful race of man.

In the year 1649 the "pest" again paid a visit to
Glasgow. Its effects at this period were greatly aggra-
vated by the miseries incident to a Civil war, and a
grievous famine.

116

CHAPTER V.

THE PRETENDER IN GLASGOW.

" His amber-coloured locks in ringlets run
With graceful negligence, and shone against the sun;
His nose was aquiline, his eyes were blue,
Ruddy his lips, and fresh and fair his hue:

His awful presence did the crowd surprise,
Nor durst the rash spectator meet his eyes-
Eyes that confessed him born for kingly sway,
So fierce, they flashed intolerable day."

PALAMON AND AHCITE.

THE recollection of that warlike pageant which passed
through our country in 1745, still excites many feelings
of a powerfully agitating nature in the bosoms of Scots-
men. Although the last remnants of the Jacobite party
have now altogether disappeared from amongst us, — those
votaries of a perished scheme, whose presence during
the last half century might be likened to the last stars
lingering on the gray selvage of morn, — there is yet a
romantic grandeur associated with the Pretender and his
fortune, imperishably connected with our part of the
island.

CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO. 117

The principal facts connected with the Rebellion
are well known to readers of Scottish history, and it
would therefore be here somewhat out of place, to enter
into a detail of all the various proceedings of a prince,
who, guided only by his youthful ardour, could venture
to throw himself upon the affections of those whom he
considered his father's natural subjects, and peril his
whole cause on the results of a civil war. The attempt
was bold in the extreme, and involved a thousand
chances of destruction to himself and those who should
follow him. It was a game, in which, to use his own
emphatic language, the stakes were " either a crown or
a coffin." Yet it seemed to be, in some measure, coun-
tenanced by the circumstances of the country. Great
Britain was then involved beyond its depth, in one of
those destructive and expensive wars, which have so
seldom ceased ever since it adopted a foreign race of
sovereigns ; the army had been almost cut to pieces in a
recent defeat ; the navy of England, generally so terrible,
was engaged in distant expeditions ; and the people were
grumbling violently at the motives of the war, its pro-
gress, and the expense which it cost them.*

Charles Edward Lewis Cassimir, the hero of "45,"
was born in the year 1720, and was the son of James,
better known under his incognito title of the Chevalier
St. George, who had headed the Rebellion of 1715.
He was thus the grandson of James the Second, whose

* Chambers' History of the Rebellion.

118 CHKONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

abdication of the throne was followed by the revolution
of 1688. His mother was the grand-daughter of John
Sobieski, the famous king of Poland. While to the
weakness and the natural imbecility of character of the
Chevalier, the failure of -the attempt of 1715 is mainly
attributable, the blood of Sobieski seems to have cor-
rected that quality in his son, whose daring and talent,
displayed thirty years subsequently, did every thing but
retrieve the fortune of his family.

We do not, however, follow Charles from the first
erection of his standard in the Highlands to his invasion
of England, but join him when " the games are done,"
and he retreating, enters an unwelcome visitor the city
of Glasgow.

More, perhaps, than any other town in the country,
had Glasgow reason to expect severe treatment at the
hands of the insurgents. At that time newly sprung
into importance, it had never required, nor received the
means of defence, but was lying with its wide-spread
modern streets and well stored warehouses, fully exposed
to the license of the invaders. It had distinguished
itself ever since the expulsion of the House of Stuart, by
its sincere and invariable attachment to the new govern-
ment. And since the Highlanders entered England,
had, with gratuitous loyalty, raised no fewer than twelve
hundred men for the suppression of the insurrection.
This loyalty of the inhabitants of Glasgow, however, is
not to be regarded in the present instance as a passion,
but rather as a sentiment ; deeply cherished and power-

CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO. 119

fully influential, because it had descended to them from
their immediate forefathers, whose characters they revered
and whose actions they were proud to imitate: their
love of liberty was a sacred principle, generated by the
spirit of their rational institutions, moderated by a
certain sober and philosophical cast of character, and
associated with the name and interests of that family
from the accession of which to the throne of Britain,
they might date any prosperity they enjoyed. Religion
we must regard as the great artificer of their political
opinions. Detesting the intolerable tyranny that would
have forced upon them a religion which they abhorred for
its affinity in form, and, in a great measure, in character,
to the spiritual despotism under which the country had so
long groaned, and which had cost them many sacrifices,
they took up arms against a family which had. sought
to govern either by dispensing with, or in direct opposi-
tion to, the laws. On many subsequent occasions they
had shown an extreme jealousy of measures, which they
believed favourable to the growth of popery, prelacy, and
arbitrary power, and had gone all constitutional lengths
in opposition to what they conceived subversive of, or
injurious to, that form of ecclesiastical polity, which had
been founded by the exertions and hallowed and endeared
by the blood of their martyred forefathers ; and which
by its severe simplicity, and the utter absence of all
pageantry and holy paraphernalia, was so congenial to
the spirit which the Reformation had engendered in Scot-
land. Presbyterianism has, on every occasion of actual

120 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

trial and need, proved itself an insurmountable and
invincible bulwark to the throne, and has stood at equal
distances from the wild and incalculating ebullitions of a
generous and disinterested, but dangerous and destruc-
tive loyalty, which could only display itself by insurrec-
tion against the state, and the mad projects of visionary
reformers and factious agitators. Thus it jras, that in
the " forty-five," the inhabitants of Glasgow to a man
remained firm in their fidelity to the House of Hanover ;
and in spite of ancient recollections, and the powerful
appeal made to their national feelings and individual
sympathies, persevered in unshaken and unquestioned
attachment to a family, which had been raised to
the throne by a powerful and mighty people, resolved to
emancipate themselves from tyranny and oppression, yet
warmed with the strongest attachment to a limited mon-
archy. Obnoxious by its principles, therefore, and afford-
ing such prospects of easy and ample plunder, Glasgow
was eagerly approached by the predatory bands of
the Chevalier, who viewed it with feelings somewhat
akin to the wolf in the fabl«. The first body of his
forces entered Glasgow on Christmas day 17^5, and on
the following morning he himself came up with the
remainder.

The necessities of the army are described as having
been at this time greater than at any other period of
the campaign. It was now two months since they had
left the land of tartan ; their clothes were of course in a
most dilapidated condition. The length and precipita-

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 121

tion of their late march had destroyed their brogues ;
and many of them were not only bare-footed, but bare-
legged. Their hair hung wildly over their eyes ; their
beards were grown to a fearful length ; and the exposed
parts of their limbs were, in the language of Dougal
Graham the poetical historian of the Rebellion, and one
of our own citizens, tanned quite red with the weather.
Altogether, they had a way-worn savage appearance,
and looked rather like a band of outlandish vagrants,
than a body of efficient soldiery. The pressure of want
compelled them to take every practicable measure for
supplying themselves ; and, in passing towards Glasgow,
they had regularly stripped such natives as they met of
their shoes and other articles of dress. After their
arrival in the city, a joiner, in going home from work,
was required by a Highlander to throw off and deliver
up his shoes. The young man, having a pair of silver
buckles at his insteps, showed great reluctance to comply,
when the Highlander stooped down and attempted to
take them by force. As he was thus employed, the joiner,
in a transport of rage, struck him a blow on the back of
the head with a hammer which he held in his hand, and
killed him on the spot.

Previously to this period, immediately after the battle
of Preston, the prince, in order to meet the exigencies of
his army, had sent an order to the magistrates of Glas-
gow, demanding the sum of fifteen thousand pounds
sterling, together with the arrears of their taxes, and
all their arms. The demand, however, not being imme-
6

122 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

diately complied with by the authorities, in the expecta-
tion of the speedy arrival of government forces, Charles
despatched a Mr. Hay, writer to the signet, with a party
of horse, to the city, in order to compel the exaction,
with instructions at the same time to threaten the town
with military execution, and to hang the chief magis-
trate, in case of non-compliance. Inability having been,
pled, after considerable altercation, the messenger
accepted a composition of five thousand pounds in
money, and goods to the amount of the tenth of that
sum.

Immediately upon his arrival in the city, Charles
took measures for the complete refitting of his army, by
ordering the magistrates to provide 12,000 shirts, 6000
cloth coats, 6000 pair of shoes, 6000 pair of stockings,
6000 waistcoats, and 6000 bonnets. He is also said to
have sent for the Provost (Buchanan), and sternly de-
manded the names of such as had subscribed for raising
troops against him, threatening to hang the worthy
magistrate in case of refusal. The provost is said to
have answered, that he would name no person but him-
self, and that he was not afraid to die in such a cause.
He was forced to pay a fine of £500.

Charles took up his residence at what was then con-
sidered the best house in the city, (described in a former
part of the present work,) belonging to a wealthy
merchant of the name of Glassford, which stood at the
western extremity of the Trongate, at the foot of the
modern Glassford- Street, and was afterwards taken

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

123

down for the extension of the former. At his arrival, he
is said to have caused his men to enter this house by
the front gate, go out by the back door, and then, making
a circuit through some by-lanes, re-appear in front of the
mansion, as if they had been newly arrived. But this
ruse, practised in order to magnify the appearance of his
army, was detected by the citizens, whose acute eyes
recognised the botanical badges of the various clans as
they successively re-appeared. The real number of the
army, when it reached Glasgow, were only about 3600
foot and 500 horse. Of the latter, which were all much
jaded, sixty were employed in carrying the sick; whilst
about six hundred of the infantry neither had arms, nor
seemed to be able to use them.

During his residence in Mr. Glassford's house, Charles
ate twice a-day, in public, though without ceremony,
accompanied by a few of his officers, and waited upon by
a small number of devoted Jacobite ladies, to whom he
gave several entertainments, for the purpose of reward-
ing and securing their affections. His conduct in this
respect seems to have been dictated from prudent
motives, for it is well known that in every place where
he visited, the ladies exercised a prodigious influence
over his fortunes. They were the most numerous and
staunchestof his adherents: they were almost universally
in love with him, and did not even scruple, on all fit
occasions, to avow their Jacobitism, by wearing white
breastknots and ribands. In his general conversation
with them he showed all the advantages of high breed-

124 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

ing, besides that of a certain degree of talent for witty
and poignant remark, which tended, in no slight measure,
to enhance him in the favour of the fair. In all his
proceedings towards them he was ruled by a due regard
to impartiality. The dress which he wore in their pre-
sence, while in our city, was sometimes " a habit of fine
silk tartan, (with crimson velvet breeches,) sometimes
an English court coat, with the blue ribbon, star, and
other ensigns of the order of the garter."

At the present day, even with all the common-place
ideas of a work-a-day world, it is sometimes difficult to
withstand a powerful appeal to patriotic feelings ; yet it
seems that our ancestors experienced no bewildering or
ecstatic emotion, when a prince, possessing every exter-
nal mark of regal descent, — a Stuart, too, and one in all
respects worthy of his noble race, — appeared before them
as an appellant for assistance.

" Nothing could a charm impart," to make the Whigs
of Glasgow regard the youthful chevalier with either
respect or affection. Previously hostile to his cause, they
were now incensed in the highest degree against him,
by his severe exactions on the public purse, and by the
private depredations of his men. To such a height did
this feeling arise, that an insane zealot snapped a pistol
at him as he was riding along the Saltmarket. He is
said to have admired the regularity and beauty of the
streets of Glasgow, but to have remarked with bitterness,
that nowhere had he found so few friends. During the
whole ten days he spent in the city, he procured no

CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO. 125

more than sixty recruits — a poor compensation for the
numerous desertions which now began to take place, in
consequence of the near approach of his men to their
own country.

From the moment of the Pretender's arrival in our
city, it was a useless attempt to attend even to the com-
mon routine of every-day occupation. Shops and counting-
houses were shut, and while His Royal Highness was
holding his levees in Mr. Glassford's abode, the loyal
subjects of government were holding consultations in
their own dwellings as to the audacity and effrontery of
the invaders.

After having nearly succeeded in refitting his army,
he held a grand review upon the Green. " We marched
out," says one of his adherents, (John Daniel, a native
of Lancashire, who has left a manuscript journal of the
campaign,) " with drums beating, colours flying, bag-
pipes playing, and all the marks of a triumphant army,
to the appointed ground, attended by multitudes of
people, who had come from all parts to see us, and
especially the ladies, who, though formerly much against
us, were now charmed by the sight of the Prince into
the most enthusiastic loyalty. I am somewhat at a
loss," continues this devout cavalier, " to give a descrip-
tion of the Prince, as he appeared at the review. No
object could be more charming, no personage more
captivating, no deportment more agreeable, than his at
that time was; for, being well mounted and princely
attired, having all the best endowments of both body

126 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

and mind, he appeared to bear a sway, above any com-
parison, with the heroes of the last age ; and the majesty
and grandeur he displayed were truly noble and divine."
A thorn-tree, known by the name of " Prince Charlie's
tree," is still pointed out as that under which Charles
took his stand on this occasion. It is situated on the
northern boundary of the Flesher's haugh, and now
presents a somewhat blasted appearance.

It may be worth while to contrast, with the above
flattering portraiture, the description which has been
given of Charles by a sober citizen in relation to the
same occurrence. " I managed," says this person,
quoting his memory after an interval of seventy years,
" to get so near him, as he passed homeward to his
lodgings, that I could have touched him with my hand ;
and the impression which he made upon my mind shall
never fade as long as I live. He had a princely aspect,
and its interest was much heightened by the dejection
which appeared in his pale fair countenance and down-
cast eye. He evidently wanted confidence in his cause,
and seemed to have a melancholy foreboding of that
disaster, which soon after ruined the hopes of his family
for ever."

During his stay in Glasgow Charles printed a Ga-
zette for the benefit of his soldiers, showing the state of
Ms army, and detailing his intended operations. When
he left the town he carried with him a printing press, a
fount of letters, a large quantity of printing paper, and
three workmen. The contributions which he had levied

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 127

on the authorities since his arrival not being able to be
paid previous to his march, he took with him two gentle-
men, (whose names, however, are now unknown,) as
hostages till the amount should be defrayed; at the
same time he obliged all the inhabitants, under pain of
military execution, to deliver up all the arms, powder,
and ball, they might have in their possession. He also
sent out parties to the districts within a few miles of the
city, and exacted large contributions in corn, hay, straw,
&c., and seized a great number of horses.

Having recruited the spirits of his men, and improved
their appointments by ten days' residence in Glasgow,
the Prince departed on the 3d of January, and sent
forward his troops in two detachments, one to Kilsyth,
and the other to Cumbemauld. By this time, the
English army arriving in Edinburgh, strengthened that
city beyond all danger; consequently, had it been
Charles' intention again to take possession of the capital,
he now abandoned it for the purpose of raising the siege
of the fortress of Stirling. Encountering on the 13th
of the same month the Royal forces at Falkirk, he
gained the last victory he was destined to achieve. The
disgraces which had hitherto befallen the government
generals, Cope and Hawley, had at length so aroused
the court of St. James, that the command of the army,
as a last resort, was intrusted to the king's son, William,
Duke of Cumberland. This general accordingly made
preparations to oppose the Prince with an immense
force. The troops of the latter having by this time

128 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

become much diminished, and few or no accessions to his
standard taking place, he conceived it the most prudent
mode of procedure to withdraw to the Highlands. The
tone of reception accorded to the Royalist commander,
by the folks of Glasgow, on his arrival in Scotland, may
be best expressed by the following congratulatory lines,
addressed to " His Royal Highness, the Duke of Cum-
berland:"—

" These Toils, sweet Prince, tho* painful now they be,
Repose to Millions bring who pray for thee ;
Freed from Oppression and from lawless power,
Cheer'd with thy Presence in a lucky hour :
The sun dispels the fogs, brings on the Day;
Thy name has frighted tyranny away, —
O that thy country's care would but allow
Thy presence oft'ner with us, as is now!
The savage Brood would soon converted be, —
Sweetness of manners, and civility,
And all the social virtues learn from thee;
With pride they'd follow such a leader far,
Forget their chiefs, and take thy name in war."

Courant, March, 1746.

The 16th of April, 1746, is memorable as the day on
which the eternal interests of Britain were decided, on
the field of Culloden. Never, 'perhaps, was there a
battle commenced with so high a prospect depending
upon its issue ; and never, probably, did agony take so
deep a hold on the mind of a general, as when Charles,
confounded, bewildered, and in tears, was compelled to
leave the field, on which was strewn the bodies of the
many brave men who had fallen in his defence. The
news of this last and final struggle, which effectually
secured the house of Hanover on the throne, spread

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 129

like wild-fire through the country, and formed the signal
of a day of universal rejoicing among our citizens.
The following is the account of the proceedings, which
appeared in the " Courant," on the 28th of April: —

" On Monday last, we had the greatest rejoicings that
has been known these thirty years past, for the signal and
glorious victory gained by His Majesty's forces, com-
manded by our brave and victorious prince, William,
Duke of Cumberland, over the Rebels, on the 16th
instant. At ten o'clock in the morning, the music bells
were play'd, and other bells set a ringing. By noon,
a very great number of Bonfires were lighted at the
Cross, before the College Gate, and in every street. At
six in the evening, all the bells were rung, at which time
the Magistrates, accompanied with several persons of
distinction, the Masters of the University, and principal
inhabitants of this Loyal city, went to the top of the
stairs leading to the Town's Great Hall, where they
drank, (under a discharge of small arms, by a large
detachment of the Town's Regiment, which was in
His Majesty's service in the action near Falkirk,) the
Healths of His Majesty, their Royal Highnesses, the
Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke of Cumberland,
all the Branches of the Royal Family, and success to
His Majesty's army. Thereafter they repaired to the
Town Hall, where the above Healths were repeated,
with the addition of many other Loyal Healths. At
night, all the Windows fronting the streets, besides
many looking backwards into closses, were finely illumi-

130 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

nated; — several windows were prettily decorated with
emblematical Figures and proper devices ; and on one
Window were the following verses : —

' Great Cumberland ! the Rebels dread thy Name:
Go, mount the chariot of Immortal Fame;
The vengeance of thy Rod, with general Joy,
Shall scourge Rebellion, and the Daring Boy;
Thy sounding arms his Gallic Patron bears,
And speeds his flight, nor overtakes his fears,
Till hard despair wring from the Tyrant's soul
The iron tears, which he cannot controul.
William, a generous soul, who scorns his ease,
Tempting the winter and the faithless seas,
And pays an annual tribute with his life,
To guard poor Scotland from a Popish knife.

When we saw Tyranny and Rome

Portending blood and might to come,

Cumberland diffused a vital ray,

And gave the Dying Nation Day.'

" Several companies of Volunteers paraded through
the streets, surrounding the Bonfires, drinking all the
Royal Healths, &c., at each of which they gave a volley
of small arms. A very melancholy accident happened
to one of these Companies, by one of their Firelocks
bursting, by which the Person that fired the Piece was
miserably hurt in the Hand, and one Alexander Marshall,
(a journeyman Dyer,) who stood next to him, was killed
by a Piece of the Stock, which pierced into his Brains."

Addresses were also drawn up by the University and
Town Council, to congratulate the Duke of Cumberland
on his achievement; and altogether we can scarcely
conceive a greater amount of adulation than was paid
to his Royal Highness. Yet, notwithstanding all the
eulogy which was bestowed upon him, he cannot be

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 131

altogether freed from the charge of having committed
the most shocking cruelties during his campaign in Scot-
land. He has been characterised by his friend, Earl
Waldgrave, as " one whose judgment would have been
equal to his parts, had it not been too much guided by
his passions, which were often violent and ungovernable."
The cruelties, however, which distinguished his Scottish
campaign rather argued the cool malignant fiend than
the violent man of anger. His courage was that of the
bull-dog ; but he had not the generosity of that animal,
to turn away from his victim when it could no longer
oppose him. After fairly overthrowing his antagonist,
his savage disposition demanded that he should throttle,
and gore, and excruciate it, as a revenge for the trouble
it had put him in the combat. He had that persever-
ing and insatiable appetite for prey, that, not contented
with sucking the blood and devouring the flesh of his
victims, he could enjoy himself in mumbling their bones ;
and when even these were exhausted of sap and taste,
he would gnash on for sport, and was only to be finally
withdrawn from the horrid feast when putridity had
rendered it disgusting to his senses.* His name is
deservedly held in execration by the people of Scotland.
It seems to have been one of the most amiable features
in the character of the unfortunate Prince, that there
were few of those with whom he came closely in contact
who did not become highly fascinated by his bearing

* Chambers' History of the Rebellion.

132 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

towards them. The enthusiastic and devoted attach-
ment with which he succeeded in inspiring them, was
such as no subsequent events could ever dissipate or im-
pair. Even half a century after they had seen him,
when years might be supposed to do away with their
early feelings, it was impossible to find a surviving fellow-
adventurer, and they were then many, who could speak
of him without tears and sighs of affectionate regret.

Within the last few years a venerable matron, by
name Mrs. Carmichael, died in Glasgow, at the advanced
age of 108. This centenary had a distinct recollection
of Prince Charles' short residence in the city, and of
many circumstances connected with it. She had been
a servant in the house where the Prince took up his
quarters, and, according to her own account, had had
the honour of "baking cakes for Charlie." She was
accustomed to speak of him with the most enthusiastic
fondness ; and it is to be regretted, that many anecdotes
which she used to relate regarding that "eventful period,"
are now irrecoverably lost, on account of no devout anti-
quarian being to be found to record her reminiscences.

133

CHAPTER VI.

LITERARY ANTIQUITIES OF GLASGOW.

" How shall I speak thee, or thy power address,
Thou God of our idolatry, the Press?"

COWPER.

THE art of printing was introduced into Glasgow by
George Anderson, in 1638, the same year in which the
memorable General Assembly met there, and one of the
first works printed by him was, " The Protestation of
the Generall Assemblie of the Church, and of the noble-
men, barons, gentlemen, borrowes, ministers, and com-
mons ; subscribers of the Covenant, lately renewed,
made in the High Kirk, and at the Mercate Crosse of
Glasgow; the 28 and 29 of November, 1638." Ander-
son appears to have come to Glasgow in consequence of
an invitation from the magistrates, — they agreeing that,
besides an annual salary, he should receive a compensa-
tion for the expense of removing from Edinburgh. The
following is the first notice of him in the records of the

134 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

town council: — "4th January, 1640. The said day
ordaines the thesaurer to pay to George Anderson, prin-
ter, ane hundredth pundis, in satisfaction to him, of the
superplus he debursit in transporting of his gear to the
burghe, by the ten dollaris he gave him of befoir to that
effect : and also in satisfaction to him of his haill by-
gane fealtis fra Whitsunday in anno 1638 to Martimes
last." Anderson was succeeded by his son Andrew,
who appears to have printed in Edinburgh in 1654-55.
He commenced printing in Glasgow some time after-
wards, and continued there till about 1661, when he
returned to Edinburgh. Having obtained the appoint-
ment of printer to that city and university, he, in 1670,
began printing an edition of the New Testament, in
black letter ; but it was so disgracefully inaccurate, that
the privy council, on the 9th of February, 1671, ordained
him " to receive from the stationers all the copies re-
maining unsold," and prohibited him, under a penalty,
from re-issuing it until it should be revised, and a new
title page prefixed to it. Notwithstanding this transac-
tion, which one would have supposed would have ruined
his character as a printer, Anderson was, within three
months of that date, appointed His Majesty's sole prin-
ter for Scotland.

Anderson was succeeded in Glasgow by Robert San-
ders, who styled himself printer to the city, and who
was for many years the only printer in the west of Scot-
land. But his unworthy predecessor, the royal typo-
grapher, being determined to enjoy his monopoly to its

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 135

fullest extent, proceeded to Glasgow, and by threats, or
fair promises, prevailed upon Sanders' workmen to
desert him " in the midst of ane impression (of the New
Testament,) to his heavy loss and prejudice." This
oppressive action brought the matter before the Privy
Council, which decided in December, 1671, that Sanders
should be allowed to finish his book, and that every prin-
ter in Scotland had an equal right with His Majesty's
to print the New Testament and Psalm Book, in the
letter commonly called English Roman. In 1680, the
heir of Anderson complained to the council that Sanders
had vended bibles printed and imported from Holland,
and that he had reprinted several works on divinity
contrary to privilege. This charge having been proven
against him by his own confession, he was ordained to
deliver up the books so printed to the pursuer, but no
other penalty was inflicted. He ultimately purchased a
share of the business and having brought workmen and
materials from Holland, printed several works in a
creditable style.

Sanders died, according to Watson, about 1696, leav-
ing his printing establishment to his son Robert Sanders,
of Auldhouse. A few of the works first printed by him
were tolerably executed, but his latter productions are
extremely paltry and inaccurate. Printing was now,
and for some years afterwards, in the lowest state in
Scotland. The exorbitancy of the royal grant to Ander-
son had produced the worst effects. No person appears
to have been employed for the sole purpose of correcting

136 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

the press, and the low wages given to pressmen, with
the badness of the machines themselves, also tended to
retard improvement. To these may be added the follow-
ing:— " There are two things," says Wodrow the church
historian, " hinder us in Scotland from printing — pride
and poverty. Pride — in that we will print nothing that
is common, whereas abroad, the plainest and most com-
mon things are printed and reprinted every year ; but
we will not appear unless we have something new and
surprising to the world. And poverty, — we want money
to print, and the people want money to buy books, and
there is no sale for them when printed." Several
attempts, previous to the year 1713, were made to estab-
lish a printing house in connection with the University,
which, however, proved unsuccessful ; but in that year,
a paper entitled, " Proposals for erecting a bookseller's
shop and a printing press within the University of Glas-
gow," appears to have been presented to the faculty, in
which it is mentioned, that they were " obliged to go to
Edinburgh in order to get one sheet right printed."
During the same year, Thomas Harvie, a student of
divinity, engaged to furnish, " with all convenient des-
patch, one or more printing presses, and at farthest four
years from the date hereof, to furnish founts and other
materials for printing Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, at
least so many of the last kind of characters as are need-
ful to print a grammar," under condition that he should
be immediately declared University printer and book-
seller for forty years, with " all the privileges and immu-

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 137

nities which the University hath, or shall have hereafter,
to bestow on their printer and bookseller." Although
these terms were not ultimately accepted, they seem at
least to have been under frequent consideration, and the
sketch of a contract with Harvie is preserved among the
University papers. Two years afterwards, " Donald
Govane, younger, merchant in Glasgow, and printer,"
was appointed to the same office for seven years. His
name, however, appears at very few books.

In 1718, the art of type-making was introduced by
" James Duncan, letter founder in Glasgow." The
types used by him are evidently of his own making, —
rudely cut, and badly proportioned. He deserves credit,
however, for the attempt, and his letters are little inferior
to those used by the other Scottish printers of that
period. He continued to print for many years.

The precise date at which Robert Urie commenced
printing is not known. Robert Urie and Company were
printers in the Gallowgate in 1740, and during the
following year executed several works for Robert Foulis.

But instead of pursuing the present subject, by a
mere dry and uninteresting detail of facts, we shall here,
by way of episode, enter into a short sketch of the old
newspapers of the city, forming, as they do, no unim-
portant feature in the " literary antiquities of Glasgow."

OLD NEWSPAPERS OF GLASGOW.

The Newspaper Press may be justly characterised as
the greatest engine of public improvement that has

138 CHRONICLES OF ST. MVNGO.

existed within the history of our race. By means of it, the
most important changes are brought about in the political
relations of society. The British nation are present
in the senate, in the forum, and hi the Campus Martius.
They listen to every proposal, weigh every argument,
reject a magistrate, or pass a law. The plebiscitum does
not operate so instantaneously as in ancient Rome, but
it is much more sound; and when once recognised,
it becomes irreversible. The senatws-consultum is not,
indeed, checked by tribunes ; but it is generally influ-
enced by the popular feeling excited through the press.
The rapidity, fulness, and accuracy with which reports
of all proceedings, transactions, debates, trials, and
occurrences are printed and circulated, are striking
features in the intellectual march of mankind. In this
respect, the superiority of the Newspaper Press of the
present day over that of past times, is so great, that the
whole machinery seems an original invention, rather
than the result of gradual improvements through suc-
cessive ages. Previous to the reign of George III.
newspapers were the reverse of respectable, but in his
reign the discussions of newspapers first began to acquire
elegance, judgment, and force. The celebrated letters
of Junius, for example, form a high model in this
respect. Yet, it was not till the nineteenth century, that
newspapers acquired that authentic and dignified char-
acter which they now possess.

To Venice belongs the distinction of publishing, in
15-36, the first newspaper, or gazetta, so called from the

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 139

name of the coin paid for it. The earliest English
newspaper appeared under the title of the " English
Mercurie," in the reign of Elizabeth, during the alarm
created by the appearance of the Spanish Armada.
Scotland is indebted for her first publication of this
kind, to the victorious arms of Cromwell. It was pub-
lished at Leith in 1653, for the benefit of the English
soldiers, being a reprint of a London paper, under the
name of Mercurius Politicus, but was next year trans-
ferred to Edinburgh, when its title was changed to that
of Mercurius Publicus. The earliest Scottish newspaper,
of native manufacture, appeared in 1662, and was called
Mercurius Caledonius.

The first newspaper published in Glasgow appeared
on the 14th of November 1715, and was entitled " The
Glasgow Courant, containing the occurrences both at
Home and Abroad : Glasgow, Printed for R. T., and are
to be sold at the Printing House in the Colledge, and at
the Post Office, Price Three half-pence. — N.B. Regular
Customers to be charged only one Penny."

The second number of this paper contains a letter
from Aird, the then late Lord Provost, and Colonel of
the Glasgow Volunteers, dated " Stirling Bridge, 13th
Nov., at 9 at night, 1715," addressed to his successor in
office. It details the movements of the rebels in that
quarter, and states that they " expect another hit at
them if they stand."

It soon, however, changed its name, as the fourth
number was published under the title of the " West

140 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

Country Intelligence." The following is a copy of the
prospectus: —

" This Paper is to be printed three times every week
for the Use of the Countrey round ; any Gentleman or
Minister, or any other who wants them, may have them
at the Universitie's Printing House, or at the Post
Office. It's hoped this Paper will give satisfaction to the
Readers, and that they will encourage it by sending
Subscriptions for one Year, half Year, or Quarterly,
to the above directed Places, where they shall be served
at a most easie Kate.

" Advertisements are to be taken in at either the
Printing House in the Colledge, or Post Office.

" The Gentlemen in the Towns of Aberdeen, St.
Andrews, Inverness, Brechen, Dundee, St. Johnstoun,
Stirling, Dumbarton, Inverary, Dumfries, Lanerk,
Hamiltoun, -Irvine, Air, Kilmamock, and Stanraer,
are desired to send by Post any News they have, and
especially Sea- Port Towns, to advise what ships come in
or sail off from those Parts."

It is not known how long this paper was continued.
A file of it is preserved in the University Library,
extending to the first of May 1716, being, in all, sixty-
seven numbers. It was printed on Tuesdays, Thursdays,
and Saturdays, in a small quarto form, (each paper
containing twelve pages,) and was made up of extracts
from foreign journals, from the London newspapers,
private letters, and occasional poetry, with very little
local intelligence.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 141

" The Glasgow Journal" (a weekly paper) was begun,
under the editorship of Andrew Stalker, on the 20th
of July 1741, and was printed by Robert Urie & Co.,
for Andrew Stalker and Alexander Carlile, booksellers.

Mr. Duncan, of this city, in his valuable work, entitled
" Notices and Documents of the Literary History of
Glasgow," presented in 1831 to the Maitland Club, in
reference to this paper, observes : — " With what degree
of talent it was conducted for the first few years, it would
be difficult to ascertain, no copy of it, during that period,
being known to remain." The present writer, however,
by way of correcting this slight error, begs leave to
mention that he has now before him a volume containing
a copy of the " Glasgow Journal," from the second
number to the fifty-second, inclusive. The merits of its
editorship are not surpassing; but in this respect it
resembles most of the provincial journals of that time.

All the numbers, extending from 1745 to 1749, have
been recovered, — a period, one would suppose, sufficiently
interesting. The conductor, however, appears to have
consulted his own personal security too much, to permit
him to give a firm and candid detail of the events which
were then taking place. He has omitted several of the
most important facts in the history of the Rebellion ;
and at length, when the danger approached his own
door, was constrained to give vent to his terror in a
letter which he inserted in the Journal. He had offended
his readers by his omissions, and resolved to retire, for
a time, from his public duties, till the storm should blow

142 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

over. The following is the advertisement by which he
apprised the readers 'of his prudent determination : —

" Oct. 14 (1745). To the Encouragers of the Glasgow
Journal. — Gentlemen, — I have carried on this Paper
since the beginning, and have to the utmost of my power
endeavoured to give an impartial account of facts as
they happened; but finding that, considering the situa-
tion of affairs, I cannot with safety publish to please the
generality of my readers, I have, therefore, given over
being concerned in the writing or publishing this paper
till such time as the peace of this country be restored,
and have committed the care of it to an unexceptionable
hand ; and as you have favoured me with your counten-
ance and encouragement, I hope you'll continue to do so
to him ; and am thankfully and respectfully, Gentlemen,
your most humble servant,

" ANDREW STALKER."

It would appear that the meaning of this advertise-
ment had been somewhat misunderstood; to rectify
which mistake, Stalker published another letter in the
next paper : —

" Oct. 21. To the Encouragers of the Glasgow
Journal. — A wrong sense being put upon my last adver-
tisement, as if I intended to drop this Paper, I hereby
inform my Readers, that I continue to have the same
share in it as formerly, tho' for some time, I am not to
write it, nor collect the News from other Papers, Mr.
Urie having undertaken that part, who I'm convinced
will give satisfaction ; and I hope that such as have

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 143

hitherto been my Friends and Encouragers will con-
tinue to be so. " ANDREW STALKER."

Whether he resumed his editorship in quieter times,
is now unknown : his name still continued as the pub-
lisher of the paper, although, immediately after the last
letter appeared, Urie's name as printer was suppressed.

Yet whatever may have been the defects in the
editorial department of this paper, it was printed in a
style creditable in the highest degree to the town, and
infinitely better than the newspapers published forty
years afterwards.

Whether or not the retirement of the editor of the
Journal was the cause of a new paper being started, we
are not aware ; but a publication, under the old title of
the Courant, was begun on the 14th of October 1745,
" printed for Matthew Simson, and sold by John Gilmour
at his shop opposite to Gibson's Land, Saltmercat." A
copy of this paper, from the 1st to the 115th number, is
now before us. Among many other curious things, it
contains complete lists of the names of the rebels who
were executed in the different towns of the country, with
tolerably full reports of the trials of the rebel lords.

To a newspaper reader of the present day, the adver-
tisements to be found in these antique prints are some-
what amusing. While in our own times it would be
considered a matter of indelicacy, if not of absolute
supererogation, to enlarge on the virtues, the beauty, or
the dower of a bride in the common notifications of
marriages, it was the custom, a century ago, to apprise

144 CIIKONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

the world of all the most prominent qualities of a lady
who had just entered into wedlock. Thus we find such
notices as the following : —

" Last week Mr. Graham younger of Dougalston was
married to Miss Campbell, of Skirving, a beautiful and
virtuous young lady." (Glasgow Courant of February1
9, 1747.)

" On Monday last, Dr. Robert Hamilton, Professor of
Anatomy and Botany in the University of Glasgow, was
married to Miss Mally Baird, a beautiful young lady
with a handsome fortune." (May 4, 1747.)

" On Monday last, Mr. James Johnstone, merchant
in this place, was married to Miss Peggy Newall,
a young lady of great merit, and a fortune of £4000."
(Augusts, 1747.)

Another advertisement which sounds a little strangely
to a modern ear is the following : —

" James Hodge, who lives in the first close above the
Cross, on the west side of the street, Glasgow, continues
to sell burying Crapes ready made ; and his wife's niece,
who lives with him, dresses dead Corpses at as cheap a
rate as was formerly done by her aunt, having been
educated by her, and perfected at Edinburgh, from
whence she is lately arrived, and has all the newest and
best fashions."

The following is a most earnest and convincing appeal
from an unfortunate barber,'who grievously complains of
the conduct of various individuals in the non-payment of
their accounts for shaving and wig-dressing: —

CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO. 146

" February 16, 1747.

" TO THE CITIZENS OP GLASGOW.

" Gentlemen, — I take the liberty of addressing you in
this Manner ; And if you'll allow yourselves to think but
a little, I make no doubt but you will be disposed to ease
me of these Hardships I complain of. Before I com-
menced Master, I took particular care to be capable of
my Business. I had as much Money to begin the
World as not to be obliged to buy my Goods at a Dis-
advantage ; and I fortunately got a Sett of good Cus-
tomers; I have lived industriously and frugally; and
my Prices were Neighbour-like. But notwithstanding
all this, at the End of some Years I found my affairs
going backwards ; and I having met with considerable
Losses, I began to examine from whence this Misfortune
might arise ; I plainly discovered it to be the Effects of
being under-paid in these Articles of Shaving and
Dressing ; and after an exact Calculation, I find my
yearly Income for these Articles not sufficient to defray
my necessary Expences in that Branch of Business : To
remedy which I humbly propose, that every Gentleman
that is waited on at his own House, would pay yearly
at so low a Rate as a Halfpenny for every Wig dressing,
and a penny for each Shave, which is really little more
than Porters' wages, and yet it is considerably more
than I am generally paid- I know well no Gentleman
will allow me to be a Loser to his knowledge ; but this
is undoubtedly my Case, and likewise those of my
Brethren who keep good materials for your service. I
H

146 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

expect you will consider my reasonable and modest
Request."

It would seem that in those warlike times we possessed
a resident drum maker in our city, who, if we may judge
from the tone of the following notification, must have
had some goodly exercise for his handicraft : — " William
Murdoch, wright in Gorbels of Glasgow, at the sign of
the Drum and Little Wheel, makes Drums (conform'd
to the method of Herbert Heggins, Drum Maker to his
Majesty's Office of Ordinance,) either big or small,
coarse or fine, for sea or land, at very reasonable rates,
and as good as any in Scotland."

As a specimen of Glasgow newspaper poetry of that
time, the following will serve : —

ELEGIAC VERSES ON THE YOUNG CHEVALIER'S
ATTEMPTING TO MAKE HIS ESCAPE.

Shall Charles fall, and shall no Grub-street lay,
In doleful doggrel, mourn his sad mishap?

Nothing, alas! can his great loss repay,
Unless he gain a mitre or a cap.

He came to seek a Coffin or a Crown ; —

Oh! fatal chance, to be in both mistaken!
No sword would kill, no whelming wave would drown ;

And he, against his will, has saved his bacon!

How will thy sire, for courage great renown 'd,
Lament thy flight, and shun the fond embrace ;

While Scotia's hills with William's name resound, —
A name foredoomed to give thy house disgrace.

What grief will reign at Rome, among the herd
Of Monks and Priests, of Jesuits, Prelates, Nuns?

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 147

Whose unavailing prayers, to saints preferred,
Could not protect thy men from her'tick guns.

What power could frustrate holy Father's aid?

Could 'gainst his potent blessings countervail?
Some star its baleful influence sure must shed,

To cause Infallibility to fail.

Resign, without regret, the martial field
To Cumberland, — the pride of Brunswick's race;

Where he commands, the target is no shield,
Seek then to fill a more becoming place.

No more let diadems thy fancy fire:

No more let hereticks thy hopes defeat:
But to some cloister'd convent safe retire,

And shine, an Abbot, every way complete.

Courant, June 16th, 1746.

The above verses, although, perhaps, not couched in
that "tenderly sentimental" strain which distinguishes
similar effusions of our own times, still, in other points
of view, eclipse the most ambitious efforts of our modern
newspaper poetasters.

As before remarked, the stirring times of the Rebel-
lion prevented our Glasgow newspapers from pleasing
all parties, especially those favourable to the cause of
the Pretender, Prince Charles Edward; consequently,
through fear of the ruling powers, we find nothing in
these prints but the most excessive adulation of the
Royalist commander, the Duke of Cumberland, and the
utmost contempt for the rebels.

With respect to politics, they cannot be said to have

148 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

advocated any set of opinions. We are unable to dis-
cover what were the real sentiments of their conductors
on the subjects of legislation or government. They are
characterised by little unity of design, and appear to
have been simply mediums of intelligence, without any
attempt to guide or form the public mind on matters of
general interest.

To return, however, from this episode : —
Urie, previously mentioned, continued to print very
extensively in Glasgow till his death, which was occa-
sioned by a paralytic stroke, on the 9th of February,
1771; and although he was guilty of several piracies, —
a practice in which he was probably encouraged by a
decision of the Court of Session in favour of his friend
Stalker, in 1748, — yet he is undoubtedly entitled to the
credit of restoring the respectability of the Glasgow
press. Amongst the finest specimens of his work, are
his editions of the Greek New Testament, and the
Spectator.

Robert Foulis, to whom we have already alluded, was
the eldest son of Robert Faulls, (the original name of
the family) maltman in Glasgow, and of Marion Patter-
son. He was born in Glasgow on the 20th of April, 1707,
and his brother Andrew about five years afterwards.
During their earlier years, they were educated under the
care of their mother, who appears to have been a woman
of plain good sense, and to have possessed a degree of
knowledge considerably beyond her rank. She instilled
into their youthful minds principles which remained with

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 149

them ever afterwards, and led them uniformly to speak
of her with the greatest respect.

Robert was sent, probably at an early period, as an
apprentice to a barber ; and, like his great countryman,
Allan Ramsay, he even seems to have practised the art
for some time on his own account. It was while in this
humble situation that the celebrated Dr. Francis Hut-
cheson, at that time Professor of Moral Philosophy in
the University, discovered in him that talent which was
afterwards cultivated with so much success ; he inflamed
his desire for knowledge, suggested to him the idea of
becoming a bookseller and a printer; and although
Foulis did not receive a complete university education
as a preparatory step to this employment, he continued
to attend for several years the lectures of his generous
patron. Andrew, who seems to have been originally
intended for the church, received a more regular educa-
tion, and for some years taught the Greek, Latin, and
French languages, and all the departments of philosophy
then studied at the University. So ardently did the
brothers pursue their private studies, that their lamp
was seldom extinguished before midnight.

The state of the University, in the earlier part of the
eighteenth century, was sufficiently deplorable. When
Episcopacy was restored by Charles II., it had been
deprived of a considerable part of its revenues, — those
derived from the rentals of church lands. The greater
number of the professors had also embarked in the unfor-
tunate Darien expedition ; and the turbulence of the

160 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

students, with the disturbed state of the country, added
to their grievances. About the period at which the
Foulises were students, it began to recover from the
effects of these " troubles." The professorships of
humanity and ecclesiastical history were revived, and
those of oriental languages, civil law, medicine, and
botany, were founded. A visitation took place in 1727,
and the commissioners drew up a statute and act regu-
lating the University, the most important part of which
seems to have been that the professors of philosophy who
had hitherto carried their students through the three
courses of logic, ethics, and natural philosophy, should
in future confine themselves to one of these subjects.
The time was now come when it should be no longer
deemed beneath the dignity of a learned university to
permit English to be spoken within its walls. Dr. Hut-
cheson had introduced the practice of lecturing in
English, and by this means not only obscurity of lan-
guage was avoided, but the ancient and tiresome method
of dictating rendered unnecessary. His colleagues slowly
followed his example.

Of the occupation of the Foulises for several succeed-
ing years, little or nothing is known. In 1738 they went
to England, visiting on their route the university of Ox-
ford ; from thence they repaired to the continent, and,
after an absence of some months, returned to Glasgow
in November of the same year. They again went abroad
in 1739, and resided several months in France. In these
tours they had opportunities of meeting with persons of

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 151

considerable literary and scientific attainments; through
the Chevalier Ramsay, (a foreigner of distinction,) they
had access to the best public libraries, and by these
means they acquired an extent of information which their
private studies could never have given them. During
the same period they applied themselves to the study of
the Greek and Roman Classics, and as copies of these
were then scarce in Britain, they collected a considerable
number, and on their return sold them in London at such
prices as amply rewarded their industry. Having thus
acquired a pretty accurate knowledge of books, Robert
began business at Glasgow, as a bookseller, in 1741, and
in the following year the first production of his press
appeared. While abroad, he had compared the letters
used by the different printers, and having at length fixed
upon those of Robert Stephens, one of the three cele-
brated type-founders of that name, as the most elegant,
he employed Messrs. Wilson & Bain of this city to
execute fonts upon these models. He also attended a
printing house in Glasgow for a short time, and thus
acquired a knowledge of the minute parts of the art.

From the foregoing observations it will be seen that
Robert Foulis began his career as a printer under very
advantageous circumstances. He was assisted in the
correction of his press by George Ross, then professor of
Humanity in the University, " an elegant Latin scholar,
and a modest and most amiable man," and afterwards
professor of Greek. Dr. Alexander Wilson, too, had
just then improved the method of casting types, and

152 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

established a manufactory at the village of Camlachie,
in the immediate neighbourhood of Glasgow. With this
excellent man, the two Foulises ever afterwards con-
tinued on terms of intimacy.

To these advantages must be added the appointment
of the elder brother as printer to the University shortly
afterwards. The following is an extract from the
records: —

"31st March, 1743. — Robert Foulis having this day
given in a petition to the University, representing that
he had provided himself with fine types, both Greek and
Latin, and desiring he may be made University Printer,
the Meeting having seen specimens of his printing, and
found it such as he deserves very well to be encouraged in,
did chuse the said Robert Foulis into the office of Uni-
versity Printer, and grant to him all the privileges
belonging thereto, upon this condition, viz., that he shall
not use the designation of University Printer without
allowance, in any books excepting those of antient

authors.

" JON. ORR, Rector.

" Ron. SIMSON, Cl. Univ."

The University did not require, as in former times,
that a copy of each book printed at their press should be
given gratis to the library. From the records it appears
that Foulis presented a catalogue of the works he had
for sale, and that a committee was then appointed to
examine and report " what books in that catalogue they
thought should be purchased for the public library."

CHBOHICLES OF ST. MTJNGO. 153

The first books published by Robert Foulis were princi-
pally on religious subjects. In 1742, he published a
pamphlet relative to the State of Religion in New Eng-
land, and Whitefield'a Plan for establishing an Orphan
House in Georgia. This subject, which occupied at that
time much of the public attention, led him into a contro-
versy with Whitefield, the result of which, however, has
not been ascertained. Next year produced " Demetrius
Phalereus de Elocutione," which Dr. Harwood, the
celebrated classical critic, has pronounced " a good
edition," and which was apparently the first Greek book
printed in Glasgow, though George Anderson's printing
house had been nearly a century before supplied with
Greek and Hebrew types. In 1744 appeared the cele-
brated edition of Horace, the proof sheets of which, it is
well known, were hung up in the college, and a reward
offered to any one who should discover any inaccuracy.
It was printed under the care of Professor George Ross,
already mentioned, — " a man ever to be remembered with
respect and regret." According to Dibdin, however, its
claims to " immaculateness " rest upon no foundation,
there being at least six typographical errors. Three
editions of the same author were printed at subsequent
periods, none of which are of any comparative value. By
the year 1746, Foulis had printed eighteen different
classics, besides Dr. Hutcheson's class books in English
and Latin ; and Homer, with the Philippics of Demos-
thenes were advertised as in the press. The Homer
appeared in the following year, both in a quarto and
H 2

154 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

octavo form ; — the first of these is a very beautiful book,
and more correct than the other, which was printed after
Dr. Clark's edition.

It was probably about this period, — for the exact date
cannot be ascertained, — that the first society for the dis-
cussion of literary and philosophical subjects was insti-
tuted in Glasgow. Of this society Robert Foulis was
an original member. It met every Friday evening, at
half-past five o'clock, from the first Friday of November
to the second Friday of May ; and if, during the period,
any member was absent for four successive nights, with-
out a valid excuse in writing, his name was struck oft'
the list. Each member, in the order of seniority, read
an essay on a subject connected with science, literature,
or the arts. At the meetings of this society, Dr. Hut-
cheson is supposed to have explained and illustrated the
works of Arrian, Antoninus, and the other Greek philo-
sophers. Adam Smith read those essays on Taste,
Composition, and the History of Philosophy which he
had previously delivered while a lecturer on rhetoric in
Edinburgh. Several of those read by Dr. Reid were
afterwards published. Professor Arthur descanted on
the principle of Criticism, and the Pleasures of Imagina-
tion ; and a few of those papers were published after his
death in his " Discourses on Theological and Literary
subjects." Dr. Black communicated his discoveries in
Chemistry, particularly on the subject of latent heat :
and Dr. Moor illustrated Grecian literature, and the
influence of the Fine Arts upon society.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 155

The discourses read before the society by the elder
Foulis were generally on the fine arts, although some-
times on philosophical, or even theological subjects ; and
it is mentioned by Professor Richardson, that in an
Essay on Crimes and Punishments, he seems to have
anticipated the sentiments of the celebrated Beccaria on
these subjects.

When he delivered his opinions in the literary society,
his manner was more reserved than upon other occa-
sions. Never forgetting the humble station from which
he had risen, he had nevertheless- a consciousness of
moving precisely in his proper sphere, and of having
deserved that distinction which he had attained.

It appears that an edition of Plato had been projected
by the Foulises as early as 1746, and that proposals and
specimens of it were printed about 1749; soon after a
large edition of Cicero's works was completed. In July,
1751, Foulis went abroad; carrying with him letters of
recommendation from his brother-in-law, Dr. Moor, to
the Abbe Salier and the learned M. Capperonier, both
of the Royal Library of Paris. He first spent some
time in Holland, in the expectation of receiving assist-
ance from Heinsterheuse and Alberti, and before return-
ing to his native country had seen the best manuscripts,
and had given orders for collections from those in the
Vatican and National Libraries. After his return, it
would seem that the project was still under consider-
ation, and that Dr. Moor, who, from the multiplicity of
his engagements had formerly declined taking charge of I

156 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

it, now undertook the editorship. The design, however,
was eventually abandoned in 1759.

According to the plan proposed by Foulis, the plays of
Shakspere were printed for several successive years in
a separate form. " King Lear" was published in 1753,
—"Richard III." in 1758,— " Coriolanus" in 1760;
but it was not till six years after that they appeared
complete. The small paper was in eight, and " a few
copies on the finest foolscap, in sixteen volumes, octavo."
The celebrated poems of Hamilton of Bangour, issued
from the press of Robert and Andrew Foulis in 1749,
without the name of the author, and avowedly without
his knowledge or consent. A second edition appeared
afterwards with the author's name, dedicated " to the
memory of Mr. William Crawfurd, merchant in Glasgow,
the friend of Mr. Hamilton."

The Select Society of Edinburgh had, in the year
1755, determined to give premiums for improvements in
the arts, sciences, manufactures, and agriculture. " The
art of Printing," says the Society, " in this country
requires no encouragement; yet, as to pass it by
unnoticed were slighting the merit of those by whose
means alone it has attained that eminence; it was
resolved, that the best printed and most correct book,
which shall be produced within a limited time, be dis-
tinguished by an honorary reward." They accordingly
offered a silver medal, with " a proper device and inscrip-
tion," for the finest and most correct book "of at least
ten sheets." In April of the following year, the reward

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 157

was adjudged to Robert and Andrew Foulis for their
folio edition of the Hymns of Callimachus. Next year
they obtained the Society's medal for their third edition
of Horace as a Latin, — and their folio edition of Homer's
Iliad as a Greek book. The last of these works is
known as one of the finest classics ever produced at any
press. By the preface, it appears to have been printed
at the expense of the professors in the University. It
was intended as a trial, and in case of succeeding, it was
proposed to print all the Greek and Roman classics
"with the same elegance and accuracy." The text
was taken from Dr. Clarke's quarto edition, published
in 1729, and was collated with that of Henry Stephens,
which they imitated in the forms of the letters. They
do not appear, however, to have followed Clarke in the
accentuation, and the words are all printed at full length,
in both which particulars their edition has been con-
sidered preferable. After having been six times revised,
it was printed off in two folio volumes; the small paper
at the price of a guinea, and the large at a guinea and
a half, in sheets.

In 1758 the medal was again obtained for Foulis'
edition of the Odyssey. The competing parties were
not limited either to the form or number of sheets, the
only conditions being, there should be, at least, two
hundred and fifty copies printed for sale, and that the
printer's name should be affixed to them. In the fol-
lowing year the Glasgow edition of the minor works
of Homer was declared the best specimen produced

158 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

During all this period, the only successful rivals of the
Foulises were Hamilton, Balfour, and Mills, of Edin-
burgh, who, in 1758, gained a prize for their edition of
Terence, got up under the care of that well-known anti-
quarian, Mr. Alexander Smellie, at that time conductor
of their press.

It was about this period (1767 or 1758) that Robert
Foulis became acquainted with the late Mr. Richardson,
afterwards professor of Humanity in the University of
Glasgow. With this elegant scholar he had much inter-
course, and it is to a paper Richardson left behind him,
that the modern world is indebted for any knowledge
relating to the personal history of the Foulises.

The book-shop of the printers to the University, was
then, and for many years afterwards, within the pre-
cincts of the college; and was at this time a place of
particular resort with students who had any pretensions
to literature. It was in this " sedes musarum scientiae-
que" that Foulis and Richardson first met.

It will undoubtedly appear to the reader, a singular
feature in Foulis' character, that he should choose to
associate, even with the youngest students, and to
become a member of their literary clubs; but this may
be easily accounted for. Besides the gratification he
had in displaying his sentiments upon literary and
philosophical subjects, he believed that the knowledge
he imparted, and the example he exhibited, might be
useful to his juvenile auditors. Nothing could be more
amusing or more interesting, according to Professor

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 159

Richardson, than the literary discussions of the elder
Foulis. In these, as he had a good deal of natural,
though turbid eloquence, he sometimes indulged at
considerable length. The fashion of the times did not
impose upon him a scrupulous attention to a restrained
or castigated manner; while his countenance, which
indicated at once intellect and sensibility, and his frame,
which was not of eminent stature, were often impressed
with the vehemence of his oratory.

To attempt any account of the Foulises during the
following ten years, would, in fact, be merely giving a
dry detail of works printed at their press.

Towards the end of 1767, the celebrated Dr. Beattie,
professor of Moral Philosophy in Marischal College,
Aberdeen, who appears by this time to have got
acquainted with them, informs us that at Robert Foulis'
request, he had applied for and obtained from Gray the
poet, permission to have an edition of his poems printed
at Glasgow. Gray had before given Dodsley, the well-
known London publisher, a similar permission; and as
the metropolitan bookseller had already gone to press,
it was necessary that our Scottish printers should use
all diligence. The Glasgow edition accordingly appeared
about the middle of the same year, in quarto, — " one of
the most elegant pieces of printing," says the author of
the Minstrel, " that the Glasgow press, or any other
press, has ever produced. It does honour to every
person concerned in it, — to Mr. Foulis the printer, and
even to me the publisher, as well as to the author."

160 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

Contrary to the expectations, probably, of every one
except Foulis himself, his edition was rapidly sold off,
although Dodsley had before glutted the London market
with two impressions, one of fifteen hundred and the
other of seven hundred and fifty copies, " both, indeed,
far inferior to that of Glasgow, but sold at half the
price." Foulis found himself a considerable gainer,
and was, to use Gray's expression, " magnificent in his
gratitude." He offered his author a present of his
Homer in four volumes folio, or the Greek Historians in
twenty-nine volumes duodecimo, the first of which seems
to have been accepted.

A folio edition of Milton's Poems (which appeared in
1770,) seems next to have been proposed by our printers.
This splendid work was published by subscription, and
for some hints respecting it, they were again indebted
to the friendship of Beattie. The following letter relat-
ing to it, is one of the very few of Foulis' papers which
have escaped destruction: —

" ABERDEEN, 20th June, 1770.

" DEAR SIR, — I received your letter of the 10th of
May, and about a fortnight after, the books came to
hand. The Milton is wonderfully fine. It is indeed the
most magnificent Book I have ever seen, and seems to
be perfectly correct. I am very happy to see that the
hints I proposed relating to Apostrophes have obtained
your approbation. The omission of those unnecessary
characters has a very good effect upon the eye, and will,
I am convinced, give general satisfaction. I hope you

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 161

will soon set about Virgil in the same form. My former
hints have been so well received, that I may probably
hazard a few on this subject also. I would not wish to
see either the Culex or the Civis in this projected
edition, being thoroughly convinced that they are not by
Virgil, but by some other much later hand. They are,
besides, altogether unworthy of the Mantuan bard. I
could offer many arguments in proof of this opinion, but
1 flatter myself they will not be necessary. The
Bucolics, Georgics, and ^Eneid are, in my judgment, the
whole of Virgil's works now extant. I have two curious,
and, I believe, rare editions of this author : the first by
Daniel Heinsius, printed by Elzevir in the the year 1636,
and the other by his son Nicholus Heinsius, printed by
Elzevir in 1676. The latter is by much the better, and
is generally acknowledged to be the very best edition of
Virgil. If you cannot find it elsewhere, my copy is at
your service. There are some various readings from the
Medicean and other manuscripts which are of conse-
quence, and therefore ought not to be omitted in a correct
edition of Virgil. In regard to these I have some
written notes by me, which might probably be of some
use. If you think so, I shall very readily communicate
them. By the Bearer, Professor Traill, I have sent
payment of your account, viz., two guineas for Homer, —
four and sixpence for Epictetus, Anacreon, and Cebes, —
a guinea for Milton, — two pounds thirteen shillings for
the Greek Historians, — and thirteen shillings for my
copy of Milton on small paper, which you forgot to put

162 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

into the account, — in all £6 13s. 6d. I am much obliged
to you for the concern you show about my Essay, and
am very curious to know your opinion of it, and shall be
very happy if it obtains your approbation.* The great-
est merit of it is that it is written with a good design.
It will offend many, but may, I hope, be of use to some ;
nay, if I am not misinformed, it has been so already. It
was not without long consideration that I ventured it
abroad in its present form. There is a boldness in many
of the reflections which, after much thinking, I thought
it best not to alter, though I hear it has given much
offence to many of the Literati of your country. 1 have
hardly time to add that I truly am, Dear Sir, your most
obedient humble Servant,

" J. BEATTIE."

The edition of Virgil here mentioned never appeared.
The attention of the two Foulises, which had hitherto
boon directed most assiduously to their bookselling and
printing business, was now distracted by an Academy
which they had established in the city for the encourage-
ment of the Fine Arts, an account of which disastrous
speculation will be found in the next chapter.

Their prosperity, therefore, may from this period be
considered on the decline. They continued, however, to
print for two years longer, till the death of Andrew,
which took place on the 18th of September, 1775. He
had accompanied a stranger to the high ground adjoin-

* Dr. Beattie here alludes to his celebrated " Essay on Truth."

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 163

ing the ancient residence of the family of Montrose, for
the purpose of having a complete view of the city. He
was here attacked by an apoplectic fit, and died almost
immediately. Eobert was sent for, and had the body
conveyed to his house, though from the suddenness of the
event he could hardly be persuaded that his brother was
dead. He hung over the body when it was stretched
out, and called upon him again and again, but Andrew
could make no reply.

" The two Foulises," says Dr. Wodrow, "in spite of
their poverty and birth, were par nobile fratrum. They
seem to have been made for one another. Though
similar in their good dispositions, they were totally
opposite in their different turns of mind. Neither of
them when separated from the other could have done
much for himself or the world ; but, like the members of
the human body, they were admirably fitted by an all-
directing providence, by their conjunction and union, to
do much in their station for the honoar of their country
and the general improvement of society." Andrew had,
during their long and celebrated career, laboured with
the most slavish industry. After the commencement of
the Academy, the superintendence of the printing, book-
selling, and bookbinding departments of the business
devolved upon him. Besides these occupations, the
brothers had every evening in winter an auction of
books, when on many occasions the character of Robert
Foulis appeared in rather an amusing point of view.
Andrew generally officiated as auctioneer, but if pre-

164 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

vented from attending, his brother took his place. On
these occasions, when a book was presented to him for
sale, he not only announced the title, but frequently con-
tinued an extemporaneous harangue upon its contents.
His candour, however, prevented him from uniformly
praising the book. When the " History of Tom Jones"
was one night handed to him, " How," said he with
considerable warmth, " was this book presented ? It is
improper for the perusal of young persons ;" and having
said this, he returned it to the clerk. On another occa-
sion, having observed a student whose appearance did
not indicate a superabundance of the good things of this
world, offer several times for a copy of Antoninus, he
asked whether he was anxious to have it. Being
answered in the affirmative, he presented it to him.

But such opportunities of displaying his generosity
were not often afforded him ; for his brother, aware of
his propensities, hastened to disengage himself, and
exerting, partly in jest and partly in earnest, an author-
ity which on other occasions he rarely claimed, he would
say, " Robin, that place and that business are not for
you." And thus was he dismissed from his employment.

Little of the story of Robert Foulis remains now to be
told. His business as a bookseller and printer, from the
reasons above cited, fell into the background. Having
gone on a business excursion to London in 1776, and on
his return, having halted in Edinburgh; — just as he was
preparing to leave the latter place for his native city, he
suddenly expired, on the 2d of June.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 165

The reader need not be informed that the affairs of the
firm of Robert and Andrew Foulis were left in a state of
insolvency. It must be matter of deep regret that the
zeal with which they prosecuted whatever might promote
the literature and arts of their country, should have been
so indifferently rewarded. Persons of less enterprise
have risen to affluence from the decided superiority of
their printing, but Robert Foulis's family was left in a
state of almost complete destitution. Their affairs were
finally wound up in 1781, by Robert Chapman, printer,
and James Duncan, bookseller in Glasgow. Their debts
amounted to upwards of six thousand five hundred
pounds, and nearly the whole of their stock was purchased
by Mr. John Spottiswoode, of Edinburgh.

Robert Foulis was twice married. From his second
marriage with a daughter of Mr. Boutcher, seedsman in
Edinburgh, was descended the late Andrew Foulis, who
died at Edinburgh in great poverty, in 1829. He had,
besides, by his first marriage with Elizabeth Moore,
sister of the celebrated Grecian, five daughters, all of
whom are now dead.

While the reader, from the foregoing remarks, will be
able to form some idea of the degree of illustration,
which the extraordinary and self-devoted exertions of
two remarkable sons of genius served to throw around
the city of St. Mungo, at a period when Scottish litera-
ture was but in its infancy, and that ardent and now
wide-spread love for classic erudition was only beginning
to take root in our country, and of which they may be

166 CHRONICLES OF ST. MTJNGO.

regarded as the fosterfathers, — still in a work professing
to commemorate the memorabilia of Glasgow, it would
be rather a desideratum to pass over unnoticed Dougal
Graham, the rhyming chronicler of the rebellion of
" 45," and a citizen of no small scribbling notoriety during
the time of which we speak. Unfortunately, no works
we have met with give any account of his parentage or
early life. It has been said, that he was personally
engaged in the insurrection of which he writes, but
without sufficient authority. He had, to use his own
words, " been an eye-witness to most of the movements
of the armies, from the rebels' first crossing the ford of
Frew, to their final defeat at Culloden;" but it would
seem from this expression, as well as from the recollec-
tions of some of his acquaintances, that it was only in
the capacity of a follower, who supplied the troops with
small wares. But Dougal's aspiring mind aimed at a
higher and nobler employment, — the cultivation of the
muse; and no sooner was the rebellion terminated by
the battle of Culloden, than he determined to write a
history of it "in vulgar rhyme." Accordingly, the
Glasgow Courant of September 29, 1746, contains the
following advertisement: " That there is to be sold by
James Duncan, Printer in Glasgow, in the Salt-Mercat,
the second shop below Gibson's Wynd, a book entitled,
A full, particular, and true account of the late rebellion
in the years 1745 and 1746, beginning with the Pre-
tender's embarking for Scotland, and then an account
of every battle, siege, and skirmish, that has happened

CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO. 167

in either Scotland or England: to which is added,
several addresses and epistles to the pope, pagans, poets,
and pretender; all in metre, price fourpence. But any
booksellers or packmen may have them easier from the
said James Duncan, or the author, D. Graham. The
like," the advertisement concludes "has not been done
in Scotland since the days of Sir David Lindsay!"
This edition is now to be procured nee prece nee pecunia;
the eighth edition, however, contains a preface by the
author, in which he thus states his reasons for under-
taking so arduous a task. " First, then, I have an itch
for scribbling, and having wrote the following for my
pleasure, I had an ambition to have this child of mine
placed out in the world; expecting, if it should thrive
and do well, it might bring credit or comfort to the
parent. For it is my firm opinion, that parental affec-
tion is as strong towards children of the brain as those
produced by natural generation." — " I have wrote it in
vulgar rhyme, being what not only pleased my own
fancy, but what I have found acceptable to the most
part of my countrymen, especially to those of common
education like myself. If I have done well, it is what I
should like, and if I have failed, it is what mankind are
liable to. Therefore let cavillers rather write a better one,
than pester themselves and the public with their criti-
cisms of my faults." Dougal's history has been on some
occasions spoken of with contempt, — but, as it appears
to us, rather undeservedly. The poetry is, of course, in
some cases a little grotesque, but the matter of the work

168 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

is in many instances valuable. It contains, — and in this
consists the chief value of all such productions, — many
minute facts which a work of more pretension would
not admit. But the best proof of its popularity is, that
it has run through many editions: the eighth, which is
now scarce, was printed at Glasgow in 1808, with a
" True Portraiture" of the author. Beneath it are the
lines:

" From brain and pen, O virtue! drop;
Vice! fly as Charlie and John Cope!"

As the book became known, Dougal issued editions
" greatly enlarged and improved." That of 1774, while
it contains many additions, is said to want much of the
curious matter in the editio princeps.

In 1752, Graham styles himself " merchant in Glas-
gow," but it would appear that his wealth had not
increased with his fame:

" I have run my money to en'
And have nouther paper nor pen
To writ thir lines."

Afterwards he became a printer; and it has been
affirmed, that, like Buchan, the chronicler of Peterhead,
he used to compose and set up his works without ever
committing them to writing.* The exact date at which
he became bellman is not known, but it must have been
after 1770. At this time, the situation was one of some

* M'Urie's History of Glasgow, new edition, p. 315.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 169

dignity and importance: the posting of handbills and
the publishing of advertisements were not quite so
common; and whether a child had " wandered," —
"salmon, herring, cod, or ling" had arrived at the
Broomielaw, — or the grocers had received a new supply
of " cheap butter, barley, cheese, and veal," the matter
could only be proclaimed by the mouth of the public
crier.

After several years of, it may be supposed, extensive
usefulness in this capacity, Dougal was gathered to his
fathers on the 20th of July, 1779. An elegy upon the
death of that "witty poet and bellman," written with
some spirit, and in the same verse as Ferguson's elegy
upon Gregory, and that of Burns upon " Tarn Samson,"
was published soon after. We may be allowed to sum
up his character in the words of its author :

" It is well known unto his praise,
He well deserv'd the poet's bays;
So sweet were his harmonious lays:

Loud sounding fame
Alone can tell, how all his days

He bore that name.

Of witty jokes he had such store,
Johnson could not have pleased more,
Or with loud laughter made you roar,

As he could do:
He had still something ne'er before

Expos'd to view."

Besides his history, Dougal wrote many other poems
and songs, some of which, though little known, are
highly graphic. They would form a pretty large volume,

170 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

but it is hardly probable that in this fastidious age any
attempt will be made to collect them.

Mention has been already made, in a previous part of
the present work, of M' lire's History of Glasgow, which,
belonging as it does to the period under our notice,
deserves a place among our "Literary Antiquities."
Its more accurate title is, " A view of the City of Glas-
gow, or, an account of its Origin, Rise, and Progress,
with a more particular Description thereof than has
hitherto been known." It was published in the year
1736, and was printed by James Duncan, in the Salt-
market, " Printer to the City." The author was "John
M'Ure, alias Campbell, Clerk to the registration of
Seisins and other Evidents, for the District of Glasgow."
Without any pretensions to literary merit, and although
sometimes a little too garrulous and irrelevant in its
details, it nevertheless conveys to the reader a tolerably
distinct idea of the then appearance of the city, and is
worthy our most sincere respect, as being the medium
through which we derive most of our knowledge regard-
ing the more ancient history of the city. According to
the author, it was " collected from many antient Records,
Charters, and other antient Vouchers, and from the
best historians and private manuscripts." It contains
four engravings on lead, which, as specimens of Glasgow
engraving at that time, are by no means destitute of
merit. They consist of a " Vera effigies Joannis M'lverns
alias Campbellus, aetat. suae 79 ;" — the Anns of the
City; — North-east and South-east Prospects of the City,

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 1?1

the former seeming to be taken from the Merchants'
Park, the latter from about the eastern boundary of
Hutchesontown. The delineator was one R. Harvie,
while the name of the engraver seems to have been an
individual of the name of S. Taylor, neither of whom, in
the exercise of their calling, appear to have had any
notion of perspective. The various steeples of the town,
which were at that time seven in number, are all repre-
sented as being of equal heights. It is worthy of ob-
servation, as appears from the south-west view, that at
that time not a single house existed on the . modern
Hutchesontown. A new edition of this curious work
was published in Glasgow in 1831, containing a con-
siderable amount of additional information respecting
the ancient history of the city.

Without extending our remarks on this subject to an
undue length, we will here venture to bring them to a
close. After the death of the Messrs. Foulis, nothing of
particular moment in the literary history of Glasgow
presents itself to our notice.

Newspapers, as we have already remarked, did not
acquire a character for elegance, force, and judgment in
the discussion of public questions, until the reign of
George the Third. We allude especially to those of the
metropolis ; for, with very few exceptions, the provincial
journals continued in a very backward state until the
commencement of the present century. Those, at least,
published in our own city up to that period, must be
regarded as very lame productions, both as respects

172 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

typography and literary merit — a circumstance which
appears somewhat remarkable, when we consider that
during the greater part of the eighteenth century,
Glasgow, chiefly through the merit of the celebrated
brothers already mentioned, had attained the highest
reputation for beautiful and accurate printing, while its
literary .character was supported by an Adam Smith,
a Reid, a Richardson, and a Millar.

173

»

CHAPTER VII.

ANCIENT ACADEMY OF THE FINE ARTS IN GLASGOW.

" Homines ad Deos nulla re propius accedunt, quam salutem honiini-
bus dando."— CICERO.

"Vix ea nostra voco."— OVID.

THE History of the Fine Arts in Scotland does not seem
to have attracted much notice till of late years, when
the study of every thing connected with the history,
literature, and antiquity of the country has become
fashionable. A paper, containing some curious facts on
this subject, appeared in an old Scottish periodical,
entitled " The Bee," and is believed to have been written
by Sir G. Chalmers. In 1799, when the late Mr. Pin-
kerton published his " Scottish Gallery," he prefixed an
" Introduction on the Rise and Progress of Painting in
Scotland," in which he has collected many interesting
notices of the Scottish artists. The only painter referred
to by him of whom much is known, is George Jameson,

174 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

•

the pupil of Rubens, and fellow-student of Vandyke, who
attracted the notice of Charles I. while in Scotland in
1633, and to whom that monarch sat for his portrait.
The names of the other Scotch artists, — the elder and
younger Scougal, Paton, Aikman, Alexander, and
Medina, are now little known except to collectors. No
traces have been discovered of the practice of the fine
arts in Glasgow, previous to the commencement of the
, academy to which allusion has been made in the pre-
ceding chapter, beyond the visits of some itinerant " Dick
Tinto," and the portraits of a few of the benefactors to
the city which adorn the interior of some of our public
buildings. One earlier notice, however, connected with
this subject, appears in the very curious collection of
extracts from the Burgh Records, which were reprinted
in the Glasgow Courier in the year 1829, by the late
William Motherwell, Esq., editor of that newspaper; —
and it deserves notice, as showing the remuneration
which labour of this kind received two hundred years
ago: — "12 June, 1641. The said day ordainis the
threasaurer to have ane warrand to pay to James
Colquhoun fyve dollars for drawing of the portraict
of the toun to be sent to Holland." It has been
suggested that this "portraict" was probably intended
for Bleau's Atlas, which was preparing for publication
at Amsterdam about this time, although it did not ap-
pear till 1654.

It will be readily believed that Foulis' motives for
establishing the academy, must have had their rise

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 175

purely in his own ardent attachment to the fine arts.
The field which Scotland then afforded for such an
undertaking was extremely limited, and the country was
at that time only recovering from the effects of a recent
rebellion. But Foulis probably felt confident that, were
such an institution once established, its ultimate success
might be considered as almost certain, — and that those
who should acquire a taste for the arts might " inspire
the same love and relish for the beautiful in those that
are near them, and they in others." The very fact that
there was then no other academy for the arts in Scot-
land, seems to have operated powerfully in inducing him
to commence the undertaking. The field was entirely
unoccupied, and those who were willing to encourage
the rising institutions of their country, could not plead
the number or variety of those which required their
patronage, as an excuse for withholding their assistance
from it. He had, besides, hopes of meeting even with
royal patronage — hopes, however, which were soon after
blasted by the untimely death of the Prince of Wales.

Two plans seem to have been proposed for the support
of the academy. The first was, to submit the scheme to
some person of rank; but this idea was, after mature
consideration, abandoned. The second, to use Foulis'
own words, was " to communicate it to some merchants
of spirit, and to represent it to them as a finer kind of
manufacture, that would take a longer time to come to
a bearing and produce profit, but that in the end would
make all amends for the delay, by affording more ample

17<3 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

profits, because the manufactures were not produced
from dear materials, and the productions were considered
not so much according to the quantity of labour they
contained, as according to the degree of genius and art
well conducted.' ' This plan seems to have been adopted,
but nothing farther is known of the academy till 1759,
when the following " Proposal for encouraging by Sub-
scription an Academy for Painting and Sculpture," was
inserted in the Scots Magazine. It appears to have
been issued the year before.

" Proposal. — The productions of Mr. Foulis' Academy
being exposed to view at Edinburgh in the shop of Mr.
Robert Fleming, and at Glasgow in the gallery ap-
pointed for them in the College ; It is proposed, that
such gentlemen as are willing to promote this design,
shall advance certain sums annually, for any number of
years they shall think proper ; during which time they
are to chuse, among the Prints, Designs, Paintings,
Models, or Casts, which are the production of this Aca-
demy, such lots as may amount to the value of the sums
they have advanced. The Subscribers shall have a
receipt for the sums respectively paid by them,- signed
either by Mr. Foulis at Glasgow, or Mr. Fleming, his
Trustee, at Edinburgh — Gentlemen may withdraw their
subscriptions when they please."

It appears from a letter prefixed to this proposal, that
Foulis had already experienced much difficulty in the
selection of proper teachers, and that he had to contend
with the predilections of the nation for the works of

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 177

foreign artists ; so much so, that although the produc-
tions of the academy had now become numerous, he
found it no easy matter to dispose of them to any ad-
vantage. He had now several students, some of whom
had made considerable progress. While employed at
Glasgow, they seem to have received such wages as they
might have got had they followed a mechanical employ-
ment ; and if they exhibited sufficient marks of genius,
they were sent abroad to study at the expense of the .
academy. The first of those who went abroad in this
manner, was a young man of the name of Maxwell, who
died soon after his arrival at Rome. The second was
William Cochrane, who, after having given sufficient
proofs of his genius at Glasgow, was sent to the continent,
where he remained for five years, principally at Rome,
and under the celebrated Gavin Hamilton, a native of the
town of Lanark. " I am greatly obliged to you," says
Robert Foulis in a letter to a Mr. Yorke, a gentleman
who had treated Cochrane with great courtesy, — " I am
greatly obliged to you for the kind manner in which you
received Willy Cochrane, for the recommendation you
honoured him with, and above all for your procuring
for him a safe passage in a man-of-war, where he met
with the greatest civilitie and kindness on your account,
and arrived at Naples free of all expense. I am per-
suaded, at his return, he will be a history painter, of a
rank to do honour to his benefactors and his country.
The Academy is now coming into a state of tolerable
maturity. We have modelling, engraving, original his-
12

178 CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO.

tory-painting and portrait-painting, — all in a reputable
degree of perfection. In the morning our more advanced
students sketch historical subjects from Plutarch's Lives,
and other ancient books. The day is employed in paint-
ing and engraving, and by the younger scholars in
drawing. In the evening they draw three designs a
week after a model, and other three, after casts of plas-
ter from the Antique."

Cochrane ultimately returned to Glasgow, where he
practised as a portrait painter for many years. Attach-
ment to an aged mother, induced him to remain there,
and consequently he never rose to that eminence which
he might otherwise have attained. He died in October,
1785, at the early age of forty-seven; and, by the per-
mission of the magistrates, a marble tablet was erected
to his memory in the choir of the cathedral.

The last person sent abroad by the academy was
Archibald Maclauchlane, who was subsequently married
to a daughter of Robert Foulis. One of the best copies
by Maclauchlane, while at Rome, was from Raphael's
celebrated picture of the School of Athens. " This
work," says the late Lord Buchan, in a notice of the
Glasgow Academy, "fell into the hands of a dealer,
where it was much injured, and afterwards through
neglect almost quite destroyed."

Of the transactions at the academy we have but little
information. The following extracts from letters, written
at different periods, contain almost all that is known.
The first was written in 1753 or 1754: —

CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO. 179

" The Magazines of Vertu have not yet escaped the
dangers of the seas, but those that have arrived answer
the expectations of the public, so as to excite an universal
curiosity. The Saint Cecilian supports his character as
an original of Raphael, and the Carrying to the Tomb,
an original by the same master, is one of the noblest
pieces of painting I ever saw. The Duke of Hamilton
having generously offered us the liberty of copying or
engraving any of his pictures, the painter is still there.
He finished first a copy of the Supper of Emmaiis, by
Titian, and his copy is esteemed a faithful and beautiful
representation of the original. The next picture he
attempted was the most celebrated picture in Scotland,
— Daniel in the Den of Lions, — the size of life, an
original picture by Rubens, for which it is said the
family received a thousand guineas.* This picture, by
reason of its great dimensions, cou'd not be copy'd with-
out making a thoro' trial of the abilities of the copyist,
which obliged him to copy at a great distance from the
original, and this is so well approved that I have not
heard one that has seen it, that has not declared great
satisfaction. It was finished a few days ago, and

* The following entry relative to the purchase of this copy is
found in a Diary kept by the Messrs. Foulis: — " Glascuae, October,
1767: — Jacobus Coutts, Esq., Mebr. Parliamenti pro urbe Edin-
burgo, ac eminens Banker Londini, visitabat Academlam hie, ac
emit a Rob. et And. Foulis, picturas supra valorem £100 Sterl.,
inter quas emit picturam Danielis in specu Leonum, inagna: formse
pret. 50 Guineas."

180 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

placed up in the Duke's gallery on his birth-day. I have
been assured by several that were present, that it gave
universal satisfaction to a great company of nobility and
gentry who were present. He has now begun to copy a
picture of a treaty between England and Germany, or
Flanders, in Queen Elizabeth's time. This picture is
not only valuable as a piece of painting, but as a piece
of history, and for the portraits of so many celebrated
persons, all whose names are on the picture. It belonged
to the Earl of Sunderland, and was made a present of
by him to the then Earl of Hamilton. The story is,
that my Lord Sunderland gave him the choice of all his
pictures ; not expecting that he would have chosen that
one, he offered him his choice of any other two to part
with it. The next we propose to copy in Hamilton is a
portrait of the Earl of Danby, by Vandyke ; but before
that is done, I am determined to have him return to
Glasgow, to work after nature and Raphael, and in the
beginning of winter to expose all that is hitherto done
to public view, in order to excite emulation, and to have
some little prizes for drawing. We have one scholar
already, from whom we expect reputation and good
service. Our engraver is employ 'd in doing a full-
length portrait of the Duke of Argyle : as it is large, —
all done with the graver, — and a great deal of work in
several parts of it, I don't expect to see it published
before winter. If its appearance on paper be suitable
to its appearance on copper, it will be a masterpiece."

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 181

An imperfect letter, addressed to a nobleman, in Feb-
ruary, 1764, gives the following account of the labours
of the students: —

" We have lately cast off a few setts of the principal
prints we have engraved : They wou'd make a volume
between 60 and 70 sheets of royal paper, the full breadth
of the sheet. Charles Cordiner has made three draw-
ings,— -two after the ruins of the castle of Bothwell, and
one after the Castle of Crookston, with the Ewe Tree,
which I have caused to be neatly etched, and put his
name to them as y* drawer. He is now able to make a
good copy of any picture, and I propose to try him soon
at portraits. We are succeeding pretty well in that
branch. The portraits of my Lord and Lady Crlen-
cairn, the two young ladies, Lady Dorothy Primrose,
and others which we have done, among which are several
full-lengths, have been generally commended."

Nothing is known of the progress of the academicians
at a later date, except what Foulis himself has said in
the preface to the catalogue of pictures, in 1776.

" The Essays in Landscape that were done by Robert
Paul, a little before his death, have that simplicity which
promises superior excellence. His view of the west
street, called the Trongate of Glasgow, is the most
capital, as it is the last of his works, and was finished
after his death by William Buchanan.

" There are a considerable number of the prints in
Raphael's bible done by the late William Buchanan,
which shows his ability as a drawer and engraver. His

182 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

Paul preaching at Athens, and the other Cartoons he
engraved, and last of all, Raphael's Transfiguration,
which he had nearly finished when he died, done from
the picture reversed in a mirror, are convincing proofs
of his merit.

" Nor can I neglect on this occasion to do justice to
James Mitchell, who, although the nearness of his eight
disqualified him for a common profession, yet in a few
weeks made a surprising progress, and his engravings,
after he attained experience, have been favourably
received by the public. Several of his performances in
Raphael's bible are much superior, both in conception
and execution, to Chaperon. His print of Daniel in the
Den of Lions, after Rubens' picture in his Grace the
Duke of Hamilton's collection, has been well received.
He engraved, also, four of the Cartoons, Mount Par-
nassus, and the School of Athens, and has laboured with
success both after Raphael and Corregio."

" The Essays in original history-painting that have
been finished are not numerous; but there are some
which were done at Rome by Messieurs Cochrane and
M'Lauchlane, that do them honour, although their
manners are so different that their works cannot be
compared with propriety. There are some drawings
and pictures by David Allan, before he went abroad,
that are done with invention and spirit, and are surpris-
ing at so early a period."

The last letter on this subject which we shall insert,
was written by Robert Foulis, to Lord Mountstuart, in

CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO. 183

1776, on the occasion of his arrival in London to dis-
pose of his collection :-—

"Robert Foulis, Printer to the University of Glas-
gow, presents his humble respects to Lord Mountstuart,
to acquaint his Lordship, that he presumes to give him
this trouble, encouraged by Colonel Edmonstone, by
Mr. Thomas Kennedy, his nephew, and by Mr. Camp-
bell of Shawfield. The circumstance of the death of his
brother and other friends, and his own advancement to
the extremity of life having made it proper that he
should put an end to his labours in the service of the
Fine Arts, and dispose of his collections : in that view
he has brought to London his Prints, Drawings, and
Pictures. Three nights' sale of the Prints are in a
catalogue that comes along with this : the whole would
have been continued, but Mr. Sandford's engagements
permitted no more, and he was of opinion that it was too
many for the interest of the proprietor, as it was so late
in the year. His collection, which will likewise be dis-
posed of, of Drawings, is very numerous, and contains
capital designs of the leading masters and their dis-
ciples of every school. He printed a catalogue of his
Pictures before he left Glasgow, containing descriptions
and critical remarks, which were made when in view of
the Pictures, one of which he has sent by the bearer,
which he hopes Lord Mountstuart will be so good as to
accept. He will find the collection made in system, and
as the collector believed the Roman school enjoyed more
advantages than any other, and Raphael the greatest

184 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

master and most amiable genius that ever any of the
schools possessed, so he accordingly directed his ambition
to acquire as many pictures and drawings of Raphael
as he could possibly discover by the most diligent search.
What success he had has appeared to those who have
been able and willing to examine the pictures; the
whole makes a progress of Raphael from his early times
to his last period, and on that account are curious, as
they show his gradual progress and changes of manner ;
but there are five or six so capital, that I have never
heard of any collection on sale that contained so many.
Neither his pictures in the Vatican, nor those procured
by princes, nor those fixed in public places, have ever
entered into commerce, which renders it difficult to pro-
cure capital pictures of this master. Yet in this collec-
tion will be found, upon a strict examination, an original
of the carrying of our Saviour to the Tomb, more per-
fect than the Borghese; an original of the Saint Cecilia
on a different ground from the Bologna, the one being a
landscape with a blue sky, and the other completely
dark, without landscape, and the figures much improved,
particularly in expression. Also, a picture of Theagenes
and Chariclea in the Temple of Diana, of wonderful
grace, and of which I have never heard of any repeti-
tion ; the Resurrection of our Saviour, of which the first
essay, which is not so compleat in grouping or expression,
has been engraved. But there is one picture more, the
Transfiguration, not so large as the Roman picture, but
in many other respects better ; your Lordship will find

CHRONICLES OF ST. MTJNGO. 185

the differences in the catalogue, and the grounds of its
priority, which has been proved to the satisfaction of
painters, and many excellent judges, and is still sub-
mitted to the reviews of all who choose to examine. I
foresee, from the present unfavourable circumstances,
that these pictures will be transported to some foreign
country, whereas, were they joyned to the Cartoons,
they would be found to have merit equal to theirs, and
to be preferable as finished pictures before patterns for
tapestry. Forgive this trouble from one who has been
long honoured with the patronage of Lord Bute, although
distance and other circumstances have made him in a
manner forgot."

Before the pictures could be prepared for exhibition,
the season was too far advanced. " All the people of
rank," says Foulis, in a letter to his son, " or at least the
generality, are out of town, and the exhibition is dwin-
deled even to less than what it was." Notwithstanding
considerable other discouragements, and contrary to the
advice of Christie, the auctioneer, the pictures were
sold off, and, as might have been expected, at a grievous
disadvantage. Whether Foulis had over-estimated the
value of his pictures, or depended too much on the
friendship and patronage of those on whom he thought he
had some claim, are questions it would be now difficult
to answer. Professor Richardson, however, has stated
from authority, that a picture — sold for £25 — after-
wards brought £500. Two of the paintings belonging

186 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

to the academy were purchased by the university, and are
now in their possession. One of them was considered
by so good a judge as the late Sir Henry Raeburn
to have been the production, if not of Raphael himself
at an early period, at least of one of his scholars. The
remainder of the pictures are to be found scattered over
the various collections throughout the country. The
catalogue of the whole is still extant.

Harassed by disappointment, the spirit of Foulis was
now jaded and broken. Although many friends gathered
around him in the metropolis, to cheer him and solace
him in his day of misfortune, his natural buoyancy of
temper had now fled for ever. It is worthy of mention,
that our celebrated countryman Dr. Hunter, then in
the zenith of his reputation as a physician, was among
the foremost to do him honour. When that individual
left his native country for the British metropolis, a poor
and friendless adventurer, Foulis had given him a letter
of introduction to an eminent teacher of anatomy in
London, also a Scotsman — the celebrated Dr. Douglas,
— who, having engaged the youth as his assistant, laid
the foundation of his future fame. Of the many noble-
men and gentlemen of distinction who paid Foulis the
most marked attention while in London, one on a
certain occasion having held out a hope that he should
be introduced to the sovereign, " I will never be in the
presence of any king on earth," replied the old man; —
" I will soon be in the presence of the King of kings."

.CHRONICLES OP ST. MITNGO. 187

Nor was his assertion unprophetic, for having taken
leave of London, he expired (as already mentioned,)
at Edinburgh, on the way back to his native city.

Although the academy has always and deservedly
been considered a failure, it was the means of raising
David Allan, the Scottish Hogarth, and James Tassie,
probably the first modelist of his time, from obscurity.
In regard to the last of these, it deserves particularly
to be noticed, that his first relish for the Fine Arts arose
from visiting the academy on a Glasgow Fair Day,
when the pictures were exposed gratis to public view.

It may be here mentioned, that in the prosecution of
their speculation, the Messrs. Foulis were ably assisted
by three highly respectable merchants of the city — Mr.
Campbell, Mr. Glassford, and Mr. Ingrain — who were
also participators in the ultimate loss.

To one living at the present day, who takes the trouble
to look back to the history of art in Great Britain, and
to the various attempts made by enlightened individuals
to encourage its cultivation, the scheme of Foulis must
appear in a very favourable light. At the commence-
ment of last century, and up to the period when the
Glasgow Academy was founded, the public taste, in all
departments of the Fine Arts, was at the lowest ebb.
Since that time, however, a new direction has been
given to the public mind, and the taste of the people in
general has made an advance which may almost be
regarded as incredible. It is, perhaps, not too much to
say, that the example which was set by the Glasgow

188 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. .

Academy was of a highly beneficial tendency in diffus-
ing this refinement throughout the kingdom.

No person can see in a stronger light than the Foulises
did, the immense importance of giving to artists an
opportunity of making their works known to the public ;
and be more thoroughly aware that all plans for the
improvement of art must be entirely nugatory, unless
means be afforded them of disposing of their productions.
Their scheme to promote this effect was faulty in this
respect, that while it no doubt answered the purpose of
bringing the productions of the academicians promi-
nently before public notice, it at the same time in-
volved such an extent of pecuniary outlay, as altogether
to preclude the possibility of its long existence. The
country was at that time poor, and even with all the
great increase which has since taken place in its resour-
ces, such an attempt, if again set on foot by private
individuals, would be found to be wholly impracticable.

But however much the Academy may have failed in
the hands of the Foulises, their laudable example ought
to incite the enlightened among modern citizens of
Glasgow, in some measure to follow in their footsteps in
the prosecution of a scheme similar to that which they
had so much at heart ; and in doing so, they must bear
in mind, that the foundation of excellence in every
branch of art must be laid in the taste of those by whom
its productions are to be judged; and that unless the
expectations of the public are formed upon a very high
standard, the efforts of artists are not likely to realize

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 189

them. From the number of paintings, both ancient
and modern, which are now purchased in this country,
it is evident that an ample disposition exists to encour-
age works of art ; but it is by no means equally clear
that the public, generally, are aware of the qualities
'in which its excellence consists, or that their taste is
raised to that high standard which can alone lead to
its ultimate perfection.

It can never be too often repeated, that it is by the
constant and habitual study of the great works of art
that the public taste is matured, and that any other
means of developing this quality, either in an individual
or in society, are utterly chimerical. It is as impossible
to suppose that a people, however well informed they
may be in other respects, can at once, and without any
previous study, be awakened to a sense of the beauties
of art, as to suppose that a nation of savages could at
once be made sensible of the excellence of Pope or
Milton; and experience demonstrates, that a nation,
the most intelligent in other respects, may, from never
having had an opportunity of studying the great models
of antiquity, be as utterly incapable of appreciating the
merits of sculpture or painting, as the most ignorant
peasants would be of understanding the theorems of
Newton or Laplace.

190

CHAPTER VIII.

MEMORABLE RIOTS IN GLASGOW.

" I'll read you matter deep and dangerous.''

SHAKSPEARE.

" Crudelis ubique

Luctus ubique pavor, et plurima mortis imago."

VIRG. JEn. ii. 368.

NOTHING now-a-days seems BO uncivilized-like as
riots ; yet in most cases such, when they do occur, are
absolutely necessary in order to produce certain good
results which otherwise could not be attained ; — and in
the main, may be regarded as the natural effects of
improved intelligence among a people. The Refor-
mation was one of the first-fruits of increasing know-
ledge in Europe. The new opinions made their way
into all its most civilized countries; and neither per-
secution nor the hostile sword, were ever able to arrest
their progress, far less to extirpate them. The refor-
mation in religion paved the way for the progress of
civil freedom; the political institutions of the age did
not escape that spirit of free inquiry, which had exposed

CHRONICLES OF ST..MUNGO. 191

the corruptions of religion. Hence arose another
source of disturbance ; and hi some countries, the con-
flict of the new opinions occasioned a long era of political
convulsions. It was natural that power should be found
arrayed against the progress of these opinions, and that
great opposition should be made to them. But they
always triumphed. Every fresh conflict of the people
with their rulers gave them new privileges, till at length
in this country they got all they asked, and civil freedom
became the creed both of the king and people. All
history shows that power has never yefr been able to
arrest the progress of human reason. We have 'often
seen force employed to reduce mankind from the power
of reason and to bring them under the influence of old
prejudices which they had resolved to cast off1, but in no
case have they succeeded. We cannot make mankind
retrograde ; and in an enlightened age this experiment
is even more hopeless than ever. Proud man " dressed
in a little brief authority," always resorts to force as the
favourite expedient; — he will not yield, — he will not
accommodate. The struggle thus commences of power
against opinion ; a long era of oppression takes place,
in which enthusiastic suffering keeps pace with the
violence of persecution ; and as the light of knowledge
spreads, power at last falls in the struggle, the unpitied
victim of its own folly and blindness.

Such is man with respect to man, and such is the
rationale of all riots, — greater or lesser. Without a
manifestation to some degree of that peculiar state of

192 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

temper, which, when aroused, forces the human mind to
extremity, no great good has ever heen achieved. Moral-
ists may talk, — and talk truly — of intellectual energy as
the only weapon fitted to overpower error, but unless
such energy be associated with somewhat of physical
determination, it will be aimless.

The citizens of Glasgow, from the earliest times, have
been famed for their opposition to what they conceived
to be injustice; — and in their assertion of what they
regarded as their rights, they have always been the last
to flinch from duty. The streets of St. Mungo have often
witnessed the contentions of opposing factions " met in
deadly feud." No question of moment ever agitated the
councils of the country, but was made in our city a subject
of especial discussion; and ere the final seal of ratification
could be set to any political enactment, the men of
Glasgow felt themselves bound to have a " riot" on the
subject. Such was the rule in olden times, and such
even in the nineteenth century abundantly obtains, for
probably in no city of the empire, at the present day, are
there to be found so many rabid party politicians, ready
at any moment, manfully to dispute with each other at
arm's length, the rectitude or injustice of an " Act of
Parliament."

In taking a review of the various riots of importance
which have ever taken place in Glasgow, we cannot but
remark that but in very few instances have the questions
from which they arose, been of so trivial an interest as
not to warrant some demonstration of popular feeling.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 193

Seldom, indeed, have the riots of Glasgow been any
other than a struggling for civil and political rights
against despotism and superstition. Our forefathers
were emphatically the champions of a national cause ;
and though they had not always the most refined notions
of rational liberty, they nevertheless made a firm and
consistent stand in its defence. Their efforts have left
a noble monument to their posterity, of what unshrink-
ing fortitude may accomplish. When we reflect on the
many invaluable privileges which have been gained to
us by indomitable perseverance, let us not forget the
men by whom they were secured. Barbarous nations
admire the heroic deeds of their forefathers, though they
inherit no other benefit than the glory of their achieve-
ments. And are not these entitled to our gratitude, to
whose patriotic zeal we are indebted for so many bless-
ings, civil and religious? If it is reckoned ungenerous
and unmanly to tread with insult on a fallen adversary,
what are we to think of those who wantonly revile the
virtues of their ancestors, or load with reproaches the
memory of their BENEFACTORS?

While several of the rencontres detailed in the follow-
ing pages, are not to be regarded, as strictly speaking,
" riots," or the ebullition of feeling on the part of the
populace, but rather as national conflicts in which the
contending parties were the partisans of two opposing
factions in the state, still as they belong more properly
to this, than to any other part of the present work, they
are here assigned a place.

K

194 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

The first bloody engagement of which we have in
history any account as having taken place in Glasgow,

A BATTLE BETWEEN THE TROOPS OF SIR WM. WALLACE
AND THOSE OF THE ENGLISH GENERAL, EARL PERCY.

In the year 1300, Edward I. of England, of his own
authority, took upon him to appoint Anthony Beik, a
priest under his immediate influence, to the See of Glas-
gow. Earl Percy, about the same time, had usurped the
military government of the Western District of Scotland,
and taken possession of the Episcopal Palace. Sir Wm.
Wallace, a patriotic Scottish chief, on receiving intelli-
gence of these bold invasions, formed the determination
of ridding both the city of Glasgow and Scotland, of
the English usurpers. Having committed the town
and fortress of Ayr, where he was then residing, to the
care of the inhabitants, and being joined by his uncle,
Adam Wallace of Richardtown, and by the Laird of
Auchinleck, and others, they formed a squadron of three
hundred cavalry, and marching from Ayr during the
night, arrived in the morning at the Bridge of Glasgow,
which at that time was constructed of timber. After
crossing the river, they drew up their little army on the
ground now the site of the Bridgegate-street, and form-
ing themselves into two divisions, one under the com-
mand of Wallace, and the other under Auchinleck, the
word was given, " Bear up the Bishop's tail." Expect-
ing that Percy would dispute their approach to the

CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO. 195

Bishop's Palace, Auchinleck's division, consisting of 140
men, took a circuitous route eastward, by the ground
now occupied by the Calton, Barracks, and Dry gate,
with the design of attacking Percy in the rear, while
Sir William marched directly up the High-Street, to
meet the English forces, which consisted of 1000 men
arrayed in armour. The engagement took place near
where the College now stands, between the English and
the division under Wallace. While the action was still
doubtful, Auchinleck, by a forced inarch, suddenly made
his appearance in the rear of the English, and, taking
them by surprise, succeeded in dividing their column,
which Wallace no sooner perceived than he rushed for-
ward to the spot where Percy was, and with one stroke
of his broad sword cleft his head in two. The rout
of the English now became general, nor did Bishop
Beik deem it safe to remain behind. Notwithstanding
this victory, which had been obtained by stratagem, sur-
prise, and valour, Wallace did not judge it expedient to
take up his quarters in Glasgow, as neither the old
Druidical Grove connected with the church of the Black-
Friars, nor the forest beyond the Molendinar Burn,
would have afforded a safe retreat, in case of necessity.
Sir William and his brave comrades therefore set out
for Bothwell; where they gave battle to a party of
Northumbrians, at that time esteemed the best soldiers
in England, and gained a second victory, although
exhausted with fatigue and much inferior in number.

196 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

ANTE-REFORMATION TUMULT— EXECUTION OF TWO
EARLY REFORMERS.

The first preachers against popery in Scotland,
appeared during the reign of James V., and were more
eminent for zeal and piety than for learning. Their
acquaintance with the principles of the reformation was
partial, and at second hand; some of them had been
educated in England ; all of them had borrowed their
notions from the books published there ; and in the first
dawn of the light they did not venture many steps
before their leaders. On the first appearance of these
heralds of the truth, Cardinal Beaton, — the first church-
man of the land, — held also the reins of civil government
in his hands. Possessed thus of supreme power in the
state, and endowed by nature with an ambitious and
dominant spirit, he resorted to every means to crush the
doctrines which menaced so fatal a subversion of his
authority. His numerous acts of cruelty are well known
to readers of Scottish history.

In the year 1527, during the incumbency of Arch-
bishop Dunbar, so widely had the obnoxious views spread
in the diocese of Glasgow, that it was deemed necessary
to make an example of their chief promoters in the
western part of the country. The persons pitched upon
for this purpose, were Jerome Russell, a grey-friar, and
John Kennedy, from the county of Ayr, a young man
scarcely exceeding eighteen years of age. The arch-
bishop, who was a man naturally of a humane disposition,
and therefore incapable of the condemnation of the

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 197

accused, was superseded in this office by three individuals
deputed from Edinburgh, of the names of John Lowden,
Andrew Oliphant, and friar Maltman, each most
bigotedly attached to the bloody tenets of their faith.

When brought before their judges, Kennedy betrayed
some weakness, and would gladly have saved his life by
denying the points laid to his charge ; but encouraged
by Russell, he fell upon his knees, and said, " Wonder-
ful, O God, is thy love and mercy towards me a miser-
able wretch ! for even now, when I would have denied
thee, and thy Son the Lord Jesus Christ, my only
Saviour, and so have thrown myself into everlasting
condemnation, thou, by thine own hand, hast pulled me
back from the bottom of hell, and given me to feel most
heavenly comfort, which hath removed the ungodly fear
that before oppressed my mind ; now I defy death ; do
what you please, I praise God I am ready."

Friar Russell reasoned long and learnedly against his
accusers : but being answered by Maltman and Oliphant
only with railing and abuse, he cried out, " This is your
hour and power of darkness ; now you sit as judges, and
we stand wrongfully condemned; but the day cometh
which will show our innocency, and you shall see your
own blindness to your everlasting confusion ; go on and
fulfil the measure of your iniquity." At which words
the Bishop being greatly moved, and perhaps dreading
the fate of friar Campbel, insisted that these executions
hurt the cause of the church, and that it would be better
to save the lives of the men, and take some other course

198 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

with them ; but those who were sent from Edinburgh to
assist him, told him expressly, that if he followed any
milder course, than that which had been taken in the
metropolis, they could not esteem him the church's friend;
upon which he consented to their condemnation, and
they were delivered over to the secular power to be
executed.

All the time the fire was being prepared, Russell
comforted his companion, saying, " Fear not, brother,
for he is more mighty that is in us, than he who is in
the world ; the pain which we shall suffer is short and
light, but our joy and consolation shall never have an
end; death cannot destroy us, for it is destroyed already
by him for whose sake we suffer ; therefore let us strive
to enter by the same straight way, which our Saviour
hath taken before us." On being brought to the place
of execution, which was at the east end of the cathedral,
they spoke little; but commending their souls to God
after they were tied to the stake, endured the fire
patiently, without any expressions of fear or amazement.

These were the only two individuals who suffered in the
diocese of Glasgow ; their execution, though it intimidated
the people for some time, yet in spite of the fear of such
dreadful punishments, and in contempt of the acts of
parliament passed against heretics in the year 1540, the
reformed doctrines gained many proselytes every day,
till at last, in bishop Beaton's time, they proceeded to
open acts of violence, and, with a zeal peculiar to the
Scottish nation, overturned in a very few years that form

CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO. 199

of church government, and that system of church policy
and opinion, which had cost the labour of many ages to
build up.

BATTLE OF THE BUTTS.

On the death of James V., which happened in the
year 1544, Mary Stuart, his daughter, an infant of only
eight days old, succeeded to the throne. Cardinal
Beaton was, in the mean time, appointed Eegent;
but he had not long held the reigns of government,
till he was compelled to resign in favour of James
Hamilton, Earl of Arran, afterwards Duke of Chatel-
herault, &c., the second person in the kingdom, and
the nearest hen* to the throne after Mary. The cere-
mony of crowning the Queen having been performed in
Stirling Castle, she was carried to Dumbarton, where
she embarked for France, in July, 1548, on pretence of
a visit, to her maternal uncles, the Princes of Lorraine.

As the new Regent was by no means popular, the
Queen Dowager joined Beaton to oppose him, and
craved aid from France. They also invited Matthew
Stuart, Earl of Lennox, who was then in France, to
come over and assist them to reduce the power of the
Regent ; but no sooner did the Earl of Arran leam that
Lennox had accepted the invitation, than he entered
into an accommodation with the Dowager and Beaton,
by which the latter had the chief sway in the govern-
ment.

The situation of affairs being thus changed, Lennox

200 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

soon found that the Cardinal no longer valued his ser-
vices ; he therefore determined to take the earliest oppor-
tunity to check the growing ambition of this haughty
prelate. The king of France, ignorant of what had
taken place, sent a supply of 30,000 crowns to Lennox,
then in the Castle of Dumbarton, to aid the Queen
Dowager's party. Under existing circumstances, he
did not hesitate to appropriate the money to a very
different purpose; which so exasperated the Cardinal,
that he persuaded the Regent to levy an army and
march to Glasgow, with the design of surprising him,
and seizing the money. Lennox, however, being apprized
of their intention, quickly raised an army of 10,000 men,
and marching from Glasgow to Leith, offered battle to
the Cardinal; but the intriguing priest not being pre-
pared to oppose so formidable a force, artfully succeeded
in obtaining a kind of truce. Lennox perceiving that
the parley was meant to ensnare him, returned to Glas-
gow, and having garrisoned the Bishop's Castle, pro-
ceeded to Dumbarton. The Regent, in the mean time,
• having mustered a numerous army in Stirling, took the
route to Glasgow, and on his arrival, stormed the Castle
with brass guns.* On the tenth day of the seige, a
truce was proposed, and the garrison agreed to surrender,
on condition of receiving quarter and indemnity ; but
no sooner had they opened the gates, and delivered up
their arms, than they were all massacred, two persons

* Buchanan's Hist, of Scot.

CHKONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 201

only escaping. Under these circumstances, Lennox
could no longer contend with his adversaries : with the
assistance of the Earl of Glencairn, however, he de-
termined to strike one desperate blow. Having mus-
tered all their vassals and adherents, they intended to
have marched to Clydesdale, and laid waste the property
of the Hamiltons. This scheme coming opportunely
to the knowledge of the Regent, he determined to pre-
vent the enterprise by taking possession of Glasgow.
Glencairn, however, was beforehand with him, for, on
the approach of the Regent, he drew out his forces,
amounting to about 800 men, composed of his vassals
and the citizens of Glasgow, to a place called the Butts,
where the "weapon shaw" was performed previous to
the Union, — now the site of the Barracks. With this
small party he courageously attacked the Regent, beat
the first rank back upon the second, and took the brass
ordnance they had brought against him. In the heat of
the battle, while victory was doubtful, Robert Boyd, of
the Kilmarnock family, arrived with a small party of
horse, and having valiantly thrust himself into the midst
of the combat, decided the fate of the day ; but Glen-
cairn's men, apprehending that a great additional force
had arrived, fled with precipitation. In this engagement
there were about 300 slain on both sides. The Regent
immediately entered the city, and, being exasperated
against the citizens, gave it up to his soldiers to plunder,
which they did so completely, that, having carried away

202 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUXGO.

or destroyed every thing moveable, they pulled down the
very doors and windows of the houses.

REFORMATION RIOTS.

The emancipation of Scotland from a state of civil,
as well as of religious bondage, the most galling and
oppressive, perhaps, that ever perverted the judgments
or insulted the feelings of a people naturally high-spirited
and independent, — that arduous and protracted struggle,
during which the most powerful energies of our moral
nature were called into action, — that steady and prin-
cipled resistance to inveterate and legal oppression, by
which so much national heroism and fortitude were
evolved and exercised, is a subject of no ordinary degree
of interest. And never was there a time when the
workings of that memorable epoch could be more profit-
ably studied than the present, — when the rulers of this
world, combining together in council, and setting their
faces against the influx of public opinion, — when hostile
swords, so to speak, have just been unscabbarded and
nourished in the midst of a kingdom, struggling for
its natural and well-earned rights and privileges, — when
the slogan cry of "No innovation" has been raised in
opposition to reformation and freedom, — in such a crisis
it is at once a manly and a Christian part to stand by the
wayside, and over the march of infatuated hosts to read
the admonitory page of history, — to point to that inevit-
able hour, when all previous effort, and obstinacy, and

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 203

infatuation, shall only serve to accelerate the approach
and increase the violence of the recoil. But this anti-
reformation spirit has unhappily long pervaded our
native land. There are amongst us, we regret to say,
Scotsmen, from whose hearts the revolution of a few
years has effaced every grateful impression, — men who,
with more than Verona infatuation, have ventured to
impeach the saviours of their country, — the martyrs in
the cause of all that is dear or valuable to civilized or
rational natures, — of motives the most iniquitous, and of
conduct the most base and degrading.

The individual who pauses seriously over the history
of the Romish church, as it was by law established in
Scotland, previous to the period of the Reformation, —
who examines her tenets, and explores her sanctuaries,
and brings under review the characters and interests of
her teachers, — who traces the invariable connection
betwixt Papal bigotry and regal despotism, — betwixt
that tyranny which enslaves and enfeebles the mind,
and that by which the body is held in subjection, — that
individual, after having weighed the extent of moral
and political evil, arising from a religion and a govern-
ment of which ignorance, superstition, passive obedience,
and non-resistance, constituted the foundation, will be
able to estimate the debt of gratitude which is due to
the reformers.

We have premised these few remarks for the sake of
representing the conduct of those engaged in the work
of the memorable decade from 1560, in its true and

204 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

proper light ; but whilst we thus enter our defence in
their favour generally, we cannot justify their mad and
insane conduct, in demolishing all the most splendid and
stately edifices of the country.

No task appeared to the multitude more praise-worthy
than the overturning of those seats of superstition ; they
ran with emulation to perform it, and happy was the
man whose hand was more adventurous and successful
in executing a work deemed so pious. Nor did their
leaders labour to restrain this impetuous spirit of refor-
mation. Irregular and violent as its sallies were, they
tended greatly to that end which they had in view ; for,
by demolishing the monasteries throughout the king-
dom, and setting at liberty their wretched inhabitants,
they hoped to render it impossible ever to re-edify the
one, or to re-assemble the other.

The simple fact of a building being a relic of popery,
was an emphatic warrant for its demolition. The fol-
lowing is the copy of the order issued by government, at
the memorable epoch, for the destruction of our vener-
able minster: —

" To our traist friendis,

Traist friendis, after maist hearty commendacion,
we pray you fail not to pass incontinent to the kirk, (of
Glasgow, or elsewhere, as it might be) and tak down
the hail images thereof, and bring furth to the kirk-
zyard, and burn them openly. And sicklyke cast down
the altaris, and purge the kirk of all kynd of monuments

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 205

of idolatrye. And this ze fail not to do, as ze will do us
singular emplesure; and so commitis you to protection
of God.

(Signed) An. AHGYLE.

JAMES STEWAUT.

RUTHTEN.

From Edinburgh t/te XII. of Aug. 1560.

Fail not, but ze tak guid heyd that neither the dasks,
windows, nor duris, be ony ways hurt or broken, uther
glassin wark, or iron wark."

The ord*rs thus given were strictly obeyed, and too
strictly ; for, not content with demolishing chantries,
altars, and other appendages to the Cathedral, which,
from their connection with the Roman Catholic forms of
worship, it might, with more colour of justice, have
been said were monuments of idolatry, the persons
employed in the work of destruction swept away also
every sepulchral monument then in the church, except
one, that of the Stuarts of Minto, which still remains.
Nor was the defacing of the Cathedral the only work of
destruction enacted in the city. The other buildings
throughout the town, which could even in the most
remote degree be regarded as remnants of popery,
shared more or less in the general devastation. The
clergy, accustomed to lives of luxury arid indolence,
were forcibly ejected from their abodes, to seek shelter
where they could find it. It must, indeed, have been

206 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

rather a melancholy spectacle to have seen the poor
monks and friars compelled to embrace a means of sub-
sistence so forcibly contrasting with that of which they
had just been so ignominiously deprived.

But amidst these irregular proceedings, a circum-
stance, which does honour to the conduct and humanity
of the leaders of the Reformation, deserves notice.
They so far restrained the rage of their followers, and
were able so to temper their heat and zeal, that few of
the Roman Catholics were exposed to any personal
insult, and not a single man suffered death.*

It appears from the records of the town-council,
19th January, 1573, that, notwithstanding the care of
the citizens to prevent the Cathedral from being utterly
destroyed, great part of the lead, slates, and other mate-
rials of the church, had been, through the disorders of
the times, dilapidated.!

* Robertson.

+ It may perhaps be proper here to mention, that besides the
writs and archives carried away, as stated in an earlier part of this
work, by the Archbishop on his departure from this country,
all the principal relics of the cathedral being also carried away by
that dignitary, escaped the fury of the populace. A list of these,
translated from the original in the chartulary of the University,
is here appended:—

The image of Christ in gold, and those of the twelve apostles in
silver, with the whole vestments belonging to the church.

A silver cross, gilt in the upper part, and adorned with precious
stones in the lower part, with a small portion of the cross of our
Saviour!

Another silver cross, adorned with precious stones, with several
other portions of the cross of Christ!

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 207

But it was not long before a yet more serious calamity
than the destruction of the mere appendages to the
Cathedral appeared at hand. In 1579, an act having
been passed by the estates, at the desire of the assembly,
for demolishing the churches left up to that time unde-
stroyed, the effects of it, Spotiswood informs us, were,
that " forthwith ensued a pitiful devastation of churches
and church buildings throughout all parts of the realm ;
for every one made bold to put to their hands, the meaner

A silver casket, gilt, containing the hair of the blessed virgin !

A square silver coffer, containing several of the scourges of St.
Kentigern, and St. Thomas of Canterbury, and a portion of the
hair garment worn by the former saint!

Another silver casket, gilt, containing part of the skin of Bar-
tholomew, the apostle!!

A silver casket containing a bone of St. Ninian!

A silver casket, containing part of the girdle of the Virgin Mary! !

A crystal case, containing a bone of some saint and of St.
Magdalene!!

A small phial of crystal, containing the milk of the blessed
Virgin, and a part of the manger of Christ!!!

A small phial of a saffron colour, containing the fluid which
formerly flowed from the tomb of St. Mungo!

A phial, containing several of the bones of St. Eugene, and of
St. Blaze!

A phial, containing a part of the tomb of St. Catherine the
virgin!

A small hide, with a portion of the cloak of St. Martin!

A precious hide, with portions of the bodies of St. Kentigern,
and St. Thomas of Canterbury! !

Some other hides, with bones of saints and other relics!

A wooden chest containing many small relics.

Two linen bags, with the bones of St. Kentigern, St. Thanew,
and other deceased saints! !

208 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

sort imitating the example of the greater, and those who
were in authority; no difference was made, but all the
churches either defaced or pulled to the ground; the holy
vessels, and whatsoever else men could make gain of, as
timber, lead, and bells, were put to sale ; the very sepul-
chres of the dead were not spared; the registers of the
church, and bibliothecs cast into the fire ; in a word, all
was ruined ; and what had escaped in the time of the
first tumult, did now undergo the common calamity; and
the preachers animated the people to follow these bar-
barous proceedings, by crying out, that the places where
idols had been worshipped, ought, by the law of God, to
be destroyed, and that the sparing of them was the
reserving of things execrable.

" The execution of this act for the west, was commit-
ted to the Earls of Arran, Argyle, and Glencairn ; and
they, at the intercession of the inhabitants of Glasgow,
had spared the Cathedral ; but in this year Mr. Melvil,
principal of the College, having for a great while soli-
cited the magistrates to have it pulled down, and build
three churches with the materials, they at last granted
him liberty to do so ; but when he, by beat of drum, was
assembling the workmen for that purpose, the crafts (who
justly looked upon the Cathedral as one of the greatest
ornaments of their town) ran immediately to arms, and
informed Mr. Melvil, that if any person presumed to pull
down a single stone of the church, he should that moment
be buried under it ; and so much were they incensed at
this attempt to destroy this ancient building, that if the

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 209

magistrates had not come and appeased them, they would
have put to death Melvil with all his adherents. A com-
plaint was hereupon made by the ministers, and the
leaders of the insurrection were summoned to appeal-
before the council at Edinburgh ; where the king, at that
time not thirteen years of age, approved of what the
crafts had done, and commanded the ministers to pro-
ceed no farther in that affair ; saying, that too many
churches had already been destroyed, and that he would
not tolerate any more abuses of that kind."

According not only to the Archbishop whose words
we have quoted, but to unvarying tradition, it was to
the pressing instance of Melvil and certain other minis-
ters of the city, that Captain Crawford of Jordanhill,
then Provost of Glasgow, and his colleagues in the
magistracy, yielded, when they gave their reluctant
assent to the demolition of the sacred pile. The chief
argument made use of by the over and ill judgingly
zealous clergymen in question, appears to have been, that
the church was a monument of idolatry, and the only
unruined cathedral in the kingdom.

Another story of the way in which our minster was
preserved from the destruction threatened by a furious
and fanatical mob, is not unfrequently related: — "I,"
said the wily chief magistrate of the day, to his towns-
men, eager to begin the work of desecration and demoli-
tion, " I am for pu'iug doon the auld kirk, but no till we
hae first built a new ane." The worthy Provost was
doubtless well aware, that, as over-excitement is followed

210 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

by a proportionate degree of languor, could he but then
avert the storm, there would be little danger of its again
reaching a similar pitch of vehemence.

TUMULT AT THE MARRIAGE OF QUEEN MARY.

In the year 1563, on the marriage of Mary Queen of
Scots with Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, an insurrec-
tion, headed by Hamilton, Argyle, and some other
chiefs, broke out in the west part of the country. The
king quickly collecting an army of four thousand men,
entered Glasgow, and drove forth from the city all the
insurgents, who had taken possession of it. Although
a considerable number of the citizens had joined either
standards, it is gratifying to think that little bloodshed
was the result of the collision of the parties.

BATTLE OF LANGSIDE.

In the year 1668, we find the citizens of Glasgow
arrayed under the banners of the Regent Moray, at the
field of Langside, against the adherents of Mary Queen
of Scots. That unhappy princess, whose misfortunes
were only equalled by the fortitude with which she
endured them, having escaped from her confinement in
the castle of Lochleven, fled to Hamilton. There she
was quickly joined by a great number of her friends, to
the amount of six thousand, zealous to support the cause
of their sovereign, as well as to humble, if possible, the
overgrown power of Moray.

The Regent at this time was at Glasgow, holding a

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 211

court of justice ; but no sooner did he hear of the situa-
tion of the queen, than he quickly drew his forces around
him ; while, in the mean time, he amused her by pre-
tending to hearken to some overtures that had been
made him for an accommodation. These, however, he
broke off as soon as he found himself in a situation to
take the field.

Accordingly, upon learning that Mary was determined
in a few days to leave Hamilton and pass to Dumbarton,
where it had been agreed by her followers to place her
for security, he resolved to intercept her flight and give
her battle. With this view, he drew up his army to the
amount of four thousand men, many of whom were citi-
zens of Glasgow, upon the burgh muir, to the east of the
town, a road which the Queen's army must have neces-
sarily passed, had they gone by the north side of the
Clyde.

The Queen, however, took a different route, by passing
westward on the south of the river. This, the Regent
observing, he ordered his cavalry to ford the Clyde, and
his infantry to pass the bridge of Glasgow, in order to
take possession of the hill of Langside, a little south of
the town, before the Queen's army could arrive. This
situation he had the good luck to seize, and posting his
troops in a small village, and among some gardens and
enclosures adjacent, he waited the approach of the Queen's
army, whose superiority in cavalry could be of no benefit
to them on such broken ground. The Hamiltons who
composed the vanguard of the Queen's forces, ran so

212 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

eagerly to the attack, that they put themselves out of
breath, and left the main battle far behind. The en-
counter of the spearmen was fierce and desperate, but as
the forces of the Hamiltons were exposed on the one
flank to a continued fire from a body of musqueteers,
attacked on the other by the Regent's best troops, and
not supported by the Queen's army, they were soon
obliged to give ground, and the rout immediately became
universal. Three hundred fell on the field, and nearly
four hundred were taken prisoners by the Regent, who
marched back to Glasgow, where he returned public
thanks to God for this great, and on his side almost
bloodless victory ; and, in testimony of the regard which
he had for the services of the incorporation of bakers
there, he bestowed upon them the lands of Partick, where
their mills are now built.

During this engagement, Mary stood on a hill in the
immediate vicinity. When she saw that fortune had
declared against her, she immediately took to flight,
accompanied by a few attendants, and never closed her
eyes till she arrived at the abbey of Drundrenan, in
Galloway, sixty Scottish miles from the place of battle.
Her subsequent melancholy fate is known to every reader.

SIEGE OF THE CASTLE OF GLASGOW.

The Castle of Glasgow, in the year 1570, was again
besieged by the Hamiltons and the other adherents to
the Queen's interest, and enemies to the Earl of Lennox,
who had returned from England after the murder of

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 213

the Earl of Moray, in whose place he was appointed
Regent. Aware that it was garrisoned but by a few
soldiers, that the governor was absent, and that it
was unprovided with necessaries, they intended to sur-
prise it by their sudden approach; for they came into
the town in such haste, (says Buchanan,) that they shut
out a good part of the garrison soldiers from entering ;
but being disappointed of their hopes, they began to
batter and storm it with the utmost violence. They
were, however," so warmly received by the besieged
for several days, though only twenty-four in number,
that they were obliged to retire with considerable loss.
About two days after, Sir William Drury arrived in
Glasgow with an English army, from whence he pro-
ceeded to Hamilton the castle of which place he besieged,
and having taken it, demolished it in return for the
oppressions of its proprietors.

REFRACTORY CONDUCT OF THE CITIZENS.

In the year 1648, after the unfortunate Charles I.,
who, upon his quarrel with Parliament, had taken
refuge among his native countrymen, was delivered up
by the latter to the English government, the Scots,
partly from remorse at their conduct, and partly through
indignation at the disrespectful manner in which he was
treated by the Parliamentary army, prepared for an
invasion of England. In these preparations, however,
they were disturbed by discontents and animosities
amongst themselves. Forces were ordered to be levied

214 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

throughout the country, and each district was required
to furnish a certain quota. The clergy, however, who
had all along betrayed an aversion to the king, strained
every nerve to oppose the muster ; and so far successful
were they in their endeavours, that, excited by their
discourses, several burghs became refractory, and refused
to comply with the proposition. Amongst these con-
tumacious districts was the city of Glasgow, whose
inhabitants had already felt too keenly the attempts of
the king, at the establishment of episcopacy, to be
lured by the bait now offered them to swallow. They
steadily refused, and the tumult and indignation of the
citizens was so great as to proceed almost to outrage
against such of their number as were favourable to the
scheme. To answer for their refractory conduct, the
magistrates and council were summoned before Parlia-
ment, and imprisoned several days. They were stripped
of their civic functions by an Act of Parliament, dated
llth June, 1648, and a commission was sent to the old
council, authorising them to proceed to the election of
uew magistrates. The officials thus elected, however,
did not long enjoy their situations ; for, by an Act of the
committee of estates, the old magistrates were replaced,
as having been unjustly ejected.

RELIGIOUS TUMULTS.

Our attention, in taking a retrospect of the different
riots which took place in Glasgow during the long period
which intervened between the death of the Protector

CHRONICLES OF ST. MTJNGO. 215

Cromwell, and the revolution of 1088, is principally
arrested by the fact, that with scarcely a single excep-
tion, their exciting cause was a noble adherance to the
dictates of religious principle.

Not long after the accession of Charles II. to the
throne, in 1660, strenuous endeavours were made by
that monarch to establish, against the wishes of the
majority of the people, the episcopal form of church
government. Resistance to the obnoxious scheme was
the prelude of the most extensive sacrifices of life and
property, and, in particular, the citizens of Glasgow,
who were principally presbyterians, were persecuted
with the most unrelenting fury.

In casting a retrospective glance at this memorable
era, so fraught with incessant struggles in the noble
cause of civil and religious liberty, we are naturally led
to the inquiry, why the labours of the early Scottish
reformers were so little appreciated, and why, among
the higher ranks of our countrymen, the episcopal has
always been preferred to the simple and unadorned
presbyterian form of worship. In making this inquiry,
we will be able, in some measure, to divine the cause of
the unrelenting persecution by government of our cove-
nanting ancestors, — that persecution which caused so
much bloodshed in our land, and which was in no locality
so forcibly attested by a " cloud of witnesses " as in our
own city.

The union of the sister kingdoms under one form of
government, and the consequent approximation of senti-

•2l() CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

ments and manners, must be regarded as having had a
powerful effect in lowering the general respect for the
reformers of Scotland. While every measure under
Henry VIII., the avowed father of the episcopal church,
was effected by the intervention and agency of govern-
ment,— while the king suggested, and the parliament
most obsequiously seconded every anti-papistical enact-
ment,— while the whole resources of the secular clergy
were confiscated without a struggle, and almost without
a murmur, — the Reformation in Scotland was effected
in direct opposition to, and under the most severe per-
secution from the constituted authorities of the land.
In the latter case, turbulence, civil broils, and bloodshed,
marked the progress, and indicated the triumphs of the
reformed religion ; whilst in the former, the silent and
disregarded remonstrances of a few pensioned monks
were the only indications of a change of faith. It is
not extraordinary, therefore, that many, among the
higher ranks in particular, who have long admired and
imitated the manners and sentiments of our southern
neighbours, reflecting on the dreadful convulsions with
which presbyterianism was introduced into Scotland,
combined with its present austere and unassuming
appearance, should be disposed to prefer the placid looks
and more courtly deportment of the sister church.
Episcopacy is the religion of the court, — it is the
religion of the Queen, — and from the showy nature of
its ceremonies and observances, as well as from its dig-
nities and political influence, it has long been esteemed

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 217

the religion of a gentleman. So long as this continues
to be the light in which it is regarded, we shall look in
vain for an unprejudiced estimate of the principles,
motives, and conduct of the Scottish reformers.

Another cause of that discredit into which the char-
acters of our reformers have lately fallen, may be traced
to those numerous and popular secessions which have
been made from the presbyterian church. By far the
greater proportion of our Scottish secede rs profess to
believe the doctrines, and to follow the steps of Calvin
and Knox, while they are disposed to represent 'the
established church by terms expressive of apostacy and
dereliction of principle. Without investigating very
minutely the truth or falsehood of these assertions, some
have been led to join in the secession, while by far the
greater number, to whom the conduct of those seceders
appeared preposterous, have associated with the doc-
trines of the original reformers all that gloomy asperity,
puritanical cant, and uncharitable invective, which have
been, (not altogether, perhaps, without foundation,)
ascribed to their secession followers in modern times.
Thus have names, which were once mentioned with
veneration, love, and gratitude; and doctrines, which,
the more thoroughly they are understood, will the more
devoutly be adopted and practised, from being identified
with other names and other doctrines, very dissimilar,
been degraded in the imaginations of those who are
ever disposed to form conclusions on appearances
alone.

L

218 CHROKICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

The Scottish reformers have been branded as enthu-
siasts, austere in their doctrines and manners, neglect-
ful of the common civilities, and incapable of exercising
the charities of social life. The character of Knox has
been particularized as brutally insolent, and rudely dis-
loyal. The tears which he is said to have drawn from
the bright eyes of the Scottish queen have, in this
age of chivalrous sentiment, produced a whole host of
Quixotic defenders, backed by all the influence of the
drawing-room. Many who are duly qualified for appre-
ciating, as well as practising those useful and becoming
civilities, upon which admission into polished society at
present depends, are yet altogether incapable of esti-
mating correctly "the form and pressure" of the age in
which our reformers lived. Many who would deem it
not only brutal but treasonable, to insult the majesty of
royalty with a look of dissent, forget that in former
times prince and peasant, layman and priest, chieftain
and reformer, frequently associated together with a
natural and unconstrained familiarity. Many, too, who
prize and defend the privileges we at present enjoy, do
not truly estimate that intrepid and inflexible boldness
of spirit without which no reformation ever was, or can
be effected, in opposition to established and constituted
authority. Had our reformers been less zealous, or less
obstinate in the support of their opinions, — had they,
according to the wish of their more polished posterity,
blended the mildness of the dove with the cunning of the
serpent, the passiveness of the lamb with the strength of

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

the lion, — had they, in other words, allowed themselves
to be gained over by a few courtly and insidious speeches
and promises, or been deterred by the most dreadful
denunciations of vengeance and destruction, from that
determined attitude which they so nobly presented, —
had they, like some modern politicians, varied and
fluctuated as party or interest inclined, making ship-
wreck of all that is manly in character, in order to
please, to flatter, to accomplish, — had the Reformer
Knox, or any of his fellow-labourers in the cause of
eternal truth acted in this manner, those who how
pollute his memory by their recollections, might, at this
very hour, have been deprived even of the power of
complaint, and subjected to all the miseries of religious
and civil despotism.

It is unnecessary that we should here pause to dis-
prove assertions which have been made by various his-
torians, derogatory to the character of our reformers ;
nor shall we attempt to contend that fanaticism and
superstition are not blemishes which adhere, in a greater
or less degree, to all religions whatever, and are not, in
fact, in perfect combination and alliance with each other.
To a certain degree our covenanting ancestors were
imbued with the fanatical character ; but we repeat, that
to these fanatics, Scotsmen of the present day owe all
their civil and religious liberty.

It ought to have been mentioned above, that upon the
entrance of Cromwell into Glasgow in 1650, a tumult
took place, which, although resulting very harmlessly,

220 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

yet threatened rather dangerous consequences. A plot
had been laid against the life of the usurper by the
presbyterians, who, notwithstanding all the attachment
of Charles I. to episcopacy, still retained some affection
for his memory, and hatred towards the individual who
had brought him to the scaffold the year preceding. As
Cromwell, with his army, was most likely to enter the
city by the head of the High-Street, the vault of the
Bishop's Castle was filled with gunpowder, which was
intended to be ignited at his approach. The intention
of the "religionists" having become known to some of
Cromwell's adherents in the city, word was privately
conveyed to him to beware. . The hint was taken, and
turning to the right, the invaders entered the city by
the Cowcaddens and Cowloan. A day or two previous,
the Marquis of Argyle, who was in the possession of
the town, with the greater portion of the clergy, fled in
dismay, and those presbyterian citizens who remained
behind were in the utmost state of terror and confusion.
Cromwell, however, was too good a tactician to attempt
violent proceedings. He therefore sent for Mr. Patrick
Gillespie, the minister of the Outer High Church, then
the governing ecclesiastic of the town, and having enter-
tained him hospitably, and given him a long prayer,
converted him to the opinion, that "of a verity he
(Cromwell) was one of the elect." A few days after,
Cromwell went in state to the Cathedral. It so
happened that on this occasion the celebrated Zachary
Boyd, minister of the Barony parish, was the preacher ;

CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO. 221

and having taken advantage of the presence of the
" evil one " to tell him of his misdeeds, the general's sec-
retary, boiling with indignation, begged leave of his
master " to pistol the scoundrel." " No, no," responded
Cromwell, "we will manage him in another way." He
accordingly invited Zachary to dinner, and converted
him by a prayer of three hours' duration.

It is almost unnecessary that we should follow
minutely in detail the various religious tumults which
took place in Glasgow during the dark period of per-
secution in Scotland — common as they were to every
locality in the west part of the country; we shall
therefore content ourselves with briefly enumerating the
more important.

In the year 1666, numbers of the presbyteriaii
citizens were hanged in the streets, while others, under
threats of a similar doom, were prohibited from attend-
ing the presbyterian preachers. In 1674, the community
of the city was fined in ,£100 sterling, for allowing a
presbyterian minister to preach within its limits ; and in
the same year guards were placed at the city gates on
Sundays to prevent the inhabitants from attending field
preachings in the country.

These measures, which were used against the cove-
nanters, however severe, were not found to answer the
intended purpose ; and others, more rigorous if possible,
were thought necessary. In the year 1667, however,
a bond was made out by order of government, which
the inhabitants of Glasgow and the western shires were

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

ordered to subscribe. As this deed contained a com-
plete renunciation of presbytery, and an abhorrence of
all their former proceedings, it was easy to foresee that
few would relish it. To enforce the subscription, an
army of highlanders, to the amount of eight thousand,
were assembled at Stirling, from whence they issued
out against the west. On the 26th of January, 1678,
they arrived at Glasgow, where they exercised for the
space of five days the most wanton acts of cruelty and
oppression upon such as would not willingly comply with
the bond. They made a prey of whatever came within
their reach, and if they suspected any concealment,
compelled by torture the unfortunate objects of their
suspicion to discover their hidden wealth. Such acts of
violence excited a general indignation through the
kingdom; the highlanders were recalled, and the west
was at once stripped of her effects, and liberated from
her oppressors.

The presbyterians could not but be exasperated in
the greatest degree at this manifold oppression, and mis-
led by the zeal of their leaders, they proceeded to such
lengths in revenging themselves as cannot be justified,
even though we consider the acts of cruelty that had
been used against them.

On the anniversary of the Restoration, about eighty
covenanters having assembled at Rutherglen, after
extinguishing the bonfires that had been lighted for
solemnization of the birth- day, published a declaration
and testimony expressive of their motives, and burned

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 223

at the cross the several acts of parliament and the
privy-council that had passed against them.

Notice of these proceedings having come to Edin-
burgh, Lord Dundee was despatched with a party to
quell the insurgents, and at the same time with orders
to give them battle, in case any resistance should be
offered. He accordingly fell in with the presbyterians
assembled near Loudon-hill, and having to no purpose
desired them to disperse and deliver up the ringleaders,
he began an attack. From the superiority of the
numbers of the covenanters, Dundee and his party
were defeated with a considerable loss ; they imme-
diately retreated to Glasgow, where, as they expected
to be assaulted by the country people, the streets were
barricaded, and other measures taken for their better
defence.

These expectations were not ill grounded ; the cove-
nanters, flushed with their success, after a night's stay
at Hamilton, marched to Glasgow. When near the
city, they divided their force into two battalions, the one
marching into the town by the Gallowgate-street, and
the other by the College Vennal. Immediately there-
after an engagement took place, which was supported
for a considerable time with great bravery on both sides.
At last the covenanters were obliged to retreat, from
the superior skill of the soldiery, as well as from the
fire kept up against them from the windows and closes
adjacent to the street. They accordingly left the city
in good order, after having eight men killed in the

224 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

engagement, and several wounded. It has been stated,
but on questionable authority, that " so inhuman was
Dundee on this occasion, that he gave orders that the
dead bodies of these unfortunate people should not be
buried, but left upon the streets to be devoured by the
dogs. Some women having attempted to carry them to
the grave, were attacked and maltreated by the soldiers,
who compelled them to set down the coffins in the alms-
house, where they continued till the forces of Dundee
left Glasgow, and thereafter were interred." To this, in
a few days, succeeded the Battle of Bothwell Bridge,
where the covenanters again received a signal defeat
from the royal forces, after which large numbers of
their adherents were sentenced to banishment.

Notwithstanding, however, the many cruelties to which
they were subjected, the zeal of the covenanters was
only the more inflamed by opposition, and their attach-
ment to the presbyterian form of church goverment con-
firmed. Their condition, upon the accession of James
II. to the throne, was in no ways improved. The same
intolerance on the part of government was continued,
and, if possible, their severe protestant principles more
menacingly attacked by the known partiality of the
sovereign to Catholicism. But the time was near at
hand when their grievances were to be redressed, and
an end put to that reign of tyranny and oppression
which had so long prevailed in the country. To that
period did the lovers of peace look forward, while they
hailed the dawn of its approach, upon the flight of the

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 225

unfortunate James. That event had no sooner taken
place, than the city of Glasgow, to testify their regard
to the protestant persuasion, levied and armed five
hundred men, whom they sent to Edinburgh, com-
manded by the Earl of Argyle and Lord Newbattle, to
assist in guarding the convention of estates, convened
for making a tender of the crown to William and Mary.

This memorable assembly sympathising with the gen-
eral voice of the people of Scotland, which had ever been
averse to episcopacy, having constituted themselves into
a parliament, abolished that form of church government,
and in its stead established presbytery, for which her sons
had so firmly contended during the two preceding reigns.
In consequence of this act, John Paterson, who then
held possession of the See of Glasgow, resigned his
charge, and retired to Edinburgh, where, in ten years
afterwards, he died at the age of seventy-six.

It must be borne in mind by the reader, that although
the presbyterian form of church government was estab-
lished by law, and a General Assembly instituted and
convened in 1560, from that period to the revolution the
following alternations took place : — from the era of the
Reformation till 1572, presbyterianism was the religion
of the state, while from the latter period to the year
1592, a system, partaking to a considerable degree of
the complexion of episcopacy, prevailed ; which, again,
at the latter period, gave place to presbyterianism; —
this form exercised its functions in connection with the
state till 1610, when it was superseded by the episcopacy

220 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

of the English church, which, again, was in its turn
dethroned by the memorable General Assembly con-
vened at Glasgow in the year 1638 ; — in 1662, shortly
after the period of the restoration of Charles II., epis-
copacy was forced upon the people of Scotland by that
monarch, and maintained by himself and successor till
the abdication of the latter.

The revolution of 1688 has always been regarded as
the most memorable example recorded in our history, of
the attachment of all ranks of our people to the monar-
chical form of government. The bonds of society had
at that eventful period been completely dissolved. A
rightful sovereign actuated by his just and natural fears
had abdicated the throne, and, of course, put an end for
the time, to all regular government. The sovereign
power had been thrown into the democratic branch of
the constitution, and a door thereby opened for all those
theoretical absurdities, and practical atrocities, which
half a century ago, were so deplorably and awfully ex-
emplified in France. But the experience so dearly pur-
chased in the time of Charles I. and the long paliament,
were not lost either on the nation or its representatives.
The government was speedily re-organized, and a sure
foundation laid for that subsequent moral, political, and
intellectual greatness, to which this country has latterly
been raised.

Before the act of William, which settled the religious
liberties of the people, had been finally passed, the hatred
of the presbyterians of Glasgow towards the episcopal

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 227

clergy, had risen to overflowing, and was ready when the
slightest occasion offered, to wreak itself out on the op-
pressors.

On various occasions therefore, immediately after the
accession of the new monarch, and while as yet the city
was under episcopal domination, the covenanters took
the liberty of committing such sundry acts of offence, as
hindering the ringing of the bells on Sunday, stopping
episcopalians on their road to church, pursuing clergy-
men of the "black persuasion" through the streets with
cudgel in hand, and forcing them for safety to take refuge
within doors. These, and divers other little skirmishes,
were of daily occurrence, till at length a more serious
collision of both parties took place : —

Among other acts of the people, who almost to a man
were presbyterians, was the thrusting, before the act of
toleration had been finally passed, the episcopal clergy
from their pulpits. The then provost of the city, an
episcopalian, by name Walter Gibson, wishing if possible
to make the seat of government believe, that he at least
had some authority in quelling the spirits of the rebel-
lious citizens, attempted in this state of affairs to conclude
a bargain with the presbyterians, that till matters should
be completely arranged, the keys of all the churches of
the city should be delivered into the hands of two neutral
persons. Too wary, however, were the persecuted to enter
into such a capitulation, and they positively and heroi-
cally refused. Matters at length proceeded so far, that
on the fourteenth day of February, 1689, Bailie Gibson,

228 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUJfGO.

a brother of the Provost, also an adherent of episcopacy,
having hired a party of reckless ruffians, proceeded with
a minister to the High Church to make a forcible ingress.
On their arrival on the spot, however, they found the
door guarded by a party of forty women. Admittance
was peremptorily demanded, and as resolutely denied.
A rencontre was the consequence, which, after a stout
resistance on the part of the "weaker vessels," ended as
might be expected, in their complete discomfiture; —
thirty-two of them being wounded in a most barbarous
manner. But such a victory was not to be so easily
gained. The yells, the cries, and the terrible ejaculations,
for which even in those days the women of Glasgow were
distinguished, aroused the mountain-men who were
within hearing. " To arms, to arms! " was the general
shout, and scarcely had an hour elapsed before the whole
body of the covenanters were on the scene of action.
Now were to be witnessed in all their glory, these devo-
tees dealing out their vengeance. Sticks, stones, and
every thing within reach, were to be seen flying in every
direction; — all this, too, within the precincts of the
churchyard. The affray having been ended, it was found
that even with all the assistance which had flocked to
their standard, the women had the worst of it. As a
relic of curiosity, the names of the principal parties in
this rencontre may here be mentioned: — Among the
males were, John Gibson, a bailie of the city, John Bell,
Commissary Robertson, George Robertson and his two
sons, John Robertson, John Watt, Ingh's, Patrick

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 229

Bell, James Marshall, John Coats, John Filshill, John

Paterson, Horn, John Aitkin, Alexander Aitken,

James Lee's two sons, James Robertson.

The names of the women were, Mrs. Maxwell, Mary
Fleckfield, Marion Ewin, Agnes Rodger, Agnes Allan,
Elizabeth Linning, Janet Loudon, Margaret Dalgliesh,
Bessie Jackson, Janet Castellan, Janet Fleeming, Janet
Robertson, Margaret Inglis, Marion Finlaw, Janet Kid,
Janet Brand, Christian Lang, Janet Wood, Mrs. Hill,
Janet Howie, Margaret Lin, Catherine Lin, Isabel
Paterson, Janet Young, Margaret Anderson, Margaret
Corse, Bessie Fleming, Grrissel Brown, Bessie Marshall,
Janet Shearer, Margaret Steven. Of these zealous
defenders of the faith, scarcely any ever completely
recovered from their wounds ; while all bore the marks
till their dying day, and some had their death hastened
by the injuries which they received.

UNION RIOTS.

The consolidation of Scotland and England by the
Act of Union — a measure which the Stuarts, prior to
the Revolution, and in the very zenith of their power,
could never effect — was safely and happily accomplished ;
and while it paved the way to future greatness, by a
combination of strength and power, and by laying a
foundation for the gradual extinction of those national
jealousies and feuds, which, for so many centuries, had
inflicted innumerable evils upon both countries, it tended
to freshen and invigorate the attachment of the Scottish

230 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

nation to the new order of things, and to predispose
them to accede, as they afterwards did very cordially,
to the great measure of the settlement of the protestant
succession in the House of Hanover. Accordingly,
for upwards of a century, these feelings and principles
have been daily gaining ground and force ; and hence it
may now be safely asserted, that no family was ever so
firmly seated on a throne as the House of Brunswick
on that 'of these kingdoms. Ruling by the combined
titles of perfect legitimacy and popular choice, their
government, amidst all the convulsive commotions and
difficulties with which it has at different times had to
struggle, — amidst the dismemberment of one portion of
the empire, and the rebellion of another, has not merely
surmounted every obstacle and quashed all opposition,
but has been the means of raising the united kingdom
to a pitch of greatness and renown unequalled in ancient
story, and destined, we believe, to excite the wonder and
amazement of future ages. Time has removed every
rival claimant out of the way, and the Jacobites, once
so formidable by their zeal and union, exist only in those
immortal effusions of the muse, in which the fruitless
struggles of a brave and generous, though misguided
people, still live, and will continue to live and to delight
those who, had they been alive, would have arrayed
themselves on the opposite side.

But although Queen Anne's Act of 1706 was, generally
speaking, safely accomplished by the almost unanimous
voice of the people in both nations, still the hereditary

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 231

feelings of bitter enmity towards each other were on the
occasion renewed to some degree in Scotland, and no-
where did it proceed to a greater pitch than in Glasgow.
But it may be remarked, that tumultuous conduct was
only evinced on the part of the Jacobite citizens — those
lingering enthusiasts in the cause of the expatriated
family — and that with one or two exceptions in the
higher classes, well known to Scottish readers, the act
of consolidation was hailed as the greatest boon which
could be conferred on both nations.

The following graphic account of the riots in our tity
on this memorable occasion, is from the pen of Daniel
Defoe, the celebrated author of Robinson Crusoe, at
that time editor of the Caledonian Mercury newspaper,
in Edinburgh: —

" On Thursday the day of the fast appointed by

the commissioners of the assembly was kept in Glasgow,
Mr. Clark, minister of the Tron Kirk, preached from the
words in Ezra viii. 21. ' And I proclaimed a fast at the
river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our
God, to seek of Him a right way for us and for our little
ones, and for all our substance.'

" In the conclusion of his sermon, after telling his
hearers the sad condition they were brought to, and how
forward Glasgow used to be in the honest cause, he added
to this purpose, —

" ' Addresses would not do, and prayers would not do,
there must be other methods ; it is true prayer was a
duty, but we must not rest there,' and closed it with

232 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

these words, ' wherefore up, and be valiant for the city of
our God.'

" The sermon ended about eleven o'clock, and the
people were so inflamed before, that, by one of the clock,
the mob were gotten together, their drum was beat
in the back streets, and all the confusions we are now to
speak of followed.

" The next day, the deacons of the trades, which is the
same as in London, the masters of the companies, fol-
lowed with a middling number of tradesmen, came to the
council house, and leaving the people below, the deacons
of trades and some few went up to the provost, and de-
manded of him very rudely, if he would address. The
provost, though surprised with their manner, composed
himself, and, according to his known calmness and steadi-
ness of temper, told them, that he was not satisfied to
address ; and an eminent inhabitant of the town, viz., the
laird of Blackhouse, used a great many arguments with
them, civilly to persuade them to be easy and satisfied,
and not to promote any disorders in the city.

"While they were thus discoursing iu the Town-house,
the number of the people increased without, and began
to be tumultuous ; but as soon as the deacons came out,
and reported to them in short, that the provost had
refused to address, the people fell a shouting, and raging,
and throwing stones, and raised a very great uproar.
And here the deacons desei vedly obtain the title of the
raisers of this rabble ; for, had they related the calmness,
the reasonings, and the manner with which the provost

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 233

very discreetly answered them, the people might very
easily have been quietly dismissed ; but now it was too
late, the answer as it was given to them, was only in
gross, that the provost was resolute, and would not ad-
dress. Enraged thus, they flung stones at the windows,
and, as much as they could, insulted the provost ; but he
found means to withdraw, so that they could not hurt
him for that time. In this rage they went directly to
the provost's house, got into it, took away all his arms,
which were about twenty-five muskets, &c. Some few
things were stolen in the throng, but that was not much :
from thence they went to the laird of Blackhouse's
dwelling, broke his windows, and showed their teeth, and
thus the first tumult ended.

" The provost retired for a while out of town, and the
laird of Blackhouse also, not knowing what the issue of
these things might be.

" I pay no compliment at all here, but a debt to truth,
in noting, that the provost of Glasgow for that time,
John Aird, esquire, was an honest, sober, discreet gentle-
man, one that had always been exceedingly beloved,
even by the common people, particularly for his care of,
and charity to the poor of the town ; and, at another
time, would have been the last man in the town they
would have insulted. I mention this to obviate the sup-
position, that the rabble took this occasion to insult him,
upon former resentments, as has been usual in like
cases.

" The provost being withdrawn, and the address they

234 CHRONICLES OF ST. HUNGO.

designed thus baulked, they set it on foot without him,
and indeed they effectually answered the magistrates'
desire, who resolved, if there was an address, it should
be a mere mob address.

" Many a mean step they took to get hands, by threat-
ening, affrighting, hurrying people into it, taking youths
and mere children's hands to it. Every man that re-
fused to sign it, was threatened to be rabbled, and have
his house plundered, which made a great many timorous
people sign it, that did not approve of it. This being the
method, it may easily be imagined, the address was not
many days a finishing ; and such as it was, they sent it
<iway by four of the townsmen, whereof the first two
were the deacon of the taylors and the deacon of the
shoemakers ; the other two that went with it were gentle-
men, too well known to be suspected of desiring any such
kind of tumultuous proceedings, but complied with their
desire, in order to prevent worse consequences.

" If the multitude of addresses, which have been
boasted of, as a declaration of the aversion of the people
to the union, may be guessed at by this, those gentlemen,
who bring this as an argument, have small reason to
boast, and need not be very forward, to have the parti-
culars examined into.

" The address having thus been signed and sent away,
the people begun to be quiet again, and the tumults
seemed to have an end; the provost, who had fled to
Edinburgh, came home again, and every one went quietly
about their business, till, a little while after, a new occa-

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 235

sion set all in a flame again, worse than it was before,
and made it appear, who was at the bottom of it all.

" And here the warm gentleman, who, from the pulpit
put the match to this gunpowder, may see who laid the
train. The trifle of addressing was the least thing they
sought for, though that served a purpose also ; and these
good people, who were drawn in to begin it, saw no far-
ther ; but now it appeared to be all Jacobite and papist
at the bottom ; that blood and confusion was the thing
they drove at, and king James, prelacy, tyranny, popery,
and all the mischiefs this nation has to fear from them,
lay hid in the design, as will presently appear, and the
poor thoughtless multitude were only hurried into it by
a conjunction of mistakes.

" The second rabble had a beginning as small as the
first, though not so soon laid, because the first had only
the address in view, and was managed by a few, that the
the contrivers of those disorders had imposed upon, and
deluded ; but this part was under the more immediate
conduct of the very party themselves, and was introduced
as follows : —

" One of the magistrates ( Bailie Hamilton) of the city,
had committed a fellow* to the tolbooth, who had, it
seems, been taken offering to sale, a musquet, or some
other things, which, it was made appear, belonged to the

* The fellow's name was Parker, a loose, vagabond, profligate
fellow, of a very ill character, a spinner of tobacco by employment,
but a very scandalous person.

236 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

provost of the city, and which was taken ont of his house
in the time of the rabble above mentioned.

" This fellow lay in the tolbooth for some time ; but it
was observed, that, in an evening, there would be several
of the common people at the window, talking to him
through the grates of the prison. The provost appre-
hending that the imprisonment of this fellow might be
a pretence for a new disturbance, resolved to discharge
him ; but, that it might not seem to be done for fear,
took a bond of him to appear again, when called for, and,
among the rest of the people who came to talk with him
at the grate, was one Finlay, a loose sort of a fellow,
who had formerly been a serjeant in Dumbarton's regi-
ment in Flanders, and who openly professed himself a
Jacobite, — a fellow that followed no employ, but his
mother kept a little change-house at the remotest part
of the town on the Edinburgh side.

" The fellow had given his comrades an account, that
the magistrates had taken a bond of him ; and the next
morning this Finlay, and a rabble with him, comes up
to the clerk's chamber, another office in the tolbooth
where the magistrates meet, and there they demand this
bond of the clerk, it being put into his hands. The
magistrates willing to take away all occasions of tumult,
and to leave them no excuse, ordered the bond to be
delivered up, for the gentlemen rabble had now a full
command of the town. But to let it be seen that these
were but seeking occasions, notwithstanding the provost

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. Ml

had told them they should have the bond delivered up,
and they had now no reason but to be satisfied, the clerk
having orders to deliver it, they continued together, re-
solving to insult the provost at his coming out. The
provost not imagining any danger, having granted their
request, comes innocently out of the tolbooth, and went
toward his own house ; the rabble immediately gathered
about him, thrusting and abusing him, and not with
villainous language only, but with stones and dirt, and
such like thrown at him. He would have made to his
own house, but the multitude increasing, and growing
furious, he took sanctuary in a house, and running up a
staircase, lost the rabble for some time, they pursuing
him into a wrong house ; however, they searched every
apartment to the top of the stair, and came into the very
room where he was ; but the same hand that smote the
men of Sodom with blindness, when they would have
rabbled the angels, protected him from this many- headed
monster, and so blinded them that they could not find
him. It is the opinion of many of the soberest and most
judicious of the citizens, that, if they had found him,
their fury was at that time so past all government, that
they would have murdered him, and that in a manner
barbarous enough ; and if they had, as we say of a bull
dog, once but tasted blood, who knows where they would
have ended ? The provost was hid in a bed, which
folded up against the wall, and which they never thought
of taking down ; having escaped this imminent danger, he

238 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

was conveyed out of town the next day by his friends,
and went for the second time to Edinburgh.

" The rabble were now fully masters of the town, they
ranged the streets, and did what they pleased ; no magis-
trate durst show his face to them, they challenged people
as they walk'd the streets with this question, ' Are you
for the union?' and no man durst own it, but at their
extremest hazard.

" The next thing they did, was to search for arms in
all the houses of those that had appeared for the union ;
and first they went to the dean of guild, and, upon his
refusing to give them his arms, they took them away by
force ; they stopt here a little, but having given out that
they would search the houses of all that were for the
union, the magistrates assembled, and considering, that
if the citizens were disarmed, and the rabble possest of
their weapons, they might, in the next place, possess
their houses, wives and wealth, at their command ; and
that it was better to defend themselves now, than be
murdered and plundered in cold blood. They resolved
therefore to raise some strength, to oppose this violence,
and accordingly ordered the town guards to bo doubled
that night, and removed the place of arms from the usual
guard house to the tolbooth ; — and that this guard should
be of select persons, such as they knew.

" Accordingly orders were sent to all the captains of
the city militia, that each of them should bring twelve
men with them, such as they could depend upon, would

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 239

stand by them, to secure the peace of the city ; and this
was besides the ordinary guard. This was done readily,
and with great secrecy and celerity ; the captains of the '
militia being faithful honest gentlemen, brought their
men without any noise, beat of drum, or the like, and
leaving the ordinary guard at the usual place, and were
that night increased to a whole company, and this select
guard was placed in the council chamber.

" The rabble, who had resolved to be as good as their
words, were now gotten together; and whether they
thought the magistrates were not in the council chamber,
and so they resolved to begin with them ; or whether
they had intelligence that they were upon their guard is
not certain ; but about nine o'clock at night they gathered
about the tolbooth, and seeing a sentinel placed at the
top of the stair, Finlay, of whom before, is ordered to go
up and see what they were a-doing, as he called it.
When he came to the top of the stair, the sentinel chal-
lenged him and thrust him back ; but he comes on again
and thrusts in with the sentinel, and gets by him. At
this juncture one of the citizens, who was privately
appointed to meet as above, was just coming up ; and
having passed as privately as he could through the mob,
who were at the stair foot to the number of about one
hundred, being a select party only, for the rest were
not then got together, was going up the stairs ; this
gentleman seeing a fellow assault the sentinel, boldly
stept up to him and knocked him down on the stair head
with the butt end of his musket, and immediately calls

240 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

the guard. The guard immediately took to their arms,
and headed by one lieutenant Lindsay, an old soldier of
king William's, but now a burgess and inhabitant of the
city, they came down and drew up at the foot of the stair.
Some pieces were fired in the street, but whether at the
guard or no, was not known ; the multitude was great by
this time, and being late at night, it could not well be
discerned ; but as they had all the reason in the world
to expect it, they fell resolutely to work with them, and
sallying upon the rabble, they immediately fled and dis-
pers'd.

" Having thus broke the first body of them, it was
observ'd that they only fled from the immediate shock,
but stood in throngs under the piazzas, and in the heads
of closses, to see what the guard would do; and that
with one hallow they could all be together again in a
moment, whereupon a party was ordered down every
street to clear the piazzas and closses, and see the rabble
effectually dispers'd, which they did, but were all the
way assaulted from the houses, and out of the closses,
with curses and stones; the former did not much hurt,
except to the givers, but the latter wounded several of
the inhabitants, and some were very much hurt. Had
they been able to have renew 'd this guard, the public
peace had been maintain 'd, and the whole design of this
rabble disappointed ; but it is to be noted, these gentle-
men were all citizens, heads of families, and of the
principal inhabitants ; the commonality was universally
debauch'd, and not to be trusted, and the gentlemen

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 241

could not do duty every night, neither had all that were
zealous enough against the tumults either bodies to bear
the fatigue of soldiers, or hearts to adventure ; and those
that were forwardest could not be always in arms ;--this
first piece of work was on Saturday night, the next
night they relieved the guard by the like select number,
and all was quiet; for, while these men appeared, the
rabble durst not stir.

" On Monday, the magistrates summoned the town
council, and, sending for the deacons of the tradesmen,
the thing proposed was, what course should be taken to
secure the peace of the city, and keep the magistrates
and inhabitants from plunder and insult.

" The deacons of trades, subtilly, and as appeared,
designedly, at least such of them as were in the design,
proposed, that this select guard should be omitted, and
pretended to promise, that, if any tumult happened,
they would come to the town guard with their men to
defend the city ; which, whoever observes how well they
performed, will think it no breach of charity, to say they
never designed it, — however, for this week, there was no
more tumult, but the mob reigned masters, and Finlay,
who now had made himself one of their leaders, set up a
guard at the upper end of the town near the Cathedral,
as it were in opposition to the town guard.

" This whole week was spent in amusements, and
raising reports of the rising of the people at Stirling, at
Hamilton, and in Angus ; and that a great army of them

242 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

was to rendezvous at Hamilton, from whence they were
to march to Edinburgh, to raise the parliament. Finlay
gives out, that he will march with all the men of Glas-
gow to meet their brethren at Hamilton on the same
design ; — by whose assistance all this was done, the
government was too merciful to make a narrow enquiry,
and so I must leave it as they did in the dark ; — having
brought the folly and madness of the poor people to such
a height, Finlay actually gets together about 45 men,
for that was the most of the great army he raised ; and
on the Friday following, this contemptible wretch having
made himself their general, marches out of the city with
them for Hamilton ; they were armed with muskets and
swords, such as they had taken out of the magistrates'
houses; and (wherever he procured it, for every one
knows he had it not of his own,) he distributed to every
man a dollar ; — and thus in arms against their native
country, and the protestant religion, these poor deluded
people marched away, under the command of an abject
scoundrel wretch, that openly professed himself a Jacobite,
and that, with his good will, would have seen all the
Presbyterians in Scotland ruined. But to such a pass
were things now come, and who can account for some
critical junctures, in which men may be brought to ruin
themselves with their own hands, and never suffer them-
selves to listen to the cautions of their friends.

" The town, though rid of Finlay and his vanguard,
enjoyed not the more peace, or were in less danger, for

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 243

the mob that remained kept up their guard, threatened
yet worse things than had been done, and were after-
ward as good as their words to a title.

" The government, it may be supposed, were constantly
acquainted with those things, and their forbearance had
not a little heartened up the party that pushed these
mischiefs on ; however, being loth to come to extremities,
they tryed gentler methods first, and the lord high com-
missioner having laid it before the parliament, they
immediately passed an act discharging the mustering of
troops in the country during this session, and a procla-
mation was published against tumults, and both these
were sent to Glasgow to be published. It should be
noted here, that, by the act of security, any of the
nobility, gentry, or towns, might meet in arms, muster
and exercise their fencible men, and the like, upon any
occasion of which they were judges ; which was done
in order to make the militia of Scotland more serviceable,
or as some think in terrorem to serve a cause ; but be
that as it will, it may remain undetermined ; but, at this
juncture, the parliament foresaw, it might be a handle
for the drawing together any number of men at such a
time as this, and might be dangerous to the peace,
wherefore they caused an act to be brought in to repeal
that part of the act of security, for so long only as the
present parliament was sitting. When this act of par-
liament and proclamation came to town, which was on
the Monday after Finlay's march, the magistrates
assembled about ten in the morning, and caused the

244 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

messenger that brought it to read it at the cross ; accord-
ingly the messenger goes up to the usual place, and
read first the act of parliament, the magistrates were
below, and the officers attending as usual, and a vast
multitude of people were got together to hear what it
was; before the officer had done, the people began to
make a noise, and throw stones at him ; but however,
the man went on, and read out the act, and began the
proclamation against tumults ; but he had hardly read
the title of the proclamation, when the stones came so
thick, there was no standing it, and the poor fellow not
a litttle bruised was driven off the stair.

" Upon this the magistrates ordered one of the town
officers to go up and read, which he did as far as he
could, but was in like manner driven off by the fury of
the stoning ; in the interim of this, the magistrates had
sent for the town guard to protect the second officer in
reading ; the officer of the guard seeing the other officer
abused thus before their faces, commands his men to fall
upon the rabble with the clubs of their muskets, which
they did, and knocked down some of them; but the
tradesmen that were upon the guard, in the very action
deserted, and refused to obey the command of their
officers, which so encouraged the rabble, that they came
on again with shouts and huzzas, and with volleys of
stones they fell upon the few of the guard that were
faithful, and drove them off from the street. The officer
that commanded them retreated them into the guard
house, but this was not a place to be defended against

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 245

such a multitude, so in short they broke in upon them
and disarmed them, and well it was they came off with-
out blood, for some of them were very much bruised with
stones.

" The rabble now flushed with victory, were in a ter-
rible fury, and this was the most outrageous part of the
whole transaction ; having disarmed the guard, the next
thing was to storm the tolbooth ; immediately they get
ladders to the windows, and breaking in, they seize upon
two hundred and fifty halberts which are the town's arms ;
with these upon their shoulders in rank and file they roved
about the streets, and made their rendezvous at the old
castle where their guard was kept ; here they gave out,
that, in the afternoon they would come down and plun-
der the merchants' houses, nay, and threatened their lives
too, which put the whole city in an unspeakable con-
sternation. Nor were they wanting in some part of
their threatened execution, for about three in the after-
noon they detached a party of about twenty men anned,
some with muskets, some with halberts, these, with a
drum before them, came to the cross, and from thence
took their march down the high streets, breaking open
the doors and houses of whoever they pleased, pretending
to search for arms, but stole and plundered whatever
came in their way, and thus they continued till ten
o'clock at night. They got not above thirty muskets,
with some pistols and swords, but the terror of the in-
habitants is not to be expressed, who were obliged to bear
this violence without complaint ; this small party was

246 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

followed by a vast throng of boys and idle fellows like
themselves, which increased the fright of the citizens.

" Having thus ranged the city at pleasure till about
ten o'clock at night, they marched away with the spoil
of their masters up to their main guard, from thence they
beat their tatoo round the town like a garrison ; and
indeed they were no less, for they had the city in their
full possession, and every body's life and goods at their
mercy. Their rudeness in this pretended search for
arms is not to be described, and had they met with any
opposition, no doubt it would have been worse ; they
came into the rooms where persons that lay sick were
just dying, and put all things into inexpressible confusion ;
they came into chambers where women were lying in,
and barbarously made them rise, pretending to search
under their beds for arms ; in short, except that there
was no blood shed, they acted the exact part of an en-
raged ungoverned multitude.

" But, to return to their army of forty-five, which was
all this while on its march, and were advanced as far as
Kilsyth, on their way to Edinburgh.

" The government who had an exact account of all
these things, and who had tryed all the gentle methods
of proclamations, acts of parliament, &c., finding to what
height things were brought, and that nothing but force
could remedy them, prepared to be beforehand with these
forward gentlemen ; and having an account both of their
march and number, the lord commissioner ordered a
detachment of dragoons, joined with some horse grena-

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 247

diers of the guard, under the command of Colonel
Campbell, uncle to the Duke of Argyll, to march with
all expedition for Glasgow. Finlay, in the mean time
being at Kilsyth, has notice of the march of these dra-
goons, within a few hours after his arrival there ; and
hearing no news of the great parties of five and six
thousand which he had persuaded his men would meet
him there ; and being alarmed at the news of the dra-
goons, he sends back Campbell, another of the

ringleaders of his rabble, to bring up the second body
which was to be ready to follow, and which were reported
to be four hundred, but they thanked him and stayed at
home ; and with the rest he marched to Hamilton, where
he arrived on Sunday about noon, the third day after
his march from Glasgow. Here he quartered his army
that night, and finding, as before, none of the friends
that were to assemble from all parts, nor no news of
them, he bestowed a volley of curses upon them, and
marches directly back to Glasgow, where he arvived, to
the no small mortification of his fellows, on Wednesday,
the next day but one after the plundering I have related
before ; they had halted at Rutherglen, a burgh about
two miles from Glasgow, where, as I suppose, they
called a council of war among themselves ; but being all
voters, they agreed upon nothing, but to march home,
which accordingly they did; and in order of battle
entered the city, and marched directly up to their main
guard aforesaid ; here they made, says my author, their
rendezvous, having not thought fit to keep the field any

248 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

longer. And now they began to think a little, for I can-
not allow myself to say they had done it before ; their
danger began now to show itself, and to stare in their
faces a little ; they began to consider what they had been
doing with others, and what was now like to be doing
with them ; they had no more protection from the act
about mustering, and the proclamation began to work
with them ; and now they did the only rational act of
their whole management, and which indeed saved all
their lives.

" On Thursday morning, having maturely weighed
their affairs, they resolved to separate and lay down their
arms, which accordingly they did very quietly and calmly,
and carried their arms, not to the magistrates, where
they had them, but to the deacons of their trades, who
they knew were their friends. How it came to pass,
that providence, whom they had so far provoked, inspired
them with this prudence, so seasonably for their own
safety, none, but that infinite goodness, that punishes less
than crimes deserve, can say. It is most certain, they
had no particular intelligence of the march of the Queen's
troops, for the city itself new nothing of them more than
in general ; but it was not full two hours after they had
separated, delivered their arms, and all was quiet, but
the dragoons entered the town, not a magistrate, nor an
inhabitant knew of them, till they saw them upon the
street, to their no small satisfaction. The whole party
was about two hundred and twenty men; they had
marched with great secrecy all night, and suffered

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 249

nobody to pass by them, to carry notice before of their
coming; when they came near the city, Colonel Camp-
bell detached an advanced party of twenty-five dragoons,
under the command of Lieutenant Pollock who knew the
town, and knew where Finlay lived, the whole body
following at a small distance. The lieutenant entering
the town, stopt, and alighted just at Finlay 's door, and
rushing immediately in with two or three dragoons, they
find Finlay and one Montgomery, another of the knot,
but famous for nothing that I ever heard of, but his being
taken with him, sitting by the fire; they seized them
immediately, and by this time the whole body was entered
the city, marched down to the cross, and drew up there
on the street, where they sat still upon their horses, it
raining very hard all the time, which was about three
hours. The mob of the city were in no small consterna-
tion, as may well be supposed, at this appearance ; and
several, whose guilt gave them ground to think of the
gallows, made the best of their way out of the town. There
was no appearance of any rescue, and the dragoons com-
manded the people off of the street, and to keep their
houses ; two fellows had the boldness to beat a drum in
two several parts of the city, but the gentlemen they
called for had more wit than to come, and the drummers,
with very much difficulty narrowly escaped being killed.
The dragoons having secured their prisoners, and
mounted them on horseback, with their legs tied under
the horses bellies ; never so much as alighted or baited
their horses, but marched away the same afternoon to

M2

250 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

Kilsyth. As they were going away, they had some
stones thrown at them from the tops of houses, and some
that were straggling behind had like to have been knocked
off of their horses, but six or seven dragoons coming
back, they were fetched off without hurt. No sooner
were they gone out of the town, but the drums beat
again in all the streets, and the rabble got together with
all the rage and venom imaginable, and coming to the
magistrates, they told them in so many words, that they
should send some of their number to Edinburgh imme-
diately, for that if they had not their two men delivered
to them, they would pull their houses down about their
ears. Some have blamed the magistrates for sending to
Edinburgh; but if such would consider circumstances,
how the dragoons were gone, they had an enraged mob
to deal with, and no strength to defend themselves, it
connot but be thought the gentlemen were in the right
to comply with the juncture of the time, and gratify
rather than exasperate them, when they were absolutely
in their power. The magistrates, however, according to
the command of their masters the mob, (for such at this
time they were,) sent away two of the bailies of the town,
and some of the deacons of trades went with them, but
they soon came back again, as wise as they went, having
received a severe check from the council by the mouth
of the lord chancellor ; and it was once within a little of
their being committed to prison with the other.

" Thus ended this petty war, being the only violence
we meet with in the whole transaction. I had .not been

CHRONICLES OF ST. MtJNGO. 251

so large in the relation of so trifling an affair, but that it
serves to clear up several other cases to the world, which
otherwise there are several mistakes about.

" And principally indeed for the sake of the city of
Glasgow, a city which in all ages since the reformation,
and in the very reformation itself, has been particularly
famous for honesty, zeal, and bravery in a constant oppo-
sition to the enemies either of the religion or liberties of
their country, — a city eminent for the true and sincere
profession of the reformed religion, and forward upon all
occasions to spend their blood and treasure in defence of
it ; and as nothing can be more untrue than to suggest
this tumult was the act and deed of the city of Glasgow ;
so to clear her of that scandal, I thought myself obliged
to do her justice, by setting the case in its true light ;
nothing clears up the innocence of a person or party like
bare matter of fact, and therefore I have impartially
related this story just as I received it upon the spot from
several of the principal inhabitants of the city, whose
integrity in the relation I have no reason to question.

" Nothing is more certain, than that the tumult at
Glasgow had its rise and beginning among the Jacobite
party ; in all the rabble and riots, they were secured as
they past the streets, they were caressed by the mob,
they huzzaed them to the work, their houses were never
searched for arms, nor the least insult offered to their
persons ; the very leaders of the rabble were of their
party, and indeed their friends mixt themselves with the
rabbles on all occasions, to prompt them to insult the

252 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

citizens. The rabblers themselves on the other hand
were a sort of people ignorantly inflamed by this party,
and unhappily set on fire by an accident which had its
beginning rather in an ignorance of the plot of that party,
than design to serve them in it.

" But for the city of Glasgow it is clear, not a citizen
of any note, not a magistrate, not a merchant, not any
thing that can be called denominating to a place, but
what abhorred it, and as far as they durst opposed it ;
and I think 'tis hard they should first fall under the
misfortune, and then under the scandal of it too ; and for
that reason I have been thus particular in the story.

" Again, here may be seen a small sketch of the peti-
tioners and addressers against the union, and of their
original, who they are that were moved, and who moved
them ; not a papist, not a Jacobite, not a prelatist in
Scotland but what declared themselves against the union;
and those honest men that unhappily approve them in
that, may see what blessed company they were yoked
with, which, is a hint I cannot avoid leaving upon record
for their instruction. I should have told you that the
Sunday after being the 15th of December, the dragoons
returned to Glasgow, and instead of returning the two
prisoners they had taken, carried away three more, and
had directions for others, but it seems they were fled.
They went to Hamilton also, and seized two gentlemen

and a lady, who belonged to the Duchess , and who,

they said, Finlay accused, but both these, and all the
rest, were, after the union was finished, discharged with-

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 253

out punishment ; the merciful government of her majesty
rather delighting to pity, than to punish the follies of the
poor deluded people ; showing them the difference be-
tween the legally established power, which they blindly
opposed, and the past implacable and merciless tyranny,
which they as blindly espoused.

" And thus happily ended the tumult at Glasgow,
which put the honest people of both nations in no small
apprehension ; and which, if the party had obtained
their design, in getting the poor people into arms in other
places, might have been fatal enough."

TUMULT OF 171ft.

The civil commotions which agitated Scotland in 1715,
to a very slight degree affected our city. A tumult,
however, may be said to have taken place from the
simultaneous rise of all classes of the citizens to oppose
the " Popish Pretender, " and assert the right of the
House of Hanover to the throne. In a few days no
less than six hundred men were raised, armed, and sent
to Stirling, under the Duke of Argyle. They also pro-
vided for the security of the city by drawing round it a
ditch, twelve feet wide and six deep. The excitement
which prevailed in Glasgow till the rebellion was
quashed was considerable, and the slightest manifesta-
tion 011 the part of the Jacobite citizens to take part
with the rebels, would have been the signal for the most
extensive ebullitions of feeling on the side of the loyalists.

254 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

SHAWFIELD'S MOB.

Daniel Campbell, of Shawfield, Esq., the Member of
Parliament for the city, having voted for the extension
of the malt tax to Scotland, a number of his constituents
took offence. On the 23d June, 1725, the day on which
the tax was to take effect, crowds of disorderly persons
formed in the streets, and began to obstruct the excise-
men in the exercise of their duty, which they easily
accomplished, there being no military in the town. On
the 24th current the crowd increased, without committing
any acts of violence. At seven o'clock, P. M., two com-
panies of Lord Delorain's regiment of foot, commanded
by Captain Bushel, came to town, on which the magis-
trates ordered the town officers to open and clear out
the guard-house for their reception. This order, how-
could not be carried into effect, as the officers were
attacked by a crowd of the town's people, who turned
them out of the guard-house, locked the doors, and
carried off the keys. The Provost was of a lenient dis-
position, and being apprehensive that if the military
were ordered to act against the citizens, by forcing their
way into the guard-house, the consequences might be
disagreeable, he, therefore, directed the soldiers to be
quartered on the inhabitants for the night. When this
was accomplished, his Lordship and the other magis-
trates, accompanied by Mr. Campbell of Blytheswood,
repaired to the town hall, where they remained till nine
o'clock, P. M. ; and there being then no appearance of
tumult, they all went to a tavern to spend the evening.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 255

About half-past ten o'clock, information was received that
a mob had collected, and were demolishing Shawfield's
house : upon which the whole party immediately repaired
to the spot, where they found a number of people, with
axes and hammers, demolishing the house. On the
expostulation of the magistrates, the mob desisted, and
retired a short way, when they were met by a number
of others, who, with a shout, cried, " Down with Shaw-
field's house! — No malt tax!" The expression was
hardly uttered, when the whole mob hurried to the
house, and it was not long before it was completely
gutted. About twelve o'clock, P.M., while the magistrates
were deliberating on what was to be done, Captain
Bushel despatched a sergeant to know if he would beat
to arms and parade his men. The Provost returned for
answer, that as the men must be fatigued with the
march, he did not think it necessary to disturb them ;
and as the beating to arms might alarm the citizens,
and lead to fatal consequences, he declined the offer.
On the next morning, the Provost sent workmen to
shut up the passages to Mr. Campbell's house ; and
about eleven o'clock, A. M., the soldiers were put in pos-
session of the guard-house. At three o'clock, p. M.,
when the magistrates and others were walking in front
of the town hall, a considerable mob passed them, on
their way to Shawfield's house, armed with bludgeons
and other weapons, preceded by a man, in the dress of
an old woman, beating a drum. This party being dis-
persed, others collected in front of the guard-house,

256 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

which, at that time, was at the south-west comer of the
Candlerigg-Street. The mob had not long assembled,
when they began to throw stones at the sentinels, on
which Captain Bushel ordered out his men, and formed
a hollow square, by which they faced the four streets
which centre at the guard-house. This movement was
promptly followed on the part of the crowd, by a shower
of stones at the soldiers; on which Captain Bushel
swore, if they did not immediately desist, he would cause
his men to fire on them, which he accordingly did, and
two men were killed on the spot. While this tragedy
was performing, the Provost and a number of the inhabi-
tants were in the town house, from whom a gentleman
was despatched to inform Captain Bushel, that he ought
not to fire without the authority of the civil power.
Bushel returned for answer, that he and his men could
not quietly stand and be knocked down with stones.
By the time that this answer was conveyed to the
Provost, a great number of the inhabitants had got
admission to him, and, threatening to avenge the blood
of their fellow- citizens, ran up stairs to the town
house magazine, broke open the doors, carried out the
arms, and rung the fire-bell to alarm the whole city.
The Provost fearing that the military would be cut to
pieces, sent a message, desiring the Captain and his
men to leave the town, which they accordingly did.
During their retreat, the citizens came up with them iu
great force, and began to act on the offensive, on which
Captain Bushel halted his men, and caused them to

CHRONICLES OF ST. MWGO. 257

fire, which killed and wounded several persons ; so that
during this unfortunate affair, there were nine killed,
and seventeen wounded. The military soon after this
reached Dumbarton Castle, without farther molestation.

On this matter being represented to the Secretary of
State, General Wade, on the 9th of July, 1725, was
despatched to Glasgow with an armed force, consisting
of Lord Delorain's regiment of foot, six troops of the
royal Scotch dragoons, one of the Earl of Stair's
dragoons, and an independent company of highlanders,
under the command of Captain Duncan Campbell of
Locheil, with a piece of artillery, ammunition, &c. The
General was accompanied by Duncan Forbes, Esq.,
Lord Advocate. When the military had taken posses-
sion of the town, his lordship began to take a precog-
nition of the affair, when nineteen persons were remanded
to prison. On the same day Captain Bushel and his
two companies retured from Dumbarton.

On the 16th of July, Captain Bushel drew up his
two companies in front of the Tolbooth, when the nine-
teen persons alluded to were brought out, having their
hands bound with ropes, and delivered to his charge to
be conveyed to Edinburgh. While this was going on,
Charles Miller, Esq., the Lord Provost, John Stirling,
James Johnson, and James Mitchell, bailies, John
Stark, Dean of Guild, and John Armour, Deacon Con-
vener, were all apprehended by constables, and incarcer-
ated in the Tolbooth of Glasgow, in virtue of six several
warrants, issued by His Majesty's Advocate, wherein it

258 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

was alleged, that the magistrates had favoured and
encouraged the mob, whereby Mr. Campbell's house
was rifled, and part of His Majesty's forces assaulted,
and that they were guilty of partiality and mal-adminis-
tration in the discharge of their duties respecting the
said riots. The Advocate having refused to accept of
bail, the Magistrates, Dean of Guild, and Convener,
were brought out of the Tolbooth of Glasgow on Satur-
day, the 17th of July, and being placed under a guard
of the royal Scotch dragoons, were conducted prisoners
to Edinburgh, by the way to Falkirk, where they rested
next day. On Monday, about noon, Captain Bushel
arrived at the suburbs of Edinburgh with his prisoners,
and having halted till the magistrates came up, the
prisoners of both divisions were committed to the castle,
and, about five o'clock in the afternoon, they were
brought out of the castle, when they were received by
another party of the royal Scotch dragoons, some of
Lord Stair's dragoons, and two companies of high-
landers, by all of whom they were conducted in great
triumph to the Tolbooth of Edinburgh, amidst a great
concourse of spectators. The prisoners were joined, a
few miles out of the metropolis, by above fifty Glasgow7
merchants, who followed condoling their magistrates on
this extraordinary occasion. The conduct of the Lord
Advocate in this affair was considered harsh, if not
illegal, by incarcerating the whole body of the magis-
trates in their own burgh, and thereafter refusing them
bail.

. CHRONICLES OF ST. MIINGO. 259

On the 20th July, application for bail was made to
the Lords of Justiciary, when they unanimously ordered
the magistrates to be liberated that night at six o'clock.
On Wednesday, the 21st, two of the magistrates left
Edinburgh, and arrived in Glasgow that evening.
When they were about six miles from home, they were
met by upwards of two hundred of the inhabitants on
horseback, who conducted them into the city, where they
were received by their fellow-citizens with open arms,
bells ringing, and every demonstration of joy. Of the
nineteen persons who were sent to Edinburgh, some of
them were whipped through the streets of Glasgow,
some were banished, and others liberated. Captain
Bushel was tried for the murder of nine of the inhabi-
tants, convicted, and condemned; but, according to
Smollet, he was not only pardoned, but promoted in the
service.

Mr. Campbell having applied to Parliament for
indemnification for his loss, the community was sub-
jected to pay him £6400, sterling, which, with other
damages and expenses occasioned by this riot, amounted
in whole to about £9000. The house in question was
the same which afterwards belonged to John Glassford,
and was sold, in 1792, by his son, Henry Glassford, Esq.,
M.P., to William Horn, for the purpose of opening
Glassford-Street. The house had a very imposing effect,
— it was inclosed from the street with a parapet wall,
interspersed with pillars, which supported effigies of
human figures.

260 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

TUMULT OF 1745.

The proceedings of Prince Charles in Glasgow in
this memorable year have been detailed in another
place. One circumstance, however, there omitted, here
falls to be recorded: — The contempt with which the
citizens regarded the highlanders was so effectual in
exciting their choler, that they were just on the point of
burning and sacking the town, when the ferocious pro-
posal was successfully resisted by Cameron of Lochiel,
who threatened the withdrawal of his clan if such was
persevered in. The tumultuous conduct of the " moun-
taineers " on this occasion can scarcely be described.

POPISH RIOTS.

Iii the year 1779, a numerous body of the citizens of
Glasgow, as zealous to defend their religious as civil
rights, were cast into a ferment, by a bill being brought
into parliament for the repeal of the penal statutes
against the Roman catholics. Throughout the town,
eighty-five different societies, consisting of upwards of
twelve thousand persons, were formed with a view of
opposing the bill by petition : these again corresponded
with others in the country, whose business was to form
new associations, and thus in a short time, the greater
part of Scotland inveighed against the measure, which
was at the time prudently abandoned by government.
The minds of the lower class on this occasion were so
inflamed against the catholics, who were represented as
con&piring against their liberties, that outrages against

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 261

the property and effects of persons of that persuasion,
were the unavoidable consequence.

A mob having collected in the streets one Sunday
forenoon in January, during the time of divine service,
they proceeded to a popish chapel in the High- Street,
and after forcing their way into the house, they dis-
missed the congregation, by pelting them with stones,
while they destroyed a number of pictures representing
the different saints, hung around the altar. The magis-
trates having arrived after service with a party, the
rabble dispersed, and no further outrage took place at
that time.

On the evening of the 10th of February, however, the
populace again assembled around the shop of a potter in
King- Street, of the Roman catholic persuasion, which
they effectually gutted, but on the arrival of the ma-
gistrates with a party of the military, the mob seem-
ingly dispersed. They, however, went immediately to
his dwelling house, at the east end of the town, which,
being set on fire, was, with the furniture, entirely con-
sumed, before any means could be used to extinguish
it ; notice being given to the magistrates, upon their
arrival the mob was entirely quelled. So faithful were
the instigators of this riot to each other, that notwith-
standing the magistrates next day, by proclamation,
offered a reward of one hundred guineas for the appre-
hension of any one of the ringleaders, they all resisted
the temptation, and none were ever secured. Bagnal,
the proprietor of the shop and dwelling house, thereafter

262 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

commenced an action for damages against the city, and
recovered to the amount of his loss.

CAMBRIC TAX RIOT.

The above was not, however, the only bill brought into
parliament, in the year 1779, which excited discontent
in Glasgow. Another, though of a more local nature,
was moved, for taking off the duties formerly imposed
upon French cambrics : as the manufacture of cambric
was now carried on to a considerable extent in this city,
such a bill, which threatened the starvation of many
families, could not fail of meeting with a powerful oppo-
sition. When the news first arrived at Glasgow, that
such a bill was introduced, a mob of weavers belonging
to the city and adjacent villages having assembled, they
paraded through the streets with an effigy on horseback
of the minister who brought in the bill, holding in one
hand a piece of French cambric, and in the other the
bill for importing that commodity. Having finished
their procession, the effigy was conducted to the common
place of execution, where it was first hung, and after-
wards blown to pieces by the firing of some combustible
matter lodged in its inside. The mob thereafter retired
peaceably to their homes. The measure, however, did
not pass the house. The minister, before it had gone
through the customary stages, being convinced of the
impropriety of the measure, consented to withdraw it,
upon substituting another tax, of a less hurtful ten-
dency.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 263

WEAVERS' MOB.

The peace of the city was disturbed in the year 1787
by a tumultuous mob, raised with the view of increasing
the wages of the journeymen weavers. A spirit of dis-
content had, for a considerable time, prevailed amongst
that body, though no serious consequences were for
some time apprehended, as their employers had made
every concession consistent with their interest. The
operatives, however, being still unsatisfied, combinations
were formed amongst them, and threatening letters sent
to several of the manufacturers, and at last acts of
violence adopted. Webs were cut from the looms of
such as agreed to work at the former rate, warehouses
were rifled, and bonfires kindled with their contents.
Insults such as these to the public peace proceeded
a considerable length, when measures were taken to
suppress them. Accordingly, on 3d September, the
magistrates having received information that a mob
was assembled in the Calton, proceeded, attended by the
police, to that quarter, in order to disperse them, and
secure the ringleaders. They were no sooner, however,
arrived, than they were attacked by the populace, and
forced to retreat into the city, pursued by the mob. An
additional force having been obtained by the arrival of
a detachment of the 39th regiment, under the command
of lieutenant-colonel Kellet, the magistrates again pro-
ceeded to the execution of their duty. They accordingly
fell in with the mob near the Parkhouse, on the east
side of the city, betwixt which place and the Drygate

264 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

a very serious conflict ensued. No sooner were the
magistrates and military arrived, than the populace
attacked them furiously with stones, brick-bats, and
other missiles, whereby their lives were endangered, and
their persons much hurt. In self-defence they were at
last under the disagreeable necessity to read the riot
act, and order the military to fire, when three persons
were killed, and several wounded. However disagree-
able the adoption of such a measure must have been,
yet it had the desired effect. The mob immediately
dispersed, and the magistrates and military returned to
the cross. An alarm was raised in the afternoon,. that
the populace were again in force in their former situa-
tion, upon which a party immediately went in quest of
them, but upon their arrival the rioters instantly took to
flight.

On the following day they assembled in the Calton,
to the amount of several thousands ; there, as formerly,
they again wreaked their vengeance upon their peaceable
brethren, by cutting their webs from their looms and
burning them, while they walked through the streets.
Intelligence of this new outbreak having been conveyed
to the sheriff, he immediately, with a party of soldiers,
proceeded to the spot. The mob, however, aware of the
fatal effects of opposition on the preceding day, no
sooner got a glimpse of the military, than they quickly
retired and separated.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 265

MILITARY RIOT.

About the middle of December, 1794, the peace of
the city was threatened by a riot, originating under
rather peculiar circumstances. In the beginning of
that month, a deserter, through the negligence of the
sentinel, having escaped from the guard-house, a court
martial adjudged him to the punishment usual in such
cases. His fellow soldiers were, however, determined
to hinder the sentence from being put into execution,
and for several days, from this resolution, the punish-
ment did not take place. As this combination was
contrary to all order, and as it might have been pro-
ductive of the worst effects, the troops in the neighbour-
hood were called into the city to assist in quelling the
insurgents ; but before their arrival, however, the ring-
leaders surrendered themselves to the Earl of Breadal-
bane, colonel of the regiment, who immediately des-
patched them to Edinburgh under a strong guard. The
honourable major Leslie and an officer of the Breadal-
bane regiment having accompanied the party a short
way on their march, were, upon their return to town,
attacked by a mob, who after upbraiding them for send-
ing off the mutineers to be punished, assaulted them
with stones and other missile weapons, whereby the
honourable major Leslie was wounded, and himself
and the other officer obliged to take shelter in a neigh-
bouring house. Luckily, however, the lord provost and
magistrates, attended by the police and a party of the
military, now arrived, and, by a praiseworthy mode of

266 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

procedure, obliged the populace to disperse without
bloodshed. Parties of dragoons having come to town in
the evening, no further disturbance took place, and
tranquillity was again restored. The ringleaders of this
mutiny, after their arrival at Edinburgh, were tried by
a general court martial, and four of them sentenced to
be shot. One only, however, suffered the extreme
penalty of the law.

MEAL MOBS.

The city suffered much, in 1779 and 1800, from a
scarcity of provisions produced by the failure of the har-
vest. A subscription, begun and promoted by the magis-
trates, was liberally filled up by the benevolent, who
sympathized much with the pubh'c calamity. So great,
indeed, was the distress, that in both these years the
poorer inhabitants collected together in the Meal Market
at the foot of Montrose- Street, and tumultuously pro-
ceeded to their own relief. Oatmeal sold for some time
at 3s. 6d. and 3s. 9d. per peck.

RESURRECTION RIOT.

The University was greatly endangered in 1803, by
the malignant passions of a mob, excited, no doubt, by
the practices of some ill-designing men. Suspicions
having arisen that a body had been taken from its grave
for anatomical purposes, and these being speedily dis-
seminated, a tumultuous assemblage of people collected
before the College, where, soon proceeding to acts of

CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO. 267

violence and outrage, they broke all the windows in its
front. This occurred on a Sunday evening; and a
repetition of the same on Monday was only prevented
by the appearance of a troop of dragoons from Hamilton,
which soon dispersed the rioters, without any accident,
and re-established order and tranquillity.

POLITICAL TUMULTS OF 1819.

Although in every respect as prone to engage in
political bickerings as the citizens of any other town,
and at the same time as enthusiastic, the opinions and
sentiments of the inhabitants of Glasgow are more
steady and enduring. No demagogues have ever been
able to sow the seeds of treason among them, or inocu-
late them with their pestilent seditious virus. Cautious,
inquisitive, and thoughtful, new opinions, especially on
matters connected with religion and politics, are heard
by them with excessive incredulity, or subjected to an
ordeal that sooner or later brings to light their true
value. The temperament of our citizens is too cool to
be excited and inflamed by the flashy and furious tirades
of the common traders in disaffection, and quack mem-
bers of the constitution ; while the knowledge so exten-
sively diffused amongst them, joined to their natural
acuteness, very speedily enables them to detect and turn
into ridicule the shallow and miserable sophistry that
mislead the ignorant, the credulous, or the unwary.
Such rank and pestilent weeds cannot, indeed, thrive
in any district of our rocky and barren country ; and

268 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

sooner shall the heath desert our native hills, and the
vineyards of France, and the orange groves of Italy,
be transferred to the "land of deep glens and mountains
wild," than Scotsmen prove false to the religion, honour
and loyalty, which have descended to them as their
proudest and holiest inheritance from their revered
and illustrious forefathers, the founders of those institu-
tions to which they are indebted for their intellectual
and moral greatness.

The above remarks are suggested by the political
agitations of the year 1819. Nowhere in the three king-
doms were there so many and frequent efforts made by
a certain class, to excite the people to proceed to vigorous
measures in behalf of what they were pleased to style
" liberty," and in no place were they more unsuccessful.
It is impossible to look back upon the insane efforts of a
few hot-headed zealots, as displayed in this year in our
city, without a smile. Assembling night after night,
and week after week, for the discussion of their
grievances, they so far abandoned all proper rules of
sense and decorum, as to be guilty of such breaches of
the law, as compelled not a few to abandon their coun-
try, and brought others to an ignominious death. The
largest gathering of "radicals" witnessed in the city
took place at Clayknowes, an eminence at the back of
the Calton, where hustings were erected, and the most
zealous of the mob arrayed in "caps of liberty!"
Various other meetings were held in other districts in
the vicinity of the town, but it is only justice to remark

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 269

that they were attended by no respectable party. One
projected attempt of the Glasgow radicals is here worthy
of record : — On the 4th of April, a great gathering was
to be held at Cathkin hills, a few miles south-east of the
city, whence the "bold marauders" were to sally forth
upon the devoted city, destroy the gas works, and with
patriotism outvying that of Russia itself, fire its time-
honoured temples, and save it from the political tyrants.
As was to be expected, the affair ended in smoke, which
having been dispelled, the incendiaries were despatched
to another region of the world. No specimen of the
animal "radical" is now extant, unless it be what
zoologists designate "the chartist," which, however,
must properly be regarded as a spurious species of the
former genus.

TUMULT AT THE ABANDONMENT OF THE BILL OF PAINS
AND PENALTIES AGAINST QUEEN CAROLINE.

On the 23d of April, 1821, when the news reached
the city of the abandonment of the " Bill of Pains and
Penalties" against the consort of George TV. those
favourable to the cause of her majesty illuminated the
windows of their houses, and exhibited other demonstra-
tions of joy. The illumination, however, not being
completely general, a mob was collected in the city, and
proceeded to the demolition of the windows of such
houses as argued in their owners a disaffection towards
the Queen. Having armed themselves with bludgeons
and stobs, they repaired to the Gorbals side of the river,

270 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUWGO.

and having broken open the premises of a ropework,
abstracted therefrom several tar-barrels, broke down
fences, and committed many other acts of mischief.
Bonfires were kindled in various parts of the town, and
"wo" to such who attempted to disturb the proceedings
of the "disloyalists." The confusion and tumult having
at length become so great, the assistance of the military
from the cavalry barracks was rendered necessary ; — and
what renders this occasion so memorable, is, that the
soldiers having attempted to disperse the people who had
congregated in large numbers about the foot of Salt-
market, numbers rushed for escape on the wooden
bridge, and being followed by the military, the bridge
broke down, precipitating pedestrian and equestrian into
the river. Fortunately the water was low, and no lives
were lost. Many, however, were so severely injured,
that they never recovered from the effects of the disaster.

HARVEY'S DYKE RIOT.

On Saturday night, the 21st July, 1823, a violent
proceeding on the part of the populace took place in the
neighbourhood of the city, which, but for the forbear-
ance of the military, might have had a fatal termination.
Mr. Harvey, an extensive distiller in Glasgow, having
resolved to prevent people passing through his lands of
West-thorn, on the banks of the river, erected a wall of
massy stones, batted with iron, at the end of which a
chevaux-de-frise was run into the river. To defeat that
gentleman's object, an immense crowd assembled, and

CHRONICLES OF ST. MWGO. 271

with pickaxes and gunpowder succeeded in levelling the
whole, amidst discharges of guns and pistols. The
Sheriff and a detachment of the Enniskillen dragoons
promptly attended, against whom several shots were
fired, which the soldiers alleged contained ball, but
which was denied by the people, who asserted that the
fire-arms were never loaded with ball, but merely used
in the way of amusement. A very great proportion of
the crowd, finding themselves closed in on all hands by
the judicious disposition of the military, took to the river!
and fortunately none of them were drowned. The
dragoons, although convinced that they had been fired
upon, acted with the greatest forbearance, and only one
man was in any way injured by them. Forty-three
prisoners were brought into town, charged with being
concerned in this affair, but after judicial examination
on Monday, they were all dismissed except one, who was
sentenced to a short term of imprisonment.

MILL WORKERS' RIOT.

On Monday, 9th September, 1823, the proprietors of
power-loom factories in the city having engaged a num-
ber of new tenters and dressers to supply the place of a
large body who had struck work for an increase of
wages, — during the breakfast hour, a crowd of several
thousands assembled in Hutchesontown, and the confi-
dence of the evil-disposed increasing with the number of
spectators, from hissing and hooting, they began to
throw stones, and several of the new workers were

272 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

roughly handled. The G-orbals police proceeded in-
stantly to the spot, but the crowd was so large, they did
not effect its dispersion. Shortly afterwards, the Sheriff
with a strong body of officers appeared, and some persons
manifesting every disposition to proceed to extremities,
a strong detachment of the Enniskillen dragoons was
procured from the cavalry barracks. A party of dragoons
was kept in readiness during the day, and although the
streets were thronged, all was quiet till about seven
o'clock, when the mills stopped work. As the new hands
made their appearance, they were forthwith assailed with
the usual symptoms of disapprobation, but they were pro-
tected from personal injury by the soldiers and a guard
that had been previously marshalled for the purpose, and
the greater part were escorted. Observing the streets so
thronged, the new hands in one of the factories, along with
one of the patrole, remained some time after the machi-
nery was stopped, with the view of going home unper-
ceived. It was so far fortunate they did so, for the
belligerents repaired to this factory, and demolished be-
tween twenty and thirty panes of glass. While the work
of destruction was going forward, the new hands sallied
out in a body, and being mostly provided with pistols, for
their own protection, fired several of them among the mob.
Not expecting such a reception, the terrified delinquents
fled in all directions, and the streets soon afterwards be-
came quiet as usual. No further opposition was offered
at any of the mills.

Since the above tumult, no disturbance worthy of
record has disturbed the domains of the venerated saint.

273

CHAPTER IX.

MEMORABLE FIRES AND FLOODS.

' The city sadd'ning in a cloud,
Seems swath'd already in her shroud,
Till struggling forth all fiercely came,
Thro' crackling domes, the prison'd flame." ANON.

' Wide o'er the brim with many a torrent swell'd,
And the mixt ruin of its banks o'erspread,
At last the roused-up river pours along:
Resistless, roaring, dreadful, down it comes
From the rude mountain and the mossy wild,
Tumbling through rocks abrupt, and sounding far.

Herds, flocks, and harvests, cottages, and swains,
Roll mingled down." SEASONS.

THE various "Fires and Floods" which have taken
place at different periods within the City, form no very
unimportant eras in its history.

FIRES.

The first great conflagration which we find recorded
in the annals of the city, took place on the 17th day of

N2

274 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

July, 1652, and threatened the town with universal ruin.
It broke out in a narrow alley upon the east side of the
High- Street, and within a short space, burnt up six
alleys of houses, with several very considerable build-
ings. While the inhabitants of the neighbourhood were
assembled for the removal of the goods, and hindering
as much as possible the spreading of the flame, the wind
blowing from the north-east, carried such sparks of the
fire in the opposite direction, as kindled some houses on
the west side of the Saltmarket, insomuch, that both
sides of that street were totally consumed, and in it the
most extensive edifices of the town. From the Salt-
market, the fire was carried by contiguous buildings to
the Trongate, Gallowgate, and Bridgegate streets,
where a great many houses, with the furniture of the
inhabitants, fell a sacrifice to its fury. This calamity
continued near eighteen hours, before the great violence
of the fire began to abate. In this space of time, many
were reduced to poverty, and the dwellings of nearly one
thousand families utterly consumed.

The greater part of these unfortunate sufferers were
obliged to betake themselves to the shelter of huts
erected in the fields, till more comfortable accommodation
could be got ready. By Saturday evening, numbers had
returned to the city, and it was hoped that the calamity
was completely over. Unluckily, however, this was not
the case, for betwixt the hours of seven and eight on
Sunday morning, the fire broke out afresh on the north
side of the Trongate, and continued burning violently

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 275

till near twelve at noon. This new accident not only
destroyed a great number of dwelling houses, and occa-
sioned the pulling down of many more, but it so terrified
the whole of the inhabitants, that they carried from their
houses what moveables they had, and betook themselves
for several nights to the open fields, where they con-
tinued till all danger of re-ignition had been removed.

This event, by which one third part of the city was
destroyed, is attested in a letter from Colonels Overton
and Blackmore to Oliver Cromwell, wherein they reckon
the damage at no less than one hundred thousand
pounds sterling. Cromwell, upon the receipt of this
letter, and of a representation by the magistrates,,
generously set on foot a subscription for their relief. To
this cause, how serious soever at the time, the city was
partly indebted for that regularity and elegance which
has since distinguished it.

1677. — The next great conflagration in the city took
place on the third day of November. Early on the
morning of that day, the inhabitants were aroused from
their repose by loud cries of fire. The whole population
was soon on the spot, and found good occasion for their
nocturnal alarm. A malicious boy, the apprentice to a
blacksmith, being menaced and beaten by his master,
was determined on revenge, and, accordingly, at one in
the morning, set his work-shop on fire, which stood at
the head of the Saltmarket, at the back of the street
tenement on the west side. No sooner did the torch

276 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

take effect, than the whole blazed up like fury ; and in
less than two hours, all the tenements situated at the
back, immediately contiguous, were consumed. It then
broke out in the front houses on both the west and east
sides, and burned down to the middle of the street.
Roofs and beams were to be seen or heard falling in all
directions ; and wo to those who were within reach of
the devouring elements. Round the north-west corner
of the Saltmarket, the conflagration extended to the
Tron Church, razing every object before it to the
ground, while several large tenements at the head of
the Gallowgate shared the same fate. So great indeed
was the heat, that the clock in the tolbooth or cross
steeple was destroyed. The doors of the prison were
broken open by the populace, and those in confinement,
who principally consisted of covenanters, were set free,
among whom was the laird of Carsland, a well known
religionist of the time. Furniture and goods of all
kinds were pitched over every window, and no attempts
were made to stop the ravages of the flames till ten
o'clock in the forenoon. Nor even then were endeavours
immediately effectual ; and it burned with almost un-
abated fury till two o'clock, when it quietly expired.
During the conflagration the wind had shifted several
times. The bitter cries of the poor struck piteously
upon every ear, — and it was indeed lamentable to wit-
ness their confusion.*

* The following extract from the Acts of the Scottish Parliament
in 1G98 appears to relate to the above conflagration: —

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 277

From the Glasgow Journal.

1748. — " Betwixt one and two o'clock on Wednesday
morning, July 25th, 1748, a fire broke out in the house
of John King, vintner in the Saltmercat, which burned
some time before it was discovered, and with such
violence, that Mr. King's house was mostly consumed,
and one of the garrets brought down ; the flames and
smoke soon filled the staircase, so that several people in
the upper stairs had no way of escaping but by ladders
from the street ; by the assistance of the water engines
it was prevented from spreading farther. Before any
help came, Mr. King, and a gentleman who lodged in
the house that night, were both burnt to death ; the ser-
vants, and a young boy, (a son of Mr. King's,) made
their escape. The particulars of this tragical affair, and

"1698. Anent the petition given in by John Gilhagie, merchant
in Glasgow, showing that where in the late conflagration and
burning in Glasgow, in which both sides oithe Saltmercat was in
a flame upon an instant and totally burnt; the petitioner had then
by the burning of his houses there, his planishing in them, and his
two well furnist buiths, and merchant ware in them, twenty
thousand merks of loss; as also in the same year, by trade in
severall voyages and concerns in ships to Archangell, Canaries,
and Madairies, (which was the first undertakings to those planta-
tions from Glasgow,) and by one ship of his at the same time
comeing from France with wynes here, being cast away at the bay
ofYochill, on the west side of Ireland; he had five hundred
pound sterling of loss, and since that time he has had of coall
works, near Glasgow, these some years by past, above 20,000 merks
of loss; by all which, and the rigidity of severalls of his creditors
by captions, &c. he is depryved of all means of industry for subsist-
ence of himself and his familie, who are in very sad circumstances
at present, &c." — Ads of Parl. x. 137.

278 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

the manner how it happened, are so differently told, that
we cannot venture to publish any of them for truth."

1749. — " On Saturday night, 5th June, between seven
and eight o'clock, a fire broke out in the Gorbals of
Glasgow, which burnt with great violence till four o'clock
on Sunday morning, notwithstanding of the utmost
endeavours of the watermen, with three fire-engines,
which played upon it incessantly all that time. It is
reckoned that upwards of 1 50 families were burnt out ;
most of their furniture and a great deal of manufactures
being likewise consumed. The fire began in the back
houses on the east side of the Main-Street, burnt to the
fore side, and communicated itself to the west side of the
street, and burnt from the New- Street to Paisley loan,
on both sides. There has not a fire happened within
these 60 years, in or about this place, attended with so
much devastation. ",

1793. — An alarming incident occured in the city on
the 8th of February. This was the destruction of the
Laigh Kirk by fire, supposed to have arisen from the
carelessness of some persons then on guard ; the session-
house being at that time used by the citizens as a guard-
room. Unluckily the damage was not confined to the
destruction of the church. The records of the General
Session, lodged here, were entirely consumed, and the
register of the proceedings of the presbytery greatly
injured.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 279

No great conflagration, threatening any extensive de-
vastation of the city, has occurred since 1793, with the
exception of the destruction of Mr. John Reid's upholstery
work at the foot of Virginia- Street, in 1813, — that of the

Theatre-Royal, Queen-Street, in 1829, and of the large

cotton stores in Mitchell- Street, in 1830.

FLOODS.

1782. — During the spring of this year, there happened
a most remarkable inundation of the Clyde. This took
place on Tuesday the 12th of March, and, for its magni-
tude, was unequalled in the annals of the city. For
some few days before, there had been an almost uninter-
rupted fall of snow and rain, but more particularly heavy
in that part of the country where the Clyde takes its
rise, than about the city of Glasgow. The river, how-
ever, till the Monday preceding the inundation, did not
seem to carry any very threatening appearance, other-
wise than what it shows in bad or stormy weather. But,
on the afternoon of that day, it began suddenly to swell,
and before ten in the evening, the waters had extended
over the Green, stopped the communication with the
country by the bridges, and laid the Bridgegate in flood
to the depth of some feet. As the inhabitants of that
street had been frequently used to inundations of the
river, they quietly allowed themselves to be surrounded
by the water, thinking, that during the night it would
subside as usual, and in this opinion many of them went

280 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

to bed. Instead of decreasing, the flood increased, and
the fears of the suffering inhabitants were at last seriously
roused, when they perceived the waters getting higher
than they had ever witnessed them, by flooding their
ground apartments several feet deep, extinguishing their
fires, and at last entering these very beds, where, a tew
hours before, many had lain down to rest. By day their
situation would even have been thought to be particularly
afflicting, but how much more so was it now, in a dark
and gloomy night, when they found themselves partly
immersed, and surrounded on all sides by water, and in
these very places where they had promised themselves
security.

To fly at this time from the presence of the calamity
was impossible, as the water in the street, from its depth
and current, would have frustrated the attempt, by at
once sacrificing those lives, which in another situation it
so dreadfully threatened. Nothing was now to be heard
but the cries of despair, and the most pitiful exclamations
for help, uttered by the old as well as the young. Day
at length approached, and hoped-for relief was at hand,
from the exertions of their fellow-citizens.

By seven o'clock in the morning of Tuesday, the flood
began to abate, to the infinite satisfaction of the sufferers,
as well as the other inhabitants, who had it now in their
power to administer that relief which before was imprac-
ticable. Boats were accordingly sent up and down the
streets, loaded with provisions, to furnish such as stood

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 281

in need, and for the purpose of bringing off others, whose
fears cautioned them against staying longer in their
houses.

Independent of this scene of misery, which pressed so
hard upon the inhabitants of this particular quarter, the
river when viewed from another point of view, exhibited
a most terrific and threatening appearance, for not only
was the whole of the Bridgegate overflowed, but also the
lower part of the Saltmarket, Stock well, and Jamaica
Streets, as well as the village of G-orbals, which appeared
as an island in the midst of an estuary. The current of
the river was besides so exceedingly rapid and strong,
that not only were the greatest trees borne along like
straws upon its stream, but had it continued in such a
situation to increase a few hours longer, the two bridges
must have fallen a sacrifice to its fury. Luckily this
did not take place, as the Clyde, after having attained
fully the height of twenty feet above its ordinary level,
began to fall, and by Wednesday immediately following,
it was again confined to its ordinary channel. Only one
person lost her life by this flood, a young woman in the
Gorbals, though a great many cows and horses that
could not be removed from their stables were drowned.
The exact height of the flood is marked on the walls of a
house at the foot of the Saltmarket, upon the east side
of that street.

The damage sustained by this unprecedented inunda-
tion was very great, from the quantities of tobacco, sugar,
and other merchandise, that were either carried away,

282 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO

or destroyed by the stream. With a view of alleviating
in some degree the loss sustained, a subscription was set
on foot, and in the course of a few days, to the honour of
the citizens of Glasgow, upwards of five hundred pounds
sterling, was contributed for this generous purpose.

1795. — On the 18th of November the Clyde again rose
to a great height, and inundated the lower parts of the
city nearly as much as it had done in the memorable
flood of the 12th day of March, 1782 ; and, like it,
the swelling of the river was occasioned by a very
severe storm of wind, rain, and snow, which commenced
upon Tuesday the 17th, and continued almost without
intermission till the following Wednesday in the after-
noon. About the middle of that day, the current was so
strong as to shake the piers of a newly erected bridge,
opposite the foot of Saltmarket- Street, and in conse-
quence two of the arches immediately gave way, and
with a tremendous crash fell into the river. The con-
cussion of the water occasioned by this cause, was almost
irresistible ; the doors of the washing-house, though situ-
ated at a considerable distance, were burst open, and a
great quantity of clothes and utensils carried off by the
impetuous stream. In the afternoon, the three remain-
ing arches of the bridge shared the same fate with the
others ; and thus in the compass of a few hours, that
edifice, which had been nearly a year and a half in
erecting, was completely destroyed. At this time, the
Bridgegate, the lower parts of the Saltmarket, Stockwell,

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 283

Jamaica-Street, and the village of Gorbals, were all
under water to the depth of several feet, while boats
were plying up and down these streets, administering
relief to such as were in danger. On Friday morning,
the river was again confined to its ordinary channel, and
till Saturday, hopes were entertained that the violence
of the storm was over ; however, on that day it began to
snow and rain afresh, and with such violence, that the
Clyde quickly rose, and twice in the compass of one
week overflowed the lower part of the city. On Sunday
the waters appeared to be retiring, and by Monday
afternoon the inundation was completely over, to the
great satisfaction of the inhabitants. During this flood
one boy was drowned in attempting to go home, near the
foot of the New Wynd.

1808. — The city, on Tuesday, August 18th, between
three and four o'clock, p. M. was the scene of a violent
storm of rain, hail, thunder, and lightning. The streets
were quite inundated with torrents, and, amid the
cataracts of hail and rain, fell several large pieces of ice.
Innumerable panes of glass were broken, and sky-lights
and cupolas were dashed in pieces.

In consequence of an incessant heavy fall of rain, from
nine o'clock on the night of Saturday, September 5th,
till eight on that of Sunday, the Clyde rose to a greater
height than it had attained for the last twelve years,
when the new bridge was destroyed. The lower streets
of the city were laid under water, and passage by the

284 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

bridges for those on foot was obstructed. Much grain,
and several cattle were forcibly swept away by the
stream from the low grounds on its banks. Two arches
of the bridge over the Clyde, near Hamilton, on the
road from that place to Edinburgh, fell on Sunday. A
young man in a boat, near the Clyde Iron-works, and
another in the Green, lost their lives when attempting
to secure some of the floating grain.

In 1816 another flood of the river also occurred, when
it rose to the height of 17 feet, and in the years 1820,
1823, 1827, 1829, and 1832, respectively, the town was
visited with " spates " which, however, must be regarded
as comparatively unimportant.

285

CHAPTER X.

ANCIENT AND MODERN POLITICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE
CITY.

" Being mounted in their best array.
Upon a car, and who but they!
And folio w'd by a world of tall lads
That merry ditties troll, and ballads,
They ride with many a good morrow,
Crying, hey for our town! through the borough."

BUTLER.

SINCE the first erection of Glasgow into a Royal
Burgh by William the Lion, in 1180, several altera-
tions in the political constitution of the city have taken
place. William and Mary, in 1691, by their charter, em-
powered the magistrates and council to elect the provost,
and conferred powers of choosing all other officers, as fully
and freely as the City of Edinburgh, or any other Royal
Burgh. The form and manner of this election by the
Town Council, has since varied according to the different
constitutions adopted at subsequent periods. In 1711,
the original set underwent some alterations; and, in
1748, another was adopted, and afterwards confirmed,

286 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

upon a petition from the magistrates and council, in
1801, to the convention of Royal Burghs. This is at
present adhered to, with this alteration, that instead of
two Merchant baillies, three are now elected, and two
instead of one from the Trades.

By the original as well as present constitution of the
city, the civil establishment of Glasgow consists of three
different bodies ; the Magistrates with the Town Coun-
cil; the Merchants' House ; and the Trades' House.

By King James' charter, in 1450, the bishop and his
successors held the city as a burgh of regality, by pay-
ing yearly, upon St. John's day, a red rose, if the same
should be asked. These ecclesiastics, to awe the inhabi-
tants, appointed powerful nobles as baillies. The Lennox
family long held this office, and, in 1621, acquired an
absolute right to it from the Archbishop. The duke of
Lennox at length resigned it to the crown, which, till
1748, appointed the baillies of regality.

The Town Council is elected annually, in the month
of October. Previous to the passing of the Reform
Bill, to this body belonged a vote in the election of a
member to represent the citizens in Parliament. This
privilege, however, they only enjoyed in common with
the burghs of Renfrew, Rutherglen, and Dumbarton,
which had equal shares with the city of Glasgow. It
almost affords reason for a smile, that one of the most
important cities of the empire for wealth and population,
should, till so late a period, have had no more than this
paltry political right, and should be obliged to club with

CHBONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 287

these insignificant villages in the election of a represen-
tative to the grand council of the nation.

Many and mixed as are the elements of which Glas-
gow is composed, there is perhaps none deserving more
of notice, than its Corporation, as the imperial govern-
ment of the city is termed.

In the regal state of its provosts, the city of St.
Mungo, has a security of efficiency and greatness to
which few other towns can lay claim. The civic
monarch can never be a mewling infant, or a doating
old man, at the mercy of designing knaves. From time
immemorial he has come in the beam and breadth of
manhood, when no swaddling band could girdle even a
limb of him ; and he retires from office before age can
have made him feeble, or power tyrannical. In his day
and generation he is as perfect as the sovereign of
Britain himself. Not only is he the head of the civil
government within the city, but the multiplicity of his
offices per mare per terram, give him an importance not
a little enviable. Into the nature, however, of his
functions, it is unneccessary that we should enter. They
stand recorded on the pages of books, and the faces of
men ; — no one can dwell within the limits of his
authority, within the changes of a year, without know-
ing and admiring their sublimity and their substance.
In former times, when he yoked the steeds to the chariot
of his power, he had more of the true sublime about
him than ever was in the Doge of Venice wedding the

288 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNOO.

wild waves of the Adriatic, or in an ordinary navigator
going forth to girdle the world.

Next to the King of the Corporation come the
Baillies, who constitute both in purse and in person the
nobility of St. Mungo. Your parliamentary peer is
always held as being the more honourable, the farther
he is personally removed from that ancestor, in conse-
quence of whose doings, good or bad, the peerage was
conferred. A man is born a peer, and though he be the
wisest or most foolish of his generation, his status in
society is not thereby altered a single jot. But no man
is born a baillie, — such an honour as it is, it is an honour
to be won. The candidate must acquire wealth, and eat
his way through many and strong fortifications, and thus
the two grand civic points are made sure — a Glasgow
peer can always keep the dignity of the city in its chosen
characteristic, and he can always afford to do so.

After the Baillies we have the Councillors, — the speak-
ing part of the Corporation, who, though they open their
mouths as wide as the men of more ample volume and
honour, are not yet fed up to the proper weight of
" baillieship."* The others are the rulers of the city;
but these are the city itself; and whosoever shall step
into their " Council Chambers " of a Thursday to

* The obesity of baillies is proverbial, yet it is worthy of record,
that the present Town Council of Glasgow is the only one " within
the memory of the oldest inhabitant," in which the " paradise of
the bowels" is not to be found in quocunyue corpore.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 289

listen to their oratorical displays, will behold a mightier
and more miraculous confusion of language, than took
place at the dispersion of the impious sons of men, when
they dared to build a tower " to scale high heaven itself."
Bound the foot of that redoubtable tower, it required the
blending together of many tongues ere the motley speech
could be rendered unintelligible, but their descendants
of these enlightened times, out of somewhat less than one
language, contrive to mix up an oratory, the niceties of
which not all the scholars,, versed in all the languages of
the world, can at times unravel.*

The vergers and mace-bearers of the Corporation are
the Town's Officers, and like their masters, — now some-
what degenerated, — they were formerly remarkable for
their rotundity. The appearance, till very lately, cor-
porum suorum, bespoke or partook of the mild and broad
comfort of the genuine civic cheer, and argued the idea,
that on great occasions, after their "lordships" had
triumphed over solids and over liquids, nothing could be
more pious for them, subalterns, to perform, than to clear
the board, and leave " no world of flesh or wine " behind.

MERCHANTS' HOUSE.

The first institution of the Merchants' House was
produced by a dispute respecting rank between it and
the Trades. This having subsisted for some time, was
at last settled by a submission from the parties to Sir

* Babylon the Great,
o

290 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

George Elphinstone, then Provost, and two of the
ministers of the city, who, in 1605, pronounced an
award, which is called the Letter of Guildry, and which
was confirmed September llth, 1672, by Act of Par-
liament.

Agreeably to this, the Dean of Guild, who must be a
merchant, and his assistants, thirty-six in number,
together with the Lord Provost, Merchant Baillies, and
the Collector, represent the community, and manage the
concerns of the Merchants' House, of which no person
can be admitted a member without previously having
become a burgess.

Part of the money mortified to the House, and from
which its fixed revenue arises, is left to the free disposal
of the members for the time, while in other cases they
are tied down and restricted, in the application of the
funds, to certain rules and regulations prescribed by the
donors.

Every person who settles in this city as a merchant
or trader, must immediately enter with the Dean of
Guild, by paying according to his situation, if a stranger
or otherwise, a certain sum, for which he is admitted a
burgess and a guild-brother.

THE TRADES' HOUSE.

This body, which forms the third branch of the political
Corporation of the city, is composed of representatives
from each of the fourteen incorporated trades, together
with a president, who is called the Deacon Convener.

CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO. 291

The following is the list of the Corporations as they stand
in the order of precedency in the Deacon Convener's
books: — Hammermen,* Taylors,! Cordiners, Maltmen,

* The following is the rationale" of the precedence of the
" knights of the hammer" as given by M'Ure: — " The blacksmiths
have the precedency of all trades in Glasgow considering their rise ;
for we read that Tubal Cain was an instructor of every artificer in
brass and iron, who flourished after the creation of the world,
anno, 874; he was the son of Lamech, and his mother's name was
Zillah, and the sister of Tubal Cain was Namah, whom (as the
learned conceive, and the agreement of the name and function
makes probative,) the heathens worshipped by the name of Vulcan,
the god of Smiths, and his sister Namah, by the name of Venus,
who first taught men how to make arms and other instruments of
iron, and was so called by reason of her beauty, Exod. chap. xxxi.
" And though the blacksmiths be accounted an unclean trade, yet
if you look into the 13th chapter of the first book of Samuel, verse
19th, you will there see in what a sad condition poor Israel was in
for want of blacksmiths; in regard it was a cursed politic in the
Philistines, which also other nations used, as the 'Chaldeans, to
take away their smiths, and Porcena obliged the Romans by cove-
nant, to use no iron but in tillage of their land.

" The annals of England maketh mention of the smith, and in
the history of king Henry the Eight, you will find there was a
blacksmith's son whose name was Thomas Cromwell, who was
vice-gerent unto the king's person, and one of his privy counsellors.
And if you read the history of Scanderbeg of the Turks, you will
find there was a blacksmith who was a general, and had com-
manded all their armies, and when all his officers fled, he gained
the victory. Likewise in the lives of the emperors, you will find
one of them was a blacksmith, and in the history of Queen Mary
six blacksmiths were burnt alive for refusing to bow their knees
to Baal ; and in the history of the heraldry of arms, you will find
the highest coat of arms in the three nations belongs to the black-
smiths, their motto is an escroll, —

' By hammer in hand all arts do stand.' "
f " The jovial taylor at his carouse sings merrily thus, —

292 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

Weavers,* Baxters, Skinners, Wrights, Coopers, Masons,
Flcshers, Gardeners, Barbers,! Hatters.

These fourteen incorporations, with the Merchants'
House, are the only chartered societies that have a share
in the government of the city, and from whom the
councillors, and consequently the magistrates are elected.

By the addition to the charter of the burgh in 1801, it
is provided that every person who shall be elected into
any one of the offices of Provost, Baillie, Dean of Guild,
or Deacon Convener, shall, on his refusing to accept, at
tbe first meeting of council after the election of the Dean
of Guild, be fined in the sum of eighty pounds sterling ;
and also, that every Councillor nominated and declining
to accept, shall be fined within three months after his
election, in the sum of forty pounds sterling. The fines
so incurred, are to be levied for the behoof of the poor
of the Merchants' and Trades' Houses respectively,
according to the rank of the refusing member.

SUBURBS.
GORBALS.

The magistrates of the Gorbals are annually elected,
and consist of a senior and two resident baillies. The

' That man be prince or noble born,
Our handiwork must him adorn.' '' MM in

* The weavers obtained a seal of cause from the magistrates,
with consent of the archbishop, in 1528.

t The surgeons, formerly incorporated with the barbers, were
separated from them about the middle of last century.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 293

Lord Provost, Town-Council, and magistrates of Glas-
gow, as superior of the barony, appoint one of their
number to be the chief or senior baillie, and two of the
inhabitants are at the same time chosen to act in the
like capacity. These are elected from among the in-
habitants of the old village of Gorbals and Trades-
ton the one year, and from those of Hutchesontown
and Laurieston, the next. To these are added four
Burliemen,* who act as a Dean of Guild Court.

* The origin of this word is very ancient. The following will
afford some explanation:—

Burlie-Baillies are officers employed to enforce the laws of the
Burlaw-Courts.

" This falconer had tane his way,
O'er Calder-moor; and gawn the moss up,
He thare forgather'd with a gossip:
And wha was't, trow ye, but the deel,
That had disguis'd himsell sae weel
In human shape, sae snug and wylie;
Jud tuk him for a burlie-baillie."

RAMSEY'S POEMS, ii. 536.

" Laws of Burlawar maid and determined be consent of neicht-
bors, elected and chosen be common consent, in the courts called
the Byrlaw courts, in the quhilk cognition is taken of complaintes
betwixt nichtbour and nichtbour. The quhilk men sa chosen, as
judges and arbitrators to the effect foresaid, are commonly called
Byrlaw-men." — Skene.

" Birlaw courts are rewied be consent of neighbours."— Regiam
Majistatem, B. iv. c. 39. § 8.

"This little republic was governed by a birley court, in which
every proprietor of a freedom had a vote."_P. Crawford, Lanarks.
Statist. Ace. iv. 512, 513.

" The said John Hay, as tacking burden aforesaid, obliges him-
self to provide the foresaid William in ane house and yard, — and
to give him ane croft by the sight of barlay-men, give he require

294 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

ANDERSTON AND CALTON.

These districts, the western and eastern suburbs of
the city, are also respectively independent of its juris-
diction. The former is governed by a Provost, 3 baillies,
and 11 councillors, — the latter by a Provost, 3 baillies,
and 11 councillors.

the same, he paying the rent the barlay-men puts it to." — Con-
tract A. 1721. State Fraser of Fraserfield, p. 327.— JAMIESON'S
ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY, VOL. i.

295

CHAPTER XL

SKETCH OP THE PROGRESS OP COMMERCE AND
MANUFACTURES.

" All is the gift of enterprise, whate'er
Exalts, embellishes, or renders life
Delightful."

THE only description of industry known to have been
practised by the inhabitants of Glasgow at an early
period, beyond that applied to those employments which
supplied them with articles of domestic or personal
necessity, was fishing in the river Clyde, and this, it
would appear, as early as the year 1420, they had carried
to such extent, as to make it a branch of trade. A Mr.
Elphinstone is mentioned as engaged, at that date, in
the trade of curing and pickling salmon, and sending it
for sale to the French market; and Principal Bailie
notices, that between the year 1630 and 1660, the expor-
tation of salmon and herrings from Glasgow had greatly

'296 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

increased. It is certain too, that before the year 1546,
Glasgow was possessed of some shipping; for, upon a
complaint from Henry VIII. King of England, that
year the Privy Council of Scotland issued an order, that
the ships belonging to Scotland, (and those belonging to
Glasgow are particularly mentioned,) should not annoy
the ships belonging to the uncle of our sovereign lady
the queen.* In Charles II.'s reign, there was a privateer
fitted out from the Clyde, to cruise against the Dutch ;
this vessel of war, called the "Lion of Glasgow," was of
sixty tons burden, carried four pieces of ordnance, and
was commanded by Captain Robert M' Allan.

* The ancient borough of Rutherglen puts in claims to have
been a place of mercantile resort long before this period. Mr. Ure,
the historian of the burgh, has these remarks, in 1793: —

" It is impossible now to ascertain to what extent the trade of
Clyde was anciently carried, and what proportion of it belonged
to Rutherglen, at the time when it was erected into a Royal Burgh.
It is highly probable, that Rutherglen, at that time, was the only
town of mercantile importance in the strath of Clyde; and that to
it any trade that might be in the river chiefly belonged. That the
channel of Clyde was then naturally much deeper than at present,
we have no reason to doubt, when we reflect that many million
cart loads of mud and sand have been since thrown into it from
the land. Trading vessels, therefore, which at that period were of
a small construction, might be carried with ease up to the town.
We are sure, however, that, till of late, gabberts of considerable
burden sailed almost every day from the quay of Rutherglen to
Greenock, <fcc. The freight was chiefly coals. The ship, there-
fore, with propriety constituted a principal part of the coat of
arms. On the old seal, which is long ago lost, the human figures
were ill executed, but the form of the ship was somewhat uncom-
mon. It resembled the navis antic/ua of the ancients, and is
known by the name of the Herald's ship, because it was introduced
by herald's into the blazoning of coats of arms."

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 297

In 1667, a concern was entered into to carry ,on the
trade of whale fishing, and along with it a manufactory
of soap. The partners of this company were, Mr. after-
wards Sir George Maxwell of Pollock, Bart.,* Sir John
Bell of Hamilton Farm, Knight, John Campbell of
Woodside, John Graham of Dugalston, John Anderson
of Dowhill, John Luke of Claythorn, William Anderson,
and James Colquhoun, late magistrates of the city, and
John Anderson, master of the ship Providence. This
vessel, of seven hundred tons burden, built at Belfast,
was one of five ships which the company fitted out in this
trade. The company had extensive premises at Green-
ock for boiling blubber and curing fish. An advertise-
ment from the company appeared in the Glasgow Courant
on the 1 1th of November, 1715, being the first advertise-
ment in the first newspaper in the west of Scotland. It
was in the following words : — " Any one who wants
good black or speckled soap, may be served by Robert
Luke, manager of the Soaperie of Glasgow, at reason-
able rates."

The fishing branch of the concern, owing to improper
management, proved unsuccessful, and the capital which
the partners had stocked of £1500 sterling each, having
been lost, it was abandoned.

The business of manufacturing soap was more fortu-
nate, and continued to be carried on by this company,
with a succession of partners, assumed from time to

* Mr. George Maxwell was the first titled individual of the
family. He was created a baronet by King James II. in 1682.

298 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

time afterwards, into the concern, up to the year 1777,
when the extensive works, erected by the first partners
upon the site where the suite of warehouses called Com-
mercial Court, at the head of the Candleriggs, now
stands, having been partly consumed by fire, it was also
given up. The remainder of the premises were burned
down at a subsequent period.*

In 1669, the sugar-baking business was begun in Glas-
gow, and the Sugar-house, known afterwards by the
name of the Western Sugar-house, built.t The Eastern,
South, and King-Street Sugar-houses soon followed.
About the same time, two concerns, called the Glasgow
Tan-Work, and the Glasgow Rope-Work Companies,
were entered into. Some little thing began to be done
also about this time in the manufacturing of plaids, of
coarse cloths, and coarse linens, and a spirit of industry
and enterprise to manifest itself in the different classes
of the community.

Until after the year 1707, the foreign trade of Glas-
gow, being confined to transactions with the Continent
of Europe, was but of limited amount. Any intercourse
it carried on was chiefly with Holland ; although, in
1707, Messrs. Walter Gilmour & Co., a mercantile house
of Glasgow, appear to have cured and packed three

* The designation " Candleriggs," seems to have had its origin
from the extensive soap and candle manufactories existing in that
locality.

t The buildings of Stockwell Place are now erected on the site
of the Western Sugar-house.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 299

hundred lasts of herrings, which they sent to St. Mar-
tins, in France, and brought back brandies in return.

But the union of the kingdoms at this period having
opened the colonies to the Scotch, the merchants of
Glasgow immediately availed themselves of the circum-
stance, and, engaging extensively in a trade with Vir-
ginia and Maryland, soon made their city a mart for
tobacco, and the chief medium through which the farmers
general of France received their supplies of that article.

They carried on this commerce at first in vessels char-
tered from the English ports ; and it was not till the
year 1718, that a ship built on the Clyde, the property
of Glasgow, crossed the Atlantic. They were enabled, it
would appear, however, to furnish the tobacco they
brought home upon more advantageous terms than the
merchants of London, Bristol, Liverpool, or Whitehaven,
could do: and this produced such an animosity with
those parties, that, in the year 1717, they gave in a
representation to the Commissioners of the Customs,
stating that the trade of Glasgow was not fairly carried
on. This allegation the merchants of our city were
enabled completely to rebut ; but continuing still to
undersell the English traders, a confederacy of the
whole tobacco-merchants was formed against them, and
they were charged with practising frauds upon the
revenue in the conducting of their business. The matter
in 1721, underwent a strict examination by the Lords of
the Treasury, who, after patiently hearing parties, and
considering memorials upon the business, dismissed the

300 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

cause in the following words : — " That the complaints of
the merchants of London, Liverpool, Whitehaven, &c.
are groundless, and proceed from a spirit of envy, and
not from a regard to the interests of trade, or to the
King's revenue." But the affair was not allowed to
rest here, these parties now made a complaint to Parlia-
ment, and, in 1722, Commissioners were sent to Glas-
gow, who imposed a number of restrictions on the trade,
which, cramping it in its operations, caused it to lan-
guish for several years ; and it was not till the year
1735, that it regained its former activity and prosperity.

To so great an extent was this branch of commerce
carried on at Glasgow, that, for several years before the
war, which ended in A merican independence, the annual
imports of tobacco into the Clyde, were from 35,000 to
45,000 hhds. ; and in the year immediately preceding
that event, 57,143 hhds. were imported. Only from 1200
to 1300 hhds. of the annual imports were sold for home
consumption.

This trade, while it continued, engrossed almost the
whole capital and commercial enterprise of Glasgow.
Very little other foreign trade was attempted ; and any
manufactures that were carried on, were chiefly of
articles adapted to the demands of the Virginia market.
Indeed, supplying that state with European goods, and
taking off the produce of its soil in return, became, in a
great degree, a monopoly in the hands of the Glasgow
merchants.

It appears, that, very soon after the Union, some

CHRONICLES OF ST. "MUNGO. 301

attempts were made to open a trade with, the West
India Islands, but to the extent only of sending out a
ship occasionally with herrings and a few bale goods,
and bringing back a return of sugar and rum. It was
not till about the year 1 732, that any connection with
the planters in these Islands, to supply them with
necessaries for their estates, and to receive, on consign-
ment, their crops, took place ; and up to the year 1 775,
even this business was confined to a few houses, and
with these, except in one or two cases, not understood to
have proved beneficial.

The manufacture of linens, lawns, cambrics, and other
articles of similar fabric, was introduced into Glasgow
about the year 1725, and continued as the staple manu-
facture, till superseded by the introduction of muslins.

The manufacture of green glass bottles commenced in
1730, when the first bottle-house was erected on the
same spot where the Customhouse now stands. The
demand for bottles at that period was so small, that
although the work was not of large extent, the men
were only employed about four months in the year.
Although the manufacture of crown or window glass
has not succeeded in Glasgow, that of flint glass, or
crystal, has been carried on to a very great extent.
This .branch of the business was introduced in 1777, by
Messrs. Cookson & Co. of Newcastle, and is now con-
ducted, on an extensive scale, at Verreville, in the
vicinity of this city.

Glasgow was the first place in Britain in which inkle

302 CHKONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

wares were manufactured. In 1732, Mr. Alexander
Harvey, of this city, at the risk of his life, brought
away from Harlaem, two inkle looms and a workman,
and was enabled, by that means, to introduce the manu-
facture of this article into the city. About the same
time, or soon after, a manufactory of delf ware, or
pottery, was established in Glasgow, and although the
cheapness of fuel, and the command of water carraige,
in the direction of every market, would seem to make
this a favourable situation for carrying on that branch
of business to advantage, the attention of the inhabi-
tants having been early and strongly directed to other
objects, this manufacture has never been extended.

The first printfield belonging to the city, was fitted up
at Pollockshaws, about the year 1742, by Messrs. Ing-
ram & Co.

The brewing business, which is now carried on to a
great extent in the vicinity of the city, was, previous to
1745, chiefly confined to what was called caldron ale
brewing.

The interruption which the intercourse with America
met with, in 1775, forced the traders of Glasgow to turn
to other objects the enterprise and capital which the
commerce with that country had till then nearly wholly
engrossed. They now began more generally to direct
their attention to manufactures ; and Arkwright's dis-
covery of the improved process for spinning cotton-wool,
led, in a few years after this period, to attempts, by the
different manufacturing towns of the kingdom, to bring

CHRONICLES OP ST. MUTfGO. 303

the manufacture of muslins into this country. The
cambric and lawn manufacturers of Glasgow embarked
in the undertaking, and aided by the facility which a
similarity of the fabrics afforded, were successful beyond
their most sanguine expectation. It is worthy of remark,
that the late Mr. James Monteith of Anderston, father
of Henry Monteith, Esq. of Carstairs, was the first
manufacturer who warped a muslin web in Scotland.
The progress of the cotton manufacture at Glasgow
after this, was rapid ; a number of spinning works were
established, and most of the different fabrics of cotton
cloth were executed. Dyeing and printing of linen and
cotton cloths, a branch of manufacture which had been
going on for some time on a limited scale, was now
greatly extended, and furnished employment to a large
amount of capital. A number of other manufactures of
linen, woollen, iron, and of the other articles subsidiary
to more important branches, were prosecuted on a
smaller or greater scale, and continued to extend as the
general commerce of the city advanced. The manu-
facturers of Glasgow, who, till this period, had princi-
pally looked for a vent for their goods to the demands of
their own export merchants, now began to open a more
extensive sale to London, and other parts of England,
and going over to the Continent, formed connections
with almost every country of Europe.

The progress of manufactures necessarily led to
the introduction of a variety of chemical processes.
Among others, Messrs. George M'Intosh & Co. in 1777,

304 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

established a manufactory of cudbear, much valued in
the process of dyeing particular stuffs.

In 1785, Messrs. George M'Intosh and David Dale
engaged Monsieur Pierre Jacques Papillon, an eminent
turkey-red dyer from Rouen, and established a work in
the vicinity of the city, where cottons were dyed a real
turkey-red colour, equally fast and beautiful as those
from India. This work was kept secret for a consider-
able time; afterwards, however, a number of others
engaged in the trade, who carried it on with great
success.

The war of 1793, having, for a time, brought into our
possession the West India colonies of the other Euro-
pean States, the West India merchants of Glasgow
obtained a large share of the trade which this circum-
stance threw into the hands of this country.

The removal of the Royal Family of Portugal, to
America, having opened the trade of the Brazils to
foreigners, the merchants of Glasgow immediately
formed establishments there, and have continued since
to have a profitable intercourse with that country.
Establishments were also made at Buenos Ayres and
the Caraccas, as soon as these parts of America began
to assert their independence ; but the commerce with
these States long continued fluctuating and hazardous,
from the situation in which their affairs were kept.

Upon the conclusion of the peace of 1783, an inter-
course was opened by the merchants of Glasgow with
the different States of the American Union ; and the

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 305

introduction of the cultivation of cotton-wool, a few
years after, into the Southern States, furnished the
means for a great increase of this trade. Indeed, with-
out this new field to supply the quantity of the article
which the growing demands of the manufacturers re-
quired, and of the qualities suited to the different fabrics
to be made, this important branch of industry never
could have reached that high state at which it has
arrived. The bringing home this article for the
manufacturers of Glasgow, and sending out the returns,
became a great trade, and led to the formation of estab-
lishments for carrying on this part of the business at
Charlestown and New Orleans.

Besides the trade with those parts of America, which
have been mentioned, the merchants of Glasgow have
large dealings with Canada and Novia Scotia.

The rapid progress making in the use of mechanical
power in manufactures, is particularly favourable to the
growing prosperity of Glasgow, from the inexhaustible
supply of coal it possesses for working machinery.

The first shoe shop in Glasgow was opened in 1749, by
Mr. William Colquhoun.

The haberdashery business was first introduced into
the city by Mr. Andrew Lockhart. Mr. John Blair, and
Mr. James Inglis, are supposed to have been the first
persons who had front shops for the sale of hats in
Glasgow, the shops were both opened in 17-56, the former
in the Saltmarket, the latter in the Bridgegate.

306 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

The first silversmith's shop in Glasgow was opened
about the year 1720, by Mr. Robert Luke.

It is not easy to ascertain when the first woollen
draper's shop was opened in the city. In 1761, when
Mr. Patrick Ewing entered into the trade, it was very
limited.

307

CHAPTER. XII.

ANCIENT AND MODERN NAVIGATION OF THE CLYDE.

1 More pure than amber is the river Clyde,
Whose gentle streams do by thy borders glide;
And here a thousand sail receive commands,
To traffic for thec into foreign lands."

M'tlRE's HISTORY.

IN the beginning of the sixteenth century, the channel
of the river, for about thirteen miles below Glasgow,
was so incommoded by fords and shoals as to be scarcely
navigable for even small craft. But in 1556, the inhabi-
tants of the burghs of Glasgow, Renfrew,, and Dum-
barton, entered into an agreement to excavate the river
for six weeks alternately, with the view of removing the
ford at Dumbuck, and some lesser fords. By the exer-
tions of these parties, small flat-bottomed craft were
brought up to the Broomielaw at Glasgow, which was
then only a landing shore, there being no regular har-
bour for more than a hundred years after that period.

308 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

In 1653, the citizens of Glasgow had their shipping
harbour at the bailiery of Cunningham, in Ayrshire;
but this port being distant, and the land-carraige expen-
sive, the magistrates of Glasgow treated with the
magistrates of Dumbarton for ground on which to build
a harbour and docks at Dumbarton. After much dis-
cussion the negotiation broke up, the magistrates of
Dumbarton considering that the great influx of mariners
would "raise the price of provisions to the inhabitants."
The magistrates of Glasgow then turned their attention
to the Troon ; and here they were again repulsed for a
similar reason. In 1662, however, they succeeded in
purchasing thirteen acres of ground from Sir Robert
Maxwell of Newark, on which they laid out the town of
Port- Glasgow, built harbours, and made the first dry or
graving dock in Scotland. Soon after the Revolution in
1688, a quay was formed at the Broomielaw, at the ex-
pense of 30,000 merks Scots, or £1666 13s. 4d. sterling.
The east end was at the mouth of St. Enoch's Burn,
and the west at Robertson- Street.

At length, when the magistrates had got a shipping
port and a quay, they directed Mr. Smeaton, the
celebrated engineer, to inspect the river ; and on the
13th of September, 1755, he reported, inter alia, that
the river at the ford at the Point House, about two
miles below Glasgow, was only one foot three inches
deep at low water, and three feet eight inches at
high water. He proposed that a lock and dam should
be made at the Marlin ford, in order to secure four and

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 309

a half feet water up to the quay at Glasgow. The lock
was to be seventy feet long, and eighteen feet wide, and
so deep as to take in a flat-bottomed lighter at four and
a half feet draught of water. An act of parliament
was procured for the above purpose, but nothing further
was done in it.

The magistrates then required the assistance of Mr.
John Golborne of Chester, and he reported, on the 30th
of November, 1768, that the river was in a state of
nature ; and that at the shoal at Kilpatrick Sands, and
at each end of the Nushet Island, there was no more
than two feet of water. He then proposed to contract
the river by jetties eight miles below Glasgow, and to
dredge and deepen it, at an expense of .£8640. Mr.
Golborne having suggested that a survey of the river
should be taken, the magistrates employed Mr. James
Watt, afterwards the celebrated improver of the steam-
engine, who, along with Dr. Wilson and Mr. James
Barrie, reported that several parts of the river, from the
Broomielaw to the Point House, had less than two feet
water. In 1770, an act of parliament was procured, by
which the members of the city corporation were ap-
pointed trustees, with power to levy dues. The trustees
then contracted with Mr. Golborne for deepening the
river, and in January, 1775, he had erected 117 jetties
on both sides, which confined it within narrow bounds,
so that vessels drawing more than six feet water came
up to the Broomielaw at the height of the tide. On the
7th of September, 1781, Mr. Golborne made an estimate

310 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

for bringing vessels drawing seven feet water to the
Broomielaw ; and on the 22d of August, 1709, Mr. John
Rennie, civil engineer, London, reported his opinion
respecting the deepening of the river ; as did Mr. Thomas
Telford, civil engineer, London, on 24th of May, 1806 ;
Mr. John Rennie again, on the 24th of December, 1807 ;
Mr. Whidbey of Plymouth, on the 22d of September,
1824; Mr. John Clark, superintendent of the river, on
the llth of November, 1824; and Mr. Atherton, civil
engineer, Glasgow, in 1833. In 1825, the trustees
obtained another act of parliament, appointing five
merchants not connected with the corporation, additional
trustees on the river ; and increasing the dues on all
goods passing on the river from Is. to Is. 4d. per ton,
and on the admeasurement of all vessels coming to the
harbour, in name of harbour dues, from Id. to 2d. per
ton. The same act authorized dues to be levied for the
use of the sheds, according to a regulated schedule;
the former dues of Is. per ton on coals having been
taken off.

Mr. James Spreull was appointed superintendent of
the river in 1798; and, until his death in 1824, he was
enthusiastic in every thing that related to its improve-
ment. The increase of trade at the Broomielaw, in
consequence of these improvements, almost exceeds
belief. Less than fifty years ago, a few gabbards, and
these only about thirty or forty tons, could come up to
Glasgow ; now large vessels, many of them upwards of
800 tons burden, from America, the East and West

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 311

Indies, and the Continent, are often to be found three
deep along nearly the whole length of the harbour. A
few years ago the harbour was only 730 feet long ; it is
now 3340 feet long on the north side of the river, and
1260 on the south. Till of late years there were only a
few punts and ploughs for the purpose of dredging the
river; now there are four dredging machines with
powerful steam apparatus, and two diving bells. Till
lately there were no covering for goods at the harbour,
and but one small crane for loading and discharging ;
now the shed accommodation on both sides of the river is
most ample, and one of the cranes for shipping steam-
boat boilers, and other articles of thirty tons, made by
Messrs. Claud Girdwood and Co., may, for the union of
power with elegance of construction, challenge all the
ports in the kingdom.

The river, for seven miles below the city, is confined
within narrow bounds ; and the sloping banks, formed of
whinstone, in imitation of ashlar, are unequalled in the
kingdom, whether their utility or their beauty be taken
into account. By the year 1831, vessels drawing thir-
teen feet six inches of water, were enabled to come up
to the harbour of the Broomielaw. The increase of
trade on the Clyde having far exceeded what even the
most sanguine could have contemplated : we think that
some parts of the river may be widened with advan-
tage. In 1834, the trustees appointed Mr. Logan, civil
engineer, a gentleman of great talent and experience,
to direct the improvements of the river.

312 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

Till 1834, the river and harbour dues were annually
disposed of by public sale, but they have since been
collected by the trustees.*

The burgesses of Dumbarton are exempt from river
dues, in virtue of an old charter, f

The river dues have been greatly increased by steam
navigation.!

There is, perhaps, few features in the history of Glas-
gow more remarkable than the changes which have
taken place within the last thirty years in the facilities
of communication to "watering places." Little more
than that space of time has elapsed since the introduction
of steam navigation to the Clyde ; previously to which
period, such of our citizens as after a hard year's toil,

* The following is a statement of the amount of dues in the
years specified. In 1771, the first year's dues were £1021 ; in 1810,
£4,959; in 1812, £5525; in 1814, £6128; in 1833, £20,260; and in
1834, £21,260; exclusive of shed dues, which in 1833 amounted to
£1283, and in 1834 to £1564.

•f" From the time the exemption was first claimed, on 9th July,
1825, to 8tb July, 1834, they amounted to £4722 13s. viz. sailing
vessels, £803 13s. 4d., steam ditto £3918 19s. 8d. less £170 3s.
Id. paid by shareholders in steam -boats who were not burgesses of
Dumbarton.

£ From 8th July, 1833, to 9th July 1834, the river dues collected
stood to the gross revenue as follows: Total tonnage on merchan-
dize, 70 l-4th per cent.; ditto by sailing vessels, including ferries,
38 5-6 ths per cent.; ditto by steam ditto, 31 3-3ths per cent.; quay
dues by ditto, 15 l-6th per cent.; ditto by sailing ditto, 5 l-5th per
cent.; shed dues 5 7-12ths per cent; ferries 3 5-8ths per cent.
Total steam to total sailing vessels as 87 7-60ths to 100. Since
1834 the amount of dues has considerably increased.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 313

were desirous of wooing health to their emaciated cheeks
by a short season of relaxation on the coast, were obliged
to resort to a means of transporting themselves thither,
as to a modern Glasgowegian appears as indicative of
the public spirit of the fifteenth century, as the " ^Erial
Balloon," that of the twentieth.

Yet strange as it is to be averred, it is nevertheless
absolutely true, that during the last thirty years, we poor
erring mortals have acquired the skill to transport our-
selves to the distance of three thousand miles in as brief
a space of time, as our immediate ancestors would have
reckoned an ordinary passage to the place where " our
king Alexander killed the bold and haughty Danes."

Prior to the year 1812, the vehicles of communication
to the port of Greenock — which can now be reached per
mare in the space of an hour arid a half, — were a species
of wlftrry-built nutshells designated "Fly Boats," the
justice of which appellation will be sufficiently apparent
when it is considered that they generally completed their
voyage in the short space of ten hours! The convey-
ances of goods and passengers to places more remote,
were a more ambitious sort of machine, generally
known by the name of " Packet," which, with a fail-
wind, could reach the Isle of Bute in three days; but
when adverse, thought it " not wonderful " to plough the
billowy main for as many weeks!

Shade of M'Ure! thou who erst sang of the thousand
"gabbarts" which received their commands at the
" Bremylaw," ere proceeding to the foreign shores of
P

314 CHRONICLES OF ST. MTJNGO.

Dumbarton, — wake from thy tomb! and having gazed
upon the wonders of thy descendants, hide thy diminished
head, and shout aloud, " Of a verity, my children, I know
you not!"

315

CHAPTER XIII.

EMINENT NATIVES OF GLASGOW.

' Sola doctorum monumcnta vatum
Nesciunt Fati imperium sever!,
Sola contemnunt Phlegethonta et Orel
Jura superbi."

BUCHAJAN.

BIOGRAPHT may be regarded as probably the most
instructive of all species of reading, inasmuch, as pre-
senting to the mind an account of such individuals, who
by then" honourable exertions have gained a name among
their fellow-mortals, they afford a strong incitement to
honourable ambition, and it is not too much to observe,
that it will be confessed by almost any individual who
has become famous for his intellectual eminence, that a
devotion to such reading was the first source which
wafted that spark to his aspiring, but yet unkindled
heart, which afterwards enabled him to spread a blaze
of glory round himself and the place of his training.

,316 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

The city of Glasgow has at all times, from the mature
swarm which she continued to send forth to ply its busy
task on the expanded circuit of the world, contributed
to the improvement of our race, — and of that intellectual
eminence, which from age to age has never ceased to be
supplied, we have here become the " chroniclers."

BISHOP ELPHINSTON.

WILLIAM ELPHINSTON, the first of Scottish prelates in
Roman Catholic times, and the founder of the Univer-
sity of Aberdeen, was born in Glasgow in the year 1431.
He was the son of William Elphinston, (a cadet of the
noble family of that name,) who took up his abode in
Glasgow during the reign of James I. ; and it is worthy
of notice, that he was the first of its citizens who became
eminent, and acquired a fortune as a general merchant.
His mother was Margaret Douglas, daughter of the laird
of Drumlanrick. From his earliest youth, the subject of
our notice was remarkable for piety. At the age of
seven years he was sent to the grammar school of
his native city, where he made great progress in his
studies.

William Elphinston entered the University in the
very year of its foundation, and after studying philosophy
for a time, obtained the degree of Artium M*agister, in
the twenty-fifth year of his age, namely, in 1455. He
then took holy orders, and was ordained a priest ; but
was taken off his studies for some years by his parents,

CHRONICLES OP ST. MUXGO. 317 -

not so much on account of his weak health, as from a
desire which they had that he should look after their
affairs. He was afterwards appointed to the charge of
St. Michael's Church, situated on the site of the present
Tron Kirk, where he officiated for the space of four
years.

Evincing, however, though in his religious capacity,
an unconquerable attachment to the study both of the
civil and canon law, in the twenty-ninth year of his age
he went over to France, where he applied himself to the
study of law for the space of three years, at the end of
which he was elected to a professorial chair in the Uni-
versity of Paris, and afterwards to one at Orleans, in
both of which situations he taught the science of law,
with the utmost advantage to those who had the good
fortune to be his students, and with the highest credit
and applause to himself. Having in this manner spent
nine years abroad, he was, at the request of his friends,
prevailed upon to return to his native country, where he
was made parson of Glasgow, and official or commissary
of the diocese. As a mark of respect, too, the University
of Glasgow elected him Lord Rector, a few individuals
only before him having filled that office, which, from the
foundation of the University to the present time, has,
with very few exceptions, been occupied by the most
distinguished men of their respective times. On the
death of Bishop Muirhead, which took place only two
years after his return from the Continent, Elphinston
was nominated by Schevez, Bishop of St. Andrews,

318 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

official of Lothian; an office which he discharged so
much to the satisfaction of all concerned, that James III.
sent for him to Parliament, and appointed him one of
the lords of the Privy Council. It is a curious fact, worthy
of notice here, that at this period, men of various degrees
sat and deliberated and voted in Parliament, without
any other authority than being summoned by their
sovereign, as wise and good men, whose advice might be
useful in the management of public affairs. So little,
indeed, was the privilege of sitting and voting in Parlia-
ment then understood, or desired, that neither the war-
rant of their fellow subjects, nor the call of the king,
were sufficient to secure their attendance, and penalties
for non-attendance had before that period been exacted.
So great, indeed, was his familiarity with the king, that
he could presume with the utmost confidence to advise
him to leave off that debauchery to which he was en-
slaved. Elphinston had now made his first step up the
ladder of promotion, and possessing both talents and ad-
dress, was ready to embrace every opportunity which
might offer. Some differences having arisen through
the instrumentality of some individuals between the
French and Scottish courts, the latter alarmed lest there
would be a disruption of that ancient alliance which had
subsisted between the two countries, deemed it necessary
to send out an embassy for its preservation. The am-
bassadors were the Earl of Buchan, Lord Chamberlain
Livingston, Bishop of Dunkeld, and Elphinston, the
subject of this memoir, who, having thus an opportunity

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 319

of displaying his diplomatic tact, managed matters so
successfully as to have the whole merit attributed to
himself. As the reward of a service so important, he
was, on his return in 1479, appointed Archdeacon of
Argyle, and bishop-elect of Ross. The kindness of the
king to Elphinston was now increasing daily. Every
particular act of negotiation which was to be entered
into, he was called upon to perform. The propriety
which had hitherto marked his services, and the judg-
ment which had always attended the result, rendered his
influence beyond that of any statesman in the kingdom.
A quarrel having arisen about this time between the
Duke of Albany and his brother the sovereign, the
former having fled to England, and falsely represented
to Edward the transaction, was received with open
arms by that monarch, and furnished with troops and
money. The Scottish king, unable to brook the conduct
of Edward, immediately declared war. In this posture
of affairs, the council of Elphinston was again resorted
to. He was despatched on an embassy to the English
court, to negotiate a general peace, and effect, if possible,
a reconciliation between the haughty and rebellious
Scottish noble, and his brave but less talented monarch.
The results turned out exactly to his wish. His recep-
tion by the English king was cordial ; and after com-
pleting the whole arrangements, — effecting a reconcilia-
tion between the duke and the king, and settling a peace,
— he returned home. For this service, in the following
year, 1483, Robert Blackadder, Bishop of Aberdeen,

320 CHKONICLES OF ST. MUJTGO.

being promoted to the see of Glasgow, Elphinston was
removed to that of Aberdeen. He was next year nomi-
nated, along with Colin, Earl of Argyle, John, Lord
Drummond, Lord Oliphant Robert, Lord Lyle, Archi-
bald Whitelaw, Archdeacon of Loudon, and Duncan
Dundas, Lord Lyon, King at Arms, to meet with com-
missioners from Richard III. of England, for settling all
disputes between the two kingdoms. The commissioners
met at Nottingham on the 7th September, 1484, and,
after many conferences, concluded a peace betwixt the
two nations for the space of three years, commencing at
sunrise September 29th, 1484, and to end at sunset on
the 29th of September, 1487. Circumstances, however,
rendered all the articles that had been agreed upon to
no purpose, and on the fatal field of Bosworth Richard
shortly after closed his guilty career. Bishop Elphinston,
in the debates betwixt the king and his nobles, adhered
steadfastly to the king, and exerted himself to the ut-
most to reconcile them, and James was so well pleased
with his conduct, that in 1486, he constituted him Lord
High Chancellor of Scotland, the principal state office
in the country. This the bishop held till the assassina-
tion of the king, which happened a little more than three
months after. On that event, the bishop retired to his
diocese, and applied himself to the faithful discharge of
his episcopal functions. In 1492, Bishop Elphinston
was made Lord Privy Seal, and the same year, he was
again appointed a commissioner, along with several
others, for renewing the truce with England, which was

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 321

done at Edinburgh, in the month of June, the truce
being settled to last till the end of April, 1501.

Tranquillity being now restored, Bishop Elphinston
turned his attention to the state of learning and of
morals among his countrymen. For the improvement
of the latter, he compiled the lives of Scottish Saints,
which he ordered to be read on solemn occasions among
his clergy; and for the advancement of the former, he
applied to Pope Alexander VI. to grant him a bull for
erecting a University in Aberdeen. This request Pope
Alexander, from the reputation of the bishop, readily
complied with, and sent him a bull to that effect in the
year 1494. The College, however, was not founded till
the year 1506, when it was dedicated to St. Mary; but
the king, at the request of the bishop, having taken
upon himself and his successors the protection of it, and
contributed to its endowment, St. Mary was compelled
to give place to his more efficient patronage, and it has
ever since been called " King's College." Of this Col-
lege the celebrated Hector Bcece was the first principal.

Such a man as Elphinston was not always to be spared
to his country ; for as he was on his journey for Edin-
burgh to attend a meeting of parliament, after the fatal
battle of Flodden Field, he was taken ill by the way, and
died on the 25th of October, 1514, being in the eighty-
third year of his age. He was, according to his own
directions, buried in the Collegiate Church of Aberdeen.

Bishop Elphinston is one of those ornaments of the
Catholic Church, who almost redeem the general errors
P2

322 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

of that faith. He wrote, as has been already remarked,
the Lives of Scottish Saints, which are now lost. He
composed also a history of Scotland, from the earliest
period of her history, down to his own time, which is still
preserved in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. It is said
to consist of eleven books, occupying three hundred and
eighty-four pages in folio. Of all our Scottish bishops,
however, no one has been by our historians more highly
commended than Bishop Elphinston. He understood
the interests of the courts of Rome, France, and Scot-
land, better than any man of his time, and he was per-
fectly acquainted with the temper, influence, and weight
of all the nobility in his own country. Unlike most of
the ecclesiastical dignitaries of that semi-barbarous age,
his chastity was exemplary. His talents were great, and
his probity equally so. His virtues were co-equal with
his abilities, and his memory now exists without a
blemish. Upon the whole, we are to consider him as an
anomaly among great men. The common maxim of
mankind is, that frailty is the concomitant of the brightest
human faculties, and that instability is inseparable from
fortune. The intellect of Bishop Elphinston, however,
never swerved into an unworthy path. Licentious as
were the times, no license did he allow to his own passions.
To this is to be attributed the apparent paradox, that it
is possible for an individual to become great, to live
virtuous, and leave a fair fame behind him.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 323

ROBERT BOYD,

Of Trochrig, belonged to the age immediately suc-
ceeding that of Knox, Buchanan, and Melville ; and
he possessed all that fire of spirit and genius which
were the mental characteristics of these distinguished
men. He was born at Glasgow in the year 1578. His
father was James Boyd, " Tulchan- Archbishop " of
Glasgow ; his mother was Margaret, daughter of James
Chalmers of Gaitgirth, chief of that name. At the age
of three years, he had the misfortune to lose his paternal
parent, upon which event his mother removed to the
family residence in Ayrshire. In due time Robert, with
his younger brother Thomas, were sent to the grammar
school of the county town, where he applied himself with
assiduity to his studies. From a very early age he
seems to have been inspired with an incredible ardour
for study. That contemplative cast of mind for which
he afterwards was so much distinguished, was prema-
turely developed, and, like all men who have become
famous in after life, his school career has been gilded
with legends more or less true.

From the grammar school of Ayr he was removed to
the University of Edinburgh, then not many years
founded, where he studied philosophy under Mr. Charles
Fernie, (or Fairholm,) one of the regents, and afterwards
divinity under the celebrated Robert Rollock. In com-
pliance with the custom of the times, he then went abroad
for the purpose of pursuing his studies, and France was
destined to be the first sphere of his usefulness. He

324 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

•

taught various departments of literature in the schools
of Tours and Montauban, at the first of which places he
became acquainted with the famous Dr. Rivet. In 1 604,
he was ordained pastor of the church at Verteuil, and in
1606 he was appointed one of the Professors in the
University of Saumur, which had been founded in 1593,
by the amiable Philip de Mornay, better known by the
title of Du Plessis. Boyd also discharged the duties of
a pastor in the church at the same town, and, soon after,
became Professor of Divinity. King James having
heard through several noblemen, relations of Mr. Boyd,
of his worth and talents, offered him the principalship of
of the University of Glasgow.

From the assimilation which was then rapidly taking
place to the Episcopalian form of church government,
Mr. Boyd felt his situation peculiarly unpleasant. He
could not acquiesce in some decisions which had been
come to in an assembly held at Perth, known in Scottish
ecclesiastical history by the title of the Perth Assembly,
and it could not be expected that he would be allowed to
retain his office under any other condition than that of
compliance. He therefore preferred voluntarily resign-
ing his office, and retiring to his country residence. Soon
after this period, he was appointed Principal of the
University of Edinburgh, and one of the ministers of
that city ; but he was not allowed long to retain these
situations. His last appointment was to Paisley, but a
quarrel soon occurred with the widow of the Earl of
Abercorn, who had lately turned papist, and this was a

CHRONICLES OF ST. JJUNGO. 325

source of new distress to him. Naturally of a weakly
constitution, and worn down by a series of misfortunes,
he now laboured under a complication of diseases, which
led to his death at Edinburgh, whither he had gone to
consult the physicians, on the 5th of January, 1627, in
the 49th bear of his age.

Of his works, few of which are printed, the largest
and best known is his " Preelections in Epistolam ad
Ephesios." The only other prose work of Mr. Boyd
ever published, is his " Monita de filii sui primogeniti
Institutione, ex Authoris, MSS. autographis per R(ober~
tun) S(ibbald), M.D. edita," 8vo, 1701. The style of
this work, according to Wodrow, is pure, the system
perspicuous ; and prudence, observation, and piety, ap-
appear throughout. Besides these, the " Hecatombe ad
Christum," the ode to Dr. Sibbald, and the laudatory
poem on King James, are in print. The two first are
printed in the " Deliciee Poetarum Scotorum." The
Hecatombe has been reprinted at Edinburgh in 1701,
and subsequently in the " Poetarum Scotorum Musse
Sacrse." The verses to King James have been printed
in Adamson's "Muse's Welcome;" and it is remark-
able, that it seems to have been altogether overlooked by
Wodrow. All these poems justify the opinion, that had
Boyd devoted more of his attention to the composition
of Latin poetry, he might have excelled in that elegant
accompli shment.*

* In the time of Wodrow, several MSS. still remained in the
possession of the family of Trochrig, consisting of sermons in

320 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

JOHN CAMERON,

One of the most famous divines among the French
Protestants of the seventeenth century, was born at
Glasgow about 1580. After reading lectures on the
Greek language for a year in Glasgow University, he
went in 1000 to Bordeaux, and was by the ministers of
that city appointed to teach the learned languages at
Bergeron. He was subsequently chosen Professor of
Philosophy at Sedan, where he remained for two years.
In 1008 he became one of the ministers of Bordeaux,
and afterwards accepted of the Divinity Chair at Saumur,
where he continued till the dispersion of that academy
by the civil wars in 1020. He next removed to England,
and was appointed by King James Professor* of Divinity
at Glasgow, in the room of Robert Boyd of Trochrig.
This situation not suiting his taste, he returned to France
within a year.

In 1624 he went to Montauban, where he was chosen
Professor of Divinity. The disputes between the Pro-
testants and Romanists were at this period carried very
high, and having opposed the Duke de Rohan, who
endeavoured to induce the people of Montauban to take
up arms, Cameron was attacked by an unknown mis-
creant in the streets and severely assaulted ; after Ian-
English and French, the Philotheca, a kind of obituary, extracts
from which have been printed in the second part of the Miscellany
of the Bannatyne Club. His life was written along with those of
many others by the venerable historian of the sufferings of the
Scottish church, and which now exist in MS. in the library of the
University of Glasgow.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 327

guishing for some time he died in 1625. He was the
author of " Theological Lectures," published at Saumur
in 1626-28, in 3 vols. 4to. In 1632 appeared at the same
place Cameron's "Myrothecium Evangelicum." His
disciple Amyraut received from him those peculiar
theories which he developed in his " System of Universal
Grace."

DAVID DICKSON,

One of the most eminent presbyterian divines of the
seventeenth century, — of whom, "Wodrow remarks, that,
" if ever a Scots Biography and the lives of our eminent
ministers and Christians be published, he will shine
there as a star of the first magnitude," — was a native of
Glasgow.

John Dick, or Dickson, was a merchant in Glasgow, —
possessed of considerable wealth, and the proprietor of
the lands of the Kirk of the Muir, in the parish of St.
Ninians, and barony of Fintry. He and his wife, both
persons of eminent piety, had been several years married
without children, when they entered into a solemn vow,
that, if the Lord would give them a son, they would
devote him to the service of his church. A day was
appointed, and their Christian townsmen were requested
to join them in fasting and prayer. Without further
detail of this story, we shall merely say, that Mr. David
Dickson, their son, was born in the Trongate, in 1583 ;
but the vow was so far forgot, that he was educated
for mercantile pursuits, in which he was eminently

328 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

unsuccessful, and the cause of much pecuniary loss to his
parents. This circumstance, added to a severe illness
of their son, led his parents to remember their vow;
Mr. Dickson was then "put to his studies, and what
eminent service he did in his generation is known."*

Soon after taking the degree of master of arts, Mr.
Dickson was appointed one of the regent professors of
philosophy in the University of Glasgow ; a situation held
at that period in all the Scottish colleges by young men,
who had just finished their academical career, and were
destined for the church.

Mr. Dickson remained several years at Glasgow, and
was eminently useful in teaching the different branches
of literature and science. In the year 1618, he was
ordained minister of Irvine. At this period, it would
appear he had paid but little attention to the subject of
church government ; a circumstance the more remark-
able, when we consider the keen discussions between
the presbyterians and episcopalians on such questions.
But the year in which he had entered on his ministry
was too eventful to be overlooked. The general assem-
bly had agreed to the five ceremonies now known as the
Perth articles, and a close examination now convinced
Mr. Dickson that they were unscriptural. Soon after-
wards, when a severe illness brought him near death,
he openly declared against them ; and, no sooner had
Law, the archbishop of Glasgow, heard of it, than he

* Wodrow's Analecta, MS. Advocates' Library, I. 128. Wod-
row's Life of Dickson, prefixed to Truth's victory over Error, p. x.

CHKOXICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 329

summoned him before the court of High Commission,
and deposed him from his parish. He was permitted,
however, in July 1623, to return.

When the General Assembly of 1638 was indicted at
Glasgow, David Dickson, Robert Baillie, and William
Russell, minister at Kilbirnie, were appointed to repre-
sent the presbytery at Irvine. He seems to have borne
a zealous and useful part in this great ecclesiastical
council: his speech, when the commissioner threatened
to leave them, is mentioned by Wodrow with much
approbation ; but the historian has not inserted it in his
memoir, as it was too long, and yet too important and
nervous to be abridged. An effort was made at this
period by John Bell, one of the ministers of Glasgow, to
obtain Mr. Dickson for an assistant, but the opposition
of Lord Eglinton and that of Mr. Baillie in behalf of
the presbytery of Irvine, were sufficient to delay, though
not to prevent, the appointment.

Soon afterwards (1640), Mr. Dickson received an
appointment of a much more public and important
nature than any he had yet held. A commission for
visiting the University of Glasgow had been appointed
by the Assembly of 1638, to the members of which, the
principal had made himself obnoxious, by a strong lean-
ing towards episcopacy. It was renewed in subsequent
years, and introduced several important changes. Among
these was the institution of a separate professorship of
divinity, to which, a competent lodging and a salary of
£800 Scots was attached. This situation had been long

330 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

destined for Mr. Dickson, and when he entered upon the
duties of it, he did not disappoint the expectations of the
nation. Not only did he interpret the scriptures, teach
casuistical divinity, and hear the discourses of his stu-
dents, but Wodrow informs us, that he preached every
Sunday forenoon in the High Church.

The remaining events in Mr Dickson's life may be
soon enumerated. In 1650, he was appointed professor
of divinity in the University of Edinburgh, where he
dictated in Latin to his students, what has since been
published in English, under the title of " Truth's victory
over Error." Mr. Wodrow mentions, that the greater
part of the ministers in the west, south, and east of
Scotland, had been educated under him, either at Glas-
gow or Edinburgh. There Mr. Dickson continued till
the Restoration, when he was ejected for refusing to
take the oath of supremacy. The great change which
took place so rapidly in the ecclesiastical establishment
of the country, preyed upon him, and undermined his
constitution. He died in January 1663.

Of Mr. Dickson's works the indefatigable Wodrow
has given a minute account. By these he is best known,
and it is perhaps the best eulogium that could be pro-
nounced upon them, that they have stood the test of
nearly two hundred years, and are still highly valued.

His Commentaries on the Psalms, on the Gospel of St.
Matthew, on the Epistles, and on that of the Hebrews,
together with his Treatise on the Promises, published at
Dublin in 1630, 12mo, are the only works printed during

CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO. 331

his life, with the exception of some ephemeral produc-
tions, arising out of a controversy with the doctors of
Aberdeen, and the disputes between the resolutioners
and protesters. A few poems on religious subjects are
mentioned by Wodrow, but they are long since quite
forgotten.

Mr. Dickson's " Therapeutica Sacra, or Cases of Con-
science resolved," has been printed both in Latin and
English. It was published posthumously in 1664.

The last work which we have to notice is " Truth's
victory over Error," which was translated by the eccen-
tric George Sinclair, and published as his own in 1684.
What his object in doing so was, Wodrow does not
determine, but only remarks that if (and we think there
is no doubt in the matter) it was " with the poor view of
a little glory to himself, it happened to him as it gene-
rally does to self-seeking and private spirited persons
even in this present state." In accordance with the
prevailing custom of the times, many of Mr. Dickson's
students had copied his Dictates, and Sinclair's trick
was soon and easily detected. One of them inserted in
the running title the lines

"No errors in this book I see,
But G. S. where D. D. should be."

The first edition, with the author's name, was printed
at Glasgow, in 1725, and has prefixed to it a memoir
of the author, by Wodrow, to which we have already
alluded, and to which we are indebted for many of the
facts mentioned in this article.

332 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

ROBERT BAILLIE,

One of the most eminent, and perhaps the most
moderate, of all the Scottish presbyterian clergy during
the time of the civil war, was born at Glasgow, in 1599.
His father, Thomas Baillie, citizen, was descended from
the Baillies of Lamington, a parish in the upper ward
of the county ; his mother, Helen Gibson, was of the
family of Gibson of Durie in Fifeshire ; both of which
stocks are distinguished in presbyterian history. Hav-
ing studied divinity in his native University, Mr. Baillie,
in 1622, received episcopal orders from Archbishop Law,
of Glasgow, and became tutor to the son of the Earl of
Eglinton, by whom he was presented to the parish
church of Kilwinning. In 1626, he was admitted a
regent at the College of Glasgow, and, on taking his
chair, delivered an inaugural oration, De Mente Ayente.
Baillie was not only educated and ordained as an
Episcopalian, but he had imbibed from Principal Cam-
eron of Glasgow, the doctrine of passive resistance. He
appears, however, to have been brought over to opposite
views during the interval between 1630 and 1636, which
he employed in discussing with his fellow clergymen the
doctrines of Arminianism, and the new ecclesiastical
regulations introduced into the Scottish church by
Archbishop Laud. Hence in the year 1636, being
desired by Archbishop Law to preach at Edinburgh in
favour of the Canon and Service-books, he positively
refused; writing, however, a respectful apology to his
lordship. Endeared to the resisting party by this con-

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 333

duct, he was chosen to represent the presbytery of Irvine
in the General Assembly convened at Glasgow in the
year 1638. In this meeting, Baillie is said to have
behaved with great moderation ; a term, however, which
must be understood as only comparative, for the expres-
sions used in his letter regarding the matters condemned,
are not what would now be considered moderate. In
the ensuing year, when it was found necessary to vindi-
cate the proceedings of the Glasgow Assembly with the
sword, Baillie entered heartily into the views of his
countrymen. He accompanied the army to Dunse Law,
in the capacity of preacher to the earl of Eglinton's
regiment ; and he it was, who has handed down the
well-known description of that extraordinary camp. " I
furnished to half a dozen of good fellows muskets and
pikes, and to my boy a broad sword. I carried myself,
as the fashion was, a sword, and a couple of Dutch pis-
tols at my saddle ; but I promise, for the offence of no
man, except a robber in the way; for it was our part
alone to pray and preach for the encouragement of our
countrymen, which I did to my power most cheerfully."
In 1640, when the Covenanters again appeared
in arms, he accompanied them on their march into
England, and was sent to London, with other commis-
sioners, to prefer charges against Laud for the innova-
tions which that prelate had obtruded on the Church of
Scotland. He had previously published " The Canter-
burian's Self-Conviction;" and he also wrote various
other controversial pamphlets. In 1642 he was appointed

334 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

joint Professor of Divinity at Glasgow, where he took
the degree of DD., and was employed chiefly in teaching
the oriental languages, in which he was much skilled.
In 1651, on the removal of his colleague, Dr. David
Dickson, to the University of Edinburgh, he obtained
the sole professorship. So great was the estimation in
which he was held, that he had at one time the choice of
the Divinity Chair in the four Scottish Universities.
In 1643 he was elected a member of the Assembly of
Divines at Westminster, an interesting account of the
proceedings at which he has given in his Correspondence.
He was a leading member of all the General Assemblies
from 1638 to 1653, excepting only those held while he
was with the Divines at Westminster. In 1649 he was
sent to Holland as a Commissioner from the Church, for
the purpose of inviting over Charles II. under the limi-
tations of the Covenant. After the Restoration, on the
23d January, 1661, he was admitted Principal of the
University of Glasgow. He was afterwards offered a
bishopric, which he refused. He died in July, 1662, at
the age of sixty-three. He was the author of several
publications, one of which, entitled " Opus Historicum et
Chronologicum," is mentioned in terms of praise by
Spottiswood. Excerpts from his " Letters and Journals,"
in 2 volumes octavo, were published at Edinburgh in
1755. These contain some valuable and curious details
of the history of those times. The letters and journals
themselves are preserved entire in the archives of the
Church of Scotland, and in the University of Glasgow.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MTJNGO. 335

Mr. Baillie understood no fewer than thirteen languages,
among which were Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac, Samaritan,
Arabic, and Ethiopic. A list of his works will be found
appended to his life in the Encyclopaedia Britannica,
seventh edition.

ROBERT WODROW,

An eminent divine and ecclesiastical historian, was
born at Glasgow in 1679. He was the second son of
the Rev. James Wodrow, professor of divinity in the
University of that city, a faithful and pious minister of
the church of Scotland, whose life, written by his son,
the subject of this notice, after remaining long in manu-
script, was published at Edinburgh in 1828. His
mother's name was Margaret Hair, daughter of "William
Hair, proprietor of a small estate in the parish of Kil-
barchan, a woman of great strength of mind, discretion,
and piety. In 1691 he was entered a student in the
University of his native town, and after passing through
the usual curriculum of study, he became a student of
theology under his father. While attending the divinity
class, he was appointed librarian to the University, a
situation which he held for four years. The unusual
talent which he had early displayed for historical and
bibliographical inquiry had recommended him as a per-
son peculiarly qualified for the office, and while he held
it he prosecuted with ardour his researches into every
thing connected with the ecclesiastical and literary his-
tory and antiquities of his native country.

336 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUSGO.

On leaving college he went to reside for some time in
the house of a distant relative of the family, Sir John
Maxwell of Nether Pollock, then one of the Lords of
Session; and, while here, was, in March 1703, licensed
by the Presbytery of Paisley to preach the gospel. In
the following summer the parish of Eastwood, where
Lord Pollock resided, became vacant by the death of
Mr. Matthew Crawford, author of a history of the church
of Scotland, which, we believe, yet remains in manu-
script. Of this parish, then one of the smallest in the
west of Scotland, Mr. Wodrow was ordained Minister,
October 28, 1703. In this obscure situation he con-
tinued all his life, devoting himself to the discharge of
his pastoral duties, and prosecuting his favourite studies
in church history and antiquities.

At the union of the two kingdoms, in 1707, he was
nominated one of the committee of presbytery appointed
to consult and act with the brethren of the Commission
at Edinburgh, as to the best means of averting the evils
which that measure was supposed to portend to the
church and people of Scotland. On the accession of
George I. to the throne, he was the principal correspon-
dent and adviser of the five clergymen deputed by the
Assembly to go to London for the purpose of pleading
the rights of the church, and particularly to petition
for the immediate abolition of the obnoxious law of pa-
tronage.

His principal work, " The History of the Sufferings of
the Church of Scotland, from the Restoration to the

CHRONICLES OF ST. MJJNGO. 337

Revolution," was published in 1721-22, in two volumes
folio. This important and laborious undertaking he had
designed from an early period of his life ; but from 1707
to the time of its publication, he appears to have devoted
all his leisure hours to it. The work was approved of
and recommended by the General Assembly, and he
obtained, in consequence, a most respectable list of sub-
scribers. It was dedicated to George I., and on its pub-
lication, copies of it were presented by Dr. Fraser to
the king, the queen, and the prince and princess • of
Wales, and by them all most graciously received. His
Majesty, by an order on the Exchequer of Scotland,
dated April 26, 1725, authorized one hundred guineas
sterling to be paid to the author, in token of his cordial
approbation.

Wodrow's fidelity as an ecclesiastical historian gave
offence to certain of the Nonjuring Episcopalians, and
while his book was assailed by the most scurrilous
attacks in public, anonymous and threatening letters
were sent to himself, to which, however, he paid little
attention. In Mr. Fox's " History of the Early part of
the Reign of James II.," that celebrated statesman has
inserted a high eulogium on the fidelity and impartiality
of Wodrow's work, a second edition of which, in a more
convenient form than the first, was published at Glas-
gow in 1830, in 4 vols. 8vo, with a memoir of the author
prefixed by Robert Burns, D.D., one of the ministers of
Paisley.

Having designed a series of Biographical Memoirs of
Q

338 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

the more eminent ministers and others of the church of
Scotland, Mr. Wodrow completed ten small folio volumes
of the work, which, with four quarto volumes of appen-
dix, are preserved in manuscript in the library of the
University of Glasgow. A selection from these was
commenced in 1834, when the first volume was printed
for the members of the Maitland Club, under the title
of " Collections upon the Lives of the Reformers and
most eminent Ministers of the Church of Scotland."

Besides these lives, Mr. Wodrow also left behind him
six small closely written volumes, under the general
name of " Analecta," being a kind of Diary, or note-
book, in which he inserted many curious notices regard-
ing the ecclesiastical proceedings and literary intelli-
gence, as well as the ordinary or more remarkable
occurrences of the period. This valuable and interest-
ing record, which comprises an interval of twenty-seven
years, namely, from 1705 to 1732, is preserved in the
Advocates' Library, Edinburgh, having become the pro-
perty of the Faculty of Advocates in June 1828. In
1842 the Earl of Glasgow, who is President of the
Maitland Club, presented to the members the first two
volumes of Wodrow's " Analecta," being the second
munificent donation of that nobleman.

Twenty-four volumes of his Correspondence are also
preserved in the Advocates' Library. A portion of his
manuscripts, chiefly relating to ecclesiastical history,
was, in May 1742, purchased by order of the General
Assembly, and now remains the property of the church.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNQO. 339

Altogether, his labours and researches have proved so
peculiarly useful and valuable in illustrating the ecclesi-
astical history of his country, that the name of Wodrow
has been very appropriately adopted as the designation
of a society, modelled after the plan of " The Parker
Society " of England. The Wodrow Society was estab-
lished at Edinburgh, May, 1841, for the purpose of
printing, from the most authentic sources, the best
works, many of which still remain in manuscript, of the
original reformers, fathers, and early writers of the
church of Scotland.

Mr. Wodrow died of a gradual decline, March 21,
1734, in the 55th year of his age, and was buried in the
chureh-yard of Eastwood. He had married, in 1708,
Margaret, daughter of the Rev. Patrick Warner, min-
ister of Irvine, and grand-daughter of William Guthrie,
minister of Fenwick, author of the well-known practical
treatise, " The Trial of a Saving Interest in Christ."
Of a family of sixteen children, nine, that is four sons
and five daughters, with their mother, survived him.
His eldest son succeeded him as minister of Eastwood,
but retired from that charge on account of bad health.

JAMES SPREUL.

It is not known in what year this individual was born.
Having imbibed at an early age the principles of pres-
byterianism, the whole course of his life was marked by
a firm and conscientious adherence to that form of
religion. He followed the profession of a merchant, and

340 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

acquired considerable wealth and importance. In the
long period of religious persecution he rendered him-
self peculiarly obnoxious to government, by the counte-
nance and support he rendered the covenanters in their
battle with the state, and his own contempt of creed
legislation. At the same time that several of our citizens
were hanged in the public streets, Mr. Spreul was im-
prisoned in the Bass, fined, and subjected to many
privations. At the Revolution, when presbyterian-
ism was established as the religion of the land, these
persecutions ceased, and Mr. Spreul became again a
quiet citizen. The year in which he died is unknown.
The house inhabited by Mr. Spreul occupied the site of
the present " Spreul' s Land," Trongate. Several of
his descendants still live in Glasgow.

GERRHOM CARMICHAEL, M.A.,

A learned divine, was born at Glasgow in 1682, and
educated in the University of that city, where he took
his degrees. He was afterwards ordained minister of
Monimail, in Fifeshire ; and, in 1722, appointed Pro-
fessor of Moral Philosophy in the University of Glasgow.
For the use of his students, he wrote some learned notes
on " Puffendorfi de Officiis Hominis." He died at Glas-
gow in 1 738, aged 56.

JOHN BELL

Of Antermony, a celebrated traveller, was born at
Glasgow in 1691, and was the son of a merchant. He

CHRONICLES OF ST. S^UNGO. 341

went to Russia in 1714. In 1715 he went in the suite of
the Russian ambassador to the Sophy of Persia at
Ispahan, and returned in 1718. In 1719 he travelled in
the suite of the ambassador from St. Petersburgh to
Pekin, in China, and returned in 1722. In 1722 he
travelled to Derbent, in Persia, with the Russian army,
commanded by Peter the First. Sometime after this
he returned to Scotland, and in 1734 he went to St.
Petersburgh again. In 1737 he was sent on a mission
to Constantinople by the Russian chancellor, and. by
Mr. Rondeau, the British minister at St. Petersburgh.
Shortly afterwards he appears to have abandoned the
diplomatic service, and settled at St. Petersburgh as a
merchant. In 1743 he married Mary Peters, a Russian
lady, who appears to have been related to Jane Vigor,
countess of Hyndford. He probably returned to Scot-
land soon afterwards. We have perused a volume of
his letters in MS., written during his last residence
abroad, from 1734 till 1743. He published his book by
subscription, with this title, " Travels from St. Peters-
burgh in Russia to diverse parts of Asia, by John Bell
of Antermony, Glasgow, printed for the author by
Robert and Andrew Foulis, 1763," 2 vols. 4to.

The veracity and high character of this individua
will long maintain for his writings an eminent rank
among the journals of Asiatic travellers. We find the
following account of Bell in the statistical account of
Campsie: "This gentleman possessed an uncommon
faculty for speaking the modern languages of Europe ;

342 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

nor was he less remarkable for an amiable simplicity of
manners in private life, and the most sacred regard to
truth in all he said or did." He died at his paternal
seat of Antermony, July 21, 1780, at the venerable age
of 89. Mrs. Bell died May 14, 1802.

WILLIAM DUNLOP,

A pious, learned, and eloquent divine, youngest son of
Principal Dunlop, was born at Glasgow in 1692, and
received his education at the University of that city. In
1712 he took the degree of M. A. and afterwards spent
two years at the University of Utrecht, with the inten-
tion of studying the law, but was dissuaded from that
design by Mr. Wishart, then Principal of the College of
Edinburgh, by whose interest he was appointed Regius
Professor of Divinity and Church History in Edinburgh
University. He acquired great honour both as a
preacher and a professor, but his career of usefulness
was destined to be short. He died October 29, 1720, at
the early age of twenty-eight. His works are, Collec-
tions of Confessions 'of Faith, Catechisms, Directories,
Books of Discipline, &c. of Public Authority in the
Church of Scotland, 2 vols. Edinburgh, 1719, 1722 ; the
preface to the above, which explains and vindicates the
uses and ends of Confessions, was afterwards reprinted
separately ; and Sermons and Lectures, in 2 vols. 1 2mo,
Glasgow, 1746.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 343

JAMES ARBUCKLE, A.M.,

A minor poet, was born in Glasgow in 1700. He
studied at the University of that city, where he took his
degrees. He afterwards kept an academy in the north
of Ireland. He published a volume of Poems, and had
begun a translation of Virgil, but died before it was
finished, in 1734.

WILLIAM CRAIG, D.D.,

An eminent divine, was the son of a merchant' in
Glasgow, where he was born in February, 1709. At
college he distinguished himself by his uncommon pro-
ficiency in classical learning. He was licensed to preach
in 1734; and in 1737, having received a presentation
from Mr. Lockhart of Cambusnethan, he was ordained
minister of that parish. He afterwards accepted of a
presentation to Glasgow, and became minister of St.
Andrew's Church, in that city. He married the
daughter of Mr. Anderson, a considerable merchant in
Glasgow, by whom he had several children, two of whom,
William, an eminent lawyer, afterwards Lord Craig,
and John, a merchant, survived their father. She died
in 1758, and he subsequently married the daughter of
Gilbert Kennedy, Esq. of Auchtifardel. Dr. Craig died
in 1784, in the 75th year of his age. He was the author
of a volume of Sermons, much admired for their
eloquence, and "An Essay on the Life of Christ."

344 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

JAMES MOOR, LL,.D.,

An eminent Greek scholar, was the son of Mr. Robert
Muir, schoolmaster in Glasgow ; a person of considerable
learning, and of such unwearied industry, that, being too
poor to purchase Newton's Principia, he copied the
whole book with his own hand. The subject of this
notice entered the University of Glasgow in 1725, and
distinguished himself by great industry and capacity as
a student. After finishing his academical course, and
taking the degree of M.A., with considerable applause,
he taught a school for some time in Glasgow. This
situation he seems to have abandoned, in order to be-
come tutor to the Earls of Selkirk and Errol, in which
capacity he travelled abroad. He was afterwards in the
family of the Earl of Kilmarnock; and on the burning
of Dean Castle, which took place in his absence, lost a
considerable stock of books, which he had employed
himself in collecting for his own use. In 1742, he was
appointed librarian to the University of Glasgow ; and
in July, 1746, became professor of Greek in the same
institution, the Earl of Selkirk advancing him £600, in
order to purchase the resignation of the preceding
incumbent. On the condemnation of his patron, the
Earl of Kilmarnock, for his concern in the insurrection
of 1745, Moor, who was of opposite politics, made a
journey to London, for the purpose of making interest
with the ministers for his lordship's pardon ; an enter-
prise honourable to his feelings, however unsuccessful.

Moor was a useful professor, and, besides his academi-

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 345

cal duties, conferred some benefits on the literary world
by his publications. In company with professor Muir-
head, he superintended, at the request of the University,
a very splendid edition of Homer, published by the
Foulises of Glasgow. He also edited their Herodotus,
and was of service in several of their other publications.
Some essays, read by him before the Literary Society
of Glasgow, of which he was a constituent member,
were collected and published, in 8vo, in 1759. In 1766,
he published " A Vindication of Virgil from the charge
of Puerility, imputed to him by Dr. Pearce," 12mo.
His principal work, however, was his Grammar of the
Greek Language, which has ever since been very exten-
sively used in schools. He collected a large and valuable
library, and selected a cabinet of medals, which the
University afterwards purchased. In 1761, he was
appointed vice-rector of the College, by the Earl of Errol,
the lord rector, who, under the designation of Lord Boyd,
had formerly been his pupil. In 1763, he applied to the
University for the degree of Doctor of Laws, which was
granted to him, in consideration of his talents and
services. Dr. Moor was addicted to the cultivation of
light literature, and used to amuse himself and his
friends by writing verses in the Hudibrastic vein. He
resigned his chair in 1774, on account of bad health, and
died on the 17th of September, 1779.

346 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

JAMES TASSIE,

A celebrated modeller, was born of obscure parents in
the neighbourhood of Glasgow, in what particular year
is not known, and began life in the humble condition of
a country stone-mason. On a visit to Glasgow during
the fair, he obtained a view of the collection of paint-
ings formed by the brothers Foulis, the eminent printers.
With the design of acquiring a knowledge of drawing,
he soon after removed to Glasgow, where he constantly
attended the infant academy, as often as he could spare
time from his occupation of stone cutting, by which he
maintained himself. Repairing afterwards to Dublin in
search of employment, he became known to Dr. Quin,
a physician, who amused his leisure by attempting to
imitate precious stones with coloured pastes, and to take
off impressions of the antique sculptured gems, an art
practised in France and Italy with great secresy. The
Doctor, finding that Tassie possessed all the necessary
qualifications, took him as his assistant, and when they
had succeeded in their experiments, he generously en-
abled him to proceed to London, and try the art, as a
profession, for his own benefit. Tassie accordingly went
to London in 1766, where, from his excessive modesty,
he long struggled with difficulties, which would have
discouraged most people in his circumstances. These,
however, with patience and perseverance, he ultimately
surmounted, and, emerging from obscurity, acquired
both fortune and reputation. His name at length be-
came so much respected that the first cabinets in Europe

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUXGO. 347

were open to his use. A catalogue of his gems, ancient
and modern, appeared in 1775, in 8vo ; bnt so great was
his progress in the art, that an enlarged edition was
published in 1791, in two volumes, 4to. Many of his
pastes were sold on the Continent for real gems ; and
several years before his death he executed a commission
for the Empress of Russia, consisting of fifteen thousand
engravings, which he afterwards increased to twenty
thousand. He likewise practised modelling portraits in
wax, which he moulded and cast in paste. In private
life he was universally esteemed for the modesty, benevo-
lence, and simplicity of his character. He died in 1799.

WILLIAM CRAIG, (LORD CRAIG,)

An eminent Judge, son of the Rev. Dr. Craig, was
born in 1 745. He studied at the University of Glasgow,
and was admitted advocate in 1768. In 1787 he became
Sheriff-depute of Ayrshire; and in 1792, on the death of
Lord Hailes, was raised to the Bench, when he assumed
the title of Lerd Craig. In 1795 he succeeded Lord
Henderland as a Judge of the Court of Justiciary,
which situation he held till 1812, when he resigned it on
account of infirm health. While still an advocate, he
was one of the chief contributors to "The Mirror," a
celebrated periodical published at Edinburgh, the joint
production of a society of gentlemen, all connected with
the bar, except Mr. Henry Mackenzie, author of " The
Man of Feeling." This society was at first termed the
" Tabernacle," and usually met in a tavern for the

348 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

purpose of reading their essays. When the publication
of these was resolved upon, the idea of which originated
with Mr. Craig, the name was changed to that of the
" Mirror Club." The Mirror was commenced January
23, 1779, and finished with the 110th uumber, May 27,
1780. The whole was afterwards republished in 3 vols.
8vo. Mr. Craig's contributions, next to those of Mr.
Mackenzie, were the most numerous. The thirty-sixth
number, written by him, "contributed in no inconsider-
able degree," says Dr. Anderson, in his Lives of the
Poets, "to rescue from oblivion the name and writings
of the ingenious and amiable young poet, Michael
Bruce." Mr. Craig also wrote many excellent papers
for " The Lounger," which was started some years after
by the same club. His lordship, who was the cousin of
Mrs. M'Lehose, the celebrated Clarinda of Burns, died
July 8, 1813.

ANNE GRANT,

Usually designated Mrs. Grant of Laggan, a popular
and instructive miscellaneous writer, whose maiden name
was M' Vicar, was born in Glasgow in 1755. Her father
was an officer in the British army, and on her mother's
side she was descended from the ancient family of
Stewart, of Invernahyle, in Argyleshire. Shortly after
her birth her father went with his regiment to America,
with the intention, if he found sufficient inducement, of
settling there. His wife and infant daughter soon after
joined him. They landed at Charleston, and though

CHRONICLES OF ST. MtNGO. 349

the child was then scarcely three years old, she retained
ever after a distinct recollection of her arrival in
America. During her residence in that country she
was taught by her mother to read, and she never had
any other instructor. But she was so apt and diligent
a scholar, that, before her sixth year, she had perused
the Old Testament, with the contents of which she was
well acquainted. From the sergeant of a Scottish regi-
ment she received the only lessons in penmanship she
ever obtained ; and observing her love of books, he pre-
sented her with a copy of Blind Harry's "Wallace,"
the perusal of which excited in her bosom a lasting
admiration of the heroism of Wallace and his com-
patriots, and a glowing enthusiasm for Scotland, which,
as she herself expressed it, ever after remained with her
as a principle of life. Her fondness for reading also
procured for her, from an officer of her father's regi-
ment, a copy of Milton's " Paradise Lost," which, young
as she was, she studied with much attention.

Mrs. Grant's father had, with the view of permanently
settling in America, received a large grant of land, to
which, by purchase, he made several valuable additions ;
but, from bad health, he was obliged to leave the country
very hurriedly, without having had time to dispose of
his property. He returned to Scotland with his wife
and daughter in 1768, and a few years afterwards he
was appointed Barrack-Master of Fort- Augustus. Soon
after the Revolutionary war broke out in America, and
before his estate there could be sold, it was confiscated,

350 CHRONICLES OF ST. MTJNGO.

and thus the family were deprived of the chief means to
which they had looked forward for support. While her
father continued in the situation of Barrack-Master, the
situation of chaplain to the Fort was filled by the Rev.
James Grant, a young clergyman of accomplished mind
and manners, connected with some of the most respect-
able families in the neighbourhood, who was soon after-
wards appointed minister of the parish of Laggan, in
Inverness-shire, and in 1779 he married Miss M'Vicar,
the subject of this notice. When she went to Laggari
she set herself assiduously to learn the customs and the
language of the people among whom she was to reside,
and soon became well versed in both. Mr. Grant died
in 1801. Of the marriage twelve children were born,
four of whom died in early life. For some time after
her husband's death Mrs. Grant took the charge of a
small farm in the neighboorhood of Laggan ; but in 1803
she found it necessary to remove to the vicinity of Stir-
ling, where she was enabled, with the assistance of her
friends, to provide, in the meantime, for her family.

Mrs. Grant had always found delight in the pursuits
of literature ; and having early shown a taste for
poetry, she was occasionally accustomed to write verses.
It occurred to some of those persons who felt interested
in her welfare, that a volume of her poems might be
published with advantage; and before she was well
aware of their kind intentions, the prospectus was dis-
persed all over Scotland for printing such a volume by
subscription. At this time Mrs. Grant had not even

CHRONICLES OP ST. MT7NGO. 351

collected the materials for the proposed publication ; but
in a short period the extraordinary number of upwards
of 3000 subscribers were procured by her influential
friends. The late celebrated Duchess of Gordon took a
lively interest in this project, and Mrs. Grant was in
this way almost forced before the public The poems
were well received on their appearance in 1803, and
even the Edinburgh Review, that then universal dis-
parager of poetic genius, was constrained to admit that
some of the pieces were "written with great beauty,
tenderness, and delicacy." From the profits of this
publication Mrs. Grant was enabled to discharge some
debts which had been contracted during her married
life. In 1806 appeared her well-known " Letters from
the Mountains," which went through several editions,
and soon rendered her name highly popular.

In 1810 Mrs. Grant removed from Stirling to Edin-
burgh, where she resided for the remainder of her
life. Here it was her misfortune to lose by death all her
children except her youngest son. In 1808 she prepared
for the press her " Memoirs of an American Lady," in
two volumes; and in 1811 appeared her " Essays on the
Superstitions of the Highlanders of Scotland," also in
two volumes, both of which were favourably received.
The former work has been greatly esteemed, both in
this country and in America, and contains much vigorous
writing, with some highly graphic sketches of Transat-
lantic scenery, and habits of the people, previous to the
Revolution. In 1814 she published a poem in two parts,

352 CHBONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

entitled, "Eighteen Hundred and Thirteen," and the
following year she produced at London her " Popular
Models and Impressive Warnings for the Sons and
Daughters of Industry," in two volumes.

In 1825 an application was made on her behalf to
George IV. for a pension, which was signed by Sir
Walter Scott, Lord Jeffrey, Mr. M'Kenzie, " The Man
of Feeling," and other influential persons in Edinburgh,
in consequence of which Mrs. Grant received a pension
of £100 yearly on the civil establishment of Scotland,
which, with the emoluments of her literary works, and
some liberal bequests left her by deceased friends,
rendered her circumstances in her latter years quite
easy and independent. She died November 7, 1838,
aged 84.

ALEXANDER TILLOCH, LL.D.,

An ingenious writer on science and mechanics, the son
of a respectable tobacconist in Glasgow, was born there,
February 28th, 1759. He was intended by his father to
follow his own business, but a strong bias towards science
and mechanics soon led him away from commercial pur-
suits. Having in 1781 directed his attention to the im-
provement of the mode of printing, he was fortunate
enough to discover the art of stereotyping, and flattered
himself with many advantages that would result from his
successful labours, being at the time ignorant that, in so
early as 1736, Mr. Ged, a jeweller of Edinburgh, had
exercised the art, having published an edition of Sallust

CHRONICLES OF ST. MIJNGO. 353

printed from metallic plates. From the want of encour-
agement, however, Ged's method perished with him, and
to Dr. Tilloch belongs the merit of having of new invented
the art, and carried it to the state of practical utility
which it now exhibits. In this new process, Mr. Foulis,
the printer of the University of Glasgow, joined him, and
a joint patent in their name was taken out both in Eng-
land and Scotland. Circumstances, however, induced
them to lay aside the business for a time, and it never
was renewed by them as a speculation. Dr. Tilloch after-
wards entered into the tobacco trade at Glasgow, in con-
junction with his brother and brother-in-law, but, not find-
ing the business succeed, it was finally abandoned. He
then turned his attention to printing, and, either singly or
in partnership, carried on this trade for some time in his
native city. In 1 787 he removed to London, and two
years afterwards, in connection with others, purchased
" The Star" evening newspaper, which he continued to
edit till within four years of his death. In 1797, being
forcibly struck with the great increase of the crime of
forgery, Dr. Tilloch presented to the Bank of England
a specimen of a plan of engraving calculated to pre-
vent the forgery of bank-notes, respecting which he had
been previously in communication with the French Go-
vernment, but,, like all similar proposals, it was declined ;
and in 1820 he petitioned Parliament on the subject, but
without any practical result. In June, 1797, he pro-
jected and established "The Philosophical Magazine;"
and, only fifteen days before his death, he obtained a

354 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

patent for an improvement on the steam-engine. Amidst
his other avocations, he found leisure to apply himself to
theological studies with no common perseverance, the
fruits of which appeared in a volume of " Dissertations
on the Apocalypse," published in 1823, besides a series
of detached essays on the Prophecies, collected in 1 vol.
under the name, of " Biblicus." His great object in the
former work appears to be to prove that the Apocalypse
was written at a much earlier period than commentators
suppose, and prior to most of the Epistles contained in
the New Testament. The last work which he was en-
gaged to superintend was " The Mechanic's Oracle,"
published in numbers at the Caxton Press. In his reli-
gious opinions Dr. Tilloch was supposed to belong to the
sect of Sandemanians, and preached occasionally to a
congregation who assembled in a house in Goswell-Street
Road. He died at his house in Barnsbury- Street, Is-
lington, January 26th, 1825. He married previous to
quitting Glasgow, but his wife died in 1 783, leaving a
daughter, who became the wife of Mr. Gait, the novelist.

MAJOR-GENERAL SIR THOMAS MUNRO, BART. AND K.C.B.,

A celebrated civil and military officer in the service of
the East India Company, was the son of Mr. Alexander
Munro, an eminent merchant in Glasgow, where the
subject of this memoir was born on the 27th May, 1761.
His mother, whose name was Stark, was descended of
the Starks of Killermont, and was sister to Dr. William
Stark, the distinguished anatomist. After going through

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUKtJO. 355

the usual routine of juvenile education, including the
established term of attendance at the grammar school,
young Munro was entered a student in the University of
his native city, in the thirteenth year of his age. Here
he studied mathematics under professor Williamson, and
chemistry with the celebrated Dr. Irvine ; and in both
sciences made a progress which excited the admiration
of his teachers.

While at school, he was distinguished for a singular
openness of temper, a mild and generous disposition,
with great personal courage and presence of mind.
Being naturally of a robust frame of body, he excelled
all his school- fellows in athletic exercises, and was par-
ticularly eminent as a boxer ; bnt, with all that noble-
ness of nature which was peculiar to him, and which so
much distinguished him in after-life, he never made an
improper or unfair use of his superior dexterity in the
pugilistic art. He studiously avoided quarrels, and never
struck a blow, except under circumstances of great pro-
vocation. Neither did he ever presume so far on the for-
midable talent which he possessed, as to conduct himself
with the slightest degree of insolence towards his com-
panions, although none of them could stand an instant
before him in single combat. These qualities secured
him at once the respect and esteem of his youthful con-
temporaries, and on all expeditions and occasions of
warfare, procured him the honour of being their leader
and military adviser.

Having remained three years at college, he was, at

356 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

the expiry of that period, placed by his father in the
counting-house of Messrs. Somerville and Gordon, being
designed for a mercantile profession. He was about
this time also offered a lieutenancy in a military corps,
then raising by the city of Glasgow for the public
service ; but, though himself strongly disposed to accept
his offer, his father objected to it, and, in compliance
with the wish of his parent, he declined it. Soon after
this, his father's affairs became embarrassed, when,
finding it impossible to establish his son in business as
he had originally proposed, he began to think of putting
him in a way of pushing his fortune in India ; and with
this view, procured him the appointment of midshipman
on board the East India Company's ship Walpole,
captain Abercrombie. With this vessel young Munro
sailed from London on the 20th February, 1779.
Previously to sailing, his father, who happened to be
accidentally in London at the time, procured him a
cadetship, through the influence of Mr. Laurence Sulli-
van, one of the directors of the Company.

Mr. Munro arrived at Madras, the place of his
destination, on the 1 5th January, 1780. Here he was
kindly received by the numerous persons to whom he
brought letters of introduction ; but kindness of manner,
and the hospitality of the table, seem to have been the
extent of their patronage. He was left to push his own
way, and this, on his first landing, with but very
indifferent prospects for the future, and but little present
encouragement. Nor were these disheartening circum-

CHRONICLES OF ST. MTJN60. 357

stances at all ameliorated by the reception he met with
from his namesake, Sir Hector Monro, the commander-
in-chief. That high functionary told him, " that he
would be happy to serve him, but was sorry it was not
in his power to do any thing for him."

He was soon after his arrival, however, called into
active service against the forces of Hyder Ally, and con-
tinued thus employed, with scarcely any intermission,
for the next four years, when a definitive treaty of peace
was entered into with Tippoo Sultan. During this
period of warfare, he was present at four battles, and at
more than double that number of sieges, assaults, and
stormings; in all of which he evinced an intrepidity,
presence of mind, and military genius, which early
attracted the notice of his superiors, by whom he began
to be looked upon as an officer of singular promise.

In February, 1786, he was promoted to a lieutenancy ;
but no further change took place in his fortunes, till
August, 1788, when he was appointed assistant in the
intelligence department, under captain Alexander Read,
and attached to the head-quarters of the force destined
to take possession of the province of Guntow.

During the interval between the first aud last periods
just named, Mr. Munro assiduously employed himself in
acquiring the Hindostanee and Persian languages, in
which he ultimately made a proficiency which has been
attained but by few Europeans. In this interval, too,
occured a correspondence with his parents, in which are
certain passages, strikingly illustrative of the generosity

358 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

of his nature, and which it would be doing an injustice,
both to his memory, and to the filial piety of his brother,
to pass without notice. In one of these letters, dated
Tanjore, 10th November, 1785, addressed to his mother,
he says, — "Alexander and I have agreed to remit my
father £100 a-year between us. If the arrears which
Lord Macartney detained are paid, I will send £200 in
the course of the year 1~8G." When it is recollected
that Mr. Munro was yet but a lieutenant, this proof of
his benevolence will be fully appreciated. It must also
be added, that these remittances were made at a time,
too, when he had himself scarcely a chair to sit upon.
"I was three years iu India," he writes to his sister,
"before I was master of any other pillow than a book or
a cartridge-pouch; my bed was a piece of canvass,
stretched on four cross sticks, whose only ornament was
the great coat that I brought from England, which, by
a lucky invention, I turned into a blanket in the cold
weather, by thrusting my legs into the sleeves, and
drawing the skirts over my head."

In 1804 he obtained the rank of Lieutenant- Colonel ;
and in 1808, after twenty-eight years' uninterrupted ser-
vice in India, he revisited his native country. After
an agreeable passage of nearly six months, Colonel
Munro arrived at Deal, on the 5th of April. From
Deal he proceeded to London, where he was detained by
some pressing business, until the summer was far ad-
vanced. He then set out for Scotland, but not without
some melancholy forebodings of the changes which he

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUN60. 359

knew so great a lapse of time as seven and twenty years
must have effected on the persons and things associated
with his earliest and tenderest recollections. These
anticipations he found, on his arrival, realized. That
mother to whom he was so tenderly attached, and whose
comfort and welfare had been a constant object of his
solicitude, was no more ; she had died about a year pre-
vious to his arrival. Two of his brothers were dead also,
and many besides of the friends of his youth. The im-
becility of age had moreover come upon his only surviv-
ing parent, and had effected such a change, as to mar
that reciprocity of feeling, which their meeting after so
long a separation would otherwise have excited.

On his return to Glasgow, Colonel Munro revisited all
the haunts of his youth, and particularly North Wood-
side, a romantic spot in the vicinity of the city, where in
his early days his father had a country residence, to
which the family resorted every summer. Here, with
all that simple and amiable feeling peculiar to generous
natures, he endeavoured to annihilate the space of time
which had elapsed since he had been there a boy, and to
recall with increased force the sensations of his youth,
by bathing in the dam in which he had so often sported,
and by wandering through the woods where he had spent
so many of the careless hours of that happy season.
This feeling he even carried so far, as to climb once
more a favourite aged tree, which had enjoyed an espe-
cial share of his youthful patronage and affection. Every
branch was familiar to him ; for he had a thousand times

360 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

nestled amongst them, to enjoy in solitude and quiet the
pages of some favourite author.

On the renewal of the Company's charter, he was, for
many days consecutively, examined hefore a Committee
of the House of Commons. In 1813 he attained the
rank of Colonel, and in 1814 he married Jane, daughter
of Richard Campbell, Esq. of Craigie, Ayrshire, by
whom he had two sons. In the latter year he returned
to Madras, as the head of a Commission of Inquiry into
the Judicial Administration of our Eastern dominions,
for which his vigorous and comprehensive understanding,
his long and extensive experience, and his habits of
laborious research, rendered him peculiarly qualified.

In the war with the Pindarries and Mahrattas in 1817
and the following year, he greatly distinguished him-
self. Being in the neighbourhood of Soondoor, where
he had been sent as Commissioner to take charge of the
districts ceded to the Company by the Peishwa, he was
appointed by Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Hislop
to undertake the reduction of the rebellious feudatory
of Soondoor, and he was shortly after vested with a
separate command of the reserve, with the rank of
Brigadier- General, under orders from the Marquis of
Hastings. With a very inadequate force he immediately
entered upon active measures, and fortress after fortress
was surrendered at his approach.

At the conclusion of the war he resigned his military
command, and, accompanied by his family, he again
visited England, where he arrived in 18 1 9. In November

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 361

of that year he was invested with the insignia of a Knight
Companion of the Bath. In 1820, with the rank of
Major- General, he returned to Madras as Governor of
that Presidency ; and, as a farther reward of his distin-
guished services, he was created a Baronet, June 30th,
1825. The Burmese war prevented him from retiring
from India so early as he wished; and, sacrificing his
personal wishes and convenience to the public service,
he retained his office till its conclusion. At length, in
1827, he made every arrangement for returning to enjoy
his well-earned honours in his native land, and before
his departure proceeded to pay a farewell visit to the
people of the ceded districts, for whom he had continued
to feel a strong interest, but was attacked on July 5th
with cholera, then prevalent in the country, and expired
on the 6th at Puteecoodah, near Gooty, where he lies
interred. An equestrian statue, by Chantry, has been
erected to his memory at Madras. In 1830 was pub-
lished " The Life of Sir Thomas Munro, with Extracts
from his Correspondence and Private Papers, by the
Rev. G. R Gleig," 3 vols.

SIB JOHN MOORE,

One of the most distinguished British commanders of
modern times, was born at Glasgow, November 13th,
1761. He was the eldest son of a medical practitioner
there, author of the popular novel of " Zeluco," and other
works. He received the rudiments of his education at
the High School of his native city, and at the age of

362 CHRONICLES OP ST.

eleven accompanied his father, who was engaged as
travelling physician to the Duke of Hamilton, to the
Continent, where he acquired a knowledge of most of
the European languages, and had the opportunity of
heing introduced at several foreign courts. In 1776,
through the interest of his Grace, he obtained an En-
sign's Commission in the 51st foot, and joined his regi-
ment at Minorca early in 1777. After being initiated
into the forms of military discipline by the veteran
G-eneral Murray, he was promoted to a Lieutenancy in
the 82d regiment, which had been raised by the Duke
of Hamilton for immediate service, with which he em-
barked to America, where he served till the conclusion
of the war in 1783, when his regiment being reduced, he
was put upon half-pay. On his return to Britain, with
the rank of Captain, he resumed the studies of fortifica-
tion and field tactics, and on the change of ministry,
which soon followed the peace, he was, by the Hamilton
influence, elected to represent the Lanark district of
burghs in Parliament. In 1787 he obtained the rank
of Major in the 4th battalion of the GOth regiment, and
in 1788 he exchanged into his former regiment, the 51st.
In 1790 he succeeded, by purchase, to the Lieutenant-
Colonelcy, and in 1791 he went with his regiment to
Gibraltar.

In 1794 Colonel Moore was ordered to accompany the
expedition for the reduction of Corsica, and at the siege
of Calvi he was appointed by General Charles Stuart
to command the reserve, at the head of which he gal-

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 363

lantly stormed the Mozzello fort, amidst a shower of
bullets, hand-grenades, and shells, that exploded among
them at every step. Here he received his first wound,
in spite of which he mounted the breach with his brave
followers, and drove the enemy before them. Soon after
the surrender of the garrison, he was nominated Ad-
jutant General, as a step to farther promotion.

A disagreement having taken place between the
British commander, General Stuart, and Sir Gilbert
Elliot, the Viceroy of the Island, the former was recalled,
and Colonel Moore was ordered by the latter to quit
Corsica within forty-eight hours. He returned to Eng-
land in November, 1795, and was almost immediately
promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General in the West
Indies. He sailed from Spithead, February 28th, 1796, to
join the army under Sir Ralph Abercromby at Barbadoes,
where he arrived April 13th. His able services under this
gallant veteran during the West India campaign, espe-
cially in the debarkation at St. Lucia, and the siege of
Morne Fortunee were, as the Commander-in-Chief de-
clared in the public orders, " the admiration of the whole
army." On the capitulation of St. Lucia, Sir Ralph
appointed General Moore Commandant and Governor
of the Island, a charge which he undertook with great
reluctance, as he longed for more active service. But he
performed his duty with his accustomed energy and suc-
cess, notwithstanding the hostility of the natives, and the
numerous bands of armed Negroes that remained in the
woods. Two successive attacks of yellow fever compelled

364 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

him to return to England in August 1797, when he ob-
tained the rank of Major-General. In the subsequent
December, his health being completely re-established, he
accompanied Sir Ralph Abercromby to Ireland as
Brigadier- General, and during the rebellion of 1798, he
served with great distinction in the south of Ireland,
where he defeated a large body of the rebels, and de-
livered Wexford from the insurgents. By his prudence,
he not only controlled the insurrectionary dispositions of
the Irish, but maintained the strictest sobriety and dis-
cipline among the soldiers under his command.

In the disastrous expedition to Holland, in August
1799, he had the command of a brigade in the division of
the army under Sir Ralph Abercromby ; and in the
engagement of the 2d October, he received two wounds,
which compelled him to return to England. In 1800 he
accompanied Abercromby in the expedition to Egypt;
and, at the disembarkation of the troops, the batallion
which he commaHded carried by assault the batteries
erected by the French on a neighbouring eminence of
sand to oppose their landing. At the battle of Aboukir,
March 21st, where he was general officer of the day, his
coolness, decision, and intrepidity, greatly contributed to
the victory, which, however, was dearly purchased with
the life of Sir Ralph Abercromby. In this battle
General Moore received a dangerous wound in the leg
by a musket ball, which confined him first on board one
of the transports, and afterwards in the neighbourhood
of Rosetta, till the conclusion of the expedition. He

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 365

returned home in 1801, in time to soothe the last
moments of his venerable father ; and, upon his death,
he generously conferred an annuity on his mother, the
half of which only she would accept. After this period,
General Moore was encamped with an advanced corps
at Sandgate, on the Kentish coast, opposite to Boulogne,
preparing for the threatened invasion of the French. As
he largely enjoyed the confidence of the Duke of York,
then Commander-in-chief, he was engaged at his own
request, in a camp of instruction, in training several
regiments as light infantry, and the high state of discip-
line to which he brought them was of essential service
in the subsequent campaigns in the Peninsula. Towards
the end of 1804, General Moore's merits induced the
king to confer on him the Order of the Bath. In 1806
he was sent to Sicily, where he served under General
Fox, and in the following year he was appointed Com-
mander-in chief of all the troops in the Mediterranean.
In May, 1808, he was despatched, at the head of 10,000
men to Sweden, with the view of assisting the gallant
but intractable sovereign of that country, Gustavus
Adolphus IV. in the defence of his dominions, then
threatened by France, Russia, and Denmark; but re-
fusing to comply with the extravagant demands of that
eccentric monarch, he was placed under arrest. He had
the good fortune, however, to effect his escape, and im-
mediately sailed with the troops for England. On his
arrival off the coast, his landing was prevented by an
order to proceed to Portugal to take part in the expedi-

366 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

tion against the French, in that country, under the com-
mand of Sir Harry Burrard. After the liberation of
Portugal, the troops were preparing to advance into
Spain, when a letter from Lord Castlereagh, dated
September 25th, 1808, arrived at Lisbon, appointing
Sir John Moore Commander-in-chief of an army of
30,000 infantry and 5000 cavalry, to be employed in the
north of the Peninsula, in co-operating with the Spanish
forces against the French invaders. He began his march
on the 18th of October, and on the 13th of November
he reached Salamanca, where he halted to concentrate
his forces, and where, distracted by every species of dis-
appointment and false information, and deluded by the
representations of Mr. Frere, the British Ambassador in
Spain, he remained for some time uncertain whether to
advance upon Madrid, or fall back upon Portugal.
At length, learning that the whole of the disposable
French armies in the Peninsula were gathered to sur-
round him, he commenced, on the evening of December
24th, a rapid march to the coast, through the mountain-
ous region of Gallicia, and after the most splendid and
masterly retreat that has been recorded in the annals of
modern warfare, conducted, as it was, in the depth of
winter, and while pressed on all sides by the skilful and
harassing manoeuvres of the pursuing enemy, he arrived
at Corunna, on January llth, 1809, with the army under
his command almost entire and unbroken. In this
memorable retreat 250 miles of country had been tra-
versed, and mountains, defiles, and rivers had been

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 307

crossed, amidst sufferings and disasters almost un-
paralleled, and yet not a single piece of artillery, a
standard, or a military trophy of any kind, had fallen
into the hands of the pursuing enemy.

Finding that the transports, which had been ordered
round from Vigo, had not arrived, Sir John Moore
quartered a portion of the troops in the town of Corunna,
and the remainder in the neighbouring villages, and
made the dispositions that appeared to him most advis-
able for defence against the enemy. The transports
anchored at Corunna on the evening of the 14th, and
the sick, the cavalry, and the artillery, were embarked
in them, except twelve six-pounders, which were retained
for action. Several general officers, seeing the disad-
vantages under which either an embarkation or a battle
must take place, advised Sir John Moore to send a flag
of truce to Soult, and open a negotiation to permit the
embarkation of the army on terms ; but, with the high-
souled courage of his country, Moore indignantly spurned
the proposal as unworthy of a -British army, which, amidst
all its disasters, had never known defeat. The French, as-
sembled on the surrounding hills, amounted to 20,000 men,
and their cannon, planted on commanding eminences,
were larger and more numerous than the British guns.
The British infantry, to the number of 14,500, occupied
a range of heights, enclosed by three sides of the enemy's
position, their several divisions, under the command of
Generals Baird, Hope, Paget, and Frazer, being thrown
up to confront every point of attack. About two o'clock

368 CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO.

in the afternoon of the 16th, a general movement was
observed along the French line ; and on receiving intelli-
gence that the enemy were getting under arms, Sir John
Moore rode immediately to the scene of action. The
advanced pickets were already beginning to fire at the
enemy's light troops, who were pouring rapidly down the
hill on the right wing of the British. Early in the
battle Sir David Baird, leading on his division, had his
arm shattered with a grape-shot, and was obliged to leave
the field. At this instant the French artillery plunged
from the heights, and the two hostile lines of infantry
mutually advanced beneath a shower of balls. They
were still separated from each other by stone walls and
hedges. A sudden and very able movement of the
British gave the utmost satisfaction to Sir John Moore,
who had been watching the manoeuvre, and he cried out,
" That is exactly what I wished to be done." He then
rode up to the 50th regiment, commanded by Majors
Napier and Stanhope, who had got over an enclosure
in their front, and were charging most valiantly. The
General, delighted with their gallantry, exclaimed,
" Well done, the 50th! Well done, my majors! " They
drove the enemy out of the village of Elvina with great
slaughter. In this conflict, Major Napier, advancing too
far, was wounded and taken prisoner, and Major Stan-
hope received a ball through his heart, which killed him
instantaneously. Sir John Moore proceeded to the 42d,
and addressed them in these words, "Highlanders, re-
member Egypt! " They rushed on driving the French

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 369

before them. In this charge they were accompanied by
Sir John, who sent Captain (now Sir Henry) Hardinge
to order up a battalion of guards to the left flank of the
Highlanders, upon which the officer commanding the
light company, conceiving that, as their ammunition was
nearly expended, they were to be relieved by the guards,
began to withdraw his men ; but Sir John, perceiving
the mistake, said, " My brave 42d, join your comrades ;
ammunition is coming, and you have your bayonets."
When the contest was at the fiercest, Sir John, who was
anxiously watching the progress of the battle, was struck
in the left breast by a cannon ball, which carried away
his left shoulder and part of his collar bone, leaving the
arm hanging by the flesh. The violence of the stroke
threw him from his horse. Captain Hardinge who had
returned from executing his commission, immediately
dismounted and took him by the hand. With an unal-
tered countenance he raised himself, and looked anxi-
ously towards the Highlanders, who were hotly engaged.
Captain Hardinge assured him that the 42d were ad-
vancing, on which his countenance brightened. Hard-
inge tried in vain to stop the effusion of blood with his
sash, then, with the help of some Highlanders and
guardsmen, he placed the General upon a blanket. He
was lifted from the ground by a Highland sergeant and
three veteran soldiers, and slowly conveyed towards Cor-
unna. In raising him, his sword touched his wounded
arm, and became entangled between his legs. Captain
Hardinge was in the act of unbuckling it from his waist,
B2

370 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

when he said, in his usual tone, and with the true spirit
of a soldier, " It is as well as it is ; I had rather it should
go out of the field with me." When the surgeons
arrived, he said to them, " You can be of no service to
me ; go to the soldiers, to whom you may be useful." Aa
he was borne slowly along, he repeatedly caused those
who carried him to halt and turn round, to view the field
of battle ; and he was pleased when the firing grew faint
in the distance, as it told of the retreat of the French.

On arriving at his lodgings he was placed on a mattress
on the floor. He was in great agony and could only
speak at intervals. He said to Colonel Anderson, who
who had been his companion in arms for more than twenty
years, and who had saved his life at St. Lucia, " Ander-
son, you know that I always wished to die in this way."
He frequently asked, " Are the French beaten ? " And
at length when told that they were defeated on every
point, he exclaimed, " I hope the people of England will
be satisfied ; I hope my country will do me justice." He
then spoke affectionately of his mother and his relatives,
inquired after the safety of his aids-de-camp, and even
at that solemn moment mentioned those officers whose
merits had entitled them to promotion. A few seconds
after, he died without a struggle, January 16th, 1809.
The ramparts of the citadel of Corunna were selected as
the fittest place for his grave, and there he was buried
at the hour of midnight, " with his martial cloak around
him." The chaplain-general read the funeral service of
the Church of England by torch-light ; and on the sue-

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 371

ceeding day, when the British were safely out at sea, the
guns of the French paid the wonted military honours
over the grave of the departed hero. Soult afterwards
raised a monument to his memory on the spot. A monu-
ment has also been erected at Glasgow, and another
in St. Paul's Cathedral, by order of Parliament.

JAMES GRAHAME,

The author of " The Sabbath," and other poems, was
the son of a Writer in Glasgow, where he was born April
22, 1765. He received the rudiments of his education
at the Grammar School of Glasgow ; and after passing
through a regular academical course at the University
of his native city, he was removed to Edinburgh, in 1 784,
and apprenticed to his cousin, Mr. Lawrence Hill, writer
to the signet. On the expiration of his apprenticeship,
he became, in 1791, a member of the Society of Writers
to the Signet ; but the confinement of the writing desk
being found injurious to his constitution, which was
naturally weak, he turned his attention to the bar, and
in March, 1795 was admitted Advocate. In March,
1802, he married the eldest daughter of Mr. James
Grahame, town-clerk of Annan.

While at the University, he had printed and circulated
a collection of poetical pieces, which, in an amended
form, appeared in 1797, and in 1801 he published " Mary
Stuart, an Historical Drama." The poem on which his
reputation rests, " The Sabbath," made its appearance
in 1804, and at first was published anonymously. So

372 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

cautious was he that he should not be known as the
author of this beautiful production, that we are told he
exacted a promise of secresy from the printer he em-
ployed, and used to meet him clandestinely, at obscure
coffee-houses, in order to correct the proofs, but never
twice at the same house, for fear of attracting observa-
tion. The work soon became popular ; and on his wife
expressing her high admiration of it, he acknowledged
himself the author, much, as may be supposed, to her
gratification. In 1805 he brought out a second edition
of " The Sabbath," to which he added " Sabbath
Walks ;" and such was the demand for the book, that
three editions were called for in the same year. In
180G he published the " Birds of Scotland, and other
Poems;" in 1807 he brought out his " Poems" in 2 vols;
in 1809 appeared the "British Georgics," 4to; and, in
1810, "Poems on the Abolition of the Slave Trade,"
embellished with engravings from designs by Smirke.

From early life, Mr. Grahame had entertained a
strong prepossession for the church, and his father's
death having released him from all wish to continue in
the law, in May 1809 he went to London, where he was
ordained by the Bishop of Norwich, and soon after
obtained the curacy of Shefton Mayne, in Gloucester-
shire, which he held till the succeeding April, when he
resigned it, owing to some family matters requiring his
presence in Edinburgh. While in Scotland, he was an
unsuccessful candidate for St. George's Episcopal chapel
in that city. In the following August he was engaged

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 373

to officiate for some time as sub-curate of St. Margaret's,
Durham, where his eloquence, as a preacher, soon col-
lected a large congregation. Through the interest of
Mr. Barrington, the nephew of the Bishop of Durham,
he obtained the curacy of Sedgefield in the same diocese,
where he commenced his duties on the 1st of May 1811 ;
but the decline of his health soon compelled him to revisit
Edinburgh for medical advice. After staying a short
time there, he proceeded with his wife to Glasgow, but
died at Whitehill, the seat of his eldest brother, Mr.
Robert Grahame, on September 14, 1811, in the 47th
year of his age, leaving two sons and a daughter.

JAMES CLELAND, LL.D.,

A distinguished statistical writer, was born at Glas-
gow in the month of January 1770. His parents, though
highly respectable, were in a humble station of life ; his
father's trade being that of a cabinet-maker, to which his
son was likewise brought up. In the workshop of his
father he continued until 1789, when, in order to render
himself perfect in his business, he went to London ; in
which city he remained for two years. On his return,
he entered into partnership with his father, and from
his peculiar tact and straightforward mode of conducting
business, he, in a short period, rendered the trade in
which he was concerned one of the most flourishing in
the city. It was while thus engaged that he first exhi-
bited his inclination to figures ; the foremost of his
printed productions being " Tables for showing the Price

374 CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO.

of Packing-Boxes of sundry Dimensions and Thick-
nesses," an opuscule which was highly thought of at the
time, and which is still in common use amongst trades-
men.

In 1814, the office of Superintendent of Public Works
at Glasgow having hecome vacant, Dr. Cleland was
unanimously elected to it by the Town Council, and in
this situation he continued till 1834, when, owing to some
alteration in the distribution of offices — consequent on
the operation of the Municipal Reform Bill, he thought
it expedient to resign. Many of his fellow-citizens, how-
ever, considering that some compensation should be
afforded him, called a public meeting on 7th August of
that year, at which it was unanimously resolved, that a
subscription should immediately be set on foot, in order
to present Dr. Cleland with some tangible mark of the
esteem in which he was held by them. This was accord-
ingly done, and in the course of a very few weeks, when
the subscription list was closed, the sum collected
amounted to no less than £4600 — which it was agreed
upon by a committee should be expended on the erection
of a productive building, to be placed in a suitable part
of the city, and to bear the name of the " Cleland Testi-
monial."

In 1821 Dr. Cleland was employed by Government to
draw up and classify the enumeration of the inhabitants
of Glasgow. In 1831 Dr. Cleland again drew up the
enumeration for Government, and the very nattering
mode in which it was received, both at home and in

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 375

several of the countries of the European continent, at-
tests its value.

From 1820 until 1884 the bills of mortality for Glas-
gow were drawn up by him. In the year 1836 a num-
ber of gentlemen having united themselves into a society
for promoting the advancement of statistical inquiry, Dr.
Cleland was unanimously elected president, and in the
first part of their Transactions there appeared a paper
written by him on his favourite subject, the State of the
City.

From the date of his resignation to his death, which
took place after an illness of nearly a year's duration, on
14th October 1840, Dr. Cleland never ceased to enter-
tain a lively regard for the interest and prosperity of his
native city; and not a month before he expired, he pub-
lished a pamphlet, " On the Former and Present State
of Glasgow." By the University of Glasgow he was
honoured with the degree of Doctor of Laws. He was
a member of the Society of Civil Engineers of London ;
a Fellow of the Statistical Societies of London, Man-
chester, and Bristol; a corresponding member of the
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland ; and a short period
before his decease, he was elected an honorary member
of the Societe Francois de Statistique Universelle.

The principal of his works are — Annals of Glasgow,
2 vols. 8vo, 1816; Abridgment of the Annals of Glas-
gow, 8vo, 1817; Rise and Progress of the City of Glas-
gow, 8vo, 1820.

376 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

KIRKMAN FINLf Y,

One of the most eminent of modern Glasgow mer-
chants, was the son of Mr. James Finlay, the founder
of the firm of James Finlay & Co. Having received
the rudiments of his education at the Grammar School
and University of his native city, he proceeded to
the Continent, where he remained for a considerable
time, storing his mind with the truths of science, and
the elegancies of polite literature. On his return to
Glasgow he began business as a merchant and manu-
facturer, and soon distinguished himself by his energy
and enterprise. Not confining himself, however, slav-
ishly to his own particular department, his fertile mind
led him to seek out other pursuits. He may be said to
have wandered over the commerce of the world ; and
uniting with it the manufactures which he directed in
his own city, he became at once a powerful merchant,
as well as a great manufacturer. The talents, however,
of Mr. Finlay, were not to be confined altogether
to the locality in which he resided. He sat for some
years in Parliament for the burghs of Glasgow, Ruther-
glen, and Dumbarton, and there he soon acquired
the intimacy and respect of the most eminent states-
men of his time. His advice was taken and followed
on the most important questions of the day ; and it may
truly be said, that it was to his high example we are
indebted for the system of trade which has been intro-
duced, and is now acted upon by the government, and
which has produced such important effects over the whole

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUITGO. 377

world. The friend of Huskisson and Canning — of
Gladstone and Burton, he taught government how to
apply the doctrines of Philosophy to the real business of
commerce ; and it may truly be said, that if Adam Smith
first propounded the doctrines of free trade, Kirkman
Finlay was the first who showed how they might be
reduced to practice.

In 1819 he was elected Lord Rector of the University
of Glasgow. From the year 1820 till the period of his
death, which occurred in October, 1842, Mr. Finlay was
comparatively little before the public. In private life he
was esteemed and loved by a numerous circle of friends
and acquaintances. No man could be in his company for
one day without seeing that he was an individual whose
talents commanded respect, whose character deserved
esteem, and whose heart must be beloved. As a country
gentleman his merits were not less conspicuous. Exhibit-
ing there the same combinations of talent, with judgment,
by which all his other undertakings had been distin-
guished, he soon became a blessing to the district in which
he settled. Agriculture, under the greatest possible dis-
advantages, nourished from his activity and enterprise ;
and the traveller with astonishment beheld the bleak
hills and rugged glens of Argyle-shire clothed with
beauty under the magic wand of a Glasgow merchant.

ALLAN BURNS,

An eminent anatomist and medical writer, was born
at Glasgow, September 18, 1781. His father, the Rev.

•378 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

Dr. John Burns, was minister of the Barony parish in
tha,t city, for the long period of sixty-nine years, and
died in 1839, aged ninety-six. He was early sent to
study for the medical profession, and such was his pro-
ficiency, that, two years after he had entered the classes,
he was, at the age of 16, enabled to undertake the sole
direction of the dissecting-rooms of his brother, Mr. John
Burns, at that time lecturer on anatomy in Glasgow.
In 1 804, having gone to London with the view of enter-
ing the medical service of the army, he received and
accepted of the offer of director of a new hospital, on the
British plan, established at St. Petersburg by the Em-
press Catherine, to whom he was recommended by his
excellency, Dr. Crichton; and accordingly proceeded
to Russia, where he did not remain above six months.
On his leaving the Russian capital, in January, 1805,
he received from the Empress, in token of good will, a
valuable diamond ring. In the winter, after his return
to Glasgow, he began, in place of his brother, to give
lectures on anatomy and surgery. In 1809 he published
" Observations on some of the frequent and important
Diseases of the Heart," illustrated by cases. In 1812
appeared his second publication, entitled " Observations
on the Surgical Anatomy of the Head and Neck," also
illustrated by cases. Both of these works, which em-
brace all his separate publications, are held in the highest
estimation by the profession. Early in 1810 his health
began to decline, and although he continued for two
years longer to deliver lectures, it was often amid great

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 379

personal suffering. He died June 22d, 1813. An edi-
tion of his " Surgical Anatomy of the Head and Neck,"
was published in America, with a life of the author, and
additional cases and observations, by Granville Sharp
Pattison, Professor of Anatomy in the University of
Maryland. Mr. Burns also contributed to the Edin-
burgh Medical and Surgical Journal, an Essay on the
Anatomy of the parts concerned in the operation for
Crural Hernia, and one on the operation of Lithotomy.

THOMAS HAMILTON.

This individual, known to the world as the author of
" Cyril Thornton," " Annals of the Peninsular Cam-
paign." and "Men and Manners in America," was
born in Glasgow, and was the son of Mr. Hamilton, a
well-known merchant in the city, and at one time Lord
Provost. After having pursued his education at the
Grammar School and University of his native city, he
chose the profession of a soldier, and served with distinc-
tion in the Peninsular and last American campaigns.
Amidst these active services, he preserved those literary
tastes which had distinguished his career at college ;
and, when the close of the war restored him to his
country, he seemed to feel that the peaceful leisure of a
soldier's life could not be more appropriately filled up
than by the cultivation of literature. The characteristic
of his mind was rather a happy union and balance of
qualities than the possession of any one in excess ; and
the result was a peculiar composure and gracefulness,

380 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

pervading equally his outward deportment and his habits
of thought. " Cyril Thornton," which appeared in 1827,
instantly arrested public attention and curiosity even in
an age eminently fertile in great works of faction. With
little of plot — for it pursued the desultory ramblings of
a soldier's life through various climes, — it possessed a
wonderful truth and reality, great skill in the observa-
tion and portraiture of original character, and a peculiar
charm of style, blending freshness and vivacity of move-
ment with classic delicacy and grace. It is especially
interesting to natives of Glasgow as affording in two
stages of the hero's life an admirable picture of the
manners of the last age. Who does not feel delighted
with the portraiture of the characters of David Spreul
and his servant Girzy — and the never-to-be-forgotten
" Bell Geordie?" The work soon became naturally and
justly popular, having reached a second edition shortly
after publication ; a third edition has recently appeared.
The " Annals of the Peninsular Campaign" had the
merit of clear narration united with the same quality of
style ; but the size of the work precluded that develop-
ment and picturesque detail which were requisite to
give individuality to its pictures. Hte last work was
" Men and Manners in America," of which two German
and one French translations have appeared ; — a work
eminently characterized by a tone of gentlemanly feel-
ing, sagacious observation, just views of national char-
acter and institutions, and their reciprocal influence, and
by a tolerant criticism ; and which, so far from having

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 381

been superseded by recent works of the same class and
on the same subject, has only risen in public estimation
by the comparison. Besides these productions, Mr. or
as he was more generally termed, Captain Hamilton,
was the author of many fugitive pieces in Blackwood,
having been one of the staff of contributors from the
commencement of that celebrated journal. Captain
Hamilton died at Pisa on the 7th of December, 1842.
One of his sisters is the wife of the Rev. Dr. Welsh,
Professor of Church History in the University of
Edinburgh.

JOHN FINLAY,

A poet of some talent, was born in Glasgow in 1782.
He studied with success the history and popular litera-
ture of his native country; and, in 1802, he published
"Wallace, or the Vale of Ellerslie, with other Poems,"
12mo, the second edition of which appeared in 8vo, in
1804. In 1808, he brought out his " Scottish, Historical,
and Romantic Ballads, chiefly ancient, with Explana-
tory Notes and a Glossary ; to which are prefixed, some
Remarks on the Early State of Romantic Composition
in Scotland. ' ' These productions display much acquaint-
ance with the literary antiquities of the middle ages.
He died December 8, 1810, aged 28.

JOHN DONALD CAREICK,

Author of " The Life of Wallace," was born at Glas-
gow in April, 1 787. His father was in humble circum-

382 CHRONICLES OF ST. MTJNGO.

stances ; and after receiving the common elements of
education, he was at an early period placed in the office
of a Mr. Nicholson, an architect in his native city. In
the latter part of 1807, he quitted the place of his birth,
unknown to his parents, and, with the view of trying his
fortune in London, set off on foot with but a few shillings
in his pocket, sleeping under hedges, or wherever he
could obtain a dormitory. On his arrival in the great
city, he offered his services to various shopkeepers, but
at first without success. At last a decent tradesman,
himself a Scotsman, took compassion on the friendless
lad, and engaged him to run his errands ; he was after-
wards in the employment of several other persons. In
the spring of 1809 he obtained a situation in the house
of Messrs. Spodes & Co. in the Staffordshire Pottery
line of business. In the beginning of 181 1 he returned
to Glasgow, and opened a large establishment in Hutche-
son-Street, as a china and stoneware merchant, in which
business he continued for fourteen years. In 1825, being
deeply read in old Scottish literature, he published a
" Life of Sir William Wallace," in two volumes, which
was written for Constable's Miscellany. This work was
very favourably received. He also wrote, about this
time, some comic songs and humorous pieces. In that
year he gave up his business, and travelled for two or
three years, chiefly in the West Highlands, as an agent
for some Glasgow house. He afterwards became sub-
editor of the " Scots Times," a newspaper of liberal
principles, published at Glasgow, and wrote many of the

CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO. 383

local squibs and other jeux d'esprits which appeared in
that paper. He contributed various pieces, and amongst
the rest, "The confessions of a Burker," and "The
Devil's Codicil," to " The Day," a clever literary peri-
odical which was published at Glasgow for six months,
in 1832, the reputed editor of which was Mr. John
Strang, since Chamberlain of that city, and the author
of several works of considerable merit. To a clever little
collection of songs, and other pieces of poetry, chiefly
humorous, published in Glasgow by Mr. David Robert1
son, entitled " Whistle Binkie," Mr. Carrick contributed
several pieces, rich in that vein of humour in which he
excelled. "The Scottish Tea Party," "Mister Peter
Paterson," " The Harp and the Haggis," " The Gude-
man's Prophecy," " The Cook's Legacy," and " The
Muirland Cottagers," are some of these productions,
which the author used to sing himself with inimitable
effect. In the beginning of 1833 he went to Perth as
editor of the " Perth Advertiser," where he remained
about eleven months. In February 1834 he was ap-
pointed editor of the " Kilmarnock Journal ; ' ' but being
afflicted with a paralysis of some of the nerves and mus-
cles of the mouth and head, which finally settled into a
confirmed tic doloureux, he resigned his situation, and
returned to Glasgow in January, 1835, where he super-
intended the first edition of the " Laird of Logan," an
excellent and unrivalled collection of Scottish anecdotes
and facetiae, of which he was the projector, and editor,
and principal contributor, and which appeared in June

384 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

of that year. He also contributed some admirable papers
to the " Scottish Monthly Magazine," a periodical pub-
lished for a short time in Glasgow. Mr. Carrick died
August J 7, 1 837, and was interred in the burying-ground
of the High Church of his native city. As a writer, he
is principally distinguished for humorous satire, and a
thorough knowledge of the manners and customs of his
countrymen.

WILLIAM MOTHEEWELL,

A highly gifted poet, was born in Glasgow, October
13th, 1797. His family originally belonged to Stirling-
shire, where for several generations they resided on a
small property of their own, called Muirmill. At an
early age he was placed under the care of an uncle in
Paisley, and after receiving a good education, was ap-
prenticed to the Sheriff-Clerk of the County, with the
view of following the legal profession. On the termina-
tion of his apprenticeship he was employed for some
time by Dr. Robert Watt in assisting in the compilr
tion of that valuable and useful work the " Bibliotheca
Britannica," in which occupation he displayed a pas-
sionate love of antiquarian lore, that characterized all
his after years. Having early begun to "try his
'prentice-hand" on poetry, he about the same time con-
tributed some pieces to a small periodical published at
Greenock, called " The Visitor." At the age of twenty-
one he was appointed Deputy to the Sheriff-Clerk at
Paisley, which office he held for about ten years. In

CgjlONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 385

the year 1819 he contributed an Essay on the Poets of
Renfrewshire, to a collection of Songs and other poetical
pieces published at Paisley, and entitled " The Harp of
Renfrewshire," in which a few of his own productions
also appeared. He subsequently became Editor of a
work of a somewhat similar nature, but of higher pre-
tensions and greater merit, being a valuable collection of
ballads, published in parts, and completed in 1827, under
the title of " Minstrelsy, Ancient and Modern," illus-
trated by a most interesting historical introduction and
notes, which exhibited his extensive acquaintance with
the ballad and romantic literature of Scotland.

In 1828 Mr. Motherwell became Editor of the " Pais-
ley Advertiser," a paper of Conservative politics, which
he conducted with spirit and success for nearly two years.
At the same time he edited the "Paisley Magazine,"
a monthly periodical, which, though it displayed much
talent and liveliness, only existed for a year. In the
beginning of 1830, on the retirement of Mr. M'Queen,
the able and well-known advocate of the West India
interests, from the " Glasgow Courier," Mr. Motherwell
was engaged as Editor of that Journal, and he continued
to conduct it till his death. He entered upon the editor-
ship at a period of great public excitement, when the
principles he supported, those of Conservatism, were, for
the time, exceedingly unpopular ; but with a high and
chivalrous disregard of personal considerations, he ad-
vocated the cause which he conscientiously believed to
be the true one with signal intrepidity, unflinching zeal,

386 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUJN^O.

and consummate ability, and for upwards of five years
sustained with distinction the character of one of the
oldest and most respectable newspapers in Scotland. Of
Motherwell it may be truly said, that " he gave up to
party what was meant for mankind," for politics, in a
great measure, thus withdrew him from the more con-
genial pursuits of literature. He did not, however,
wholly forsake poetry, for, in 1832, a volume of his
" Poems, Narrative and Lyrical," was published by Mr.
David Robertson of Glasgow, and was most favourably
received. A few months previously he had furnished
his friend, Mr. Andrew Henderson, with an able and
interesting preface for his collection of Scottish Proverbs,
in which he showed a thorough acquaintance with the
"saws" and sayings of his countrymen. The same year
he contributed a number of pieces in prose and verse to
" The Day," a periodical then published at Glasgow.
His Memoirs of Peter Pirnie, a Paisley Bailie, formed
one of the most amusing papers in that publication.
In 1834-5, he superintended with Hogg, the Ettrick
Shepherd, an elegant edition of the works of Burns, in
5 volumes, published by Fullarton and Co., Glasgow.
A large amount of the notes, critical and illustrative,
was supplied by him.

Mr. Motherwell was of short stature, but stout and
muscular. The engrossing and exciting nature of his
duties, (the Courier being published three times a-week,)
cqmbined with other causes, gradually undermined his
health, and he was latterly subject to occasional attacks

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 387

of illness. On the evening of 31st October, 1835, he was
seized with an apoplectic fit, and though medical aid
was speedily procured, in less than three hours, during
which he scarcely spoke, he died, (November 1,) in his
39th year. He was interred in the Necropolis of his
native city, sincerely lamented by all who knew him.

Asa poet, Mr. Motherwell possessed genius and origi-
nality of a high order. His principal characteristics
are purity of spirit and depth of feeling. His ballad
compositions are simple, but full of truth and pathos.
His most exquisite productions are " Jeanie Morrison"
and " My Head is like to rend, Willie," which, especi-
ally the former, no one possessing any sensibility can
read without tears. There is a touching tenderness
about them both which appeals at once to the best
sympathies of our nature ; and they approach nearer to
the sweetness and simplicity of some of the songs of
Burns than any poems of the kind in the language.
His " Sword-Chant of Thorstein-Raudi," and similar
pieces, are distinguished by a spirit of warlike enthusiasm
which stirs the heart like the blast of a trumpet.
Personally he was endeared to his friends by many
admirable qualities : — kindness of heart, generosity of
disposition, and urbanity of manner, were not the least
striking features of his character. He left various manu-
scripts, finished and unfinished, among which is a prose
work, embodying the wild legends of the Norsemen, a
department of literature to which he was much devoted.

388 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

THOMAS ATKINSON,

Bookseller and miscellaneous writer, was born at
Glasgow about the year 1801. After receiving his edu-
cation, he was apprenticed to Mr. Turnbull, bookseller,
Trongate, on whose death he entered into business, in
partnership with Mr. David Robertson. From boyhood
he was a writer of poetry, prose sketches, and essays ;
and among other things brought out by him were, " The
Sextuple Alliance," and " The Chameleon," three suc-
cessive volumes of which were published annually, con-
taining his own pieces exclusively. He was also sole
editor and author of " The Ant, ' ' a weekly periodical,
and an extensive contributor to " The Western Lumi-
nary," " The Emmet," and other local publications.
His writings are distinguished by taste and fancy,
and he was indefatigable in producing them. His
talents for speaking were also of a superior order, and
he took every opportunity of displaying his powers of
oratory. At the general election, after the passing of
the Reform Bill, Mr. Atkinson, who was a keen Re-
former, started as a candidate for the Stirling Burghs
in opposition to Lord Dalmeny, who was returned.
Being naturally of a delicate constitution, his exertions
on this occasion brought on a decline ; and when seized
with advanced symptoms of consumption, he disposed of
his business, his books and his furniture, and sailed for
Barbadoes, but died on the passage, on the 10th October,
1833, in the 32d year of his age. He was buried at sea
in an oaken coffin, which he had taken with him! He

CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO. 389

left an annuity to his mother, and a sum, after accumu-
lation, to be applied in building an Atkinsonian Hall in
Glasgow for scientific purposes. His relatives erected a
monument to his memory in the Necropolis of that city.

ROBERT MACNISH, LL.D.,

Better known as "The Modern Pythagorean," the
son of a respectable medical practitioner in Glasgow,
was born there February 15, 1802. He received the
elements of education partly in his native town, and
partly at a classical academy at Hamilton ; and after-
wards studied medicine. He obtained the degree of
Master of Surgery at the early age of eighteen, when he
became assistant to Dr. Henderson of Clyth, at Caith-
ness, where he remained for about eighteen months, and
then went to Paris for about a year, with the view of
completing his medical studies. On his return, in 1825,
he obtained his diploma from the Faculty of Physicians
and Surgeons of Glasgow, when he gave in, as his
inaugural thesis "An Essay on the Anatomy of Drunken-
ness." Two years afterwards, this essay, much extended
and improved, was published at Glasgow, and met with
a very nattering reception from the public. It was still
farther enlarged in subsequent editions, and has been
translated into the German and French languages.
Dr. Macnish's earliest literary attempts were con-
tributed to " The Literary Melange," and "The Emmet,"
two Glasgow periodicals of humble pretensions ; and in
1826 he sent his first communication to Blackwood's

•390 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

Magazine, being a tale, entitled " The Metempsychosis,"
which appeared with the signature of " A Modern
Pythagorean," the name affixed to all his after produc-
tions in that and other magazines. In 1830, he pub-
lished at Glasgow a treatise, entitled " The Philosophy
of Sleep," which was equally well received with his for-
mer work, and has gone through several editions. He
received the degree of LL.D. from one of the American
Colleges. In 1834 appeared " The Book of Aphorisms,"
some of which had originally been contributed to Fraser's
Magazine. In the same year he visited the Continent,
and in the following year he made a tour in Belgium
and Holland, France, Switzerland, and Germany. His
last publication was a small treatise on Phrenology, to
the doctrines of which he had become a convert. He died
of influenza, an epidemic then raging in Glasgow,
January 16, 1837, in his 35th year. His Tales, Essays,
and Sketches, were published at Edinburgh, in two
volumes, in 1838, uuder the title of the " Modern Pytha-
gorean," with a Memoir of the Author, by his friend.
Dr. Moir of Musselburgh, the Delta of Blackwood's

DUGALD MOORE,

A self-taught poet, of very considerable vigour of
imagination and expression, was born in Stockwell-
Street, Glasgow, in August, 1805. His father was a
soldier in a Highland regiment, but died early in life,
leaving his mother in almost destitute circumstances.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 391

While yet a mere child, Dugald was sent to serve as a
tobacco-boy in a tobacco-spinning establishment in his
native city, an occupation at which very young creatures
are often employed, at a paltry pittance, before they are
big enough to be apprenticed to other trades. He was
taught to read chiefly by his mother, and any education
which he received at schools was of the most trifling
description. As he grew up, he was sent to the estab-
lishment of Messrs. Lumsden & Son, booksellers, Queen-
Street, Glasgow, to learn the business of a copper-plate
pressman. His poetical genius early developed itself,
and long before it was suspected by those around him,
he had blackened whole quires of paper with his effu-
sions, many of which were little inferior to his after
efforts, and were, indeed, adopted, with modifications,
into his printed works. His first work was entitled,
" The African, and other Poems," and appeared in 1829.
In the following year Dugald published another volume,
entitled, " Scenes from the Flood, the Tenth Plague,
and other Poems;" and in 1831 he produced a volume
larger and more elegant than the previous ones, entitled,
" The Bridal Night, the First Poet, and other Poems."
The success of these several publications enabled their
author to set up as a bookseller and stationer in his
native city, where he acquired a good business. In 1833
he published " The Bard of the North, a series of
Poetical Tales, illustrative of Highland Scenery and
Character;" in 1835, "The Hour of Retribution, and
other Poems ; " and in 1839, " The Devoted One, and

392 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

other Poems." Dugald Moore died, after a short ill-
ness, of inflammation, January 2, 1841, while yet in the
vigour of manhood. He was never married, but resided
all his life with his mother, to whom he was much
attached, and whom his exertions had secured in a res-
pectable competency. He was buried in the Necropolis
of Glasgow, where a monument is to be erected to his
memory, from a subscription, raised among his personal
friends only, to the amount of one hundred pounds.

THOMAS CAMPBELL,

One of the first of living poets, was born in the High-
Street of Glasgow, in 1777, and received the rudiments of
his classical education at the Grammar School, taught by
Dr. Alison, to whose care and kindness he has often
gratefully alluded. When only twelve years old he was
removed to the University, where he studied six years.
Here he soon distinguished himself for his classical at-
tainments. His superiority as a Latin scholar was estab-
lished by a successful contest with one greatly his senior,
and which led to his obtaining a bursary. He subse-
quently bore away every prize ; and his poetical transla-
tions from ^Eschylus, Sophocles, and Aristophanes, not
only obtained him much present reputation, but gave
promise of his future powers.

At the age of one-and-twenty, Mr. Campbell produced
the " Pleasures of Hope," a poem, the polish and ex-
quisite taste of which, it has been well observed, may
defy the most rigid critic, while its pathos and feeling

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 393

come home by some touch or tone to almost every reader.
By this immortal work, its youthful author at once
attained a high rank among British bards, and has since
by his successive efforts, retained his high position.
Among the principal of these may be mentioned " Ger-
trude of Wyoming," besides many fugitive pieces, which
possess a faultless sweetness and delicacy of sentiment
peculiarly their own. As a lyric poet, the name of Mr.
Campbell stands in the very highest rank, and to use
the language of a great critic, the " ' Mariners of Eng-
land,' and the ' Battle of the Baltic,' have no parallel
in our language."

Besides his poetical productions, Mr. Campbell has
written several prose works. Among these may be
mentioned, the " Life of Mrs. Siddons," and " Life of
Frederick the Great.." In 1826 he succeeded Henry
Brougham, Esq., as Lord Rector of the University of
Glasgow. He acted also for some time as the editor of
the " New Monthly Magazine," after its establishment.

JOHN GIBSON LOCKHART.

This eminent individual, the most illustrious of living
critics, was born in Glasgow, and is the son of the late
Rev. Dr. Lockhart, minister of the College Church.
Having received his education at the Grammar School,
he studied several years at the University, after which
he was sent as an Exhibitioner to Baliol College, Ox-
ford. On his return to his native country, he com-
menced the study of the Law, and was called to the
s2

394 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

Scottish Bar in the year 1816, being then about twenty-
one years of age. Here he had for his compeers the
present Professor Wilson, of Edinburgh ; William Men-
zies, iio\v Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicature at the
Cape of Good Hope ; and Mr. Patrick Robertson, the
distinguished advocate ; — all of them at that time young
men who had newly assumed the gown.

The first work which brought Mr. Lockhart promi-
nently into public notice, was ajeux d'esprit in three
volumes, "Peter's Letters to his Kinsfolk," published
in 1817; and the caustic severity with wrhich he took
occasion to treat several of the worthies of the west, made
him no favourite with the objects of his satire. On the
establishment of Blackwood's Magazine, Mr. Lockhart
was one of the earliest and most distinguished contri-
butors ; and first concerted, together with his friend Mr.
Wilson, the series of papers entitled " Noctes Ambro-
sianse," which for so many years illuminated the pages of
old " Ebony." Having attracted the notice of Sir
Walter Scott, who had a high opinion of his abilities, he
was married in 1820 to the daughter of the " Unknown."
Between this period and 1825, he produced his " Trans-
lations of Spanish Ballads," " Adam Blair," " Matthew
Wald," and " Valerius, a Roman Story." In the latter
year, however, on the occasion of the retirement of Mr.
Gifford from the editorship of the " Quarterly Review,"
being solicited to assume the reins of that celebrated
journal, he removed to the metropolis, and under his
management it has advanced to a pitch of excellence it

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 395

had never before attained. As a writer, Mr. Lockhart
is distinguished for the parity of his style and irresistible
power of sarcasm ; and as a scholar, versed in the ancient
as well as modern languages, he has few equals. With
the exception of his " Life of Scott," the editor of the
" Quarterly" has produced no work of late years besides
his inimitable Reviews.

396

CHAPTER XIV.

REMARKABLE PUBLIC CHARACTERS.

" They were a marvellous set of individuals, my Lord.
Their qualities were various."

ANON.

' Take them for all in all, we ne'er shall look upon their like again !

SHAKSPEARB.

THE "Public Characters" who have attracted the
notice of their fellow-citizens from time to time during
the last eighty years, have combined in their composi-
tion every possible shade of oddity. They have one and
all belonged to that class whom the world designate by
the name of "queer;" and now that they have com-
pletely disappeared from amongst us, let us endeavour
to hold up to view their "form and pressure."

ELSPETH BUCHAN.

This individual, the founder of a sect of modern
fanatics, was one of the public characters of Glasgow

CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO. 397

about sixty years ago. She was born in 1738. She was
the daughter of John Simpson, the keeper of an inn,
situated half way between Banff and Portsoy, and in
her 22d year she went to Glasgow, and entered into
service. There she married Robert Buchan, one of her
master's workmen, by whom she had several children.
Although educated an Episcopalian, she adopted, on her
marriage, the principles of her husband, who was a
Burgher Seceder. Afterwards, interpreting some pas-
sages in the Bible in a strictly literal sense, about the
year 1779, she began to promulgate many singular doc-
trines in the city and country in general, and not only
brought over to her notions Mr. Hugh White, a Relief
minister at Irvine, but principally through his agency
converted many other persons. In April 1784, the popu-
lace in Irvine rose, assembled round Mr. White's house,
and broke all the windows, when Mrs. Buchan, and the
whole of her converts, to the number of forty-six, imme-
diately left the town, and proceeding through Mauchline,
Cumnock, Sanquhar, and other places, settled at last at
a farm house near Thornhill, Dumfries-shire, the out-
houses of which they purchased. The Buchanites had a
a purse in common, and the whole of their attention was
devoted to what they called living a holy life. Mrs.
Buchan kept up the delusion to the last. Although her
husband remained in Glasgow, in the Burgher Secession
communion, she never inquired after him. She died
about the beginning of May, 1791. On her death-bed,
this wretched impostor called her followers together,

398 CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO.

and told them she had still one secret to communicate,
which was, that she was the Virgin Mary, and the same
woman mentioned in the Revelation as being clothed
with the sun, &c. ; and that though she now appeared to
die, they need not be discouraged, for in a short time she
would return and conduct them to the New Jerusalem.
After her death, her credulous disciples would neither
dress her corpse nor bury her, until compelled by the
authorities. After that they dispersed, and nothing
more was heard of them.

MACKEAN THE MURDERER.

The individual whose existence is remembered by this
designation, was a public character of Glasgow near the
close of last century, and lived in the High- Street.

He had no family but his wife, who, like himself, was
considerably beyond the meridian of life. The couple
were very poor, but, in the opinion of all who had
opportunities of judging, a worthier couple were not to
be found in the whole city. Every night before retiring
to rest they were accustomed to raise their voices in
prayer and "psalmody" to the giver of all good;— tune
there was almost none, — but the low, articulate, quiet
chaunt, had something so impressive and solemnizing
about it, that those who heard them missed not melody.
James himself was a hard-working man ; and like most
of his trade, had acquired a stooping attitude, and a
dark, saffron hue of complexion. His close cut greasy
black hair suited admirably a set of strong, massive iron

CHRONICLES OF ST. MTJNGO. 399

4

features. His brow was seamed with firm, broad drawn
wrinkles, and his large grey eyes seemed to gleam
when he deigned to uplift them, with the cold haughty
independence of virtuous poverty. James was a rigid
Cameronian, indeed ; and every thing about his manners
spoke the world-despising pride of his sect. His wife
was a quiet, good body, and seemed to live in perpetual
adoration of her stern cobbler.

It was on the 25th of October, 1796, that the occur-
rence took place which hands his name down to desecra-
tion. On that day he had fallen in with Buchanan,
the Lanark carrier, and had invited him to his house in
the evening to take " a dish of tea" before his departure
homewards. Whether or not a sinister motive lurked in
the mind of Mackean in tendering the invitation, or
whether the murderous design was an after-thought, is
immaterial ; for certain it is, this Cameronian after
entertaining his guest and setting him into a comfort-
able snooze, slipped behind and cut his throat from ear
to ear with a razor, and afterwards coolly decamped with
the filthy lucre which the honest carrier had about him.
The "hue and cry" having been raised, search was
made in every part of the town for the murderer, but in
vain. Next day, however, traces of him were discovered.
He had gone to Irvine and embarked on board of a
vessel setting sail for Ireland. The ofiicers immediately
hired a small brig, and sailed also. A violent gale
arose, and drove them for shelter to the Isle of Arran.
They landed, the second night after they had left Irvine,

400 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

on that bare arid desolate shore — they landed, and be-
hold, the ship they were in pursuit of at the quay !

The captain acknowledged at once that a man corres-
ponding to their description had been one of his passen-
gers from Irvine— he had gone ashore but an hour ago.

They searched — they found Mackean seated in a
house, his Bible in his hand. The instant he saw them
he said, — " You need not tell me your errand— I am he
you seek — I am James Mackean, that murdered Andrew
Buchanan. I surrender myself your prisoner. God told
me but this moment that ye would come and find me ; for
I opened his word, and the first text that my eye fell upon
was this." He seized the officer by the hand, and laid
his finger upon the page, — " see you there ?" said he,
" do you see the Lord's own blessed decree ? — ' Whoso
sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed.'
And there," he added, plucking a pocket-book from
his bosom, "there, friends, ye '11 find the haill o' the
siller for which I yielded up my soul to the temptation
of the Prince of the power of the air !"

At his trial, which took place at the following assizes,
when any circumstance of peculiar atrocity was men-
tioned by a witness, he signified, by a solemn shake of
his head, his sense of its darkness and its collusiveness ;
and when the judge, in addressing him, enlarged upon
the horror of his guilt, he, standing right before the
bench, kept his eye fixed with calm earnestness on his
lordship's face, assenting now and then to the propriety
of what he said by exactly that sort of see-saw gesture

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 401

which you may have seen escape now and then from the
devout listener to a pathetic sermon or sacramental
service. James, in a short speech of his own, expressed
his sense of his guilt ; but even then he borrowed the
language of Scripture, styling himself " a sinner, and
the chief of sinners." Never was such a specimen of
that insane pride. The very agony of this man's humili-
ation had a spice of holy exultation in it ; there was in
the most penitent of his lugubrious glances still some-
thing that said, or seemed to say, — " abuse me — spurn
me as you will — I loathe myself also ; but this deed is
Satan's." Indeed, till the final scene, he always con-
tinued to speak quite gravely of his "trespass," his
"backsliding," his "sore temptation!"

In general, at least in Scotland, the crowd assembled
upon the occasion of executions receive the victim of the
law with all the solemnity of profoundest silence, — not
unfrequently there is even something of the respectful,
blended with compassion, on that myriad of faces. But
it was different on the present occasion, for the moment
Mackean appeared, he was saluted with one universal
shout of horror — a huzza of mingled joy and triumph,
and execration and laughter, — cats, rats, every filth of
the pillory, showered about the gibbet.

There happened to be a slight drizzle of rain at the
moment ; observing which, he turned round and said to
the Magistrates, — " dinna come out — dinna come out,
your honours, to weet yourselves. It's beginning to rain,

402 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

and the lads are uncivil at ony rate, poor thoughtless
creatures!"

He took his leave of this angry mob in a speech which
would not have disgraced a martyr, embracing the stake
of glory, — and the noose was tied. Every spectator
could observe the brazen firmness of his limbs after his
face was covered. He flung the handkerchief with an
air of semi-benediction, and died without one apparent
struggle.*

REV. DR. BALFOUR.

This individual, who was minister of the Outer-High
church at the close of last and commencement of the
present century, had raised himself to that position
from the humble occupation of a herd boy. He was one
of the leading members of the High, or Calvinistic
party of the Scottish church, and certainly one of the
most powerful and energetic preachers of his day. He
was a man of considerable mental strength and shrewd-
ness, and possessed a native, though somewhat homely
eloquence, which he exerted with much salutary efficacy
in his vocation. At the present day it requires perhaps
some courage to preach the stern and uncompromising
doctrines of Calvin, without veiling their consequences
with somewhat of varnish and disguise. Dr. Balfour,
however, did this. He followed the tenets of his founder

* History of " Mathew Wald," by Lockhart.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 403

to their legitimate conclusion, was startled by no diffi-
culties that met him in his path, and would have died a
martyr at the stake for the doctrine of supralapsarian
election and irrespective decrees. Perhaps some such
strong and spirit-stirring medicaments were necessary
to rouse his hearers from that state of torpid indifference
to religion into which many of them, about the com-
mencement of the present century, had fallen.* Cer-
tainly something more powerful than the gentle ano-
dynes hebdomadally poured forth by his weaker breth-
ren was required to rouse them from the deep sleep into
which their eyelids had been lulled. This Dr. Balfour
provided; and even those whom mere curiosity had
brought together to listen to the preaching of the great
cannon of the city, generally returned with less zest than
usual to their Sunday's sheep's head, and found that on
that day the contents of the punch bowl had lost some-
thing of their savour.

DAVID DALE.

The name of David Dale has long deservedly taken
its place among the most venerated of the last genera-
tion of Glasgow merchants. He was born in the year
1739, at Stewarton, in Ayrshire. His father, William
Dale, was a shop-keeper in that village, and his ances-

* It is worthy of remark, that from the period of the French
Revolution, a general lukewarmness and indifference to religious
observances had become more peculiarly endemic in Glasgow than
in most places in the kingdom.

404 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

tors had, for many generations, been resident in the
same locality. Having received a common education
at the parish school, he was engaged at an early age" in
the humble occupation of herding cattle ; after which he
was sent to Paisley to serve an apprenticeship as a
weaver, at that time the most nourishing and lucrative
business in the country. Having completed his inden-
ture, he wrought for a short period as a journeyman in
Hamilton, but soon removed to Glasgow, and served for
some time in the capacity of clerk to a silk mercer.
Having at length, however, from the sobriety and steadi-
ness of his conduct, gained the friendship of several
individuals, he was enabled to enter into business on his
own account, and for many years carried on an extensive
trade in linen yarn, and the importation of French yarns
from Flanders. On the impetus given to power-loom
manufacturers by the invention of the spinning-jenny by
Sir Richard Arkwright, he entered into an arrangement
with that illustrious individual for the erection of the
Lanark cotton mills. In this establishment he had the
opportunity of exemplifying, to a great degree, the
innate benevolence of his character.

He caused houses to be erected for the reception of
his workers, and provided teachers for their secular and
religious instruction; and the whole economy of his
establishment exhibited a pleasing picture of industry
walking hand in hand with instruction and comfort.
Thither he transplanted, and trained to virtuous habits,
numerous orphans and outcasts of society, who, other-

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 405

wise, had been a prey to vice and misery. One solitary
example of his many acts of benevolence may be here
recorded: — A vessel, freighted with poor Highland
families from the Hebrides, emigrating to America,
being driven by foul weather back to Greenock, Mr.
Dale despatched agents thither, and persuaded a con-
siderable number to settle at his mills, where they were
comfortably provided for. But his exertions in behalf
of the Celts were not merely confined to the Lanark
Mills. He made various attempts to introduce the
cotton manufacture into the Highlands, particularly in
concert with some other patriotic gentlemen, by erect-
ing a mill at Spinningdale, on the frith of Dornoch, in
Sutherlandshire. Mr. Dale was for many years a
magistrate of Glasgow, and, in this capacity, won the
" golden opinions " of his fellow-citizens. He tempered
justice with mercy, and on trying occasions displayed a
spirit of resolution scarcely expected by those who were
familiar with his manners in private life. Though
warmly attached to a small religious sect, he was free
from that bigotry which too often characterises such
communities, and extended his friendship and " bound-
less charity" to many others of different religious
denominations. Hence the poor blessed him, and affec-
tionately distinguished him by the title of the " BENEVO-
LENT MAGISTRATE." In private life he was characterised
by the most amiable qualities. His death, which
took place on the 17th of March, 1806, in the 68th year
of his age, occasioned a degree of sorrow among all

406 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

classes never before experienced. By this event the
poor long bewailed the loss of a bountiful benefactor;
and public institutions were deprived of one of their mo&t
generous and praiseworthy supporters. In person David
Dale was short and corpulent, and the complete beau ideal
of a " Glasgow bailie." He left a family of five daugh
ters, three of whom still survive, — two being married t< »
clergymen of the English church; the third remains
single. Of those deceased, one was married to the
notorious " Robert Owen," the successor of Mr. Dale
in the Lanark Mills, who, in the course of thirty years,
has contrived to dissipate a princely fortune in his
visionary schemes of infidelity.

CAPTAIN ARCHIBALD PATOUN,

Was a son of Dr. David Patoun, a physician in
Glasgow, who left to his son the tenement in which he
lived for many years preceding his decease, called
" Patoun's Land, opposite the Old Exchange at the
Cross. The broad pavement, or " planestones," as it is
called, in front of the house, formed the daily parade
ground of the veteran. The Captain held a commission
in a regiment that had been raised in Scotland for the
Dutch service ; and after he had left the tented field,
lived with two maiden sisters, and Nelly, the servant,
who had, from long and faithful servitude, become an
indispensable in the family. He was considered a very
skilful fencer, and excelled in small sword exercise, an
accomplishment he was rather proud of, and often

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 407

handled his rattan as if it had been the lethal instru-
ment which he used to wield against the foe. The wags
of the day got up a caricature of the Captain parrying
the horned thrusts of a belligerent bull in the Glasgow
Green. The Captain fell in that warfare from which
there is no discharge on the 30th July, 1807, at the age
of 68, and was interred in the sepulchre of his father in
the Cathedral, or High Church burying grounds. He
forms the subject of Lockhart's celebrated serio-comic
ballad, entitled, " Lament for Captain Paton," and
beginning, —

" Touch once more a sober measure,
And let punch and tears be shed,
For a prince of good old fellows,

That, alack a-day ! is dead ;
For a prince of worthy fellows,

And a pretty man also,
That has left the Saltmarket

In sorrow, grief, and wo.
Oh ! we ne'er shall see the like of Captain Paton no mo! "

BOB DRAGON.

This was an individual who enjoyed the notoriety of
being considered the ugliest man in the city, about the
commencement of the present century. His proper
name was Robert Dreghorn, and he was a gentleman of
considerable property. His body was of a tall, gaunt,
and lean nature, surmounted by a head of enormous
dimensions, which were admirably suited by a face of
the strangest and most unearthly aspect. His nose was
aquiline, and turned considerably to one side of the face ;
from which distinctive feature, added to a considerable

408 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

obliquity of the organs of vision, the reader may form
some conception of his peculiarity of countenance.

Distinction in any thing at all times gives its pos-
sessor considerable potency, and unquestionably Bob
was not an exception to the general rule ; for while he
was the " bugbear " of all the little urchins of the town,
he was no less the "unrelenting ghost" of the young
women.

Indeed, while his accidental appearance was at
any time sufficient to frighten from their play the parvi
pueri, his very face, " discernible from afar," had many
chances of forcing the " blooming maidens " to a vow in
favour of single blessedness. Matrons, too, used him as
an instrument of power, and no more effectual "lullaby"
could be pronounced over their children than the name
of " Bob Dragon." Yet Bob was a harmless sort of
individual, and, with the exception of an extraordinary
prepossession in favour of the " fair sex," had no very
remarkable mental peculiarity. He is not, therefore,
to be considered as a mysogynist, but a mysogamist.
He died in 1806, by his own hand, at a property which
he possessed in Stirlingshire. His town's house, which
stood on the site of the present Water Port Buildings,
at the foot of Stockwell- Street, was taken down for the
erection of that tenement. It was long regarded as
haunted, and was therefore never tenanted.

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 409

BELL GEORDIE.

This was the common designation of the Bellman of
our city, during the closing twenty years of the last and
earlier years of the present centuries. He is described
as having been a large stout man, with a head like a
bull's, and a huge carbuncled nose. He was a wit of
the first water, and indulged in many a joke at the
expense of his masters the " bailies. " To have heard
Geordie exhibiting in his official capacity would have
impressed the most lukewarm listener with the impor-
tance of his announcements. Nothing, indeed, could
equal in effect the monotonous and stentorian tones in
which he was accustomed to give public intimation of
the arrival of a cargo of fresh herrings at the Broomie-
law. His versatile genius procured him the office of
factotum to the " Provost," and on field days, when
arrayed in all their gorgeous panoply, the civic corpora-
tion went forth to stuff

" the conveyances of their blood

With wine and feeding,"

Geordie was an indispensable requisite.

BLIND ANGUS.

To have " heard the chimes at midnight," was the
social boast of one of Shakspeare's happy heroes, when
recalling to the memory of his boon companions the
hours of conviviality which they had spent together.
We, too, have listened to " Tweedside," "Nancy's to
the Greenwood gane," "The Banks of Ayr," and
T

410 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

" Eoslin Castle," as their notes peeled forth in the soli-
tude of " night's deep noon," as we have paced home-
wards that weary way which often lies betwixt the scene
of festivity and the place of repose. But our home-
ward progress from festal merriment has been lightened
by other sounds and sights of captivating interest. Never
did we turn our homeward step past the statue of
the saviour of our constitution — if it was not later than
twelve o'clock — but we have heard, coming along the
silent streets, near or remote, the lonely music of blind
Angus's whistle! Minstrel of midnight! melancholy
man! what brooding inspiration seats itself upon thy
darkened vision, bidding thee, with stealthy, but yet un-
deviating pace, wander along the streets, which, but for
that, would echo only the half-hour grunt of the watch-
man, or the fitful voice of evil doers? In summer or
winter, moonshine or mirk, calm or storm, heat or cold,
still, constant as night itself, was whistling Angus to be
found perambulating the streets, and whiffling out, so
lowly, yet so distinctly, the wild and straggling notes of
a music which he composed as he paced along, yet which
had, even in its irregularity, so much of character as to
speak of pibrochs, laments, or love-lays, from the hills of
which his spirit seemed still a denizen.

We talk of nearly twenty years ago, and let us picture
him forth. Just at the foot of Nelson-Street, and
immediately beneath the light from the Police lamp,
you may perceive, for it is half-past eleven — the point of
a stick projecting slowly, as if, like the Irishman's fowl-

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 411

ing-piece, it were made to turn round corners. It was
Angus's; and in a minute and a half you see him-
self follow up the discovery its tip has just been making,
namely, that the path is " all before him where to choose."
Hear the indescribable churm aud chirrup of his ever-
lasting whistle; and now, behold the man! Beneath
the true Skye or Moidart bonnet of the aboriginal shape
you will see a set of features that indicate uncommon
placidity, with no little shrewdness. The eye-balls are
deep sunk and lustreless ; but is there one can tell how
they became so? For our part, we never had the heart
to fathom the mystery which, in our apprehension, has
ever clung around this Homer of the nineteenth century.
You will remark, that Angus is substantially and com-
fortably attired in the blue plaiding which, more than
holiday tartan, is the material of Highland costume, let
the Celtic Society do what they will. Yet Angus is a
mendicant, — we cannot bring ourselves to say a beggar,
for though he will intermit his whistle if you put a penny
in his palm, there lives not the man who ever was asked
for alms by this ./Eolian wanderer. He feels that the
appeal of his plaintive breath is all that is required, and
is conscious that if he has received from the midnight
passengers sums that hare enabled him to hoard up a
little reserve to meet asthma or other calamities, he has
furnished them with an equivalent in recalling to the
Highlander the music and the associations dependent
upon it — of his native glens and mountains ; to the civic
Lowlander, the recollection of nights when he before

412 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

has heard him in his lonely rounds, which, with light
hearts and heads, loaded stomachs, and fascinating com-
panions, can never return ; and to the student of charac-
ter, and the hermit of society, a picture unique if not
bold, curious if not unparalleled. It is now a dozen
years since Angus went to his last account.

There was something in the simplicity of his char-
acter and demeanour which protected him from insult.
Those who gave him nothing at least passed him
by with commiseration. Even the drunken cotton-
spinner or bedaised carter, the lushy butcher and rolled
up baker, seemed to regard him as decidedly not a belli-
gerent, but entitled to all the privileges of a neutral, and
having a right to pilot his way through the streets, how-
ever they might deem their breadth insufficient for others
besides themselves, and think that they alone should
" keep the cantle o' the causey" when half-seas over. —
" Eh! — ho! aye, de-deevil tak' me, Geordie, if there 's no
Angus, wh-whi-wifflin' awa' as weel as if his breath
wou'd ne'er gang dune! Ha'e ye sic a thing as a penny

left to gi'e the body? 'Od m-man (d n the gutter!)

I min' o' him whiffling the night ye were married, an'
that's no yestreen. Here, Angus, gi'e us ' Todlin' but
and toddlin' b-be-ben.' "

One might listen to an oration like this addressed to
Angus long before he could hear it himself; but as for the
concluding request, he could only give one of his quiet
smiles in reply to it, for regular tune or repetition of pre-
cisely what he had before whistled was out of the question

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 413

with Angus. It was from inspiration, not from memory,
that he whistled, and in this he was honourably distin-
guished from the herd of ballad-singers and street fiddlers.
An historical investigation into his musings would be a
contribution to the science of mind ; a series of his remin-
iscenses, a collection of street anecdotes and convivial
sketches of unrivalled interest. Has he not whistled
when Prince's-Street was the centre of good eating and
drinking, and perambulated when Jamie Hamilton of
Garthamlock limped his laughing way through streets
made vocal by his tipsy cheers?

Ah! could he tell the fortunes and the fate of the hun-
dreds who have listened to his breathing lays, what a
picture of mutation he could furnish.*

* "Ant,"— Original Volume.

414

CHAPTER XV.

OUR ANCESTORS.

' I'll view the manners of the town,
Peruse the traders, gaze upon the buildings.
And wander up and down to view the city."

COMEDY OP ERRORS.

THE past years of the nineteenth century have wit-
nessed greater mutations in the aspect of social manners
than any equal period in the history of our country.
The world has become more worldly. There is more of
dissipation, and less of enjoyment. Pleasure has ex-
panded into a broader and a shallower stream, and has
forsaken many of those deep and quiet channels, where
it formerly flowed so sweetly through the bosom of
domestic life. Society has acquired a more enlightened
and elegant tone, but it has lost many of its strong local

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 415

peculiarities, — its home-bred feelings, — its honest fireside
delights. The traditionary customs of golden-hearted
antiquity, have also altogether passed away. They com-
ported with the shadowy hall, the great oaken gallery,
and the tapestried parlour ; but are unfitted to the light
showy saloons and gay drawing-rooms of modern times.

Glasgow society, till the period when commerce brought
wealth to the city, had no distinctive features. The
same abject ignorance and superstition which character-
ised small districts, were not inseparate from large towns;
and so late as the 12th of March, 1698, the magistrates
of our city granted an allowance to the jailor for keeping
warlocks and witches imprisoned in the tolbooth, by order
of the lords commissioners of justiciary.

The Union, in 1707, opened to Scotland the trade to
the English colonies ; but, betwixt want of capital, and
the national jealousy of the English, the merchants of
Scotland were as yet excluded, in a great measure, from
the exercise of the privileges which that memorable
treaty conferred on them. Glasgow lay upon the wrong
side of the island for participating in the east country or
continental trade, by which the trifling commerce as yet
produced in Scotland chiefly supported itself. Yet,
though she then gave small promise of the commercial
eminence to which she has now attained, Glasgow, as the
principal central town of the western district of Scotland,
was a place of considerable rank and importance. The
broad and brimming Clyde, which flows so near its walls,
gave the means of an inland navigation of some import-

416 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

ance. Not only the fertile plains in its immediate
neighbourhood, but the districts of Ayr and Dumfries
regarded Glasgow as their capital, to which they trans-
mitted their produce, and received in return such neces-
saries and luxuries as their consumption required.

The dusky mountains of the Western Highlands often
sent forth wilder tribes to frequent the marts of St.
Mungo's favourite city. Hordes of wild, shaggy, dwarf-
ish cattle and ponies, conducted by Highlanders, as wild,
as shaggy, and sometimes as dwarfish as the animals
they had in charge, often traversed the streets of Glas-
gow. Strangers gazed with surprise on the antique and
fantastic dress, and listened to the unknown and dissonant
sounds of their language, while the mountaineers, armed
even while engaged in this peaceful occupation with
musket and pistol, sword, dagger, and target, stared with
astonishment on the articles of luxury of which they
knew not the use, and with avidity which seemed some-
what alarming upon the articles which they knew and
valued. It is always with unwillingness that the High-
lander quits his deserts, and at this early period it was
like tearing a pine from its rock to plant him elsewhere.
Yet even then the mountain glens were over-peopled,
until thinned occasionally by famine or by the sword, and
many of their inhabitants strayed down to Glasgow, —
there formed settlements, — there sought and found em-
ployment, though different, indeed, from those of their
native hills. This supply of a hardy and useful popula-
tion was of consequence to the prosperity of the place,

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 417

furnished the means of carrying on the few manufactures
which the town already boasted, and laid the foundation
of its future prosperity.*

In taking a view of the old domestic manners of our
ancestors, we find that, in 1740, the dwelling-houses of the
higher classes of citizens contained only one public room,
a dining room, and even that was only used when they
had company ; the family, at other times, eating in a
bed-room. Entertainments were few and simple ; and
the dinner hour was one o'clock. The husband went to
his business after dinner, and the wife gave tea at four
o'clock to her female friends. Shopkeepers locked their
shops during the breakfast and dinner hours.

At this period the people were in general religious, and
particularly strict in the observance of the Sabbath, some
of them, indeed, to an extent that was considered by
others extravagant and fanatical. There were families
who did not sweep or dust their houses, did not make
their beds, nor allow any food to be dressed, on Sundays.
The magistrates employed what they called compurgators,
(better known, however, to the common people by the
name of "Bum baillies,") to perambulate the streets
during divine service, and sieze all persons whom they
found strolling about. These functionaries continued in
existence till near the close of last century ; and many
are the stories told of the skirmishes between them and
sacrilegious culprits. To see an individual walking

* Rob Roy.
T 2

418 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

slowly along the street without a Bible or Psalm-book
in his hand was sufficient to excite the suspicion of one
of these officials ; and if upon a little watching by follow-
ing him from street to street, it was discovered that he
he had no particular errand abroad, the " Bum baillie"
thought himself highly justified in conveying him to the
"guard-house." We must not suppose, however, that
the exercise of his authority was on all occasions sub-
mitted to with Christian meekness, for if we are to
believe the testimony of eye-witnesses, the nasal organs
of the " Bum bailliehood" were not always in the high-
est state of preservation after a little practice in the
"craft!"

Nor has change been less at work in the external
aspect of things. An old street directory of any of our
large cities may be said to be as productive of interest-
ing recollections as the tomb-stones in a church-yard.
We learn from it who were the notables of their day,
where they lived, and what were the professions in
vogue in days gone by. We also get at some curious
facts in family history ; who were the fathers and grand-
fathers of the present race, and whether the existing
members of a family have risen above, or are depressed
beneath the circumstances of their predecessors. The
principal matter of interest, however, is the great change
which has taken place in the character of localities.
Streets which had been fashionable half a century ago
are so no longer. Houses which had been inhabited by
men of high professional standing are now, alas! the

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 419

dwellings of the humblest class of citizens ; the change
affording a fine lesson as to the transitory glory of all
earthly things.

In looking over two such records of the olden time,
we are shown, as it were, in their every-day busi-
ness aspect, a race of Glasgow citizens who have
almost all passed to their long account, namely,
the Glasgow Directories for 1783 and for 1790, the
former printed and published by John Tait, and the
latter entitled, "Jones' Directory," and printed by
Joseph Galbraith. The directory of 1783 appears to
have been the first ever published in Glasgow, and it is
" dedicated with the greatest submission to the magis-
trates and town council." The book begins by enumer-
ating the public bodies, or important professional char-
acters in the city : first, the magistrates and council ;
second, the "reverend ministers of the gospel," of whom
there appear to be only eighteen, both established and
dissenting, in the whole city ; third, the professors in the
university ; fourth, the faculty of procurators ; fifth, the
officers of excise ; sixth, the physicians, of whom there
are sixteen ; seventh, the midwives, of whom there are
ten ; and lastly, the messengers at arms, of whom there
are eleven. Having made these honoured distinctions,
the compiler then sets out by giving merchants, manu-
facturers, grocers, vintners, lint -hecklers, "hocksters,"
&c., in cumulo, but at the same in something like alpha-
betical order. At this time the great bulk of the busi-
ness community seems to have been gathered in High-

420 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

Street, Salmarket, Trongate, Gallowgate, Candleriggs,
Bridgegate, and the Wynds. Queen-Street, which
must have been in the course of formation, is occa-
sionally mentioned, but it was then much better known
by its olden name of the " Cow-loan." For instance,
we find "John Marshall, sheriff-substitute," residing in
the Saltmarket; " John Wilson, one of the city clerks,"
resides in Gallowgate ; there are no fewer than four
members of the legal profession to be found in the Laigh
Kirk Close: others are located in the New Wynd,
Moodie's Wynd, &c. ; and one of them "hangs out"
at the Saracen's Head Inn — then, we believe, the prin-
cipal hostelry in the city. We find that the town's hos-
pital and infirmary are placed in Clyde-Street, where
the former is situated up till this time ; but now even its
days are numbered. Compared, however, with the
splendid temple which benevolence has reared adjoining
the cathedral, for the cure and alleviation of disease, we
cannot well divine what must have been the infirmary of
1783 in Clyde- Street.

" Jones' Directory" for 1790-91, brings the business
history of the city, so to speak, a little further down, and
the numbers are now appended to the houses, which are
not given in the former publication. Truly, this little
book, read at this distance of time, proves as convincingly
as the longest homily, that the days of frail man are as
the grass ; for out of the long lists of the University and
city clergy, there are now only two in the land of the
living, and even these have ceased to be, so far as regards

CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO. 421

their public labours. John Campbell, jun. Esq. the
Lord Provost of the city, has his " lodgings " in Jamaica-
Street; the well known and highly respected (late)
Kirkman Finlay is found at " James Finlay's, Bell's
Wynd." David Dale, merchant, has "lodgings" in
Charlotte- Street ; and David Dale, junior, manufacturer,
has " lodgings at the head of the Green." This, it must
be remembered, was nearly a generation before Monteith
Kow was called into existence. Then we have Andrew
Foulis, the celebrated printer, who has his office in
Shuttle- Street, and his lodging in the College. And
there is Captain Archibald Paton, whose name has been
wedded to heroic verse by Lockhart, and who has a
" lodging facing the Exchange." We notice the name
of one gentleman still alive, who is known to all over
the west of Scotland for deeds of manufacturing enter-
prise and munificence, who has been a member of Par-
liament, and is the owner of a princely estate in the
upper ward ; who has been the architect of his own for-
tune, which enables him to " close a youth of labour by
an age of ease;" and yet, in these early times, he ap-
pears to have lodgings in the modest suburb of Anders-
ton.* f

* There are also designations here which now-a-days would look
very queer in a directory, such as, " Miss Dunlop keeps a mangle,
Copland's Close, High-Street," and "Miss Aird, dealer in dead
crapes." The coaching advertisements are not the least curious
things in the little book. It appears that two or three of the prin-

•f- Glasgow Herald Newspaper.

422 CHRONICLES OP ST. MUNGO.

So thoroughly indeed have the manners of the inhabi-
tants of Glasgow changed in the course of a century,
that a totally different race seems to have sprung up.
Whoever now repairs to that place where merchants
most do congregate — the Exchange — will behold a
system of things as widely different from the days of the
olden time as night differs from the glare of noon. No
longer will be seen the trader in tobacco and rum, strid-
ing up and down with the pace of dignity, clad in a
doublet of crimson, his sword by his side, like an officer
of state. Yet such was the every day-dress of the
Walkinshaws, the Crosses, and the Glassfords, in the
halcyon days of West Indian traffic ; and even down to
near the commencement of the present century the cos-
tume of our merchants and manufacturers would appear

cipal inns despatched coaches to Edinburgh daily; but we select
the announcement from the Black Bull, which says, '' A coach to
Edinburgh at 10 o'clock, to the White Hart Inn, Grassmarket,
for 8s. per seat. A neat diligence, containing three passengers,
to Mr. Cameron's hotel, 2 Prince 's-Street, at 12 noon; if taken in
whole, at any hour the company pleases, 10s. 6d. per seat." Here
is another: "The Glasgow and Edinburgh Mercury 'setts' out
from A. M'Gregor's, Candleriggs, at 1 1 o'clock every day. If
taken by any party in whole, will 'sett' out two hours sooner or
later." Here we have some Greenock " Flys," the fare of which
is 5s. 6d. per seat, which " sett " out on stated days, but, like the
others, will move at any hour the company thinks fit, if taken in
full. What would these venerable Jehus say to see the Greenock
railway on a Saturday afternoon and Monday morning, in sea-
bathing time, when thousands are whirled along on the wings of
the wind? or what would they have said to have witnessed the
business done by the Edinburgh and Glasgow rail way on the week
of the Queen's visit?

CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO. 423

to the generation now growing up as smacking as much
of presumption as to them appeared that of their pre-
decessors. Up to that period any one of the more
wealthy portion of our citizens might be seen careering
the Trongate dressed in a suit of sables, wearing knee
and shoe buckles of Bristol stones. And should he be a
"bailie," he would have considered himself entitled to
walk the streets with an air of magisterial authority,
with one hand buried in the folds of a black satin waist-
coat, over which hung a massive gold chain indicative of
his rank, and the other flourishing a large bamboo cane
with somewhat of the grace of a drum-major. His hair
also highly powdered, and gathered behind into a pig-
tail, would be surmounted by a large three cornered
cocked hat, not unlike those worn on field-days by
Scottish doctors of divinity.

At our social parties, the celebrated " Glasgow Punch"
is now almost altogether forgotten. Yet for a century
it reigned in undoubted supremacy among the good
things of every hospitable board. It was first introduced
into our dejeunes when the great trade in Jamaica
rum commenced, and so thoroughly imbued with a belief
of its benefits did our ancestors become, that he whose
dinner courses were not followed in regular succession by
the introduction of the punch bowl, was a fellow " with-
out a heart." To a native of Glasgow, indeed, till of
late years, there was even in the sight of a punch bowl
something of exhilaration and excitement. It brought
with it no mournful associations. It was linked to a

424 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

thousand bright and pleasing remembrances of youthful
and joyous revelry, and of the graver intoxications of
maturer years. Within its beautiful and hallowed
sphere were buried no " thoughts that do lie too deep
for tears." In its very name there was delightful music,
and it came o'er his ear

" Like the sweet south,
That breathes upon a bank of violets,
Stealing and giving odours." *

Yes ! even the expectation of a glass of punch was suf-
ficient to suffuse on the cheek a mollified aspect ; and to
dispel all heaviness from the heart! 0 West-Port well!
with how many a gallon of thy contents, commingled
with the genuine " Jamaica," hast thou moistened the
"thrapples" of our fathers !

In taking a view of the amusements to which our
" grave ancestors" addicted themselves, we find that of
these they were very barren. Their genius seems from
time immemorial to have been opposed to theatrical
representations, and with the exception of an occasional
pastime at football on the " green," in summer, no parti-
cular pursuit formed the relaxation of their leisure during
the long winter evenings.t

* Cyril Thornton.

t Previously to the Reformation, and for some time afterwards,
pantomimic representations of the history of our Saviour, his
miracles and passion, were exhibited in this city. It does not
appear, however, that any theatrical representation was allowed
from the Reformation in 1560 till 1750. At the latter period Mr.
Burrell's dancing hall in the High-Street was used for that pur-

CHRONICLES OF ST. MTJNGO. 425

With the increase of wealth, during the last eighty
years, exotic luxuries and fashions have taken root in the
soil. In the year 1752,* the city boasted but one private
carriage ; now, gay equipages, with servants in gawdy
liveries, are to be met with in every street. Formerly a
few clumsy and quaker-like buggies, drawn by horses
better fitted for the plough than the shafts, might be seen
lumbering along, conveying a physician on his rounds, or
an elderly gentleman and his wife to their cottage in the
suburbs ; now vehicles of the smartest and most fashion-
able description, whether designated in the nomencla-
ture of the day as Dennet, Stanhope, Whiskey, Tilbury,
or Drosky, glitter past with almost meteor-like velocity,
in all the great avenues of the city. The ideas of

pose, being four years after the theatre in the Canongate was
opened, which was the first regular theatre in Scotland after the
Reformation. In 1752, a booth or temporary theatre was fitted
up adjoining the wall of the archbishop's palace, in which Digges,
Love, Stampier, and Mrs Ward performed. Messrs. Jackson,
Love, and Beate, comedians, built a regular theatre in the
Grahamston suburb, which was opened in the spring of 1764 by
Mrs. Belamy, and other respectable performers. On the first
night of performance, the machinery and scenery were set on fire
by some disorderly persons. When the stage was refitted, the
theatre was occasionally kept open, but with very indifferent suc-
cess; and at one o'clock on the morning of the 16th April it was
burned to the ground. There was no theatre in Glasgow from
this period till January 1705, when the Dunlop-Street theatre,
erected by Mr. Jackson, was opened by Mrs. Siddons, Mrs. Jordan,
and other eminent performers.

* Mr. Allan Dreghorn, timber-merchant and builder, was the
first person who started a private carriage in Glasgow. It was
made by his own workmen.

426 CHRONICLES OF ST. MUNGO.

the present generation evidently differ widely from those
of their fathers, and least of all do they seem disposed
to imitate them in those habits of parsimony and frugal-
ity, in which, perhaps, the chief source of their increas-
ing prosperity was to be sought. The gayer arid more
wealthy part of the population have deserted their for-
mer small and smokey residences for the more elegant
and commodious mansions of the new town of the west.
Nothing, in short, can be more striking than the almost
total revolution which a few years have effected in the
tastes and habits of the community. The spirit of
improvement has been evidently abroad. There is less
of that narrowness of mind which formerly characterized
all their dealings. Their wants and ideas have evidently
been enlarged ; and of the truth of the axiom, that
wealth and civilization are indissolubly connected,
Glasgow might be cited as a striking and irrefragable
instance.

APPENDIX.

LIST OF THE BISHOPS OF THE SEE OF GLASGOW, BEFORE THE
REFORMATION, WITH THE DATES OF THEIR CONSECRATION,
AND OFFICES HELD PREVIOUSLY.

About 560.— St Mungo.
— 600.-Baldred.

2115. — John Achaius, (chaplain to David I.) This bishop
founded the cathedral.

1147. — Herbert, abbot of Kelso, and chancellor of the kingdom.

] 164. — Ingelram Newbigging, rector of Peebles, and, arch-
deacon of the church of Glasgow.

1174. — Joceline, abbot of Melrose. This bishop rebuilt the
cathedral, or rather made an addition to the church that was
begun by John Achaius, and dedicated it the 9th of July, 1197.

1199. — Hugode Roxburgh, rector of Tullibody in Clackmannan,
and clerk to Nicolaus the chancellor of Scotland.

1200. — William Malvoisin, (supposed to have been a French-
man,) archdeacon of St. Andrews, and one of the Clerici Regis, and
chancellor of the kingdom.

1202. — Florentius, a son of the earl of Holland, lord chancellor
of the kingdom.

1208. — Walter, chaplain to King William the Lion.

1233. — William de Bondington, (of an ancient family in the
shire of Berwick,) rector of Edlestone, a prebend of Glasgow, one
of the Clerici Cancellarii, and afterwards archdeacon of St.
Andrew's.

1260. — John de Cheynam, an Englishman, archdeacon of Bath,
and chaplain to pope Alexander the fourth.

1268. — Nicolaus de Moffet, archdeacon of Teviotdale.

1270. — William Wiseheart, archdeacon of St. Andrew's, and
lord high chancellor.

1272. — Robert Wiseheart, archdeacon of St. Andrew's in
Lothian, and nephew or cousin to the preceding.

1317. — Stephen de Dundemore, chancellor of the church of
Glasgow.

1319. — John Wiseheart, archdeacon of Glasgow.

1325. — John Lindsay.

1335.— William Rae. This bishop built the "Old Bridge," in
1350.

1368.— Walter Wardlaw, (of the family of Torie in Fife,) a canon
of Aberdeen in 1362, archdeacon of Lothian, and secretary to king
David the Second.

428 APPENDIX.

1387. — Matthew Glendoning, (son of Glendoning of 'that ilk in
Eskdale,) one of the canons of Glasgow.

1408. — William Lauder, (son of Sir Allan Lander of Hatton, in
the shire of Mid-Lothian,) archdeacon of Lothian.

1426. — John Cameron, (of the family of Lochiel,) official of
Lothian in the year 142*2; afterwards confessor and secretary to
the Karl of Douglas, who presented him to the rectory of Cambus-
lang; provost of Lincluden, and secretary to the king in 14'24;
keeper of the great seal in 1425.

1446. — James Bruce, (son of Sir Robert Bruce of Clackmannan,)
rector of Kilmenie in Fife, bishop of Dunkeld, and lord chancellor
of Scotland.

1447. — William Turnbull, (a son of the family of Bedrule in the
shire of Roxburgh,) a prebend of Glasgow. This bishop obtained
from king James the Second, a charter, erecting the town, and tun
patrimony of the bishops, into a regality, in 1450; he also procured
a bull, from pope Nicolaus the Fifth, for erecting an University
within the city of Glasgow.

1455. — Andrew Muiruead, (a son of the family of Lachop in the
shire of Lanark,) rector of Cadzow, (now Hamilton.)

1474. — John Laing, (of the family of Redhouse in the shire of
Edinburgh,) rector of Tannadice in the shire of Angus, and vicar
of Linlithgow.

1483. — George Carmichael, (a son of the family of Carmichael
in the county of Lanark,) rector of Carnwath.

1484. — Rqbert Blacader, (the son of Sir Patrick Blacader of
Tullicallan,) first a prebendary of Glasgow, and rector of Cardross;
afterwards bishop of Aberdeen.

1508. — James Beaton, (son of John Beaton of Balfour in Fife,)
first provost of the collegiate church of Bothwell, then prior of
Whitehorn, abbot of Dunfermline in 1504, and treasurer of the
kingdom in 1505.

1534. — Gavin Dunbar, (of the family of Mochrum, and nephew
to Gavin Dunbar, bishop of Aberdeen,) tutor to James V.

1551. — James Beaton, son of Beaton of Balsarg, nephew to
Beaton, archbishop of St. Andrew's,) chantor of the church of
Glasgow.

BISHOPS OF GLASGOW AFTER THE REFORMATION.

In the year 1560, the Reformation was established, and super-
intendents took the place of Bishops. In 1570, however, a form,
modelled somewhat after the fashion of the English church, was
established.

1570. — James Boyd of Trochrig. — This individual continued to
act as bishop till 1578, in which year the General Assembly
annulled the legality of the Episcopal functions. In the space of
three years, however, Episcopacy was again restored.

•1581. — Robert Montgomery, minister at Stirling.

1585. — William Erskine, a layman, commendator of Paisley.

1587. — Walter , a layman, commendator of Blantyre.—

This individual only enjoyed his dignity for about a year, when

APPENDIX.

the temporalities were restored to archbishop Beaton, the incum-
bent at the Reformation, who for the period of twenty years had
been living in France. Beaton continued in receipt of the revenue
till 1603.

1603. — John Spottiswoode, (parson of Calder,) the celebrated
historian. — On the 6th of June, 1610, an assembly of the church
was held at Glasgow, when Episcopacy was made to assume a
more primitive feature than it had done since the Reformation.
During Spottiswoode 's incumbency, a new leaden roof was begun
to be put on the cathedral.

1615. — James Law, bishop of Orkney. — During this episcopate,
John Ogilvie, a Jesuit missionary of Rome was hanged at Glasgow
for the alleged crime of fomenting the ancient prejudices of the
people.

1633. — Patrick Lindsay, bishop of Ross. — In this year, Glasgow
was recognised by parliament as a free Royal Burgh. In 1638
was held at Glasgow a memorable General Assembly, the mem-
bers of which, after his majesty's commissioner had in the king's
name dissolved it, continued to sit in defiance of royal authority,
and set aside Episcopacy, — deposed and excommunicated the
Bishops, — and finished by preparing for an appeal to the sword.
Presbyterianism was the established religion till 1661, when it was
again superseded by Episcopacy.

1661. — Andrew Fairfoul, minister of Dunse.

1664.— Alexander Burnet, bishop of Aberdeen.— During this
prelate's incumbency, persecution was at its acme. He resigned
in 1671.

1671.— Robert Leighton, bishop of Dunblane.— This prelate re-
signed in 1676, when archbishop Burnet was again restored.

1676.— Archbishop Burnet.

1679.— Arthur Ross, bishop of Argyle.

1684.— Alexander Cairncross, bishop of Brechin. He was re-
moved in 1687 by king James II.

1687 —John Paterson, bishop of Edinburgh.

The year 1688 saw the monarch dethroned and exiled, and the
year 1689 witnessed the establishment of a Presbyterian form of
church government, since which period Prelacy, in connection
with the state, " has had no abiding place in our city."

EPITAPHS.

Inscription upon Dr. Low's monument within the High Church-
yard of Glasgow.

1612
M.

P. L.

IOHN LOW. IAMES LOW.

DOCTOR PEETER Low.
Stay passenger and view this stone,
For under it lyis such a one,
Who cuired many whill he lieved,
So gracious he no man griev'ed,

430 APPENDIX.

Yea when his physick's force oft fail'ed,
His plesant purpose then prevail 'd;
For of his God he got the grace,
To live in mirth and die in peace,
Heaven hes his soul, — his corps this stone,
Sigh passenger and soe be gone.
Ah me! I gravel am and dust,
And to the grave dishend I must,
O painted peice of liveing clay,
Man be not proud of thy short day.*

Inscription upon Dr. Main's monument. 1645.

Hie jacet Robertus cognomento magnus multis
Nominibus, revera magnus philosophus, orator, poeta, medicus,

Omnigena virtute ac eruditione clarus,
Medicina? in Academia Glasguensi professor. Obiit nonis

Februarii millesimo sexcentesimo quadragesimo
Sexto. Anno setatis suse sexies septimo climacterico.

Inscription upon Mr. Thomas Hutchison's monument.

Conditur hie D. Thomas Hutchisonus,
Quern semper Innocentia sero opulentia beavit,

Cujus brevem possessionem amplis

In egonis largitionibus compensavit

Humana cuncta ficta, falsa, tabula,

Et vanitatem vanitas.

Obiit Kal. Sept. anno 1641.

. Khitis suae 52.

Inscription formerly above the large gate and entry into the High
Church in gold letters.

DEDIOATA FVJT H^C

ECCLESIA GLASGUENSIS

ANNO DOMINI MILLESIMO

CENTAGESIMO NONAGESIMO

SEPTIMO PRIDIE

CALENDAS JVNII.

Inscription upon the wall of the Outer-Church entry on two
large dials, above Bailie Colquhoun's grave-stone, and the grave-
stone of James Colquhoun's elder and younger of Langloan, his
representers, upon one of the dials, Umbra Idbitur et nos umbra,
upon the other, Ex hoc momenta pendet JEternitus.

Below engraven thus,

Our life's a flying shadow, God's the pole,
The index pointing at it is our soul,

* Dr. Low was the founder of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons.

APPENDIX. 431

Death's our horizon when our sun doth set,
Which will through Christ a resurrection get.

There is a monument of brass, of old pertaining to the eques-
trian family of Minto, within the choir of the High Church, en-
graven thus: —

HEIR AR BVRIET SB

WALTIR SR THOMAS SB

IOHNE SR ROBERT SB

IOHNE AND SB MATHIEV

BY LINEAL DESCENT

TO VTHERIS BARONS
AND KNICHIS OF THE

HOVS OF MINTO WT
CIIAIH VYFFIS BAIRNIS

AND BRETHEREIN,

EXTRACTS FROM THE ANCIENT RECORDS OF THE BURGH OF
GLASGOW.

1573. — James Anderson millare hes three scabbit horss; John
Gamyll hes ane; Thomas Scott hes ane; and Thomas Will hes ane
scabbit horss; Quhilkis persones ar ordanit to be warnit to the nixt
Court, to heir thame decernit to be handillit, coforme to the auld
Status made anent scab and fairsy, and to be sichtit be Archd. Mr.
and Thomas Waterston.

1573 — Marioun Gardiner, dochter to Steyne Gardiner.

Jonet Grhame,

Jonet Steward.

Robert , fleschor.

Quhilkis persounes ar dilatit as Lepir, and ordanit to be viseit,
and gif thai be fund sua, to be secludit of the town, to the hos-
pital at the brigend.

The quhilk daye Margaret Andro, spouse to John Anderson
cordiner, is fund in the wrang and amerchiament of court, for
trublance done be her to Jonet Tailzoure, dochtir to James Tail-
zoure, in stryking of her, and rugging furth of her hair, upone
the hie gait of Glasgw, upon Sondaye, the viij of Januare instant,
within the tyme callit of auld the proclamation of Zule girtht,
and now of abstinece, and dwme gevin thereupone and therefor,
is decernit to mak the said Jonet ane amends, be the sicht of twa
neichtbors; and William Anderson, maltman is becum cautioner
for making of the said amends.

1574. — The quhilk daye Bartilmo Lawtetht is fund in the wrang
and amerchiament of court, for trublas maid be him to ane pure wyf

callit , for stryking of hir to the effusion of hir blude, and

is ordanit to paye to hir iiijs. for amends, and dwme gevin there-
upone.

October, 1574. — Item, it is statute and ordanit, that all the in-
habitants of the town obey the sercharis [for ihepesf] in execution of
thair office, and in cais thai be disobedient to thame, thair diso-
bedience to be punisht as thai had disobeyit the prouest or baillies.

432 APPENDIX.

•29th July, 1580.— The quhilk daye, Jonet Speir is fund in the
wrang, for striking of Margaret Herveys barne and hir mither,
with hir feit and hands: And James Hervy, Christine Riche,
Marion Cuthbert, Margaret Hervey, and Margaret Wilson, are all
fund in the wrang, for stryking of the said Jonet Speir, casting
stanes at hir, and taking ane pot fre hir; and dwme gevin there-
upone.

13th September, 1580.— The quilk day Margaret Nasmyth, being
accusit for steling of beir and comes, confessit the samyn, and
wes decernit, of her awin confession, to be banist and absent hir,
furth of the burgh and barony of Glasgw ; and gif ever scho wer
fund therinto, to be drownit hot assyse; and to dept to the effect
within xxiiii hours nixtocum.*

DISCOVERIES OF COINS.

In the month of January, 179.5, as some workmen were levelling
the ground in the south end of Taylor-Street, where an old ruin-
ous house formerly stood, they dug up an earthen pot containing
nearly a Scotch pint, full of gold coins of different sizes. The
t-agerness of the by-standers, however, prevented their number
from being exactly determined, though it is supposed they did not
amount to fewer than eight or nine hundred, — the greatest part
being Scotch, and the remainder English and foreign coins.

Of the Scotch coins were those of James III. and IV., known
by the name of the Unicorn and its half; the legend Jacobus Dei
(,'ratia lies Scoto, and on the reverse, Surgut Dcus ct Dissipent. Ini-
mici Ej.; -also, the Ryder of James IV. with his title, and on the
reverse, Saluum Fuc. Populum. Tuum.. Due.— Coins of James V.,
the legend, Jacobus 5, Dei Gra. Rex Scotorum, and on the reverse,
Crucis Arma Sequamur. — Also of Queen Mary, the legend, Maria
Dei Gratia Regina Scotorum, and on the reverse, Crucis Arma Se-
quamur, and on some, Diliffite Jusliciam, 1553. These were the
only varieties which appeared of the Scottish Coins.

The English coins consisted mostly of the pieces called Angels,
of Henry VI., the coinage of his 49th year; the legend, on the
reverse, Per Cruc. Tua. Salve nor Xre. Red.; one of Henry VIII.,
the legend, Rutilans Rosa Sine Spina, and on the reverse, Dei Gra.
Rex Angl. et Fra.

Amongst those of foreign origin were distinguished some of the
French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Imperial, and Popish coins.

As none of these pieces are later than the days of Mary, Queen
of Scotland, it is not improbable that they had been deposited
during the troubles in her reign.

In the year 1836, while the Cathedral was undergoing repair,
a considerable number of coins were discovered by workmen, —
belonging more particularly to the early Scottish reigns.

* "Burgh Records of Glasgow." collated by John Smith, Esq., LL.D.,
and presented to the Maitland Club.

APPENDIX.

433

A LIST OF THE LORD PROVOSTS OF GLASGOW, AND PRINCIPAL
BUILDINGS, &C. FOUNDED OR COMPLETED WHEN THEY WERE
IN OFFICE.

1268, Richard de Dunidovis.

Cathedral Building.

Alexander Palmes.

William Gley.
1424, Steeple founded.
1452, University founded.
1472, John Stewart of Minto.
1480, Sir T. Stewart of do.
1513, Sir John Stewart of do.
1528, Sir Robert Stewart of do.
1538, Ar. Dunbar of Baldoon.
1541, Lord Belhaven.
1543, John Stewart of Minto.
1545, A. Hamilton of Middop.
1553, A. Hamilton of Cochney.
1560, Robert Lindsay of Dunrod.
1566, Laigh Kirk built.
1569, Sir John Stewart of Minto.
1574, Lord Boyd.

1577, T. Crawford of Jordanhill.

1578, Earl Lennox.

1580, Sir M. Stewart of Minto.

1583, Earl of Montrose.

1584, Lord Kilsyth.

1586, Sir M. Stewart of Minto.
1600, Sir George Elphinston of

Blythswood.

1607, Sir J. Houston of Houston.
1609, James Inglis.

1613, James Stewart.

1614, James Hamilton.
1617, James Stewart.
1619, James Inglis.
1621, James Hamilton.
1623, Gabriel Cunningham.
1625, James Inglis.

1627, James Hamilton.
1629, Gabriel Cunningham.

1633, William Stewart.

1634, Patrick Bell.

Prison and Town-House.

1636, Colin Campbell.

1637, James Stewart.
Laigh Kirk steeple built.

1638, Patrick Bell.

1639, Gabriel Cunningham.

1640, James Stewart.
1642, William Stewart.
J643, James Bell.

1645, George Po.rterfield.

1647, James Stewart.

1648, George Porterfield.
1650, John Graham.
1652, George Porterfield.
1654, Daniel Wallace.
1656, John Anderson.
1658, John Bell.

Merchants' Hall.
1660, Colin Campbell.
1662, John Bell.
1664, William Anderson.

1 667, John Anderson.

1668, William Anderson.

1669, James Campbell.

1670, William Anderson.
1674, John Bell.

1676, James Campbell.
1678, John Bell
1680, Sir John Bell.
1682, John Barns.
1684, John Johnston.
1686, John Barns.
Wynd Church.

1688, Walter Gibson.

1689, John Anderson.
1691, James Peadie.
1693, William Napier.
1695, John Anderson.
1697, James Peadie.
1699, John Anderson.

College Church.
1701, Hugh Montgomerie.
1703, John Anderson.
1705, John Aird.
1707, Robert Rodger.
1709, John Aird.
1711, Robert Rodger.
1713, John Aird.
1715, John Bowman.
1717, John Aird.
1719, John Bowman.
1721, John Aird.

North- West Church.
1723, Charles Millar.
1725, John Stark.

1727, James Peadie.

1728, John Stirling.
1730, Peter Murdoch.

434

APPENDIX.

1732, Hugh Rodger.

Town's Hospital.
1734, Andrew Ramsay.

King Wittiar(i's statue.
1736, John Coulter.
1738, Andrew Alton.

St. Andrew's Church.
1740, Andrew Buchanan.
1742, Lawrence Dinwiddie.
1744, Andrew Cochran.
1746, John Murdoch.
1748, Andrew Cochran.
1750, John Murdoch.
1 752, John Brown.
1754, George Murdoch.
1756, Robert Christie.

St. Andrew's Church finished
1 758, John Murdoch.
1760, Andrew Cochran.
1762, Archibald Ingram.
1764, John Bowman.
1766, George Murdoch.
1768, James Buchanan.
1770, Colin Dunlop.

Jamaica-Street Bridge.
1772, Arthur Connel.
1774, James Buchanan.
RutJierglen Bridge.
1776, Robert Donald.
1778, William French.

St. Enoch's Church.
1780, Hugh Wylie.
1782, Patrick Colquhoun.

Tontine Coffee-Room and
Buildings begun. — In-
stituted the Chamber of
Commerce.

1784, John Coates Campbell.
1786, John Riddel.

St. George's and St. An-
drew's Squares begun.
] 788, John Campbell, jun.

Grammar School.
1790, James M'Dowall.

Physicians' flail, and
Trades'1 Hall founded.
— Infirmary.
1792, Gilbert Hamilton.

Laiffh Church.
1 794, John Dunlop.

1794, Assembly and Concert-
Rooms. — Barracks.
1796, James M'Dowall.
1798, Laurence Craigie.

Barony Church. — Police.
1800, John Hamilton.

Hutcheson's Hospital.
1802, Laurenee Craigie.

Queen-Street Theatre.
1804, John Hamilton.

Hunterian Museum. —
Nelson's Monument.
1806, James Mackenzie.

Ardrossan Canal.— St.
George's Church. —
Glasgow and Cranston-
Hill Water- Works.
1808, James Black.

Broomielaw Quay en-
larged.— Glasgow Ob-
servatory.— Gorbal's
Church. — Lunatic Asy-
lum.— New Jail and
Public Offices.
1810, John Hamilton.

Toward Light-House.
1812, Kirkman Finlay.
1814, Joshua Hey wood.
1816, Henry Mqnteith.
1820, John Thomas Alston.
1822, James Smith.

St. David's Church.
1824, Mungo N. Campbell.
1826, William Hamilton.
1828, Robert Dalglish.

Hutcheson's Bridge.
1830, James Ewing.

Royal Exchange.
1832, Robert Graham.
1834, William Mills.

Sir Walter Scott's Monu-
ment.— Jamaica-Street
Bridge rebuilt.
1837, Henry Dunlop.
Custom-House.
1840, Sir James Campbell.
City Hall.— Corn Ex-
change,— British Li-
nen Company's Bank.
— County Buildings.

BBI.L AND BAIN, PRINTERS, GLASGOW.

ERRATA.

Page 72, line 8,_/or William Barclay, Esq. read James Bar-
clay, Esq.

Page 23], line 14,_/br Caledonian Mercury, read Evening
Courant.

Page 266, line 10,_/<w 1779, read 1799.

Page 287, line 8 from bottom,— for quack -members, read quack-
menders.

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