The gazetteer of Scotland. [With plates and maps.]

National Library of Scotland

lllUIINIIIlllllllllll

*B000031990*

#

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2012 with funding from

National Library of Scotland

http://archive.org/details/gazetteerofscov21838cham

-

THE

GAZETTEER

OF

SCOTLAND.

BY

ROBERT CHAMBERS,

AUTHOR OF "THE PICTURE OF SCOTLAND," " TRADITIONS OF EDINBURGH,.
" HISTORIES OF THE SCOTTISH REBELLIONS," &C. &C.

WILLIAM CHAMBERS,

AUTHOR OF " THE BOOK OF SCOTLAND."

VOL. II.— GLENBANCHOR— ZETLAND.

BLACKIE AND SON, QUEEN STREET, GLASGOW,

SOUTH COLLEGE STREET, EDINBURGH,

AND WARWICK SQUARE, LONDON.

BALFOUR AND JACK, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.

'." ~-o-

125

G L E N C O E.

497

GLENBANCHOR, a small but beauti-
ful glen in Badenoch, in the parish of Kingussie,
watered by the Calder, a stream which joins
the Spey on the left, about three miles west of
the Inn of Pitmain. Of old, the inhabitants
of this vale did not rank high in the estima-
tion of their neighbours for honesty, — and it is
recorded, that upon one occasion, the parson,
desirous to impress upon his audience the en-
ormity of the offences of the two thieves men-
tioned in Scripture, could not hit upon a more
apposite illustration of their character, than by
comparing them to his honest parishioners in
Glenbanchor. Next day the whole effective
population of the glen were seen marching to
inflict summary vengeance upon their indiscreet
minister, when they were met by the laird,
who, upon learning their errand, diverted them
from their purpose, by assuring them, that so
far from the worthy parson intending to pass a
reflection injurious to their character, he had
only alluded to the antiquity of their clan, by
carrying it back to the period and occasion
which had formed the subject of his address to
his flock.

GLENBEG, a district in the county of
Inverness.

GLENBERVIE, an inland parish in Kin-
cardineshire, extending upwards of six miles
in length by an average breadth of three miles,
bounded by Durris on the north, Fetteresso
and Dunnotar on the east, Arbuthnot on the
south, and Fordoun on the west. The northern
part lies partly among the Grampian hills.
The lower parts are fertile, and pertain to the
Howe of the Mearns. The river Bervie
bounds the district partly on the west, and the
river Carron originates within it. The ham-
let of Glenbervie, which stands in the vicinity
of the former river, is a barony of the Douglas
family. Dramlithie, lying about a mile to the
east of the road betwixt Laurencekirk and
Stonehaven, is a village chiefly inhabited by
linen weavers — Popidation in 1821, 1277.

GLENBRAUN, a vale in the eastern side
of Inverness-shire, partly in the parish of
Abernethy.

GLENBRIARCHAN, a Highland vale
in the parish of Moulin, district of A thole,
Perthshire.

GLENBUCKET, a small Highland parish
in the district of Marr, Aberdeenshire, lying
on both sides of the Bucket, a tributary stream
of the Don. It extends four miles in length,

by about one in breadth, and has only a small
part cultivated, On the north lies the parish
of Cabrach. The Earl of Fife is sole pro-
prietor. The ruin of Badenyon or Badniaun
House, the place alluded to in the Scotch song
of " John of Badenyon," is in the parish, at
the base of the Grampian ranges — Population
in 1821, 479.

GLENCAIRN, a parish in Nithsdale,
Dumfries-shire, bounded by Tynron on the
north, Keir on the east, and Dunscore on the
south, and extending eleven miles in length, by
from three to five in breadth. The district
exhibits a beautiful intermixture of cultivated
and pasture lands, plantations, waters, green
eminences, and gentlemen's seats. The waters
are the Cairn river, which flows through a
beautiful vale in the centre of the district, and
its different tributaries, among which are the
Castlefern, Craigdarroch, and Dalwhat waters.
In the parish are the villages of Minnihive and
Dunreggan. On the south-west verge of the
parish is the small lake called Loch Urr. The
district gave an earl's title to an ancient branch
of the family of Cunningham, ennobled in
1488." This peerage, which is now dormant,
was borne by several very distinguished his-
torical characters, especially the fifth earl, who
took an active part in the introduction of the
reformed religion into Scotland. — Popidation
in 1821, 1881.

GLEN CARREL, a vale in the south-
east part of Sutherlandshire, near Glenalot.

GLENCOUL, a vale in the western part
of Sutherlandshire, extending inland from the
head of Kyle Scow.

GLENCOE, a Highland vale in the
northern part of Argyleshire, district of Lorn,
extending from Ballachulish on Loch Leven,
in a south-easterly direction, a distance of ten
miles. It is with justice celebrated as one of
the wildest and most romantic specimens of
Scottish scenery. The western line of the
Highland military roads passes through this
vale, which is therefore conveniently accessible
to tourists in search of the picturesque. It is
a narrow stripe of rugged territory, along which
hurries the wild stream of Cona, celebrated by
Ossian, who is said to have been born on its
banks. On each side of the narrow banks of
this stream, a range of stupendous hills shoots
perpendicularly up to the height of perhaps
two thousand feet, casting a horrid gloom over
the vale, and impressing the lonely traveller
3 s

493

GLENCROSS.

with feelings of awful wonder. The military
road sweeps along the north-east side of the
glen. From the sides of the hills an immense
number of torrents descend. From the one
end to the other only one human habitation
can be seen ; and as it is not a road much fre-
quented, the traveller may pass through it
without meeting a single human being. On
the north side rises Con Fion, the hill of Fin-
gal. Glencoe was formerly occupied by a
tribe of Macdonalds, whose chief was usually
termed Mac Ian, to distinguish him from
other Highland proprietors of the same name.
This tribe was, in 1691, almost exterminated
by a cruel massacre, which is too generally
known to require particular relation. The
place where the execrable deed was committed,
is at the north-west end of the vale.

GLENCROE, a wild Highland vale in the
east part of Argyleshire, district of Cowal,
stretching westwards from the north end of
Loch Long, and serving as the chief pass into
the county in that quarter. In lonely magni-
ficence, and all the attributes of Highland val-
ley scenery, Glencroe can only be considered
inferior to the vale which it so nearly resem-
bles in name, above noticed. Its sides are
covered with rude fragments of rock ; and a
little stream runs wildly along the bottom,
receiving accessions on both sides from
numerous descending rivulets. Glencroe is
only about six miles in length. The traveller
ascends to the head of the vale by a steep and
painful path, at the top of which there is a
stone seat, with an inscription indicating that
the road was constructed by the soldiers of the
22d regiment, and also inscribed with the ap-
propriate words, " Rest and be thankful."
From this point the distance to Cairndow on
the banks of Loch Fyne is seven miles, and
from Dumbarton twenty-nine miles.

GLENCROSS, or GLENCORSE, a
parish in Edinburghshire, formed in 1616 out
of parts of the parishes of Pennycuick and
Roslin (Lasswade). It is of a square form,
about four miles each way, and consisting of
fine undulating arable land and grass parks
descending from the Pentland hills to the
south. The district has been vastly improved
in recent times, and is now well cultivated and
planted. Lasswade generally bounds it on the
north and east, and Pennycuick on the west.
From the centre of the Pentland range rises
the rivulet called Glencorse burn, which is
21.

dammed up by a stupendous artificial em-
bankment, so as to form a very extensive lake.
This expensive work was made by the "Water
Company of Edinburgh, in compensation to
the millers upon the river Esk, who were then
deprived of some of their principal feeders in
order to supply the citizens with water. In
times of drought, when the Esk runs low, the
Compensation Pond, as it is called, discharges
water sufficient to keep the mills in work.
The machinery for regulating this discharge is
under the care of a keeper. The waters of the
lake cover the ruins of an ancient chapel and
burying-ground, dedicated to St. Catherine,
whose cross gave a name to the district. The
Glencorse burn, which is emitted from this
fountain, falls into the north Esk near the
village of Auchindinny. The parish possesses
some charming grounds with an exposure to
the south, and none are more attractive from
their beauty than those around the mansion of
Woodhouselee, the property of the family of
Tytler. In the latter end of last century it
was in the possession of William Tytler, Esq.
a gentleman well remembered for his amiable
qualities, and for his knowledge of music and
antiquities. His chief works were an Inquiry
into the Evidence against Queen Mary, and a
Dissertation on Scottish Music. The pleasant
hamlet of upper Howgate lies on the road south
of the domain of "Woodhouselee. Rullion
Green, where the covenanters were defeated
by the king's troops under Dalziel in 1666, is
within the parish, at the base of the Pentland
hills. A stone has been erected with an in-
scription commemorative of this skirmish, in
which upwards of fifty persons were slain. —
Population in 1821, 661.

GLENDARUEL, a vale in Cowal, Ar-
gyleshire, parish of Kilmadan.

GLENDEERY, a Highland vale in the
northern part of Perthshire, near Blair-
Athole.

GLENDEVON, a parish belonging to
Perthshire, lying in the midst of the Ochil hills,
and taking its name from the beautiful river
Devon which passes through it. It extends
about six miles in length by four and a half in
breadth, and is bounded by Muckart and Dol-
lar on the south. The district is hilly, but
generaUy green, and partly cultivated. — Popu-
lation in 1821, 139.

GLENDO CHART, a Highland valley in
the western part of Perthshire, through which

GLENGARRY.

flows the river Dochart, from the loch of the
same name to the head of Loch Tay.

GLENDOW, a vale partly in Stirlingshire
and partly in Dumbartonshire.

GLENDUCE, a small village on the west
coast of Sutherlandshire, parish of Edder-
achyhs.

GLENELCHAIG, a district in the south-
west corner of Ross-shire, parish of Kintail.

GLENELG, a parish occupying the north-
west corner of Inverness-shire, on the main-
land, and extending about twenty miles each
way. The Bay of Glenelg divides it from
Sleat or the east end of Skye. The parish is
divided into three sections by arms of the sea
projected inland from the bay. These arms
are Loch Morrer, Loch Nevish, and Loch
Hourn. Each of the peninsulas thus formed
has a particular name. The most northerly
is Glenelg, the next is Knoydart; and the
most southerly is North Morrer. There is
little cultivated land in the whole, and the pa-
rish is chiefly hilly and pastoral. The shores
are thickly studded with small villages. The
kirktown of Glenelg is near the ferry from
Skye to the mainland. — Population in 1821,
2807.

GLENELLY, a village in Glenelg, In-
verness-shire, at which is the ferry mentioned
at the end of last article.

GLENESK, the vale through which the
river North Esk flows, county of Forfar.

GLENFARG, a romantic vale or pass in
the Ochil hills, leading from Kinross-shire to
Perthshire, through which the great north
load proceeds.

GLENFERNAT, a vale in the parish of
Moulin, district of Athole, Perthshire, through
which flows the small river Arnot.

GLENFICHAN, a vale in the west part
of Argyleshire, district of Lorn.

GLENFIDDICH, a large vale at the cen-
tre of the county of Banff, partly watered by
the Fiddich, a tributary of the Spey.

GLENFINNIN, a vale at the head of
Loch Shiel, in the west part of Inverness-
shire, through which runs the small river Fin-
nin. This loyely valley derives some interest
from having been the place in which Prince
Charles first reared his standard in 1745.
The spot is now distinguished by a monumen-
tal pillar, erected by the late Mr. Macdonald
of Glenaladale — a young gentleman of the dis-
fcri'.f^ * hose grandfather, with the most of his

clan, had been engaged in the unfortunate en-
terprise which it is designed to commemorate.
It rises from a meadow closed by the bank of
the estuaiy of Loch Shiel, and is surrounded
on all sides by hills of the most lofty and pre-
' cipitous nature. It is in the shape of a co-
lumn about fifty feet high, with an internal
stair, leading from a lodge at the bottom. On
three sides are inscriptions in Latin, Gaelic,
and English, all to the same purpose. That
in English is as follows : — " On the spot where
Prince Charles Edward first raised his stand-
ard, on the 19 th day of August 1745, when he
made the daring and romantic attempt to re-
cover a throne, lost by the imprudence of his
ancestors, this column was erected by Alexan-
der Macdonald, Esq. of Glenaladale, to com-
memorate the generous zeal, the undaunted
bravery, and the inviolable fidelity of his fore-
fathers, and the rest of those who fought and

bled in that unfortunate enterprise This

pillar is now, alas ! also become the monument
of its amiable and accomplished founder, who,
before it was finished, died in Edinburgh on
the 4tb day of January 1815, at the early age
of twenty-eight years."

GLENFYNE, a vale at the head of Loch
Fyne, Argyleshire.

GLENGAIRDEN.-See Glenmutck.

GLENGARREL, a small vale in Dum-
fries-shire.

GLENGARRY, a vale and district in In-
verness-shire, lying south-west from Fort-
Augustus- A wild mountain stream traverses
Glengarry, and natural forests of birch, of
great luxuriance, cover the slopes of the hills.
On the north-west bank of Loch Oich, which
forms the mid-lake in the Caledonian Canal,
stands Invergarry House, the residence of the
chieftain of Glengarry.

GLENGONAR, a vale at the head of
Clydesdale, near Leadhills, through which
flows the Gonar, a rivulet tributary of the
Clyde. It is distinguished for the mineral
wealth of its banks. Gold was at one time
found here, and such was the excitement re-
garding it, that Queen Elizabeth actually sent
a person thither to gather it. It is not report-
ed that more than a few particles ever were
discovered. The lead mines in the neighbour-
hood are very extensive.

GLENGRADIE, a vale in Ross-shire,
through which the river Gradie flows from
Loch Fannich to Loch Luichart.

500

GLENLUCE.

GLENHOLM, a pastoral district in the
western part of Peebles-shire, formerly an
independent parish, but now united to
Broughton.

GLENISLA, a parish in the north-wes-
tern part of Forfarshire, lying to the west of
Lentrathen, and extending about twenty-one
miles in length. A great part of it is the vale
through which flows the river Isla. In gene-
ral it is from six to seven miles in breadth,
and a great part is pastoral. The Kirktown
of Glenisla lies on the left bank of the river.
Population in 1821, 1144.

GLENKENS, the upper or northern dis-
trict of the stewartry of Kirkcudbright, com-
prehending the parishes of Kells, Balmaclel-
lan, Dairy, and Carsphairn. The river Ken,
from which the name is derived, runs through
its centre in a southerly direction. The dis-
trict is noted for its pastoral character and pe-
culiarly fine breed of sheep.

GLENKINLAS, a subsidiary vale of
Glencroe, Argyleshire.

GLENLEDNOCK, a vale in Strathearn,
Perthshire, through which the Lednock flows
in its course to the Earn, which it joins near
Comrie.

GLENLIVET, a vale or particular dis-
trict in Banffshire, south-west from Glen Fid-
dich. Glenlivet is a barony of the family of
Aboyne. It is rendered famous for the ma-
nufacture of a particularly fine flavoured High-
land whisky, which goes by its name.

GLENLOCHAY, a valley in the district
of Breadalbane, in the south-western part oi
Perthshire.

GLENLOCHY,-a vale in the county of
Inverness, deriving its name from the river
Lochy, which flows through it.

GLENLOTH, a vale in the east side of
Sutherlandshire.

GLENLUCE, a vale at the head of Luce
Bay, Wigtonshire, through which flows the
river Luce. It gives its name to a thriving
village, which by the census of 1821 con-
tained 800 inhabitants. It stands in the pa-
rish of Old Luce, on the public road at the
head of the bay, which here forms a tolerably
good harbour for small vessels. There is a
meeting-house of the United Associate Synod.
The scenery around is very beautiful, espe-
cially from the ornamented grounds of Balcail,
in the vicinity. Farther up the vale stand the
ruins of Luce abbey. See Luce.

GLENLYON, a vale of considerable ex-
tent in Breadalbane, Perthshire, through which
runs the river Lyon. Its extreme length is
twenty-eight miles by only about one mile in
breadth. On both sides rise romantic high
hills, and in different parts along the bottom
are little villages, so secluded amidst alpine
scenery, as to be without the rays of the sun
for a third part of the year. It belongs to the
parish of Fortingal.

GLENMORE, a vale in the northern
Highlands of Perthshire, near the forest of
Badenoch.

GLENMORE, a large woody vale, lying
partly in Inverness-shire and partly in Moray-
shire, and belonging to the parish of Kincar-
dine. It has a small lake, called Loch Glen-
more, which abounds in fine green trout.
Glenmore has produced much valuable timber,
which has been rafted down the Spey to Gar-
mouth.

GLENMORE-NAN-ALBIN, " the
great glen, or vale of Caledonia," is that won-
derful natural hollow, whic>- stretches straight
as a furrow from south-wcHr'to north-east,
athwart the mainland of Scotland, beginning
at the sound of Mull, and ending at Inverness.
Its extreme length is fifty miles. The greater
part of its bottom is filled with a chain of
fresh water lakes, which have been joined by
an artificial water course, and form what is
termed the Caledonian Canal. See Canals.
This vale, and that of Strathmore, in the east-
ern district of Scotland, form singular feature?
in the external configuration of the country, as
they are not, like other hollows, filled by the
course of a regular river, but seem to have
been formed upon quite a different principle,
being quite straight, and only here and there
affording a receptacle for either running or
standing water. There is indeed an artifi-
ciality in their appearance, a departure from
the usual wavy outlines of nature, that is cal-
culated to excite deep surprise. This great
hollow seems to have been adapted by na-
ture for the purpose to which it is now ap-
plied. Its capacity for the easy introduction
of an inland navigable canal did not escape the
notice of the Highlanders many centuries ago ;
some of whose seers, by a mere exertion of
the understanding, predicted the transit of
white-sailed ships along the lovely glen of lakes.

GLENMORISTON, a vale in Inver-
ness-shire, west of Loch Ness, which gave a

G L E N M U I C K.

501

name to a parish, now united to that of Ur-
quhart-

GLENMOY, a vale in Forfarshire, near
Brechin.

GLENMUICK, an extensive parish in the
district of Marr, Aberdeenshire, in which have
been incorporated the parishes of Tulloch and
Glengairden. Strathdonand Logie Coldstone
lie on the north, and Aboyne and Glentanner on
the east. The parish, since its union with
the above, is of an irregular form. A large
portion lies on the south or right side of the
Dee ; and a part, fully as extensive, lies on its
left bank, and stretches considerably to the
west. Through the former the water of
Muick flows, from a lake called Loch Muick,
I in a northerly direction, till it joins the Dee ;
and through the other district the water of
I Gairden runs in a south-easterly course also
towards the Dee. There are a variety of
I smaller streamlets in the parish, the whole
I forming a series of the best trouting waters
! in this part of Scotland. The parish is mostly
of a pastoral and hilly character, and abounds
J in fine romantic scenes y» Once outlying and
■ little visited, it is now the resort of an im-
| mense concourse of persons in the summer
: and autumn months from Aberdeen and other
places, who flock thither to enjoy the benefits
of certain mineral wells at a place called Pan-
nanich, or to recreate in pleasant country
| lodgings in the modern village of Ballater.
Pannanich lies on the right side of the Dee ;
and at the distance of a mile and a half far-
I ther up on the left bank stands Ballater, which
is forty-one and a half miles west of Aberdeen.
Ballater, the most fashionable watering-place
in the northern part of the kingdom, is of very
recent origin, and consists of a series of neat
streets and houses, built on a regular plan.
The houses have been chiefly fitted up for the
accommodation of summer lodgers. There
are two excellent inns, at one of which there
is generally an ordinary during the stay of
visitors. The village is provided with a hand-
some church, standing in the centre of an open
square. The D£e is here crossed by a good
bridge, permitting a free thoroughfare with
Pannanich. At the wells at the latter place
there is a lodging-house, and baths of various
kinds are fitted up in the best style. The
water 'of one of the springs is celebrated for
curing scrofulous complaints, and that of an-
other, from its diuretic properties, has frequent-

ly afforded great relief, and sometimes effected
cures, in cases of gravel. Consumptive pa-
tients obtain great benefit from the fine pure
air, and goat's milk, which is to be had at the
well-house. Coaches in communication witri
Aberdeen and Ballater run daily during the
summer months. The beauty of the sce-
nery round Ballater, and the salubrity of
the climate, well suit it for the resort of vale-
tudinarians and others fatigued with the close
anxieties of city life. Like Innerleithen
in the south, its walks are agreeable; its so-
ciety choice and respectable ; and for those
fond of trouting excursions there could hardly
be a better temporary residence. One of the
most favourite promenades is that to the sum-
mit of Craigindarroch, a romantic hill in the
vicinity, disposed with pleasant walks. The
Muick water, at the distance of four and a half
miles from Ballater, possesses a tolerably good
fall, to which there is a good road along the
south side of the rivulet. The stream dashes
over a rock of about forty feet in height into
a basin below, and forms a beautiful cascade.
Four miles below Ballater there is a wild ro-
mantic spot, called the Vat, formed in the
fissure of the rocks, through which a small ri-
vulet runs. The entrance is by a natural aper-
ture intoalarge circular space, shaped something
like a vat — the rocky sides being from twenty
to thirty feet high. Loch Cannor or Kan, is
more immediately in the neighbourhood, and
measures three miles in circumference. On a
small island within it are the ruins of a castle,
said to have been once a hunting- seat of Mal-
colm Canmore. The lake is beautiful and
romantic in its appearance, and skirted with
birch, hazel, and other wood. An agreeable
excursion may be made to Loch Muick, at a
distance of eight miles, where there is excel-
lent trout-fishing. The scenery here is wild
but pleasing, and a mile below may be seen
some good views of the high and nigged cliffs
of Lochnagar, which stands a few miles west-
ward from Loch Muick, on the verge of the
parish. From the summit of this dark and
lofty mountain, which has been sung by Byron,
who spent his infancy in its vicinity, and which
is 8800 feet above the level of the sea, may
be obtained a view almost unexampled in ex-
tent and grandeur. Should the weather be
favourable, and the air pure and serene, the
spectator is presented with a view bounded on
the south by the Pentland Hills in Mid-Lo-

502

G L E N R O Y.

thian, and on the north by Benwyvis in Ross-
shire, by Benlomond on the west, and the
German Ocean on the east, the intermediate
space being spread out as a map of Nature's
own formation, interspersed with mountains,
vales, rivers, firths, villages, and towns Po-
pulation of the united parishes in 1821,
2223.

GLENNEVIS, a vale in Inveraess-shire,
near Fort- William.

GLENORCHAY, or GLENORCHY,
and INISHAIL, a united parish in the east
side of Argyleshire, on the borders of the
county of Perth. The conjunction of the two
parishes took place in 1618. The extent of
both is about twenty-four miles. Glenorchay
takes its name from the vale through which
flows the river Orchay into the head of Loch
Awe. Inishail signifies the beautiful island,
the church of the district having formerly been
situated on an island of that name in Loch
Awe — See Loch Awe. This large parish is
generally pastoral, and partakes of the common
Highland character of grandeur and wildness
of scenery. The vale or plain of the Orchay
is beautiful and verdant. The church and
manse occupy an agreeable situation on an islet
formed by the bendings of the river. The
hills are in many places covered with wood ;
and in different directions there are great im-
provements in the appearance of the country.
A good road, on which stands the village and
inn of Dalmally, proceeds through the district
from Inverary to Tyndrum and Glencoe. The
ruins of Kilchum Castle stand on the point of
a rocky promontory at the north end of Loch
Awe. On the little island of Fraoch Elan
6tand the romantic ruins of a castle. The
highest and most celebrated hills are Benlaoi,
Beindoran, and Cruachan. Glenorchay was at
one time the property of the warlike clan Mac-
gregor, who were gradually expelled from the
territory, through the influence of the rival clan,
Campbell. The Gallow Hill of Glenorchay,
famed in Highland tradition for being the place
of expiation of many criminals obnoxious to the
summary justice of Macgregor, is an eminence
opposite the parish church. The ancestors of
the late Angus Fletcher of Berenice, author
of a well-known political work upon Scotland,
were, according to the traditions of the coun-
try, the first who raised smoke or boiled water
on the braes of Glenorchay. — Population in
1821, 1122.

GLENPROSEN, a vale in the north-west.
part of Forfarshire, through which flows the
river Prosen, a tributary of the South Esk.

GLENQUHARGEN, a rocky eminence
in the parish of Penpont, Dumfries-shire.

GLENQUIEGH, a vale in Forfarshire,
near Kirriemuir.

GLENQUIECH, a vale in the western
part of Perthshire.

GLENROY, a valley in Lochaber, the
south-eastern part of Inverness-shire, parish of
Kilmanivaig, through which flows the river
Roy. The scenery of Glenroy is both pleas-
ing and picturesque, being richly ornamented
with scattered wood, and distinguished for
simplicity and grandeur of style. Its up-
per extremity is terminated by Loch Spey,
the summit of the eastern-flowing waters.
This extensive vale is celebrated for hav-
ing certain unaccountable parallel roads, or
long narrow paths, marked distinctly on the
face of the bounding hills. They consist
of three separate lines at different heights,
each line following the sinuosities of the hills,
and having one on the opposite bank at pre-
cisely the same height and of the same appear-
ance. They continue for about eight miles.
The common tale regarding these curious ap-
pearances, or, as they are generally styled, the
Parallel Roads of Glenroy, is, that they were
formed by Fingal, as paths by which he might
pursue the chase through the woods. Modern
geologists have inquired into their origin with
a greater regard to probability; and perhaps
the best theory yet started upon the subject is
that of Dr. Macculloch, author of a large work
on the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, who
suggests that they must have been the succes-
sive margins of a lake which had been at diffe-
rent times reduced by convulsions of nature.*
" The parallel roads," says this writer, " are
the shores of ancient lakes, or of one lake, oc-
cupying successively different levels ; for, in an
existing lake among hills, it is easy to see the
very traces in question produced by the wash of
the waves against the alluvial matter of the
hills. Ancient Glenroy was therefore a lake,
which, subsiding first by a vertical depth of
eighty-two feet, left its shore to form the up-
permost line, which, by a second subsidence of

* This theory is countenanced by the circumstance,
that various small glens branching from Glenroy have
the same appearances, and at corresponding levels.

G O L S P Y.

503

212 feet, produced the second, and which, on
its final drainage^ left the third and lowest, and
the present valley such as we now see it. If
this deduction should arouse the indignation of
a Fingalian, he ought to be satisfied in the
proud possession of one of the most striking
and magnificent phenomena of the universe ;
singidar, unexampled, and no less interesting to
philosophy, than it is splendid in its effects,
and captivating by its grandeur and beauty."

GLENSHEE, the vale of the river Shee,
lyingbetween the higher parts of Forfarshire and
Perthshire, but chiefly in the latter. It is a
pass into the Highlands of Brae Mar, and near
its head is a stage on the great military road
to Fort George, called the Spittal of Glen-
shee. It is situated fifteen miles south from
Castletown of Braemar, and seventy-seven
north from Edinburgh.

GLENSHIEL, a Highland pastoral pa-
rish in the south-west part of Ross-shire adja-
cent to Kintail, and lying on the south-west
side of Loch Duich, an arm of the sea. In a
narrow pass in the highest part of the parish,
a skirmish was fought in 1719, by the Earl of
Seaforth, for the cause of the Stewarts, and
the Hanoverian forces, in which the former
were defeated Population in 1821, 768.

GLENSHIRA, a glen in the parish of
Laggan, in the upper or western part of Bade-
noch, forming the basm of the river Spey for
the first twelve miles of its course. Its prin-
cipal feature is the imposing grandeur of the
mountains which rise around, sending down
numberless torrents, particularly on the north-
ern side, to swell the waters of the Spey. Not-
withstanding the unpromising aspect of this
part of the country, which is increased by the
almost total absence of trees, the hills furnish
excellent pasture for sheep, while the low
ground by the river-side yields crops in suffici-
ent abundance to supersede the necessity of
importation.

GLENSHIRA, a picturesque glen about
five miles long, at the head of Loch Fyne, near
Inverary, consisting of a deep and fertile soil.

GLENSPEAN, a beautiful glen of con-
siderable extent in the parish of Kilmanivaig
in the district of Locbaber, Inverness-shire,
commencing near the lower end of Loch Lag-
gan, where it marches with Badenoch, and
following in a westerly direction the course of
the Spean, from which it receives its name.
This glen in many places presents appear-

ances of the operation of water similar to
those described in Glenroy, and confirming by
their levels the theory entertained of their
formation. — See Glenroy.

GLENTANAR, a woody district in Marr,
Aberdeenshire, once a separate parish, but
now united to Aboyne.

GLENTILT, a vale or pass in a wild part
of Athole, Perthshire, through which runs the
river Tilt. The glen is narrow and bounded
by lofty mountains, covered with a fine ver-
dure. On its south side is the enormous hill
of Beinglo.

GLENTRATHEN See Lenteathen.

GLENTURRET or GLENTURIT,
a vale north of Crieff, Perthshire, through
which flows the water of Turit, from a loch of
the same name. The glen is famed for its
romantic beauties, and is noticed in Scottish
song.

GLENTURRIT, a small glen branching
off in a westerly direction from Glenroy.

GLENURQUHART, a vale in Inver-
ness-shire, west of Loch Ness, in the parish
of Urquhart.

GLETNESS, two or three small islets of
Shetland, five miles north-east of Lerwick, in
the mouth of Catfirth Voe.

GLIMSHOLMor GLIMPSE HOLM,
a small island of Orkney, in Holm Sound,
lying between Burry island and Pomona.

GLUSS, an islet on the north coast of
Shetland.

GOATFIELD or GAOLBHEIM, a
mountain in the isle of Arran, parish of Kil-
bride, elevated 2840 feet above the level of
the sea, and famed for different kinds of rare
stones found upon it.

GOGAR BURN, a rivulet in the coun-
ty of Edinburgh, parish of Corstorphine, a
tributary of the Water of Leith. It takes its
name from a hamlet on its banks called Gog-
ar, at which there was a chapel before the
Reformation.

GOIL, (LOCH) one of the terminating
arms of Loch Long in Argyleshire, which it
leaves in a north-westerly direction.

GOLSPY or GOLSPIE, a parish lying
on the south-east coast of Sutherlandshire,
north of Loch Fleet. It is in length about
ten miles by about two in breadth. A prodi-
gious improvement has been effected within
these few years in this part of the country, at
the instigation of the Marquis and Marchioness

304

GORDON.

of Stafford, the latter of whom, as Countess
of Sutherland in her own right, inherits nearly
the whole of this county from a long and illus-
trious line of ancestors. In prosecution of an
extensive design of improvement, rendered ne-
cessary by the altered circumstances of the
Highland population, this noble pair have ex-
pended immense sums in transferring the na-
tives of their estates from the inner part of the
country to the shore, where they now prosper-
ously pursue the herring fishery, and other oc-
cupations, in a series of villages, of which
Golspie is perhaps the best specimen. Gols-
pie lies at the mouth of a small river of the
same name, at the distance of nine miles from
Dornoch, and consists of one neatly built
street, with a handsome little church, and an
inn, which reminds the traveller, by its neat
appearance, of the delightful honey-suckled
hotels of merry England. During the fishing
season, and also during those fairs into which
a good deal of the business of the place is
concentrated, Golspie presents a very bustling
appearance. The general effect of the altera-
tion, as far as regards the people, is, that they
now enjoy the tastes and cultivate the compa-
ratively refined habits of the Lowlanders, in-
stead of living, as formerly, in the Boeotian
ignorance and sloth and poverty of Highland
crofters. The land near Golspie is now in-
closed and well cultivated, and agriculture is
even seeking its way up into the hills behind
the town. A little to the north of the village
is Dunrobin castle, the ancient seat of the
Earls of Sutherland, and supposed to have
been built by the second baron of that title
about the year 1100. It is surrounded by
some fine old wood, besides extensive modern
plantations. From Golspie all the way to
Brora, five miles, the road is skirted with
neat cottages, surrounded by shrubberies, and
covered with honey-suckle. These abodes
have been recently peopled by mechanics from
the south. —Population in 1821, 1036.

GOMETRA, a small island of Argyle-
shire, lying on the west coast of Mull, from
which it is separated by an arm of the sea
called Loch Tua. It is of basaltic formation,
and devoted to the pasturing of cattle.

GOODIE, a small river in the south-
western part of Perthshire, formed by the
discharge of the water of Lake Menteith.
It falls into the Forth at the fords of
Frew.

GORBALS, a suburb of Glasgow, built
on the south bank of the Clyde. It has an
independent parochial jurisdiction, and is go-
verned by magistrates nominated by the town-
council of Glasgow. — See Glasgow.

GORDON, a parish in the western part of
the Merse, Berwickshire, lying between Leger-
wood and Greenlaw, and extending seven miles
in length, by from two to four in breadth. The
surface is uneven, and lies higher than the
Merse toward the east. Recently it contained
much moorish land, and in general the aspect
was bleak ; in the present day it is undergoing
many improvements and is in many places
finely enclosed and planted. The parish is
somewhat remarkable, as having contained the
earliest possessions acquired in this country by
the great historical family of Gordon, who took
their name from the place. Two farms with-
in the parish are called Huntly and Huntly
Wood ; and it is understood, that when the
family removed to the north of Scotland, where
for three or four centuries they have possessed
more territorial influence than any other, they
carried the names of these localities, as well as
their own name along with them, and conferred
the designation of Huntly upon a place in
their new domains, from which they afterwards
took the titles of lord, earl, and marquis, in
succession. On being raised to a dukedom
in the year 1684, the parish now under review
was resorted to for a new title, though for
centuries they had no seignorial connexion with
it. The river Eden intersects the parish.
The village of Gordon lies on the road from
Edinburgh to Kelso, nine miles distant from
the latter. The people of Gordon were re-
cently a very primitive race, some of them
having lived in the same farms from father to
son for several centuries. It was perhaps on
this account they were stigmatized as "the
Gowks o' Gordon," in a popular rhyme run-
ning thus :

Huntly-wood — the wa's are doun.

Bassandean and Barrastoun,

Heckspeth wi' the yellow hair,

Gordon gowks for evermair.

Population in 1821 , 740.

GORGIE, a village lying about two miles
west from Edinburgh on the road to Glasgow,
by way of Mid- Calder, at which there is an
extensive establishment for preparing and
dressing skins.

GOULDIE, a village in the south part of
Forfarshire, parish of Monikie.

G O W It I E.

505

GO URDON, a fishing village on the coast
of Kincardineshire, lying about a mile south of
Bervie.

GOUROCK, a small sea-port town and
burgh of barony, of a remarkably clean ap-
pearance, in the parish of Innerkip and county
of Renfrew. It is pleasantly situated on the
south shore of the Firth of Clyde, about three
miles below Greenock. It possesses a neat
chapel of ease. Gourock is a fashionable re-
sort in the summer months of families from
Glasgow and other places to enjoy the advan-
tages of sea-bathing. Its regular inhabitants
are chiefly fishers ; and here, it seems, red her-
rings were prepared for the first time in Great
Britain. There is an extensive rope-work in
the place. — Population in 1821, 750.

GO VAN, a parish in Lanarkshire, with a
small portion belonging to the county of Ren-
frew, lying on both sides of the Clyde imme-
diately below Glasgow. By the erection of
the village of Gorbals into a separate parish,
1771, and the subsequent disjunction of land
quoad sacra, its limits are reduced, and now it
extends about five miles from east to west by
a breadth of from three to four. The lands on
the south side of the Clyde form a most beau-
tiful plain, extending in breadth for nearly two
miles, embellished with rich corn fields, planta-
tions, pleasure-grounds, and gentlemen's seats.
The village of Govan lies on this side of the
river at the distance of about two miles from
Glasgow. It is rather a straggling place,
chiefly inhabited by weavers ; but it occupies
a pleasant site amidst hedgerows and planta-
tions. It forms the terminating point of an
agreeeble walk by the river-side from Glasgow,
and is noted for its preparation of salmon. A
ferry boat, or rather a floating scaffold, guided
by chains, connects the two sides of the river
at the mouth of the Kelvin. This stream,
whose romantic banks and groves are famed in
song, is the eastern boundary of that portion
of the parish which lies on the north side of
the Clyde. It is of great utility in turning a
vast number of mills. The outskirts of Glas-
gow, with its various works, reach almost to
the Kelvin. In this quarter stands the small
village of Partick, near which in an elevated
situation stand the ruins of a castle or country
residence of the former prelates of Glasgow.
—Population in 1821, 4325.

GOWRIE, a district of Perthshire, gene-
rally describable as the alluvial plain at the

lower part of the course of the river Tay. Its
boundary Line on the north proceeds from near
Alyth to Little Dunkeld, from whence it pro-
ceeds to the south, with a tendency to the east,
till it reaches the Tay below Perth, (which it
includes,) the Tay is then the boundary to
Longforgan in the east, and from thence it pro-
ceeds westward along the verge of the shire.
In this large tract of country is to be found
every variety of hill and dale, and every thing
that constitutes rural beauty. The Carse of
Gowrie, noticed at length under its appropriate
head, is that portion which lies on the north
bank of the Tay, opposite to the coast of Fife.
It is a rich flat territoiy formed by the subsid-
ence of the river, and, in adaptation to evert/
agricultural purpose, is only second in point of
value to the fertile holms of East Lothian.
Gowrie, at the end of the sixteenth century,
supplied the title of earl to an ancient Scottish
family, previously ennobled as barons of Ruth-
ven, which was also their surname. The
title sunk with John Earl of Gowrie, the third
occupant, who was attainted in 1 600, on ac-
count of the famous conspiracy bearing his
name. The inhabitants of the Carse of
Gowrie were formerly noted in popular oblo-
quy for their stupidity and churlishness ; and
" the carles of the Carse" used to be a com-
mon appellation for them, said to be not more
alliterative than true. Pennant records apro-
verb regarding them, which supports the same
theory — namely, " that they wanted fire in the
winter, water in the summer, and the grace of
God all the year round." Whether there be
now, or ever were, any real grounds for such
charges against the people of this blessed and
beautiful spot, we shall not take it upon us to
determine ; but shall relate an anecdote, to
prove that examples of retributive wit are not
unknown among them. A landed proprietor
in the Carse used to rail in unmeasured terms
against the people, alleging that their stupidity
was equally beyond all precedent and all cor-
rection : — in short, said he, I believe I could
make a more sensible race of people out of the
very soil which I employ them to cultivate.
This expression got wind among the people,
and excited no little indignation. Soon after,
the gentleman in question had the misfortune
to be tumbled from his horse into a clayey hole
or pit, from which, after many hours struggling,
he found it totally impossible to extricate him-
self. A countryman came past, and he called
3t

506

GRAMPIANS.

for assistance. The man approached, took a
grave glance at his figure, which presented a
complete mass of clay; and coolly remarked
as .he passed on, " Oh, I see you're making
your men, laird ; I'll no disturb ye."

GRAEMSAY, a small island, generally
arable, in the Orkney group. It lies between
the north end of Hoy and the Mainland.

GRAHAMSTON, a populous and thriv-
ing village in Stirlingshire, in the parish of
Falkirk, on the road to Carron, standing on
the spot where the unfortunate patriot, Sir
John the Graham, was slain in the battle of
Falkirk, July 22, 1298. From its vicinity
to the Forth and Clyde Canal, considerable
traffic is carried on in wood, and on a small
basin derived from the Canal, is an iron work,
called the Falkirk Foundry. The village may
now be considered a suburb of Falkirk, the in-
tervening ground being almost entirely occupi-
ed by a double row of handsome freestone
cottages.

GRAHAMSTON, a suburb of Glasgow
in the Barony parish.

GRAMPIAN MOUNTAINS, a series
of very irregular ranges and groups of lofty
hills, which, with more or less continuity, oc-
cupy the whole north-western side of Scot-
land, with part of the northern, advancing
branches to the eastward in a straggling man-
ner, and intersected by valleys which preserve
no fixed or common direction. In almost
every description of the Grampian Mountains
hitherto written, they are described as a chain
of hills stretching between the counties of
Aberdeen and Argyle, or almost from sea to
sea. Recent investigation has made it obvious
that the direction of " the Grampian range" is
exceedingly indistinct : that " the chain" is
very imperfect. It is unfortunate that a pro-
per survey was not in former times taken of
the vast masses of hills which are found in this
portion of Scotland ; and that the term Gram-
pian was not confined to a particular group or
range. In ordinary language, all the hills
between the Sidlaws in Forfarshire and the
Spey are called Grampians, much to the con-
fusion of topographical illustrators, and of the
understanding of their readers. Adhering, of
necessity, to the usual explanatory term, there
is a range of Grampians which separates the
county of Banff from Aberdeenshire ; there is
another range hemming in the district of Marr
on the south-west, and coming round to Kin-
22.

cardineshire ; from the east end of this chain
single and double Grampian hills are detached
towards Stonehaven ; at the head of Forfar-
shire there is an immense clump of Grampians :
on the boundaries of Argyleshire there are dif-
ferent ranges of Grampians ; and, as above
stated, in the whole north-west of Scotland,
there are groups and chains of Grampians.
The general height of the Grampians is from
1400 to 3500 feet above the level of the sea ;
but some rise to a height far above this eleva-
tion. The southern boundaiy of the whole is at
Strathmore. The etymology of the word
Grampian is as confused as the geographical
boundaries of the mountains to which the name
has been fixed. Every antiquary has had his
own explanation. Whether it be of an origin
antecedent to the incursion of the Romans, or
first conferred by their historian Tacitus, has
never been" cleared up. The phrase at first
seems to have been attached to only one hill,
or a single range of hills. In describing the
battle between Galgacus and Agricola, Tacitus
says that it was fought " ad montem Gram-
pium." In another place, in noticing the pro-
vince of Vespasiawa, he says that the "horren.
dum Grampium jugum" divides it in two parts.
And, again, he says that part of the " Gram-
pius Mons" forms a promontory extending far
into the German Ocean, near the mouth of the
Dee. The exact locality of the battle might
probably have been settled at Stonehaven,
from these imperfect notices, but for the error
which the Roman historian commits in the
map which he made of the country, wherein a
range of Grampians — " Montes Grampii," ap-
pears in a part of Scotland where there are no
hills of any kind, at least in the present day.
In seeking out the etymon of Grampian, the
words Grans-ben, Grant-ben, Grants'-bain,
and Garv-ben, have been indifferently ad-
vanced as the original. A new elucidation has
been more recently given by the Rev. Mr.
Small, author of a work on Roman Remains,
who alleges that the Lomond hills in Fife are
the true Grampians, for they resemble the
walloping of a great fish or grandis piscis in the
sea, which he tells us is the real origin of the
phrase of Tacitus. It is almost needless to
say that these points, which have turned the
heads of every antiquary from Richard of Cir-
encester down to that argute personage Jona-
than Oldbuck, are such as mist for ever be a
subject of profitless contest.

GRANGEMOUTH.

507

GRAMRY, an islet in Loch Linnhe, to
the south of Lismore.

GRANGE, a parish in the county of Banff,
lying in the lower district of the shire, and ex-
tending in three long ridges from the north
banks of the Isla, a tributary of the Deveron.
The length of the parish is six miles by a
breadth of five. The parish of Keith lies on
the south-west. The Knock-hill, Lurg-hill,
and the hill of Altmore, bound it on the north,
separating it from the fertile countries of Boyne
and Enzie. The low grounds and parts of
the hills are finely cultivated and enclosed.
The name is derived from a country residence
or grange in the parish, once belonging to the
abbots of Kinloss. Part of the ruins is still
seen Population in 1821, 1682.

GRANGE-BURN, a rivulet in Stirling-
shire, which unites with the Carron, a short
way above the junction of the latter, with the
Firth of Forth, where it is also joined by the
Forth and Clyde Canal, — at the point of junc-
tion stands the thriving village which forms the
subject of the following article, from which
circumstance it derives its name.

GRANGEMOUTH, a sea-port in Stir-
lingshire, parish of Falkirk, situated on the
Carron river, a short way from its embou-
chure into the Firth of Forth. It was com-
menced in 1777 by the late Sir Laurence
Dundas, in the prospect of its future conse-
quence by the complete navigation of the
Forth and Clyde canal, which here passes into
the river. Since that period it has risen into
considerable importance. It has spacious ware-
houses for goods, commodious qtaays for ship-
ping, and a diy dock. Vessels bring into
this port timber, hemp, and tallow, deals,
flax, and iron, from the Baltic, Norway, and
Sweden ; besides grain from foreign parts, and
from the coasts of Scotland and England. Of
late years it has derived a considerable acces-
sion of trade, by being found a cheaper landing
place than Leith, the shore-dues of which are
extravagantly high. The Carron Company
has a wharf here for its vessels, which bring
additional trade and commerce to the port.
Rope-making and ship-building are carried on
to a considerable extent. A new school-house
has lately been erected, to which a library has
been attached by the exertions of its excellent
teacher. It possesses also a custom-house.
On the right bank of the Canal, a little to the
south-west, stands Kerse House, the seat of

Lord Dundas. During the summer months,
a steam-boat plies daily between this place and
Newhaven. A small steam-vessel has lately
been established for the purpose of carrying
goods from Alloa and places adjacent along the
Canal to Port-Dundas. An extensive trade
is carried on in timber and corn. — Population
in 1821, 1500.

GRANTOWN, a modern village in the
parish of Cromdale, Morayshire, lying about a
mile south of Castle Grant, on the left side of
the Spey, on the roads from the south to Fort-
George, and from the lower to the higher part
of the country, at the distance of twenty-two
miles south from Forres. It was begun about
the year 1774, under the patronage of the
Grant family, who have been its continual be-
nefactors. It has an excellent school, with
an hospital for poor orphans ; and a town-
house, with a jail, under the jurisdiction of the
sheriff of the county. A branch of the Na-
tional Bank is settled. — Population in 1821,
500.

GRASHOLM, an islet of Orkney, lying
on the south of Shapinshay.

GRAVE, an islet on the coast of Lewis.

GREENHOLMS, a larger and smaller
islet of Orkney, lying in Stronsay Firth, one
mile and a half south of Eday.

GREENHOLM, a small island of Shet-
land, on the east side of the mainland, four miles
north from Lerwick.

GREENLAW, a place in the parish of
Glencross, county of Edinburgh, on the road
from Edinburgh to Pennycuick, (from which it
is distant about two miles,) at which are most
extensive barracks for prisoners of war and sol-
diers ; they have been unoccupied since the
conclusion of the war.

GREENLAW, a parish in the centre of
the Merse, Berwickshire, extending seven or
eight miles in length from north to south, and
on an average of about two miles in breadth.
It is bounded by Polwarth on the north-east.
The surface of the land is generally level, only
rising here and there into slight detached emi-
nences. The north-west part of the parish is
chiefly composed of moor, sound sheep walks,
and soil adapted to turnips. Near the farm of
Greenlaw Dean, also in this part of the parish,
are the remains of a small but remarkably
strong camp or military position, defended on
all sides except one by a precipitous bank.
On this moor, also, are seen the remains of an

508

GREENOCK.

ancient wall, called Harit's Dyke, which, tra-
dition says, reached from the town of Berwick
to Legerwood in Lauderdale, and which must
have been a boundary between two hostile
tribes at an early and unrecorded period of our
history. In the parish were two religious
houses belonging to the Abbey of Kelso.

Greenlaw, the capital of the above pa-
rish, and the county town of Berwickshire,
is situated seven and a half miles west of Dunse,
ten north of Coldstream, twelve east of Lau-
der, and thirty-seven south by east of Edin-
burgh. It lies in a valley upon the north bank
of the Blackadder, over which there are two
bridges, and consists of one long street, with a
square market-place receding from the south
side. In the centre of this square formerly
stood the market- cross, a neat Corinthian pil-
lar, surmounted by a lion presenting the coat-
armorial of the Earl of Marchmont, who erect-
ed it. The upper side of the square is formed
by a line of buildings comprising the church, the
steeple, and a disused court-house, all surround-
ed by a burying-ground. The steeple seems as
if inserted between the other two ; and the
circumstance of its having been used as the
county jail, with its dark and dungeon-like ap-
pearance, suggested to a waggish stranger the
following descriptive couplet :

Here stand the gospel and the law,
Wi' hell's hole atween the twa.

Hell's hole is now vacated, and there is a hand-
some new county jail at a little distance. An
elegant county-hall, just erected by Sir W.
P. H. Campbell, Bart., now occupies the site
of the cross, in the centre of the square. The
town of Greenlaw was formerly situated upon
the top of an eminence, about a mile to the
south, where a farm onstead is still denominated
Old Greenlaw. Being afterwards removed to
its present situation, it rose into some degree
of importance under its baronial superiors, the
family of Marchmont, whose influence in po-
litical affairs, after the Revolution, was of great
service to it. The town, which is a burgh
of barony under Sir W. P. H. Campbell, the
successor of this extinct race of peers, has
since then (except during a space in the reign
of Charles I.) been the seat of the county
courts and other jurisdictions, though Dunse is
a much larger and equally central town. Before
the Reformation, the kirk of Greenlaw belong-
ed to the monks of Kelso. In the twelfth
s-nd two succeeding centuries, the kirk town of

Greenlaw was dignified by the residence of the
Earls of Dunbar, from whom the family of
Home is descended. The town now contains,
besides the parish church, two dissenting con-
gregations— one of the Associate Synod and
another of the Old Light Burghers. It has
a carding machine and a wauk mill both well em-
ployed ; and there are two annual fairs, May
22, and the last Thursday of October. A
subscription Library was established in the

town in 1820 Population of the town and

parish in 1821, 1349.

GREENOCK, a small river, a tributary of
the Water of Ayr, in the parish of Muirkirk.

GREENOCK, the first sea-port in Scot-
land, and the sixth town in point of population,
is situated in Renfrewshire, upon the south
shore of the Firth of Clyde, twenty-two miles
below Glasgow; lat. 55", 57', 2" N. long. 4°, 45',
30" W. The site of the town is eminently beau-
tiful. At this part of the south bank of the
Clyde, the land rises in a picturesque ridge of
about eight hundred feet in height, at a little
distance from the shore, leaving, therefore,
only a narrow stripe of low ground by the
water-side. Greenock occupies the whole of
this low stripe, and even ascends a consider-
able way up the ridge ; the beauty of the situa-
tion being further enhanced by a fine bay hi
front, (anciently styled St. Laurence's Bay,
from a religious house,) and by the splendid
Highland scenery which bounds the opposite
side of the Firth. There are various defini-
tions of the name Greenock, and among the
rest, one which refers it to a green oak, which
once spread its umbrageous branches upon the
shore. But the word is evidently derived from
some circumstance connected with the worship
of the sun, practised by the Celtic aborigines,
or perhaps from the sunny bay in front of
the town, this being the Erse word for the sun.
What renders this theory the more probable,
is, that numerous places in Scotland are named
from the sun, or the early worship paid to it.
Greenan Castle, near Ayr, and a farm of the
same name above Loch Tummel in Perth-
shire, are instances ; besides the Perthshire
locality alluded to in the following sonorous
popular rhyme : —

" Between the Camp at Ardoch

And the Greenan hill o' Keir,
Lie seven kings' ransoms,

For seven hunder year."

Greenock is entirely indebted for its present

(f?a.Si35Sf©SlK

PuMuhcll&yTfcS-eZanrlJiinrSl Sozr, i firidat ■

GREENOCK.

509

commercial importance to the trade wliieh was
opened up by the West of Scotland with the
Colonies, after the Union. Previous to that
era, it was a mere fishing hamlet, connected
with a barony under the family of Shaw.
Thus, in common with Glasgow, Paisley, and
other citadels of human industry in the west
of Scotland, the rise and advance of Greenock
to its present condition, forms a theme not
only of local wonder, but of national interest.

Previous to the Reformation, the few inha-
bitants scattered along this narrow stripe of
alluvial territory, derived the consolations of
religion from three small chapels, placed at in-
tervals along the country, one of which, dedi-
cated to St. Laurence, gave its name to the
beautiful bay in front of the present town.
The ground upon which Greenock now stands
was then part of the parish of Innerkip, the
church of which was situated six miles off,
with a river between. Of course, after the
destruction of the chapels at the Reformation,
the people had to walk all that distance to join
in the celebration of public worship. In
1589, however, in consideration of this incon-
venience, and also seeing that the inhabitants
of the barony of Greenock were of " a res-
sounable nowmer," King James VI. granted
leave to John Shaw, the baron, to erect a
church for the use of his own people, em-
powering him to maintain a clergyman therein
by the quota of teinds which he formerly paid
to the minister of Innerkip. This arrange-
ment, which resembled the erection of a chapel
of ease in our own times, was further confirm,
ed in 1594, when the whole of John Shaw's
estates, Greenock, Finnart, and Spangock,
were erected into an independent parsonage
and vicarage. Afterwards (1636), this was
again further confirmed by their erection into
a separate parish, to be called the parish of
Greenock. These circumstances, though
partly owing no doubt to the interested views
of a powerful proprietor, all indicate an in-
creasing and thriving population, even under
the unfavourable circumstances in which Scot-
land was then placed. In the same year,
moreover, with the erection of the lands into
a parish, the baron began to grant feus upon
his property, an indication of the rise of a
better order of inhabitants. In 1651, when
John Shaw marched with his sovereign into
England, he led two hundred men: the dis-
tinction which he acquired by his behaviour in

the fatal battle of Worcester, procured him,
in a subsequent reign, the honour of a baronet-
cy. In 1684, though as yet no harbour was
built, a vessel sailed from Greenock with a num-
ber of the persecuted religionists of the West of
Scotland, who were sentenced to transportation
to the American Colonies. Next year, a party
connected with the Earl of Argyle's invasion
landed here ; the bay probably affording some
facility for such a purpose, notwithstanding
the want of works. Greenock now consisted
of only a single row of thatched houses,
stretching along the bay ; and the neighbouring
little town of Cartsdyke, which Greenock now
regards with supreme contempt, seems to have
been a place of much greater consideration.
Great hope, however, of the future prosperity
of Greenock, lay in the vigilant activity of the
baronial family of Shaw, which, through a
mixture, perhaps, of interested and public-
spirited views, omitted no opportunity of ad-
vancing the interest of the village. In 1696,
with the hope apparently of rendering Green-
ock a depot for the trade of the Darien Com-
pany, Sir John Shaw made application to the
Scottish Parliament for public aid to build a
harbour, but was unsuccessful. To the great
chagrin, no doubt, of his worship, as well as
the feuars of Greenock, part of that company's
expedition, in 1697, was fitted out at the rival
hamlet of Cartsdyke. However, the increasing
spirit of the people soon got over every diffi-
culty, and, in 1707, a harbour of about ten acres
in extent was laid out, the people agreeing to
discharge the cost by an assessment of 1 s. 4d.
sterling upon every stack of malt which should
be brewed into ale within the village. The
work was finished in 1710, at an expense of
L.5555 ; and it affords a proof, either of the
great trade carried on for some years after, or
of the extreme thirstiness of the inhabitants,
that the whole of this immense sum was liqui-
dated before the year 1740. In 1707, the in-
habitants of Greenock and Cartsdyke together,
amounted only to about 1000 : in 1755, those
of Greenock alone were 3800. About this
time, moreover, the houses began to be covered
with slate, instead of thatch. In 1716, there
were four so distinguished. The harbour was
at first established in the regulations of the
Custom-house, as a branch of Port- Glasgow.
The Union having now opened up its full
prospects to Scottish commerce, Greenock
came rapidly forward into importance as a har-

510

GREENOCK.

bour, being 9 ibsidiary in some measure to Glas-
gow, the vessel* belonging to which were unload-
ed here and at Port- Glasgow, on account of the
shallowness of the river higher up. The first
vessel which sailed from the Clyde to America
on a commercial enterprise, left Greenock in
1719; an incident already noticed under Glas-
gow. About this time, the rising prosperity
of the place excited the jealousy of London,
Liverpool, and Bristol, to such an extent, that
they falsely accused the merchants of Green-
ock and Port- Glasgow of fraud against the
revenue, first to the Commissioners and after-
wards to the House of Commons ; this was
triumphantly refuted ; and Greenock, unimped-
ed in its career, continued to prosper exceed-
ingly. The gross receipt of the customs, in
17-28, was £15,231, 4s. 4^d. The import of
tobacco from the colonies, and its re-trans-
portation to the Continent, from which goods
were taken in exchange, was at this time, and
up to the period of the American war, carried
on to a great extent. In 1752, the Greenland
whale-fishery was also established, though
not carried on with much spirit till some few
years after. It is now abandoned.

Though the people thus took such large
advantage of the trade-wind which set in upon
Scotland after the Union, it is remarked by
Dr. Leyden, in his publication entitled " Scot-
tish Descriptive Poems," that they did not ad-
vance passibus cequis in an attention to litera-
ture and science. A most notable instance of
their Gothic barbarity was particularly pointed
out by this writer, and has since excited much
remark. In 1767, when the ingenious Wilson,
author of " Clyde, a Poem," applied to the
magistrates for the situation of master in their
grammar school, those dignitaries, inspired
partly by religious prejudice and partly by
mercantile prudence, stipulated with him that
he should abandon what they styled " the pro-
fane and unprofitable art of poem-making."
They thus effectually repressed in this man of
genius and honour all the aspirations which
had animated his soul in youth, and condemn-
ed him, in his own words, " to bawl himself
to hoarseness to wayward brats, to cultivate
sand and wash Ethiopians, for all the dreary
days of an obscure life, the contempt of shop-
keepers and brutish skippers." After his un-
happy arrangement with the magistrates, he
never ventured, says Leyden, " to touch his
forbidden lyre, though he often regarded it with

that mournful solemnity which the harshness
of dependence, and the memory of its departed
sounds could not fail to inspire." How many
souls have existed, and at this moment exist,
in the condition of poor Wilson, animated with
all the energies and sensibilities of genius, but
obliged, for the paltry bread which nature re-
quires, or for the sustenance of beings more
dear than self can ever be, to toil in the low
pursuits of a common-place and unkindly
world !

Previous to 1751, Greenock had been ma-
naged, like other burghs of barony, by the baron
himself, or his deputy. The town was now,
by a charter from Sir John Shaw, enabled to
elect a regular magistracy, consisting of two
bailies, a treasurer, and six councillors, with
power to make laws for the advantage of the
burgh, and maintaining of peace and order
within the same, and also to admit merchants,
and all kinds of tradesmen, and others, to be
burgesses within the said burgh. By the same
constitution it is now managed ; the represen- '
tative of the baronial family, Sir Michael Shaw
Stewart, having no other connexion with the
town than what arises through the immense
revenue he derives from the feus and the pa-
tronage of one of the parish churches.

The blow given to commerce by the Ameri-
can colonial war was severely felt by Greenock,
which, like Glasgow, was then obliged to look
out for other objects of enterprise. These
were found in various quarters, and the pro-
sperity of the place was quickly resumed. Up
to this period great improvements had been
progressively wrought upon the quays, and a dry
dock was now built (1785) at an expense ot
£4000. The progressive increase of the trade
of the port may be indicated by the advance of
the Custom-house receipts, which in 1770
were L.57,336; in 1794, L.77,680; in 1798,
L.141,853; in 1802, L.211,087; in 1814,
L.376,713; and in 1828, L, 455,596 ; or by
the multiplication of the inhabitants, who, in
.1755 amounted to 3800, in 1791 to 15,000,
in 1801 to 18,400 in 1S11 to 20,580, in 1821
to 23,500, and in 1829 to 27,000. Through-
out this space of time, the old harbourage ac-
commodation has been almost entirely renewed
upon a splendid scale, at an expense of about
L.20,000 ; and the result has been, that
whether the depth of water be considered, or
the conveniency of entry and egress, or the
riding ground offered bv the firth, which at

GREENOCK.

ill

this place is completely land-locked, and re-
sembles a large inland lake, Greenock is now
decidedly the best port in Scotland. The
following measurements will show the extent
of the quays and their accommodation :

Feet.
East quay . . 531

Entrance to harbour . 105

Custom house quay . 1035

Entrance to harbour . 105

West quay . . 425

Extreme length from east to west 2201
Breadth of piers . 60

The management of the harbour is vested in
its commissioners, (along with the town coun-
cil,) who are elected annually ; and every ship-
owner, paying L.12 per annum of shore-dues,
is eligible to be elected, while paying L.3 qua-
lifies for giving a vote.

The trade in Greenock consists of foreign
and coasting. Indeed, it may be said, that
there is no place where British enterprise has
opened a market, but Clyde vessels are to be
found. At present Greenock has trading ves-
sels to every part of the world, the whole
amounting in 1828 to 249, or 31,929 of ton-
nage, and employing 2210 men. The West
and East Indies, and North American trades,
may be considered the principal. Newfound-
land and South America have also employed
a considerable portion of shipping from this
port. It is said that the coasting trade has
somewhat declined since 1812, in consequence
of the introduction of steam-vessels, which tow
small vessels to Glasgow againot wind and
tide. In the herring-fishery, Greenock annu-
ally does business to the extent of 19,000 bar-
rels at an average ; and the port has long been
in almost exclusive possession of that melan-
choly trade, which consists in facilitating the
emigration of the poor people of Scotland to
North America.

Greenock, in external appearance is a neat
town, though somewhat too much huddled to-
gether in its older districts. Of late years, a
number of very clean and regular, and even
elegant streets have been erected towards the
west, for the accommodation of the more re-
fined inhabitants ; and a tendency has also been
displayed by this class of society to rear streets
and detached villas along the heights behind
the town, where the view of the firth and of
the Highland scenery beyond is a source of

neverfailing pleasure. One of the most re-
markable circumstances connected with Green-
ock is the proximity of the Highlands. But
a few miles off, across the Firth of Clyde, this
untameable territory stretches away into Al-
pine solitudes of the wildest character ; so that
it is possible to sit in a Greenock drawing-
room, amidst a scene of refinement not sur-
passed, and of industry unexampled, in Scot-
land, with the long-cultivated Lowlands at
your back, and let the imagination follow the
eye into a blue distance, where things still ex-
hibit nearly the same moral aspect as they did
a thousand years ago. It is said that when
Rob Roy haunted the opposite coasts of Dum-
bartonshire, he found it very convenient to sail
across, and make a selection from the goods
displayed in the Greenock fairs ; on which oc-
casion the ellwands and staves of civilization
would come into collision with the broad-
swords and dirks of savage warfare, in such a
style as must have served to show the ex-
tremely slight hold which the law had as yet
taken of certain parts of our country. From
the same cause, an immense proportion of the
population of Greenock is of Highland ex-
traction ; and a late writer remarks that it is
scarcely possible to walk the streets without
hearing a rough blast of Gaelic rush past the ear.
Among the public structures of Greenock,
decidedly the first place is due to the Custom-
House, which is situated on a tongue of land
projecting into the harbour, and fronts towards
the full expanse of the Clyde. The beautiful
Grecian style of this building does justice to
its felicitous situation ; we have heard a tra •
veller declare that it woidd do honour to any
city in the world. The portico is remarked
to be extremely beautiful. This building was
erected in 1818, and cost L.30,000. The
Tontine next deserves notice. This is a splen-
did hotel, erected in 1801, at an expense of
L. 10,000, which was provided in the course of
two days by four hundred subscribers to the
amount of D.25 each. It contains a large
hall, with twelve sitting-rooms, and thirty bed-
rooms. Nearly opposite this elegant house
are the Exchange Buildings, which were fi-
nished in 1814, at an expense of L.7000, and
contain, besides two spacious assembly-rooms,
a coffee-room, where newspapers, periodical
publications, and works giving information on
commercial subjects, are read at an annual ex-
pense to each subscriber of 35s., strangers be-

512

GREENOCK.

ing admitted for six weeks gratis. The
Greenock Bank, which was instituted in 1785,
and has ever since issued notes, occupies the
other part of the building ; and near it is a
small theatre, built by the late Mr. Stephen
Kemble, but which is rarely opened, and never
effectively patronised. The Town-hall and
public offices, situated in Hamilton Street,
were erected in 1766, after a plan by the cele-
brated James Watt. A police-office is con-
nected with this structure. Greenock boasts
of an excellent academy, under the control of
the magistrates, and has numerous private
schools. In 1809 an hospital or infirmary
was added by the charity of the inhabitants to
the list of public buildings ; it is a neat edifice,
and its utility is universally acknowledged. In
1810 a jail and bridewell were erected. In
1820 was reared a new coffee-room, in conse-
quence of a difference having arisen between a
number of the subscribers and the proprietors
of the Exchange Buildings. It imitates the
urbane regulation of the parent establishment,
in admitting strangers gratis for six weeks,
without introduction. A gas work, for sup-
plying the town with that necessary article,
was erected in 1828, at the expense of L.8731.
Besides the banking establishment above al-
luded to, there are the Renfrewshire" Bank,
which was commenced in 1802, and now oc-
cupies a substantial house in Shaw Place — and
a branch of the Glasgow Union Bank.

Greenock is now divided into three pa-
rishes, respectively termed the west parish, the
mid parish, and the east parish, all being form-
ed out of the original parish of Innerkip. The
first, which may be styled the mother parish
of the three, comprehends the western part of
the town, and the greater part of the country
district. Its clergyman is remarkable for the
extent of his salary, which is supposed to be
not surpassed by any other in Scotland. This
arises chiefly from his glebe, which he was
permitted to feu by an act of parliament in
1801. Hence the stipend, which, in 1796,
was only L.96 in money, with a glebe worth
L 30 yearly, is now understood to amount
nearly to a thousand pounds ! The church
stands near the shore, and is surrounded by an
old burying-ground. The Mid Parish, which
was formed out of the above in 1741, com-
prises the central parts of the town, and the
church is situated in a small square fronting
along a street which descends to the quay.

The minister's stipend is L.295. The East
Parish, erected in 1809, boasts only of a
humble place of worship, near Rue End,
which was originally erected in 1774 as a cha-
pel of ease. The salary is L.200.

The oldest dissenting place of worship is
the Original Burgher Associate Synodmeeting-
house at Cartsdyke, built in 1745, and re-con-
structed in 1828. A meeting-house of the
United Associate Synod was erected in Market
Street, 1758, but abandoned in 1802, for a more
commodious house in Innerkip Street. An-
other in the same communion was reared in
1791 ; and a Gaelic chapel of ease was erected
in the same year. The other meeting-houses
or chapels are one Congregational Union, com-
menced in 1806, a Relief in 1807, a Methodist
in 1814, a Roman Catholic in 1815, a Baptist
in 1821, a Chapel of Ease in 1823, and an
Episcopal in 1824.

Greenock is, besides all its commercial im-
portance, a manufacturing town to a consider-
able extent, though it must be confessed the
principal articles are connected with the com-
mercial pursuits of the port. Ship-building
was commenced in 1764, and has since been
carried on with much success. There are
now five establishments in this line, one of
which, belonging to Messrs. Scott and Sons,
is allowed to be the most complete in Britain,
excepting those which belong to the crown.
The yard has a fine extent of front from West
Quay to the termination of West Burn, and
a large dry dock. All the stores and differ-
ent lofts are entirely walled in; and, inde-
pendently of the building premises, there is an
extensive manufactory of chain cables. An
immense number of vessels have been launch-
ed from this place ; the largest ever built here,
or in Scotland, was the Caledonian, of 650 tons,
in 1 794, for the purpose of supplying the royal
navy with masts, &c. Boat-building is also
carried on to a great extent in Greenock ; one
builder, Mr. Nicol, in 1819, endeavoured to
give the author of the History of Greenock an
idea of the number of boats he had built, by
stating that, if put together end long, they
would reach twenty-four miles in length. In
connexion with the above works, are several
extensive roperies and manufactories of sail-
cloth. One of the most prominent branches
of manufacture in Greenock is sugar-refining,
which is here carried on to a greater extent
than anywhere else in Scotland. The first

GREENOCK.

513

house was erected about the year 1765, and
there are now seven. The straw -hat manu-
facture has been prosecuted with much eclat
by two most deserving individuals, Messrs.
James and Andrew Muir, who first began bu-
siness in 1808. To such an extent has this
branch of business been carried, that the
straw, after arriving from England, is sent
in large quantities to Orkney and the High-
lands, where it is plaited by women and
children ; and afterwards it is returned to
Greenock to be wrought into bonnets. In
1826 the Highland Society's medal and
premiums were conferred upon the Messrs.
Muir for their imitations of Leghorn bonnets,
one of which was described as comprehending
164 yards of plait, 414,720 turnings, and
410,500 stitches, the rows within an inch
being 10. The number of workers was com-
puted (1829) at from 200 to 300 in Greenock,
and about 2000 in Orkney, besides those since
employed in the west of Argyle -shire.
Other manufactories in Greenock are, — two
of silk and felt hats, a pottery, a work for flint-
glass, two manufactories of steam engines,
carried on to a large extent, an extensive
brewery, four distilleries, a bottle-work, a
chain cable work, two extensive tanneries, two
soap and candle-works, a steam saw-mill, va-
rious foundries, sail lofts ; besides which there
are numerous smaller concerns, of too common
occurrence in towns of this size to require
particular notice.

Greenock has recently been the scene of an
extraordinary exertion of mechanical power in
the formation of a series of waterfalls for
mills along the heights above the town. An
ingenious engineer, Mr. James Thorn of Rothe-
say, had perceived the possibility of collect-
ing the water of a considerable number of
small mountain streams into one channel,
which he proposed to conduct forward to the
town in such a way as, within the space of
little more than a mile, and upon a descent of
live hundred and twelve feet, should give power
to no fewer than thirty-two water mills !
A company under the title of the " Shaws
Water Company," having been formed to
carry this design into effect, with a capital of
L. 31, 000, the whole was completed in April
1827. The whole length of the aqueduct is
about six miles and a half, and, to ensure a sup-
ply of water in seasons of the greatest drought,
a large reservoir is formed upon its course.

A flax-mill, (which is a novelty in the manu-
facturing system of this district) a paper-mill,
and various flour-mills are already set a-going.
The design is also rendered subservient to
the supply of the town with water for domestic
use, a necessary with which it was formerly
but ill provided. This splendid public work
has opened up magnificent prospects to manu-
facturing enterprise in Greenock, and, whether
considered with reference to its external won-
ders, or in the above more interesting light, is
fitted to impress a stranger with a high sense
of the character of the inhabitants of Greenock.
It must be mentioned that Greenock is the
birth-place of the illustrious Watt, the perfecter
of the steam-engine, who was born in 1736.
The birth of a man of genius in a small place
which was evidently unable to educate him, or
by any other means to inspire him with the
ideas which in another scene gained him the
applause of mankind at large, is no honour ;
and when we find the magistrates, thirty years
after, binding down Wilson from the employ-
ment of his leisure hours in a harmless literary
amusement, there is even less than the usual
reason to allow any credit to Greenock on this
account. It is but justice, however, to this
enterprising town to mention, that it is not by
any means uncharacterised by an attention to
literature and science. It supports various con-
siderable libraries, and the advantages of an
observatory have long been at the command of
such individuals as take pleasure in astronomi-
cal observations. Various societies for the
cultivation of literary and scientific discourse
have been established, but invariably without
success. Printing was instituted in 1765, and
a newspaper in 1802. This journal continues
to be published twice a week, under the title
of the Greenock Advertiser, and is conducted,
like almost all the other provincial papers in
Scotland, by a gentleman of literary taste and
accomplishment. Among the hterary produc-
tions of Greenock, is to be mentioned a " His-
tory" of the town, by Mr. Daniel Weir : to
which work we have been indebted for a

great part of the matter of this article

Population in 1821, 22,088.

GREINORD, (LOCH) a bay on the
north-west coast of Ross- shire, in which lies
a small island.

GRESSALLACH, (LOCH) a bay of
the sea on the east coast of Harris, south of
East Loch Tarbet.

3 u

514

GRETNA.

GRETNA, or GRAITNEY, a parish in
the south part of Dumfries-shire, lying on the
west side of the small river Sark, and conse-
quently the first Scottish ground in entering
the country from Cumberland. It extends
about six miles along the shore of the Sohvay
Firth, and is intersected by the river Kirtle.
In breadth it is three miles, and is bounded on
tlie north by Kirkpatrick Fleming. The land
has a very gentle acclivity, and is generally
well enclosed and cultivated. The present
parish comprehends the old parishes of Gretna
and Redpatrick or Redkirk, which were united
in 1 609, by the penurious policy of the Refor-
mation. The village of Old Gretna stands in
a hollow, upon the east side of the river Kirtle,
about half a mile from the Firth .of Solway.
It is understood that the name originated in
the local situation of the village ; the Anglo-
Saxon words Gretna- how signifying the great
hollow or howe. There are other two and
more famed villages in the parish, namely,
Gretna-green and Springfield. The former lies
north of Old Gretna, and Springfield stands in
a very eligible situation on the great road from
the south into the centre of Dumfries-shire.
Gretna-green has been long noted for the cele-
bration of clandestine marriages. For some
time back the trade has been altogether carried
on at Springfield, which, being the first stage
on the public road from Carlisle, is better suit-
ed for such a purpose. Springfield was begun
to be reared in the year 1791, under the pa-
tronage and superiority of Sir William Max-
well. It is neatly and regularly built, and sur-
rounded with cottage gardens and well trimmed
fields. The little sea-port of Sarkfoot is dis-
tant about a mile. It is now upwards of seven-
ty years since the infamous traffic alluded to
was commenced by a person of the name of
Joseph Paisley, a tobacconist by profession,
and not a blacksmith, as is usually supposed.
After a long life of profanity and drunkenness,
he died so late as 1814. There are now, or
were lately, two rival practitioners, one of
whom married Paisley's grand-daughter, and
fell heir to his office. He enjoys, therefore,
the greatest share of the trade ; still the other
has a good deal of custom. In nearly all cases
it depends on the chaise-drivers from Carlisle,
•which shall have the job. Upon an average
800 couples are married in the year : and the
fee charged varies from half a guinea to L.40.
This traffic, little elevated as it is above the
22.

office of Pandarus, forms a chief support of
the village, though smuggling has lately be-
come a rising and rival means of subsistence.
In its legal effects, the ceremony performed
at Gretna or Springfield merely amounts to a
confession before witnesses that certain per-
sons are man and wife ; such an acknowledg-
ment being sufficient to constitute a valid mar-
riage in Scotland. By a certificate being sub-
scribed by the officiating priest and witnesses,
the marriage becomes quite indissoluble. In
general, the service of the church of England
is read ; but this, and indeed the whole cere-
mony, is only done to stifle the qualms of the
lady. An attempt was made in the General
Assembly of the kirk of Scotland in 1826, to
have this shameful system of fraud and pro-
fanity suppressed, but without effect. Until
a judicious equalization shall take place in the
marriage laws of the two kingdoms, now so
absurdly discrepant, or till the improved morals
of England shall cause young persons to start
with proper horror at the indecency of a clan-
destine union, we apprehend that the system
is incorrigible — Population in 1821, 1945.

GREY MARE'S TAIL, a noted cata-
ract in the northern wilds of Dumfries-shire,
nearly ten miles north-east from the village of
Moffat. It is formed by a small stream, run-
ning between Loch Skene, a lonely mountain
tarn, and the Moffat Water. The stream, in
descending to the vale of Moffat, is precipi-
tated over a rock 300 feet in height, impeded
in the fall only by slight projecting ledges,
which produce the appearance indicated by
the name.

GREINBUSTERHOLM, a small islet
of the Orkneys, near Stromness.

GRIMS AY, a small island of the Hebrides,
situated west of Rona Island, between North
Uist and Benbecula.

GRIMSHADDER, (LOCH) a narrow
arm of the sea on the east side of Lewis, south
of Loch Stornoway.

GROAY, an islet on the coast of Harris.
GROINARD, a small island on the west
coast of Ross-shire.

GRUGAG, a small river in the north-
eastern part of Ross-shire, parish of Edderton,
on which there is a cataract of 300 feet in
height.

GRANNOCH, (LOCH) a small lake in
the parish of Girthon, in the stewartry of Kirk-
cudbright. It abounds in charr.

GULANE.

5Ifl

GRYFE, a river in Renfrewshire, which
has its sources in the western part of the coun-
ty, among the hills south from Greenock, and
receives, in its course to the east, various ac-
cessions from both sides, but especially from
the extensive moss of Kilmalcolm on the south
border of that parish. Its course is serpentine,
but generally smooth. Formerly Renfrew-
shire received from this stream the general
name of Strathgryfe, which, however, is now
confined to the vale immediately formed by the
stream, and is used only in popular parlance.
In the latter part of its course it tends to the
north, and joins the Black Cart at Walkinshaw.
The united stream finally unites with the
White Cart at a creek on the left bank of the
Clyde. It yields good trout and perch, and is
serviceable to different large works.

GULANE, or GOOLAN, a small vil-
lage in the parish of Dirleton, Haddington-
shire, near the sea coast. It is irregularly
built, but possesses several good modern
houses. Its name is derived from the British
word Go-Lyn, signifying a little lake or pool ;
and till this day there is a pond near the vil-
lage. Gulane is famed for the extensive sandy
downs slightly covered with herbage, which
spread away from it in a south-westerly direc-
tion towards Aberlady. These links are the
habitation of vast numbers of gray rabbits, and
are farmed as a warren at a considerable rent.
In consequence of the excellence of these downs
for coursing, Gulane is considered one of the
best places in Scotland for rearing and training
race or fine riding horses, and of these animals
from eighty to a hundred are trained annually.
At one period Gulane was the capital of the
parish to which it gave its name. On the
east side of the links stand the ruins of
the ancient kirk, which- was dedicated to St.
Andrew, and was well endowed. In 1612 the
seat of worship was removed by act of par-
liament to Dirleton, at which place a chapel
had been erected in the reign of Alexander
III. by the family of De Vallibus or Vaux.
It is mentioned by Grose, that the last vicar
of the church of Gulane, before its abandon-
ment, was deposed from his living by James
VI. for no other misdemeanour than that of
smoking tobacco, a custom which the king

held in abhorrence ; but we take the liberty,
like that cautious and erudite antiquary George
Chalmers, of doubting the correctness of such
a tradition. Besides this ecclesiastical esta-
blishment, there was in early times in its
neighbourhood a small monastic institution,
said to have been a cell of the Cistertian nuns
of Berwick-upon-Tweed. The piety of an-
cient times erected yet another religious house
in this vicinity. On the small bleak island of
Fidra, lying off the coast, was once an eccle-
siastical structure, but by whom peopled is
now unknown. It has however been ascer-
tained, that it acted as a Lazaretto in times of
severe plague. Its windows were likewise
serviceable to mankind in acting as beacons to
warn the unwary mariner from the dangers of
an unsafe shore. At one time there was a
passage boat which sailed regularly to the op-
posite coast of Fife, but such a convenience
has been long in desuetude. At a place at
Gulane Ness — the most prominent part of tlie
shore — ironstone was in recent times wrought
to a considerable extent for the Carron works.

GULBEIN, a mountain stream in Locha-
ber, flowing northward and joining the Spean
about a mile below the place where the latter
issues from Loch Laggan. In the triangle
formed by these rivers and the end of Loch
Laggan, there is a very considerable extent of
table land, evidently of the same formation as
the parallel roads of Glenroy, with one of
which it is understood exactly to correspond in
level.

GUNNA, an islet belonging to Argyle-
shire, lying between Coll and Tiree.

GUTHRIE, a parish in Forfarshire, lying
between Aberlemno on the south-west and
Kinnel on the south-east. It is divided in a very
incommodious manner into two parts, lying
six miles apart from each other. The surface
is only partly arable, and from the top of the
hill of Guthrie the land generally descends to
the south and south-east. The parish had a
collegiate church prior to the Reformation,
with a provost and three prebendaries. It
is under the patronage of the Guthries of
that ilk, one of whom was slain at the battle
of Flodden.— Population in 1821, 555,

516

HADDINGTONSHIRE.

HA A, an islet on the north coast of Suther-
landshire.

HAAY, an islet of the Hebrides on the
coast of Harris.

HABBIE'S HOWE, a locality alluded to
in the Scottish pastoral comedy of Ramsay,
is a secluded natural hollow on the banks of a
rivulet called Monk's-burn, a tributary of the
North Esk, within the northern verge of
Peebles-shire. The scenery all around this
spot coincides with the allusions to different
places in the above charming production. It
is annually visited, in the summer months, by
parties from Edinburgh, from which it is dis-
tant about twelve miles, by a road along the
south base of the Pentland hills.

HADDINGTONSHIRE, or EAST
LOTHIAN, a county in the south-east part
of Scotland, bounded by Berwickshire on the
south, Edinburghshire, or Mid-Lothian, on the
west, and the Firth of Forth upon the north
and east. The rivulet of Dunglas separates
it for about two miles from the county of Ber-
wick, and a similar streamlet, Ravenshaugh
burn, separates it for about half a mile from
Edinburghshire. The mean length of the
county is twenty-three miles. Its breadth
at the west end is twelve miles, in the middle
sixteen, and at the east end ten miles. By
the most accurate measurements, its surface
presents an area of two hundred and eighty
square miles. The early history of this agree-
able county is so intimately associated with
that of the shire of Edinburgh, which has been
already patiently elucidated, that to avoid
repetition little may here be said. . Its origi-
nal inhabitants, both before and after the intru-
sion of the Romans, were the British Gadeni,
as is everywhere signified by the names of
streams, hills, and hamlets. These people at
length sunk under those Anglo-Saxons, whose
head-residence was the castle of Edinburgh.
During the sixth century, the Saxon settlers
and the more obscure aborigines were chris-
tianized through the exertions of the pious
Baldred, whose cell was at Tyningham. The
Saxons of this part of Lothian were sometimes
overcome by the Picts, after the battle of Drum-
nechton, and they were finally overpowered by
the Scots, after the suppression of the Pictish
power. With other parts of the Lothians, the
district was ceded in 1020 to Malcolm II. In
succeeding centuries, the shire suffered the hoi'-"

rors of pillage and conflagration, on all occasions
of the armies of England being sent to in-
vade the country, and to molest or punish the
capital. Presenting an excellent theatre of
warfare for contending forces, and being rich
in agricultural produce, it gave frequently an
advantageous field of battle to the English
and Scots. In 1296, and again in 1650 the
sanguinary battles of Dunbar were fought
within it, and in 1745 it was the scene of
the battle of Prestonpans, since which pe-
riod it has enjoyed the utmost repose. The
county of Haddington is divided into high-
lands and lowlands — the former being inland,
and the latter adjacent to the coast. The
highland territory is part of the extensive
range of mountains called the Lammermoor-
hills. These hills are chiefly brown heaths,
fit only for sheep pasture, and at other times,
especially near their northern boundaries, they
are susceptible of cultivation, and .yield toler-
ably good crops, though generally late. From
the Lammermoor hills, the land, with few inter-
ruptions, declines in the most pleasing and
gentle manner towards the shore of the Firth of
Forth. In the south-eastern part of the
county, the ground, after descending the hills,
is flat for several miles, and here its productive
powers are greatest. On the western confines,
the Lammermoor hills decline into the rich vale
of the Tyne, between which and the sea there
is a low swelling hilly range, proceeding out of
Edinburghshire, which fades away near the
town of Haddington on the east, while a branch
leaves it near its termination, called the Garle-
ton hills, and pursues an easterly course. This
latter range shuts out the view of the eastern
part of the county in looking from Edinburgh.
Besides these hills the shire possesses two con-
spicuous conical mounts, one near the centre, be-
low Haddington, called Traprain Law, and the
other near the sea, called North-Berwick Law,
being close upon the town of that name. The
appellation of Traprain hill we accept as an
evidence of the former condition of the shire.
The higher country was at one period abun-
dantly covered with wood and shrubberies, as
were the higher parts of Edinburghshire, and
nothing can be more significant of such a fact
than the great number of names throughout
the district composed of the word wood, oak or
shaw — as Wood-hall, Wood-house, Oaken-gill,
Cran.^n?(.; gjC< jjy t]lc etymology of the term

HADDINGTONSHIRE.

517

Traprain, or Traprene, which means " beyond
the trees" in the Cam bro- British tongue, we are
enabled to conjecture, with a probability of be-
ing correct, that the low country in this quarter
was uncovered by such primeval forests. The
next most conspicuous elevation is the Bass, a
huge rocky islet, about two miles from the
shore, and sufficiently described in its proper
place. So commodiously has nature disposed
the surface of East Lothian into ranges of
hills and fertile dales, that some tourists, from
topographical retrospection, have declared Had-
dingtonshire to be the Northampton of North
Britain. Haddingtonshire has few waters, and
none of particular import. Its chief river is the
Tyne, which flows through the flat part of the
county to the sea, at Tyningham. It is easily
flooded, and on such occasions sometimes com-
mits great havock upon the crops. The shire
has no natural lakes, but this destitution of wa-
ters seems no way injurious to the district, and
is amply made up by the Firth of Forth, which
yields a large supply of iish and sea ware. The
greater part of the shire lies upon a bed of
granite, and nearly the whole is full of pit-coal.
This useful mineral was here dug as early as the
beginning of the thirteenth century, if not earlier.
Limestone and marie are also abundant. Sand-
stone is likewise plentiful, but, though durable,
is generally of an ugly red colour. We learn
from George Chalmers, who had consulted the
charters, that during the reigns of David I. Mal-
colm IV- and William the Lion, the large area
of Haddingtonshire was the possession of only
a few barons, who at their pleasure disposed
of not only the lands but the men who lived
upon them, without any hinderance — (" cum
nativis, et eorum sequela.") In these times
the kings, the nobles, and the churchmen were
all agriculturists in East Lothian, every manor
having its hamlet, its church, its mill, its kiln,
and its brewhouse — all attributes of a country
teeming with rural wealth. The monks, in
particular, were keen husbandmen, and by
their skill gave the county its first character
for agricultural superiority. They were also,
as has been seen in Edinburghshire, the pa-
irons of horticulture, and by their taste and
activity operating on a kindly soil, there were
excellent gardens and orchards in the county as
early as the twelfth century — an amazing an-
tiquity for such things in Scotland. Pulse
seems to have been an article of cultivation in
the shire in the thirteenth centurv, as is attest-

ed by the fact of the English soldiers, during
their siege of Dirleton castle in 1298, having
subsisted on the pease which grew in the ad-
jacent fields. The thriving state of the agri-
culture of the shire in the fourteenth century,
is gathered from a casual expression of For-
dun. He tells us that in 1336 East-Lothian
was involved in warfare, and its agriculture
impeded, by the outrage committed by Alan
of Wyntoun, in carrying off, by violence, one
of the daughters of the Earl of Seton. So
great was the ferment on this occasion, says
he, that in one year it suspended the labour of
a hundred ploughs. The fertility of East-
Lothian in the seventeenth century is ascer-
tained by a passage in Whitelock's Memoirs,
where it is told that the English soldiers
who accompanied Cromwell in his expedition
into Scotland in 1650, were astonished to find
in that district " the greatest plenty of corn
they ever saw, not one of the fields being fal-
low," although the grain was much trodden
down and wasted by the march of the army,
and by the dragoons giving the wheat to their
horses. Notwithstanding these commenda-
tions, it may be honestly allowed, that at this
and a later period the agriculture of the shire
was still in a primitive rude state, while
all the old clumsy instruments of culture were
prevalent. The era of georgical improvement
in the shire has been placed at the Union of
1707. At this auspicious period the county
was fortunate in possessing some men distin-
guished as much for their patriotism, and desire
of promoting the melioration of the soil and
climate, as for their eminent rank. The first
park or pleasure-ground in the shire was one
containing 500 acres, which was formed by the
Duke of Lauderdale, during the reign of
Charles II., in the parish of Haddington. He
surrounded it by a wall twelve feet in height,
and, through the wealth he had accumulated
by the plunder of the country, embellished it
in an extraordinary degree. At the dawn of
the improving era, Lord Belhaven endeavoured
to induce agricultural experiments and better
modes of farming ; but it was left for Thomas,
the sixth Earl of Haddington, to lead the way
as an operative improver. This nobleman's
wife, Helen, the sister of Charles, the first
Earl of Hopetoun, had the merit of discover-
ing that trees might be raised on the low
grounds round the seat of the Hadding-
ton family at Tyningham. Lord Hadding-

518

HADDINGTONSHIRE.

ton, in his Treatise on the raising of forest
trees, relates the circumstances attendant on
this event, in so satisfactory and unaffected a
manner, that we give place to his own words :
" When I came," says he, " to live in this
place [Tyningham], there were not above four-
teen acres set with trees. I believe the rea-
son was, that it was a received notion, in this
country, that no trees would grow here, be-
cause of the sea air, and the north-east winds.
My grandfather came late to the estate, and
the civil wars of Charles I. did not permit him
to stay at home ; but when they were over, he
tried to raise some trees, which he planted
round the house and garden. My father suc-
ceeded him, who, as I have been told, both
loved and understood planting : he began to
plant, to drain, and to enclose his grounds to
very good purpose ; but his father-in-law dying,
he went to take possession of the estate, in
right of my mother, who was heiress, and set-
tled at Leslie, (in Fife), where he planted a
great deal. [This was Margaret, the eldest
daughter of John, Duke of Rothes, who died
in 1681 ; and his heiress died in 1700.] As
I was then very young, I staid at Leslie, with
my mother, and Tyningham was let to tenants :
They pulled up the hedges, ploughed down
the banks, and let the drains fill up ; so that
when I came to reside here, every thing of
that kind was in ruins, except the thickets to
the east and west of the house. As I was not
then of age, I took pleasure in sports, dogs,
and horses ; but had no manner of inclination
to plant, enclose, or improve my grounds ; but
being at last obliged to make some enclosures,
for grazing my horses, I found the cropping of
hay very expensive ; this made me wish to
have enough of my own ; yet, I did little or
nothing of that kind for some years. But as
my wife was a great lover of. planting, she did
what she could to engage me in it ; but in
vain. At last she asked leave to go about
it, which she did : And I was much pleased
with some little things that were both well
laid out, and executed, though none of them
are now to be seen — for when the designs
grew more extensive, we were forced to take
away what was first done. The first Marquis
of Tweeddale, [who died 1697,] my Lord Ran-
keilor, [who died 1707,] Sir William Bruce
and my father, with some others, had planted
a great deal. Yet I will be bold to say, that
planting was not well understood in this coun-

try till this century began [1701.] I think it
was the late Earl of Mar that first introduced
the wilderness way of planting amongst us,
and very much improved the taste of our gen-
tlemen, who very soon followed his example.
I had given over my fondness for sport, and
began to like planting better than I had done ;
and I resolved to have a wilderness." This
account was dated at Tyningham in 1733 ; and
whatsoever may be the merit due to the in-
dividuals his lordship mentions, looking to the
result, it was he who was the first great
planter in the shire. The trees he reared are
all of the hard-wood kind, and now form the
most magnificent forest in the lowlands of
Scotland. The shire, since his time, has very
much progressed in the amount of its planta-
tions, and by a late computation, it owned
about 6000 acres under natural and artificial
woods. The same Earl, farther, through the
means of some English servants he had with
him, introduced the practice of sowing grass-
seeds. After the Union, Cockburn of Ormis-
ton, by his example, and the encouragement
he gave to enterprising tenants, in introducing
long leases, did much to promote (he agricul-
tural interests of the county. About the
same time the famed Fletcher of Salton, after
his political career was terminated by the
Union, did also much to improve the hus-
bandry of his native district. A very con-
spicuous improvement was brought about
in the year 1710, by this individual. Pa-
tronizing a mill-wright of the name of Meikle,
he carried him to Holland, to pick up inven-
tions, and from thence introduced the fanners,
Meikle also formed a mill at Salton, on a new
plan, which manufactured decorticated barley,
which was thenceforth known as Salton bar-
ley. The introduction of the barley-mill turn-
ed out to be a vast improvement in this and
other shires. Throughout the last century, there
seems to have been a series of individuals of
high and low rank in the shire, who emulated
each other in the introduction of improved
modes of husbandly. We learn that fallowing
was made known for its usefulness at the be-
ginning of the century by John Walker, tenant
in Beanston ; that in 1736, Mr. Wight, Ormis-
ton, an enthusiastic agriculturist, introduced
horse- hoeing husbandry, in all its vigou:,
raised excellent turnips and cabbages, and fed
cattle and sheep to perfection ; that the pota-
to was introduced into the shire in 1740,

HADDINGTONSHIRE.

519

which was an unproductive year, but that this
useful root was first raised in fields about the
year 1 75<t, by a farmer named Hay, of Aber-
lady ; that Patrick, Lord Elibank, and Sir Hew
Dalrymple, have equally the credit of making
known the practice of hollow draining ; that two
farmers of the name of Cunningham were the
first to level and straighten ridges ; and that
John, Marquis of Tweeddale, and Sir George
Suttie, were the earliest and most successful
essayists of turnip husbandry. Through such
means, and the rise of prices consequent on the
wars of the French revolution, East Lothian
might have been pronounced at the beginning of
the present century, as standing at the very head
of the improved districts. This honourable
distinction, which it seems determined to main-
tain, as well as to lead the way in the adoption
of improvements relative to rural affairs, has
been considerably enhanced by the institution
of agricultural societies. Before the year 1743,
there was a farming society established at
Ormiston ; yet it was not till the establish-
ment of a similar institution in 1804, that such
were of extensive utility. In that year the
late General Fletcher of Salton set on foot
and patronized a farmers' society, which was
supported by several of the most respectable
and intelligent of the tenantry. It held its
meetings at Salton, where questions were dis-
cussed, and prizes given for the best essays on
agricultural subjects. After the death of its
patron, it fell into decay, the place of meeting
being found inconvenient to the generality of
members. The field being thus left open, a
new society was instituted in 1819-20, by the
exertions of the most influential and talented
agriculturists in the county, and having effect-
ed a junction with the members of the original
Salton Society, it assumed the name of the
" United East Lothian Agricultural Society."
It has for its presidents the Marquis of
Tweeddale, and the Earls of Wemyss, Hadding-
ton, and Lauderdale, while many other county
noblemen and gentlemen appear in the list
of its vice-presidents, &c. The chief objects
of the society are the encouragement of an im-
proved system of cropping, the introduction of
a superior breed of horses, cattle, and sheep,
&c. and for these purposes, prizes chiefly in
pieces .of plate of considerable value are
occasionally awarded, and public shows of
animals of different kinds are held at stated [
periods. The head-quarters of the society are

in Haddington; but it has one meeting at
Gifford and another at Salton, in the course of
the year. The funds of the society arise from
the yearly contributions of the members, and
the interest of L.500, originally bequeathed by
General Fletcher. Within the last seventy
years, no individuals have done so much for
accelerating the agriculture and improving the
breeds of cattle as the Rennies of Phantassie.
Mr. James Rennie (who died 1766) was
esteemed one of the most active and intel-
ligent men of his time ; and, among the far-
mers of the old school, was considered a
pattern of good management. He kept strong
and powerful horses, ploughed his land sub-
stantially, straightened all his ridges, built
the largest corn-stacks in the country, and, in
short, carried on all his operations with a de-
gree of energy and precision which few of his
neighbours were capable of imitating. After
his death his example was emulated by his son
George Rennie, who was born in 1749. The
success of the second Rennie as a practical
agriculturist soon came to be generally known ;
and the accurate arrangements of his farm
were a theme of praise, as well as an incentive
to emulation, among the most discerning of
his neighbours. His property was completely
fenced, thoroughly drained, well manured, and
most perfectly cleaned of every kind of annual
weed. This was effected by drilled crops, which
were horse-hoed, hand-hoed, and thereafter, if
necessary, hand-picked. In short, his whole
operations were conducted in such a masterly
style, and the culture of his farm in every re-
spect so perfect, that it was not only vastly in-
creased in productive quality, but had the ap-
pearance of a well-kept garden. Mr. Rennie,
moreover, caused the introduction of the drum
thrashing-mill, which was made by Andrew
Meikle, from a copy of an imperfect machine at
Wark. This active improver died only a few
years since. The late Robert Brown, Markle,
author of a Treatise on Rural Affairs, and
original editor of the Farmers' Magazine, dis-
tinguished himself not only by his writings, but
by his practical operations; and many other per-
sons, whose names our limits preclude the ad-
mission, have been also remarkable as the friends
of agricultural improvement in this shire.
Summing up our remarks, it may now be ad-
mitted that Haddingtonshire is pre-eminent as
a district, whose excellent agriculture may
challenge that of any other place in the whole

520

HADDINGTONSHIRE.

world ; and whether we consider its fair ex-
panse of fertile fields, its thriving fences and
plantations, or its intelligent and industrious
population, we are equally delighted with the
prospect. In recent times the farms have been
extended in size ; at present they vary from
two to five hundred acres, while many exceed
that amount. Steam, as an agent for moving
thrashing-mills, is extending in its operation,
and there are already, we believe, upwards of
twenty such engines employed. Notwith-
standing the productive qualities of the shire,
and the advantages we have attempted to enu-
merate, it is a fact no less accurate than painful
to relate, that many of the tenants in the county
are not in a prosperous condition, a circum-
stance which, we are informed, is to be traced,
first, to extravagantly high rents, which were in
many cases fixed prior to the decline of the
war prices, or were heightened by the mad
competition of the farmers themselves ; second,
to the lamentable failure of the East Lothian
Banking Company, which was rained by the
knavery of its principal functionary ; and,
third, to the insufficiency of the wheat crop
for several years. This staple product of
the shire, and on which the tenants of all the
lower part of the district rely for the means of
paying their landlords, has been destroyed for
three years by the ravages of the wheat-fly, an
insect whose progress can neither be seen nor
prevented by any known means. The pro-
duce has thus been often diminished one-half,
and in some cases two-thirds. This pest,
which seems to have first settled in this coun-
ty, has, for the last two years, been more
widely diffused through Scotland, and, we un-
derstand, it has now considerably abated in
East Lothian. The intelligence and public
spirit of the farmers of Haddingtonshire, we
are glad to find, is not unsupported by the pea-
santry and body of working classes in towns
and villages, who likewise secure the willing
commendations of the present writers for their
sobriety and industry. By the subsequent ar-
ticle, Haddington, it will be perceived that at
that place there sprung up a mechanics' institu-
tion at a period earlier than was the case any-
where but in Glasgowand Edinburgh, anditcon-
tinues, as well as a similar establishment at Dun-
bar, to be conducted on the best principles. It
is not, however, to this, but to another and yet
more obscure, though equally useful institu-
tion, of general application, that we wish to

direct the attention of the reflective part of
our readers. We allude to the establishment of
what are styled itinerating libraries. To whom
the merit is due of inventing this almost ma-
gical mode of circulating books we have never
heard, but whoever he was, his name deserves
to take its place alongside of the inventors of
paper and of printing. With an obscurity
hanging over this circumstance, we can state
with precision that the practice was first made
known in East Lothian, and very gready
improved by the indefatigable and philanthropic
Mr. Samuel Brown, merchant in Haddington,
son of the late Rev. Dr. John Brown of that
place. Itinerating libraries consist of a series of
parcels of books, each parcel containing different
works, which are stationed on a ramified scheme
throughout a given number of villages or ham-
lets ; and when the parcel is outread at one
place, it is moved on to another station, whose
parcel goes to the next place, and so on in an
endless chain. The advantages of this pro-
cess of multiplying libraries is at once observ-
ed. Hitherto the fault of all country libra-
ries has been, that the readers, in time, perused
the whole stock of books, and then the insti-
tution declined for lack of a sufficient supply
of fresh materiel. Here this evil is complete-
ly obviated, for there is procured a permanent
juvenescence in the establishments, at the
most moderate expense. Accoiding to Mr.
Brown's mode, there is a head station, where
the books lie for some time, after which they
are sorted and put in operation. The system
pursued by this gentleman we give by an ex-
tract from a communication with him on the
subject. " The plan of itinerating libraries
was introduced in 18! 7, and it has been at-
tended with a degree of success unexampled in
the history of reading associations. It com-
menced with five divisions of fifty volumes
each; and there are now (1830) upwards of
2000 volumes belonging to the institution.
The new books are kept for a few years at the
head library at Haddington for the use of sub-
scribers, and afterwards they are arranged into
divisions of fifty volumes, and stationed in the
towns and villages of the country for two
years, when they are removed and exchanged.
The regular removal and supply of new divi-
sions has excited and kept up such a disposi-
tion to read, that in several stations there is
frequently not a volume left in the library-box.
To persons acquainted with the issues from

HADDINGTONSHIRE.

521

the usual settled libraries of 2000 volumes, or
even of a much smaller number, and of thir-
teen years' standing, the following statement
will appear almost incredible. The issues of
books at Haddington to the subscribers have
been nearly eight and a half times per annum
for every volume kept for them. The gratui-
tous issues at Haddington have been seven
and a half times every volume ; at Gifford,
Saltan, Aberlady, North Berwick, Belhaven,
and Spott, they have been seven times every
volume ; and the issues of the whole establish-
ment, so far as reported, have been on an
average five times for every volume, or 10,000
issues of 2000 volumes." It may farther be
stated that the divisions of books are all kept
in boxes, or presses, and deposited with care-
ful individuals. In all cases these librarians
have acted gratuitously. It is suggested that the
presbyterial divisions of the country might with
advantage be chosen for the establishing of a
round of divisions, and that the parochial school-
masters, in many cases, might be the best indivi-
duals to commit them to. Mr. Brown continues
— " Some years ago I printed a statement, show-
ing that a society with L.300 a-year, would, in
twenty years, furnish two libraries for every
parish in Scotland, by lending a division at
L. 1,5s. a-year, and applying the proceeds, with
their income, in purchasing new divisions. I
am about to publish a calculation, to show that
a British and Foreign Itinerating Library So-
ciety in London, with an annual income of
L.5000, would by its assistance and example
supply Europe, or the reading part of the
whole world, with such libraries. With the
assistance of some Jamaica proprietors, and
the Scottish Missionary Society, I am about
to send out four divisions to Jamaica, so as to
prove the suitableness of the plan to our colo-
nies. Already twelve divisions were got up
last summer, chiefly by the exertions of an
Edinburgh lady, and sent to our North Ame-
rican colonies. A few years ago a society
was formed in Edinburgh for supplying Mid
Lothian; but not having been supported, it
did not commence operations." We need say
no more of these institutions, which, if pro-
perly managed, and supported by donations
from gentlemen who have large libraries of
books, many of which go to wreck on the
shelves, while they might be diffusing their
concentrated knowledge ove*- the country, we
have no doubt would soon be propagated over

every shire in the kingdom. We shall be grati-
fied to learn that these observations have led to
a trial, in other places, of the practicability and
efficacy of such establishments. We have rea-
son to believe that Mr. Brown, whose zeal
deserves the highest praise, will readily give
every information on the subject Hadding-
tonshire comprehends twenty-four parishes;
three royal burghs, namely, Haddington, Dun-
bar, and North Berwick ; and the populous
towns and villages of Prestonpans, Tranent,
Aberlady, Belhaven, Ormiston, Dirleton, Sten.
ton, Tynninghame, Cockenzie, East Linton.
Gifford, Saltan, &c. The trade and manufac-
tures of the district, which are not extensive,
are carried on in these places, and we refer to
the individual heads for information on this
topic. The valued rental of the lands in the
shire in 1811 amounted to L. 180,654, and ot
houses, L.6870, all sterling money. The po-
pulation in 1821 amounted to 16,828 males,
18,299 females; total, 35,127. Of these,
there were 3009 families chiefly employed in
agriculture, -2947 families chiefly employed in
trade, manufactures, or handicraft, and 1978
families not employed in any of these classes.
Haddington, a parish in the above county,
extending seven miles in length from west to
east, by a general breadth of about five, though
in one part, at the middle, its breadth is not less
than eight miles; bounded on the north by part
of Gladsmuir, Aberlady, and Athelstaneford,
on the east by Preston-kirk and Morham, on
the south by Yester and Bolton, and on the
west by Gladsmuir. This inland part of the
county lies higher than the flat lands further to
the east, but it is generally fertile anS of great
beauty, as regards its luxuriant plantations and
enclosures, its well-cultivated fields, and its
verdant parks. It is intersected from west to
east by the Tyne, a small river, whose banks
within the parish are ornamented by the seats
of Clerkington, Amisfield and Stevenston. In
the southern part of the parish stand the seats
of Lennox Love or Lethington, and Cols-
toun. The former is the principal curiosity
in the neighbourhood of Haddington, and is
situated in a fine plain, a mile to the south. It
consists in a massive old tower, and a modern
addition. The ancient part was erected by the
Giffords ; and as a specimen of the strong and
lofty, is matched by no fortalice in Scotland,
with, perhaps, the exception of Cassillis in
Ayrshire. It came bv purchase into the hands
3x

522

HADDINGTON,

of the Lauderdale family about the end of the
fourteenth century, and was the chief residence
of that family during the period when its re-
presentatives were so noted for their state ser-
vices. It was here that Sir Richard Maitland,
when blind with age, dictated his poetical pieces
to his daughter Mary, and here that Secretary
Lethington laid the crafty plans which have so
distinguished his name in Scottish history.
Their relative John, Duke of Lauderdale —
the infamous Lauderdale — also was born and
spent many years of his life in this castle, which
he only ceased to occupy as his country house,
on enlarging Thirlstane Castle at Lauder, to-
wards the end of his career. Lethington Cas-
tle must have always derived more beauty than
strength from its situation. It rises from
ground perfectly level, and thus is surrounded
not by the cliff or the moat, but by the more
agreeable features of a garden domain. A
grove of lofty aged trees, mingled with the
minuter beauties of shrubbery and flower-plots,
hems it closely round ; at a greater distance, it
is fenced from the less lovely and lordly part of
the world by an extensive park, protected by a
vast rampart-like wall. Its orchards, which
produced the fruit famed under the name of
Lethington apples ; its alleys green, one of
which is still called the Politician's Walk, from
having been used by the secretary; its "knottis"
and arbours ; its " bow-buts" and its thousand
" pleasours ma," have all been commemorated
in an ancient poem preserved by Mr. Pinkerton
in his " Ancient Scottish Poems." The finest
sight at Lennox Love is a full length portrait
of Frances Theresa Stuart, Duchess of Lennox,
the most admired beauty of the court of Charles
II., and the object of the passion of that sove-
reign himself, who endeavoured for her sake to
divorce his queen, and disgraced Lord Claren-
don for not preventing her marriage to his
cousin. It is reported by Grammont, that the
king caused this lady's person to be immor-
talized, by having it represented as the emble-
matical figure Britannia on the copper coin of
the realm. She was a daughter of Walter
Stuart, M.D., a son of the first Lord Blan-
tyre ; and Lethington got the additional name
of " Lennox Love," from being a compliment
to ber from her husband, by which means it
came into the family of Blantyre. The portrait
mentioned, which is by Lely, represents a tall
woman, with that voluptuous completeness of
feature and person which seems, perhaps from
22.

the taste of the painter or of the times, to
characterise in so peculiar a manner the beau-
ties of this reign. Besides this bewitching
portrait there are other excellent ones of Queen
Mary, the admirable Crichton, the Marquis of
Montrose, and Lord Belhaven. To the south,
within sight of Lethington, stands the mansion-
house of Colstoun, the seat of the ancient family
of Brown of Colstoun, now in the posses-
sion of its representative, the Countess of Dal-
housie. This place is chiefly worthy of atten-
tion, on account of a strange heir-loom with
which the welfare of the family was formerly
supposed to be connected, namely, a pear which
has existed in all probability five hundred years,
and which is disposed in some secure part of
the house, so as to be out of the reach of all
danger. The story connected with the " Cols-
toun Pear" is mentioned in Crawford's Peer-
age, and is also a matter of popular tradition.

Haddington, a royal burgh, the capital of
Haddingtonshire, and the above parish, is com-
modiously and pleasantly situated on the left
bank of the Tyne, on the great road betwixt
the English and Scottish capitals, at the dis-
tance of sixteen and a half miles from Edin-
burgh, eleven from Dunbar, and thirty eight
from Berwick-upon-Tweed. It is reported to
be a town of great antiquity ; and by our more
cautious antiquaries is presumed to have been
the place of settlement of a Saxon chief, named
Halden or Haden, the son of Eadulph, from
whom its designation has been derived. Others
have deduced the name from Ada, the daugh-
ter of the Earl Warren, who was married in
1139, to Henry, the son and heir of David I.,
as this territory was settled on her ; but this
etymon, we suspect, is advanced without the
consideration that the name of Hadintun — the
Hadina of Cambden, and the Hadintona of
Fordun — was in use when this lady entered on
possession of the lands. There is, or was, a
place in Lincolnshire with the same name, and,
as we suppose, having its title from the same
origin. Haddington comes into notice in re-
cords in the twelfth century as a demesne
town of the Scottish king. David I. occupied
it as his burgh, with a church, a mill, and other
apurtenances of a manor. Ada, who afterwards
possessed it, was attentive to its interests, and
influenced by her piety, founded here, in the
year 1178, a convent of Cistertian nuns, which
she consecrated to the Virgin, and endowed
with the lands of Clerkington. The lands

HADDINGTON.

52S

commonly called the Nunlands, now named
Huntington, belonged likewise to the nuns of
this place, together with the churches of Ath-
elstaneford, and Crail in Fife, with their tithes.
Eve, prioress of Haddington, is one of the
subscribers to Ragman's roll in 1296. The
fine manors and wealth of this monastery tempt-
ed the cupidity of the neighbouring barons, and
it appears that in 1471, the lairds of Yester and
Maker ston actually seized, without the least
pretence of justice, the lands called the Nun-
hopes, which they retained till compelled by
the privy council and parliament to restore them
to their helpless female owners. Such was the
anarchy of the times, that some time after-
wards the nuns had to raise fortifications round
their different granges, to protect them from
the aristocratic thieves in the vicinity. In
1548 the Scottish estates, under Arran, met in
the nunnery, and resolved on sending the young
queen to France. When the Reformation
took place, the prioress, who was dame Eliza-
beth Hepburn, was ordered to give a statement
of the monastic estates, with a view to their
confiscation and the suppression of the house.
In February 1561, this lady, the last of the
prioresses, complied with this imperative man-
date. She reported her revenues to be L.308,
17s. 6d. annually, besides seven chalders and
eleven bolls of wheat, and stated that there
were eighteen nuns in the convent who were
each allowed L.4 yearly for clothes, four bolls
of wheat, and three bolls of meal, with eight-
pence a-day for flesh and fish. The queen
conferred the greater part of the lands on her
secretary, William Maitland, Sir Richard's eld-
est son. There was also a monastery of Francis-
can or Grey friars at Haddington, where the
first Lord Seton was buried 1441, who it
seems was one of its chief benefactors, as he
gave the monks a right to take six loads of
coals weekly from his coal-pit of Tranent, and
the value of three pounds annually out of the
Barns. The monastery was defaced by Edward
I. The choir of the church, which is now in
ruins, was anciently called Lucerna Laudoniae
• — the Lamp of Lothian, because of its beautiful
structure, and on account of its being kept con-
stantly lighted, and therefore rendered visible
from a great distance by night. Fordun thus
describes the edifice as it existed in his time —
the fourteenth century : " Opus certe quod
sumptuosum erat, ac totius patrke illius sola-
tium singulare, cujus chorus quidem, ob lumi-

nis claritatem, Lucerna Laudoniae vocabatur."
On the east side of the Nungate stand the
ruins of a chapel dedicated to St. Martin.
To return to the history of the town. On the
demise of Ada, the kind patroness of Had-
dington, it became the property of her son,
William the Lion ; and here, says the minute
George Chalmers, in 1180, was decided the
famous controversy between the monks of
Melrose and Richard Morville, the constable,
about the forest and pasture on the Gala and
Leader, before William with his brother Earl
David, and many clergy and laymen, who set-
tled the dispute in favour of the Monks. In
1198, was born at Haddington, to William and
Ermengard, their son, Alexander, (II.), who
succeeded to the Scottish throne. During
those joyous times, throughout the three reigns
of David I., Malcolm IV-, and William,
Haddington seems not to have felt the miseries
of war. It was first involved in warfare, after
Alexander II. had taken part with the Eng-
lish barons against their unworthy sovereign.
In 1216, it was burnt by King John. In
1242, it was the scene of the assassination of
Patrick Earl of Athole, whose house was
burnt at the same time- In 1244, the town
was again burnt, but by accident, and in the
same year, a number of Scottish burghs suffered
a similar fate. Haddington has also to deplore
the devastation of water at different times.
The Tyne, which is fed by streams from the
Lammermoor hills, seems to have been parti-
cularly liable to overflow its banks. One of
its most disastrous inundations was that of
1358, when whole villages were swept off, be-
sides trees, out-field moveables, and human
beings, and the very existence of Haddington
was imminently threatened. On the flood ap-
proaching the monastery, it is related that a
nun taking up the statue of the Virgin,
threatened to throw it into the water, unless
Mary protected her house from destruction ;
on which the water, says Bowmaker, the
Monkish continuator of Fordun's History,
retired and gradually subsided within its former
limits. An equally perilous inundation hap-
pened since the Blessed Virgin ceased to ex-
ercise any influence in this country — namely,
in the year 1775, when the river rose seven-
teen feet above its ordinary bed, overwhelmed
the suburb called the Nungate, and laid the
whole of the town under water. Haddington
was taken possession of by the English aiftfit

5-24

HADDINGTON.

the battle of Pinkie, and next year endured a
siege from the Scots, which makes a consider-
able figure in history. The last great confla-
gration the town endured was accidental, and
happened about two hundred years ago. It
was occasioned by the carelessness of a nurse-
ry-maid, who had placed a screen containing
clothes too near a fire during the night. In
commemoration of the incident, the magis-
trates ordered the following quaint and curi-
ous lines to be recited through the town by
the bellman every evening during some of the
winter months, a custom which is kept up till
this day. The ceremony got the name of
" Coal and Can'le." —

A' guid men's servants whae e'er ye be,
Keep coal an' canle for charitie,
Baith in your kitchen an' your ha',
Keep weel your fire whate'er befa'.
In bakehouse, brewhouse, barn, and byre,
I warn you a' keep weel your fire ;
For often times a leetle spark
Brings mony hands to meekle wark ;
Ye norricesthat has bairns to keep,
See that ye fa' na o'er sound asleep,
For losing o' yer'e gude renown,
An' banishing o' this barous toun."

The situation of Haddington, so near the
frontier of the kingdom, required that it should
be well fortified against assault. It was ac-
cordingly surrounded by walls of considerable
strength, and had gates or ports flanked with
pieces of cannon. It is only in recent times
that these emblems of a turbulent age have
been removed. Although, as we have seen,
frequently a royal residence, the town has long
ceased to show any very significant traces of a
palace or castle ; the only relics of what tradi-
tion points out as having been an edifice of
this kind, are found at a short distance from
the western port of Haddington, within the
walls. The town has been much improved
and renovated within these few years, and is
now one of the best built, the most comforta-
ble, and well conditioned towns in Scotland,
and bears a marked resemblance to some of the
old respectable country towns in England. It
consists of a main or High Street, lying in the
direction of east and west, with a Back Street
parallel to it on the north, and two cross streets
at their eastern extremity. The High Street,
which is a continuation of the s-oad from
Edinburgh, is a spacious and handsome street,
with excellent high houses on each side, and
some elegant buildings. The Town -house
and County-hall is a respectable fabric, stand-

ing by the point where the High and Back
Streets separate. It is now distinguished
by a handsome spire, after a plan by Mr.
Gillespie Grahame, of very recent erection,
which rises to 150 feet in height. The
apartments used as a jail for the town and
county are connected with this edifice. In the
High Street are the George and Bell Inns,
which have been long known on the road by
travellers for the extent and quality of their
accommodations. The principal shops, some
of which would not demean the metropolis in
their appearance, are also situated in this
thoroughfare. In the Hardgate and North
Port, by which the road to the east leaves the
High Street, there are also many good houses,
some of which are in the villa style, and of re-
cent erection. The different thoroughfares
were some years ago, principally by the exer-
tions of Provost Dunlop, greatly improved by
the laying down of side pavement, a luxury
which, when found in a provincial town, at once
marks the taste and wealth of its inhabitants. A
bridge of four arches connects the town with the
ancient suburb of Nungate, which lies on the
right bank of the Tyne, and carries across the
roadtoDunse. The most beautifid characteristic
of Haddington consists in its possession of a
number of charming and luxuriant gardens, and
a considerable number of villas in the out-
skirts, chiefly along the road from Edin-
burgh. On a piece of level ground to the south,
but on the same side of the river, stands the
already mentioned Franciscan church, still a
noble Gothic building, though partly desolated.
It is no less than 210 feet long, and is sur-
mounted by a square tower, ninety feet in
height, and of beautiful architecture. The
chancel, or west end of the cross, was some
years ago thoroughly repaired, and now forms
a very handsome and tasteful parish church, —
the whole edifice, once filled with praying
monks and religious pageants, being found
much too large for the exercise of the reformed
religion. Around, is the spacious cemetery of
the parish, in which lie the remains of various
persons eminent in their time, — among others,
in an aisle of the Maitland family, in which is
a monumental structure of alabaster, the
Duke of Lauderdale and the Rev. John
Brown, a celebrated dissenting clergyman at
Haddington, and the author of some learned
and pious works. Haddington had the honour
of giving birth to John Knox the Scottish Re-

II A D P I N G T O N.

525

former. This celebrated man was born about
a hundred feet to the east of the church, in a
street on the other side of the river, called the
Giffordgate. The house in which he first saw
the light does not now exist ; but the people
still point out the field to which it was attached,
and from which it would appear that the Re-
former's father was a small crofter, a man main-
tained in the good old way by tilling a few
acres of land. Being situated in the heart
of a populous and rich agricultural district,
Haddington has grown into prosperity by serv-
ing as the depot of the inland trade in this part
of the country, and more particularly from being
a favourite place for the sale and purchase of
grain in open market. In this latter respect
it can only be called second to Dalkeith ; as
to the sale of oats, its only other rival is
Edinburgh, in the whole of the south-east
part of Scotland. The market-day is Friday ;
oats and barley being exposed at half past
twelve, and wheat at one o'clock. In the
morning there is a butter, egg, and poultry
market. On this day the town is the centre
of attraction to the numerous and very intelli-
gent body of East Lothian farmers, who here
meet with a great number of corn dealers and
others from Edinburgh, Leith, and various
other quarters, attending to purchase grain.
The town possesses no great manufactories ;
but has a number of traders who carry on an
extensive business in their different depart-
ments. Branches of the Bank of Scotland
and British Linen Company are settled in the
town. There are daily coach conveyances to
and from Edinburgh and Berwick. The
county courts of the sheriff are held here every
Thursday during session time, and a sheriff
6mall debt court every alternate Thursday. A
justice of peace court is held on the first Tues-
day in every month, except March, May, and
August, in which months the court is held on
the first Thursday. At one time the court of
justiciary used to make Haddington a station
in one of its circuits, but all business requiring
its settlement is now carried to Edinburgh.
As a royal burgh, its civic government is vested
in a provost, two merchant bailies, a trades
bailie, a dean of guild, a treasurer, eleven mer-
chant and one trades councillors, and seven
deacons of trades. There are nine incorporated
trades, which are represented in council by the
trades bailie, trades councillor, and seven dea-
cons above mentioned. In former times of

burgh misrule, a great part of the extensive
property in land of the burgh was alienated.
In later days, unsuccessful searches after coal
have sometimes proved as efficacious in di-
minishing the funds as the peculations of the
town-council, though perhaps, from the com-
parative freedom of the " set," the civic rulers
have generally exhibited a greater sympathy with
the people than in most other burghs. The
expenses of the town are defrayed out of the
revenue arising from the remnant of the burgal
property, — fees of burgesses, entrance, &c.
without any assessment upon the inhabitants.
The burgh joins with Jedburgh, Lauder, Dun-
bar, and North- Berwick, in electing a member
of parliament. Besides the parish church, which
is collegiate, there are in the town two meeting
houses of the United Secession church, one of
Original Antiburghers, one of the Congregation-
al Union, and an Episcopal chapel. Haddington
is the seat of a presbytery. Its fast days are the
Wednesdays before the first Sunday of March
and last Sunday of June. The town has an
excellent academy or high school under the
patronage of the magistrates ; a parochial
school, besides some private teachers. For
some years the active inhabitants of this thriv-
ing town have been zealous in supporting and
encouraging one of those institutions called
schools of arts, which has obtained a well-
merited reputation. Something of the kind
was begun so early as 1816, but the institu-
tion did not assume its present name and cha-
racter till a later date. It opened about the
same period as the Edinburgh School of Arts,
and commenced its tenth session in December
1830. An annual payment of three shillings
constitutes a subscriber a member of the so-
ciety, and entitles him to the benefits of the
lectures and library. The funds are further
augmented by donations. Besides lectures on
chemistry and other sciences useful in their
application to mechanical and agricultural arts,
arrangements have been made for lectures on
ethics, the physiology of man, astronomy, mi-
neralogy, &c. A museum is in progress com-
prising a veiy considerable number of specimens
in natural history, mineralogy, &c. and the
library of the institution now contains upwards
of two hundred and twenty volumes, treating
of different branches of science, philosophy,
and useful knowledge. There is likewise a
collection of apparatus for performing experi-
ments in chemistry, galvanism, pneumatics, as-

526

HADDINGTON.

tronomy, mechanics, &c. The institution was
originally, and has been throughout, much in-
debted to the fostering care of Mr. Samuel
Brown, the establisher of the itinerating, lib-
raries in East Lothian, and also owes much to
the gratuitous and meritorious lectures on dif-
ferent branches of science and philosophy, by
some young gentlemen of the town. The in-
structions communicated by this excellent in-
stitution have had the most beneficial effect,
not only in making the artizans of the town
more skilful in their various professions, but
in cultivating mental faculties hitherto lying in
worse than profitless neglect, and to be found,
when sought for, alike in the lower and upper
classes. A gratifying result of the degree of
order and prudence produced by the exertions
of the society, is now witnessed in the estab-
lishment of a mutual assurance or friendly so-
ciety, suited to the circumstances of the work-
ing classes, for granting benefits during sick-
ness, paying deferred annuities after the as-
surers have attained sixty years of age, and
making payments at death. This institution
is patronized by the members of the school of
arts, out of which it originated at the end of
the year 1830, with the best prospects of
success. Besides this there are many friendly
societies, and the amount of money annually
collected by them gives a very favourable view
of the providence of the working classes of the
town. The other institutions are as follows :
— The United Agricultural Society of East
Lothian, which meets several times in the year
at Haddington and Salton. The East Lothian
Horticultural Society recently established, with
every prospect of success, a Gardener's Socie-
ty; the East Lothian Society for propagat-
ing the knowledge of Christianity ; the East
Lothian Bible Society, which, we believe, has
the merit of being the first auxiliary to this
Society established in Scotland ; and a public
dispensary, at which medical advice and medi-
cines are given to the poor ; a dispensary for
clothing, &c. ; a savings bank ; a public library,
left to the town by Mr. John Gray ; and a
subscription library. Haddington is too near
Edinburgh to be able to support a native news-
paper; but there occasionally issue from its
press pamphlets of a respectable order, chiefly
relative to rural affairs, and it now sustains a
monthly periodical. Fairs are held on the se-
cond Tuesday of July, and on the second
Thursday in October ; and there are lour

trysts annually. There is an extensive distillery
adjoining the town, and another in the Nungate,
a brewery, and several tan -works. Haddington
gives the title of Earl to a branch of the an-
cient family of Hamilton. Thomas Hamil-
ton, son of Hamilton of Priestfield, was emi-
nent as a lawyer in the reign of James VI.
who constituted him a senator of the college
of justice, secretary of state, baron of Binny
and Byres in 1613, and Earl of Melrose in
1619. With Ins Majesty's approbation, he
changed the title to Earl of Haddington ;
recently, however, the present earl, while heir
apparent, was created a British peer by the
renovated title of Baron Melrose. The fami-
ly seat is at Tyningham, in the parish of
Whitekirk, about eight miles to the east. —
The population of the town of Haddington in
1821 was 3600, and including the parish,
5255.

HALADALE, a river in the parish of
Reay in the north part of Sutherlandshire,
rising from the heights twenty miles inland,
and which, after flowing in a northerly course
through Strath Haladale, falls into the Pent-
land Firth at Tor or Bighouse, near the pro
montory which is .named from it, Haladale
Head.

HALA VAILS, two lofty and very similar
mountains, standing within a mile of each
other, in the parish of Kilmuir, Isle of
Skye.

HADDO, a place in the parish of Meth-
lick, Aberdeenshire, nine miles north- north-
east of Inverury, on the right bank of the
Ythan. It gives a second title to the Earl of
Aberdeen, whose ancestor was Gordon of
Haddo.

HALFMORTON, a district in Eskdale
Dumfries-shire, being the half of the abrogated
parish of Morton, now attached to the parish
of Langholm, which it joins on the north ; it
lies between Cannoby and Kirkpatrick- Flem-
ing. The Sark divides it from the former.
The old church of Morton stood near a ham-
let of the same name on the eastern side of that
river ; it became ruinous after the annexation.
There is now a dissenting meeting-house here.
— Population in 1821, 553.

HALKIRK, a parish in the county of
Caithness, bounded by Thurso on the north,
Watten and Latheron on the east, and Latheron
also on the south. From the south-west end,
where it is separated by a ridge of hills from

HAMILTON.

527

Sutherlandshire, to the place where it is connect-
ed with Thurso parish, it extends about twenty-
one miles, by a breadth of from seven to eight.
The surface is generally flat, there being at
least no hills of very considerable height. It
is generally uncultivated, and feeds a great
number of sheep and black cattle. It possesses
several small straths, where the soil is good
and under cultivation. It has also a number
of small lakes, the largest of which is three
miles long by one broad. From this one of
the main tributaries of the Thurso water is
emitted, and intersects the district. On the
right bank of the stream, at the very northern
extremity of the parish, stand the kirk and
village of Halkirk. On the opposite side of the
water, within the parish of Reay, is situated
the ruined castle of Braal, an ancient seat of
the Earls of Caithness. A mission chapel is
situated about the centre of the district. —
Population in 1821, 2646.

HAMILTON, a parish in the middle
ward of Lanarkshire, lying on the left bank of
the Clyde, opposite Dalziel and Bothwell ;
bounded by Blantyre on the north, Glassford
on the west, and Stonehouse and Dalserf on
the south. The district is of a square compact
form, extending from five to six miles each
way. A small portion lies on the right bank
of the Clyde enclosed by Dalziel, and extend-
ing to the village of Motherwell. A still
more minute portion lies detached on the north
of this, at a place called Broadhurst. The
main part of the parish is a beautiful territory,
richly wooded, well cultivated and enclosed,
and abounding in hamlets and gentlemen's
seats. It is watered by a number of small
tributaries of the Clyde, the chief of which is
the Avon, which flows through the south-east
part of the district in a northerly direction, and
falls into the Clyde a little way above Hamil-
ton palace. The surface of the land has un-
dergone many beneficial improvements in re-
cent times. Coal abounds throughout, and
limestone is found in the upper part of the pa-
rish. The district was anciently named Cad-
you, though upon what etymology is uncer-
tain, and the ruins of a castle of that name still
stand on a romantic situation, on the summit
of a precipitous rock, the foot of which is
washed by the river Avon, and surrounded by
the remains of a forest of very fine aged oaks.
Cadyou was originally a royal possession, as
Alexander III. is found to date charters from

" castrum nostrum de Cadohow." It was then
the seat of a barony. On the opposite or
right bank of the Avon stands Chatelherault,
once a seat of the Hamilton family, and
now a summer-house of the Duke. It is sur-
rounded with a fine old park, embellished
with ancient trees. In the reign of Robert
Bruce, the property fell into the possession of
the Hamilton family, who have ever since re-
tained it. In 1445, when this race first came
prominently forward in state history, Cadyou
and some of the neighbouring baronies were
erected into one lordship, in favour of Sir
James Hamilton, who conferred upon it his
own name, and from it took the rank of a lord
of parliament. A slight sketch of the history
of this family will be very serviceable in illus-
trating topographical details in different parts
of the present work. It is represented by
genealogists, though upon very defective evi-
dence, that the first man of the family was one
Bernard, a near kinsman of Rollo, first Duke
of Normandy, who flourished in that coun-
try at the beginning of the tenth century.
The great- great grandson of this personage was
Roger de Bellomonte, lord of Pont Audemar,
who accompanied William the Conqueror to
England in 1066. His son, Robert de Bello-
monte, arrived in England on the same occa-
sion, and having conducted himself with an ex-
ceeding degree of valour, he was rewarded by
William with ninety-one lordships and manors ;
and afterwards was created Earl of Leicester
by Henry I. His grandson, Robert, the third
earl, had three sons, the youngest of whom was
called William de Hambledon or Hamilton,
because of being bom at the manor of Ham-
bledon, in the parish of Barkby, hundred of
East Goscote, county of Leicester. He had
a son named Sir Gilbert Hamilton, who was
the first of his race that settled in Scotland.
He removed thither, according to the same
questionable authority, in the reign of Alex-
ander II., 1214-49, by whom he was kindly
received, and married a sister of Thomas
Randolph, first Earl of Moray. The more
authentic history of the family commences in
the reign of Robert Bruce, with a Sir Gilbert
Hampton or Hamilton, an English knight who
sought refuge in Scotland, as is said, on ac-
count of the following circumstances : — One
day, while at court, he happened to speak fa-
vourably of King Robert Bruce, whereupon
John de Spenser, an officer in waiting, and a

528

HAMILTON.

favourite of Edward, thinking the discourse re-
flected on his master, gave him a blow, which
he resented so highly, that, next day, he fought
and killed his antagonist. His friends, well
knowing that Edward would resent the death
of his favourite, advised him to fly into Scot«
land; which he accordingly did. He was,
however, pursued in his flight, and being near-
ly overtaken in a wood, he and his servant
changed clothes with two wood-cutters, and,
taking their saw, were cutting through an oak
tree when the pursuers passed by. Perceiving
his servant to take notice of them, he hastily
called out to him " Through," which word,
with the oak and saw through it, he took for
his motto and crest, in memory of his happy
deliverance. It would appear that this knight
became a favourite courtier and fellow- warrior
of King Piobert, and that he was gifted by that
sovereign with the barony of Cadyou, which, as
already mentioned, had previously been a royal
demesne. An old manuscript now in our pos-
session mentions, among the services performed
by Sir Gilbert in behalf of Bruce, that he was
one of seven knights who " kept the king's per-
son" in the battle of Bannockburn ; a fine trait
of chivalric history. The MS. further adds, that
he " continued with the. said King Robert till
liis death, [i. e. the king's death,] and was at
his burial at Dumfermling, and made ane sin-
gular oration, in manner of deploration, in his
lawd and commendation ; for he was ane natur-
al orator in English, and could exprime maist
mater in little room." Sir James Hamilton,
the sixth knight in descent from Sir Gilbert,
was " a bold and cunning man, and by shifting
of sydes made himself great." He was origin-
ally a dependant of the powerful family of
Douglas, a name which at one time deprived
majesty of half its allegiance, and threatened it
with utter extinction. In 1455, when the
King and the Earl of Douglas drew up their
respective friends to fight out their quarrel in
a pitched battle, Sir James is found to have
ranked as an important adherent of the latter
person. Being on this occasion prevailed to
desert to the king, his example was so contagi-
ous, that Douglas suddenly found himself al-
most friendless, at a moment when he had ex-
pected to overthrow the whole force of his so-
vereign. For this good service, Hamilton was
rewarded by the king with broad lands and a
peerage. He married for his second wife, in
1474, Marj', eldest daughter of the king,

(James II.) and widow of Thomas Boyd,
Earl of Arran, by which princess he had a son,
James, second Lord Hamilton, who was created
Earl of Arran by James IV., and received a
grant of the island of that name. By the lack
of heirs in that line of the royal family, the son
of this earl had only betwixt him and the
throne, Mary, the daughter of James V, af-
terwards queen. In consideration of his pro-
pinquity to royalty, the Scottish estates created
him regent during the minority of the young
queen. For accomplishing the marriage of this
princess to the dauphin, in opposition to the
wishes of Henry VIII., the French king con-
ferred upon him the title of Duke of Chatel-
herault, with a pension of 30,000 livres a-year.
Under this name he took an active part in the
transactions which mark the history of Queen
Mary's reign, and died 1574-5, his title of
Duke of Chatelherault being resumed by the
French crown. A series of misfortunes over-
took his two sons and heirs. The family
titles were attainted in the person of his eldest
son James, third Earl of Arran, for openly
aspiring to the hand of Queen Mary, and other
misdemeanours, and he died without issue.
His brother, Lord John Hamilton, commen-
dator of Aberbrothock, in 1567, entered into
an association to rescue Queen Mary from
the castle of Lochleven, and on her escape,
flying to his estate of Hamilton, she there
held her court, and proceeded from thence to
Langside, where her forces were defeated ; the
castle of Hamilton was besieged and taken, and
Lord John went into banishment. He was,
however, recalled with other banished lords by
James VI. ; was restored to the family estates,
and created, in 1599, Marquis of Hamilton.
His grandson, James, the third Marquis, was
a devoted partizan of Charles I. during the
national troubles, and for his services, was, in
1643, created Duke of Hamilton, Marquis of
Clydesdale, Earl of Arran and Cambridge,
Lord Avon and Innerdale, and, in 1646, had
a grant of the hereditary office of keeper of
the palace of Holyrood. Unfortunately for
himself, he promoted to the utmost of his
power " the Engagement" to raise forces
for the relief of the king ; h is troops, as the
reader of history will remember, were defeated ;
he was brought to trial before the same court
by which the king had been condemned ; was
tried and sentenced to be beheaded for the
crime of levying war against the people of

HAMILTON.

529

England, and submitted to his doom in Pa-
lace Yard, Westminster, on the 9th of March
1649. The estates and titles were again for-
feited, but William, the brother of the last
duke, being taken into favour by Charles II.
when in his exile, was restored to the honours
of his family. He was slain at Worcester in
1651, and the Hamilton title descended to his
niece Anne, eldest surviving daughter of
James, the first duke. By this lady the sur-
name of Douglas was introduced into the fa-
mily, in consequence of her marriage to Lord
William Douglas, eldest son of the first Mar-
quis of Douglas, by his second wife ; who, at
the Restoration, through the interest of his
wife, was created duke of Hamilton, being
thus the first duke in the Douglas line, and
the third of the title. This peer performed
the noted service in the cause of liberty, of sit-
ting as president of the Convention Parliament,
which settled the crown upon William and
Mary. From him there has been a regular
succession of dukes till our own times ; the
family having been farther dignified, in the year
1711, by the additional British title of Duke
of Brandon (in the county of Suffolk.) In the
roll of titles, that of Duke of Chatelherault
still finds a place, as the family never formally
abandoned their right to it, though, of course,
it is not of the least efficacy either in this
country or in France. From junior branches
of the Hamilton family have sprung different
noble and ' gentle ' families in Ayrshire, Had-
dingtonshire, and other places in Scotland ;
and whether from its being the premier peer-
age of the kingdom, the figure which the fami-
ly has made in history and politics, or the
circumstance that, failing the Brunswick line,
it is the next protestant branch of the Royal
Family in succession to the crown of Scotland,
it is certain that no title carries with it more of the
veneration of the country than that of Hamilton.
Hamilton, a town in the middle ward
of Lanarkshire, and the capital of the above
parish, occupies a pleasant situation, at the dis-
tance of ten miles and a half from Glasgow, fif-
teen from Lanark, seven from Strathaven,
eight from Airdrie, and thirty-six from Edin-
burgh, and lies on the roads betwixt Glasgow
and Carlisle, and Edinburgh and Ayr. It
originated in the fifteenth century under the
protecting influence of the lords of Hamilton,
who, on being elevated to that condition, con-
stituted a place called the Orchard, between

this point and the Clyde, the principal mes-
suage of the "barony, and which till this day is
the chief seat of the Hamilton family. There
may, however, have been a hamlet here prior
to this transaction. The church of the parish
was situated in its vicinity, and was a house of
some note. David I. granted it with its perti-
nents in perpetual alms to the church and bi-
shops of Glasgow, and the gift was ratified by
several popes. John, the first regularly esta-
blished bishop of Glasgow, (1115-47) consti-
tuted the church a prebend of the cathedral,
and the cure was served by a vicar. In 1451
the first Lord Hamilton elevated the church
to the character of a collegiate foundation, the
vicarage being annexed to the benefice of the
provost. This establishment comprehended
a provost and eight prebends, to each of whom
his lordship gave a manse and garden, with a
glebe upon the haugh of Hamilton. The Refor-
mation terminated these ancient ecclesiastical
arrangements, and the church lands, tithes, or-
chards, houses, and pertinents belonging to it,
were restored, almost as a matter of course,
to the noble family which had originally gifted
them away. Fortunately, the church itself
was not destroyed or abandoned. Originally
a fine Gothic building of the date 1451, raised
by Lord Hamilton, with a choir, two cross
aisles and a steeple, all highly ornamented, it
continued to be kept in repair, and used as the
parish church till 1732, when, a new church
being built, it was almost entirely pulled down.
It was situated near the present palace, and the
only part preserved is an aisle which covers the
burial-vault of the family of Hamilton. East
from the modern church, which occupies an
eminence, and is an elegant structure, the pre-
sent town of Hamilton has been reared. In
former times the town encompassed the resi-
dence of the Hamilton family ; but in order to
extend the parks round the mansion, the houses
were gradually purchased and cleared away, and
the new buildings were erected more to the
south and west. The situation of the town
is now along the base of a rising ground,
extending nearly a mile in length. It consists
of several streets of substantial well-built
houses, not very regularly disposed, but hand-
some in appearance, and the whole town has
an air of respectability, comfort, and activity,
much superior to that of Lanark, notwith-
standing that the latter has long had the ad-
vantage of higher political privileges. Ha-
3 Y

500

HAMILTON.

milton lias a number of resident gentry, and
from its proximity to the establishment of the
duke at the palace, it derives a considerable
share of its support. It is also the capital of
the middle ward of the county, and the centre
of the inland trade of a populous agricultural
district. Its moderate distance from Glasgow
has caused the introduction of weaving cotton
goods to a large amount. Seven hundred men
are employed in this profession, out of a popu-
lation of about six thousand. A branch of the
British Linen Company's bank is established.
The general nature of the trades carried on may
be understood by the following list made up a few
years ago, and since increased, — thirteen agents
to manufacturers, two auctioneers, fourteen
bakers, six blacksmiths, three booksellers and
stationers, fifteen boot and shoemakers, two
brewers, three cart and wheelwrights, three
china and glass dealers, two coopers, six fire
insurance agents, eight fieshers, twelve grocers,
thirty grocers and spirit dealers, six inns and
taverns, three ironmongers, four land-surveyors,
eight linen and woollen drapers and haber-
dashers, one muslin manufacturer, two millers,
nine milliners and dressmakers, three nailers,
four painters, thirteen physicians and surgeons,
twenty-seven public houses, four saddlers, three
seedsmen, two stocking manufacturers, four-
teen tailors, two tallow chandlers, two tanners,
eight teachers, two timber merchants, two
tin plate workers, three watch and clock
makers, seven wrights and carpenters, one
coach builder, ten writers and notaries, besides
other miscellaneous professions. There are
regular daily coach conveyances to and from
Glasgow. The town has two academies, and
besides the parish church there are two meet-
ing-houses of the United Secession church,
and one of the Relief body. Hamilton is the
seat of a presbytery. The charitable institutions
are, an hospital endowed by the Hamilton fa-
mily for the reception of eight old men, who
enjoy a house, with coals, and L.5 yearly j an
hospital endowed by Mr. James Robertson
for nine old men, who have each L.4 yearly,
and a suit of clothes every two years. There
are also some friendly societies and two mason
lodges. The town has a neat town-house and
prison, and a commodious market-place. The
municipal authorities had formerly a privilege
of levying a custom or pontage upon all per-
sons passing by Bothwell- Bridge, but this is
no* abrogated. A weekly market is held on
23.

Friday, and there are four annual fairs. At
the commencement of the town in the fifteenth
century, its patron, Lord Hamilton, erected it
into a burgh of barony. Queen Mary created
it a royal burgh, but this privilege afterwards
merged in tbe hands of the Hamilton family,
who constituted it a burgh of regality. It is
now governed by two bailies and ten council-
lors. The justices of peace hold regular
courts, and the town has a stamp-office, tax-
office, and post-office. In the vicinity to the
west, on the road to Bothwell, a very spacious
square of barracks for cavalry was some years
ago erected. The great objects of a-ttraction
in this quarter of Lanarkshire are the palace
of the Duke of Hamilton and its surrounding
pleasure grounds. This princely mansion,
which was built anew in the years 1695-6, is
delightfully situated on a flat expanse of mea-
dow or haugh betwixt the town and the Clyde.
Recently the house has been greatly modern-
ized and increased in size and accommodations,
after a plan by Mr. David Hamilton of Glas-
gow. A splendid portico in front, formed
of a double row of immense Corinthian pillars,
surmounted by a lofty pediment, has a very
striking effect, and harmonizes finely with the
other decorations. Hamilton Palace enjoys
the distinction of possessing the best gallery of
paintings in Scotland; it comprehends many
excellent pictures by Italian and other masters.
The parks around the mansion are reckoned
the largest and finest in Scotland, measuring
1400 acres in extent, and being adorned with
stately trees. In the part north-west of the
house, on the banks of the Clyde, is an ex-
tensive race-course, on which horse races
have occasionally taken place, noted as being

among the best in Scotland Population of

the town in 1821, 6000, and including the
parish, 7085.

HAND A, a small pastoral island, of about
a mile square, on the west coast of Sutherland-
shire, opposite the northern part of the parish
of Edderachylis. It is precipitous on its north
side.

HARLAW, a place in Aberdeenshire, dis-
trict of Garioch, at which a battle was fought
in 1411, between the royal forces under the
Earl of Marr and Donald, the potent lord of
the Isles. The slaughter in this contest was
very great, and the former party was victorious.

HARPORT, (LOCH) an arm of the sea
on the west coast of Skye, projected inland in

HARRIS.

531

a south-easterly direction from the bay called
Loch Bracadale. It forms a safe harbour for
shipping.

HARRAY and BIRSAY, aunited parish
in the north-western part of the mainland of
Orkney. Birsay is the part presented to the
coast j Harray being of smaller dimensions,
lying to the east of the Loch of Stennis. —
Population of Harray in 1821, 719, and of
Birsay 1526.

HARRIS, a district of the Hebrides, form-
ing, with the larger district of Lewis, one con-
siderable island. In some maps, Harris appears
as if separated by a water boundary from Lewis ;
but this is very erroneous. The political divi-
sion is by an imaginary line drawn betwixt
Loch Resort on the west coast, and Loch Sea-
forth on the east ; some little streamlets, how-
ever, descend to these arms of the sea on either
side, and, by the proximity of their origin,
countenance the idea that Harris and Lewis
are distinct islands. Harris, in one part, is
nearly divided into two parts, by the similar
approximation of West Loch Tarbet and East
Loch Tarbet, which leave only a neck of land
of about half a mile in breadth. At the head
of West Loch Tarbet is situated the solitary
village of Tarbet. Harris has several fresh
water lakes ; its shores are indented by a
number of small bays ; and in its vicinity there
are a variety of islands which belong to it. The
district of Harris is a joyless desert of bare rock,
black bog, and dismal mountains, being, even
in its low sheltered spots, productive of only a
very scanty herbage. That part of it north of
Tarbet is entitled the Forest of Harris, though
totally destitute of trees. The length of the
whole is twenty miles, by a breadth of eleven
miles in the northern part, and from six to
seven in the southern. On the shores there
are patches of cultivated land ; the rearing of
cows and black cattle further tends to support
the inhabitants ; but the chief source of profit
was, till very lately, the manufacture of kelp.
The lowering of the duty on barilla having con-
siderably reduced this trade, the people, as in
other parts of the Hebrides, are left in great mi-
sery, which, it is to be hoped, however, may only
be temporary. Harris is an independent parish
in the presbytery of Uist, and its kirktown and
capital is Rowadill or Rowdill, a small village
at the south-east corner of the island at the
head of Loch Rowdill. Here was founded in
early times by Macleod, the lord of the dig

trict, a monastery of Canons Regular of St.
Augustine, dedicated to St. Columba. It is
mentioned by tradition that there were at one
period no fewer than twelve chapels through-
out this desolate territory and its islands, de-
pendant on the monastery of Rowadill, — a
proof only of the devotion of that age, for the
population must then have been much smaller,
and at present a single church is all that is ne-
cessary for the religious interests of the inhabi-
tants. The church of Rowadill is that which
was in use by the Canons, and is an object of
curiosity, as being the only Roman Catholic
structure which remains entire in the whole of
the Western Islands. It is rendered still more
curious by some extraordinary sculptures on its
front which do not bear description. Between
Harris and North Uist is the Sound of Har-
ris, a chaos of rocks and islands, intricate in its
navigation.— Population in 1821, 3909.

HARTFELL, a mountain in Dumfries-
shire, near the town of Moffat, at the base of
which is the mineral well for which Moffat is
reputed.

HASCOSAY, a small island in the Shet-
land group, lying in Colgrave Sound, between
Yell and Fetlar.

HAVEN, (EAST and WEST) two
villages in Forfarshire, parish of Panbride,
lying on the sea shore on the coast road to
Arbroath. They are chiefly inhabited by
fishermen.

HAVERSER, an islet in Loch Bracadale
Isle of Skye.

HAWICK, a parish in Roxburghshire, ex-
tending about sixteen miles, by a breadth of
two in the upper part, and fully three in the
lower. It has W ilton on the north, Cavers and
Kirktown on the east, and Robertonon the west.
A very considerable part of the district is hilly
and pastoral. But another portion, lying along
the banks of the Tiviot, is either cultivated or
planted, the whole of it being well enclosed.
In this district of Tiviotdale, the scenery is
soft and pleasing, and, among the most de-
lightful rides in Scotland, is that by the Car-
lisle road from Hawick, up the banks of the
river, and from thence along the courses of the
Ewes and Esk to Langholm. The district is
productive of historical and poetical associa-.
tions, and abounds in objects of an attractive
kind. After passing Hawick, at the distance
of two miles, on the right bank of the Tiviot,
the tourist will observe the ancient tower of

532

H A W I C K.

Goldielands, one of the most entire now ex-
tant upon tbe Border, and over the gate of
which itslast laird (a Scott) is said to have been
hanged for march treason. The old and fa-
mous house of Branxholm, the principal scene
of the " Lay of the Last Minstrel," and during
the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the resi-
dence of the Buccleugh family, stands about
a mile further up the river, on the opposite
bank. Little of the original castle remains,
the whole has now the appearance of an or-
dinary manor-house, and is the seat of the
chamberlain of the Duke of Buccleugh.

Hawick, a thriving populous town in the
above parish, occupying an agreeable situation
on the right bank of the Tiviot, at the distance
of forty-nine miles from Edinburgh, twenty
from Kelso, eleven from Selkirk, and forty-
five from Carlisle. Its name is partly descrip-
tive of its site. A stream called the Slitter-
ick, poured from the uplands on the south, is
here received into the Tiviot, and in a bend or
wick which it makes before entering the river
once stood a Hall or HcC — the earliest house
erected in the town. In 1214, the church of
Hawick was dedicated to St. Mary, and was
long made use of as a court-house, even after
the Scotican canons had prohibited such an
abuse of the sacred edifice. While it was thus
made to serve temporal, as well as spiritual
purposes, it was stained with one of the foulest
of crimes. In it the sheriff of Tiviotdale held
his court, while the English possessed the cas-
tle and town of Roxburgh, and in June 1342,
while Sir Alexander Ramsay, one of the most
gallant and honest men of that age, was sitting
in judgment, he was seized by William Doug-
las, the knight of Liddisdale, who was incensed
against him for having been invested with an
office which he considered to belong to himself
as a right. This ferocious knight, transport-
ing his victim to Hermitage Castle, plunged
him into one of the dungeons below that dreary
castle, (see Castletown) where he perished of
hunger. David II. granted to Maurice de Mo-
ravia, Earl of Strathearn, the barony of Haw-
ick, and at the beginning of the fifteenth cen-
tury it became the property of Douglas of
Drumlanrig, the ancestor of the Queensberry
family. In the year 1545, one of the descen-
dants of this superior conferred a charter on the
inhabitants of the town, confirming them in
those rights and lands they had previously pos-
sessed. In this charter is found the following

curious specification. One James Blair was
taxed with " one penny of the kingdom of
Scotland, upon the ground of his half particate,
for finding and furnishing one lamp, or pot, of
burning oil, before the altar of the parish church
of Hawick,, in time of high mass and vesper
prayers, all holidays of the year, in honour of
our Saviour Jesus Christ, and praying for the
souls of .the barons of Hawick, the founders of
the lamp, and their successors." The charter
of Douglas is confirmed by one from Queen
Mary, dated in the same year. By these char-
ters the town was constituted a free burgh of
regality. From its propinquity to the border,
Hawick generally suffered severely from the
incursions of the English, and was more than
once burnt. One of its severest conflagra-
tions was in 1570, when it was set fire to by
the English under Lord Sussex. This caused
a species of architecture to prevail in the
houses, some specimens of which yet exist.
The houses were built like towers, of hard
whinstone, and very thick in the wall ; vault-
ed below ; no door to the street, but an arched
entry giving access to a court-yard behind, from
which the second flat of the building was ac-
cessible by a stair ; and the second flat com-
municated with the lower only by a square
hole through the arched ceiling. The present
head inn, called " the Tower," was a fortress
of a better order, belonging to the superior of
the burgh, and the only house not consumed
by the forces of Sussex. It was, at a late
period, the frequent residence of Anne, Duchess
of Buccleugh and Monmouth, (for an account
of whom see Ettrick,) and there were persons
lately alive who remembered the princely style
of living of that dignified noblewoman. From
the vexatious and destructive fires raised by
the English, the town invariably recovered
through the exertions of its active inhabitants,
who, on occasions of border strife, frequently
behaved with great bravery. In the present
day the town chiefly consists of a single long
street, on the right bank of the Tiviot, which
is here crossed by a stone bridge. In this
spacious thoroughfare, and the subsidiary
streets, there are many excellent houses, regu-
larly built. On the" left bank of the river
lies also a portion of the town, but built in a
more irregular manner. The Slitterick inter-
sects the main part of the town, and is crossed
by two bridges, one of which was built in early
times, and is of a particularly antique construe-

II A WICK.

533

tion. The approach to the town by the south
or Carlisle road is exceedingly beautiful, pur-
suing its way along the flat banks of the Tiviot,
which are ornamented in no small degree by
the extensive nurseries of Messrs. Dickson
and Company, which were established here
under the auspices of the same firm, or at least
the same family, upwards of a century ago.
The streets of Hawick are well paved, and
are now lighted with gas. "Water is also in-
troduced by leaden pipes. Hawick has been
long celebrated for the extent of its manufac-
ture of goods formed from wool, especially
lambs' wool. Although, like the natives of
Galashiels, the inhabitants of this place had to
contend against the great distance from coal,
and an extensive inland carriage, they long
since essayed manufactures on a liberal scale,
and their efforts have been crowned with that
success which must always attend a persevering
and intelligent body of artizans. The expe-
rience of nearly a century has directed industry
into those channels which it has discovered to
be the most profitable and the most apposite to
the region in which its operations are carried
on. The carpet manufacture was established
in 1752, the inkle manufacture in 1783, and
the manufacture of cloth in 1787 ; but these
branches ultimately merged in that of the stock-
ing manufacture, which was begun in the year
1771. The person who first engaged in it was
Bailie John Hardie, who for some time em-
ployed four looms, which, on an average, pro-
duced annually about 2400 pairs of stockings,
mostly of the coarser kind. He is understood
to have been the first manufacturer of stockings
in this part of Scotland ; and by persons taught
in his shop, the manufacture was planted in
Wooler, Kelso, Jedburgh, Langholm, Melrose,
Selkirk, and other places. In consequence of
family distress, Mr. Hardie abandoned the
trade, after carrying it on for ten years, when
it was taken up by Mr. Nixon. Since that
period the number of manufacturers of stock-
ings has increased to upwards of twenty, who
employ between five and six hundred looms ;
and it was calculated that there were lately
about 900,000 pounds weight of wool spun into
yarn, three-fifths of which was wrought up into
hose, &c, and the remainder sold to manufac-
turers of stockings in Leicester, Derbyshire,
Glasgow, &c. Some of the stocking manu-
facturers are at the same time yarn-spinners.
There are various carding mills, with full sets

of machinery, all wrought by water. The ma-
nufacturers are in some cases their own sales-
men ; and it is remarked by retailers in Edin-
burgh and elsewhere, that almost no class of
commercial men possess such a degree of acti-
vity and perseverance. The manufacture of
blankets and gloves, the tanning of leather and
dressing of sheep skins, also engage attention.
Hawick has likewise a very respectable domes-
tic retail traffic, and altogether it may be es-
teemed the principal manufacturing and trading
town in the south of Scotland. Placed in the
centre of the wild border country, Hawick
must, in some measure, be considered an ano-
maly. The people have all that propensity to
political speculation, and that jealousy of the
power of their rulers, which usually character-
ise persons habituated to trade and intercourse
with the world. This is ingrafted on the old
primitive spirit of the Border, and gives a very
strange cast to what yet remains of that ori-
ginal character. One of the most curious pe-
culiarities of the inhabitants is one not uncom-
mon in parts of the country where there are
many individuals with the same surname,
namely, a custom of giving every person, be
his station what it may, a to-name, or soubri-
quet, in conformity with the well-known an-
cient practice of the frontier clans. To such
an excess has this usage been carried, that
it often happens that a man is better known
by his nickname than his real designation ; in-
deed we have heard it mentioned as a fact, that
strangers have occasionally felt a difficulty in
discovering the individuals they were inquiring
for by their real appellations. The soubriquets
are generally conferred from some personal pe-
culiarity or quality of the mind, and, however
ridiculous, are sometimes very amusing. The
people of Hawick and the neighbouring district
speak with a remarkably strong patois, differing
from all other intonations in the provinces ; but
it is, upon the whole, mellifluous, and soon
ceases to be disagreeable. Hawick is noted
among topers for its " gill." A Hawick gill is
understood, by the universal courtesy of Scot-
land, to imply half-a-mutehkin, or two gills,
although we have never met any person able to
elucidate the cause of so lucky an exception to
the general rule. It will be remembered that
of the mistress of Andrew wi' the Cuttie Gun
the old song says,

Wed she loo'ed a Hawick gill,
And leuch to see a tappit hen;

534

HEBRIDES.

the latter phrase signifying the equally joyous
appearance of a frothing measure of claret.
The inhabitants of the town, which is thus as-
sociated with the materials of conviviality, are
well known for their social habits, their absence
of affectation and ceremony, and their blunt
open sincerity of behaviour. Here nearly all
classes mingle in common intercourse in public
and private life ; and there prevail a tone of in-
dependence and an ease in manners, which will
in vain be sought for in the generality of Scot-
tish towns of this size, where small annuitants
and the civic magistracy form the only aristo-
cracy. The desire for a knowledge of public
events has caused the institution of two of the
best reading and news-rooms to be met with
anywhere in the country, and which are con-
ducted on liberal principles. The town has
several booksellers' shops and libraries ; and
from the press of Mr. Robert Armstrong there
has issued a variety of useful and agreeable
publications. A school of arts was established
some years ago, which has been of essential be-
nefit to the community. There is a farmer's
club, which was instituted as far back as 1776,
and which meets once a- month for the discus-
sion of questions connected with agriculture.
The town has a good grammar school, and va-
rious private teachers. In approaching Haw-
ick, its most conspicuous object is a tall square
turret, rising from the centre of the town,
which is the steeple of the old church of the
parish. Besides this place of worship, there
are two meeting houses of the United Se-
cession Church, and one of the Relief body.
The annual fast day of the church is the
"Wednesday before the last Sunday of June-
The prosperity of Hawick has been much
indebted to the spirit of its civic govern-
ment, which has all the privileges of a royal
burgh without the abuse of self- election,
and the right of sending a member to parlia-
ment. As a free burgh of regality, the magis-
trates are elected annually by the burgesses ;
there being two bailies and two representatives
of each of the seven incorporated trades, which,
with fifteen standing councillors, elected for
life, manage all municipal affairs. A weekly
market is held every Thursday ; and there are
four annual fairs, with a cattle tryst in October,
to which great numbers of black cattle are
brought for sale, in passing from Falkirk tryst
to Carlisle and Newcastle fairs. — Population

of the town in 1821, about 3000 ; including
the parish, 4387.

HEBRIDES (THE), or WESTERN
ISLES, a series of islands and islets lying on
the western coast of the Highlands, at a greater
and lesser distance from land, though with lit-
tle certainty as to the right which many of
them have to be placed under this denomina-
tion. Generally speaking, every isolated por-
tion of rock and soil, between the north lati-
tude of 58° 35' southwards to the extreme
point of the Mull of Cantire, has been reckon-
ed one of the Hebrides — the Hebudes, iEbu-
dse, or .<Emodae of the ancients. Arran, Bute,
the Cumbrays, even the Isle of Man, and
Rathlin Isle on the coast of Ireland, have re-
ceived this appellation ; but by a modern and
more limited comprehension, the term is only
applicable to the direct series of western isles,
ranging within Lewis, Uist, Benbeeula, Barra,
and Mingalay on the north, and Skye, Raa-
say, Canna, Rum, Eigg, Coll, Iona, Tiree,
Mull, Colonsay, Jura, and Islay, upon the
south. Politically, they pertain, according to
situation, to the shires of Ross, Inverness, and
Argyle. Altogether, they are computed at
300 in number, 86 of which are inhabited.
The peculiar character and condition of these
interesting islands being noticed in our article
on the Highlands, as well as under individual
heads, it is here unnecessary to enter into any
special description of them. The history of
the Western isles, which for many centuries
had little or no political connexion with the
mainland, is involved in a considerable degree
of obscurity, and almost the only fact which
the chroniclers can establish is, that they were
long under the domination of petty chiefs,
sometimes independent, and at other periods
under the superiority of the kings of Norway,
and latterly subject to the Scottish monarchy.
According to Macculloch, unknown Celts,
Irish pirates, Galwegian kings, Vikingr, Nor-
wegian viceroys, chiefs and chieftains, sea-fights
and land- fights, plundering, burning and slaugh-
ter, usurpation and rebellion, are the objects
and ideas which compose their history. In
the twelfth century, the petty kings or lords of
the isles began to disturb the peace of Scot-
land. One of them, named Somerled, in ] 153,
invaded the mainland, and made an attempt to
dethrone Malcolm IV. but was defeated by an
army under Gilchrist, Earl of Angus. In &

HEBRIDES.

535

subsequent descent in 1163, be was defeated
and slain near Renfrew. In 1188 the people
of the isles chose Reginald to be chief, but
doubtful of his right, in 1204, he did homage
to John of England, in hopes of eventual pro-
tection. Olave, a competitor for the chief-
tainship, was possessed of the isle of Lewis,
and married a daughter of the Earl of Ross,
which was the first alliance betwixt a lord of
the isles and those Highland families of rank.
Olave subsequently became king of the whole
isles, including Man, and seems to have been
the most powerful chief of his race, being de-
pendent on Norway by a very slight tenure.
After his death in 1237, the separate jurisdic-
tion of the outer and inner Hebrides began to
be shaken, his sons Harold, Reginald, Magnus,
and Godrid, not being possessed of that power
which could secure the existence of so rude a
sway. Alexander II. king of Scotland, set on
foot negotiations with Haco, king of Norway,
to treat for the cession of Bute, Arran, and
the Cumbrays, but without effect. His suc-
cessor, Alexander III. in 1261, renewed these
negotiations ; and being equally unsuccessful,
he attacked, ravaged and took the islands by
force. An expedition of Haco to relieve his
afflicted dominions having failed, through his
defeat at Largs, Alexander sent the Earls of
Buchan and Moray, with Allan of Atholl, to
the islands ; where they acted with great cru-
elty. Magnus the third son of Olave, and
the last independent chief, died in 1265, and
with him terminated the Norwegian kings of
the isles. Another Magnus, the son and feeble
successor of Haco, could not maintain the tot-
tering power of his father. In 1266 he enter-
ed into negotiations with Alexander for the
cession of his isolated territories, and by a
treaty signed at Perth, be resigned all future
claim on the Hebrides, in consideration of
4000 merks to be paid annually for four years,
and an annual payment of 100 more for ever.
By this memorable event the western isles and
the isle of Man were attached to Scotland, but
the latter was subsequently lost during the con-
tests for the Scottish crown. Notwithstanding
this extinction of the power of the Norwegians,
the western isles were long exempted from the
jurisdiction of the Scottish kings. The descen-
dants of the chiefs, real or pretended, claimed
still the title of Lords of the Isles, and the
Macdougals, the Macdonalds, and other heads
of septs, were frequently at feud for feudal su-

premacy among themselves, and in their exter-
nal wars often gave the crown considerable
uneasiness. Instead of quenching these al-
most independent barbarians by force of arms,
the kings of Scotland, who were seldom with-
out need of allies, purchased their good will
by grants of territory, and confirmations of
the titles of Lords of the Isles, and even
by greater concessions. John, the son of
Angus Og, Lord of Cantire, received in
marriage a daughter of Robert II., by which
alliance to the royal family his descen-
dants rose in their pride and consequence.
One of his sons, Donald, invaded and plun-
dered Ross-shire, at the head of 10,000 men,
and after ravaging the country, was defeated,
or at least received a severe infliction at the
battle of Harlaw, in 1411. The anarchy
produced by this and similar events in the
south of Scotland, induced James I. to com-
mence a regular war against the more turbu-
lent chiefs, many of whom he captured and
hanged, and finally he defeated Donald of the
Isles, who fled to Ireland, where he was put
to death. Throughout the fifteenth century,
there were, however, repeated aggressions on
the part of other men equally turbulent, and
unwilling to acknowledge any sovereign. It
was not till the reign of James V. that the
Lords of the Isles came into complete subjec-
tion to the crown. As the sixteenth century
advanced, the power and the number of claim-
ants to the distinction of that title became nar-
rowed within a more and more limited circle.
At length, the Macdonald, the last authorized
Lord of the Isles, died ; and though, since that
period, there have not been wanting claimants
to superiority and antiquity, of the surname of
Macdonald, Maclean, Macneil, Mackintosh,
Macleod, and Mackenzie, some of whom have
been as fierce with the pen as their ancestors
were with the sword in their attempts to
establish their right to the title of Lord of the
Isles, the appellation has not been restored.
Most of the possessions of the ancient Lords
of the Isles were secured by the crown, which,
to strengthen its authority, parted with the
islands to different heads of clans on the main-
land, of which that of the Campbells of Ar-
gyle was the most favoured. In 1589, the
island of Lewis, the chief of the outer He-
brides, was granted to some gentlemen of Fife,
for the purpose of being civilized, but with-
out profiting these lowlanders, as it fell into

HEBRIDES.

the hands of Mackenzie of Kintail. Few to-
pographers have hitherto concerned themselves
with the etymologies of the names of the
islands of the Hebrides, which are certainly
the subject of a most excusable curiosity, espe-
cially as they illustrate the early history of
these distant isles, and often substantiate
their primary possession. On this matter we
consider it sufficient to lay before the reader
the substance of a disquisition and catalogue
of names by Dr. John Macculloch. Although
we haye occasionally given the etymology where
the island happened to be treated of, it will,
to use the Doctor's own words, " be advantage-
ous to see the whole in one collective view ; as
that will convey a notion, both of the principles
of nomenclature adopted, and of the proportion
which were relatively named by the Northmen
and by the natives. While we have," says he,
" distinguished the conjectural or doubtful from
the certain, and further classed them according
to certain analogies, we must also remark, that
where the number of names appears less than
the number of the islands, it is partly because
a few of the most insignificant, particularly
where they appeared hopelessly corrupted, have
been passed over, but chiefly on account of the
frequent occurrence of the same name for
many different islands. Thus there are no less
than four called Rona; as many called Flota,
Berneray, Glas, Fladday or Flattay ; while
there are duplicates or triplicates of Soa, Wiae,
Ghia, Boreray, Linga, Longa, and others.
Hence you will perceive that very few of the
whole number of names remain unexplained.
We have seldom thought it necessary to distin-
guish the Scandinavian terms according to the
different dialects or languages of the Moesogo-
thic radical. The following catalogue is de-
rived from saints, to whom there were churches
or chapels dedicated in some of the islands, and
who seem to have been mostly of Irish extrac-
tion, as were all the followers of St. Columba.
They may thus be considered chiefly of Gaelic
origin, being only modified or corrupted by the
Scandinavian ey, which has passed successive-
ly into ay and a.

Elannan
Barra
Colonsa

Kerrara, Kiarara
Mul Don-ach
Oransa

from St. Flann.
St. Barr.
St. Columba.
St. Kiaran.
St. Duncan.
St. Oran.

Besides Marnoch, Martin, Chenzie and
Inch Kenneth, St. Cormac's Isles, and St.
Kilda. In the Scandinavian, we find a divi-
nity, which may rank with these; Taransa,
from Taran or Thor ; and in the Gaelic there
are Gigha and Gia, a corruption of Dia ey,
God's Island ; as is proved by the Norwegian
name, which is written Gud ey in the account
of Haco's expedition. Animals are a frequent
source of these names, and among them there
are both Scandinavian and Gaelic etymologies.
In the first are the following :

Soa

the isle of swine.

Raasey,

from Raa,

of roes.

Tirey,

Tiur,

of bulls.

Jura,

Diur,

of deer.

Canna,

Kanin,

of rabbits.

Orsa, Oersa,

Eorsa,

Joor,

of horses.

Ulva,

Ulffur,

of wolves.

Haversey,

Hafur,

of he-goats.

Levenish

Lava nish,

of birds.

Calva, Calve, or Calf, a common Norwegian
name, found in Mull and Man, is not named
exactly from the animal, but from being re-
lated to the main island as the calf is to the
cow. Cara, Kyr ey, the Island of Cows, and
Handa, Hynd ey, that of Hinds, appear ra-
ther possible than certain. In the Gaelic,
there are, from the same source :
Rona, ron the isle of seals.

En say, eoin of birds.

Mullagroch, Mul grach,

or graich a stud of horses.

Inish Capel the isle of mares.

Eilan an each of horses.

Tanera, tan of the herd.

Muck, muc of swine.

Whether Eilan na Monach, na Clearach,
and Inch Cailleach, the Isles of Monks, Cler-
gy, and Nuns, are to be adopted in this divi-
sion, under Muc, or in that of the Saints, we
do not pretend to determine. Trodda, from
the Scandinavian Trolds, may be put in the
same ambiguous company. Names derived
from qualities, or resemblances, or compari-
sons, are the most common of all, and tbey
occur in both languages. In the Scandinavian
there are the following : —
Sky . • • mist.

Rum . . • spacious.

Back ... an eminence.
Egg ... an edge.

HEBRIDES.

537

Staffa, staf
Seil and Suil
Luing and Linga
Torsa, torst
Scarba, \ R
Scarpa, f bcalp
Uist

Sanda, Sandera
Vatersa
Hellesa, helle
Flota

Fladda . i
Pladda
Schillay, skil
Fiaray, fiar
Sursay, siu- .
Blada, blad
Narsey, nar .

Groay, grooa
Tahay, taa .
Opsay, op
Maltey, mallt
Isa, is
Ransey, ran .

the isle of pillars.

a sail.

long.

the dry island.

a precipice.

west.

sand islands.

water island

the island of rocks.

the island of fleets.

the flat island.

a plate.

a division ; divided.

a shore.

sour.

a leaf, leafy, grassy.

a carcass, a burying
place.

to grow, fertile.

a toe, a headland.

a hole, a cavern.

meal, fertile.

ice island.

rapine, thieves' is-
land.

The last eleven seem rather probable, but are
not so clear as the former ; they are all from
the Icelandic. Eriska seems a corruption of
Erics ey. Ailsa is similarly an apparent cor-
ruption of Hellesa ; peculiarly appropriate.
Isla is the island, xar ^o^vv, as a principal seat
of government. In the same class the Gaelic
has the following :

Arran .

. the land of moun-

tains. British.

Scalpa

a cave.

Pabba .

. stubble.

Coll .

a wood.

Mull .

. a hill.

Eysdill •

dale island.

Garveloch

. the rough rock.

Lismore .

the great garden.

Glas .

. green or grey.

Bernera

the serrated island.

Mingala .

. the beautiful.

Longa and Lunga

the isle of ships.

Craig Daive

. ox's isle.

Freaichland

the isle of heath.

Ree .

. the king's isle.

Choum

hell.

Neave .

Drum

Gillisay

Dana
Crowlin
Iona
Shiant .
Ulleram, ulla
Tesca, tec .

Borrera, bor
Biilg - .
Shuna
Bute, buta .

heaven. A monas-
tery probably.

Scandinavian and
Gaelic, a ridge.

servants' island, ser-
vants of God.

the isle of Danes.

the red.

the isle of waves.

sacred.

a burying place.

a bone, a similar al-
lusion.

a knob.

a bulge.

lovage.

a ridge.

Among these, some of the latter are question-
able. Shaw is said not to be good authority.
It is unnecessary to give the other Gaelic ra-
dicals. Lewis, Liodhus, the residence of Liod
(Macleod), is Norwegian; but does not well
fall into any of the preceding divisions. Nor
does Cumbray, from Cumr ey, the islands of
the Cumbrians, who once occupied this dis-
trict. In the names compounded of Scandi-
navian and Gaelic, we find Altwig, a moun-
tain bay, Garveilan, rock island, and Kiarna-
borg or Cairnburgh, sufficiently obvious. The
compounds from Skerscar, a rock, are occa-
sionally of this nature ; and are Skerry, with
Sulisker, Dusker, Hysker, Baisker, Carmis-
ker, Hartasker, Kelisker, and Skernamull ;
which require no further explanation. Whe-
ther the isles of Macfadyen, Macphaill, and
Macalken belonged to saints or chiefs, no one
seems to know. Of the few that remain,
little can be said. Harris is corrupt beyond
hope ; though the Gael say it is from Earrann,
a portion. It is more probably from Aras,
a habitation or settlement. Wia, Valay, and
Huna, should be Scandinavian, because they
occur in Shetland ; but their meaning is ob-
scure. Vi, vvith the plural Uiou, Ubh in
Gaelic, is an egg; a derivation applicable
enough. Lamlash seems just such an inver-
sion of Molass, the old name, as gallon is of
Lagena. Of Gometra, Fadia, Vacasey, and
the bicla part of Benbicla, or Benbecula, no-
thing can be made. Harmetia may be deriv-
ed from Armunn, a chief. The total result is
that there are about forty-six names of Scan •
3 z

538

HELMSDALE.

dinavian derivation, comprising the principal
islands, and about forty of a Gaelic or British
origin, of which nine only are of any note, and
among which Arran, Bute, Mull, Coll, and
Lismore, are the only ones that can be con-
sidered principal. If we include those named
after saints, who were rather Irish than Gaelic,
it would add twelve to the list, of which three
oidy are conspicuous ; namely, Barra, Colonsa,
and St. Kilda. The Skers being little more
than rocks, are hardly worthy of notice, and
are, besides, pretty equally divided. If we
now consider the great disproportion which
the Scandinavian bears to the Gaelic, as far
as the principal islands are concerned, it will
appear probable that the aboriginal population
was very scanty before the Norwegian inva-
sions and settlements." The Hebrides were
visited by Dr. Samuel Johnson in the autumn
of 1773, whose tour through Scotland thither
excited sufficient discussion at the time and
since.

HEISKER ISLANDS, three islands of
the Hebrides lying about eight miles westward
from North Uist. One of them is of small
size and lies between the other two, each of
which is nearly two miles long and of various
dimensions.

HELDAZAY or HILDUSAY, a small
island of Shetland lying in the inner part of
Scalloway bay.

HELENSBURGH, a modern town in
Dumbartonshire, parish of Row, lying on the
firth of Clyde opposite Greenock, twenty-three
miles west north-west of Glasgow, eight north-
west of Dumbarton, and five north of Green-
ock. The town, which is a perpetual feu
from Sir James Colquhoun, baronet, of Luss,
was commenced in 1777 ; since which period
it has risen into notice as one of the most con-
venient and agreeable sea-bathing places on the
Clyde, and now consists of a series of hand-
some houses and streets, laid out on a neat
plan. A quay was built in 1817, and has been
found of great utility. Being created a burgh
of barony in 1802, Helensburgh is placed un-
der the government of a provost, two baihes
and four councillors. The town has a spaci-
ous elegant inn, with baths at its east end, and
there are other houses for the temporary recep-
tion of visitors, besides a great variety of lodg-
ing houses. The parish kirk is at two miles
distance', but there are here a missionary chapel
and a meeting-house of dissenters. It possesses
23.

also a good school. The distillation of whisky
is almost the omy manufacture carried on.
There are four annual fairs. The situation of
Helensburgh is eminently suited for a place of
summer recreation ; the prospects around, and
especially that towards the spacious land-locked
bay of Greenock, are very beautiful, and the
country is very healthful. There are various
gentlemen's seats in the vicinity, the chief of
which is Ardincaple, the seat of Lord John
Campbell, standing west from the town, near
the Gare Loch, an inlet of the Clyde, which
penetrates some miles inland. Opposite are
the mansion and beautiful pleasure-grounds of
Roseneath. A number of steam-vessels call
at Helensburgh daily, in going to and from
Glasgow ; and it will perhaps be pointed out
with greater curiosity a century hence than at
present, that here resided the ingenious Henry
Bell, when he first applied this important spe-
cies of navigation to a practical use. — Popu-
lation in 1821 computed at 600.

HELL'S SKERRIES, a cluster of islets
of the Hebrides, lying about ten miles west
from the island of Rum.

HELMSDALE, a river in Sutherland-
shire, rising in the parish of Farr and upper
parts of Kildonan, and flowing through the
latter past Kildonan kirk, after which, passing
through the parish of Loth, it falls into the
sea about three miles south from the Ord of
Caithness. The river is valuable for its sal-
mon fishing.

HELMSDALE, a large and thriving mo-
dern village or town, situated in the parish of
Loth, Sutherlandshire, at the mouth of the
above river, from which it takes its name. It
is built on the property of the Marchioness of
Stafford, upon a principle which we have ex-
plained under the head Golspie. In this case,
the efforts of the benevolent proprietor have
been attended with success. A considerable
number of substantial houses have been built,
and an excellent harbour has been finished, to
which immense fleets of fishing-boats resort
during the herring season ( September). The
town is increasing rapidly, and its various ele-
ments are gradually settling down into com-
fortable maturity. Some thousands of barrels
of herrings are now prepared annually, and the
small port is further made the point of trade
and export to the produce of the interior, as
wool, &c. The coast-road northward passes
through the village.

HIGHLANDS.

530

HE RIOT, a parish in the south-eastern
and hilly part of the county of Edinburgh,
lying between Temple on the north-west and
Stow on the south-east. Innerleithen bounds
it on the south. With the exception of some
fields on the banks of the Gala and Heriot
waters, and at a few other places, the whole
territory, which comprehends a length of near-
ly ten miles by a breadth of five, is a confused
mass of brownish pastoral hills and vales, with
small rivulets flowing through the latter. The
only regular opening into the district is by
Heriot water, a small trouting stream which
rises among the hills and drops into the Gala
nearly opposite Crookston. On the Heriot
water stands Heriot kirk. Lately a new road
was formed between Innerleithen and the head
of one of the vales of this parish, with a design
of carrying it forward to Edinburgh, so as to
establish a direct communication between that
thriving village and the capital ; but it has not
been continued by the trustees of the roads in
Edinburghshire. Some of the hills are high
and command extensive prospects, occasionally
showing the remains of ancient encampments.
At the Reformation, the church and lands of
Heriot or Heryeth, which had previously be-
longed to the monks of Newbotle, fell into
the hands of Mark Ker, the commendator of
that abbey. The name of the parish imports
'* the fine paid to the lord of a manor on the
death of a tenant." By the division of the
land into large farms, the population has been
decreasing since 1801, when it amounted to
320 ; in 181 1 it was 300 ; and in 1821, 298.

HERMITAGE, a rivulet tributary to the
Liddel, parish of Castletown, with a castle of
the same name. — See Castletown.

HESTON, a small island in the mouth of
the bay into which the river Urr is poured,
stewartry of Kirkcudbright.

HIGHLANDS, a division of Scotland,
extending to more than the half of its whole
surface, and though much inferior in popula-
tion and wealth to the remainder, yet highly
interesting on many accounts, particularly from
the peculiar character of the inhabitants, and
the mixture of sublime and beautiful, which
characterises the surface of the ground. Ge-
nerally speaking, the Highlands form the north-
ern division of the kingdom, although it hap-
pens that the boundary line, extending between
Nairn on the Moray Firth, and Dumbarton on
the Firth of Clyde, pursues, though somewhat

irregularly, a direction varying between south
and south-west. The district includes the en-
tire counties of Sutherland, Ross, Inverness,
Perth, Argyle, and Dumbarton, upon the main-
land, together with Bute, and other islands,
besides a considerable part of the counties of
Nairn, Elgin, Banff, Aberdeen, and Forfar.
Caithnessis, in one sense, apart of the Highland
division ; but, being a level country through-
out, cannot be strictly considered as such. The
general character of the Highlands is implied
by the name which has so long distinguished
it from the Lowlands. It is a country full of
lofty hills, some of which are covered with
pasture, while a great proportion are rugged
and bare, varying in height from one thousand
to upwards of four thousand feet, and having
generally narrow vallies between, or else inland
or marine lakes. Round the bleak summits of
these mountains, the wild eagle is still seen
occasionally hovering, a sublime emblem of the
savage native of the district. In the bottoms
of the vallies, there are generally small impe-
tuousstreams, which receive accessions at every
short distance from the torrents that descend
the hills, and in the end join strength in such
a way as to form large rivers. The country
being much higher at the west side of the is-
land than towards the east, the rivers, with
hardly any exception, run towards the German
Ocean. — The Highlands are subdivided into
two districts, termed the North Highlands and
the West Highlands, — the former phrase being
applicable to all beyond Fort- William, while
the other may be considered as exclusively ap-
propriated to what remains. The Western Is-
lands, as characterised by the same peculiari-
ties of population and surface, must also be
esteemed as a subdivision of the Highlands.

The Highlands, till an era almost within
the recollection of the present generation, were
peopled exclusively by a race essentially differ-
ent from the inhabitants of Lowland Scotland ;
speaking a peculiar language, wearing a pecu-
liar dress, and exhibiting a frame of society,
and a set of manners and customs, altogether
different. In numbers, this race is not believ-
ed to have exceeded a hundred thousand, or
about a twelfth part of the co-existent popula-
tion of the rest of Scotland ; but yet they were
able, occasionally, to affect the prospects of
their numerous fellow-countrymen in no small
degree. Surviving as a remnant (though not-
altogether unmixed) of the Celtic people, who

540

HIGHLANDS.

were the first inhabitants of the west of Eu-
rope, and who gradually gave way to Roman
and Scandinavian adventurers, they hardly ever
ceased to regard the adjacent people as intrud-
ers and enemies. In the early ages of Scottish
history, we find them living under their own
chiefs, and quite independent of the sovereign.
Gradually, by the efforts of various monarchs,
especially James I. and James V. they were
induced to yield a nominal obedience. Till
the reign, however, of Charles I. they remain-
ed comparatively little known, being only oc-
casionally heard of when some dreadful tale of
savage cruelty reached the Lowlands, or some
predatory excursion was made by one of their
clans into the valleys of their now civilized
fellow-countrymen. The danger of such a
neighbourhood was first brought fully before
the eyes of the Lowland population, when the
Marquis- of Montrose engaged them in his
singular campaign against the Scottish parlia-
mentary forces, 1644-5, on which occasion,
though he had not at first above fifteen i hun-
dred half-armed and half-clad mountaineers, he
gained five victories in succession, over much
more numerous and better appointed armies,
and at last obtained possession of Scotland.
The Highlanders, arguing from their own pa-
triarchal system, were disposed, at this period,
to regard King Charles as an injured chief,
and of course, as they could make no allow-
ance for those notions of civil liberty which
actuated the general population, much less for
the religious interests of the time, they eager-
.y threw themselves into the scale in favour
of distressed royalty. Fortunately for the
conductors of the popular cause in the civil
war, Montrose was surprised and defeated at
Philiphaugh, at a time when almost the whole
of his Highlanders were absent ; and thus their
strength was for a time neutralized. They
were afterwards, with great difficulty, reduced
to subjection by Cromwell, who placed a fort-
ress at Inverness, and another at Fort William,
in order to keep them in check. In 1678,
they again, under the name of the Highland
Host, became known to the oppressed and di-
spirited inhabitants of the western counties, as
an authorized banditti, whose robberies had
been previously legalized by Charles II. As
no resistance was then offered by the people,
the only opportunity of displaying their prowess
was on their return, when the students of
Glasgow university kept the bridge of that

city, and forced a party of two thousand of
them to surrender their plunder. After the
Revolution, when their notions of hereditary
right were once more violated, they joined the
Viscount of Dundee in an attempt to procure
the restoration of James VII. and were suc-
cessful at Killiecranky in July 1689, though
the death of their leader prevented them
from prosecuting the war any farther with
advantage. From this period, the chiefs of
the various names or clans into which the po-
pulation was divided, kept up a close corres-
pondence with the exiled royal family, and, in
many cases, their sons were brought up in
France, under the eye and influence of that
unfortunate race. Being also supplied with
judicious presents of money, and with ship-
ments of arms, they kept themselves constant-
ly in a state of readiness to rise in favour of
the house of Stewart. From the chief himself,
who was either influenced by political enthu-
siasm or less worthy motives, down to the
humble serfs, who glowed with martial ardour,
over the songs of bards regarding the exploits
of their fathers, under Montrose, one common
spirit prevailed,; and only in very rare in-
stances was a chieftain ever bought off by the
existing government. The benighted igno-
rance of the people, the prevalence of the Ca-
tholic religion, the inaccessibility of the coun-
try to the virtues of peace, were all alike fa-
vourable to this state of things. Hence, at the
instigation of the Earl of Mar in 1715, the
clans arose, to the amount of ten or twelve
thousand men, and descended towards the low
country, where, from the paucity of the national
troops, and the comparatively peaceful charac-
ter of the lowland population, it seemed at
one time as if there were nothing to prevent
them from re-establishing the son of James
VII. upon the throne. Being eventually de-
feated in this enterprise, they afterwards be-
came a subject of serious consideration to
the government, and some attempts were
made during the reigns of George I. and II.
to break up their military power. An act
passed for disarming them succeeded to a cer-
tain extent, though, it is said, the clans friend-
ly to government were thereby rendered power-
less, while the disaffected tribes either retained
a great part of their weapons, or were after-
wards supplied with more. Something was
also done by the re- erection of Cromwell's
fort, and the addition of one or two more, in

HIGHLANDS.

54'

which considerable garrisons were placed, for
the purpose of overawing the country. But
the most effectual expedient was the cutting of
two lines of road, from Crieff to the two chief
*brts, which was done by the garrison soldiers,
tnder General Wade. These roads, which
were finished in 1737, and amounted altogether
to 250 miles in aggregate extent, destroyed, in
a great measure, that impregnable and fortress-
like character which had formerly belonged to
the Highlands. Yet, long ere any particular
effect was observed to result from these mea-
sures, another insurrection took place.* Un-
der the direction of Prince Charles Stuart, an
army of Highlanders descended upon the Low-
lands, September 1745 ; and having defeated a
body of national troops at Prestonpans, marched
into England, where they reached a point only
a hundred miles from the capital ere any ade-
quate force could be assembled to oppose them.
This army was ultimately defeated at Culloden,
and the terrors of military law were freely let
loose over a country which had so often of-
fended against the rest of the state. Yet,
though depressed and dejected, the Highland-
ers were still formidable. It was now seen
necessary to take various decisive measures in
order to bring the people into the great fold of
ordinary civilized life. An act for abolishing
hereditary jurisdictions, passed in 1748, was
aimed at the arbitrary power which the chiefs
had heretofore exercised over their people.
Another act decreed the abolition of the tartan,
a peculiar chequered and coloured cloth with
which they had hitherto been in the habit of
attiring themselves, .and which, from its anti-
quity and nationality, was of course intimately
associated with those feelings which the go-
vernment desired to eradicate. The disarming
act was now also carried into practice with ex-
treme rigour. In short, the Highlanders were at
once reduced fr6m the condition of a patriarchal
people, having customs, dress, and habits, differ-
ent from their neighbours, into the same state

* A most notable signification of the state of the High-
lands in the oarly part of the reign of George II. occurs
in Keith's History, which was published in 1733. After
describing the banditti who infested the borders and re-
mote Hebrides in the reign of James V., the right reve-
rend author observes, with great coolness, " Something
of this kind is to be found in the Highlands at this day,"
—rather an awkward admission, if we consider that " Ro-
bert Macgregor, alias Rob Roy," the chief of all the agi-
tators and depredators of that time, appears as one of the
subscribers for the book, amidst a host of Highland lairds
who afterwards joined in the insurrection of 1745.

with the Lowlanders, the only external differ-
ence that remained being the original Erse lan-
guage, which they had spoken for thousands of
years, and which no act of parliament could
well root out. The jacobite chiefs being now
expatriated and severed from their lands by at-
tainders, the general proprietory body of the
Highlands became friendly to government.
A totally different direction was by and bye
given to the military ardour of the people.
Regiments for the service of government were
raised in the country, and led by the sons of
the proprietors, who acted as officers, into
scenes of danger in Canada, which it was
found that no less hardy race could well en-
counter. Afterwards, in the American war
of. independence, still larger levies were tran-
sported to the colonies, where they generally
acted with greater boldness than other soldiers,
and were found better fitted to move in the
rugged defiles of the country, on account of
their previous habits of life. At one time,
ten thousand were at once raised for this ser-
vice, which, though odious to the more en-
lightened classes of the British people, was re-
garded with no peculiar feelings by the poor
Highlanders. In a later and more glorious
contest, the same people served with such well
known bravery and effect, as to need no eulogy
in this humble record.

Through the influence of the above circum-
stances, and several others which must now be
particularized, the population of the Highlands
has undergone a greater change during the laai
century than any other branch of the British
people. Previous to the insurrection of 1745,
the same system of life which had obtained
for ages was still entire. The country at
large was divided into a number of compart-
ments, each of which was inhabited by a par-
ticular tribe assuming a peculiar name. Thus,
upon the Lowland frontier, there were the
Buchanans, the Grahames, the Stewarts, the
Robertsons, &c. ; in the West Highlands, the
Campbells, M'Dougals, and M'Leans ; in
the central parts of the territory, the M'Don-
alds, Camerons, Macphersons, Macintoshes,
Grants, and Frasers. And in the north,
were the Mackenzies, the Mackays, and the
M'Leods. These tribes were of different nu-
merical power, and enjoyed larger or smaller
tracts of country. Some clans were broken
down into certain subdivisive septs, which
were headed by chieftains ; but in general the

542

HIGHLANDS.

tribe had one chief, or kean-kinnhe, (head of the
family) who was understood to be the lineal
representative of the founder of the family,
and was at once the landlord, lawgiver, leader,
and father of his people. Certain individuals
called doaine-uailse, who could trace kindred to
the chief, and were not very remote in degree
from the succession, formed a species of gen-
try in the country of the . clan, of which they
were generally assigned the management of a
certain portion. Below these was a promis-
cuous set of commoners, who lived merely up-
on the bounty of their superiors, performing
labour in peace and military service in war, in
return for their subsistence. The various
clans were frequently at feud with each other,
and on such occasions, as well as when an ex-
pedition was undertaken against the Lowland
whigs, the latter order of men formed the mass
of the army, while the doaine-uailse acted as
officers under the chief. Upon the death of
a chief, when any difficulty was found in trac-
ing the proper heir, the minor heads of the
tribe have been known to elect a provisional
leader under the title of Captain. The hus-
band of an heiress could also assume the bear-
ing of a chief. The clan has sometimes been
known, by a still greater anomaly in so dispo-
tic a system, to depose an unworthy chief and
adopt the next of kin. These were Celtic
fashions, surviving through the force of nation-
al manners, the introduction of the regular feu-
dal system of property, which may be said to
have taken place about the time of Robert
Bruce. The chiefs, in late times, were a
brave and spirited set of men, with a strange
mixture of the native Highlander and the
French gentleman-soldier. The dress of the
people throughout was simply a piece of tar-
tan, which was wrapped round the body in
such a way as to encircle the knees like a pet-
ticoat, and leave a piece loose at the top, to be
drawn occasionally over the arms. The fasten-
ing at the top was by a large metal brooch.
The better order of the clansmen, including the
chief, perhaps wore a dress more intricate and
compound than this ; but it is at least certain
that the attire in which Highlanders are now
generally painted, and which gentlemen wear
from fancy, is chiefly taken from the military
uniform assumed by the Highland regiments."

* In Windsor Palace, there is a painting by Lely, dated,
if 1 recollect rightly, in 1071. representing the celebrated
sctor John Lacy in three characters, one of which is

We have had repeated occasion to notice in
Scottish history, that the appearance of the
dress of a Highland army was such as to
give to strangers the impression of a troop of
naked savages. The chiefs were entitled to
wear an eagle's feather in their bonnets ; and
each clansman wore in the same place a sprig
of some particular shrub, or tree, which was
sacred to his tribe. A train of official persons
was attached to the person of the chief, com-
prising, in particular, a bard to commemorate
and recite the deeds of the clan, a piper to
play before him as he marched, and a hench-
man or valet, to run messages and attend to
any little personal want. The homage paid by
the tribe to their chief was as great as his power
over them was unlimited. The Highland duine
uasal, when fully armed, carried a basket-hilted
broadsword, a dagger, a pair of pistols, and a
target. The inferior class were seldom armed
very perfectly, but generally had at least broad-
swords and targets, besides carrying muskets
when such could be procured. Their custom
was to fire the muskets first, and to rush for-
ward, under the smoke, to charge with sword
and targe. The vices of the Highland char-
acter, in its native and original state, were
haughtiness and irritability ; they regarded the
Lowlanders, whom they called Sassenach
(Saxons), as mean tame creatures compared
with themselves, and entertained a general
contempt for the domestic arts and the com-
forts of peace. Their utter want of occupa-
tion, and the constant contemplation of a re-
nowned ancestry, caused them to look upon
themselves, in comparison with the commer-
cial and manufacturing Lowlanders, as,gentle-
men ; and they were scrupulous in endeavour-
ing to maintain their pretensions to that char-
acter by several evil as well as virtuous pro-
perties. They are even said to have carried
this feeling so far that, when they had occasion
to allude to any of the humbler artizans, they
would use some apologetic expression — such as
" a tailor, saving your presence" — and so forth.
Their irascibility was such as to be considered
by the Lowlanders a peculiarity of the blood : it
is still common for a Lowlander, on observing

Sandy in the Taming of the Shrew. It is perhaps wor-
thy of remark, that he appears in a pair of tartan panta-
loons and a tartan plaid; a circumstance which provci
that this cloth was looked upon by the English, in the
reign of Charles II., as the characteristic dress erf a
Scotsman. — R. C.

HIGHLANDS.

543

a man of Highland extraction getting angry, to
say, " there, your Highland blood is getting
up !" Their virtues were of the opposite char-
acter. They were hospitable to strangers, to
an extent often ruinous. In all kinds of en-
gagements, they were scrupulously faithful to
their word. Their bravery has been proved
on many a bloody field, and their disinterested
attachment to the cause which they thought
right, exhibited in every species of suffering.

Since the year 17-15, all the above peculiari-
ties of the Highlanders as a nation have been
undergoing a gradual process of extinction,
jnsomuch that the people are now less dis-
tinguishable from the Lowland peasantry, than
the latter are from the English. The principal
change has taken place in the number and em-
ployment of the population. It is evident that
in the former state of things, it was the inter-
est of the chief to have his lands as numerous-
ly peopled as possible, in order that he might
enjoy the higher political distinction. After-
wards, when the strength and sinews of men
came to be of less use to the proprietor, as he
might then rather be called, it became an ob-
ject of some importance to reduce the number
of superfluous retainers, and stock his lauds
with a different species of cattle, which he
could sell for money in the Lowland markets.
Thus for many years a process of deportation
has been kept up ; the poor clansmen, who,
in one sense, had a right to the soil as well as
their chiefs, have been carried in thousands from
the glens of their fathers, where every object
spoke to them of some endeared tale of family
history, to clear a still ruder home for them-
selves amidst the wilds of Canada. To such an
extent is this system carried that, in 1830, no
fewer than 3000 emigrants sailed from Green-
ock.* The population has been much reduc-
ed, but hard as the case appears, it is perhaps
rot to be regretted, as the country, by climate
and intractable ruggedness, is really better cal-
culated for the support of cattle than of hu-

* The difficulty and trouble with which these poor
people effect their own transportation may not be un-
worthy of notice. The circulation of money is very
limited among them, and their whole property may be
said to consist of a few black cattle and small horses, all
of which are made over to the emigrant's agent at his
own price, and which he sends to the south markets at
his own risk ; the roofs of their huts, their boats, in
short, every thing they have, must be converted by him
into money, before the necessary sum for defraying the j
freight can be realized.

man beings. It is even to be desired that
many of those who remain could also be en-
abled to emigrate, as their style of living is of
so miserable a character as to offer the very re-
verse of a premium for human existence. They
generally occupy small patches of ground, just
enough to support life, and from which they
can scarcely afford to pay any rent. Their
cottages are the most wretched hovels ima-
ginable, and notwithstanding the general kind-
ness of the landlords, their mode of life is very
miserable. Resides this class, there is just
one other of any note in the Highlands, con-
sisting of the small farmers, drovers, factois,
innkeepers, &c. who manage what may be call-
ed the business of the country, that is, the
rearing of live-stock for the Lowland and Eng-
lish shambles. As for the landlords, who are
now much more numerous than the chiefs of
old, they reside chiefly in London or in
Edinburgh, and are not distinguished by any
peculiarity whatever from those of the rest of
Scotland.

It is very common to hear the alteration of
things in the Highlands lamented, either on the
mere principle of antiquarianism, or as having
been productive of much misery to the country
itself, and much loss to the rest of the state, in
so far as concerns the decrease of population.
But, though we regret as heartily as any one
to see the vestiges of an ancient, if not prime-
val, people perishing from the face of the earth
— though we sympathize most acutely in the
pains of a compulsory emigration — and though
we are anxious to maintain the population of
the country at its highest possible pitch, — we
still think, that the change, upon the whole,
besides being practically unavoidable, is ab-
stractly fortunate for the interests of humanity
at large. The truth is, that the existence of
so large a body of uneducated and uncivilized
people, who could be turned to any purpose
theirsuperiors willed, was exceedingly danger-
ous at all times to the peace of the more in-
dustrious and cultivated community. It was
found that Highlanders would fight in causes
however adverse to civil bberty, as in the case
of America, when Lowlanders hung back; and
it is to be supposed that they would do so again.
The clearing out of the population of the High-
lands, or at least the thinning of it, has been
therefore a fortunate event for the growth of
civil liberty in Britain. The very humane
measures now adopted by various religious bo-

544

HIGHLANDS.

dies — one of which (the Society for the Diffu-
sion of Christian Knowledge in the Highlands)
was instituted by the Church of Scotland as
early as 1703 — to enlighten the remnant of the
population, will, in the course of time, smooth
down what asperities of character are yet re-
maining, and, at length, with other causes con-
spiring, place the Highlanders on a level of
education and comforts with their neighbours,
when there will be no longer any fears on this
score. It appears, from an essay recently pub-
lished under the patronage of the Highland
Society, and by the census of 1821, that the
counties of Argyle, Inverness, Nairn, Ross,
Cromarty, Sutherland, Caithness, Orkney, and
Shetland, and the Gaelic district of Perth and
Moray, comprehending 171 parishes, contained
416,852 persons, forming 78,609 families. Of
this mass, the number living in towns of above
1000 inhabitants does not make one-tenth of
the whole; and it is chiefly on the eastern
coasts that these towns occur. The extensive
shires of Inverness and Argyle comprehend
nearly one-fifth of the whole surface of Scot-
land, yet they contain only one-eleventh part
of its population. Three-fourths of the popu-
lation of the Highlands and islands still speak
the Gaelic language ; the number of persons
understanding English better than Gaelic be-
ing 133,699, that of persons more proficient in
Gaelic, 303,153. The only means of religious
instruction for this population, including forty
appointments to chapels of ease by government,
are provided by 264 parish ministers and mis-
sionaries of the establishment, eight Episcopal
clergymen, and about thirty of other persua-
sions. There are about ten Roman Catholic
priests within the Highland limits, chiefly in
the counties of Inverness and Argyle. About
12,000 persons in the western districts profess
the Roman Catholic faith. At Lismore there
was formerly a college, presided over by a
bishop, which has now merged in that of Blairs,
near Aberdeen, recently founded and endowed
by Mr. Menzies of Pitfoddels. This'is now the
only seminary for the instruction of the Catho-
lic priesthood in Scotland. In Appin and some
other places in the Highlands, there are great
numbers of Episcopalians, who have sometimes
been classed as Roman Catholics. The num-
ber of schools in the Highlands belonging to
parishes and instituted by associations is, by a
late calculation, 495. About one-half of the
Highland population is unable to read ; and a

third are so far distant from schools, that they
are unable to attend those which have been
erected for their instruction. Vast numbers
of Bibles and pious works have been distribut-
edfor some years back by different societies; still
the Bibles are in the proportion of only one
for every eight persons. In general there is
one person in every family who can read the
Bible, either in Gaelic or English. The
Church of Scotland deserves great credit for
its exertions in aid of the religious instruction
and education of the poor Highlanders. A
society has just been instituted, under the Epis-
copal Church of Scotland, for the establish-
ment of a number of lay itinerating catechists,
and the distribution of religious works in the
Gaelic tongue, in order to preserve Episcopal-
ians from, being induced to come within the
pale of the Presbyterian or the Roman com-
munions. The singular lukewarmness of the
Episcopalians, and the want of a hearty co-
operation between the clergy and laity, in fa-
vour of missionaries, have hitherto been the
means of allowing the power of the bishops to
be in many places nearly lost sight of. There
are exceedingly few towns in the Highlands.
Along the whole of the western coast, includ-
ing the inland tract, there are only two towns
and two or three villages, with a variety of
wretched fishing hamlets. On the east coast,
where the country is in few places sterile or
otherwise unfavourable to population, they are
more numerous. The only printing establish-
ment in the Highlands is at Inverness. Ideas
of feudal attachment are extinguished almost
everywhere, except in some parts of Ross and
Inverness- shires ; and the natives of all the
districts are daily losing their characteristic
hereditary features. The Highlanders of both
the upper and lower classes are seldom alive
to the value of improvements ; and according-
ingly it is remarked, that the country has been
indebted for a great part of the most valuable
to persons not connected with it by birth.
National beneficence has done much for the
Highlands, as may be learned by turning to the
article Caledonian Canal, and to the excel-
lent letter by Mr. Joseph Mitchell, which con-
cludes the present disquisition. For many
years there has been a gradual and steady in-
crease of Lowland store-farmers into the
Highland districts, and by these intelligent
men the estates have been greatly enhanced in
value. The kind of sheep formerly pastured

HIGHLANDS.

545

have given place to those of a different quality.
Within these forty years, the Cheviot has su-
perseded the original black-faced breed, and in
consequence the value of sheep farms has been
nearly doubled. To put this in a stronger
light, it may be mentioned, that the two first
prizes given by the Highland Society in 1830
were gained by Sutherlandshire farmers. The
new roads have been of immense benefit to the
sheep farmers. Till 1809, Sutherland and
Caithness were nearly destitute of roads.
Now that these have laid the country open,
the exports from the barren districts amount
annually to 80,000 fleeces of wool, and 20,000
Cheviot sheep ; and from the sea-coast, several
cargoes of grain, the produce of three consi-
derable distilleries of Highland whisky, many
droves of cattle, and from 30,000 to 40,000
barrels of herring, besides cod and ling. The
greater part of the sales of the sheep and cattle
of the Highlands take place at Amulree Tryst
in May, the Dumbarton market in June, the
Falkirk Trysts in August, September and Oc-
tober, and the Doune Trysts in November.
In all the islands and along the northern and
western coasts, a very large proportion of the
food of the people is derived from the shores.
In the outer Hebrides, from Whitsunday till
the potato crop becomes available in the begin-
ning of September, the people live almost ex-
clusively upon shell-fish of various kinds, toge-
ther with sand-eels and occasionally sea-weeds
Should a fish be found upon the shore, mang-
led by gulls, or even in an incipient stage
of putrefaction, it is seized upon. Milk
and oatmeal form the food of those in good
circumstances. The great evil under which
the Highlands now labour, is the want of ca-
pital to put in operation the latent industry of
the natives. Though the present improving
system be advantageous to the proprietors, it
leaves vast numbers of the expelled inhabi-
tants, as has been said, to live in this degraded
manner on the coasts ; and until emigration
carry them off, or they be attracted to some
profitable course of labour, such as fishing,
there will be much individual suffering. Suth-
erlandshire has been the most extensive theatre
of this removal of the population to the sea-
coast yet witnessed, and its interior has be-
come one vast solitude. The instruments of
culture used in the Highlands were, till lately,
rude, and little was known of improved modes
of farming. There is a great want of manure.

Lime abounds, but there is no coal to burn it.
Fuel of any kind in some districts can hardly be
got. Cottage gardens are nearly unknown, and
the people, except in a few praise-worthy in-
stances, are not encouraged in constructing
or tending them. The sole manufacture of
the maritime Highlands is, or rather was, kelp ;
and if this be taken totally from the people by
the introduction of a foreign article, the utmost
misery will be endured for many years, till in-
dustry can be made to pursue some new chan-
nel. The number of boats engaged in the cod
and haddock and in the herring fishery, in the
proper season, along the Inverness, Cromarty,
and Tain Firths, and belonging to the dis-
trict, is 319. The number of men and boys
employed in the boats is 1200, and fully as
many men and women on shore. Various
attempts have been made to introduce manu •
factures, but they have failed ; and in like
manner the erection of new villages has also
been attended with little success. There is a
considerable quantity of plaiding and coarse
stockings made by poor people in Inverness-
shire and Wester Ross, and sold at the markets
for home consumpt. Cattle, sheep, wool, whis-
ky, pork, and fish, are the chief exports from
the Highlands. In concluding this desultory
sketch, it ought to be mentioned, that for some
years the Highlands and Islands have been
benefited beyond calculation by the use of steam
vessels, which have exposed the coasts to the
visits of strangers, and given natives oppor-
tunities of carrying to market many things for-
merly nearly valueless ; and, as has been al-
ready stated in the article Argyleshire, have
raised the value of property in many places,
fully twenty per cent.

Notices of the Improved State of the Highlands
since the commencement of the Public Works,
executed under the direction of the Parliament-
ary Commissioners ; in a Letter addressed to
Lord Colchester by Mr. Joseph Mitchell,
Superintendent under the Commission — From
the Fourteenth Highland Roads and Bridges
Report, 1828. (Parliamentary Paper. J

In March 1799, colonel Anstruther, superin-
tendent of the military roads in the Highlands
of Scotland, in a memorial to the Lords of the
treasury relative to these roads, states, that
"they passed through the wildest and most
mountainous parts of the Highlands of Scot-
4a

54G

HIGHLANDS.

land, where the people were poor and the
country thinly inhabited, and totally unable to
keep in repair either the roads or bridges by
statute labour, or any other means." The dis-
trict to which this observation referred, was si-
tuated more immediately in contact with the
low countries, the military roads extending no
further northwards than the Moray Firth and
the fortresses along the Caledonian glen ; and
the wide and extensive country beyond, com-
prising the counties of Ross, Cromarty, Su-
therland, and Caithness, with the greater part
of Inverness-shire, and the whole of the Wes-
tern Islands, intersected as it was by arms of
the sea, dangerous ferries, deep and rapid rivers,
and innumerable lesser streams, subject to fre-
quent and sudden floods, without the accomo-
dation of bridges, piers, or other facilities, was,
as may be conceived, in a much worse condi-
tion. The internal communication was at-
tended with the utmost difficulty and danger,
and any considerable intercourse with the low
countries was rendered almost impracticable ;
which was, no doubt, the principal cause that
the Highlands, thus insulated, remained in
their unimproved condition, while the southern
parts of the kingdom were in all directions
making rapid advances in every species of in-
dustry and civilization ; and to such a degree
did the want of safe and easy intercourse be-
tween the northern counties affect even the or-
dinary administration of justice, .that, until of
late years, the. counties of Sutherland and
Caithness were not required to return jurors
to the northern circuits at Inverness. Such
may, in a few words, be described as the state
of the Highlands previous to the year 1803,
when the parliamentary commissioners com-
menced their operations. Since that period
the progress of these works bas gradually laid
open the most inaccessible parts of the coun-
try ; and the commissioners, by combining the
efforts of all the counties in the prosecution of
one great general measure of improvement,
have succeeded in effecting a change in the
state of the Highlands, perhaps unparalleled
in the same space of time in the history of any
country. Before the commencement of the
present century, no public coach, or other re-
gular vehicle of conveyance, existed in the
Highlands. In the year 1800, it was attempted
to establish coaches between Inverness and
Perth, and between Inverness and Aberdeen ;
but, from the state of the roads at that period,
23.

and the little intercourse which then took place,
it was found necessary to discontinue them
after a short trial ; and it was not until
1806 and 1811, that coaches were regular-
ly established in these directions, being the
first that ran on roads in the Highlands.
Since the completion of the parliamentary
works, several others have successively com-
menced ; and during the summer of last year
no less than seven different stage coaches pass-
ed daily to and from Inverness, making forty-
four coaches arriving at, and the same number
departing from that town in the course of every
week. Three of these, including the mail, run
between Inverness and Aberdeen ; one be-
tween Inverness and Perth, along the High-
land road ; two between Inverness and Ding-
wall, Invergordon, Cromarty and Tain ; and
the mail coach along the northern coast road
from Inverness to Wick and Thurso, extend-
ing from the capkal of the empire, in one di-
rect line, above 800 miles. This latter coach
was not established until 1819, and much doubt
was entertained at that time of its success.
Indeed, some assistance was at first required
from the counties to support it This was,
however, soon afterwards withdrawn, and the
encouragement it has since met with has en-
abled the contractors to increase its original
speed to eight miles an hour, and latterly to
employ four horses for the first fifty miles
north of Inverness, notwithstanding the oppo-
sition of the two other coaches above mention-
ed. There has also been established, within
the last two years, a stage coach from Inve-
rary to Oban in Argyleshire, over a considera-
ble part of the improved military line in that
district of the Highlands : and when it is stat-
ed that, in connexion with these coaches,
more than 13,000 passengers went last year
through the Crinan Canal, that three steam-
boats plied regularly for the conveyance of pas-
sengers along the Caledonian Canal, and five
others from Glasgow, along the west coast,
and to the different islands of Skye, Mull, Islay,
&c. as well as one occasionally from Leith,
along the east coast to Inverness, some idea
may be formed of the increased intercourse
that has taken place between the remotest parts
of the Highlands and the southern counties
within the last few years.

It deserves notice also, that, along the roads
constructed by the commissioners (extending in
length upwards of 900 miles,) excepting in one

HIGHLANDS.

S47

instance, * suitable inns, affording accommo-
dation superior to what could be expected,
considering their recent introduction, have been
erected or fitted up at regidar stages ; while for-
merly, even had other facilities existed, the
total want of accommodation for travellers
would of itself have presented a serious ob-
stacle to all internal intercourse.

Post-chaises and other modes of travelling,
have, during the same period, increased pro-
portionally ; and instead of five post-chaises,
which was the number kept in the town of In-
verness about the year 1803, there are now up-
wards of a dozen, besides two establishments for
the hire of gigs and riding horses, all of which
find sufficient employment. Post-chaises and
horses have also been kept up, for the last two
or three years, at all the inns on the great High-
land road, and also at Dingwall and Tain, and
at Inverary. The number of private carriages
in Inverness and its vicinity has likewise in-
creased remarkably during the last twenty-five
years, and no less than one hundred and sixty
coaches and gigs may now be seen attending
the Inverness yearly races ; whereas, at the
commencement of that period, the whole ex-
tent of the Highlands could scarcely produce
a dozen ; and at no very distant date previous-
ly, a four-wheeled carriage was an object of
wonder and veneration to the inhabitants. In
1715, the first coach or chariot seen in Inver-
ness is said to have been brought by the Earl
of Seaforth. In 1760 the first post- chaise
was brought to Inverness, and was for a con-
siderable time the only four-wheeled car-
riage in the district. There are at present
ibur manufactories of coaches in Inverness.
I may state also, that on all the principal roads
which have been constructed in the Highlands,
regular carriers, for the conveyance of goods,
now pass at all seasons of the year from In-
verness to Tain, Skye, Loch- Carron, Loch-
Alsh, Elgin, Nairn, Campbelltown, Aviemore,
&c. ; and others from Glasgow to Ballachu-
lish, &c. in the western district. Perhaps in
no instance has the beneficial influence of the
parliamentary works been more perceptible in
ite result, than in the speedy and certain con-
veyance of intelligence to the remotest quarters
of the Highlands. Through their whole extent
this department is now conducted with as much

* Tim Logman road.

regularity and despatch us in any part of the
kingdom ; and when I state that the following
extract from a letter, which I have received
from a gentleman in the Island of Skye, is
equally applicable to the other districts in
which roads have been constructed, it will be
unnecessary for me to add any thing further on
this part of the subject. " The communica-
tion of our letters and newspapers by the mail,
is very different now to what it was about
twenty years ago. Previous to the completion
of the roads, we had first only one, . and after-
wards two mails a-week ; and these were only
carried on runners' backs. There was only
one runner from Inverness to Janetown ; and
there being no piers or landing places, or in-
deed regular ferry-boats, the detention at the
ferries must have been occasionally very consi-
derable. We are now very differently situated.
We have a regular communication three times
a-week with Dingwall, with a change of horses
at different stations to the Ferry of Kyle-
haken ; and, as an instance of the facility of
communication, I receive a London Sunday
newspaper regularly here (Portree) every
Thursday morning ; a circumstance which must
appear to a stranger almost incredible, and
which of course is solely attributable to the
roads made under the authority of the Parlia-
mentary commissioners." Not less remark-
able, though more indirect, has been the im-
pulse given to agricultural improvement
throughout the Highlands. The construction
of the parliamentary roads having in the first
instance opened the means of access through
the districts generally, and also the intercourse
with the low countries, a desire was naturally
excited among the proprietors and tenantry
more or less remotely situated, to connect
themselves immediately with the general lines
of communication, and thus avail themselves
of the facilities which they afforded for im-
provements is Agriculture. Hence, numerous
lines of district road have been constructed
during the progress and since the completion
of the parliamentary works, in every part of
the Highlands, by means of statute labour;
and the rapid and important increase in the
extent of cultivation, which has uniformly been
the consequence, proves in a striking degree
the favourable effects resulting from the works
of the commissioners. Their roads being ex.
ecuted without reference to any individual in-
terest, they were made in lines most calculated

548

HIGHLANDS.

for the general good, and necessarily pointed
out the proper direction of those subsidi-
ary branches which were required to be made
by the statute labour and out of private
funds. The public aid afforded for the par-
liamentary works kept the local funds, in a
great measure, entire for such separate pur-
poses; and the knowledge gained from ob-
serving the works of the commissioners sav-
ed much expense, and furnished the assistance
of skilful engineers and experienced workmen.
Upon this subject I have received the follow-
ing communication from good authority : " In
illustration of the spirit which these public
works have excited, and the incalculable bene-
fits which they have produced already, and
may produce more extensively hereafter, it
may be sufficient to refer to the recent act for
regulating the statute labour of the.county of
Sutherland, by which the services in kind were
converted into a money payment. The coun-
ty having been divided by this act into four
districts, in the first of them, the Dornoch dis-
trict, nineteen miles of new road have been
made with requisite bridges, by the joint means
of composition for statute labour and contri-
bution from Lord Stafford the principal pro-
prietor ; in the second, or Sutherland district,
seventy-five miles of road have been made by
the like means, besides a line of twenty-five
miles from Tongue down Strathuahaver to
Altnaharrow, and a direct line of thirty seven
miles from Helmsdale on the east coast, to
Bighouse on the north coast, both of which
have been effected by statute labour funds ex-
clusively ; in the third, or Reay district, there
is now constructing a road of thirty-four miles
from Altnaharrow to Durness ; and in the
fourth, or Assynt district, several roads and
bridges also have been constructed, and one
line of forty-four miles in length from the east
coast up Strath- Ordil to Loch-Inver on the
west coast, intersecting this portion of the
island at right angles to the Helmsdale road ;
this important line has been made partly by
the statute labour funds, partly at Lord Staf-
ford's expense, and four miles of it entirely by
the late Lord Ashburton. One immediate
result of making these roads has been the sub-
stitution of carts instead of ponies for the com-
mercial intercourse of the country ; and the
saving in point of time, and labour and expense
in this respect is beyond all calculation, giving
* new impulse to the improvement of the coun-

try. The people are extending their smaller
roads in all directions for their carts to bring
sea-weed from the shore, or their fuel from the
peat mosses ; and activity, energy and industry
have taken place of their former indolence,
sloth, and idleness ; raising everywhere more
comfortable and better-built cottages, with the
addition of gardens, an accommodation and
source of supply to such heretofore unknown,
but now getting into very general use." With
regard to the state of husbandry, the following
extract from the letter before mentioned will
suffice, as applying with equal, and in many
cases with greater, force to all parts of the
Highlands : — '•' With the exception of a few
carts, which were in the possession of a very
few individual principal tenants, paying a rent
of from L.200 to L.700 a-year, there were
none to be found in the island of Skye. There
are now numerous carts in every quarter ; and
their introduction has in like manner been the
means of introducing other useful implements,
such as the plough and iron-teethed harrows ;
neither of which were much used, excepting
by the principal tenants, not many years ago.
These improvements have, without doubt,
been caused solely by the roads made under
the authority of the parliamentary commis-
sioners, as without roads there could of course
be no carts ; and although it may be true that,
by having roads made on different farms, cer-
tain advantages might have been derived, still,
as these roads would be merely local, no great
general good could be derived from them, as
they could not possibly open up the communi-
cation from one place to another." At the
commencement of the present century, from
the difficulty of conveyance for exportation,
cultivation was almost entirely confined to nar-
row stripes of land situated along the sea-coast,
and in the immediate neighbourhood of the
few sea-port towns ; and even here, was not
brought to that state of perfection which, since
the introduction of implements of a less defec-
tive description than those formerly used, it
has of late years attained. As an instance of
the improvement that has taken place in Ross-
shire, now the most beautiful and highly cul-
tivated county in the Highlands, I may men-
tion, that there is at present in the service of
Major Gilchrist of Ospisdale, in Sutherland,
as farm manager, the individual who first in-
troduced the ploughing of land into regular
ridges, and the division of fields into any thing

HIGHLANDS.

.549

like systematic arrangement in that county ;
the fields being formerly detached pieces of
land, ploughed irregularly, as the ground with
the least labour suited. The carts generally
used were of the poorest description, with a
kind of tumbler or solid wheel, and wicker
conical baskets ; little or no lime was used for
sigricultural purposes. " I succeeded to a ferm
in this country about thirty years ago (says
Major Gilchrist), when the working strength
consisted of sixteen oxen and twenty-four
small horses called garrons ; this farm is now
laboured by three pair of horses." The total
amount of wheat then raised in the county was
not equal to what is now produced on many
single farms. It was not until 1813 that the
first barley mill, north of the Cromarty Firth,
was erected, and in 1821 the first flour mill
(at Drummond on the estate of Fowlis) by
the same individual. To such an extent, how-
ever, has cultivation of late years been carried,
that the growth of wheat alone is now estimat-
ed at 20,000 quarters annually, and the exporta-
tion of grain to London, Leith, Liverpool, &c.
.luring the last year, amounted to upwards of
1 0,000 quarters ; besides the supply of the ex-
tensive and populous pastoral districts of the
county, and the towns of Dingwall, Tain, In-
verness, &c. to which places I am credibly in-
formed upwards of 10,000 bolls of flour are
now annually sent for the consumption of the
inhabitants. Among other exports may like-
■wise be mentioned, the produce of various ex-
tensive whisky distilleries situated in different
parts of the county, and a considerable quanti-
ty of salted pork, bacon, &c. from the ports of'
Cromarty and Invergordon. I understand, that
in the year 1819 the sum estimated to have
lieen expended in the purchase of the latter
amounted to about L. 30,000. Indeed, a mark-
ed improvement in domestic animals of every
description has taken place in the northern
counties since the improved communication
With the south. I need hardly allude to the
introduction of Cheviot sheep, to the pains
taken in improving the breed of cattle by the
importation of the most improved sorts from
the West Highlands, and of cows from Ayr-
shire. Considerable attention has been re-
cently paid to the breed of horses, both for the
purposes of agriculture and draught, and in
some instances those of the finest description
have been successfully reared. Nor has the
breed of pigs been neglected, several valuable

species, both pure and crosses, having been in-
troduced. In short, a general spirit of approxi-
mating these counties, in as far as the soil and
climate will permit, to the more advanced
counties in the south, seems everywhere to
prevail. The improvements in many parts of
Inverness-shire have been scarcely upon a less
extensive scale than in the county of Ross, al-
though the field for agricultural operations in
that county is naturally more limited. In the
county of Sutherland, the objects of the com-
missioners have been promoted in an extraor-
dinaqr degree, by the liberal exertions of the
Marquis of Stafford, and other heritors, who
have effected a complete revolution in the state
of that extensive district of the Highlands.
-Agriculture is there conducted on the most
approved plans, and farm buildings, and other
establishments of husbandry, have been erect-
ed on a scale equally extensive and complete
as in the most improved parts of the kingdom.
This is the more remarkable, as not twenty
years ago nothing of the kind existed ; and un-
til that period, the great body of the inhabi-
tants were confined to the upper parts of the
county, and had undergone little change from
their primitive and uncultivated habits, living
in huts of the most wretched description, and
strangers to every species of industry or com-
fort. Latterly, however, crofts or small por-
tions of ground were gradually lotted out for
them near the coast, in such positions as were
best calculated to employ their labour with ad-
vantage to themselves and to the country ; and
every encouragement was given for the im-
provement of the lands, and the erection of
comfortable and suitable cottages ; while the
upper parts were converted into extensive farms
for the rearing of cattle and sheep, to which
they are naturally adapted, and in which way
only they can prove valuable to the proprietors
or to the community. That the first impulse
to these important changes has been given by
the operations of the commissioners, is no more
than is uniformly acknowledged in the state-
ments of those individuals, under whose direc-
tions the improvements have been conducted,
In confirmation of these remarks, I have
received a letter from a gentleman residing
in Sutherland, from which the following is
an extract: — " When I came to the High-
lands in 1809, the whole of Sutherland and
Caithness was nearly destitute of roads. This
county imported com and meal in return for

5,30

HIGHLANDS.

the small value of Highland kyloes (cattle,)
which formed its almost sole export. The
people lay scattered in inaccessible straths and
spots among the mountains, where they lived
in family with their pigs and kyloes, in turf
cabins of the most miserable description ; spoke
only Gaelic ; and spent the whole of their
time in indolence and sloth. Thus they had
gone on from father to son, with little change
except what the introduction of illicit distilla-
tion had wrought, (and this evil was then chief-
ly confined to the vicinity of Caithness ;) and
making little or no export from the coShtry
beyond the few lean kyloes, which paid the
rent, and produced wherewithal to pay for the
oatmeal imported. But about this time the
country was begun to be opened up by the
parliamentary roads, — by one road, from Novar
to Tongue, through the barren mountains of
which that district is composed, and by an-
other, passing along the east shore towards
Wick. Certainly, a more striking example
of what roads do effect, — and effect too in
an extremely poor country, — has rarely been
seen ; such a quick exhibition of what na-
tural wealth lay latent in such a country, is
unexampled. Your roads were opened, when
the agricultural distresses were just beginning.
In the face of that distress we now annually
export from the barren district about 80,000
fleeces of wool, and 20,000 Cheviot sheep ;
and from the sea-coast several cargoes of grain,
the produce of three considerable distilleries of
Highland whisky, a good many droves of well-
fed cattle, and from 30,000 to 40,000 barrels
of herrings, besides cod, ling, &c. But the
most happy result, in my opinion, is its effect
upon the people. The fathers of the present
generation of young men, were a great many
of them brought, by compulsion to the coast ;
others, after they came to substitute carts and
wheels for their former rude contrivances, have
drawn down to the road-side of themselves.
The effects of society upon human nature ex-
hibit themselves: — the pigs and cattle are
treated to a separate table ; the dunghill is
turned to the outside of the house ; the tartan
tatters have given place to the produce of
Huddersfield and Manchester, Glasgow, and
Paisley ; the Gaelic to the English ; and few
young persons are to be found who cannot both
read and write." Another well-informed cor-
respondent writes to me thus : — " About the
year 1809, the fifty miles of country between

Sutherland and Inverness was first began to b«
laid open by roads to the south. There was^
till then, no regularly formed road in that part
of the country, — no harbour, no attempt to
drain the land, — turnips and wheat were little
known ; and when Lord Stafford and his ten-
ants originally began their improvements, a
well-constructed plough had never been seen
in Sutherland, and the inhabitants were entire-
ly unacquainted with using ploughs in a work-
manlike manner. At that time nothing could
have led me to believe, that in the short space
of ten years, I should, in such a countiy, see
roads made in every direction, the mail-coach
daily driving through it, new harbours construct-
ed, in one of which upwards of twenty vessels
have been repeatedly seen at one time taking
in cargoes for exportation ; coal, and salt, and
lime, and brick-works established ; farm-stead-
ings everywhere built ; fields laid off, and sub-
stantially enclosed; capital horses employed,
with south-country implements of husbandry
made in Sutherland ; tilling the ground, secun-
dum artem, for turnips, wheat, and artificial
grasses ; an export of fish, wool, and mutton,
to the extent of L.70,000 a-year ; and a baker,
a carpenter, a blacksmith, mason, shoemaker,
&c. to be had as readily, and nearly as cheap
too, as in other countries." The same corres-
pondent informs me that — " "When the line of
road from the Fleet Mound to the Ord of
Caithness was commenced, the object of every
one was to get it carried as far from their door
and arable lands as possible. It was carried,
therefore, generally speaking, at the outside of
the cultivated district, at the base of the moun-
tains. Bitterly do the present possessors la-
ment the blindness of their predecessors. The
effect, however, has been extremely advanta-
geous to the countiy ; it has forced the occu-
piers to cultivate carefully all the uncultivated
corners of their arable land below the road ;
and this line has served as a new base to stall
from for the cultivation of all that lies above
it, and that is fit for the plough. The old
track which communicated with Caithness, lay
along the beach, close by the sea. But being
since carried into the interior, the consequences
have been, a village built at Bonar Bridge, a
great tract of country planted by Messrs-
Houston of Criech and Dempster of Skibo ;
the whole of the arable part of the Creech
estate, subdivided with the best enclosures,
trenched to a great extent, and all under the

HIGHLANDS.

,1

best system of modern husbandry ; a distillery
erected, and a new farm torn from the moun-
tain's side at Skibo. The effects produced by
the Parliamentary Roads in Caithness, I can,
from experience, state to have been very great ;
having had to ride into it, the first time I knew
it, in 1813, and having visited it. in 1826, in a
carriage. About Wick, the additional cultivation
is very great, and all along the road-side con-
siderable symptoms of improvement are every-
where seen ; the same is still more conspicuous,
I understand, from Wick to Thurso. They are
making a shorter road to the latter place, called
the Kerseymire Road, which will bisect the
county; but though Caithness is capable of
vast agricultural improvement, yet that must
necessarily be slow, as many of the lands are
fettered most strictly by their entails." I have
not been able to acquire more specific infor-
mation regarding the county of Caithness ;
but it is only necessary to contrast the state of
the districts immediately bordering on the
Parliamentary Roads passing through it, with
that of the more unconnected portions, to
perceive the important effects that have at-
tended them ; and as this county is naturally
more susceptible of agricultural improvement
than any of the others, the most beneficial con-
sequences may reasonably be expected from
still further opening the interior by additional
roads. As an instance of the present condi-
tion of some parts of this county along the
Parliamentary Roads, I need only mention,
that one farmer, in the year 1826, exported
grain, the produce of his own farm, to the value
of not less than L.2000. Indeed I may state
generally, as equally applicable to the whole
of the Highlands, that in my various journeys
to the different parts of the country, I notice
improvements extending in every direction ;
and during my short recollection, a considera-
ble extent of moor-land in various places has
been enclosed and converted into cultivated
fields. It may also seFve to show how syste-
matic farming has become, that societies for
the promotion of agriculture and the rearing of
stock have been established in all the North-
ern counties. Nor have plantations been be-
hind in this general state of improvement.
Many thousands of acres have within the last
twenty five years been planted ; upon the Dun-
robin estate alone, there have been planted with-
in the last twenty-five years above nine millions
of trees ; and although the climate is somewhat

unfavourable for the growth of large trees, yet
the attempts made promise to be attended with
profit and advantage in many situations inca-
pable of any other species of culture. The
rapid improvements in agriculture have been
accompanied with a corresponding change in
the habitations of all ranks in the Highlands.
Proprietors have expended large sums in the
erection and ornamenting of suitable mansion-
houses ; and, in the houses of gentlemen tacks-
men, every species of comfort and convenience
is to be found ; while the cotters are gradually
exchanging their huts of mud or turf for neat
and substantial cottages. To aid this benefi-
cial change in the circumstances of the latter,
great encouragement has, in various instances,
been given by the heritors in granting timber,
windows, lime, &c. ; and I am enabled to state,
that in the island of Skye alone, no less a sum
than L. 100,000 has been expended by the late
Lord Macdonald, in the erection of buildings
and other improvements. I may here also
mention a fact, from which the general state of
the Highlands before the Parliamentary works
were undertaken, may be inferred ; namely, that
at the period of his Lordship's accession, in
1797, to his estates in that island, comprising
nearly five parishes, there were throughout
their whole extent no churches, only one manse,
two or three small slated houses, and only one
slated inn. To this island, and to the other
Islands and Highlands of Scotland, by a recent
act of parliament, passed in the reign of his
present Majesty, the benefit of additional
places of worship has been extended ; and sub-
stantial churches, with suitable manses, have
been erected in more than forty .places where
none existed four years ago, from Islay and
Iona to the Orkneys and Shetland. It will
naturally be inferred that a great increase in
the value of property must have arisen from
the foregoing circumstances ; and a few facts
will serve to place the change that has here
been effected in its strongest Ught. In In-
verness and its vicinity, the increase has been
in several instances nearly tenfold; for in-
stance, the lands of Merkinch, situated be-
tween the town and the canal, rented twenty-
five years ago between L. 70 and L. 80, while
the rental for the last year amounted to L. 600.
In 1790, the property of Redcastle, on the op-
posite shore of the Beauly Firth, was sold for
L. 25,000, and in 1824 was again sold to Sir
William Fettes, Bart, for L. 135,000. Nor

HIGHLANDS.

has the change been less striking in the dis-
tricts of the Highlands more removed from the
influence of the northern capital — it is suffi-
cient to refer to what has been done by capi-
talists from the Lothians and Northumberland
on the Stafford estates in Sutherland. The
beneficial influence of the operations in that
quarter has also been felt through the most in-
accessible parts of Lord Reay's country, where
enclosures have been made, farm-houses erect-
ed, and the rental largely increased. The
estates of Chisholm, situated in the romantic
district of Strathglass, have risen since 1785
from L.700 to be now upwards of L.5000
per annum. When Dd. Macdonell of Glen-
garry died in 1788, his yearly income did not
exceed L.800 ; the same lands now yield from
L.6000 to L.7000 a year. I have little
doubt that a corresponding increase has taken
place in most parts of the Highlands, but the
present is a very unfavourable period for bring-
ing forward instances, particularly in the pas-
toral districts, owing to the depreciation of
wool, sheep, cattle, &c, which has in a parti-
cular degree affected the value of property in
this part of the kingdom. This may well be
inferred from the fact, that wool, which a few
years ago was sold at from thirty-five shillings
to two guineas per stone, produced at the last
Inverness wool market no more than twelve or
thirteen shillings. There cannot be a doubt
that the increased facilities of communication,
as leading to increased comforts, have naturally
brought to market a greater variety, and to a
larger amount of produce and manufacture,
than was heretofore customary in the High-
lands. Formerly Inverness supplied with
foreign commodities almost all the Highlands,
including Tain, Dingwall, Sutherland, and part
of Caithness. Since, however, the means of
communication with the south have been more
extended, and suitable harbours erected at
other places, the supply to the several districts
has been direct ; and packets have been esta-
blished from London and Leith to Wick,
Thurso, Helmsdale, Brora, The Little Ferry,
Tain, Dingwall, Invergordon, &c. Yet not-
withstanding this division, the trade of Inver-
ness has increased very considerably since the
commencement of the present century. About
twenty-five years ago, there were only four
vessels, averaging ninety-six tons, that sailed
once in every six weeks between London and
Inverness; there are nowfive vessels of 130 tons,

which sail every ten days. Since the opening
of the Caledonian Canal, also, three regular
traders from Liverpool have been established,
besides a steam-boat for goods from Glasgow.
In the Leith trade, only three vessels existed
twenty-five years ago ; there are now six regu-
larly employed, and sailing twice every week.
Thirty years ago, there was only one vessel of
forty tons trading between Inverness and
Aberdeen ; there are now four of sixty or
seventy tons each. These vessels are princi-
pally employed in the importation of foreign
commodities and manufactures; but the in-
crease of general trade will best be seen by
comparing the present amount of shore-dues
with that in the year 1802. At that time
they produced only L. 1 40 annually ; while in
1816, with some advance in the rates for the
improvement of the harbour, they amounted to
L.680. In 1817, the lower part of the canal
was opened ; and from the accommodation af-
forded in its basin, part of the trade was car-
ried on there, which reduced the rates, in. 1 820,
to L.470. Since that period, however, the
annual rent has again risen to L.560. The
increasing wants of the inhabitants of Inver-
ness sufficiently prove their increasing wealth ;
and since their closer connexion with the
southern counties, a rapid change has taken
place in the general state of society- The
manufacture of hempen and woollen cloths has
been commenced ; churches and chapels of
various sects built ; Missionary and Bible so-
cieties established ; schools endowed ; an in-
firmary erected; reading rooms established;
subscription libraries set on foot ; two news-
papers published weekly ; and a horticultural,
a literary, and various other professional and
philanthropical institutions founded. Two
additional banks have likewise been instituted,
three iron foundries, and three rope and sail
manufactories have successively commenced;
an additional bridge has been constructed ; the
harbour has been enlarged and improved ; the
town lighted with gas ; and all within the last
twenty-five or thirty years. But in no instance
is the benefit arising from facility of communi-
cation more apparent than in the establishment
(in 1817) of the great annual sheep and wool
market at this central point of the Highlands,
to which all the sheep farmers resort from the
remotest parts of the country, to meet the
wool-dealers and manufacturers of the south.
Here the whole fleeces and sheep of the north

II 0 D D A M.

5£S

of Scotland are generally sold, or contracted
for in the way of consignment ; and in 1818,
upwards of 100,000 stones of wool and 150,000
sbeep were sold at very advanced prices. This
circumstance affords a striking proof of the ad-
vantage of lines of communication in facilitat-
ing the exportation and sale of the staple com-
modities of the country. It wall not be unim-
portant to remark here, that banking offices
have likewise been of late years established at
Thurso, Wick, Golspie ; two at Tain, and one
at Fort William and at Inverary. The fore-
going observations, it will be understood, apply
more particularly to those districts which have
been opened and accommodated by the various
works of the commissioners; and although
their influence has, in some degree, been felt
through the whole extent of the Highlands,
yet I have already explained how desirable and
necessary various improvements, yet unaccom-
plished, are for the still further melioration of
this extensive country.

Jos. Mitchell.

Office of Highland Roads and Bridges,
Inverness, 6th March 1828.

To the Lord Colchester.

By way of sequel to this extended article on
the Highlands, and for the purpose of preserv-
ing what some may consider a curious document
illustrative of the ancient character of the dis-
trict, we present an alphabetical list of all the
known clans of Scotland, with a description of
the particular badges of distinction anciently
worn by each.

Names.
Buchanan
Cameron
Campbell
Chisholm
Colquhoun
Cumming
Drummond
Farquharson
Ferguson
Forbes
Fraser
Gordon
Graham
Grant
Gunn
Lamont
M'Allister
M'Donald

Badges
Birch
Oak
Myrtle
Alder
Hazel

Common Sallow
Holly

Purple Foxglove
Poplar
Broom
Yew
Ivy

Laurel

Cranberry Heath
Rosewort
Crab Apple Tree
Five-leaved heath
Bell Heath

M'Donell

M'Dougall

M'Farlane

M' Gregor

M'Intosh

M'Kay

M'Kenzie

M'Kinnon

M'Lachlan

M'Lean

M'Leod

M'Nab

M'Neil

M'Pherson

M; Quarrie

M-Rae

Munro

Menzies

Murray

Ogilvie

Oliphant

Robertson

Rose

Ross

Sinclair

Stewart

Sutherland

Mountain Heath

Cypress

Cloud Berry Bush

Pine

Boxwood

Bull Rush

Deer Grass

St. John's Wort

Mountain Ash

Blackberry Heath

Red Wortle Berries

Rose Black Berries

Sea Ware

Variegated Boxwood

Black Thorn

Fir Club Moss

Eagle's Feathers

Ash

Juniper

Hawthorn

The Great Maple

Fern, or Breckans

Briar Rose

Bear Berries

Clover

Thistle

Cat's- tail Grass

The chief of each respective clan was, and
is, entitled to wear tw* eagle's feathers in his
bonnet, in addition to the distinguishing badge
of his clan.

HILTON, a parish in Berwickshire united
to that of Whitsome. — See Whitsome.

HILLTOWN, a fishing village, parish of
Fearn, Ross-shire, on the Moray Firth.

HOBKIRK, anciently and properly Hope-
KmK, a parish in Roxburghshire, lying betwixt
Cavers on the west, and Abbotrule and South-
dean on the east, and extending about twelve
miles in length by three in breadth. The
district for the greater part rises from the left
bank of the Rule water, and contains much
well-cultivated land. — Population in 1821,652.

HODDAM, a parish in Annandale, Dum-
fries-shire, comprehending the three united
parishes of Hoddam, Luce and Ecclefechan,
which were joined in the year 1609. Hod-
dam (originally Hod-holm, the head of the
holm) extends five miles in length by a breadth
at the middle of three and a half, and is bounded
by the river Annan on the south, which partly
separates it from Cummertrees and Annan, by
St. Mungo on the west, Tundergarth on the
4b

554

HOPE.

north, and Middlebie on the east. The surface
is beautifully diversified with meadow and culti
vated lands of a varying elevation, finely en-
closed and planted, forming one of the most
delightful spots in Annandale. Its lower
parts are watered by the Milk and Mein wa-
ters, both tributary to the Annan. On the
northern boundary of the parish is the hill of
Brunswark. The first place of note which is
reached in travelling up the district from An-
nan, is the castle of Hoddam, the seat of the
old and respectable family of Sharpe. This
is a strong square keep of the antique castel-
lated fashion, and one of the few such edifices
on the border still kept in repair. It is said
to have been built between the years 1437 and
1484, by John, Lord Herries, of Herries, with
the stones of a more ancient castle of the
same name which stood on the opposite side
of the river. This report concerning the
builder is partly confirmed by the arms of
Herries, cut on the top of the staircase ; but
there is no date on the building. During the
border wars it was a strength of considerable
importance. It came into the family of Sharpe
in 1690, and is at present inhabited by Lieu-
tenant-General Matthew Sharpe. — Population
in 1821, 1640.

HOLBORN HEAD, a promontory on
the northern coast of Caithness, west from
Thurso Bay.

HOLM, a parish in the south-eastern
part of the mainland of Orkney, lying on the
shores of that beautiful and well-frequented
firth called Holm Sound, leading from the
open sea on the east to ScalpaFlow and Strom-
ness. It extends upwards of five miles in
length by about two in breadth at the widest
part ; the parishes of St. Andrews and Deer-
ness bound it on the north. — Population in
1821, 773.

HOLOMIN, an islet of the Hebrides near
the island of Mull.

HOLY ISLE, a small island covering the
harbour of Lamlash on the south side of Ar-
ran. It is hilly, and bears a resemblance to
Arthur's Seat at Edinburgh.

HOLY WOOD, a parish in Nithsdale,
Dumfries-shire, extending westward from the
right bank of the Nith for ten miles, and hav-
ing the Cluden on its south side- The ge-
neral breadth of the parish is from two to
three miles, and it is bounded by Kirkmahoe
on the east and north, and Dunscore on the
24.

north and west. The surface is generally level,
with some rising grounds on the northern extre-
mity, and the soil is arable and fertile. The dis-
trict derives its name from a sacred grove which
had existed here during the time of the druids.*
The temple of these pagans was succeeded by
the cell of a hermit, and his cell was changed
into a house for monks of the order of Pre-
monstratenses, soon after the year 1 120. An
hospital was also founded here by Archibald,
Earl of Douglas, in the reign of Robert II.
A part of the abbey which escaped the vio-
lence of the Reformers, served as the par-
ochial church, till 1779, when the mins of the
whole were used as materials for building a
new church. — Population in 1821, 1004.

HOPE, a river in the parish of Tongue,
northern part of Sutherlandshire, which has its
origin in the hilly territory of the parish of
Edderachylis, chiefly from Loch-an-dallag.
After a course of about twelve miles, passing
in its course Dun Dornadilla, it forms Loch
Hope, which is a fine sheet of water of about
seven miles in length by about one in breadth,
but destitute of claims to picturesque beauty
from the general want of wood in the adjacent
high grounds. Its waters are emitted at the
north end, and, after a course of a mile, fall
into the east side of Loch Eribole at a place
called Innerbope.

HORSEHOE, a safe harbour in the island
of Kerrera, near Oban, in Argyleshire.

HORSE ISLE, a small island in the firth
of Clyde, off Ardrossan, in Ayrshire.

HORSE ISLAND, a very small islet of
Orkney, lying east from Deerness on the main-
land, and north from Copinshay.

HO UNA, a place in the parish of Canis-
bay, Caithness, on the northern point of the
island of Great Britain, three miles west from
Duncansby Head, and about half that distance
west from John O' Groat's House. From
Houna, ferry boats sail to Orkney, and in the
mean hamlet which has arisen on the spot, there
is an " Inn" for the accommodation of travellers.

HOUNSLOW,or HUNTSLOW.aham-
let in the parish of Westruther, Berwickshire.

* A gentleman, proceeding upon this idea, styled a
new box which he built in Holywood parish, by the ela-
gant name of Druidville. In the course of a few short
years, by dint, partly, of the usual process of softening
proper names, and partly in consequence of a wish to de-
grade such an attempt at fineness, the.people had this de-
signation fused down into the word Drcodle, which the
plase yet bears.

HOURN (LOG H).

555

HOURN, (LOCH) an arm of the sea on
the west coast of Inverness-shire, projected
from the sound of Sleat, opposite the south-
east end of Skye. Macculloch's account of
this unfrequented salt water loch is among the
hest we have, and we give it almost in his own
words. This inlet forms three distinct turns,
nearly at right angles to each other, penetrat-
ing into the country to a distance of ahout
eleven miles, and, at its extremity, meeting an
excellent new road that joins the western mili-
tary road at Glengarry. The characters of
these three parts are different, and it is the
most interior which contains the peculiar
scenery that renders Loch Hourn so remarka-
ble. For nearly half the distance from the
entrance, it can only be said that the views are
grand, as, with such mountain boundaries, they
could not fail to be. About the middle, it ap-
pears to ramify into two branches ; but the
one soon terminates in something like a deep
and spacious bay, wild, bold, and deserving ex-
amination. There is much character in the
mountains that enclose this bay, in which
Barrisdale is situated ; and above, in particular,
they display a degree of rude and rocky deso-
lation, almost unequalled in Scotland, and
not less grand than rude. The other branch
is continued for some miles, terminating at
length in a deep glen ; and, from one end to
the other, it displays a rapid succession of
scenes no less grand than picturesque, and not
often equalled in Scotland ; but of a character
so peculiar that it would be difficult to find a
place to which they can be compared. The
hind, on both sides, is not only very lofty, but
very rapid in the acclivities ; while, from the
narrowness of the water, compared to the al-
titude of the boundaries, there is a sobriety in
some places, and, in others, a gloom thrown
over the scenery, which constitutes, perhaps,
the most peculiar and striking feature, if fea-
ture it can be called, of this place. From the
general magnitude of the scenery, the colour-
ing is more atmospheric than local, and is con
sequently always harmonious. In the terrific
and sublime it has few rivals; and while the
landscapes are invariably grand, they are al-
most innumerable. Where this loch te' ini-
tiates, a wild and deep glen conveys the
road up to that level, on which it proceeds
afterwards towards Glengarry, from which
point all beauty disappears for a long
s^aee.

HOUSE ISLAND, an island of Shetland,
belonging to the parish of Bressay, lying be-
tween Cliff Sound and Burray Island, west
from which is the Bay of Scalloway. It extends
about three miles in length by one in breadth.

IIOUSE-OF-MUIR, a hamlet on the
southern sloping base of the Pentland-hills,
in the county of Mid-Lothian. It is about
ten miles from Edinburgh. In the year
1612 the magistrates of Edinburgh gave Lord
Abernethy of Salton the superiority of the
three husband lands of Salton, in exchange for
a right of holding fairs or markets at the
House-of-Muir, since which period a very
large market has been held annually on
the last Monday of March, at which the bur-
gesses of Edinburgh have the privilege of pay-
ing lower customs than others. This market
is only remarkable from the exhibition of sheep
for sale, and especially of grit or stock ewes.
Being the chief market of the kind before
Whitsunday, and being held in an accessible
part of the country to the southern pastoral
shires, it is generally well attended.

HOUSTOUN and KILLALLAN, a
united parish now generally called Houstouk
in Renfrewshire, bounded by Erskine on the
north and east, Kilmalcolm on the west, and
Kilbarchan on the south, extending about six:
miles in length by four in breadth. The ori-
ginal boundaries of the two parishes were
so inconveniently intermixed, that in 1760
both were united, the kirk of Houstoun being
constituted the place of public worship for the
district. Houstomi, named from Hew or Hugo
de Padynan a proprietor who flourished in
the time of Malcolm IV., was once entitled
Kilpeter, being a cell of St. Peter, the tutelary
saint. Killallan, which is in the north-western
part of- the present parish, according to an in-
scription on a church bell, seems to be a cor-
ruption of Kilfillan — the cell of St. Fillan, a
celebrated Scottish saint and churchman, (see
Fillans, St.) whose fame had shone conspi-
cuous in this quarter, and whose miraculous
powers had been communicated, as in the case
of the pool at St. Fillans in Perthshire, to a
spring-well near the church, to which the su-
perstitious mothers in the neighbourhood used
to bring their sickly children for immersion.
On doing so they generally left shreds of their
clothes on the overhanging bushes, as oiferings
to the saint, and strange as it may seem, such
was the force of ancient prejudices, that the

556

HOY.

custom continued till about the beginning of
the eighteenth century, when the minister of
the parish put a stop to the practice by filling
up the well. The river Gryfe bounds the
parish on its south side, and is crossed by a
bridge at the village of Crosslee, and also
at a place about a mile to the west, called the
Bridge of Weir, which is a village built partly
in this, but principally in Kilbarchan parish,
and has risen as a residence of cotton spinners
since the year 1780. Houstoun village or town
lies partly on both sides of the rivulet of Hous-
toun Burn, at the distance of fourteen milee
from Glasgow, seven from Paisley, and seven
from Port- Glasgow. It is formed by two
long streets, one on each side of the stream.
At the west end of the town is a considerable
bleachfield, and at the other end a cotton fac-
tory. The houses are of good mason-work,
generally two storeys in height, and covered
with blue slate. Its inhabitants, who are in-
dustrious weavers of silk and cotton, are now
about 700 in number. We learn from Fowl-
er's Commercial Directory of the towns and
villages of the upper ward of Renfrewshire —
an exceedingly useful little work, published
annually at Paisley — that the town is partly
built of the stones which once composed the
castle of Houstoun, an ancient mansion, the
residence of the Knights of Houstoun, in
the neighbourhood to the east, which was de-
molished in 1780. The person who commit-
ted this deed was a parvenu proprietor, whose
father received the property in a way worth
mentioning. In the latter end of the seventeenth
century there lived in Ayr a destitute orphan
boy, named Macrae, whose means of subsistence
were derived from running messages for a half-
penny to any one who would employ him. At
length he was taken off the streets by one
Hugh M' Quire, a fiddler in Ayr, who gave
him his education and fitted him out for sea.
Going to the East Indies, he rose to be gover-
nor of the presidency of Madras, and realizing
a fortune, he returned to this country, where
he died in 1 744, but not till he had erected a
statue of King William III. in Glasgow, and
bequeathed his whole fortune, including the es-
tate of Houstoun, which he had purchased, to
his former benefactor Hugh M' Quire. On
the son of this person becoming owner of the
estate, he changed his name to Macrae, and,
in the course of improvements, pulled down
the castle of the original possessors, applying

the stones to the erection of the village, as
above stated. The market place of the vil-
lage is ornamented by a pedestal of considerable
antiquity ; it consists of an octagonal pillar,
nine feet in length, having a dial fixed on the
top, crowned with a globe ; the stone is reached
by three steps around the base. The lands in
the parish, originally poor, are now greatly
improved and ornamented. — Population in
1821, 2317.

HOUSTON HOLM, a small pastoral
islet of Orkney, off the mainland, near Or-
phir.

HO WAN SOUND, a strait of the sea at
Orkney, between Rousay and Egilshay.

HOWGATE, a village in the county of
Edinburgh, parish of Pennycuick, on the old
road from Edinburgh to Peebles, at which
is a meeting-house of the United Associate
Synod.

HOWNAM, or HOUNAM, a parish in
Roxburghshire, extending seven miles in length
by four and a half in breadth, bordering on
the south with England, and bounded by Mor-
battle on the north and east, and Eckford,
Jedburgh, and Oxnam on the west. That
part adjacent to the borders is mountainous
and pastoral, Hownam-fell being the march
betwixt the two kingdoms. The lower parts
are arable, and the district from south to north
is intersected by the Kale water, which has a
variety of tributary rivulets. The village of
Hownam is on the right bank of the Kale
near the northern verge of the parish. In the
district are seen the traces of the Roman way
into Scotland. It appears that Hownam de-
rives its name from one Howen or Owen, a
Saxon settler in early times, whose ham
or residence it was. During the twelfth cen-
tury there were a number of distinguished per-
sonages in Roxburghshire of this appellation.
—Population in 1821, 327.

HOY, an island of the Orkneys, lying on
the south-west of Mainland, to which it is
second in point of magnitude. It is bounded
on the east by Scarpa Flow and some small
islands therein, on the south by the Pentland
Firth, on the west by the Ocean, and on the
north by the strait of Hoymouth, which di-
vides it from the parish of Stromness on the
mainland. It measures about twelve miles in
length from north to south, by a general breadth
of rive miles. At the south end a portion is
almost detached by a large indentation of the

H U M E.

557

sea called Long Hope, which forms what
is designated Aith- Wards. In the neck of
land joining this portion with the chief part of
the island stands Melseter House. Hoy
contains the highest land in Orkney, and is
generally mountainous and pastoral. A great
part of it is occupied by three huge hills,
relatively situated in the form of a triangle,
that to the north-east being the largest and
conspicuous to an immense distance. Ex-
cept along the north shores, which are bor-
dered by a rich meadow and loamy soil,
the island has a soil composed of peat and
clay, of which the former, black, wet, and
spongy, commonly predominates. There are a
variety of alpine plants on the hills ; and among
them some delightful valleys, intersected with
rivulets, whose banks are decked with flowers,
and sheltered by shrubs, such as the birch,
the hazel and the currant, which are sometimes
honoured with the name of trees. Birch-trees
of a large size are known to have once been
common. The climate of Hoy is healthful,
and the natives are said to be long-lived. The
only object of curiosity in Hoy is the celebrat-
ed Dwarf or Dwarfie Stone. This stone
measures thirty-two feet in length, sixteen and
a half feet in breadth, and seven feet five in-
ches in height. Human ingenuity and perse-
verance at some early period, has excavated
the mass and rendered it a species of dwelling.
It is entered by a small doorway, and is divided
into three distinct apartments ; in one end
there is a small room, and in the other there is
an apartment with a bed five feet eight inches
long, and two broad ; and in the middle part
there is an area, where there has been a fire-
place, and a hole at the top to let out the
smoke. This very strange memorial of an age
long since past, is the object of a variety of
traditionary legends. The island is divided
into two parochial districts, the south half being
the parish of Walls, and the north being that
of Hoy, with which is included the island of
Graemsay (once an independent parish,) lying
in the strait which separates Hoy from the
mainland. The kirk of Hoy is on the coast
opposite Graemsay. — Population of the parish
of Hoy and Graemsay in 1821, 508.

HULMAY, an islet off the west coast of
Lewis.

HULMITRAY, one of the smaller islands
of the Hebrides, lying near Harris.

HUMBIE, a parish in the south-western

part of the county of Haddington, having Sal-
ton and Ormiston on the north, part of Bolton
and Gifford on the east, and Fala and Soutra
on the west. The southern part lies high on
the brown summits of the Lammermoor range
of hills adjoining Berwickshire, and from these
eminences the land first descends in a tolerably
steep dedivity to the lower grounds, and then
spreads away towards the rich vale of the
Tyne. The parish is of a square form, mea-
suring about five miles in length, by rather
more than three in breadth. It originally con-
tained much poor, at least unproductive land,
but we ascertain, by recent examination, that a
very considerable part is under an excellent
system of cropping. The arable lands have
been extended a good way up the face of
the Lammermoors, and in the low grounds
the fields are beautifully enclosed and culti-
vated. There is now also a large share of
plantations, especially in that part contiguous
to Salton parish, where there is a thick wood
of oak, birch, and other trees, covering some
hundreds of acres. The northern part of the
parish, previous to the Reformation, form-
ed the parish of Keith, which, from an early
period, had been a barony belonging to the fa-
mily of Keith, hereditary knight marischals ot
Scotland. — Population in 1821, 837.

HUME, a parish in the district of Merse,
Berwickshire, now joined to Stitchel, in the
county of Roxburgh. — See Stitchel.

HUME, a village in the above abrogated
parish, standing on a rising ground, three miles
south from Greenlaw, three north from Stit-
chel, and about six north-west from Kelso.
This village was once much more extensive
than it is now, stretching to a considerable dis-
tance all around the ancient castle of the Earl
of Home, and inhabited by the numerous re-
tainers of that nobleman. Hume Castle is
one of the chief objects of interest in the west-
ern part of the Merse. The castle properly
does not exist ; but the late Earl of March-
mont raised the walls from the ruins into
which they had fallen, and, by battlementing
them, produced something like a castle, or
what at least may pass for such at a distance.
It is, from its situation, a conspicuous and in-
deed a picturesque object. Being placed on
a considerable eminence, it commands a view
of the whole district of the Merse and a great
part of Roxburghshire. The space within
the exterior wall, at least half an acre, is now

558

H IT N T L Y.

fitted up as a kitchen-garden. Traces of the
vaults are yet distinguishable, and the well
still exists. The date of the original erection
of this structure is of unknown antiquity ; but
it is known to have been for many centuries a
strong-hold of the powerful border family of
Hume or Home, who sprung from a son of
the third Earl of Dunbar and March, a per-
sonage descended from the petty Princes or
Earls of Northumberland. The territory of
Hume, which gave its name to this influential
family, occurs as early as the year 1240, in a
donation to the monastery of Kelso, and con-
tinued through a long succession of descend-
ants, among whom we find many gallant sol-
diers, ambassadors, privy councillors, statesmen
and others, possessing the title of Hume or
Home. The barony was raised to an earldom
in 1604, by James VI., and the peerage yet
exists ; the family seat being now at Hirsel.
Hume Castle was a place of considerable
strength, and more particularly su from its
elevated situation. In 1547 it was besieged
by the English under the Duke of Somerset,
when, after having stood out for some time
under the command of Lady Hume, (her lord
having been slain a few days before in a gen-
eral engagement,) it was delivered up on fair
terms. In 1549, it was retaken by strata-
gem by the Scots, who on this occasion put
the English garrison to the sword. A hun-
dred years later it was again the object of
contest. During the time of the common-
wealth, in 1650, and immediately after the
taking of Edinburgh Castle, Cromwell
sent Colonel Fenwick, with his own and
Colonel Syler's regiments, to capture it. On
arriving in the vicinity, Colonel Fenwick drew
up his men, and sent the governor the follow-
ing summons : " His Excellency the Lord
General Cromwell, hath commanded me to re-
duce this castle you now possess, under his
obedience, which if you now deliver into my
hands for his service, you shall have terms for
yourself and those with you : if you refuse, I
doubt not but in a short time, by God's assist-
ance, to obtain what I now demand. I expect
your answer by seven of the clock to-morrow
morning ; and rest your servant, George Fen-
wick." The governor, whose name was Cock-
burn, being, it seems, a man of some fancy,
returned this quibbling answer : " Right Hon-
ourable,— I have received a trumpeter of
yours, as he tells me, without a pass, to sur-

render Home castle to the Lord General
Cromwell : please you, I never saw your Ge-
neral. As for Home castle, it stands upon a
rock. Given at Home castle this day before
seven o'clock. So resteth, without prejudice
to my native country, your most humble ser-
vant, T. Cockburn." Soon after he sent the
English colonel a postscript, in the following
well-remembered doggrel lines :

«• I, Willie Wastle,
Stand firm in my castle,
And a' the dogs in your town
Will no pull Willie Wastle down."

But this doughty and humorous governor soon
had reason to come down in his pretensions.
Fenwick planted a battery against the castle,
and, having made a breach in the walls, the
English soldiers rushed forward to the esca-
lade. A parley was now beat by Cockburn,
and the lives of the garrison being spared, the
whole marched out to the amount of seventy-
eight individuals. The castle was thereupon
entered by Cromwell's troops, and committed
to the charge of Captain Collinson, in keeping
for the parliament. Hume castle and the
neighbouring territory latterly became the pro-
perty of the Earls of Marchmont, a branch of
the family which for a long time greatly sur-
passed the main stock in fortune, but at length
became extinct in the male line towards the
end of the last century.

HUNIE, an islet of Shetland, about a mile
from the island of Unst.

HUN1SH, the northern promontory of the
isle of Skye.

HUNTLY, a parish in the northern part
of Aberdeenshire, extending six miles in length
by four in breadth ; bounded by Cairny on
the north, Glass on the west, and part of
Gartly on the south. The district formerly
composed the two distinct parishes of Dum-
benan and Kinore, the latter being on the
east. A junction was formed in 1 727, and the
new parish was called Huntly, in compliment
to the eldest son of the Duke of Gordon.
The country here is rough and hilly, but
though originally bleak, it is now vastly im-
proved, and exhibits many fine plantations and
arable fields. The finest part of the territory
is on the banks of the rivers Deveron and
Bogie. The former passes from west to east
through the parish, and is joined by the Bogie,
which comes flowing from the south, a short
way below the town of

H U T T O N.

559

Huntly. This pleasing modern town, the
capital of the above parish, occupies a dry and
salubrious situation near the termination of the
peninsula formed by the confluence of the De-
veron and Bogie rivers, at the distance of eigh-
teen miles south-east of Fochabers, twenty-one
south-west of Banff, thirty- six north-west of
Aberdeen, and 145 north of Edinburgh. Hav-
ing arisen since the beginning of last century,
it has had the advantage of being disposed on a
neat plan, and now consists of several well-
built streets, lying parallel to and crossing each
other at right angles, with a spacious market-
place. There is a number of detached houses,
or villas, in the environs, and the whole place
possesses an air of elegance and comfort. The
chief manufacture here is linen thread, both
wbite and coloured, and there is a bleachfield
on the banks of the Bogie. There is also a
brewery, and distillation to a considerable ex-
tent is carried on in the vicinity. The coun-
try in this quarter exports large quantities of
butter, cheese, eggs, and pork to the London
market. The town market is held on Thurs-
day, and there are several annual fairs. Huntly
is a burgh of barony under the Duke of Gor-
don, whose beautiful mansion of Huntly Lodge,
standing in the midst of plantations and plea-
sure-grounds, is in the neighbourhood on the
opposite side of the Deveron. This river is
crossed by an ancient bridge of a single arch,
which luckily withstood the great floods of the
river in August 1 829. On this occasion the
water rose at the spot twenty-two feet above
the ordinary level, and only six feet of the arch
were left unoccupied. Standing upon this
bridge an agreeable view is obtained, whether
looking downward to the spot where the rivers
join, or up the river, which is seen gliding
through spacious and fruitful fields on each
side. Across the Bogie, and leading from the
south-east side of the town, is a good bridge
of three arches. The river Bogie was also
flooded at the above melancholy period, and by
the great increase of the two rivers at once,
Huntly was almost surrounded with water.
Fortunately, except destroying some malt at
the distillery at Pirie's mill on the Bogie, and
slightly damaging some fields, it did not do any
particular injury. The interesting ruin of the
old castle of Huntly, standing near the end of
the peninsula on the Deveron, is the chief ob-
ject of curiosity in the neighbourhood. It was
built at the beginning of the seventeenth cen-

tury, and, though now quite dilapidated, still
affords a striking proof of the grandeur and
hospitality of the ancient family of Gordon. —
Population of the town of Huntly in 1821,
2000— including the parish, 3349.

HUTTON, a parish in the district of the
Merse, Berwickshire, lying to ths west of Ber-
wick bounds, from which it is chiefly divided by
the river Whitadder, bounded by Tweed on the
south, Ladykirk, Whitsome, and Edrom on the
west, and Chirnside and Foulden on the north.
It extends three and a half miles from north
to south, by four miles from east to west at the
middle part. The parish is level, beautifully
enclosed, planted and cultivated, being one of
the very finest parts of the rich plain of
the Merse. There are two villages, Hut-
ton, which is the kirk-town, in the northern
part of the parish, and Paxton in the eastern
part. Paxton is understood to have been the
locality of the song entitled " Robin Adair."
In the neighbourhood is Paxton- House, the
seat of William Forman Home, Esq. ; it
is remarkable for a splendid collection of
paintings, chiefly by Italian masters, which
a late proprietor purchased when abroad some
years ago. Hutton Hall, a fine mansion, is
in the northern part of the parish, on the banks
of the Whitadder. This river and the Tweed
yield excellent salmon and trout-fishing. The
Tweed is crossed by a beautiful suspension-
bridge, called the Union Bridge, extending
from a point near Paxton to a place a little
way below the village of Horncliff, in the
county of Durham. This very convenient
bridge, forming the only connexion of the
two sides of the river between Coldstream
and Benvick, is one of the best yet erect-
ed in the island. It has been of prodigious
service in facilitating the introduction of coal
and lime into Berwickshire from the works
near Etal and Ford ; it is frequently visited
by parties of pleasure from Berwick. It ad-
mits two carriages abreast, besides foot passen-
gers, and is one of the most interesting objects
of an artificial nature to be seen in the south
of Scotland — Population in 1821, 1118.

HUTTON and CORRIE, a united pa-
rish in the district of Annandale, Dumfries-
shire, extending twelve miles in length from
north to south by a general breadth of three
miles. In the northern part the parish draws
to a point. Eskdalemuir lies on the east,
Wamphray and Applegarth on the west, and

560

I C O L M K I L L.

Tundergarth on the south. The parish is se-
parated from the latter by the Milk-water.
The Corrie water, a tributary of the Milk,
next intersects the parish, and farther north
the Dryfe-water pursues a course through the
district from its northern point. There are
a variety of burns tributary to these rivulets.
This extensive parish is chiefly hilly and pas-
toral, the holms on the banks of the streams
being only cultivated. There is a number of

remains of antiquity in the district, as in most
other parts of this border county ; the princi-
pal being the Moat- hill on the farm of Nether
Hutton, and from which holt or hut the name
of the parish is derived. Much of the district
is the property^ of the Hopetoun family, by
whom many beneficial improvements in the
breed of sheep were introduced during last
century. — Population in 1821, 804.

ICOLMKILL, or I-COLMB-KILL, or
IONA, or I, (pronounced Ee,) one of the
islands of the Hebrides, belonging to Argyle-
shire, in the parish of Kilfmichen, lying off the
south-west promontory or ross of Mull, from
which large island it is separated by the sound
or strait of IcoliMkill, about a mile and a half
in breadth. Icolmkill is about three miles in
length from north to south, and, where wid-
est, only a mile in breadth. The highest ele-
vation in it is 400 feet, and the surface is di-
versified with rocky hillocks and patches of
green pasture, or of moory and boggy soil. At
the southern extremity, with the exception of
a low sandy tract, it is a mere labyrinth of
rocks. There is a small village or miserable
collection of huts, inhabited by a population of'
about 450 individuals. There is no doctor or
midwife in the island ; after many ages of be-
nighted ignorance, a church and school-house
have been recently erected by the society for
the diffusion of Christian knowledge. The
Bay of Martyrs is a small creek near the vil-
lage, and is said to be the place where the
bodies brought hither for interment ware
landed. Port-na-currach, the Bay of the Boat,
is on the opposite side of the island, and here,
according to tradition, Columba first landed,
in token of which there is a heap, of about
fifty feet in length, supposed to be the model
and memorial of his boat. The remains of a
celebrated marble quarry are near the southern
extremity, and the shore still affords those
pebbles of green serpentine, which are now ob-
jects of pursuit to visitors, as they were formerly
esteemed for anti-magical and medicinal vir-
tues. Along the shores opposite Mull there
are some pleasant arable plains, producing some
good crops of oats and barley. Peat for fuel

has to be brought from Mull. Icolmkill is the
most noted of all the western islands, and is
indeed distinguished above all other islands be-
longing to Britain for its historical associations
and works of art. To the historian and an-
tiquary it furnishes matter of most inte-
resting inquiry. By the Highlanders the
island is called I, (or ee) signifying the island,
by way of pre-eminence. Colm or Columb is
a mere contraction of Columba, the classic
name of Colon the saint, who first rendered
the place of consequence by his residence.
Kill simply imports cell or chapel. The de-
signation of lona is Celtic, and means " the
island of waves ;" and being the most eupho-
nious, it has been used by monkish and poetic
writers. Descended from a family which was
allied to the kings of Scotland and Ireland, and
a native of the latter country, Columba com-
menced his career in 563, or, according to
Bede, in 565, and in the forty-second year of
his age. He derived his education from The-
lius, who, with several other Welsh bishops,
had been consecrated by the patriarch of Jeru-
salem ; and from this circumstance he followed
the Oriental or original apostolic rule of faith,
both as regarded doctrinal points and public
forms of worship. It appears that Columba de-
parted from Ireland under circumstances of poli-
tical dissension, or from some difference between
his religious opinions and those promulgated
by the minions of the polluted Romish church
It is recorded by the Irish annalists, that he was
accompanied in his self-expatriation by twelve
or thirteen pious priests or saints ; and that
the whole, directing their course towards Scot-
land— till then in the lowest state of barbarian
and pagan superstition — landed first at Oransa,
one of the smaller Hebrides, and then at lona.

ICOLMKILL.

561

Making a settlement on this island, he com-
menced a system of propagating Christianity,
both by his own active endeavours in most
fatiguing and dangerous exercises on the
mainland, and by sending out his assistant
clergy as missionaries. In the execution of
these arduous and transcendent duties, the
pious Columba met with an astonishing suc-
cess. In a few years the greater part of the
Pictish kingdom was converted to Christiani-
ty, and hundreds of churches, monasteries, and
cells, were founded and supported. The mis-
sionary clergy of Iona did not confine their la-
bours to Scotland ; they entered the northern
parts of England, or the Northumbrian king-
dom, and there spread the Christian religion
among the Anglo-Saxons, having previously
studied the language of that people.* The in-
fluence of Iona in England, says Macculloch,
to whose notes we are indebted, did not cease
with its first success ; many of its religious
establishments having, long after, been pro-
vided by teachers or monks from this remote
spot, which was thus destined to extend its in-
fluence far beyond the bounds of its own nar-
row and stormy region. It seems that the
zeal of the monks of Iona required a still wider
range of action than that offered by the main-
land of Britain ; during the life of Columba
they undertook voyages to the surrounding
islands and the Norwegian seas, for the pur-
pose of propagating the gospel in countries
which it had not yet reached. St. Columba
is said to have made a voyage himself to the
north sea, in his currach, and to have remained
there twelve days. Few circumstances con-
nected with the early history of the church in
Scotland have produced so hot a disputation as
that regarding the exact order of Christians
to which Columba and his clergy belonged.
In examining this obscure matter of contro-
versy, it appears to us as a fair conclusion,
that the clergy of Iona, while partaking of
many of the minor errors of the church of
Rome, were still by no means allied to papis-
try, and approached nearest in their doctrines
and formula to those distinguished as Culdees.
The prejudices of Bede, or perhaps of his self-
constituted editors, have inclined them to la-
ment over the departure of Columba from the
pale of Roman Catholicism, his neglect of the

* The Lothians were at this time a part of the North-
umbrian kingdom.— See Edinburghshire.

tonsure, and his irregularity respecting the
proper time of keeping Easter ; yet this vene-
rable author, and others who have followed
him, bear ample testimony to the correctness
of the morals, the purity of the doctrine, the
zeal, and the simple mindedness of the mis-
sionary clergy of this Hebridian isle. As to
Columba himself, who was sainted by the de-
votional excess of the primitive period in which
he lived, every writer is found in the lists of
his eulogists ; and in mentioning his religious
fervour, they seldom fail to relate that his
Christianity was of a practical as well as of a
speculative kind ; for, not contented with in-
culcating the truths of the gospel, he went
about instructing his barbarous disciples in the
sciences of gardening, agriculture, and other
arts fully as useful. It is further stated,
that this beneficentandleamed priest was skilled
in medicine, and his knowledge of sacred and
profane history is admitted by all. The rules
of the order of Columba did not prohibit ma-
trimony to the priests, who are known, more-
over, to have engaged in worldly employments
for their subsistence. The death of Columba
took place in the year 597, at the ripened age
of seventy-seven ; and he left behind him a
name which will remain for ever unobliterated
in the pages of ecclesiastical history.* While
in life, he founded some of those edifices on
the island of Iona which were enriched by fu-
ture princes, and whose ruins are now hardly
observable. According to the suspicious
history of Bede, the clergy who succeeded
Columba differed from the church of Rome
till the year 716, when they were engrafted
upon it. From this period throughout those
dark ages of our history in which the He-
brides were affected by the invasions of the
Norwegians, Iona was frequently pillaged by
these northern warriors, who destroyed the
library belonging to the ancient establishment,
which, as it is alleged, contained many valuable
classical works, now entirely lost. After com-
ing under the sway of the Pope, the mona-
stery became, in subsequent years, the dwell-
ing of the Cluniacenses, a class of monks who
followed the rule of St. Bennet, and who, in

* Sir William Betham, Ulster king of arms, and author
of a respectable work on Irish antiquities, possesses a.
psalter written by Columba, in the Erse character. The
psalter is in Latin, is written on vellum, in the Irish
uncial character, and must be considered the oldest Irish
manuscript in existence.

4c

562

I C O L M K I L L.

the reign of William the Lion, lost all their
benefices on the main land, which they had hi-
therto held by curates, and which benefices
were bestowed on the monks of Holyrood.
At the Reformation they lost Iona also, and
their abbey was annexed to the bishopric
of Argyle by James VI. in the year 1617.
The Argyle family has been the ultimate
recipient of their insular property. The
first structure of note reared in Iona seems
to have been what was termed St. Oran's
chapel. It has been referred to the date of
the sixth century, though this is very likely to
be incorrect, and it is more probable that it
was built after the Romish church foisted
itself upon that of the more unpresuming order
of Columba. It is a rude and small building
of about sixty feet in length by twenty-two in
breadth ; now unroofed, but otherwise very en-
tire. The sculpture of the door-way is in
good preservation, and the cheveron moulding
is repeated many times on the soffit of the
arch, in the usual manner. Rut the style,
which is of Norman execution, is mean, and
there are few marks of ornament on the
building. There are some tombs within it
of different dates ; and there are many carved
stones in the pavement; one of them being
ornamented with bells in an uncommon style.
One of the tombs lies under a canopy of three
pointed arches ; it is for this place rather
handsome, and evidently far more modem
than the building itself. This is called St.
Oran's tomb. North from St. Oran's chapel
is the ruin of a nunnery, or rather the chapel
belonging to it, which is usually reckoned to
be the next oldest building in the island, though,
as Macculloch says, " we are sure that there
were no monastic establishments for females
during the time of Columba's discipline. The
proper monastic establishment of Iona belongs
to the age of Romish influence ; and thus the
date of this building is brought down to a
period, later, at least, than 1200. Were it
not that style is here no test of dates, this
chapel might be referred to a prior period, the
architecture being purely Norman, without a
vestige of the pointed manner, or of any orna-
ment indicating that age. It is in good pre-
servation, and the length is about sixty feet,
by twenty in breadth. The roof has been
vaulted, and part of it remains. The arches
are round with plain fluted soffits. The
other buildings that appertained to the nun-
24.

nery can now scarcely be traced ; but there
is a court, and something is shown which
is said to have been a church, and was pro-
bably the Lady chapel. The nuns were not
displaced at the reformation, but continued
a long time after that event to live together.
They followed the rule of St- Augustine, and
were of the Chanonenses. The tombstone of
the princess Anna, dated in 1511, is still ex
tant, and exhibits the figure of the lady in a
barbarous style, with the usual words " Sancta
Maria, ora pro me," under her feet, and the
black-letter inscription round the edge, " Hie
jacet Domina Anna Donaldi Ferleti filia,
quondam prioressa de Iona, quee obiit anno M.
D. ximo, cujus animam altissimo commenda-
mus" — whose soul we commend to the highest
[place.] The figure of the princess is in the
attitude of praying to Sancta Maria, who holds
an infant in her arms; having a mitre on
her head, and the sun and moon above it.
" Pennant," continues Macculloch, " mistook
a sculpture above the head of the princess her-
self, for a plate and a comb : It is the looking-
glass and comb ; an emblem of the sex, which
appears to have been originally borrowed from
ancient Greek or Roman art." The last and
chief edifice is the cathedral of the bishops of
Iona or the Abbey church, it having, as is
said, answered both purposes. This interest-
ing structure has been reared at two distinct
periods, that part of it east of the tower being
evidently of the era of the chapel of the nun-
nery, and the other much earlier. " At pre-
sent its form is that of a cross; the length
being about 160 feet, the breadth twenty-four,
and the length of the transept seventy. That
of the choir is about sixty feet. The tower is
about seventy feet high, divided into three
storeys. It is lighted on one side, above, by a
plain slab, perforated by quatre-foils, and on
the other by a catherine-wheel, or marigold
window, with spiral mullions. The tower
stands on four cylindrical pillars of a clumsy
Norman design, about ten feet high and three
in diameter. Similar proportions pervade the
other pillars in the church ; their capitals being
short, and, in some parts, sculptured with ill-
designed and grotesque figures, still very sharp
and well-preserved ; among which that of an
angel weighing souls (as it is called by Pen-
nant,) while the devil depresses one scale with
his claw, is always pointed out with great
glee. This sculpture, however, represents an

ICOLMKILL.

563

angel weighing the good deeds of a man against
his evil ones. It is not an uncommon feature
in similar buildings, and occurs, among other
places, at Montvilliers ; where also the devil,
who is at the opposite scale, tries to depress
it with his fork, as is done elsewhere with
his claw. The same allegory is found in de-
tail in the legends ; and it may also be seen
in some of tl I works of the Dutch and Flem-
ish painters. The arches are pointed, with a
curvature intermediate between those of the
first and second styles, or the sharp and the
ornamented, the two most beautiful periods of
Gothic architecture ; their soffits being fluted
with plain and rude moulding. The corded
moulding separates the shaft from the capital
of the pillars, and is often prolonged through
the walls at the same level. The larger win-
dows vary in form, but are everywhere inele-
gant. There is a second, which is here the
clerestory tier; the windows sometimes ter-
minating in a circidar arch, at others in trefoil
bends ; the whole being surmounted by a corbel
table. This church or cathedral was dedicated
to St Mary. There is a mixture of materials
in all these buildings. The granite, which is
red, and resembles the Egyptian, may have been
brought from Mull, but the gneiss, hornblende
slate, and clay slate, which are intermixed with
it, are the produce of Iona itself. A fissile
mica slate' has been used for the roofs. Pen-
nant found the last remains of the marble altar-
piece ; but it is now vanished. It was describ-
ed by Sacheverell as six feet by four in dimen-
sions ; and tradition says that it was brought
from Skye. Unluckily for its preservation, a
fragment of it was esteemed a charm against
fire, shipwreck, murder, and ill fortune ; and the
whole was, therefore, soon carried off. The
font remained entire a few years since. Round
the cathedral are various fragments of walls
and enclosures, which are nearly unintelligible.
Two of them are said to have led to the sea ;
others are thought to have been chapels ; and
some are unquestionably parts of the mo-
nastery. It is easy enough to conjecture what
may have been the cloister and the hall ; but
there is neither ornament nor interest in any
of these ruins. Four arches of the former re-
main, and three walls of what was probably
the refectory. The remains of the bishop's
house are just as little worthy of notice. Bu-
chanan says, that there were several chapels,
founded by kings of Scotland and insular chiefs,

all of which is very probable. The cathedral
itself was dismantled by the effects of time,
only a few years ago. The remains of an an-
cient causeway are sufficiently perfect in some
places ; but in others it has been dilapidated,
like every thing else, to build cottages and
make enclosures, the stolen materials of which
betray themselves everywhere." It has been
recorded, that there were, at one time, three
hundred and sixty stone crosses in different
parts of the island of Iona ; but those relics,
four only excepted, are now, like the above
chapels, no longer in existence. We are told
by tradition, that the Synod of Argyle ordered
sixty of them to be thrown into the sea. How
the remainder were disposed of is unknown ;
in the present day there are only traces of four.
Two are very perfect, and one of them is
beautifully carved ; the third has been broken
off at about ten feet ; and of the last the foot
only remains, fixed in a mound of earth. Sun-
dry fragments are, nevertheless, to be found,
which have been converted into grave-stones ;
and which, from the sculptures and inscriptions
on them, have certainly been native. Pennant
says, that the cross at Campbellton has been
transferred from this place. One of those
remaining is called after St. Martin, and the
other after St. John ; and, like the rest, they
were probably of native origin. Adam and
Eve, with the forbidden tree, are represented
on one side of the former. It is surprising to
see the accuracy and freedom of the workman-
ship and design, in such a material as mica-
slate ; a substance as ill-adapted to sculpture
as it is possible to imagine. While yet in an
undecorated condition, the cathedral of Iona
exhibited a great variety of monuments erected
to commemorate different abbots, bishops, and
other ecclesiastics of distinction, who seem to
have bestowed considerable pains and expense
during their lives, in decorating their last rest-
ing places. The spirit of destruction which
reached this isle at the time of the Reforma-
tion, and the degree of culpable carelessness
in protecting the ruins of the religious build-
ings observable since that period, have operat-
ed in wasting and canying off nearly every relic
of the tombs of those dignitaries. Among the
most conspicuous of those remaining, is that
of John M'Kinnon abbot of Iona, who died
in the year 1500. " It is," says a cotempo-
rary writer, " a truly rich and elegant piece
of sculpture, and does credit to the state of the

564

ICOLMKILL.

arts at that period. It is said that the letters
composing the inscription were originally run
full of melted silver, which being kept always
bright by frequent and careful cleaning, pro-
duced a most brilliant appearance, particularly
when the rays of the sun fell upon it. The
precious metal, however, was too great a temp-
tation to escape the rude hands of the popu-
lace. The monument in its present dilapi-
dated state may be still seen near the site of
the high altar." The greatest collection of
tombs is adjacent to the chapel of St. Oran,
in an enclosure of no great extent, called Re-
lig Oran, or, " the burying place of Oran."
This place has evidently been the chief bury-
ing ground or Polyandrium of Iona. Of the
names and numbers of those who were here
interred there prevail many contradictory tra-
ditions, at least such as are at variance with
accredited histories. Buchanan and Monro
mention that here are deposited the remains
of forty-eight kings of Scotland, beginning
with Fergus II. and ending with Macbeth,
the eighty-fourth Scottish monarch, in the
eleventh century ; while it has been substan-
tiated that ten in this list of kings never existed,
and that even if they had, it would make Iona
the place of sepulture of princes long before
it was consecrated by the landing of Columba.
Besides these sovereigns, it is said that there
lie here four Irish, one French, and eight Nor-
wegian kings. The only thing which appears
certain as to Iona being a royal burial place, is
that, for some centuries after the island began
to be renowned for the piety and learning of
its religious inhabitants, it was chosen as a
preferable place of sepulture by a considerable
number of the petty chiefs or lords of the
isles, Norwegian sea kings, some Irish chief-
tains, and of Duncan, one of the kings of Scot-
land. With Dunstaffnage, in all probability,
it divided the glory of receiving the remains of
some of the predecessors of this unfortunate
monarch. Now that there has been such an
extent of destruction among the tombs, and so
many carried away, it is impossible to discover
the tombs of any of the kings, so often spoken
of; the inscriptions and sculpture are nearly
gone ; and no one possesses any record of those
which have disappeared. Monro, dean of the
isles, who visited them in 1549, has bequeath-
ed a fanciful account of the tombs of Iona,
A'hich, without examination, has been received
by most topographers as correct, but which

modern discovery has exposed as in many in-
stances exceedingly fallacious. In 1830, Mr.
Rae Wilson, author of various esteemed works
descriptive of his own travels, busied himself
in clearing away the rubbish from the ruins of
the religious edifices, for the purpose of bring-
ing to light every thing like a relic of their
former magnificence and the piety of their in-
mates. In this search, besides the advantage
obtained by clearing out the interesting remains
of antiquity, and leaving them plain before the
eye of the visitor, a great many statues and
monuments were discovered. Perhaps in this
or some future search those black stones of
Iona by which the people of the Hebrides at
one time swore, may be also discovered, as they
are said to be concealed in the island. Dr.
Samuel Johnson, in the course of his tour to
the Hebrides in the autumn of 1773, accom-
panied by Boswell, visited Iona, whose words
on landing, though already quoted a thousand
times, we may be allowed to quote once more.
" At last," says he, " we came to Icolmkill,
but found no convenience for landing ; our boat
could not be forced very near the diy ground,
and our Highlanders carried us over the water.
We were now treading that illustrious island
which was once the luminary of the Caledo-
nian regions, whence savage clans and roving
barbarians derived the benefit of knowledge
and the blessings of religion. To abstract the
mind from all local emotion would be impossi-
ble, if it were endeavoured, and would be
foolish, if it were possible. Whatever with-
draws us from the power of our senses ; what-
ever makes the past, the distant, or the future,
predominate over the present, advances us in
the dignity of thinking beings. Far from me
and my friend be such frigid philosophy, as
may conduct us indifferent and unmoved over
any ground which has been dignified by wis-
dom, bravery, or virtue. That man is little to
be envied, whose patriotism would not gain
force upon the plains of Marathon, or whose
piety would not grow warmer among the ruins
of Iona!" On his departure from this inte-
resting spot he says, " We now left those il-
lustrious ruins, by which Mr. Boswell was
much affected, nor would I willingly be
thought to have looked upon them without
some emotion. Perhaps in the revolutions of
the world, Iona may be sometime again the
instructress of the western regions." There
js, we think, little chance of this being ever

INCH.

565

the ease ; which is almost as unlikely as the
fulfilment of a celebrated Gaelic prophecy,
which has thus been translated by Dr. Smith
of Campbellton :

" Seven years before that awful day,

When time shall be no more,
A watery deluge will o'ersweep

Hibernia's mossy shore;
The green-clad Isla, too, shall sink,

While, with the great and good,
Columba's happy isle will rear

Her towers above the flood."

IFFERT, an islet of the Hebrides, lying
off the west coast of Lewis.

ILANMORE, an islet of the Hebrides,
lying off the north side of Coll.

ILANROANandILANTERACH,two
islets of the Hebrides, lying to the 'south and
east of Oransay.

ILERAY, an island of the Hebrides, of
about three miles in length by one and a half
in breadth, lying to the westward of North
Uist.

IMERSAY, an islet of the Hebrides, lying
off the south-west coast of Islay.

INCH. There are many places in Scot-
land of this name, or having such an adjunct to
their designations, as maybe seen below, some
of which are too minute for notice in this
work. In all cases when it occurs, either by
itself or attached to another word, it signifies
an island, being derived from Ynjjs in the Bri-
tish, or Inis in the Irish or Gaelic tongue. In
the Highland districts the pure term of Inis
still remains in use.

INCH, a parish in the county of Inverness,
merged in that of Kingussie.

INCH, aparishin Wigtonshire, lying on the
east shore of Loch Ryan, bounded by Ballan-
trae in Ayrshire on the north, and New Luce
on the east ; extending nine miles in length by
a breadth nearly as great. About one-half of
the parish consists of flat and low land, form-
ing an extensive plain, which stretches from
Loch Ryan nearly to the Bay of Luce. On
the east and north-east of the plain rises a beau-
tiful range of hills, reaching from one end of
the parish to the other. The face of these is
partly green pasture and partly arable. In the
last century the district underwent extensive
improvement, through the active exertions of
the Earl of Stair, who has an elegant mansion
in the parish. In the lower part of the parish,
south-east from Loch Ryan, there are now

inany beautiful plantations. The present pa-
rish comprehends the suppressed parish of
Saulseat, which lay on the south. In the old
parish of Inch there were two chapels, namely,
St. John's Chapel, which stood at the south
end of Loch Ryan, and at the east end of the
burgh of Stranraer. This chapel was in ruins
in 1684, but a modern castle stood near it, and
was called the Castle of the Chapel. The
eastern half of the burgh of Stranraer, on the
east side of the rivulet that intersects the
town, was popularly called " the Chapel."
A spring within flood-mark was called St.
John's Well. The site of the castle is now
within the parish of Stranraer. The second
chapel was called Chapel- Patrick, being dedi-
cated to St. Patrick, and situated on the west
coast. The district in which it stood was de-
tached from the parish of Inch in 1628, and
was erected into the parish of Port- Patrick.
The church of Inch stands on the margin of a
lake, in which there is a small beautifully wood-
ed island or inch, six hundred yards in circum-
ference. This lake is that of Castle- Kennedy.
It is nearly divided by a neck of land, on which
stands the ruin of the castle, formerly a seat
of the Earls of Stair. The edifice is said to
have been burnt by accident in 1715. There
are some smaller lakes in the parish. A road
from Stranraer pursues the line of the east
coast of Loch Ryan into Ayrshire. On the
same side of this inlet of the sea is the sea-
port village of Cairn, with a good harbour, from
three to eight fathoms deep at low water. —
Population in J 821 , 2386.

INCH-ABER, an islet in Loch-Lomond,
lying in the mouth of the river Endrick.

INCH-AFFREY.— See Innerpeffuay.

INCHARD, (LOCH) an arm of the sea
on the west coast of Sutherlandshire, projected
into the northern part of the parish of Edder-
achylis.

INCH-BRAYOCK, an islet of about 34
acres in extent, lying in the mouth of the South
Esk, Forfarshire, and belonging to the parish
of Craig. It is situated in that part of the out-
let of the river betwixt the Bay of Montrose
and the sea, and it is joined to the mainland on
both sides by bridges, which carry the public
road across from the south to the town of Mon-
trose. The islet has been built upon.

INCH-CAILLIACH, " the island of old
women," situated in Loch-Lomond, near its

566

INCHCOLM.

south end on the east side, about a mile in
length, and covered with trees- This is one
of the most lovely of the islets in this beauti-
ful lake. It is the property of the Duke of
Montrose, is inhabited, and produces good
wheat and oats. Here was anciently a nun-
nery, which was afterwards used as the parish
church of Buchanan. The name of the islet
is allusive to the inmates of that religious build-
ing.

INCH-CLEAR, or CLARE-INCH, a
small woody islet in Loch-Lomond, lying to
the south of the above.

INCH-COLM, a small island in the Firth
of Forth, belonging to the county of Fife, pa-
rish of Dalgetty,and lying about two miles dis-
tant from Aberdour. Li measurement it is un-
der a mile in length, and is of a poor bleak ap-
pearance, but partly arable- Though thus des-
titute of beauty, it is rich in the production of
historical and antiquarian associations, and ex-
hibits, for the satisfaction of the curious, the
ruins of one of the most extensive monastic
establishments in this part of Scotland. The
cause of the foundation of this religious house
is thus related by Fordun : " About the year
1123, Alexander I., having some business of
state which obbged him to cross over at the
Queen's Ferry, was overtaken by a terrible
tempest, blowing from the south-west, which
obliged the sailors to make for this island, [then
called iEmona,*] which they reached with the
greatest difficulty. Here they found a poor
hermit, who lived a religious life, according to
the rules of St. Columba, and performed ser-
vice in a small chapel, supporting himself by the
milk of one cow, and the shell-fish he could pick
up on the shore ; nevertheless, on these small
means he entertained the king and his retinue
for three days, the time which they were con-
fined here by the wind. During the storm,
and whilst at sea and in the greatest danger,
the king had made a vow, that if St. Colum-
ba would bring him safe to that island, he
would there found a monastery to his honour,
which should be an asylum and relief to
«avigators ; he was, moreover, farther moved

* A Gaelic antiquary will detect in this euphonious
Latin name " the isle of the Druids," which shows that,
like many other Catholic institutions, the monastery of
Inchcolm must have been planted on a place of heathen
worship.

to this foundation, by having, from his child-
hood, entertained a particular veneration and
honour for that saint, derived from his pa-
rents, who were long married without issue,
until, imploring the aid of St Columba, their
request was most graciously granted." The
monastery founded by Alexander in virtue of
this vow, was for canons-regular of St. Au-
gustine, and being dedicated to St. Colm or
Columba, was richly endowed by its royal
patron. Allan de Mortimer, knight, Lord of
Aberdour, gave also to God, and the monks
of this abbey, the entire moiety of the lands
of his town of Aberdour, for a burying
place to himself and his posterity, in the
church of that monasteiy. Walter Bowmak-
er, abbot of this place, was one of the conti-
nuators of John Fordun's Scoti-Chronicon, as
is to be seen in the Liber Carthusianorum de
Perth, in the Advocate's Library. He died
in the year 1449. James Stewart of Beith,
a cadet of the Lord Ochiltree, was made com -
mendator of Inch Colm on the surrender of
Henry, Abbot of that monastery, in the year
1543. His second son, Hemy Stewart, was,
by the special favour of King James II. creat-
ed a peer, by the title of Lord St. Colm, in
the year 1611. Fordun records several mira-
cles done by St. Columba, as punishments to
the English, who often pillaged this monastery.
The first was in the year 1335, when the Eng-
lish, ravaging the coast along the Forth, one
vessel larger than the rest, entered this island,
and the crew landing, plundered the monastery
of all its moveables, as well secular as eccle-
siastical ; among divers statues and images
carried off, was a famous one of St. Columba,
which was kept in the church. It seems as
if that saint did not relish the voyage, for he
raised such a storm that it threatened immediate
destruction to the sacrilegious vessel, by driv-
ing it on the rocks of Inchkeith. The sailors,
on their near approach to these rocks, were ter-
ribly alarmed, cried peccavi, asked pardon of
the saint, promised restitution of their plunder,
and a handsome present into the bargain. On
this the vessel got safely into port in that
island, where, as if raised from the dead, they
landed with great rejoicings ; they then disem-
barked the saint and their other plunder, and
transported them, with a handsome oblation of
gold and silver, to certain inhabitants of King-
horn, to whom they likewise sent payment
for their labour, with directions that the whole

INCHCOLM.

5G7

should be safely delivered to the monks from
whom they were taken. No sooner was this
done than a favourable wind sprung up, by
which the vessel reached St. Abb's head be-
fore the rest of the fleet, the men taking care
to form a sincere resolution never more to
meddle with St. Columba. It nevertheless
appears that this example was forgotten by the
next year, for, from the same authority, we
learn, that in the year 1336, some other Eng-
lish vessels plundered the church of Dolor, be ■
longing to the abbot of this house, and carried
away a beautiful carved wainscot with which
he had adorned the choir ; this they had taken
down piece-meal, and shipped, so as it might
be put up in any other place. It was put on
board a particular barge, the sailors of which,
rejoicing at their plunder, sailed away with
pipes and trumpets sounding ; but St. Colum-
ba in an instant turned their mirth into sorrow,
for the vessel suddenly sunk to the bottom,
like a stone or piece of lead, neither plank nor
man being ever more seen. The remaining
sailors of the fleet, terrified at this judgment,
vowed in future they would not trespass on
that saint, or on any person or thing belonging
to him. This event gave rise to a proverb in
England, the substance of which was, that
St. Columba was not to be offended with im-
punity. They likewise gave him the nick-
name of Saint Quhalme. Notwithstanding
the resolution here mentioned, in the year 1384,
the English fleet being again in the Forth,
plundered this monastery, which they attempt-
ed to burn, and actually set fire to a shed near
the church ; but when the destruction of the
whole monastery seemed inevitable, some pious
persons addressing themselves to their guardian
saint, he suddenly changed the wind, which
blew back the flames. The plunderers re-
turned to their ships with their booty, and
afterwards landed at the Queen's Ferry, and
began to pillage the coast of the cattle, when
they were suddenly attacked by Thomas and
Nicholas Erskine and Alexander de Lindsay,
having with them about fifty horsemen from
the east, and William Conyngham, of Kil-
maures, with thirty from the west ; these en-
gaging the robbers, slew and wounded some,
took others prisoners, and drove a number of
them to their vessels ; of these above forty,
and those some of the forwardest among the
incendiaries, for safety, hung to the anchor,
when a sailor, dreading the attack of the Scots,

cut the cable with an axe, whereby all those who
hung about the anchor were drowned. But
what was most wonderful, was, that the per-
son who had planned this sacrilege, and been
the most active in setting fire to the buildings,
was taken prisoner by William de Conyngham,
and whilst on the way with him, was seized
with the most frantic madness, accusing him-
self of the above offences, testifying that he
had been the most active in burning the shed,
and that whilst so employed, he saw St. Co-
lumba extinguishing the fire, when that saint
caused some volatile flames to dart upon him,
which destroyed his beard and eye-brows ; his
fury increasing, he was killed, and buried in a
cross way near the town of Dunipace. In the
Duke of Somerset's expedition, 1547, this mo-
nastery was, after the battle of Pinkie, occu-
pied as a post commanding the Forth. The
circumstance is recorded by Patin, in the fol-
lowing words : " Tuesday, the 13th of Sep-
tember, in the afternoon, my Lord's Grace
rowed up the Fryth, a vi or vii myles west •
ward, as it runneth into the land, and took in
his way an island thear called Sainct Coomes
Ins, which standeth a iiii mile beyond Lieth,
and a good way ner at the north shore than
the south, yet not within a mile of the nerest.
It is but half a myle about, and hath in it a
pretty abbey (but ye monks were gone) fresh
water enough, and also coonyes ; and is so na-
turally strong, as but one way it can be enter-
ed. The plot whearof my Lordes Grace con-
sidering, did quickly cast to have it kept,
whearby all traflik of merchandise, all commo-
dities els comyng by the Fryth into their land,
and utterly ye hole use of the Fryth itself,
with all the havens uppon it shoold quyte be
taken from them. Saturday, 17th of Septem-
ber, Sir John Luttrell, Knight, having bene
by my Lordes Grace, and the counsell, elect
abbot, by God's suffraunce, of the monastery
of Sainct Coomes Ins, afore remembered, in
the afternoon of this day departed towardes
the island to be stalled in his see thear accord-
ingly ; and had with, him coovent of a C hak-
butters and L pioneers, to kepe his house and
land thear, and ii rowe barkes well furnished
with amnicion, and lxx mariners, for them to
kepe his waters, whereby it is thought he shall
soon becum a prelate of great power. The
perfytness of his religion is not ahvaies to tarry
at home, but sumtime to rowe out abrode a
visitacion, and when he goithe, I have heard

568

I N C H I N A N.

say he taketh alweyes bis sumners in barke
with bym, which are very open-mouthed, and
never talk but they are harde a mile of, so that
either for loove of his blessynges, or fear of
his cursinges, he is like to be souveraigne over
most part of his neighbours." The island of
Inchcolm was visited by Grose, or some one
for him, in 1789, and in his Antiquities of
Scotland are presented different views of the
religious houses. " Great part- of the monas-
tery," says he, " is still remaining ; the cloisters,
with rooms over them, enclosing a square area,
are quite entire ; the pit of the prison is a most
dismal hole, though lighted by a small window ;
the refectory is up one pair of stairs ; in it,
near the window, is a kind of separate closet,
up a few steps, commanding a view of the
monks when at table ; this is supposed to have
been the abbot's seat ; adjoining to the refec-
tory is a room, from the size of its chimney,
probably the kitchen. The octagonal chapter-
house, with its stone roof, is also standing ;
over it is a room of the same shape, in all like-
lihood the place where the charters were kept.
Here are the remains of an inscription, in the
black-letter, which began with stultus. The
inside of the whole building seems to have
been plastered. Near the water there is a
range of offices. Near the chapter-house are
the remains of a very large semicircular arch.
In the adjoining grounds lies the old carved
stone, said to be a Danish monument, engraved
by Sir Robert Sibbald, in whose book it is
delineated as having a human head at each
end ; and at present it is so defaced by time or
weather, that nothing like a head can be dis-
tinguished at either end : indeed it requires the
aid of a creative fancy, to make out any of the
sculpture ; something like a man with a spear
is seen (by sharp sighted antiquaries) on the
north side ; and on the south the figure of a
cross ; this stone has been removed from its
original situation." The view from the sea
shows the entry into the cloisters, the chapter-
house, the tower of the church, and other en-
tire parts of the building. In more recent
times the place has been partly modernized, as
a residence for a citizen of Edinburgh, who
farms the island from the Earl of Moray, the
proprietor. The island, which is fertile in
some places and is reputed for the fineness of
its crops of onions, was made a station for a
battery of ten guns, for the protection of this
part of the Firth of Forth, during the last war.

INCH-CONAG, an island in Loch Lo-
mond, lying on the east of Inch-Tannach.

INCH-CROIN, an islet near the south
end of Loch -Lomond.

INCH-CRUIN, a small island at the mid-
dle of Loch-Lomond, east from Inch-Conag,
on which an asylum for insane persons has
been erected.

INCH-FAD, a fertile inhabited island of
a mile in length in Loch- Lomond, near its
east side, and north from Inch-Cailloch.

INCH-GALBRAITH. an islet in Loch-
Lomond near its west side, on which stands
the mined castle of the ancient family of Gal-
braith..

INCH-GARVIE, a small rocky island in
the Firth of Forth, lying nearly in the middle
of the strait at Queensferry. Having been
anciently fortified, and used for a state prison,
its fortifications were repaired and put in a
state of defence during last war, but the works
are now completely abandoned.

INCH-GRANGE, a woody isletin Loch-
Lomond.

INCHINAN, anciently KILLINAN, a
parish in Renfrewshire, lying on the banks of
the Clyde, between the parish of Erskine on
the west, and Renfrew on the east, and south,
extending three miles in length from west to
east, and from two to two and a half in breadth.
The Gryfe and Cart rivers serve as the boun-
dary on the south and east. The country is
here generally level or abounding in beautiful
eminences, and the whole is finely cuitivated,
enclosed, and planted. The district is rich
and verdant on the banks of the Clyde, Gryfe,
and Cart. The church of Inchinan which
stands near the coast, is said to have been built
as far back as 1100. David I. granted it with
all its pertinents to the Knights Templars,
and it continued to belong to them till their
suppression in 1312, when it was transferred
to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem.
With other property belonging to that order
it fell into tlie hands of Sir James Sandilands,
the first Lord Torphichen. The church was
probably dedicated to St. Inan, whose name
and an Inch, or long narrow island in the river
Cart, make up the designation of the parish
Near this spot once stood the castle of Inch-
inan, one of the seats of the Dukes of Len-
nox. North Bar is a fine old building on the
Clyde ; south from this place is the ruin of
Old Bar Castle. — Population in 1821, 583.

1 N C H K E I T H.

569

INOHKEITH, an island in the Firth of
Forth, lying four miles from Leith and three
from Kinghorn in Fife, to which it belongs.
It is of a long irregular figure, measuring a mile
in length by the fifth of a mile in breadth, and
comprising altogether about seventy acres. At
its south-eastern or narrowest end lies a small
rocky islet, called the Longcraig. Like all
other islands in this arm of the sea, Inchkeith
has a bleak and comfortless aspect, being to-
tally destitute of trees, and almost wholly pas-
toral. Its surface though irregular and rocky,
is in many places productive of a rich herbage,
well suited to the pasturing of cattle or horses,
but too rank for the use of sheep. Where cul-
tivation has been attempted, excellent crops
have been produced. On the eastern and
western sides the island is precipitous and a-
brupt, while towards the north and southern
ends, particularly the latter, it rises more gra-
dually, to the height of 180 feet, calculating
from high-water mark to the summit of the
island, on which a light-house has been placed.
Inchkeith possesses several abundant springs
of the purest and most excellent water that is
any where to be met with ; and since a boat-
harbour and landing pier have been construct-
ed, the water has been collected in the higher
parts of the island, and conducted by a leaden
pipe, from a large stone cistern to the harbour,
where it is served out by the light-house keep-
er. From this cistern the shipping in Leith
Roads is supplied, and seamen remark that
this water is better and keeps longer free of
impurities, than any other with which they are
supplied. The rocks of this island belong
to the coal formation, and are distinctly stra-
tified upon the great scale. The same strata
of rocks, with a similar direction and dip, are
observable on the Fife shores to the north.
The island affords a good warren for a numer-
ous tribe of the common grey rabbits, and there
are also found a considerable number of the
grey Norwegian rats, in all probability brought
hither . originally by the shipping in Leith
'Roads. Seals are common on the shores.
This island was in early times a possession of
the noble family of Keith, the first of whom,
named Robert, received it from Malcolm II.,
along with the barony of Keith in East Lothian,
(parish of Humbie,) as a reward for killing with
his own hand, Camus a Danish chieftain, at
the battle of Barry, in the year 1010. The
barony of Keith hence communicating its name

to the family, it was from them applied to
their inch or island in the Forth. Under the
head of Edinburgh it has been seen that the
island was constituted a species of lazar-house
for the recovery of those persons in the me-
tropolis afflicted with a certain loathsome dis-
temper, in 1497. Lindsay of Pitscottie re-
lates an incident connected with this desolate
isle, which has often been repeated. He tells
us that that acute prince and lover of the
sciences James IV., made it the scene of the
following curious experiment. In order to
discover, if possible, what was the natural and
original language of the human race, he sent
two infants under the charge of a dumb wo-
man, to reside here ; and that there might be
no occasion for any intercourse with others,
caused them to be well provided with all the
necessaries which their situation might require,
till the children should arrive at maturity.
The result of the experiment is not recorded.
In that tumultuous age, it would be but little
regarded ; and the wars in the end of his reign,
and the confusion consequent on his death
at Flodden, would cause it to be almost en-
tirely forgotten. Lindsay speaks only of a
vague report remaining in his time ; " Some
say that they spoke good Hebrew, but as
to myself, I know not but by the author's
report." The English, after the battle of
Pinkie, fortified this island and the town of
Haddington, besides several other places, in
order to maintain an interest in the country
against the catholic powers then in possession
of the Scottish government. After rearing a
temporary fort upon it, they left four com-
panies of their own nation, and one company
of Italians, for its defence, under the command
of one Cotteral. On the 29th of June, 1549,
this garrison was attacked, and after a very
gallant defence, was dislodged by the French
auxiliary troops, then defending the town and
citadel of Leith under M. Desse, who had
seen the importance of this island as a military
station from its commanding position, as a cover
to Leith, and likewise offering a^good retreat
in case of any sudden disaster. Hesse- had no
sooner made himself master of thisrisland than
the temporary works of the English were thrown
down, and a regular fortification was erected
by order of the regent, under the sanction o*
her daughter Mary, and the dauphin of France,
her husband. This fort consisted of several
strong bastions, laid out for defence of the
4d

570

INCHKEITH.

place, with a strong wall of circumvallation,
varying in height from a few feet to upwards
of twenty feet, according to the situation of
the ground. The principal parts of this work
were executed in square or ashlar masonry;
and from the inaccessible nature of the island,
it must in those days have been considered an
operation of no small magnitude and expense.
While in the possession of the French the
properties of the grass of the island as a nutri-
tious food for horses were observed, and so
great a number of those animals were placed
upon it, that the name of L'lsle des Chevaux
became attached to it. We are told by Bos ■
well, in his Tour to the Hebrides, that when
Lord Hailes was crossing the Firth with Dr.
Johnson, he mentioned this fact, and observed
that the island would be a safer stable than most
others of that time. Upon the part of the
fortification which existed in the time of the
above distinguished tourist, were the letters
" M. R." for Maria Regina, and the date 1556.
When the English fleet sent by Queen Eliza-
beth for the relief of the Scottish Protestants,
entered the Firth, January 1560, the French
forces, who acted for Mary the Regent in Leith,
thought proper to improve and strengthen
this fortress, to which the English fleet imme-
diately laid siege, but without effect. At the
peace, which was afterwards ratified by the
treaty of Edinburgh, it was stipulated, that
six score French soldiers should remain in
Scothttid, the one half in the castle of Dunbar,
the remainder in the fortress of Inchkeith.
Afterwards, the fortifications were cast down
by act of parliament, in order to prevent public
enemies from ever again taking advantage of
them. The next period at which Inchkeith
comes into notice in history, is in the year
1639, during the troubles of the reign of
Charles I., when the king sent a fleet with
troops, for the reduction of the Scottish cove-
nanters. Finding it impossible to effect a
landing on the shores of the Firth, which were
lined every where by a bold and enthusiastic
people, the Marquis of Hamilton, who com-
manded this expedition, had to disembark the
troops upon the island of Inchkeith, for the
sake of their health, the greater part of them
being raw English recruits who had sunk un-
der the hardships of the voyage. It is said,
that on this occasion the Marquis's mother
was among those who assembled to resist his
landing, and bore a brace of pistols on her horse
24.

before her, wherewith she threatened to blow
out her son's brains if he should attempt to put
a hostile foot upon his native shores. After
resting some time, and making no other hostile
manifestations than what consisted in a few
fire-works, which they let off to frighten the
people, this miserable army went again on
ship-board, and sailed back to England, the
war being in the mean time concluded, by a
treaty between Charles and his Scottish sub-
jects at Berwick. From this period till the
present day, Inchkeith has ceased to be an ob-
ject of historical interest ; and it is now chiefly
known as the station of one of the most im-
portant light-houses on the coasts of Scot-
land. The light-house board, aware of the
advantages of the navigation of the Firth
of Forth, and the great degree of pro-
tection it yields to vessels during storms
from the east, proceeded to its improve-
ment as their funds would admit ; and com-
menced with the building of a light-house on this
island, forming an immediate guide to the roads
of Leith. Upon an application being present-
ed from the Trinity House of Leith, on the
18th of May 1803, the foundation stone of this
useful building was laid, and the light-fire ex-
hibited on the evening of the 1 st of September
1804. There then existed no pier or landing
place, nor any road upon the island for the
conveyance of heavy materials to the site of the
building ; and if any such had existed in the
early state of the island, which is indeed more
than probable, they had been entirely destroyed
along with the works of the fortifications, as
not the slightest trace of these roads remain-
ed in 1803, when the light-house opera-
tions were begun. A small portion of the
ruins of the fortifications, however, existed.
The elevation or design of this light-house is
considered to be in very good taste. It is a
house of two storeys, with a platform roof,
and parapet with embrasures, the light-house
tower forming the staircase to the second floor
and ligb*-room. The light-keepers are very
comfortably lodged, the principal having three
apartments and his assistant two. Besides (he
main house, a court of offices is formed in con-
nexion with the eastern wall of the old fort ;
and, besides other conveniences, there is an oil
cellar sunk under ground, in which the oil is
always kept in a fluid state, and at an equal
temperature. There is also a place fitted up
without the gate as a watch-house for pilots,

I N C H K E I T H.

571

where they have a guard-bed and fire-place.
The establishment is in all respects very com-
plete. Besides good salaries, the principal and
his assistants have ten acres of the island en-
closed, and a garden, which they possess or hold
in common, with a sufficient allowance of coal
and oil for family use. In justice to these per-
sons, we have to state, that at all times they
display the utmost politeness in showing the
interior of the light-house to strangers. When
the present light-house was completed, it was
what seamen call a stationary or fixed light,
and contained sixteen reflectors, made upon the
parabolic curve, formed of copper, strongly
coated or plated with silver, instead of the
hollow or cavity of the reflector being lined
with facets of mirror glass as formerly. Inch-
keith light remained as a stationary light till the
year 1815, the period when the light of the isle
of May was altered from an open coal fire to a
stationary light, with oil and reflectors; on
which it became necessary to alter the charac-
ter of Inchkeith light from a stationary to a
revolving light ; and with this alteration, that
seven reflectors, instead of the former number,
are now found perfectly sufficient. The ma-
chinery for making the light revolve, consists
of a movement, or piece of strong clock-work,
kept in motion by a weight, and curiously fitted
with two governors, upon the plan of the
steam-engine, instead of a fly wheel. The
reflectors are ranged upon a horizontal frame,
which is made to revolve periodically upon a
perpendicular axis, exhibiting, to a distant ob-
server, the alternate effect of light and dark-
ness, in a very beautiful and simple manner.
The reflectors are brought round in succession
to the eye of the observer, and the angles, or
interstices between them, produce the effect
of darkness, by which this light is distinguished
from the light of the isle of May, and also
from the common surrounding lights on the
opposite shores. The light has further the
advantage of being elevated above the medium
level of the sea about 235 feet ; and such is
the powerful effect of the reflecting apparatus,
that it is distinctly seen in a favourable state of
the atmosphere, at the distance of four or five
leagues, although it is impossible that more
than a single reflector can be seen at a time.*

* Edin. Encv., article Inchkeith, written, we believe,
by Mr. Robert Stevenson, civil engineer, to which we
have to acknowledge considerable obligations in the above
description of the island.

The mechanism which moves the lights is ex-
ceedingly beautiful, and is kept in the highest
order. To examine it as a matter of curiosity,
or to view the island, the place is often visited
by boating parties from the Edinburgh side of
the fhrth, and it is generally selected by the
Highland Club as a fit theatre whereon to ex-
hibit their annual Olympic games. On this
gala occasion, the island is crowded with ladies
and gentlemen, who arrive in steam vessels to
witness the pastimes. The island is now the
property of the Buccleugh family.

INCH-KENNETH, an islet of the He-
brides, lying betwixt Mull and Icolmkill, and
possessing the ruins of a small religious esta-
blishment, once dependant on the adjacent is-
land.

INCH-LOANAG, an island in Loch Lo-
mond, of about a mile in length, being that ly-
ing furthest to the north, in the lower or wide
part of the lake. It is celebrated for its yew-
trees, which, during the period when the bow
was in use in warfare, were of great considera-
tion and value.

INCHMAHOME, anciently INSCHE-
MACHAME, an island of great historical
and antiquarian interest in the lake of Men-
teith in Perthshire, extending to the compass
of about five acres, and forming now a varied
wilderness of forest and fruit-trees, interspersed
with underwood, and chequered with moss-
grown ruins. Adjacent to it on the west, lies
the islet of Talla, where are still to be traced
the ruins of a castle, which was the principal
seat of the Grahams, Earls of Menteith, a peer-
age now dormant. At a very early period, the
island of Inchmahome became the residence
of some religious recluses, and in the year
1238, the Pope granted to Walter Cumyine,
Earl of Menteath, liberty to erect upon it a
priory or abbey, for the reception of canons-
regular of the order of St. Augustine, in con-
nexion with the abbey of Cambuskenneth. It
was afterwards united by King James IV. to
his royal chapel of Stirling. Subsequently, it
was separated from this chapel, and bestowed
by King James V. upon John Lord Erskine,
who became commendatory abbot. Accord-
ing to returns made to government in 1562,
the annual profits of the priory were L.234 in
money, besides certain quantities of grain.
The house had four chapels dependant upon
it. The island of Inchmahome was visited by
several distinguished royal personages ; amoiy

572

INCHTURE.

the rest, by Robert Bruce, who went thither
April 15th, 1310, and during his stay, execut-
ed a writ, seizing the goods and lands of a re-
bellious subject. When Scotland was invaded
by the English in 1547, for the purpose of forc-
ing the infant Queen Mary into a marriage with
Edward VI. her four guardians, one of whom
was the above John Lord Erskine, deposited
her person in this safe retreat, where she re-
mained with her four Marys,till she was sent
to France. Inchmahome was also visited by
James VI. and was the occasional place of
residence of many noblemen. The ruins of
the monastery, church, and cloisters, are very
extensive, and exhibit many specimens of fine
old architecture of a massive nature. The
dormitory and vaults have been for many ages
the place of sepidture of several noble and
ancient families. The most remarkable sculp-
tures in these depositories of the dead, are two
figures in relief, representing the last Earl and
last Countess of Menteith (of the Cumynes,)
which may be seen in the choir of the church.
The ruins of these interesting buildings are
sequestered in overhanging woods of consider-
able age and growth, which communicate an
air of great sylvan beauty to the little isle.
Some of the trees are said to be three cen-
turies old, and one of them, a Spanish ches-
nut, measures, near the ground, eighteen feet
in circumference. The island and its priory
have furnished the subject for a work by that
accurate and well-informed antiquary, the Rev.
Mr. Macgregor Stirling, extending to a quar-
to volume.

INCH-MARNOCH, an island of about
two miles in length, lying on the west side of
Bute, and having the ruins of a chapel de-
dicated to St. Marnoch, near its eastern
shore.

INCH-MICKERY, an islet in the Firth
of Forth, near its north shore, adjacent to the
island of Inchcolm.

INCH-MOAN, an islet in Loch Lomond,
lying east from Inch-Tannoch; it is chiefly peat-
moss.

INCH-MURRIN, or INCH-MARIN,
the largest island in Loch Lomond, near its
south-west extremity, extending two miles in
length. It is beautifully wooded, and is used
as a deer-park by the Duke of Montrose, who
has a hunting seat and offices upon it, near an
old castle, the residence of the ancient proprie-
tor, the Earl of Lennox. It is singular enough

that this island is not included in any county
or parochial division.

INCH-TAVANACH, or INCH-TAN-
NACH, an island in Loch Lomond, lying
near the shore on its west side, extending three
quarters of a mile in length and half a mile 4n
breadth. It is the loftiest of the various
islands in the lake, and is chiefly covered with
wood and heath.

INCH-TORR, or TORR-INCH, a small
woody islandin Loch Lomond, near its south end.

INCHTURE, a parish in the Carse of
Gowrie, Perthshire, lying on the north bank
of the Firth of Tay, opposite Flisk in Fife,
bounded by Longforgan on the east, Errol and
Kinnaird on the west, and Abemyte and
Longforgan on the north. It extends only
about a mile along the Tay, being broader
inland, and is nearly four miles from north to
south. The parish is one of the most pro-
ductive and beautiful in this rich district of
country. It possesses some fine seats and
pleasure-grounds, among others those of Ball-
indean, and Rossie Priory. The parish has
several villages. That of Inchture is situated
on the road from Perth to Dundee, distant
from the latter nine miles, and thirteen from
the former. The village of Ballerno or Balled-
garno lies about a mile further to the north, and
on the boundary of the parish from Errol is sit-
uated the sea-port and thriving village of Pol-
gavie, or Povvgavie- It is three miles north-east
from the village of Errol, and from it ship-
ments are made of corn and other native pro-
ducts. It has some granaries, storehouses,
and a pier, which can be approached by vessels
of from thirty to sixty tons burden. The
parish of Inchture incorporates the abrogated
parochial district of Rossie, which was united
to it in 1670. The original name seems to
have been Inchtower, from a tower placed
on one of those inches or islands with which
the Carse of Gowrie once abounded, and which
are now only rising grounds. — Population in
1821,958.

INCHYRA, or INCHIRY, a seaport
village in Gowrie, Perthshire, situated in the
parish of KinouL on the north bank of the
Tay, about six miles below Perth.

INGANESS BAY, a bay of about three
miles in length in Orkney, indenting the
mainland, nearly two miles to the east of
Kirkwall Bay. The headland on its west
side is called Inganess Head.

INNERLEITHEN.

573

INHALLOW See Enhallow.

INIS-CONNEL, an island in Loch-Awe,

Argyleshire — See Awe (Loch).

INIS-FRAOCH, or FRAOCH-ELAN,
nn island in Loch- Awe, Argyleshire. — See
Awe (Loch.)

INIS-HAIL, an island in Loch-Awe,
Argyleshire. — See Awe (Loch.)

INIS-ERAITH, an island in Loch-Awe,
Argyleshire — See Awe (Loch.)

INNERKIP, a parish in Renfrewshire,
occupying the north-west corner of the county,
bounded by the Firth of Clyde on the north
and west, by Largs in Ayrshire and Lochwin-
noch on the south, and by Greenock, which
once formed a part of it, on the east. It
extends about six miles from north to south,
by a breadth of four miles. The land ascends
from the shores, and forms in general a hilly
territory, intermixed with pleasing well-culti-
vated fields and fertile meadows. In the
southern part there is a good deal of moss.
The parish has several considerable rivulets,
the chief of which is the Kip Water, inter-
secting the district from east to west, and
falling into the Firth of Clyde. On this water
is situated the village of Innerkip, formerly
styled Inverkip, from being placed at the
mouth of Kip Water. The village stands
six miles west from Greenock, and besides
the parish church it has a dissenting meeting-
house. It is a place of resort for sea-bathing,
and is inhabited by a number of fishermen.
Three annual fairs are held. The neat small
town of Gourock lies on the banks of the
Firth of Clyde within the parish. There are
several seats in the vicinity of the above estu-
ary, among which is Ardgowan, an elegant

mansion in the midst of pleasure-grounds

Population in 1821, 2344.

INNERLEITHEN, or INVERLEI-
THEN, a parish in Peebles-shire, with a
small portion belonging to the county of Sel-
kirk, lying on the north or left bank of the
Tweed opposite Traquair, bounded by Peebles
and part of Eddleston on the west, Heriot and
Temple on the north, and Stow on the
east- It extends about seven miles from north
to south, by a breadth of from four to five
miles. The surface may be represented as
altogether pastoral and mountainous, except on
the banks of the Tweed, where there are some
fine flat fertile fields, and on the banks of its
tributary the Leithen, where cultivation is

spreading and improvements going forward.
The district is chiefly the basin of the Leithen
Water and the small bums poured into it-
This mountain-stream originates in the north-
western corner of the parish, and after a course
of about twelve miles falls into the Tweed
nearly opposite Traquair House, the seat
of the Earl of Traquair. The word Leitfien
is significant of a water which overflows its
banks. Improvements on a great scale have
been made in the district exposed to the Tweed,
especially on the estate of Glenormiston, which
now shows some fine plantations. Westward
from thence, near the -road to Peebles, and on
a rising ground overhanging the Tweed, stands
Horsburgh Castle, .now entirely in ruins. It
was anciently the seat of the Horsburghs, and
was used as one of the numerous peel-houses
on the Tweed, (See Peebles- shire.) From
it a pleasing view is obtained of the town of
Peebles further up the Tweed, and Nidpath
Castle beyond. It is mentioned that a natural
son of Malcolm IV. was drowned in a pool
near the foot of the Leithen, and that the first
night after his decease his body was deposited
in the parish church. Hence King Malcolm,
in granting the church to the monks of Kelso,
" in qua," says he, " prima node, corpus JUit
mei post obitum suum quievit," ordained that it
should have the power of giving a sanctuary to
those fleeing from justice, " quantum habet
Wedah aut Tyningham." In 1232, the church
was confirmed to the monks, by their diocesan,
William, the bishop of Glasgow. While the
church, with its vicarage and rectorial property,
continued with these churchmen, the village
of Inverleithen, with the circumjacent district,
continued a • part of the royal demesne, during
the reign of Alexander II. In 1674, that part
of the suppressed parish of Kailzie, lying north
of the Tweed, was annexed to the parish of
Inverleithen.

INNERLEITHEN, a village in Peebles-
shire, the capital of the above parish, situated
at the distance of about twenty-eight miles
from Edinburgh, and six east from Peebles.
It stands on a flat piece of ground within a quar-
ter of a mile of the left bank of the Tweed,
environed on the east and west by high and
partly wooded hills. The Leithen water pro-
ceeding out of the vale on the north, passes
through the village to the Tweed, and is crossed
by a stone bridge carrying along the road
from Peebles to Selkirk. By far the greater

574

INNERLEITHEN.

part of the houses stand on the right bank of
the Leithen, on the property of the Earl of
Traquair, who has feued the ground on advan-
tageous terms. The lands east from the Lei-
then form part of the estate of Pirn. For
many ages the village, or rather hamlet, of
Innerleithen was among the smallest and most
primitive of this pastoral and thinly populated
district, consisting of little else than a few
thatched houses near the Leithen, and a mill,
with the church of the parish, situated a short
way up the vale. Placed in a secluded part
of Scotland, and out of the way of general
traffic, it seemed to have every chance of re-
maining for a long time in obscurity. While
in this condition, during the last century, it
was pitched upon as being well suited for be-
ing a seat of woollen manufactures, chiefly
in consideration of its site in the midst of an
extensive pastoral county, and upon the brink
of a rapid ninning brook, which offered a
powerful fall of water. That which may have
been observed by different individuals was seen
with greater clearness by a native of the dis-
trict, who had risen to great wealth by a course
of successful industry in London. This pa-
triotic person was a Mr. Alexander Brodie, who
was by profession a blacksmith, and had origi-
nally gone to the British metropolis in search of
employment, having at the time only a few
shillings in his pocket. In the course of a
number of years, by great skill in his business,
this person realized a very large fortune. Many
years before his death, about the year 1 790,
he bethought himself of raising the consequence
of Innerleithen, by the establishment of a
woollen factory, which was forthwith erected
at a considerable expense, L.3000 being ex-
pended on the works and machinery. This
manufactory, which is a house of five storeys,
attracted a number of settlers to the village,
and scattered a good deal of money in the vici-
nity, but till this day its success has been very
limited, and various lessees have lost capital
by carrying it on. The cloth produced is most-
ly blue, and of a coarse quality. While the vil-
lage acquired a more comfortable aspect under
the influence of its cloth factory, it gradually be-
came known for the possession of a salubrious
mineral spring, held to be of great virtue in
scorbutic and other affections. We understand
that it was not till about the beginning of the
present century that this spring attracted par-
ticular notice. After it did acquire its character

as a spa, it continued to be only administered
from a simple pump to those country people
who trusted in its healing properties. Little
more than ten years ago, if not less, " Inner-
leithen well," in a strangely sudden and unac-
countable manner, acquired a very high degree
of reputation among real or imaginary valetu-
dinarians, all over the south of Scotland and
especially in Edinburgh. The old primitive
pump was disused, and an elegant structure
being reared over the spring, by the late Earl
of Traquair, the place was made to vie with
some of the long established watering places
in England. Its celebrity was further en-
hanced in 1824, by the publication of the novel,
by the author of Waverley, entitled St. Ronans*
Well, of which place it was fondly imagined
to be the prototype. This part of the vale of
Tweed being simultaneously or previously
opened up by the running of stage coaches
from Edinburgh to Peebles, and of conveyances
from thence to Innerleithen, there was now no
hinderance to visitors, and the consequence has
been, that every year since, the number of
lodgers in the summer and autumn months has
been on the increase. Much of this populari-
ty has been owing to the proximity of the vil-
lage to Edinburgh, and the ease with which it
can be reached, in which peculiarities it is su-
perior to Pitcaithly, Moffat, Dumblane, and
other watering places. There are also various
advantages connected with its locality which
will not be overlooked. It is a fit place of
temporary residence for those fond of angling,
as, besides the Tweed, and the Leithen, it is
near the Quair, and at no great distance from
St. Mary's Loch in Yarrow, as well as other
trouting waters. The climate is allowed to
be dry and healthy, and the country is here
so secluded that there is no disagreeable in-
terruption in making extensive promenades.
To accommodate the numerous transient re-
sidents, a number of substantial houses have
been built, forming a neat small street along
the public road, with a variety of houses
behind, which are let as private furnished
lodgings. The village has now two public
inns, one of which is provided with a ball-
room or large dining apartment; some good
shops, and a circulating library. Newspapers
are taken in at the pump-room. At one of the
shops, fishing tackle is sold and lent to anglers
on moderate terms. During the season the en-
joyments of the visitor are promoted by con-

INNERWICK.

575

certs, balls, public readings, parties to St.
Mary's Loch, shooting parties to Elibank and
Horsburgh Wood, as well as by the exhibitions
of a party of strolling players, &c. Thetrusteesof
the roads in this quarter of Tweeddalehave been
very assiduous in improving the thoroughfares
near Innerleithen. A new road has been formed
along the vales of the Leithen and Willanslee
Burn, towards the head of the vale of Heriot,
by which, as soon as the Mid-Lothian part is
finished, a ready communication will be had
with Mid and East-Lothian, and the districts
producing coal and lime. Fully as beneficial
and a much more beautiful improvement has
been instituted in the erection of a handsome
wooden bridge across the Tweed to Traquair,
by which strangers have now an opportunity
of visiting the classic shades of the " bush
aboon Traquair," and the scenery on the right
bank of the Tweed. The bridge is erected
on strong piers in the water, and permits the
passage of horses and carriages, a convenience
of great moment as regards intercourse by carts
to the head of the Yarrow, the fords being
often impassable for days at a time. The vi-
sitors who take an interest in the prosperity of
the village, along with the regular inhabitants,
have recently instituted an association, styl-
ed the St. Roman's JBordar Club, which is
composed of a great number of gentlemen con-
nected with all parts of the country, under
whose auspices is held an annual festival, for
the exhibition of Olympic games or gymnastic
exercises. Under the patronage of this body,
there is also a competition in trout-fishing for
one day in the year, — the person who catches,
by the rod, the greatest aggregate weight of
fish, being rewarded with a medal. The day
of competition is usually the Edinburgh fast-
day in May. The competitors in and patrons
of these pastimes always dine together, and
close the day in convivialities, which are ordi-
narily enlivened by the presence of men emi-
nent in different walks of literature. — Po-
pulation of the parish and village in 1821,
705.

INNERPEFFRAY, or INCHAFF-
REY, an ancient abbey in Perthshire, in the
parish of Madderty, situated on the banks of the
Earn. This religious building is now in ruins.
Its abbot attended Robert Bruce on the day of
Bannockburn, and administered the sacrament
to the Scottish soldiery before the battle.—
There is a small village near the ruins.

INNERWELL, a sea-port village in Wig-
tonshire.

INNERWICK, a parish in the county of
Haddington, bounded by Oldhamstocks on the
east, Spott and' Dunbar on the west, the sea
on the north, and Cranshaws and Longforma-
cus in Berwickshire on the south. Extend-
ing thus across East Lothian, it measures ten
miles in length by a general breadth of from
two to three miles. The parish comprises a
considerable part of the mountainous and pas-
toral district of Lammermoor, and towards the
north declines into beautiful cultivated braes,
and finally into that rich flat territory along
the sea- coast east from Dunbar. The shore is
here bold and precipitous, and there is gather-
ed from the beach a considerable quantity of
sea-ware, which is applied to purposes of ma-
nure- The low fertile lands in this quarter of
Haddingtonshire are let at exceedingly high
rents, but only at rates commensurate with
their productive qualities. There are now a
variety of plantations in the uplands, and the
fields are all well enclosed. The village of
Innerwick lies with a northern exposure at the
base of the hilly country, rather more than a
mile to the west of the road from Dunbar to
Berwick. In its vicinity stands the ruin of
the ancient castle of Innerwick, of which a
drawing is to be found in Grose's Antiquities.
This castle originally belonged to the younger
branch of the family of Hamilton, who from
it were styled Hamiltons of Innerwick. It
was one of those small fortalices built for the
defence of the borders, in cases of sudden at-
tack, or popular insurrections ; of which John
Major says, there were two in every league.
Its situation is rather secluded, and it is ro-
mantically erected on the summit of a rocky
eminence, overhanging a woody glen, which
divided it from the fortlet of Thornton, a
stronghold of a similar description now entire™
ly erased. The castle of Innerwick was
besieged, taken and destroyed, by the troops
under the Duke of Somerset, whose onfall is
thus quaintly described by Patten : — While
a body of miners were left to blow up the walls
of Dinglas castle, the army marched on at the dis-
tance of a mile and a half northward, and arrived
at " two pyles or holdes, Thornton and Inder-
wiche, set both on a craggy foundation, and
divided a stone's cast asunder, by a deep gut
wherin ran a little river. Thornton belonged
to the Lord Hume, and was kept then by one

576

I N N E R W I C K.

Tom Trotter ; whereunto my lord's grace
overnight, for summons, sent Somerset, his
herald, toward whom iiii. or v. of his captain's
prikkers, with their gaddes ready charged,
did right hastily direct their course ; but
Trotter both honestly defended the herald,
and sharply rebuked his men ; and said for
the summons he would come speak with
my lord's grace himself; notwithstanding he
came not, but straight lockt up sixteen poor
souls, like the soldiers of Douglas, fast within
the house, took the keys with him, and com-
manding them they should defend the house,
and tarry within, (as they could not get out,)
till his return, which should be on the morrow,
with munition and relief, he with his prikkers
prikt quite his ways. Innerwick pertained to
the lord of Hambleton (Hamilton), and was
kept by his son and heir, (whom of custom
they call the master of Hamilton), and an viii.
more with him, gentlemen for the most part,
as we heard say. My lord's grace, at his com-
ing nigh, sent unto both these pyles, which,
upon summons, refusing to surrender, were
straight assailed. Thornton, by battery of iiii.
of our great peices of ordnance, and certain of
Sir Peter Mewtus hakbutters to watch the
loop-holes and windows on all sides, and In-
nerwick by a sort of the same hakbutters alone,
who so well bestirred them, that where these
keepers had- rammed up their outer doors, clay-
ed and stopped up their stairs within, and kept
themselves aloft for defiance of their house
about the battlements, the hakbutters gat in,
and fired them underneath ; whereby being
greatly troubled with smoke and smother, and
brought in desperation of defence, they called
pitifully over the walls to my lord's grace for
mercy ; who, notwithstanding their great ob-
stinacy, and the ensample other of the enemies
might have had by their punishment, of his no-
ble generosity, and by these words, making
half excuse for them, (Men may sometimes do
that hastily in a gere, whereof, after, they may
soon repent them), did take them to grace, and
therefore sent one straight to them. But ere
the messenger came, the hakbutterhad got up te
them, and killed eight of them aloft ; one leapt
over the walls, and running more than a fur-
long after, was slain without in water* All
this while, at Thornton, our assault and their
defence was stoutly continued ; but well per-
ceiving, how, on the one side, they were bat-
tered, aimed on the other, kept in with hak-

butters round about, and some of our men
within also, occupying all the house under
them, (for they had likewise shopt up them-
selves in the highest of their house,) and so to
do nothing inward or outward, neither by shoot-
ing of base, (whereof they had but one or two,)
nor tumbling of stones, (the things of their
chief annoyance,) whereby they might be able
any while to resist our power, or save them-
selves, they plucked in a banner that afore they
had set out in defiance, and puts over the walls
a white linen clout tied on a stick's end, crying
all with one tune for mercy ; but having an-
swer by the whole voice of the assailers, they
were traitors, and it was too late, they pluck-
ed in their stick, and sticked up the banner of
defiance again, shot of hurled stones, and did
what else they coidd, with great courage of
their side, and little hurt of ours. Yet, then,
after being assured by our earnesty, that we
had vowed the winning of their hold before
our departure, and then, that their obstinacy
could deserve no less than death, plucked in
their banner once again, and cried upon mercy ;
and being generally answered, nay, nay, look
never for it, for ye are arrant traitors ; then
made they a petition, that if they should needs
die, yet that my lord's grace would be so good
to them as they might be hanged, whereby
they might somewhat reconcile themselves to
Godward, and not die in malice with so great
danger of their souls ; a policy sure, in my
mind, though but of gross heddes, yet of a fine
device. Sir Miles Patrick being nigh about
this pyle at this time, and spying one in a
red doublet,- did guess he should be an Eng-
lishman, and therefore came and furthered this
petition to my lord's grace, the rather, which
then took effect. They came and humbled
themselves to his grace, whereupon, without
more hurt, they were commanded to the pro-
vost marshal. It is somewhat here to consi-
der, I know not whether the destiny or hap of
man's life, the more worthy men, the less of-
fenders, and more in the judge's grace, were
slain ; and the beggars, the obstinate rebels
that deserved nought but cruelty, were saved.
To say on now, the house was soon after so
blown with powder that more than one half
fell straight down to rubbish and dust ; the
rest stood all to be shaken with riftes and
chynkes. Innerwick was burned, and all the
houses of office and stalks of corn about them
both. While this was thus in hand, my lord's

I N V E R A R V.

577

grace, in turning but about, saw the fall of
Dunglas, which likewise was undermined and
blown with powder." Near Branxton, in the
parish of Innerwick, on a hill a little above
the bridge vulgarly called Edinkens, but pro-
perly Edwin's Bridge, stood four grey stones,
to mark the burial-place of Edwin, prince of
Northumbria, who was killed at this spot.
These interesting memorials of the death of
the Anglo-Saxon, whose name has been ren-
dered imperishable by the title of Edinburgh,
were some time ago removed for agricultural
convenience. In a field near Dryburn-bridge,
on the farm of Skateraw, two stone coffins
were lately discovered, containing a dagger and
a ring. — Population in 1821, 924.

INSCH, or INCH, a parish in the district
of Garioch, Aberdeenshire, extending five
miles in length by three in breadth, bounded by
Culsalmond on the east, Kinnethmont on the
west, and separated on the north by the water
cf Urie, from Drumblade arid Forgue. Only a
small portion is arable. The Kirktown of
Insch, which is a burgh of barony with a week-
iy market, stands at the southern extremity of
the parish, at the distance of twenty-six miles
from Aberdeen. Part of the high hill of
Foudland is within the district. — Population
in 1821, 1059.

INVER, or INVAR, a village in Perth-
snire, in the parish of Little Dunkeld, standing
on the right bank of the Tay, a short way
above the junction of the Bran with that
river.

INVER, (Loch) an arm of the sea on the
west coast of Sutherlandshire, projected into
the parish of Assynt, and receiving at its inner
extremity the waters of Inverkirkag, which
issue from Loch Assynt. At the point where
this water enters Loch Inver stands the village
of Inver.

INVERARY, a parish in Argyleshire,
lying chiefly betwixt Loch -Awe and Loch-
Fyne, extending eighteen miles in length, by
an average breadth of three miles. The dis-
trict is hilly, and is only arable in the lower
parts, where the soil is of a productive nature.
Near Loch Fyne, and along the bottom of dif-
ferent vales, there are now many beautiful plan-
tations. The two principal rivers in the pa.
rish are the Ary or Aoreidh (which gives its
name to the parish and town,) and the Shira.
The Ary has a run of eight miles, and falls
into Loch Fyne at the town of Inverary. It

pursues a course partly through rugged and un-
even ground, covered with wood, and forms
several natural cascades of considerable beauty.
The Shira is a smooth running water further
to the north, which flows through the highly
cultivated vale of * Glenshira, and discharges
itself into the fresh water lake entitled Loch
Dow, which is emitted into Loch Fyne.

Inverary, a royal burgh in Argyleshire,
the capital of the county, and of the above pa-
rish, and the seat of a presbytery, and circuit
court of justiciary. It occupies a delightful si-
tuation on the west side of Loch Fyne, near
its upper extremity, at the distance of one
hundred and two miles west by north of Edin-
burgh, sixty north-west from Glasgow, thirty-
two south-east of Oban, and seventy-three
north-north-east of Campbelltown. In front
of the town is a small bay of Loch Fyne
environed by romantic woody hills, and on its
north side, within extensive and beautiful plea-
sure-grounds, stands the castle of Inverary, the
seat of the Duke of Argyle. Behind this
splendid mansion the river Ary issues into the
loch, and from its margin rises the pyramidal
hill of Duinicoich to the height of seven hun-
dred feet, embellished and wooded to the sum-
mit in all the prodigality of nature and of art.
The town of Inverary is of small dimensions
and of irregular construction, consisting chiefly
of one row of houses facing the lake. Within
these few years many substantial residences
have been erected, and the houses are all well
built and slated- Originally the town — then a
mere village — was situated on the north side
of the bay, and partook of the usual squalor of
Highland villages, but being removed to its
present situation by its proprietor, the Duke
of Argyle, considerable attention has been
bestowed in giving the modern town an air
of neatness and cleanliness. In the main
street stands a comfortable modern church,
in which the services are performed both in
Gaelic and English ; on the shore is a sub
stantial stone edifice, used as a jail and court-
house, and in the neighbourhood are two
good inns. The town possesses a grammar
school, supported by the Duke of Argyle ; a
female charity school, endowed by her Grace
the Duchess; and the parish school. The
principal trade carried on here is that of the
herring fishery, and for the convenience of
ships, in this and general traffic, a well-built
quay projects-so far into the bay, as to enable
4e

578

INVERARV

vessels of considerable burden to load and un-
load at low water. Races are occasionally
held at Inverary, for horses bred in the county,
and there are annual fairs in May and June.
There are two nominal market-days — Tuesday
and Friday, but they are not attended to. In-
verary was an early seat of the Argyle family,
under whose influence the town was erected
into a royal burgh by Charles I. (when in
Carisbrook castle,) in 1648. By this arrange-
ment, its civic government consists of a pro-
vost, two bailies, a dean of guild, a treasurer,
and a council appointed by the Duke. The
burgh joins with Ayr, Irvine, Rothesay, and
Campbelton, in electing a member of parlia-
ment. Its revenue arises from the petty cus-
toms, the rent of a common, and an annuity of
L.20 given by the late Duke Archibald. In-
verary castle is the principal object of attrac-
tion in this part of Scotland. It is a modern
square edifice, built to replace one of an an-
cient date, and is constructed with a tower at
each corner. All travellers speak with rap-
tures of the beauty of the scenery around this
elegant mansion, as well as the splendour of its
interior decorations. The Dukes of Argyle are
said to have spent no less than L 30,000 in
building, planting, improving, making roads and
other works of utility and decoration, in and
about the castle. The collections of old
Highland armour to be found within the
saloon, are worthy of the particular attention
of the visitor. Strangers are freely admitted,
the payment of a fee to the cicerone being
of course expected. Till within the last six
or eight years, Inverary was a town rarely
visited by strangers, on account of its inacces-
sibility. It is now daily visited every summer
by scores of tourists, the most of whom come
thither directly from Glasgow by one or other
of the numerous vehicles, terrestrial and marine,
which ply towards it from that city. Inverary
being now a chief rallying point in these ex-
cursions into the West Highlands, it may here
be advantageous to notice the routes by which
it can be approached from Glasgow. These
routes are three in number, all of which are
more or less calculated to delight the traveller
in search of the picturesque. First, there are
steam-boats which conduct him down the
Clyde, touching at Greenock and Rothesay,
then through the tortuous and beautiful strait
called the ' Kyles of Bute," and finally up the
long arm of the sea called Loch Fyne, near
25.

the head of which Inverary is situated. The
advantages of this sail, which generally occu-
pies a whole day, are, that the traveller sees,
by the way, the whole of the lower part of
Clyde, the beautiful little town of Rothesay,
the fine scenery of the Kyles, and the dark
lofty serrated outline of the isle of Arran, in
addition to the general scenery of Argyleshire,
a noble specimen of which is presented during
the sail up Loch Fyne. The second route is
more direct. The traveller pays a small sum
at Glasgow, as his fare for the journey to In-
verary, and embarks on board a steam-boat,
which conducts him down the Clyde and into
a small arm of the sea called Holy Loch.
From this little gulf, which stretches north-
ward from the Firth of Clyde, and which is
surrounded by the finest scenery, he disembarks
at the little parish-village of Kilmun, where he
is provided with a coach which conducts him
through a wild vale of four or five miles in
length, to the bottom of a beautiful inland lake
called Loch Eck. Here he is shipped on
board of a steam-vessel and carried to the
head of the loch, when, disembarking, he is
once more transferred to a coach, and convey-
ed across a grand isthmus of mountain land
in a westerly direction, till he reaches Strach-
ur. He has then only to cross Loch Fyne
in another steam-boat in order to arrive at In-
verary. This journey, which may be perform-
ed with perfect convenience for a few shillings,
and which lays open to view one of the finest
tracts of scenery in Scotland, generally occu-
pies altogether seven hours. The third route
to Inverary involves the famous scenery of
Loch Lomond and Glencroe, and is somewhat
more circuitous than that just mentioned.
This journey, like the other, though extending
over both sea and land, may be performed by
paying a certain sum, a very small one, at Glas-
gow. The tourist is conducted to a place near
Dumbarton by a steam-boat ; then crosses over
a small piece of country by a coach to Balloch,
at the foot of Loch Lomond. Embarking in
a steam-boat on Loch Lomond, he sails four-
teen miles northward to a place called Tarbet
on its west side, from whence a coach conveys
him over an isthmus to the head of Loch Long,
which is an arm of the sea parallel to Loch
Lomond. On reaching the head of this beau-
tiful sheet of water, the road proceeds through
an opening towards the west, and enters the
vale of Glencroe. The traveller ascends to

INVERE9K.

579

the head of this lonely and magnificent vale
(described in its proper place,) by a steep and
painful path, from the top of which he pro-
ceeds to Cairndow, on the bank of Loch Fyne,
where a boat is to be procured, to convey him
down the loch to Inverary — Population of the
parish and town of Inverary in 1821, 1137.

IN VE RARITY, a parish in Forfarshire,
bounded on the west by Glammis and Tealing,
on the south by Muirhouse and Monikie, on the
east by part of Guthrie and Dunnichen, and on
the north by Forfar and Kinnettles. It is of
a compact form, extending to a length and
breadth of about four miles. The surface is
uneven, and for the greater part of a poor soil,
with much waste land. Extensive plantations
and other improvements are in progress. The
church stands on a rivulet tributary to the Dean.
— Population in 1821, 966.

IN VE RAVEN, a parish chiefly in Banff-
shire, with a small portion belonging to the
county of Moray, stretching from the Spey
to the borders of Aberdeenshire ; bounded by
AberlourandMortlacnon the north, Cabrach on
the east ; and on the south and west by Crom-
dale and Kirkmichael; extending fourteen miles
in length by nine in breadth in some places.
The river Aven, which proceeds out of Kirk-
michael parish, runs through the district and
falls into the Spey at Ballindalloch. A short
way further down the banks of the Spey, stands
the kirk of Inveraven. Within the parish, the
Aven receives the water of Livet or Livat,
which runs through a vale to which it gives
the name of Glenlivet, — a district celebrated
for the excellence of its whisky. This vale
is remarkably fertile. The banks of the rivers
are planted, and abound with copses of birch
and alder, and on the banks of the Spey there
is a considerable extent of oak-wood. The
parish possesses various remains of antiquity.
—Population in 1821, 2481.

INVERBERVIE, more commonly called
Bervie, see Bervie.

INVERCHAOLAIN, or INVER-
HALLAN, a parish in the southern part of
Cowal, Argyleshire, intersected by an arm of
the sea, called Loch Streven, which runs about
eight miles into the country, the two sides of
which, with the channel that divides the is-
land of Bute from this part of Cowal, present
a sea- coast in this parish of above three miles.
The district is mountainous and pastoral.

There are some gentlemen's seats along
the shores. The parish kirk 6tands on the
east side of Loch Streven. — Population in
1821, 651.

INVERESK, a parish in the county of
Edinburgh, lying on the shore of the Firth of
Forth, and bounded on the east by Preston-
pans and Tranent, on the south chiefly by
Dalkeith, and on the west by Newton, Liber-
ton, and Duddingston. It extends fully three
miles and a half from west to east, and two
from north to south. The situation of this
parish has with justice been called one of the
most delightful in Scotland. The low part of it
adjacent to the sea is only a few feet above the
level of the highest tides, being in many places
fertile downs formed by the subsidence of the
water, and the increase of sand on the beach.
Behind this low ground the land rises in rich
arable fields, and inclines into the verdant vale
through which flows the river Esk. On the
east side of this beautiful valley, and within
half a mile of the sea, there stands forward a
fine rising ground, with a free exposure to the
west and north, and on its summit has for
ages stood the parish church of Inveresk.
Though little more than fifty feet above the
level of the sea, a most extensive and pleasing
view can be obtained of this district of Mid-
Lothian, the bay of Musselburgh, part of
East Lothian, and the coast of Fife. The
country here is under the highest state of cul-
tivation, is well enclosed and embellished with
plantations, and is more populous than any
other part of the county out of the metropoli-
tan district. The parish of Inveresk is not
more remarkable for its beauty than for the
salubrity of its climate, in which respect it
is said so far to surpass other districts of
the kingdom that its village has been styled
the Montpelier of Scotland. Within the pa-
rish are comprehended the towns of Mussel,
burgh and Fisherrow, with a variety of ham-
lets and detached buildings. Musselburgh
and Fisherrow occupy a low situation at the
mouth of the Esk betwixt the sea and Inver-
esk, and are described under their appropriate
heads. The beauty of the mount on which
Inveresk stands, and its adaptation to the pur-
poses of fortification, did not escape the vigi-
lance of the Romans while fixing themselves
in this part of the province of Valentia. His-
tory informs us that they had a station here,

680

INVERESK.

and repeated discoveries point out the spot
where the Praetorium was reared. The first
discovery of Roman antiquities at Inveresk
took place in April, 1565, and the Scottish
Antiquarian Transactions, Vol. II. contains
two letters upon the subject, written by Ran-
dolph, the English resident at the court of
Queen Mary, to Sir Robert Cecil, the minis-
ter of Queen Elizabeth. What was then dis-
covered seems to have been a cave and an
altar, the latter having the following inscrip-
tion:— " Apollini Granno, [i. e. to the
long-haired Apollo,] Quintus Lucius Sa-
einianus, Proconsul Augusti, votum su-
sceitum solvit, lubens merito." It is no-
ticed particularly, and the inscription is given
in the work of Camden, which was published
not long after. It is also alluded to by the
almost contemporary Napier of Merchiston, as
follows : He says, besides in Rome itself,
" In every part of that empire are there infi-
nite of these temples, idols, and other monu •
merits erected, and even at Musselburgh, among
ourselves in Scotland, a foundation of a Ro-
man monument lately found (now utterlie de-
molished,) bearing this inscription dedicatoiy,
" Apollini Granno," &c. — Plaine Discoverie,
&c p. 210- Edinburgh, 1593, 4 to. If thus
early demolished, it does not appear that the
fault lay with the sovereign reigning at the
time of the discovery, whose enlightened mind
would naturally suggest that the utmost care
ought to be taken of the monument, lest it
should catch damage at the hands of the igno-
rant and ruin-loving mob of those days. In the
treasurer's books there occurs the following
proof of Mary's anxiety to preserve it : —
" Aprile, 1565, Item, to ane boy passand of
Edinburgh with ane charge of the Queen's
grace, direct to the baillies of Musselburgh,
charging thame to tak diligent heid and attend-
ance, that the monument of grit antiquity new
fundin be nocht demolish't nor brokin down —
xiid." that is a Scots shilling, or a penny Ster-
ling. The second discovery, which was su-
perintended by the Rev. Dr. Carlyle, minister
of the parish, took place in January 1783, and
is thus described by him in the Statistical Ac-
count. " If there had," says he, " remained
any doubt concerning the situation of this Ro-
man fort, it was fully cleared up a few years
ago, when, the proprietor of a villa haviig oc-
casion to take two or three feet off the sur-
face of his parterre, there were there disco-

vered the floors and foundations of various
buildings. The owner being absent, attend-
ing his duty in parliament, the workmen were
prevailed upon, by the author of this account,
to clear the earth carefully away from one of
them, and to leave the ruins standing for some
time, for the inspection of the curious. It was
found to be a Roman bath of two rooms.
The superstructure had been thrown down
and removed, but the floor remained entire,
and about six inches high of the wall of the
smallest room, which was nine feet long, and
four and a half wide. There was a communi-
cation for water, by an earthen pipe, through
the partition wall. The other room was fifteen
feet by nine. The floors of these, and of the
other rooms, were covered with tarras uniform-
ly laid on, about two inches thick. Below
this coat there was a coarser sort of lime and
gravel five inches deep, laid upon unshapely
and unjointed flags. This floor stood on pil-
lars two feet high, some of stone, and some of
circular bricks. The earth had been removed
to come to a solid foundation, on which to
erect the pillars. Under the tarras of the
smallest room there was a coarser tarras, fully
ten inches thick, which seemed intended to
sustain or bear a more considerable fire under
it, than the Hypocaustum of the largest room.
There appeared to have been large fires un-
der it, as the pillars were injured by them, and
there was found a quantity of charcoal in per-
fect preservation. The Hypocaustum of the
larger room, or space under the tarrassed
floor, was filled with earth, and with flues
made of clay, which were laid everywhere be-
tween the rows of pillars, and were a little
discoloured with smoke ; a smaller degree of
heat having been conveyed through them than
through those under the other room. But
these contrivances under the floors seem only
to have been intended to preserve heat in the
water, which had been conveyed heated from a
kettle, built up or hung on brick-work, on
one side of the largest room. This brick-
work w as four feet square, and much injured
by strong fires. This seems to have been a
kind of building used by the Romans only for
temporary use. The cement, or tarras, suf-
ficiently proves by whom it was made, as the
Roman composition of that kind is superior to
any of later ages. It is remarkable, that the
tarras of the grand sewers under the city of
Rome is o f the same kind ; and it is related

INVERESK.

381

by travellers, that in the very ancient buildings
in the kingdom of Bengal, the very same sort
has been used. Two medals were found
among the nuns, now in the possession of Ro-
bert Colt, Esq., owner of the villa; one of
gold, much defaced, which is supposed to be
of Trajan ; another of copper, on which the in-
scription is clear, Diva Faustina. There are
traditional accounts, that in digging foundations
of houses in Fisherrow, there have been found
similar ruins of Hypocausta, which afford a
proof that this station was not merely military,
but was a Colonia Romana or Municipium ;
that they had many houses and buildings near
the sea, as well as their pratorium at Inver-
esk ; and that one of their principal harbours on
this side of the Frith was at Fisherrow. From
that harbour, situated where there is one at
present, there was a Roman causeway, (the
traces of which remained within the memory
of some still living,) which led to their camp
at Sheriff Hall, three miles south-west and on-
wards to Borthwick." The parish of Inver-
esk possesses other localities, interesting from
their connexion with the history of the country.
Leaving the [antiquities of Musselburgh to be
noticed under their proper head, we may here
state, that at the east end of this town, within en-
closed pleasure-grounds, stands Pinkie House,
the seat of Sir" John Hope, Bart, and occupying
a'site adjacent to^the field of the battle of Pin-
kie, which was fought in the year 1547 between
the Scots and English. This unfortunate battle
took place in the field that lies between the vil-
lages of Inveresk, Walliford and Carberryhill ;
and was brought on by the usual impetuosity of
the Scots, who would not wait till the English
army, who were beginning to run short of pro-
visions, had been obliged to retreat. The
Scottish army were encamped on that large
field west of the Esk, which went by the name
of Edmonstone Edge ; the English lay at
places now called Drummore and Walliford.
As the Scots passed the bridge of Mussel-
burgh, and marched to the field up the hill of
Inveresk, on the west side of the church, there
being then no village, and only two shepherds'
houses on that hill, they were annoyed by can-
non shot from the English galleys in the bay ;
insomuch, that Lord Graham, eldest son of
the first Earl of Montrose, with many of his
followers, was killed on the bridge. To have
crossed the river at any other place, would
have been still more dangerous, as there was

then a thick wood on the banks of it, all the
way to Dalkeith. After passing the church
of Inveresk, they must have been covered from
the shot, as the ground slopes from thence down
to the How Mire, (in those days a morass,
though now drained and cultivated,) from
whence it rises gently to the bottom of the
hills of Carberry and Falside. Just over the
field of battle there is a hill, which was still
more fatal to Queen Mary, and has been known
ever since by the name of the Queen's Seat.
It is the top of the hill of Carberry, where
that unfortunate princess sat on a stone, and
held a conference with Kirkaldy of Grange,
who had been commissioned for that purpose
by the confederate lords. During this parley,
Bothwell, who had taken leave of the Queen
for the last time, rode off the field to Dunbar.
As soon as he was out of danger, Mary suf .
fered herself to be led by Kirkaldy to Morton
and the Lords, who received her with due
marks of respect, and ample promises of fu-
ture loyalty and obedience. The sequel is well
known. From that hour she was deprived of
liberty for life, except for the few days that
intervened between her escape from Lochleven
Castle and her surrender to Elizabeth, after the
battle of Langside. The late proprietor of Car-
berry, John Fullarton, Esq. has marked the
spot, by planting a copse-wood upon it. The
parish of Inveresk abounds in freestone, but
its chief mineral product is coal, which is dug
to a vast extent, principally by Sir John Hope,
as lessee of certain mines. Near the beauti-
ful grounds of New Hailes, at a short dis-
tance from the left bank of the Esk, this gen-
tleman has erected a stupendous steam-engine
for lifting water from the workings, as is no-
ticed under the head Edinburghshire. A
new rail-way passes in this quarter from the
southern pits towards Edinburgh. Besides
the manufactures* carried on in Musselburgh,
there are considerable salt-works on the sea-
shore, as well as a manufactory of earthen ware
in the parish. This latter article and salt are
made at the village of West Pans (being west
from Prestonpans,) about a mile and a half
below Musselburgh, and salt has been long made
at the Magdalene Pans, which lie in the west-
ern part of the parish, on the road to Edin-
burgh. At Fisherrow there is a small har-
bour, the only sea-port in this quarter. The
village of Inveresk is of modern date, and con-
sists of little else than a series of cottages or

582

INVERESK.

ne*es, or large mansions, standing on both sides
of the public way on the top of the afore-men-
tioned mount, secluded within high walls, and
embosomed among lofty trees. At the base
of the hill towards Musselburgh, is a suburb
styled Newbigging, and here, as well as in
Inveresk, there are certain houses fitted up,
and used as private asylums for lunatics, — the
purity of the air, the mildness of the climate,
and the beauty of the scenery, equally adapt-
ing the place for the residence of persons so
afflicted. At the west end of the village, on a
most prominent situation, stands the church of
Inveresk, built about thirty years since, to
replace one of a very ancient date, then in
frail condition. The old edifice had been de-
dicated to St. Michael, and according to the
conjectures of Dr. Carlyle, had been built soon
after the introduction of Christianity, out of the
ruins of the Roman fort. The stones, at least,
appeared to have been the same with those dis-
covered in the ruins of the Praetorium, and there
were evidently many Roman bricks in the
building. With the advantage of the very
best situation in Scotland for the erection of a
tasteful new edifice, the church which has sup-
plied the place of the ancient fabric is not only
ungainly in its appearance, but is absolutely
insufficient in workmanship. When first put
up, it consisted of only a barn-like house,
and to relieve its deformity a steeple was after-
wards added. Though of a low order of archi-
tecture, the plan of the spire was that which
was to have governed the erection of the stee-
ple of St. Andrew's church in Edinburgh,
from which it was fortunately rescued at the
suggestion of, and by the improved model of-
fered by Mr. John M'Leish. In the burying
ground around the church, there are many ele-
gant monuments ; and on the north side, on the
brow of the eminence, and earthen mount or
rampart is shown, called Oliver's mount, having
oeen erected by Cromwell as the site of a battery
to command the passage of the bridge across the
Esk, a short way below. At the east end of
the burying ground a similar mount was levelled
in the course of extending the cemetery ; and
bones having been found in good preservation
eleven feet beneath the surface, it has been ar-
gued with propriety, in opposition to the theory
of Lord Hailes as to their having been Roman
mounds, that these mounts must have been
thrown up on the occasion above alluded to,
especially as it is known that Cromwell had

here a magazine of the munitions of war, du-
ring his occupancy of this part of Scotland.
The Highland army, in 1745, also fitted up a
battery at Inveresk church-yard, which they
abandoned on their marching into England.—
Populatio'n of the landward part of the parish
of Inveresk, in 1821, 564; including Mussel-
burgh and Fisherrow, 7836.

INVERGORDON, a village in Ross-
shire, parish of Rosskeen, lying on the north
side of the Cromarty Firth, and from whence
there is a regular ferry to Cromarty. In the
year 1828, an excellent harbour was formed
here, by Roderick Macleod, Esq. of Cadboll,
at an expense of L.5000, an instance of public
spirit well worthy of commendation. The
chief advantage of this harbour is, that it af-
fords accommodation for vessels of large size
loading and unloading, and thereby saves the
expense and trouble of boating from Cromarty.
This is now the most frequentedand centra] port
of Easterand Wester Ross. A horse fair has re-
cently been established annually, and the small
sea-port is in a thriving condition. Its popu-
lation in 1821 was about 500.

INVERGOWRIE, a village in the parish
of LifF, in the Carse of Gowrie. It lies on
the banks of the Tay, twenty mfles east from
Perth and two west from Dundee.

INVERKEILOR, a parish in Forfar-
shire, presenting a front of five miles to the
sea at Lunan Bay, and stretching inland for six
miles. Its average breadth is only two and a
half miles. Lunan Water bounds it entirely
on the north side, separating it from the pa-
rishes of Kinnel and Lunan. On the west it
is bounded by Kirkden, and on the south by
St. Vigeans. The surface is for the greater
part flat, and of great beauty and fertility, be-
ing embellished with plantations, and the
land improved and enclosed. The Keflor,
a rivulet, runs through the parish to the sea,
and near its embouchure is the fishing village
of Ethiehaven. The coast is flat and sandy.
There are several fine seats in the district, in
particular, Ethie House, .Anniston, Kinblyth-
mont, and Law ton. There are also a variety
of hamlets. The parish church stands inland on
the Lunan Water. At the mouth of the Lu-
nan, on an eminence, stands an old venerable
ruin, named Redcastle, which is said to have
been built by William the Lion, and used as a
royal hunting seat. In front of it, in the sea,
is a small island called Redcastle island

INVERKEITHING.

683

About a mile from Ethie House, eastward,
nigh the sea, stand the remains of a religious
house, called St. Murdoch's chapel, at one
time a cell of Aberbrothock. The promon-
tory of the Redhead lies a short way to the

south Population in 1821, 1785.

INVERKEITHING, a parish in the
south-western part of the county of Fife, lying
on the north shore of the Firth of Forth. A
portion juts, as a peninsulated promontory, in-
to the firth, west from which a part lies along
the sea-shore. East from the promontory an
equally large part stretches inland. The pa-
rish of Dunfermline encompasses the district
on the north and west, and Dalgetty bounds it
on the east. With the exception of the above
hilly promontory, nearly the whole territory
consists of the same fine undulating fertile
fields which have been noticed in characterising
the parish of Dunfermline. The island of
Inch Garvie, in the gut betwixt North and
and South Queensferry, is esteemed a portion
of the parish. The small village of North
Queensferry is noticed under its appropriate
head. The coast to the westward of this little
sea-port is generally wild and moorish, and is
distinguished by scarcely any object save the
dreary tower called Rosyth Castle. This is a
huge square turret, situated close by the sea,
the waves of which encompass it at high wa-
ter. There is something impressive, and even
august, in the appearance of this ancient forta-
lice, deserted as it is in these its days of ruin
and decay by every thing but the wild sea-bird
and the timid sheep. It was in its days of
pride the seat of that branch of the Stuart
family from which Oliver Cromwell was de-
scended, the posterity, namely, of Sir James
Stuart, uncle to King Robert II. There is a
tradition that, as the Protector's grandmother
was a daughter of the laird of Rosyth, and
had been born in the castle, he visited it when
encamped in the neighbourhood. It is also
asserted that Queen Mary at one time resided
in the castle ; which is not improbable, sinee
her arms and initials are still discernible over
the gate giving entry to the court-yard. On a
stone in the south side of the tower, near the
ground, is the following quaint inscription :

In dew tym drau yis cord ye bell to clink,
Quhais mery voic varnis to meat and drink.»

* In due time, draw this cord, the bell to clink,
Whose merry voice warns to meat and drink.

The cord of the dinner-bell must have hung at
this place, and the couplet may be accept-
ed as a specimen of the poetry of the four-
teenth century. Rosyth Castle is now the
property of the Earl of Hopetoun. From
this part of the coast to the ancient and most
interesting town of Dunfermline, the distance
is about three miles. The promontory, above
alluded to, is called the Cruicks, and belongs
to the burgh of Inverkeithing. It is of some
historical interest. During the reign of Alex-
ander III. when Scotland was in a very pros-
perous condition and enjoyed much commerce
with the continental countries, a project was
formed by some wealthy Jews to establish a
sort of New Jerusalem upon this piece of
ground, which should become in some measure
an emporium of commerce, and be a city of
refuge and a rallying point to their wandering
nation. They proposed to fortify it, which
could have been very easily done, and the bays
on each side were to have formed the harbours.
The project was, however, given up, probably
on account of some jealous act of interference
on the part of the government. The Cruicks
are further remarkable as the place where Oli-
ver Cromwell first encamped on crossing the
Forth, July 17, 1651. The bay between the
promontory and Rosyth Castle is called St.
Margaret's Hope, on account of Margaret, the
Saxon princess, afterwards consort to Malcolm
Canmore, having here been driven ashore by a
storm in her flight from England, immediately
after the Norman conquest. The bay to the
east of the Cruicks is much deeper, and serves
as the harbour of the town of Inverkeithing.
In the neighbourhood of the Cruicks on which
the forces of Cromwell landed, and on the north
of the town, is the scene of a battle between
the English parliamentary army and that of the
Scottish loyalists, in which the latter were de-
feated and almost cut off. One of the Scot-
tish generals, Holbom, is supposed by histo-
rians to have betrayed his trust ; and the peo«
pie have a strange story about his standing on
the East Ness, and inviting the English across
the water by a trumpet. But the other gene-
ral, whose name was Brown, displayed a high
degree of fidelity and personal valour, and died
soon after of grief for his defeat. A rill tra-
versing the valley when the conflict took place,
called the Pinkerton Burn, is said to have run.'
red with blood for three days in consequence of
the slaughter, which, according to all accounts,

584

IN V E RKEITHING.

was prodigious. In the picturesque language
of the old people of Inverkeithing, the plain
was " like a hairst-field with corpses ;" that is,
a field thickly strewed with newly cut sheaves
of grain. The chief of the clan Maclean
here lost six sons, each of whom came up
successively to defend him, and was succes-
sively cut down. Such memorabilia give a
striking idea of the military character of the
republican soldiery, and of the animosity which
prevailed between them and the northern pres-
byterians.

Inverkeithing, a royal burgh, the capital of
the above parish, and a town of the highest
antiquity, occupies an agreeable site at the
inner side of the above noticed bay of the Firth
of Forth, at the distance of thirteen miles from
Kirkcaldy, twenty-eight from Stirling, four
from Dunfermline, and about fourteen from
Edinburgh. It stands on the brow and face
of a rising ground which has an acclivity from
the margin of the bay, and consists of one
main street of considerable length, with diverg-
ing lanes and thoroughfares, and a number of
houses skirting the harbour. The latter are
mostly modern in the neat villa style, and in
the town the houses are in general taller, and
more ancient and dignified than is the case
with most burghs. The first existing charter
of Inverkeithing is one from William the Lion,
confirming one of earlier but unknown date,
and in virtue of this grant the burgh was en-
dowed with a jurisdiction over the adjacent
country to an extent of at least twenty miles
each way. Within these bounds the magis-
trates had the power of pit and gallows, and
a right of levying customs. In some instances
the latter privilege still prevails ; the burgh
receiving customs at the Tulliebole and Kin-
ross markets, and from all that crosses at the
North Queensferry. It is not long since se-
veral of the last-erected burghs within this
wide jurisdiction bought up the burdens thus
imposed upon them. The burgh received a
confirmatory writ from James VI. in 1598.
The civic government is exercised by a pro-
vost and high sheriff, two bailies, a dean of
guild, and treasurer, annually elected by the
councillors and deacons of the trades. The
number of councillors is unlimited, and after
being once elected, they hold the office for
life. The ancient family of the Hendersons
of Fordel (chiefs of the clan Henderson) hold,
by a grant from Queen Mary and King Henry

Darnley, the right to the office of hereditary
provost and sheriff; but though claimed by
them, and particularly by the late Sir John
Henderson, it was never exercised.* Inver-
keithing is said to have been in early times the
residence of many noble families, and even of
royalty itself. David the First is known cer-
tainly to have had a minor palace here ; and
the people yet point out an antique tenement
which they affirm to have been the abode of
Queen Annabella Drummond, the consort of
Robert III., and mother of the illustrious
James I. This ancient palace is thus noticed
in the Picture of Scotland. " It is situated
on the east side of the main street, in a line
with the rest of the houses, being a building
of three storeys, the lowest of which, accord-
ing to an old fashion, is a series of vaults. It
is of the strongest architecture of the fourteenth
century, and seems to have been calculated for
defence as well as convenience. The com-
mon people usually call it " the inn," which
seems to indicate that it was at one period of
its existence used as a house of public enter-
tainment. It confers upon the people who live
in it the privilege of being exempted from the
restrictions imposed by the five incorporations
of the town ; and an unfree joiner at this mo-
ment exercises his trade in one of its apart-
ments, to the great indignation of his fellow-
citizens. The common tradition regarding the
Palace is, that it was built for a repudiated
queen, who wished, in her place of banishment,
still to see the towers of Edinburgh Castle,
which contained the person of her cruel but
beloved husband. This story, however, though
justified by the circumstance that it is possible
here to see the distant spires of the capital,
and though it be by far the most pleasing ver-
sion of the matter, is not exactly true. Queen
Annabella is affirmed, upon better evidence, to
have adopted this place of residence during the
periods when her consort was engaged in war,
or when she desired the pleasures of sea-bath-
ing. By Robert III.'s charter to the burgh,
the magistrates were bound to pay her a hun-
dred shillings every year at the Feast of Pen-
tecost. She died at Inverkeithing in 1403,

* It may be worth mentioning that, in the riding of
the Scottish parliament, the provost of Inverkeithing
always rode next to the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, in
consideration of the contiguity of their jurisdictions,
which marched with each other in the middle of the Firth
of Forth.

INVERKE1 THING.

585

and was buried at Dunfermline- Connected
with this homely palace, there is an extensive
garden, stretching down towards the bay. It
is said that the house was provided with one
of those ancient conveniences which are now
known by the appellation, subterraneous pas-
sages, and that it passed down below the gar-
den and under the basin of the bay, over to
the Ness or promontory on the other side, a
distance of about a mile. There yet exists a
6eries of vaults in the garden, resembling the
cloisters of an ancient monastery ; and it is not
long since the foundations of a building called
the chapel were eradicated from the adjacent
ground. A portion of the garden surrounding
the site of this building is composed of blacker
earth than the rest, and occasionally casts up
fragments of human bones, having apparently
been used as a burying ground. It is altoge-
ther probable that the palace was only an ap-
pendage to one of the numerous religious
buildings known to have existed in Inver-
kei thing before the Reformation." Inverkei-
thing was honoured by being the place of
meeting of the Court of the Four Burghs,
{quatuor burgorumj authorized by James
III. to form a set of mercantile regula-
tions ; and before Edinburgh was appoint-
ed, it was the town where the conven-
tion of royal burghs was regularly held.
The burgh is provided with a neat town-house,
containing a jail, with apartments for courts.
Besides the established church, an elegant mo-
dern fabric, which replaced one of a very an-
cient date, there is a meeting-house of the
United Associate Synod. There is a public
grammar school for the languages, mathema-
tics, &c. with some private places of tuition.
The architecture of the public school is chaste
and elegant, combining neatness with internal
accommodation. There are subscription lib-
raries, and several societies for the propaga-
tion of Christianity in the town. In recent
times, the burgh has kept pace with the refine-
ments of the age, and its general aspect is
much improved. There are no manufactures
carried on in the town, but there are, in the
immediate neighbourhood, three public works
on an extensive scale, namely, a distillery, a
magnesia work, and some salt pans. The
quays around the harbour generally exhibit a
bustling appearance, in consequence of the large
shipments of coal which take place here, and
which form the chief traffic. For the con-

venience of the exporters, there are railways
laid from the pits to the harbour. The port
of Inverkeithing is, by authority, a place for
vessels riding quarantine, and for that purpose
government stations here a body of officers,
with a lazaretto on shore. Being on the
line of the great thoroughfare by Queens-
ferry to the north, the town receives its pro-
portion of the general traffic through the
county. Five fairs may be held annually.—
Population of the burgh in 1821, about 1400,
and including the parish, 2512.

IN VE RKEITHN Y, a parish in the south-
eastern comer of Banffshire, lying on the right
or south bank of the Deveron, along which it
extends about six miles, and measuring from
one to four miles in breadth. Marnoch bounds
it on the north, Turriff and Auchterless on the
east, Forgue on the south, and Rothiemay on
the west. The district is chiefly hilly and
pastoral. There are plantations on the banks
of the Deveron, on the side of which river, at
the embouchure of the rivulet Keithny, stands
the parish kirk and hamlet. — Population in
1821, 577.

INVERKIRKAG, a small river in Su-
therlandshire, parish of Assynt, flowing from
Loch Assynt to the arm of the sea called
Loch Inver.

INVERLOCHY, or INNERLOCHY,
a place in the West Highlands, in the parish
of Kilmanivaig, Inverness-shire, on the east
shore of Loch Eil, near the spot where that
arm of the sea is joined by the Caledonian
Canal. Fort- William is contiguous on the
south. There is no end to the legendary his-
tory of Inverlochy, which has declared that it
was the site of a town or rather city, once the
greatest in Scotland, and that here King Acha-
ius signed a treaty with Charlemagne. Irt
corroboration of theories of this nature, the
pavement of certain streets is ostentatious-
ly pointed out, thus resting its character for
ancient grandeur on the same basis as that of
the equally fabulous Beregonium. If there
ever was a town here, it has been gone for
many ages, and there only remains, in lone
magnificence, a huge quadrangular edifice,
styled Inverlochy Castle, which has outlived
all tradition regarding its origin. The build-
ing, which forms a court, has round towers at
the angles, of the most massive proportions,
the whole fabric covering a space of 160O
yards. It had once wet ditches around it, and
4 F

53G

INVERNESS-SHIRE.

must have been one of the strongest castles of
the kind in Scotland. Inverlochy gives its
name to one of the most brilliant victories of
the Marquis of Montrose, which took place
in February, 1645. The Campbells lay in
full strength on the plain, in front of Inver-
lochy Castle, and the Marquis came suddenly
upon them, in the morning, through Glen
Nevis, in the vicinity, after having, for that
purpose, performed some marches of incredi-
ble rapidity. Argyle, at the commencement
of the battle, retired on board a galley, which
lay in Loch Eil ; in consequence of which im-
prudent conduct, the impetuous attack of the
royal troops was completely successful over the
dispirited Campbells, fifteen hundred of whom
were slain.

INVERNESS-SHIRE, a very extensive
rounty in the north of Scotland, stretching
completely across the mainland, and possessing
a variety of islands. On the north it is bound-
ed by the counties of Ross and Cromarty, on
the east by the Moray Firth, Nairnshire, and
Morayshire, on the south by Aberdeenshire,
Perthshire, and Argyleshire, and on the west
by the Atlantic ocean. Its inland boundaries
are intricate, on account of the strange inter-
mixture of counties so common in the north.
It comprehends a variety of districts of local
importance, as Badenoch in its south part,
Lochaber on the south-west, Moidart on the
west, Glenelg on the north-west, Glengarry in
the central part, and others of less eminence.
A series of islands on the west coast, forming
part of the Hebrides, are politically attached
to it, as Skye, Harris, North and South Uist,
Benbecula, Earra, Eigg, Eriskay, and Ber-
nera, besides a number of islets. The coun-
ty, excluding the isles, extends in length,
from the point of Arisaig on the west to
the point of Ardersier on the east, about
ninety-two miles, and its greatest breadth is
nearly fifty miles. The surface of this large
county exhibits a wild and irregular variety of
huge mountains, some of which belong to the
Grampian series, low green hills, vales of all
dimensions, rivers and rivulets, lakes, pathless
pastoral wildernesses, arable fields, and on the
west coast, a number of deep indentations of
the sea. One of the most remarkable circum-
stances attending the county is, that it is di-
vided almost into two equal parts by a valley
which runs from north-east to south-west.
This valley, which has already been noticed

under the heads of Canal (Caledonian) and
Albany, by the title of the Great Glen of
Caledonia, is a huge natural strath or hollow,
proceeding through the county from the Moray
Firth to Loch Eil in a direct south-westerly
course. It has been considered as dividing the
Highlands into two portions, of which the
northern is the larger ; and it may be regard-
ed as the northern termination of that immense
tract of mountainous country which begins at
Dunkeld. It is, in truth, nothing else than a
long and deep fissure between the chains of
enormous mountains which here run from south-
west to north-east. The valley, In the greater
part of its length, is naturally filled with water,
or a long chain of lakes succeeding each other,
and which rise but a little above the lerel of
the sea ; a circumstance which suggested the
propriety of forming the whole, with the addi-
tion of artificial cuts, into the Caledonian Ca-
nal. For the exact dimensions, and an idea of
the utility of this great national undertaking,
we again refer to the article Canal (Cale-
donian.) The following notes regarding this
" great job," as Mr. Joseph Hume unjustly
calls it, are by a correspondent : — " The canal
(as well as the Highland roads and bridges,)
was begun for the benefit of the country — the
improvement of the Highlands. It was the
alarming extent to which the spirit of emigra-
tion had grown, that first suggested the expe.
diency of constructing these public works,
ivhich, by affording employment to part of the
population, and circulating capital, might oper-
ate as a check upon the evil. A permanently
beneficial change was effected in the manners
and habits of the uncultivated Highlands by
the introduction of useful arts and industry.
For eighteen years from the commencement of
the works, the proportion of strangers to na-
tives employed was as I to 74. No less than
200 cargoes of birch and fir are annually ex-
ported from the estates along the Glen. In
the event of a war breaking out, it is almost
needless to point out the importance of the se-
curity that would be afforded to a great portion
of our American and Baltic trade, as well as
to the numerous traders between the east and
west coasts and Ireland, rendering, in fact, the
defence of a line of coast extending in length
upwards of 300 miles totally unnecessary."
Besides Lochs Ness, Oich, Lochy, and Eil,
which lie in this vale, there are others of great-
er or less magnitude scattered over the district,

INVERNESS-SHIRE.

587

as Lochs Laggan, Treag, and Ericht in the
south, Loch Ashley and some others in the
north-eastern part, Lochs Affarie, Benevian,
Clunie and others in the northern quarter, and
in the west Lochs Quoich, Arkaig, and Shiel.
The chief salt water lakes are Lochs Moidart,
Morror, Nevish, Hourn, and Beauly. The
principal river is the Ness, which flows from
Loch Ness to the Moray Firth. The next is
the Spey, which, though a much larger river
in its lower parts, is about the same size while
running through the shire. The smaller livers
are the Beauly, the Foyers, the Garry, the
Coiltie, the Glass, the Morriston, the Enneric,
the Kinnie, and some others, and the whole
abound in trout and salmon. On the Foyers
is a celebrated waterfall. It would be vain to
attempt a particular description of the scenery to
be met with in this great county ; consisting, as
already mentioned, of so many mountains, which,
especially towards the west, are piled above each
other in horrid magnificence ; and between all
of which are deep glens, of a boundless variety
of formation, each of which has its stream and
its lake, and many of which abound in woods.
One of the mountains is nevertheless too con-
spicuous to be passed over in silence. We
refer to the celebrated Ben Nevis, which is the
highest mountain in the island of Great Britain.
This remarkable pile stands to the south-east of
Fort William, near the shore of an arm of the
sea, and rises to the height of 4370 feet. There
is also a range of huge lofty dark mountains
further to the north in Badenoch and Lochaber.
The principal natural or unaccountable curiosi-
ties in the shire are the parallel roads of Glenroy,
already noticed in their proper places. The
north-eastern part of the county of Inverness,
adjacent to the Moray Firth, is to be considered
as a part of the Lowlands of Scotland, all the
remainder forming part of the Highlands. The
proportion of land in cultivation in the whole
ehire, is supposed to amount to only eight parts
in the hundred, the rest consisting of pasture
and heath. Those districts in cultivation, along
with those in the course of gradual adaptation
to purposes of husbandry, are in the north-east
or Lowland quarter, where there are to be seen
many fine fields yielding good crops of wheat,
barley, and oats. Potatoes are produced in
great abundance. In the district in the vicinity
of the Spey, near Castle Grant, a very improv-
ed system of cultivation has for many years been
introduced. The improvements in this direc-

tion and in other places have been vastly assist-
ed by the laying down of new roads, partly by
government and partly by the county. In this
shire, as in other counties in the north, the
" weeding out" of the aboriginal poorer classes
or small farmers by the landlords has thinned
the population of the district, expatriated thou-
sands, and reduced to the lowest conceivable
depths of human suffering those who have been
permitted to remain in rude hamlets on the sea-
shore. In thus clearing the lands, farmers with
capital and intelligence from the south of Scot-
land have been introduced to the occupancy of
farms sometimes twenty and more miles in ex
tent, if for pasture, and of the ordinary size if
for agriculture. These very active men, who
are generally assisted by servants, male and
female, from their own country, have greatly
improved the rental of Inverness-shire, and
now export to England and the Lowlands num-
erous herds of cattle, flocks of sheep, and car-
goes of grain. By exertions of this nature the
rental of the county, as assessed for the pro-
perty-tax in 1814, was L.152,243, of which
the proportion under the fetters of entail was
believed to be L. 77,794, a circumstance which
acts as a serious drawback on improvement.
It is told as an instance of the change of ren-
tals in modern times, that when Macdonnell of
Glengarry died in 1788 his estate was not worth
more than L.800 per annum ; the same lands
now yield from L.6000 to L.7000 a-year.
There have been considerable plantations made,
and the fir-woods of Glenmore and Strathspey
are supposed to be far more extensive than
all the natural woods in Scotland. The
mountains and forests of Inverness-shire are
inhabited by numerous herds of red and roe
deer, wrhich here roam in safety, in recesses
almost impenetrable to man. The hare and
other small animals of the chase, or objects for
the pursuit of the sportsman, are also abundant.
Limestone, approaching to the hardness of mar-
ble, is found in every district of the county.
Many of the hills are composed of a fine Ted-
dish granite. Some of the more valuable
metals have been discovered, but have never
been wrought with success. This comity is
singularly destitute of towns, the only one it
possesses being Inverness ; but it has a great
variety of small villages, and isolated habita-
tions. Fort George on the Moray Firth,
Fort Augustus at the south-west end of Lock
Ness, and Fort William on Loch Eil, are

INVERNESS.

within the county, the three forming a line of
fortresses which were erected to overawe
the Highlands, since the expulsion of the house
of Stuart. They are now entirely useless,
though kept in a good state of repair, and an-
swering as barracks for a few soldiers. The
Gaelic language is still common in the northern,
western, and southern districts, almost to the
total exclusion of English, but the latter is
spoken by all the upper and educated classes,
and by the inhabitants of Inverness. Inver-
ness-shire is the country of the clans Macpher-
son, Cameron, Grant, Fraser, Mackintosh, Mac-
donald, and others. The Frasers, who are ex-
ceedingly numerous in Inverness, were originally
from the south, and the first of the name who
got a possession in the north was a relative of the
great Sir Simon Fraser of Tweddale, who ac-
quired the estate of Lovat, in 1306, by mar-
riage with the heiress of that property. The
county, in common with other parts of the
Highlands, has been much indebted for a know-
ledge of letters and Christianity to the patriotic
exertions of different bodies, associated for the
purpose of stationing schools, and disseminating
books of piety. Regular places of worship
to about the number of twelve, have likewise,
by the same means, been instituted in locali-
ties wanting such establishments. The shire
comprises thirty-seven parishes, but a portion of a
number of these extend into the adjoining coun-
ties— Population in 1821 , 42,304 males, 47,853
females, total 90,157.

Table of heights in Invemess-shire.

Feet above the sea.

Craig- Phadric, . 1150.

Mealfourvonie . 3600.

Scarsough . . 3412.

Ben Nevis . . 4370.

Inverness, a parish in the above county, ex-
tending eight miles in length by six in breadth,
bounded on the north by the upper part of the
Moray Firth, on the east by Petty, on the
south by Dores and on the west by Kirkhill.
The loch and river Ness intersect it. The
surface is uneven and varied, and the land is
now finely cultivated, planted, enclosed, and
otherwise improved.

Inverness, a royal burgh, the capital of
the above county and parish, a sea- port, the
seat of a presbytery in the synod of Moray, the
chief town of the Highlands of Scotland, and
the cynosure of a wide district of country in the
north, occupies an exceedingly advantageous

and delightful situation in the low eastern part
of the shire, chiefly upon the right bank of the
river Ness, near the place where that river falls
into the Moray Firth, at the distance of 156 \
miles north of Edinburgh, 88 1 west of Elgin,
and 118* west-north-west of Aberdeen. In-
verness is a town of the most remote antiquity,
and if we believe Boethius and Buchanan, it
may be represented as being founded by Even-
us II., the fourteenth king of Scotland, who
is said to have died sixty years before the
birth of Christ. "Were this origin correct,
which it cannot be, seeing that no such king
ever existed, — the date would be earlier than
has been assigned to any other town in Scot-
land, being several years prior to the invasion
of Britain by Julius Caesar, and about seven
hundred years before the building of Edin-
burgh castle. Divesting the town of such an
apocryphal origin, it may, nevertheless, be re-
marked, that from the numerous remains of a
high antiquity existing around it, the district
appears clearly to have been numerously peo-
pled at a very remote age. Within a few miles
there are several British hill forts, namely,
at Craig Phadric, Dunarduil, Dunsgrebin,
Knockfarril, Dunevan, Castle Finlay, and
Cromal, a Roman fort at Bona, a number of
sepulchral cairns, and many druidical circles.
In a tract printed 1606, named, " A brief de-
scription of Scotland," Inverness is called " the
most anciente town ;" and so early as the reign
of David I. who died in 1153, it is designated,
in a legislative enactment, as one of the capital
places in Scotland, — " Loca capitalia per to-
tum regnum." Inverness and the territory in
its vicinity, indeed, form one of the favourite
debatable grounds of Scottish antiquaries, and
there is no end to the conflicting evidence re-
garding its early settlement. It has been ad-
vanced by some writers, that the town is the
site of a Roman fort planted by Lollius Urbi-
cus, about the year 140, which station was
named Pteroton, and was at the time a settle-
ment of the aboriginal tribes. Others assert
that Brough-head in Morayshire was the true
Pteroton ; and that, although Inverness, or the
river Ness, was the ultimate western boundary by
land of the Roman territory, while the conquer-
ing people were in the northern part of the island,
the only station they had in this quarter was at
Bona, at the eastern extremity of Loch Ness,
under the name of Bonatia. Whichsoever of
these theories be correct, it is at least cer-

INVERNESS.

560

tain, that the Romans were obliged to with-
draw from this district in the year 170.
Among other traditions related of the early
state of the country here, it is told in Inver-
ness, as an authentic legend, that most of the
space, now an arm of the sea, extending from
Fort George to Beauly, was once dry land,
through which the rivers Farrar, or Beauly,
and Ness flowed, uniting their currents at the
present estuary of the Ness. This curious
tradition derives confirmation from the sepul-
chral cairns to be seen at low water, far within
flood-mark in the Beauly Firth, in some of
which, urns, logs of oak, and pieces of wrought
iron, have recently been found. The whole
of the Firth above Fort George is remarkably
shallow, a circumstance also countenancing the
tradition. We may now proceed to detail a
6eries of historical incidents connected with
this ancient town, drawn from authentic sources.
The earliest traces to be found of Inverness in
any thing like credible or authentic history, re-
present it as having been a Pictish capital, and
as having lost that distinction in the union of
the crowns of the Picts and Scots, in the per-
son of Kenneth, in the year 843. Buchanan
and Boethius unite in relating that King Dun-
can was murdered in the castle of Inverness,
by Macbeth, 1039, — " Per occasionem regem
septimum jam annum regnantem, ad Enverness
(alii dicunt Bothgofuane,) obtruncat." Boe-
thius, lib. 12. — " Regem, opportunara insidiis
ad Ennernessam nactus, septimum jam regnan-
tem annum, obtruncat." Buchanan, lib. 7.
Fordun speaks of the transaction as having ta-
ken place near Elgin, — " Latenter apud Both-
gofuane vulneratus ad mortem, et apud Elgin
delatus occubuit." Shakespeare has followed
Boethius and Buchanan in placing the murder
at Inverness ; and the poet has done justice to
the agreeable situation of the castle in which he
supposed the assassination to have occurred :

" This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air
Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself
Unto our gentle senses."

This edifice, which in reality was the property
and residence of the famed thane of Lochaber,
but which, we fear, has no real pretensions to
this historical and poetic honour, stood on an
eminence to the east of the town, a spot well
worthy of the above flattering description. It
is now generally^allowed that the murder must
have taken place at Bothgowan, (a place now
unknown,) near Elgin. When Malcolm III.,

or Canmore, overthrew the murderer of his fa-
ther, in detestation of the crime, he razed the
castle of Macbeth, which stood on the hill
called " the Crown," and built another fortress
to serve as a royal residence, choosing for its
site a lofty eminence, overhanging the town
on the south. This latter edifice continued
for several centuries to be a royal fortress,
occasionally affording accommodation to the
kings of Scotland, when they happened to visit
this remote part of their dominions. David I.
raised the town to the condition of a royal
burgh ; and in the reign of that beneficent mo-
narch, it was made the appointed seat of a she-
riff, whose authority extended over the wholo
of Scotland north of the Grampians. About
the middle of the twelfth century, the name of
Mackintosh originated at Inverness, in this man-
ner. Shaw Macduff, son of Duncan, the sixth
earl of Fife, or descendant of king Duff, who
was killed at Forres, having come north in the
expedition of Malcolm IV. and settled on lands
acquired by his services, assumed the surname
of Mackintosh — son of the thane, as significant
of his high birth. He was, at the same time,
appointed hereditary governor of the castle of
Inverness ; and he and his descendants have
usually been styled the chiefs of the clan Chat-
tan. In 1214, William the Lion granted four
charters to the burgh, containing many exemp-
tions from burdens, a variety of privileges as to
manufactures, and the appointment of a regular
magistracy. In 1217, another charter was
given by Alexander II. In 1229, during the
reign of this sovereign, the town was plundered
and destroyed by fire, by a turbulent and potent
Highland ruffian, named Gillespick M' Scour-
lane, who levied war against the king, and be-
sides burning the town, spoiled the neighbour-
ing crown lands, and put all to death who would
not swear allegiance to him. Being defeated
and taken, he was beheaded by command of
the king's justiciary. It is shrewdly conjec-
tured, that this melancholy incident was the
moving cause of the town being built on a bet-
ter site, and in a more regular manner. A mo-
nastery of friars was founded in the town by
Alexander II. 1233. The site and garden of
this religious house became, at the Reforma-
tion, the parish minister's glebe, and the site
of its church became the burial-ground, called
now "the Grey Friars' burial-ground." In
1237, Alexander II. gave the town a charter
of additional lands for its support. Edward L

590

INVERNESS.

king of England, in Lis progress through Scot-
land, advanced to Kildrummy near Nairn, and
being deterred from proceeding in person far-
ther, by the wild aspect of the country, he re-
mained in Kinloss Abbey twenty days, while
his forces were reducing the castles of Inver-
ness, Urquhart, and other places. In 1330, the
castle of Inverness surrendered to Robert Bruce,
who besieged it in person, assisted by Sir James
Fraser. In the year 1369, David II. granted
a charter to the burgesses and community, con-
firming certain rights to lands. About this pe-
riod, and for many years after, the shire and
town were frequently disturbed and injured by
the rancorous quarrels and conflicts between the
clans Chattan and Cameron, and other septs,
as well as the inroads of the lords of the Isles.
In 1400 a memorable incident of this kind oc-
curred. Donald, lord of the Isles, having ap-
proached the town with a body of men, threat-
ened to burn it unless ransomed at a large price.
The provost of the burgh, with an ingenuity
which cannot be enough commended, pretend-
ed to listen to the terms offered, sent a large
quantity of spirits as a present to the chief, who
had encamped with his men on the north side
of Kessock Ferry. The islanders being high-
ly delighted with the whisky, soon became in-
toxicated, and the provost with his courageous
burgesses, watching the event, now fell upon
them with sword in hand, and, as tradition says,
put the whole to an indiscriminate slaughter,
excepting one person, whose descendants, from
the manner of his escape, still retain the name
of Loban. A number of cairns are still seen
on the field of battle, pointing out the reposi-
tories of the slain. In 1427, James I. pro-
ceeded to the north, to repress the turbulence
of the Highland chiefs. He held a parliament
in the castle, to which he summoned all the
northern chiefs and barons. He ordered three
men of rank to be executed, and detained Al-
exander, lord of the Isles, in custody for a year.
About twelvemonths after the liberation of this
person, he returned to Inverness with an army,
and pretending friendship, was hospitably treat-
ed; but, throwing off the mask, he gave the town
to be sacked and burnt by his men, to avenge
himself for the treatment he received here from
the king. Luckily, his attempts to secure the
castle were frustrated by its keeper, Malcolm,
chief of clan Chattan. The readers of history
will remember, that Alexander was subse-
quently defeated in Lochaber, and being brought

prisoner to Edinburgh, was compelled to beg
his life on his knees, before the whole court,
at the altar of the chapel of Holyrood. The
humiliation of this chieftain did not prevent his
successor, Donald, lord of the Isles, from vi-
siting the town with his retainers, in 1455,
taking the castle by surprise, and plundering
and burning the town. In 1464 James III.
visited Inverness, and gave it a new charter ;
and it would appear, from the dating of a royal
charter given to Mackay of Strathnaver, that
James IV. was also at Inverness, in the year
1499. In 1514 the previous charters of the
burgh were confirmed by James V. In 1555,
Mary of Guise, the queen regent, visited the
town, and held a convention of estates, and
courts for the punishment of caterans and other
malefactors. . The Earl of Caithness was im-
prisoned by her in the castle, for protecting
robbers. A few years afterwards, in Septem-
ber 1562, Inverness was honoured with a visit
from Queen Mary, accompanied by the Earl
of Murray. Being refused admission into the
castle by its governor, a minion of the Earl of
Huntly, she was forced to reside in the town,
in a private house, still standing in Bridge
Street. Her troops being soon joined by the
Frasers, Mackintoshes, and Monroes, they re-
duced the fortress, and hanged the lieutenant,
its keeper. Huntly himself having levied war
against the queen, was soon afterwards defeated
and killed, in a fair battle. The queen's court,
while in the town, was attended by most of the
Highland chiefs ; and she kept a small squa-
dron in the harbour, to ensure her safety. In
1565, the regent Murray ordered the chief of
the clan Gunn to be executed in the town, and
we are told by Sir Robert Gordon, that the
only crime he had been guilty of, was taking
the " crown of the causeway" from the regent.
A year afterwards, Murray was invested with
the hereditary sheriffship, which had been for-
feited by Huntly. James VI. tried various
moderate measures to quell the disturbances
in this part of the Highlands, and was a distin-
guished friend of the burgh, to which he grant-
ed a new charter, commonly called the Great
Charter, in 1591, establishing and extending
its privileges. In 1625, Duncan Forbes, the
provost of, and a merchant in the burgh, bought
the estate of Culloden from the laird of Mack-
intosh, which is still in the family. News
having been received in Inverness, in 1644, of
a body of Irish having landed on the west coast

INVERNESS.

591

in aid of the Marquis of Montrose, the whole
of the inhabitants, being of the parliament
party, were ordered to convene in their best
weapons, and the castle and garrison were
strengthened. Next year, Urry, the parlia-
mentary general, being pressed by Montrose,
retired to the castle, which was unsuccessfully
besieged by the troops of the Marquis. In
1649, the friends of the king were more fortu-
nate, Mackenzie of Pluscardine, and others,
with a body of men, taking the town and castle,
and razing the fortifications. The troubles of
Inverness, during the great civil war, terminat-
ed in 1651, by Cromwell taking possession of
the town in the name of the Commonwealth,
and building a citadel, the materials of which
were taken from the abbey of Kinloss, the mo-
nastery of Inverness, and the cathedral of For-
trose. For several years subsequently, a gar-
rison of English soldiers was maintained here,
being only withdrawn when a different policy
came into effect at the Restoration. In 1664,
Sir George Mackenzie, advocate, was appoint-
ed the town's lawyer, with a salary of twenty
merks Scots. It seems that, at the revolution
of 1 688, the inhabitants of Inverness were ex-
ceedingly disinclined to the establishment of
presbyterianism. A presbyterian being appoint-
ed in 1691, to the vacant parish church, the
magistrates, who favoured episcopacy, for some
time prevented his being placed. Duncan
Forbes of Culloden, (father of the celebrated
Lord President Forbes) a warm friend to the
constitution, attempted to force his way into the
church along with the new minister, on the
day fixed for placing him, but was driven back
from the doors, which were strongly guarded
by armed men. Upon this, the government
sent a regiment to the town, to support the
presbyterians. At this period the magistrates
were keen Jacobites, and took every means of
favouring the cause of the Stuarts. They put
the castle into the hands of this party, but it
was re-taken, and for this and other reasons,
the burgh was disfranchised, and the magi-
stracy was only restored by a poll election.
The civil war of 1745 brought the town once
more within the scope of military aggression.
Sir John Cope and the Earl of Loudon, in
succession, occupied the town and castle on be-
half of the government. Being, however, taken
in 1746, by Prince Charles Edward, the fortress
was destroyed by explosion, at the command of
that famed adventurer ; on which occasion,

it has been stated on good authority, that the
French officer of engineers, who lighted the
train, was blown into the air, and killed.
Prince Charles' troops departed from Inverness,
to meet those under the Duke of Cumberland,
and after their defeat at Culloden, the town
was entered by the army of the Duke, and here
thirty-six of Charles' men were executed. As
in many other cases, the Duke lived in the
same house and slept in the bed which the
Prince had previously occupied. The house
in which they lodged was that of Catherine
Duff, Lady Drummuir, the third below the
mason-lodge in Church Street. The apart-
ment in which the two princes successively
slept, is the back room on the first floor, look-
ing to the garden. This was the only house
at that time in Inverness, which contained a
sitting-room or parlour without a bed in it.
The property has descended to Mr. Duff of
Muirtown, who is Lady Drummuir's great-
grandson. Of the castle of Inverness, which
had been the theatre of so many interesting
events from the days of Malcolm Canmore,
only the wall of an exterior rampart remains,
while the place where it stood is so smooth as
to be used as a bowling green. The site has
lately been gifted by the proprietor, the Duke
of Gordon, to the town, for the erection of a
new court-house, jail, bridewell, &c. The si-
tuation is admirably adapted for the purpose,
and must cause these buildings, when erect-
ed, especially if in an appropriate taste, to
be highly ornamental to the town. The re-
mains of the fort which Oliver Cromwell built
at Inverness, and which was one of the four
such institutions erected by the Protector for
the subjugation of Scotland, are to be seen be-
low the town, at the place where the Ness joins
the sea. It was destroyed immediately after
the Restoration, at the desire of the Highland
chiefs, who had writhed under its influence
during the iron age of Cromwell. Its area is
now chiefly occupied by the peaceful shops of
a tribe of weavers. The revolution of man-
ners seems to have overtaken Inverness more
recently than the southern towns. It was not
till the Union of 1707, that the first regular
post to Edinburgh was established, and it was
not till 1 755, that letters were carried any other
way than by a man on foot. It is yet not
above thirty years since any measures were
taken for regularly cleaning the streets, which
therefore lay in a perpetual state of fearful

592

INVERNESS.

filth. The first coach ever eeen in or about
the town, was one brought by the Earl of Sea-
forth in 1715; when the country people, as
ignorant of the uses and arrangements of such
a vehicle as the remote Chinese, looked upon
the driver as the most important personage
connected with it, and accordingly made him
low obeisances in passing. We find that in
the year 1740 the magistrates advertised for
a saddler to settle in the burgh, and that it was
so late as 1778 that the common-shaped cart
was first used in the town, one of these vehi-
cles being introduced by subscription. About
the middle of the last century, the father of
the late Bailie Young flourished in Inverness.
He was a deacon of the weavers, and remark-
able for his early adoption of new fashions.
He was the first burgher who changed the blue
bonnet of the olden times for a hat, which
piece of dress had formerly been confined to
lairds and clergymen. This novelty excited
the ridicule of his fellow-citizens to an into-
lerable degree ; they were perpetually teasing
him with their congratulations upon such a
splendid accession to the dignity of his per-
sonal appearance ; his constant reply to their
observations was, " Well, after all, I am but
a mortal man." It is a common tradition at
Inverness, that, about eighty years since, a
shilling could have bought a leg of mutton, a
neck of veal, and a gallon of good ale. Ex-
cept in one house there was not a room in the
town without a bed — a usage, however, still
quite common in Scottish provincial towns.
Provost Phineas Macpherson, a late dignitary,
whose fine old Highland manners might have
ornamented a court, used to say that in those
days he lived with great hospitality and plenty,
sporting claret at his table, and yet never spent
more than seventy pounds Sterling a-year.
The vice of intemperate drinking is understood
to have been carried to a great height in Inver-
ness in these not very distant times. In the
work usually called Burt's Letters, the writer
gives a minute and animated account of the
hospitality of the house of Culloden, in the
days of the President's elder brother ; telling,
among other things, that the servants would
on no account permit a guest to walk to his
bed, considering that an insult to the laird;
every man had to sit till he became insensible,
and then they brought spokes and carried him
off, as in a sedan. Modernized and improved
as we find the manners and appearance of the

people of Inverness, a southern stranger on vi-
siting the town would still have the feeling of
being transplanted into a population quite dif-
ferent, in aspect and language, from any thing
to which he has hitherto been accustomed.
The women of the lower ranks walk the
streets, and even to church, the wives with-
out bonnets, and the maidens without caps ;
while the extreme simplicity of the rest of
their attire is quite consistent with this strange
and primeval fashion. The men of the same
condition, at least the peasantry, wear garments
of the coarsest material, as homespun blue
short coats, stockings of the species called in
Scotland rig-and-fur, and small blue bonnets ;
some have plaids, but all of their garments
display more or less of the Celtic fashion.
Few of the neighbouring peasantry, when ad-
dressed, are found to speak any thing but Erse.
In point of language, the people of Inverness,
laying the lower orders out of the question,
may almost be said to transcend those of all
other Scottish towns, the capital not excepted.
The common solution of this mystery is, that
they received a correct English pronunciation
from the soldiers of Oliver Cromwell ; but it
seems rather attributable to the simple circum-
stance that the people here do not learn En-
glish in their infancy through the medium of
broad Scotch, but make a direct transition from
Gaelic into pure English. In proportion as
the colloquial English used in Scotland comes
into use in the town, the tone of speaking will
be found to be proportionably lowered in quali-
ty. To turn from these particulars to a descrip-
tion of the town as it exists in the present day.
Inverness is now one of the finest towns of the
size in Scotland, consisting chiefly of four well
built streets, viz : Church Street, which may
be esteemed the High Street, East or Petty
Street, Castle Street, and Bridge Street.
From these there branch off several smaller
streets and lanes. There is also a suburb on
the left bank of the Ness. This river is here
of a very respectable breadth, and is crossed by
two bridges, one of stone and another of wood.
The stone bridge is the best public edifice con-
nected with the town, and consists of seven
arches. It was finished in the year 1681, at
an expense defrayed by voluntary contribu-
tions collected throughout the kingdom. The
thoroughfare of Bridge Street is led across the
river by this commodious bridge. The wooden
bridge is near the Moray Firth, and in the vi-

INVERNESS.

593

cinity are the quays, which are well construct-
ed, and will admit large vessels of 200 tons
burden. The harbour is very safe and spacious,
and vessels of 500 tons may ride in safety in
the firth. Not a mile from the town, nearly op-
posite the quay, on the west side, toward the
ferry, a small quay has been constructed, where
ships of a great draught of water may discharge
their cargoes. There is an excellent ferry at
Kessock, near Inverness ; and the present pro-
prietor, Sir William Fettes, has expended
about L. 10,000 in the erection of piers, an
inn, and offices. The few public buildings in
the town are of a respectable architecture ;
displaying, however, no striking points of beau-
ty. The established church, which gives its
name to the principal street, is a large plain
building; adjoining it is the Gaelic church,
and opposite to it the Episcopal cha-
pel, a neat building surmounted by a cupola.
The chapel of ease is also a handsome large
building, in New Street. The town-house
is a perfectly plain edifice nearly opposite
the head of Church Street ; attaehed to it
is the tolbooth, which has a handsome tower
and steeple, the top of which received a
severe twist from an earthquake in the year
1816. The rooms for the northern meetings,
assemblies, &c. at the top of Church Street,
are contained in an extensive and handsome
erection. The Athenaeum news-room is
opposite the Exchange, and to this and another
room of the same kind in the neighbourhood,
all strangers are politely welcomed. The In-
firmary, on the west bank of the Ness, forms a
prominent feature among the public buildings
of the town ; it consists of one large central
front, with four elegant pilasters, and two
wings, the whole enclosed in a spacious area
with iron palisades. The Academy, situated
in New Street, is an extensive erection, be-
hind which is a large pleasure-ground for the
recreation of the scholars. This institution
has long been a distinguished seminary for the
Highland youth, and is conducted upon a li-
beral scale. Its funds, besides a sum of L.70
paid annually by the town, consist of a capital
of above L.6000, upwards of one-third of which
was subscribed in sums of L.50 each at the
contested election for the office of Latin teach-
er in 1820. The town and neighbourhood
have so much progressed as to be able to
support two native weekly newspapers. Being
the seat of the sheriff of the county, the courts
of that functionary are held at stated periods.

A justice of peace court for small debts is held
on the first Wednesday of every month. The
government of the burgh is administered by a
provost, four bailies, a dean of guild, a trea-
surer, and fourteen councillors, four of whom
are from the trades. The burgh joins with
Nairn, Forres, and Fortrose, in nominating a
member of parliament ; and its annual revenue
amounts to about L.2300. Before the open-
ing up of the new views consequent on the
civil war of 1745, and the abolition of the
heritable jurisdictions, Inverness enjoyed a
considerable commerce. It exported great
quantities of malt and oat-meal, and enjoyed
an exclusive traffic in skins with the north of
Europe. Subsequently, the Highlanders of
the western districts directed their trade to
Greenock and Glasgow, and Inverness became
no longer the depot of Highland produce.
Latterly the trade has revived and increased.
About the year 1803, an intercourse was
opened up with London, and at present the
town has four regular traders or smacks in
communication with London ; three engaged
in trading with Liverpool, three with Leith,
and three with Aberdeen. Three steam-ves-
sels also ply betwixt Glasgow and Inverness,
by the Caledonian Canal; and during the
summer months a steam-vessel arrives and
departs weekly, in communication with Leith
or Edinburgh. The general shipping of
the port has altogether greatly increased. It
has at present 142 vessels, (38 of which be-
long to the town,) the aggregate burden of
which amounts to 7104 tons. In 1802, the
shore-dues produced only L 140 : in 1816
they were L.680. Part of the trade has been
transferred to the canal basin, but the dues are
yet about L.560. The increase of trade has
raised the value of property very considerably ;
of which an instance is found in the property
of Merkinch, situated betwixt the bridge and
the canal, which, twenty-five years ago, rent-
ed at from L.70 to L.80, and now lets for
L.600. In recent times, the establishment of
regular steam-vessels, sailing from the above
ports, has been of much service to the trade
and comfort of Inverness, which, from its
great distance from the low countries, is diffi-
cult of access by land, or, at least, a journey
thither in that way is so fatiguing and expen-
sive, that but for the new conveyances by water,
many who now visit it would never have thought
of doing so. Should nothing interfere to pre-
vent the increase and capabilities of steam-ves-
4g

594

INVERNESS.

sels, it may be anticipated that such convey-
ances for the transport of cattle, sheep, and
wool, to ports in England, will soon be esta-
blished here and elsewhere in the northern
counties. Stage coaches were long in reach-
ing this distant part of the empire. The first
that arrived in the town was one established
in 1806, which did not pay, and was soon
after abandoned. It was afterwards reinstated
on the Highland road, and has proved no bad
speculation. It alternates between Inverness
and Perth three times a-week. No mail coach
came to the town for some years after that event ;
and it was only in 1819, that, in consequence of
the earnest solicitations of the gentlemen of
Ross and Sutherland, that important instrument
of civilization was conducted further northward
— to Thurso, namely, the northern extremity of
Great Britain, eight hundred and two miles
from the capital, and one thousand and eighty-
two from Falmouth, the opposite extremity of
the island ; throughout which extent of coun-
try there is now a continuous mail-coaeh
road. There are several annual fairs held
here, the chief of which is a great sheep
and wool market, held on the first Tuesday
after the third Wednesday of June. At this
fair the whole fleeces and sheep of the north
are generally sold, or contracted for in the way
of consignment. No less than 100,000 stones
of wool, and 150,000 sheep are yearly disposed
of. The market is attended by the Dumfries-
shire and other Lowland sheep-dealers, and by
wool- staplers from Huddersfield. The only
manufactures of the town are some hempen
and woollen goods. The weekly market-day
is Friday. The trade of Inverness and the
surrounding district is aided by branches of the
Bank of Scotland, British Linen Company,
Commercial Bank, and National Bank, set-
tled here ; and there are a number of agen-
cies of Insurance Offices. The government
offices are — a tax, customs, excise, and post-
office. The town possesses a subscription
library, two circulating libraries, two Bible
societies, a Sabbath school society, a school
library of select religious books, and two mason
lodges. It is further the appointed seat of a
society for the education of the poor in the
Highlands, the Medical Society of the North,
the Inverness-shire Farming Society, and the
Northern Institution, whose place of meeting
is above noticed. This body is composed of a
considerable number of noblemen and gentle-
men in the northern counties, associated for

purposes of local utility. Horse races are run
under theirauspices, and their meetinggenerally
induces the temporary residence of the fashion-
ables of the district. Besides the academy of
Inverness, which is governed by a body of direc-
tors, whose qualification is the payment of L.50
to the funds of the institution, the list of schools
in the town in 1830 exhibited the following : —
Two boarding schools for young ladies ; Rain-
ing's endowed school ; Education Society's
central school ; female school of industry ; two
musie schools; a dancing school; a ladies'
day school ; and four private schools. The
encouragement which is given by the burgh
and the community to these seminaries, much
to the credit of the place, gives a very differ-
ent idea of the anxiety now displayed for the
general promotion of education from that of-
fered by certain records in the books of the
town-council, by which it appears, that in
1G62, the magistrates prohibited all persons,
excepting the town teachers, from giving in-
structions in reading or writing within the
burgh; and in 1677, "enacted that Mary
Cowie shall not teach reading beyond the Pro-
verbs." The ecclesiastical establishments are,
the parish church (with three clergymen,) a
chapel of ease, a Seceder chapel, Episcopal
chapel, Methodist chapel, Independent chapel,
and a Roman Catholic chapel. The fast day
of the church is generally a Thursday early in
July. There have of late been various im-
provements made in the town and neighbour-
hood, which are well worthy of being made
known. A very important step towards per-
fecting the local establishments has been made
in the institution of a joint stock company,
having in view the double object of lighting
the town with gas, and supplying it with water
by means of pipes. In 1825, a company of
this description was associated, by shares of
L.10, creating a capital of L.12,000. In
1826, the gas was introduced, and it is now
reckoned the best and purest in Scotland. The
supplying of the town with water by pipes,
from the Ness was carried into effect in 1830.
An act of parliament was recently obtained,
empowering the levying of an assessment on
the inhabitants for paving and causewaying the
streets ; the works will be entered upon this
year, and will be executed in the best manner.
The want of some place of recreation in the
open air was long felt in Inverness, but this
can hardly be said to be now the case. Two
long narrow islands in the Ness, above the

INVERNESS.

595

town, have been planted and beautified in a
variety of ways, so as to make them a most
delightful place for promenading in fine
weather. The lower island is connected with
the right bank of the stream by a handsome
suspension bridge. Another suspension bridge,
to connect the latter island with the left side
of the river, is now in progress, and when fi-
nished, the whole will form one of the very
finest things of the kind in Britain. The ex-
pense consequent on these great improvements
has been defrayed by subscriptions. The en-
virons of Inverness, enriched by the fresh
green foliage of these small islands, are per-
haps not excelled in Scotland, and their beau-
ties have even had the effect of drawing praise
from the querulous Macculloch : — " "When
I have stood in Queen Street of Edinburgh,"
says he, " and looked towards Fife, I have
sometimes wondered whether Scotland con-
tained a finer view of its class. But I have
forgotten this on my arrival at Inverness.
Surely, if a comparison is to be made with
Edinburgh, always excepting its own romantic
disposition, the Firth of Forth must yield the
palm to the Moray Firth, the surrounding
country must yield altogether, and Inverness
must take the highest rank. Eveiy thing too
is done for Inverness that can be effected by
wood and by cultivation; the characters of
which here have altogether a richness, a va-
riety, and a freedom, which we miss around
Edinburgh. The mountain screens are finer,
more various, and more near. Each outlet is
different from the other, and each is beautiful ;
whether we proceed towards Fort George, or
towards Moy, or enter the valley of the Ness,
or skirt the shores of the Beauly Firth ;
while a short and commodious ferry wafts
us to the lovely country opposite, rich with
woods and country seats and cultivation."
A remarkable curiosity, called Tom-na-heu-
rich (the hill of fairies,) which rises abrupt-
ly out of the plain on the north side of the
river, " and the hill of Craig Phadrig, add
much variety to the valley of the Ness, nor do
the extensive sweeps of fir wood produce here
that arid effect which so commonly attend
them ; contrasted and supported as they are,
by green meadows, by woods of other form,
and by the variety of the surface. Tom-na-
heurich, not ill-compared to a vessel with its
keel uppermost, is, or rather was, a reputed
haunt of fairies ; and is plainly a relic of the

ancient alluvium, the remainder of whiith has
been carried forward to the sea." It is consi-
dered by the country people to be the sepul-
chral mound of Thomas the Rhymer; a per-
sonage, by the way, as well known here as in
Lauderdale. The walks all around it, and
along the banks of the Ness, are extremely
beautiful. It is near this place that the Cale-
donian Canal terminates. At no great dis-
tance, the singular hill called Craig Phadric
rears its woody brow, coronetted by a splen-
did vitrified fort, the wonder of travellers.
The handsome house of Muirtown, embo-
somed in the woods which cover the side of
that hill, has a capital effect in the landscape,
forming, it may be said, one of the finest points
in the environs of Inverness — Population of
the parish and burgh in 1821, 12,264, of which
the burgh had 10,500.

INVERNETTIE, a small harbour in
Aberdeenshire, near Peterhead.

INVERSNAID, a small fortress in the
parish of Buchanan, Stirlingshire, two miles east
from Loch Lomond. It was erected in the
early part of the eighteenth century, to repress
the depredations of the clan Macgregor and other
turbulent Highlanders of the district. For many
years it has not been possessed by a garrison.

INVERUGIE, a small village, county
of Banff, parish of St. Fergus, situated at the
mouth of the river Ugie. The ruined castle of
Inverugie, once a seat of the Marischal family,
and which gave accommodation for a night to
the chevalier de St. George, after he landed in
1716, is adjacent.

INVERURY, a parish in Aberdeenshire,
lying at the termination of the peninsula be-
tween the river Urie on the north, and the
Don on the south ; extending from west to
east upwards of four miles ; bounded by Cha-
pel of Garioch on the north and west, Kern-
nay and Kintore on the south, and Keith-
hall on the east. The area of the parish
contains about 4000 acres, much of which in
the western part is hilly arid pastoral. To-
wards the banks of the above rivers the land is
under cultivation. In the south-western part
of the parish, near the Don, stands the Roman
Catholic college of Aquhorties, which is a
beautiful and pleasantly situated building, and
in which the limited number of twenty-seven
young gentlemen are educated in this religious
persuasion.

Inverury, a royal burgh, the capital of

596

IRVINE.

tho above parish, is pleasantly situated in the
angle of land near the confluence of the Urie
and Don, at the distance of sixteen miles north-
west of Aberdeen. It is related by tradition,
that the town obtained the privileges of a royal
burgh from Robert Bruce, on the occasion of
a signal victory obtained by him there, over
Comyn, Earl of Buchan, the king of Eng-
land's general in Scotland, which proved the be-
ginning of that good fortune that attended him
ever after during the whole of his reign. The
oldest charter is a novodamus by Queen Mary,
narrating that Inverury had been a royal burgh
time immemorial, but the charter of its erection
had been lost in the civil wars. In virtue of
this renewed charter, the burgh has been since
governed by a provost, three bailies, a dean of
guild, a treasurer, and thirteen councillors ;
and joins with Kintore, Cullen, Banff, and
Elgin, in sending a member to parliament.
Inverury gives the title of Baron to the Earl
of Kintore, who is one of the chief proprietors
of the district. The town is small, and its
trade is only in manufactures for local use.
The road from Aberdeen is carried across the
Don, a short way above its junction with the
Urie, by a stone bridge, erected in 1791. Be-
tween the bridge and the confluence of the
streams, the Don receives the Inverury Canal,
which here terminates ; the other extremity is
near the harbour of Aberdeen. This artificial
canal has been of much advantage in an agri-
cultural point of view to this quarter of the
shire, by permitting the cheap and easy intro-
duction of lime, and the export of country pro-
duce ; but it has yielded no profit to the capi-
talists, at whose expense it was made. A
cattle market is held at Inverury, once a-month
in summer, and every fortnight in winter. Be-
sides the parish church, there are chapels for an
Independent and a Methodist congregation. —
Population of the burgh in 1821, 750, includ-
ing the parish, 1 129.

IONA — See Icolmkiix.

IRONGRAY See Kirkpatiuck-Iron

GRAY.

IRVINE, a parish in the district of Cun-
ningham, Ayrshire, lying on the coast of the
Firth of Clyde. At its greatest length it is
about five miles, extending from the sea on the
south-west, to the parish of Stewarton on the
north-east. At its greatest breadth it is about
two miles, being bounded on the south-east
and east by the Annoek, which separates it

from the parish of Dreghorn, on the north and
north-east by the parish of Kilwinning, on
the north-west by the river Garnock, and on
the south by the river Irvine, which separates
it from the parish of Dundonald. A small
portion of the latter belongs to Irvine parish,
in ecclesiastical matters. On the coast and
banks of the river, the surface is flat and sandy,
towards the north-eastern extremity the land
is more elevated, and the whole, assisted by
improvements, is fertile and pleasing in ap-
pearance. This quarter of the country is much
beautified by the plantations and pleasure-
grounds of Eglinton Castle.

Irvine, a royal burgh, the seat of a presbytery,
a sea-port, and the capital of the above parish,
is agreeably situated on the banks of the river
of the same name, about a mile from its junc-
tion with the sea ; at the distance of eleven
miles north of Ayr, sixty-seven from Edin-
burgh, twenty-five south-south-west of Glas-
gow, thirty-four south of Greenock, seven
south-east of Saltcoats, and six and a half
west of Kilmarnock. It is a town of consid-
erable antiquity, as appears by the records of
the burgh, Alexander II. having granted a
charter to ..the burgesses, confirming some other
royal grants. From a charter granted by Ro-
bert II. it appears that the burgesses of Irvine
were in possession of the whole barony of
Cunningham and Largs. Perhaps its early
importance was enhanced by the establishment
of a monastery of Carmelite or white friars,
in the year 1412, which was consecrated to the
Virgin Mary, and endowed with the lands of
Fullerton. In the present times it is a small
but thriving town, standing on a rising ground
on the right bank of the Irvine, the estuary. of
which forms its harbour. The situation is
dry and airy, a broad street running from south-
east to north-west, the whole length of the town,
on the south side of the river, but connected with
the town by a bridge"; there is a row of houses
on each side of the road leading to the harbour ;
these are built on a uniform plan, and are most-
ly inhabited by sea-faring people. A number
of the same kind of houses are built on the road
leading to Ayr. None of these suburbs are
within the royalty. The bridge of Irvine is the
widest and handsomest in the county. At the
centre of the burgh there is a town-house, which
happens to bear a striking resemblance to that
of Annan. The church is an ornament to the
place, being situated on a rising ground betwixt.

IRVINE.

597

the town and the river, and surmounted by a
spire of extraordinary elegance. It commands
extensive views of the Firth of Clyde, and of
the stupendous mountains of Arran. There
are three other places of worship, all of them
neat structures. At the north end of the town
an academy was erected in 1814, at an expense
•of L.2250, of which sum the burgh gave
L.1633. 4s. 6d; and the remainder was sup-
plied by public subscription. In this useful
institution, which is an ornament and honour
to the town, are taught Latin, Greek, French,
English, the mathematics, writing, arithmetic,
&c. Besides these, there are a subscription free
school, some private schools, and several Sab-
bath schools. The town possesses a good news-
room and subscription library. The trade of
the port consists principally of the export of
coals, of which 28,500 tons are said to be
shipped yearly to Ireland. The imports are
iron, timber, slates, limestone, and grain. The
number of vessels employed was lately about
ninety. The port has a regidar custom-house
establishment. The trade of the town is as-
sisted by some branches of banks. There are
mills belonging to the burgh, which in point
of architecture and machinery are unequalled in
Ayrshire. Irvine, as a royal burgh, is governed
by a provost, two bailies, a dean of guild, a
treasurer, and twelve councillors. It joins with
Ayr, Campbellton, Inverary, and Rothesay, in
sending a member to parliament. A small
market is held on Saturday, and there are some
annual fairs, as well as occasional horse races.
Resides the established church, there is a meet-
ing house belonging to the United Associate
Synod, one to the Relief body, and a Baptist
chapel. The fast days of the kirk are the Wed-
nesday before the second Sunday of June and
the third or fourth Sunday of October. " Irvine
is remarkable," says the Picture of Scotland,
•" for having been the birth-place of two admir-
ed living authors, and the temporary residence
of an illustrious poet deceased; Mr. Mont-
gomery, the poet, and Mr. Gait, the novelist,
are natives of the town, and Burns once lived
in it. The house in which Mr- Montgomery
was born stands on the north side of the en-
trance to an alley called the Braid close, in a
Jong regular street leading to the harbour ; and
the little chapel in which his father, a Moravi-
an clergyman, long preached, is to be seen be-
hind thg house, being now used in the capacity
of a weaver's shop, though still known by the

name of 'the Moravian Kirk.' The ingeni-
ous author of the ' Annals of the Parish' first
saw the light in a more respectable part of the
town ; namely, in a goodly house of two storeys
upon the south side of the main street, near to
the west end of the town. Regarding Burns's
place of residence in Irvine, there prevails con-
siderable obscurity. The site of the house
where he lived and worked as a flax-dresser,
after a tedious inquiry, is conjectured with great
probability to have been the spot now marked
4, in a narrow street, called the Glasgow Ven-
nel, being the second house from the main street
on the right hand side. Another situation
pointed out is in the Seagate, near an old
castellated building formerly occupied by the
dowagers of the Eglinton family." It will be
recollected that while the poet was endea-
vouring to establish himself in business here,
his shop was unfortunately burnt, and his pros-
pects blighted — Population of the burgh and
parish in 1821, 7007.

IRVINE, a river in Ayrshire, rising from the
east side of Loudon Hill, parish of Loudon,
on the eastern confines of the county, and pass-
ing Derville, Newmills, Galston, and Riccar-
ton, falls into the Firth of Clyde below the
above mentioned town of Irvine. The course
of the Irvine water is very direct from east to
west, and throughout serves as the boundary
betwixt Kyle and Cunningham. Its chief
tributaries, which join it on the right bank,
are the Kilmarnock, the Carmel, and the An-
nock waters.

IS AY, an islet of the Hebrides, in the west
Loch Tarbet, in the district of Harris.

ISHOL, an islet in Loch Linnhe, Argyle-
shire.

IS H OL, an islet on the south-west coast of
Islay.

ISLA, a river in Banffshire, having its
origin in the parish of Keith, and adjacent
districts, and pursuing an easterly or south-
easterly course for about twelve miles, joins
the Deveron above Rothiemay. The vale
through which it flows is sometimes called
Strathisla.

ISLA, a river of Forfarshire, and the third
in point of size in the county. It rises among
the Grampian Mountains, in the northern part
of Glenisla parish, through which it pursues a
southerly, and latterly, a south-easterly course.
After receiving the Back water, from the parish
of Lentrathen, it makes several bends tending

598

I S L A Y.

westward, and receiving the Dean water, at the
south-west corner of Airly parish, it enters
Perthshire. Its next and only tributary of con-
sequence is the Ericht, near Cupar, and pur-
suing a south-westerly course it joins the Tay,
which it very much increases, above Kinclaven.
Its banks throughout are generally beautiful,
and it yields excellent salmon fishing.

ISLAY, or ILAY, a large island belong-
ing to Argyleshire, and the most southerly of
those entitled the Hebrides. It lies in a
westerly direction from the peninsula of Can-
tire, distant from it about twelve miles, and is
separated on the north from the island of Jura
by a narrow channel. The island of Islay is
shaped somewhat like a heart, with the inden-
tation on the south side, caused by the bay of
Loch Indal, and the apex of the figure towards
the north. It measures twenty-eight miles
long, and at the broadest part it measures about
eighteen across. In ancient times this insulat-
ed territory was the chief strong-hold of the
Macdonalds, when Lords of the Isles, and it
was here that, with rude patriarchal ceremo-
nies, they were installed in their office of chiefs.
Instead of a throne, the chieftains stood on a
stone seven feet square, in which was a hollow
to receive their feet. In this place, in presence
of their vassals, they were crowned and anoint-
ed by the Bishop of Argyle and seven infe-
rior priests. After putting on their armour,
helmet, and sword, they took an oath to rule
as their ancestors had done ; that was, to govern
as a father would his children. Their people,
in return, swore that they would be obedient,
as children pay obedience to the commands of
their parents. The spot where these ceremo-
nies were enacted is still pointed out. Near
the end of the sixteenth century, this and other
possessions were confiscated by the crown;
and by grant or purchase, the whole is now in
different hands. On the east side of the island
the surface is hilly, and covered with heath ;
but the greater part of the land is flat, and
where uncultivated, is covered with a fine green
sward. The whole is not very interesting to
the stranger, unless as he may take pleasure in
witnessing the rise and progress of agricultural
improvement and wealth. It retains so few
marks of Highland manners, as scarcely to
excite any feelings different from the low coun-
try. Opulent tenants, Lowland agriculture, and
good houses and roads make the traveller for-
get that he is in the ancient kingdom of the

Norwegian Lords of the Isles. The coast is
rugged and rocky, but indented by numerous
bays and harbours, which are safe landing places
for vessels. Loch Indal, on the south side,
forms a spacious but shallow bay, much fre-
quented by shipping, and the village or town
of Bowmore on its east side is of a respecta-
ble size and appearance. On the western
shore, there is a very large and open cave called
Uaimhmore, which, in the days of poverty, was
inhabited by different families. The cave of
Sanig, further to the south, is narrow, dark,
wet, and uninteresting. Loch Greinord also
on the west side, is a deep narrow indentation ;
but shallow and marshy ; giving ample evidence
of having been once united to Loch Indal, so
as to have cut the island into a larger and
smaller part. The sea banks, which it has
long left dry, and the still progressive shoaling
of both these inlets, are proofs that cannot be
mistaken. The east coast is without interest.
The island has several small lakes, which ori-
ginate a variety of streamlets, all abounding
with trout and salmon. Islay is rich in mi-
nerals. Lead has been long wrought, and cop-
per is nearly as abundant. The island also
possesses abundance of limestone, and marie.
The crops raised are principally of barley and
oats, and much of the grain is Used in the dis-
tillation of whisky. For this article the island
has been long celebrated, and for many years
there has been a contest among connoisseurs,
whether that of Islay or Campbellton, in Can-
tire, ought to carry the palm of superiority.
There are at present, or were lately, fourteen
distilleries on the island, constantly at work
in the preparation of whisky for the Lowland
market. The trade thus carried on has been
the cause of many improvements, and the
island now presents a spectacle of thriving in-
dustry. Islay composes three parochial divi-
sions, namely, Bowmore (see Killarrow),
Kilchoman and Kildalton. The only town is
Bowmore. — The population of Islay in 1821,
11,008.

ISLAY SOUND, the strait betwixt the
above island of Islay and Jura. The tides run
through it with the violence of a rapid river, by
which the navigation is very dangerous.

ISLE-MARTIN, an island in Loch
Broom, Ross-shire, on which is a fishing station.

ISLE TANERA See Tanera.

ISSURTj an islet of the Hebrides, near
Harris.

JEDBURGH.

5'J9

JAMES' TOWN, a small village in the up-
per part of the parish of Westerkirk, district of
Eskdale, Dumfries-shire. It stands on the
Meggot Water, and was built for the residence
of miners in the vicinity.

JED, or JED WATER, a small river in
Roxburghshire, rising in Carter Hill, in the
upper part of the parish of Southdean. After
a tortuous course tending northward, it passes
the town of Jedburgh ; and, about two miles
below, drops into the Tiviot, the well known
tributary of the Tweed. The Jed is an excel-
lent trouting stream, and the scenery on its
banks is reckoned very beautiful. The vale
through which it flows is not spacious, and
therefore presents no such view as that of the
Tweed at Kelso. But, as it is serpentine and
irregular, its views, if not so extensive or im-
posing, are much more varied, infinite, and even
picturesque. At eveiy step one takes along
the banks of the stream, he discovers a novel
and striking variety in the general tone of the
landscape. On this account the tourist will
find as much gross amount of good landscape
in a walk of two miles along the Jed, as he
will find it possible to obtain even in the High-
lands, in a whole day's ride. If better authori-
ty be wanting, reference may be had to Burns,
who speaks somewhere of " Eden scenes on
crystal Jed," and has expressed the highest
satisfaction with this part of his tour through
the Arcadia of his native land. Thomson al-
so eulogizes the " sylvan Jed," on whose banks
he spent the years of his boyhood and early
youth, in the parish of Southdean.

JEDBURGH, a parish in the county of
Roxburgh, consisting of two detached por-
tions, situated in the territory betwixt the Ti-
viot and the heights of the border fells. The
lower division lying on either side of the Jed,
forms the great body of the parish. The se-
cond, which is the smallest division, is the dis-
trict of old Jedburgh. In this division there
was anciently a chapel, opposite to Dolphin-
ston Mill. In the upper portion of the
parish, is the barony of Edgerston. The
barony of Upper Crailing, attached to the east
side of the lower division, was anciently a se-
parate parish. At the elevated extremity of
the upper part of the parish, is the Reid Swire,
where a sanguinary border fight took place, on
the 7th of July 1575. The two old parishes
of Jedburgh are the most ancient parochial di-
visions in Scotland, of which any record exists.

The country here is for the greater part hilly
and pastoral, with cultivation only in the vales,
and chiefly on the Jed and Tiviot. The
lower division is now finely planted in many
places, and the district is generally under an
excellent course of improvement.

JEDBURGH, a royal burgh, the seat of a
presbytery, and the capital of the above parish,
as well as the county town of Roxburghshire,
is agreeably situated on the left bank of the
Jed water, at the distance of forty-six miles
(by Lauder) south of Edinburgh, ten west of
Kelso, ten east of Hawick, and twelve north
of the borders of England. The town is of a
very ancient date, and was originally entitled
Jedworth, from Jed, the appellation of the river,
and weorth, the Saxon term for a hamlet. In
the course of time it has been perverted into
its present designation ; but, throughout a very
extensive district in the south, the old appella-
tion is partly preserved in the name of Jeddart,
or Jethart, which are exclusively used by the
common people. The name of Jed has led
some antiquaries to suppose that it was the ca-
pital town of the people denominated the Gade-
ni, who, in the period immediately subsequent
to the dissolution of the Roman power in Bri-
tain, possessed the central part of the marches,
between Cumberland and Lothian. The con-
sequence of the town was considerably enhanc-
ed in the twelfth century, by the foundation of
a monastery by David I., to the canons-regular
of which establishment he gave the churches of
the two parishes of Jedburgh, with the tithes
and other dues. David also gave to the canons
the chapel of Scarsburgh, lying in a recess of
the forest, to the east of the Jed ; and in a
later epoch, the monastery was put in posses-
sion of the dependencies of Restennet in An-
gus, and Cannoby in Dumfries- shire. Thus ere-
riched by such a splendid religious establish-
ment, the importance of the town was secured
by the erection of a castle, the strongest and
most extensive on the borders. In the year 1 285,
Jedburgh was the scene of the festivities which
attended the second marriage of Alexander III. ;
when a masker, resembling the usual skeleton
figure of death, joined in one of the dances,
and had such a powerful effect upon the nerves
of the queen, and the rest of the revellers, as
to cause the ball to be suddenly closed. Though
afterwards ascertained to be a mere jest, this
strange apparition made a deep impression up.
on the popular mind, and was afterwards held

600

JEDBURGH.

to have been an omen of the childless bed of
Alexander, his early death, and the consequent
mishaps .which befel his country. Little else
is heard of the town throughout the obscure
era of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth
centuries ; but after this period it frequently
enters into the history of the wars carried on
betwixt the Scots and English. Placed in a
remote part of the country, so near the scene
of constant strife, it had the misfortune to be
seven times burnt, at least, so says tradition,
but as regularly reviving from such a disaster.
Before being burnt by the Earl of Surrey in
1523, it was so important a place as to be thus
described by that general, in a letter to his
master, Henry VIII. " There was two times
more houses therein than Berwick, and well
builded, with many honest and fair houses in
garrison, and six good towers therein." The
castle of Jedburgh was at this time of great
strength, as is testified by the circumstance,
that on the Scottish gavernment determining
to destroy it, it was meditated to impose a tax
of two pennies on every hearth in Scotland, as
the only means of accomplishing so arduous an
undertaking. If the quality of self-sufficiency
in the magistrates be any proof of prospe-
rity in the town, Jedburgh must have
been in a truly flourishing condition during
this c'entury. In what are called " the
Queen's Wars," Jedburgh had the hardi-
hood to espouse the interest of King James
and the Protestant faith, in opposition to Ker
of Ferniehirst, their powerful neighbour, who
stood out for the unfortunate Mary. This
daring feud was accompanied with some ludi-
crous, but fully as many tragical circumstances.
When a pursuivant under the authority of the
queen, and countenanced by Ferniehirst, was
sent to proclaim that every thing was null
which had been done against her during her
confinement in Lochleven, the provost com-
manded him to descend from the cross, and,
says Bannatyne the journalist, " caused him
eat his letters, and thereafter loosed down his
points, and gave him his wages on his bare
buttocks with a bridle, threatening him that if
he ever came again he should lose his life."
In revenge of this insult, and of other points
of quarrel, Ferniehirst, having made prisoners
ten of the citizens of Jedburgh, hanged them,
and destroyed with fire the whole stock of pro-
visions which had been laid up for winter. The
distinction of the people of Jedburgh in arms

at this early period, is indicated by their proud
war-cry of " Jethart's here !" as well as by their
dexterity in handling a particular sort of par-
tisan, which therefore got the name of the
" Jethart staff." Of this celebrated species of
weapon, which is proverbial in the country,
Mair, in his history, fortunately supplies us
with a description, as also with the fact that
it got its name from being made at Jedburgh :
" Ferrum chalybeum quatuor pedes longum
in robusti ligni extremo Jeduardiensis." It is
said to have been the bravery of the burgesses
of Jedburgh that turned the fate of the day at
the skirmish of the Reidswire, already noticed,
and one of the last fought upon the borders.
The change of affairs produced upon the
marches by the union of the crowns, caused
Jedburgh to retrograde in prosperity for a cen-
tury and a half; and it has only been within
the recollection of the present generation that
the town can be said to have recovered any
part of its original prosperity. At the Refor-
mation of religion the abbey was abolished, its
revenues confiscated, and its property erected
into a temporal lordship in favour of Sir An-
drew Ker of Ferniehirst, ancestor of -the Mar-
quis of Lothian. The citizens of Jedburgh
founded a monastery for Franciscan or Gray
friars, in 1513. As these religionists were of
an order which obliged them to live by mendi-
city, they could have little property to offer to
the aristocratic spoilers at the Reformation.
We mention this obscure convent for the pur-
pose of saying that here lived and died Adam
Bell, a monkish writer of considerable eminence
in the sixteenth century, whose chief work was
the History of the Scottish Nation from the
beginning of the world till the year 1535, en-
titled Rota Temporum. This literary curiosity
is often alluded to by antiquaries, and it is un-
derstood that the original copy was lost at Ros-
lin, at the Revolution, when the mob spoiled
the chapel. An imperfect copy, and we be-
lieve the only one, was in the library of Sir
George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh. — The town
of Jedburgh, in the present day, has four prin-
cipal streets, which cross each other at right
angles, and terminate in a square or market-
place. The Town- Head and High Street run
parallel to the river. The street which crosses
these is one running from the Castle-hill to
the New Bridge, having a declivity to the
water. In recent times the town has been
generally improved, and many elegant and spa-

JEDBURGH

G01

eious buildings have been erected. The prin-
cipal object in the town is the abbey, which
stands on a piece of ground betwixt the houses
and the river. Though the west end of this
venerable structure has been mutilated into a
parish church in a style inconsistent with
good taste, while the eastern extremity is
partly ruinous, enough remains to impress
the spectator with a high idea of its original
beauty and magnificence. Some patriotic in-
dividuals have lately expended a considerable
sum upon such repairs as seemed calculated to
prevent further dilapidation ; and these opera-
tions have been conducted with the greatest
taste and success. The great tower of the
fabric is still in tolerably good preservation.
Near the abbey formerly stood the cross, and
there also were the court-house and jail. The
court-house and jail of Jedburgh are objects of
more than ordinary interest in the eyes of a
south-country man, for Jedburgh is a transient
seat of the court of justiciary, and these build-
ings have proved fatal to many a stalwart bor-
derer. It is on this account that the name of
the town is constantly associated in the mind
of a Merse, Tweeddale, or Tiviotdale man
with ideas of sheep-stealing and hanging.
Nor does the fearful import of the phrase
'•' Jethart justice" alleviate the horrors of
this concatenation of ideas. Jedburgh justice
implies the circumstance of first hanging
and then judging a criminal, and is a piece of
popular obloquy, supposed to have taken its
rise in some instance of summary and unce-
remonious vengeance, executed here by either
a feudal chief or a sovereign, in one of his
justiciary tours through the borders. There
is a new jail, denominated the castle, in con-
sequence of its occupying the site of the an-
cient fortress, and perhaps of its architecture
being of that castellated description which has
lately become so prevalent The elegance of
the building is such as to disguise its real
character as completely to the eye as its name
does to the ear. The height of the situ-
ation at the head of the town conduces great-
ly to its fine appearance, and causes it to be
seen from a distance all round the town.
Executions have, from time immemorial, taken
place on this eminence, from which a view is
obtained so charming, and so calculated to
make one in love with this world, that it seems
almost an act of cruelty to add to the misery
of the criminal's situation by depriving him
of life in sight of such a prospect. In Jed-

burgh may yet be seen the house in which
Queen Mary lodged, after her visit to Both-
well at Hermitage. " It is a large old house,"
says the author of the Picture of Scotland,
from whom we quote, " with a sort of turret
behind, more like a mansion-house of the reign
of Charles II. than what it is said really to be,
one of the bastel-houses, of which Surrey enu-
merates six, as existing early in the sixteenth
century. It is situated in a back street, and*
with its screen of dull trees in front, has a
somewhat lugubrious appearance, as if con-
scious of its connexion with the most melan-
choly tale that ever occupied the page of his-
tory. Mary remained in Jedburgh several
days, with a sickness contracted in her forced
march, from which, for a time, she gave up
hopes of ever recovering. The same appear-
ance of entire antiquity which so strongly marks
the Abbey Wynd or Close, prevails in a larger
district of the town in a situation resembling
the castle-hill of Edinburgh, and denominated
the Town-heid. The Town-heid is compos-
ed solely of very old houses, which seem to
have never either needed or received any of
that species of mutilation, called by antiqua-
ries ruin, and by tradesmen repair. The se-
cret is, that the inhabitants of the Town-hcid
all possess their own houses, and being a quiet
unambitious kind of people, not overmuch
given to tormenting themselves for the sake of
comfort, or killing themselves with cleaning
and trimming, just suffer their tenements to de-
scend peaceably from father to son, as they are,
have been, and will be. The houses, therefore,
are venerable enough in all conscience ; but it is
impossible for them to be more old-fashioned
than the people who live in them. The
Town-heid folk, for such is their common ap-
pellation, are in fact a sort of problem even
to the other people of Jedburgh. They are a
kind of knitters in the sun ; a race who exer-
cise, from the morning to the evening of life, a
set of humble trades which do not obtain in
other parts of the town. For instance, one
would not be surprised to find that the Town-
heid boasts of possessing an ingenious artizan,
who can make cuckoo clocks, and mend broken
china. And the trades of the Town-heid,
not less than the houses thereof, are hereditary,
even unto the rule of primogeniture. A Town-
heid tailor, for example, would as soon expect
his eldest son to become chancellor of Great
Britain, as he would form the ambitious wish
of makng him a haberdasher in the lower part
4 H

602

JEDBURGH.

of the town. There was once a barber in the
Town-heid, who lived seventy-one years with-
out ever being more than two miles from Jed-
burgh on any occasion except one, and that
was a call to Oxnam, {three miles,) which he
was only induced to attend to because it was
a case, not of life and death, but of death it-
self ; being to shave a dead man. There have
not been more instances of Town-heid folk
descending to the lower part of Jedburgh, than
of Town-fit folk ascending to the Town-heid.
The cause is plain. There is never such a
thing in the Town-heid as a house to be let.
The Town-heid is a place completely built,
and completely peopled ; no change can ever
take place in it ; fire alone could diminish the
number of its houses, and the gates of life and
death are the only avenues by which people
can enter or go out of it." — As a royal burgh,
whose charters of erection are as ancient as
the dawn of record, Jedburgh is governed by
a provost, four bailies, a dean of guild, a trea-
surer, assisted by a select council of the prin-
cipal citizens. Besides the courts of the ma-
gistrates, there are justice of peace courts held
at regular intervals. The town is also the
seat of the sheriff-courts for the county of Rox-
burgh ; and the circuit courts of justiciary, as
above alluded to, are held at stated periods-
The jurisdiction of this supreme judicature is
extended over the whole of the vale of the
Tweed, delinquents, witnesses, and juries being
carried thither even from the upper part of
Peebles-shire, by a most tedious and expensive
route, while that district is within an easy
half day's journey of Edinburgh ! Besides the
established church, Jedburgh possesses two
meeting- houses of the United Associated Sy-
nod, and one of the Relief body, which latter
denomination of Christians took its rise in this
town. The dissenters here form a large and
influential class. The chief trade of the town
consists in the manufacture and sale of flan-
nels, tartans, carpets and stockings, and in
the spinning of woollen yarn ; it draws some
additional wealth from fruit, which is pro-
duced in greater quantities in the private
gardens throughout the town than in any other
part of Scotland, with the exception of Clydes-
dale. There is reared in and about the town
a peculiarly fine species of apple, which is be-
lieved to have been introduced from abroad,
by the inmates of the abbey, before the Refor-
mation. The town has the right to hold four
annual fairs and two hiring markets. Jedburgh
26.

possesses branches of the British Linen Com-
pany and National banks. There is now an
excellent grammar and English school, con-
ducted on the best principles. The inhabi-
tants support three public libraries, and there
are letter-press printers in the town. In recent
times Jedburgh has become noted for the manu-
facture of a new description of printing presses,
under a patent by the inventor, Mr. Hope, an
iron-founder in the place, by whose name they
are known. There is daily communication with
Edinburgh, Newcastle, and intermediate places,
by means of stage coaches. The appearance of
the town has of late been much improved by the
erection of a number of elegant villas on the
eminences around. — Population of the burgh in
1821, 2500, including the parish, 5251.

JOCK'S LODGE ; see article Edin-
burgh, under the head Environs.

JOHN O'GROAT'S HOUSE, the most
celebrated and extensively known house in
Great Britain, but which now does not exist ;
its site, however, being still known by the name.
John o' Groat's House is supposed — for the
fact only rests upon the suspicious legends of
the north — to have been a small cottage of a
peculiar form, which existed several ages ago,
upon one of the most northerly points of the
mainland of Scotland, in the county of Caith-
ness. The accredited site of this famed domi-
cile is still pointed out, on the flat shore of the
Pentland Firth, in the palish of Canisbay, a mile
and a-half from Duncansby-head on the east,
and the inn of Houna on the west. Being thus
at the very verge of the island of Great Britain,
(though not so far north as Dunnet-head, lying
fifteen miles to the west,) in popular collo-
quy it is often mentioned as one of the extre-
mities of the united kingdom, Penzance, at the
Land's-end in Cornwall, being the other. John
o' Groat's House is said to have been founded
for the following reason. A lowlander of the
name of Groat, along with his brother, arrived
in Caithness, in the reign of James IV., bear-
ing a letter from the king, which recommended
them to the gentlemen of the county. They
procured land at this remote spot, settled, and
became the founders of families. When the
race of Groat had increased to the amount of
eight different branches, the amity which had
hitherto characterised them was interrupted by
a question of precedency or chieftainship. One
night, in the course of some festivity, a quarrel
arose, as to who should sit at the head of the
table next the door ; high words ensued, and

JOHNSTONE.

603

the ruin of the whole family seemed to be at
hand by means of their injudicious dissension.
In this emergency one of them, named John,
■who was proprietor of the ferry over to Ork-
ney, rose, and, having stilled their wrath by soft
language, assured them, that at next meeting he
would settle the point at issue. Accordingly,
he erected upon the extreme point of their ter-
ritory an octagonal building, having a door and
window at every side, and furnished with a table
of exactly the same shape ; and when the next oc-
casion of festivity took place, desired each of
his kin to enter at his own door, and take
the corresponding seat at the table. The striking
originality of the idea fairly overcame all scruples ;
and, with perfect equality, the former good hu-
mour of the fraternity was also restored. The
foundations, or ruins of this house, which is
perhaps the most celebrated in the whole island,
are still to be seen. As to the above story of
its origin and properties, there are different
versions, all nearly alike, and all bearing a resem-
blance to the fable of the knights of the round
table. In all likelihood, the accounts have a
foundation in fact, for among the ancient Gauls
a custom of this nature, to prevent contests
as to superiority, was very general, and might
have been here enacted from a traditionary
remembrance of its efficacy. Rabelais had
been made acquainted with such an ingenious
device, as he notices it in these words, in one
of his productions : " Tous les chevaliers de
la table ronde estoient pauvres gaigne-derniers,
tirans la rame pour passer les rivieres de Oo-
cyte, Phlegeton, Styx, Acheron, and Lethe,
quand messieurs les diables se veulent ebattre
sur l'eau." If this passage alluded to John
o' Groat, it would lead us to suppose that
the whole of the eight Groats were ferrymen.

JOHN'S (St.) a modern village, in the pa-
rish of Dairy, Stewartry of Kirkcudbright,
twenty-one miles north-west of the town of
Kirkcudbright. It has been built on feus from
the Earl of Galloway.

JOHN'S-H A VEN, a thriving sea-port vil-
lage, in the parish of Benholme, Kincardine-
shire, situated nine miles from Montros> twen-
ty-nine from Aberdeen, and four from Inver-
bervie. It lies between the coast road and the
sea, and is inhabited by fishers, and persons en-
gaged in the manufacture of brown linens for
the Dundee merchants. It possesses a meet-
ing-house of the United Associate Synod. The
population hi 1821 was estimated at 1020.

JOHNSTON, a parish in the district of
Annan dale, Dumfries-shire, bounded on the
north by Kirkpatrick-Juxta, on the east by
Wamphray and Applegarth, on the south by
Lochmaben, and on the west by Kirkmiehael.
It extends about six miles in length by three in
breadth, and is formed like the figure of a heart,
the apex of which points to the south. It is
intersected by the Kinnel Water, is now gene-
rally enclosed and cultivated, and ranks as one
of the most fertile and pleasant parishes in the
district. The river Annan runs along a great
part of its eastern side. The parish kirk stands
on its banks. The parish contains some re-
mains of antiquity, in particular, the old and
strong ruined castle of Lochwood — Population
in 1821, 1179.

JOHNSTONE, a modern and thriving vil-
lage within the landward part of the A bbey parish
of Paisley, Renfrewshire, situated on the right
bank of the Black Cart river, at the distance
of about three miles west from Paisley. In
bringing this industrious little town under no-
tice, we cannot do better than introduce the de-
scription of its origin and character, given by
Mr. G. Fowler, in that very serviceable ma-
nual, the Commercial Directory for Renfrew-
shire, published in 1830-1. " Few places in
Britain exhibit so striking an illustration of
the effect of manufactures in originating and
increasing towns, in attracting, condensing, and
augmenting population, as does this thriving
seat of business. Forty-six years ago, near
that bridge over the Black Cart, which, till
lately, gave to the place the popular appellation,
' Brig of Johnstone,' merely a few cottages
[inhabited by ten persons] were to be seen,
where now is a town consisting of two large
squares, many considerable streets, and public
works, with a population of about 7000 souls.
It is probable that the town of Johnstone never
would have existed, or at most been confined
to the few cottages that were placed upon the
ground near to the Brig, had not the late pub-
lic-spirited Laird of Johnstone, by his influence
and example, excited a spirit of industry among
its inhabitants, and cherished and supported it
by his fatherly care and protection ; and, we are
happy to say, that the seed has. been sown in
good ground, as it continues to manifest itself
by the increasing wealth and prosperity of the
enlightened and enterprising merchants and
traders belonging to the place. Towards the
end of October 1782, nine houses of the New

C04

JURA.

Town of Johnstone had been built, two others
were building, and ground on which forty-two
more were to be built had been feued. In 1 792,
the inhabitants were 1434 in number; in 1811,
3647; in 1818, by computation 5000. As
the introduction of the manufacture of cotton
yarn by mill-machinery led to the founding of
Johnstone, so has the extension of the same
manufacture caused its rapid increase and pre-
sent prosperity. There are now, within the
precincts of the place, seventeen cotton mills
of varied extent, some propelled by water,
others by steam ; also, Elderslie, Cartside, and
Linwood mills, in the neighbourhood of John-
stone, making in all twenty mills. Total
amount of spindles in these mills 151,203.
There are also in the town two brass found-
lies, and two extensive iron foundries ; five
machine manufactories, and a public gas work.
Johnstone is very regularly laid out. Besides
Houstoun Square in the centre of the town,
which is now built on every side, there is to
the southward a large area, meant for a second
square, as well as market-place, and which is
also now beginning to be built round with neat
houses. High Street, extending from the
Bridge of Johnstone on the west, to Dick's
Bridge on the east, is closely built ; as are
several other streets branching at right angles
from both its sides. It is in length three fur-
longs, thirty-six poles. The houses are, for
the most part, two stories high, substantially
constructed, and roofed with slates — to many
of them belong gardens. The shops are nu-
merous, and well stocked with cheap, various,
and excellent commodities. Besides the cha-
pel of ease, (an octagonal fabric, to which,
about five years ago, a neat spire, after a de-
sign of Sir Christopher Wren, was added,)
Johnstone contains a United Secession and
Relief church, a Universalist, and a Methodist
chapel. The Universalists' chapel is furnish-
ed with an excellent organ. The inhabitants
have formed themselves into a society for
guarding the church-yard from the depreda-
tions of resurrection men ; and this society,
in all its labours, is aided by the venerable
sexton, who has now held his place thirty-six
years, and in that time has performed the last
duty to upwards of 5200 of the villagers. In
Johnstone are also a town-school, a subscrip-
tion library, two news rooms, a mechanics' in-
stitution and library, sundry religious and
friendly societies, various Sunday schools, &c.

The Ardrossan Canal from Glasgow termi-
nates in a basin at the east end of the town,
to the advantage of which it greatly contributes.
Some years ago an act was passed, authorizing
the formation of a rail-road from Johnstone to
Ardrossan : active operations have now com-
menced at Ardrossan ; and if the work be car-
ried on with spirit, it will .soon be finished.
Near Johnstone are four collieries, highly be-
neficial to the public, and sources of consider-
able revenue to their proprietors. The south-
ern neighbourhood of this place is greatly beau-
tified by Johnstone Castle, a stately mansion,
after the antique, situated among extensive
pleasure-grounds and valuable plantations. A
similarly ornamental effect is produced by the
house and pleasure-grounds of Milliken to the
westward of the town. The former is the
seat of Ludovic Houston, Esq. of Johnstone ;
the latter, that of Sir William M. Napier,
Bart, of Milliken."

JOPPA, a village of modern growth in the
parish of Duddingston, Edinburghshire, situat-
ed on the public road and the shore of the Firth
of Forth, at the distance of a quarter of a mile
east from Portobello. At one time it had an
extensive brick and tile work. A freestone
quarry some years since was opened near it,
and there was recently discovered a mineral
spring, which induces the visits of valetudin-
arians from Portobello. A number of neat
villas have lately been built near the road.
About half a mile further east is a suit of
salt-works receiving the name of Joppa Pans,

JURA, an island of the Hebrides, lying
immediately north of Islay, from which it is
separated by the narrow sound of Islay, and
divided from North Knapdale, in Argyleshire,
by the sound of Jura, a strait of about seven
miles in breadth. On the north it is separated
from Scarba by the gulf of Corryvreckan. It
belongs politically to the county of Argyle.
In extent it is fully twenty-six miles in length ;
seven miles broad at the southern or widest
part, and tapering to about two miles at its
northern extremity. Jura is little else than a
continuous mountain ridge, elevated to the
southward into five distinct points, of which
the three principal are called the Paps of Jura,
and the flat land which it contains is of an ex-
tent so trifling as scarcely to merit notice.
The agriculture being thus very limited, the
island supports but a scanty population. The
different peaks of Jura, which are distinguished

KATRINE (LOCH).

GOo

by particular names, have been the theme of
various travellers, from their prominent ap-
pearance. When Pennant visited the island,
he ascended the most elevated, which is named
Bein-an-oir. He tells us that it is composed
of large stones, covered with mosses near the
base ; but all above were bare, and unconnect-
ed with each other: " the whole," says he,
" seemed a vast cairn, erected by the sons of
Saturn. The grandeur of the prospect from
the top compensated for the labour of ascend-
ing the mountain. From the west side of the
hill ran a narrow stripe of rock into the sea,
called " the Side of the Old Hag." Jura
itself displayed a stupendous front of rock,
varied with innumerable little lakes, of the most
romantic appearance, and calculated to raise
grand and sublime emotions in the mind of the
spectator. To the south, the island of Islay
lay almost under his feet, and, beyond that,
the north of Ireland ; to the east, Gigha, Can-
tire, Arran, and the Firth of Clyde, bounded
by Ayrshire, and an amazing tract of mountains
as far as Benlomond, and the mountains of
Argyle Proper. Scarba terminated the north-
ern view. Over the western ocean were seen
Colonsay, Mull, Iona, Staffa, and the neigh-

bouring isles ; and still further, the long ex-
tended islands of Coll and Tirey." This huge
peaked mountain is elevated 2420 feet above
the level of the sea. Bein-acholais, is the
name of another of these conspicuous peaks.
The western shores of Jura are wild and rug-
ged, intersected by many torrents which come
rushh.g down from the mountains. The coast
is here perforated with many of those caves
which are so common in the Hebrides. About
the middle of the same side the shore is indent-
ed with the long narrow inlet of Loch Tarbet,
which possesses no beauty. The whole of the
west side of the island, from its mountainous
and wilderness character, is, with hardly an
exception, destitute of human habitations, the
population being resident on the eastern shores.
On this latter side is almost the only made
road in the island. The country here is pleas-
ing, being embellished with trees and laid out
in arable fields. The little fishing village of
Jura is on this side, and also the church of the
district. Jura, and the islands of Colonsay,
Ormsay, Scarba, Lunga, and four islets, com-
pose but one parochial division — Population
of the parish of Jura, including Colonsay, in
1821, 1264.

K AILE, or KALE, a rivulet in Roxburgh-
shire, rising in the higher grounds on the bor-
ders, in the parish of Oxnam, running through
the parishes of Hownam and Morebattle, and
falling into the Tiviot in the parish of Eckford,
after a tortuous course of seventeen miles. It
is reckoned an excellent trouting stream.

KAIM, a small village in the parish of Duf-
fus, Morayshire.

KALLIGRAY.— See Calligray.

KANNOR (LOCH)— See articles Can-
nor and Gl.ENMUICK.

KATTERLINE, or CATTERLINE,
a suppressed parish in Kincardineshire, attach-
ed to Kinneff. It gives its name to a small
harbour on the coast, at the south comer of
Dunnotar parish.

KATRINE, (LOCH) a lake in the west-
ern part of the district of Menteith, Perth-
shire, forming, for a considerable space, the
boundary between the parishes of Callander
and Aberfoil, and extending, in a serpentine

form, about nine miles from east to west,
while the breadth is in no place so much as a
mile. From its eastern extremity flows a
stream, which, after widening into two minor
lakes, called Loch Achray and Loch Venna-
char, becomes the river Teith, a considerable
tributary of the Forth. All along the banks
of the three lakes is a range of beautiful sylvan
scenery, enhanced by the rough and Alpine
character of the country. Immediately to the
east of Loch Katrine is the singular piece of
scenery called the Trosachs, which may be
described as a valley covered with large frag-
ments of rock, and flanked with naked precipi-
ces, amidst which grow many beautiful trees and
shrubs, giving a delightful softness to what
would otherwise be a scene of untamed and sa-
vage magnificence. The banks of Loch Katrine
consist of slopes descending from the neigh-
bouring mountains, the most of which are co-
vered with beautiful natural woods, and sup-
ply innumerable picturesque points of view

6oe

KEITH.

to the tourist. Formerly, the extraordinary
beauty of this Highland paradise lay entirely
concealed and unknown ; but since the publi-
cation of Sir Walter Scott's poem, the Lady
of the Lake, of which it was the scene, it has
become a favourite object of tourists, and is
daily visited by multitudes during the summer
and autumn. A good road is now formed be-
tween Callander and Loch Katrine, and also
along its northern bank ; and the conveniency
of a boat to traverse the lake from one end to
the other, may at all times be procured by
tourists, whether they approach from the
east or west extremity. A tract of three
or four miles of mountain road intervenes be-
tween it and Loch Lomond. There is an ex-
cellent inn at Loch Achray, near the east end of
the lake. It affords a curious notion of the late
indifference of the people of Scotland to then-
own fine scenery, that a place of such tran-
scendent loveliness as this should have con-
tinued, till a recent period, to exist within
sixty miles of the capital, and between twenty
and thirty from Stirling, without being acces-
sible by a road. Near the east end of Loch
Katrine is a beautiful little island, which has
evidently supplied the poet with the imaginary
residence of his fair Naiad of the Lake. The
neighbouring country was formerly possessed
by the Macgregors.

KEARN, a parish in Aberdeenshire, now
united to Auchindoir ; see Auchindoir.

KEIG, a small parish in Aberdeenshire,
bounded by Alford on the west, and Mony-
musk on the. east, being divided from the latter
by an elevated hilly range. It extends from
three to four miles in diameter, and is for the
greater part hilly and pastoral. It has also
some natural wood and moss. The river Don
intersects it — Population in 1821, 562.

KEILLESAY, an islet of the Hebrides,
lying five miles north-east of Barray.

KEIR, a parish in Nithsdale, Dumfries-
shire, bounded on the north-west and north by
Tynron and Penpont, on the east by Closeburn,
on the south by Dunscore, and on the west by
Glencairn. The parish is the smallest in this
quarter, not extending much beyond five miles
by two miles in breadth. It is hilly and pas-
toral on the west side. On the east side the
parish is bounded by the Nith, to which the
land beautifully declines. On the banks of
this river stands the church.— Population in
1821, 987.

KEITH, a parish in the county of Banff,
with a portion belonging to the county of
Moray. It is of an elliptical figure, and is
bounded by Bellie and Rathven on the north,
by Grange and Cairny on the east, by Cairny
on the south, and on the west by Botriphnie
and Boharm. It comprehends the greater part
of the lands of Strath- Isla, granted by William
the Lion to the abbots of Kinloss. Anciently,
the parish extended from Malloch to Fordyce,
and comprehended all the fertile lands on the
Isla. That it was a large and rich parish is
evident from the rental of the bishopric of
Moray, for, in 1565, we find the Rentale Ec-
clesice de Keyth, L.333, 6s. 8d., while that of
Rothiemay was but L.40. The word Keith
is derived from the Gaelic Ghaith, signifying
wind. The remains of Druidical temples be-
ing found in the district, it is evident that it has
been inhabited previously to the introduction
of Christianity. It is generally affirmed that
Keith was the station of a Culdean establish-
ment. Agriculture continued long in a back-
ward condition in the parish, and it was not
till the inspiriting times of the revolution-
ary wars, that any activity or improvements
were displayed in its husbandry. Almost
every portion of the open waste land is now
brought into cultivation, and in a few years
all will be tilled. Those parts incapable of
culture, belonging to the Earl of Fife, have
been adorned by that nobleman with planta-
tions of fir and other forest trees, and the Earl
of Seafield and other proprietors have begun
to follow that excellent example- In the
parish of Keith there are three lime-works, a
tan-work, three distilleries, a brewery, two
mills for carding and spinning wool, three
grain-mills, one of which is very extensive, and
a snuff-mill, which, with the exception of one
at Inverness, is the only one north of Aber-
deen. At the lime-work of Maisly there is a
vein of sulphurate of antimony, which was
wrought for a short time, and the ore sent to
London. Fluor spar, which is of rare occur-
rence in Scotland, is also found here. In the
eastern part of the parish there are indications
of alum. About half a mile below Keith,
besides the ruins of a castle, anciently a seat
of the Oliphant family, there is a beautiful
cascade formed by the Isla. A very few years
ago the roads in the parish of Keith were
almost impassable, during a great part of
the winter and spring. There remained a

KEITH.

G07

portion of an ancient way in the western sec-
tion of the parish, which was once the main
road from Edinburgh to Inverness, and which
from being that chosen by royalty was still called
the Court Road. It has now entirely disappear-
ed, and the general thoroughfares are among
the best in Scotland. At a place called Kil-
liesmont, in this parish, there is one of those
pieces of ground, sometimes found in Scotland,
variously known by the name of the Guid-
man's Craft, or the " GPen Rig,u that is, given
or appropriated to the sole use of the devil, in
order to propitiate the good services of that
malign being. This piece of land is on the
southern declivity of a lofty eminence. At
the upper end of the ridge, there is a flat
circular stone of about eight feet in diameter,
in which there are a number of holes, but for
what purpose tradition is silent. Like other
crofts of this description in Scotland, the pre-
sent remained long uncultivated, in spite of
the spread of intelligence. The first attempt
to reclaim it was made not more than fifty
years since, when a farmer endeavoured to im-
prove it ; but, by an accidental circumstance,
it happened that no sooner had the plough en-
tered the ground than one of the oxen dropped
down dead. Taking this as an irrefragable
proof of the indignation of its supernatural
proprietor, the peasant desisted, and it remain-
ed untilled till it came into the possession of
the present occupant, who has had the good
taste to allow the large flat stone to remain,
a memorial of the idle fancies of preceding
generations. James Ferguson, the celebrated
astronomer, was a native of Rothiemay, and
spent his earliest years in the parish of Keith.
Keith, a town in the county of Banff, the
capital of the above parish, and one of the prin-
cipal towns in the shire, is situated in lat. 57°
30' north, and in long. 3° west, at the distance
of twenty miles south-west of Banff, seventeen
east-south-east of Elgin, eight east by south
of Fochabers, and twelve south of Cullen. It
is divided into three distinct towns, namely,
Old- Keith, New-Keith, and Fife- Keith, the
whole lying on the banks of the Isla, in the
centre of an amphitheatre of hills. Old- Keith,
which stands on the south bank of the Isla, is
of unknown antiquity, and by its trade and
jurisdiction of regality was of superior conse-
quence to Banff, Cullen, and Fordyce — at one
period the only other towns in the county.
The court of regality sat in the church, and

here were judged all cnme3, including the four
pleas of the crown. In early times, the mag-
nitude of the town corresponded with the im-
portance of its judicial authority, as it seems
to have stretched a good way along the stream ;
but being built in a most inconvenient irregular
manner, it was gradually abandoned, and has
latterly dwindled into a mean hamlet. On the
south-west extremity of this antique village is
the burial-ground of the parish, in which for-
merly stood the parish church, a very ancient
building, and coeval with those of Mortlach
and Fordyce. It was removed in 1819. This
old edifice and its contiguous town are not
without connexion with some moving his-
torical events. In the civil war of 1643, on
the last day of June, the armies of Baillie and
Montrose met near the church. Baillie had
the advantage of being posted on ground capa-
ble of defence, and where he could not be
assailed without great risk. When Montrose
learned the peculiarities of his adversary's posi-
tion, he sent him a message, offering to fight
him a set battle on fair ground. But the co-
venanting general answered, that he would not
receive an order to fight from an enemy. The
church-yard was the scene of a desperate skir-
mish, in the spring of 1667, between the in-
habitants of the parish and a band of outlaws,
under the command of one Patrick Roy Mac-
gregor, a Highland freebooter. The peasantry,
headed by Gordon of Auehinachy, and Gordon
of Glengarrick, succeeded in defeating these
banditti and capturing their chief, who was
conveyed to Edinburgh, and there suffered on
the gallows. In September 1700, the cele-
brated James Macpherson, who was among the
last of the Highland freebooters, was appre-
hended at a fair in Old- Keith, and was exe-
cuted at Banff, under circumstances narrated
in that article. During the civil war of 1 745,
a rencounter took place in Old- Keith, between
Captain Glasgow, an Irish officer in the French
service, and a party in the service of govern-
ment, stationed there. Glasgow completely
defeated the latter, and carried off 150 prison-
ers, whom he presented to Prince Charles at
the encampment on the banks of the Spey,
where the insurgent troops then lay. To pass
from Old to New- Keith : This modern town,
which was feued out at the middle of the last
century, is agreeably situated on the eastern
declivity of a gentle eminence, to the south-
east of Old- Keith, and consequently on the

608

KEITH.

same side of the stream. The plan of this
town is very regular, consisting of five princi-
pal streets, three furlongs ninety-six yards in
length. The distance between three of these
is I "20 yards, and between the other two, sixty
yards, the intervening spaces being appropri-
ated for gardens. Three of the streets are
complete, and a fourth is half built. The
streets are intersected at right angles by lanes
of twelve feet in width, and distant from each
other thirty yards. Near the centre of the
town is the market-place, a spacious square,
712 feet in length, and 150 wide. In this
square is the town-house, an inelegant mass of
building. There are six places of public wor-
ship in the place. The parish church, which
is of Gothic architecture, finished in 1819, is
the most conspicuous, and is perhaps the most
tastefully-built church in the north of Scot-
land. This church has a tower 10.4 feet in
height, containing two bells and a very fine
turret clock, with three dials. A handsome
Roman Catholic chapel of Roman Doric ar-
chitecture was lately erected. The plan of
it was taken from the much -admired church of
St. Maria de Vittoria at Rome, and is quite
unique in Scotland. The interior is tastefully
ornamented. A row of massy pilasters, sur-
mounted by handsome Corinthian capitals, sup-
ports a cornice of correct proportions, upon
which rests a light arched roof. Charles X.
of France, in 1828, ordered an altar-piece for
this beautiful chapel to be painted by his princi-
pal artist. It is a picture of great merit, repre-
senting the incredulity of Thomas, and the figures
are as large as life. Both the chapel and paint-
ing are much admired by visitors. The other
places of worship are two Secession meeting-
houses and an Episcopal chapel, all plain build-
ings. There is also a Methodist chapel, but it
has had neither minister nor congregation for
some years. Keith has four public libraries.
The chief is the Subscription Library estab-
lished in 1810, by the Rev. James Maclean,
the then parish minister, and a number of
other gentlemen. It consists of a very exten-
sive collection of useful and amusing works,
and the terms of subscription amount only to
a guinea of entry-money, and eight shillings of
future annual payment. Strangers are admit-
ted in a very liberal manner, on recommenda-
tion by a member. The other three libraries
are chiefly of a religious nature. There are
two public schools of good repute, besides the

parochial one. A branch of the Aberdeen
Commercial Bank has been in operation here
for sixty years. A branch of the Aberdeen
Town and County Bank was established in

1825, and a branch of the National Bank in

1826. There are some friendly and masonic
societies in the town. Keith, at one time, car-
ried on a pretty extensive trade in the yarn and
linen manufactures ; but owing to the general
introduction of cotton into this country, those
branches of trade are now almost extinct.
There are two establishments for the manufac-
ture of tobacco. The Earl of Seafield, in
1823, built a very commodious inn, con-
taining a large hall in which the courts are
held; There are four annual fairs held at
Keith, two of which are large cattle-markets.
Summer- eve fair, held in September, was at
one time the largest fair in the north of Scot-
land, and was attended by trading people and
manufacturers from Glasgow, Perth, Dundee,
and other towns in the south, who were met
by all the merchants in the western Highlands
and northerly part of the kingdom. For cattle
and horses it is still by far the greatest fair in
the north. A weekly market is held on Fri-
day, for the disposal of agricultural and other
produce ; grain is a staple commodity. Hav-
ing thus described two of the Keiths,
we now proceed to the third — Fife- Keith.
This village lies on the north side of the Isla,
opposite Old- Keith. It is of very recent
growth, dating its origin only in the year 1816.
It consists of a main street — lining the great
road from Aberdeen to Inverness — three pa-
rallel streets running south and north, and a
crescent, in a line with the course of the Isla.
There is a small neatly built square in the cen-
tre of the town, and the houses are in general
well built. It is joined to Old Keith by two
bridges over the Isla; and as Old- Keith is
connected with New- Keith by a street of 250
yards in length, the whole appears like one
town, extending in all to about a mile in
length. The government of Keith is confided
to a baron-bailie. — Population of the parish,
including the above towns, in 1821, 3926.

KEITH-HALL AND KINKELL, a
united parish in the district of Garioch, Aber-
deenshire, lying on the left banks of the Ury
and Don, which unite opposite its centre, ex-
tending about six miles in length by five in
breadth, bounded by Fintray on the south and
east, and Bourtie on the north. The district

KELSO.

609

1 s- hilly, but not mountainous. The western part,
having a fertile soil, produces good crops ; but
the eastern is in general very unfruitful. Some
parts of the parish are now under thriving plan-
tations. We are informed in the Statistical
Account that Johnston, next to Buchanan, the
best Latin poet of modern times, was born in
the parish, at a place called Caskiebean, which
he celebrates. The high constable of Dundee,
Scrymgeour, who fell at the battle of Harlaw,
was buried at Kinkell, where there is an ill-
preserved monument to his memory, with a
Latin inscription. Many others who fell in
that battle are said to have been buried at Kin-
kell, which was the principal church in that
part of the country at the time. It is related
by tradition that in this part of Aberdeenshire
a sanguinary and decisive battle was fought with
the Danes, in which the invaders were routed. —
Population of the united parish in 1821, 838.

KEITH-INCH, a promontory in the pa-
rish of Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, being the
most easterly point of land in Scotland.

KELLS, an extensive parish in the stewar-
try of Kirkcudbright, in its north-west quar-
ter, lying between the Ken on the east (which
separates it from Dairy, Balmaclellan, and
Parton,) and the Black Water of Dee,
one of its tributaries, (separating it from
Girthon and Minniegaff) on the south and west ;
Carsphairn bounds it on the north. Its ex-
tent is not less than sixteen miles, by a breadth
of nine at the widest part. The district is
altogether mountainous and pastoral, except
along the banks of the rivers in the low
grounds, where cultivation is attended to and
where there are some fine plantations, and
gentlemen's seats. Near the southern ex-
tremity of the parish, Loch Ken is formed by
the river of the same name, and from thence
a good road proceeds along the river towards
the north. In travelling in this direction there
is much pleasing scenery and some interesting
objects to attract notice- The first and most
distinguished seat is Kenmure Castle, the re-
sidence of Viscount Kenmure, an ancient cas-
tle situated upon a lofty mount overlooking the
head of Loch Ken, and approached by a noble
avenue of old trees. The older parts of this
castellated edifice are in the turretted style of
the fifteenth century, and even the more mo-
dern parts exhibit an antiquated taste. The
Viscounts Kenmure are a respectable and an-
cient branch of the family of Gordon, and were

for a long time knights of Lochinvar. The
title was granted by Charles I., in 1683, to
Sir John Gordon of Lochinvar- It was for-
feited in 1716 by William the seventh Viscount,
who was beheaded on Towerhill for his con-
cern in the insurrection of 1715. After being
thus extinct for a hundred and eight years, it
was revived in favour of the grandson of the
above unfortunate Viscount, who now enjoys
it. Near this mansion stands the royal burgh
and small town of New Galloway, already no-
ticed. A few miles further up the vale is si-
tuated Glenlee-Park, the seat of Sir William
Miller, Bart., a Senator of the College of
Justice, who has hence assumed the title of
Lord Glenlee- The lofty series of hills call-
ed Kell's Range, the most elevated and con-
spicuous mountains in Galloway, are within
the northern part of the parish. A great na-
tural curiosity is to be seen on the side of one
of these hills, namely, a rocking stone of eight
or ten tons weight, so nicely balanced on two
or three points that it moves from one to the
other by the pressure of the finger. Whether
this stone be of natural or Druidic origin is
uncertain. — Population of the parish in 1821,
1104.

KELLY- BURN, a rivulet separating the
northern part of Ayrshire from Renfrewshire,
and falling into the Firth of Clyde at the
place called Kelly-bridge port. Kelly, a gen-
tleman's seat, is in the vicinity, in Renfrew-
shire.

KELSO, a parish in the county of Rox-
burgh, lying in two almost equal parts on both
sides of the Tweed, bounded on the east by
Ednam and Sprouston, on the west by Rox-
burgh, Makerston, and Smaiiholm, and on the
north by Nenthorn. On the south the parish is
narrow, and adjoins Eckford parish. Its me-
dium length is rather more than four miles,
by a breadth of three at the widest. The
present parish comprehends the three old pa-
rochial districts of St. James, Maxwell, and
Kelso, as well as a portion of that of Rox-
burgh, including the ancient castle of Rox-
burgh. The division of the parish on the
left bank of the Tweed was within the dio-
cese of St. Andrews, while that on the south
side belonged to Glasgow, the river being here
the boundary of these ecclesiastical jurisdic-
tions. The modern parish of Kelso is one of
the most beautiful and most productive in
Scotland ; everywhere cultivation being on the
4i

610

KELSO.

best system, and the whole being enclosed and
ornamented with the most exuberant planta-
tions. The district is watered (sometimes in
too great a degree) by the Tweed and the
Tiviot, both excellent rivers for salmon and
trout fishing. On the peninsula near the junc-
tion of the streams, stands, or rather stood,
Roxburgh Castle, one of the most interesting
objects of historical and antiquarian disquisi-
tion in the country, and noticed at length un-
der its proper head.

Kelso, a considerable town of great but
unknown antiquity, the capital of the above
parish, and the largest town in the county of
Roxburgh, though not the seat of its various
jurisdictions, occupies a most delightful situa-
tion on the north bank of the Tweed, in the
midst of a rich and picturesque district, at the
distance of forty-two miles south-east of Edin-
burgh, twenty- three west from Berwick-upon-
Tweed, sixty-four from Carlisle, ten from Jed-
burgh, and about five from the nearest point of
the borders of England, which is at Carham
on the Tweed. Before describing the present
condition of this interesting place, it will be a
matter of entertainment and instruction to of-
fer a few particulars on its ancient and varied
history.* The original title of Kelso seems
to have been indifferently Calceo, Calcou,
Kalchow, Kelcow, Kelsou, besides other varia-
tions of the same word, whose etymology, ac-
cording to Chalmers, is cede and how, — the
chalk heugh, which is significant of its local
situation. Situated on the borders, it was re-
peatedly desolated by fire and sword, during
those unhappy conflicts which devastated both
countries for so many ages. Kelso, or its
immediate neighbourhood, was the usual ren-
dezvous of our armies on the eastern marches,
when the vassals were summoned either to re-
pel the invading enemy, or to retaliate on
English ground the injuries which had been
committed on their own. Kelso is also fa-
mous as a place of negotiation ; and many
truces, or treaties, were here concluded be-
tween the two nations. It was likewise fre-
quently honoured by the presence of the sove-
reigns of both kingdoms ; and derived a consi-

* To the topographical and historical account of Kel-
so, from the pen of Mr. James Haig of the Advocates'
Library, published as a goodly octavo in 1825, we have
to acknowledge particular obligations in the composition
of this article.

26

derable importance from being in the near
neighbourhood of Roxburgh Castle, with
which its history is intimately associated.
The earliest incident in the history of the
town worth mentioning, was the erection of an
abbey at the beginning of the twelfth century,
through the piety and munificence of David I.
This establishment was first settled at Sel-
kirk, but the monks not being pleased with
the situation of that place, and appreciating
the beauties of the sunny vale of the Tweed,
long before consecrated by the erection of the
Abbey of Melrose, induced David to remove
their house to Kelso, a locality much nearer
the royal residence at Roxburgh. The abbey
of Kelso, agreeably to this arrangement, was
finished in 1128, and dedicated to the Virgin
Mary and St. John the Evangelist. The
edifice was constructed in the form of a Greek
cross, in a beautiful style of Saxon or early
Norman architecture, with the exception of
four magnificent central arches, which were
of the Gothic order, and thus it differed in its
appearance from the Abbeys of Melrose and
Jedburgh, but in a style akin to the subse-
quently erected Abbey of Dryburgh. When
the latter was completed, in 1 150, no part of
Scotland, within so small space, could boast
of containing so many splendid religious
houses, and it may be supposed that when in
full operation the whole of this beautiful dis-
trict would be a complete halidome, teeming
with ecclesiastics, the only learned men of
their times, a great part of whom were foreign-
ers ; and that a society would be formed of a
comparatively refined description. Such a con-
centration of churchmen, we may conjecture,
would be much enhanced by the occasional re-
sidence of the bishops of Glasgow at Ancrum.
The monks of Kelso were of a more useful
class than the others, being of the order of
Tyronenses, who, as may be seen at large in
one of our preliminary dissertations, were ad-
mitted only when instructed in some branch
of science or art ; their house at this place was,
therefore, a college of industrious artisans,
among whom were found painters, sculptors,
joiners, locksmiths, masons, vine dressers,
horticulturists, &c. who were employed over
a wide district of country, and brought
their earnings into one common fund for
general maintenance. By the rules of the
society, the members were enjoined to po-
verty; but luxury and the love of ease, in-

KELSO.

Oil

herent in human nature, fostered by the
endowments of pious princes, in time injur-
ed the primitive character of the association,
and ultimately tended to bring about the Re-
formation of religion. David, the founder,
gave to this house the monastery of Lesmaha-
gow, with all its lands and all its men ; as also
the privilege of sanctuary, which that monastery
enjoyed ; and before the end of the thirteenth
century, it had thirty-four parish churches, se-
veral manors, many lands, granges, farms, mills,
breweries, fishings, rights of cutting turf, salt-
works, and other possessions, spread over the
several shires of Roxburgh, Selkirk, Peebles,
Lanark, Dumfries, Ayr, Edinburgh, Berwick,
and even as far north as Aberdeenshire. David
II, (1329-32) further granted to the monks the
whole forfeitures of all the rebels within Ber-
wick. Owing to the enormous wealth they
thus enjoyed, the abbot was reputed to be more
opulent than most of the bishops in Scotland,
and he was, at least, nearly as powerful, as he
had received a mitre from the Pope, in the
year 1165. At the Reformation, after many
previous injuries, this splendid establishment
was violently broken up, and the edifice being
destroyed, it is now in that ruinous condition
we shall soon have occasion to describe. Its
immense property was confiscated by the crown,
and, in the year 1594, was parcelled among the
greedy favourites of the court. No event of
historical importance appears to have occurred
at Kelso, prior to the reign of William the
Lion, when, in 1209, the bishop of Rochester
left his see in England, sod lame to take re-
fuge in the town, the krngaoms of England
and Wales having been laid under an interdict
by the Pope, on account of the contumacy of
King John. William de Valoines, Lord
Chamberlain of Scotland, died at Kelso in the
year 1219, and was buried at Melrose. In
the course of the visit of Henry III. of Eng-
land and his Queen, to their relative, Alexan-
der III. at Roxburgh, these personages, with
a splendid retinue, were introduced with great
pomp into Kelso, and sumptuously banqueted
in the abbey, in the company of most of the
Scottish nobility. Truces between the kings
of England and Scotland were made at Kelso
in 1380 and in 1391. James II. on being
unfortunately killed at the siege of Roxburgh,
on the 3d of August 1460, by the bursting of a
caunon,vvas carried to Edinburgh for interment,
and his widowed Queen, the pious Mary of

Gueldres, with her infant soli, being at the
time in the camp, she brought him to the no-
bles, who, availing themselves of the opportu-
nity of their being assembled with the royal
army, conducted him to the abbey, where he
was crowned with great solemnity, and re-
ceived their oaths of fidelity and allegiance.
In 1487, commissioners met at Kelso to pro-
long a truce then about to expire, in order to af-
ford time for concluding a treaty of marriage
between the eldest son of James III. and the
eldest daughter of Edward IV. The fakal
battle of Flodden, in 1513, does not seem
to have been attended with injury to Kelso ;
but we learn that the abbey, unprotected by
the king, was seized on the following night by
one Carr, a friend or dependant of Lord Hume,
who turned the abbot out of the monastery,
and took possession of it. This was the first
of a series of troubles, which ended in the dis-
solution of the house. During the subsequent
minority of James V. the Duke of Albany, as
governor of the kingdom, arrived in Kelso in
the year 1515, in his journey through the coun-
try, for the purpose of ascertaining the mea-
sures proper to be adopted, in order to put a '
stop to the murders and robberies then so fre -
quent. Here the people presented many
heavy complaints against Lord Hume, the
Earl of Angus, and others, who, by their feud8
and oppressions, tormented this district of the
kingdom. Seven years later, in 1522, Kelso
and the adjoining district received the first
shock of the war entered into by Henry
VIII. in resentment for the continued do-
mination of the Regent Albany. The fleet
of the English sovereign, under the Earl of
Shrewsbury, having arrived in the Forth,
the forces were landed and marched into the
interior, laying the country waste in their
route ; and in their progress being joined by
Lord Dacre, they entered Kelso, one half of
which they destroyed by fire ; the other they
plundered, and falling upon the abbey, they re-
duced the vaults, the houses adjoining, and
the chapel of the Blessed Virgin, (in which
some beautiful Episcopal seats or stalls were
constructed,) to a heap of ruins. They also
burnt all the cells and dormitories ; and what
is still worse, they unroofed all the houses of
the monastery, carrying off the lead with
which they were covered. From the interrup-
tion to all kinds of work arising from those
aggressions, the walls fell into a state of <?e-

612

KELSO.

cay, and for some time continued to fall down
piecemeal. During the time the abbey con-
tinued in this state, the monks resorted to the
adjoining villages, where they, reduced to a
state of great poverty and want, celebrated
divine worship. Kelso again suffered simi-
lar misfortunes in the war of 1542, levied
by Henry VIII. in his rage against the king
of Scots. In the course of the march of
the English forces through the district of the
eastern marches, under the duke of Norfolk,
they arrived at Kelso, which, in spite of the
army of Huntly which hovered on the Lam-
mermoor hills, they burnt along with the ab-
bey, destroying at the same time several neigh-
bouring villages. In the year 1545, Henry, a
third time enraged at the Scots, on account
of their refusing to give the young princess
Mary in marriage to his son, afterwards Ed-
ward VI., sent in a hostile army by the
eastern marches, under the Earl of Hert-
ford, who plundered and destroyed Jedburgh
and Kelso, at the same time ravaging the
neighbouring villages and hamlets. This
Jamentable event once more brought ruin to
'the abbey, which was again burnt, but not
till it had held out a short siege ; being man-
fully defended by three hundred Scotsmen,
who were at length forced to yield to an over-
powering force, after a great number had been
slain. The towns and villages burnt on this
occasion amounted to five score, and the ab-
beys destroyed were those of Kelso, Jedburgh,
Melrose and Dryburgh. In 1557 Kelso was
again involved in a border war. The queen
regent, Mary of Loraine, having collected
a numerous army, it was marched to Kelso,
under the command of the Earl of Arran ;
where being joined by the French with their
artillery, it crossed the Tweed, and encamped
at Maxwell-heugh, a village about half a mile
distant from the town, and afterwards proceed-
ed to Wark castle, which, however, they were
not able to reduce. It was therefore thought
advisable to withdraw the army, leaving only
a garrison at Kelso and Roxburgh, for the pro-
tection of the Borders. An annoying war to
both sides now ensued, and Kelso being near-
est to danger, was put into a state of defence by
Lord James Stuart, afterwards Earl of Moray,
who along with the Queen Regent, and the
French general D'Oysel, concerted measures
here for the defence of the kingdom. The
year 1560 witnessed the final destruction of

the abbey by the reformers. Having expelled
the monks, they first plundered the edifice of
its most valuable materials, and then the great
altar with all the images of a combustible na-
ture were committed to the flames. One year
after this event, Mary Queen of Scots, having
now the reins of government in her own
hand, commissioned Lord James, with James,
Earl of Bothwell as his assistant, to be her
lieutenant and judge over this border district,
at that time open to every species of robbery.
In 1566, Mary herself visited Kelso in the
course of her expedition to repress disturbances
on the borders, remaining two nights in the
town. At a subsequent era, in the reign of
James VI. (1594), Kelso and the border
country around it were subjected to the vexa-
tious marches and warlike operations carried
on by the lairds of Cessford and Buccleugh
against Francis Stewart, Earl of Bothwell,
which ended in the expatriation of the latter.
In the reign of Charles I. Kelso comes again
into notice, having, in 1639, been made the
quarters of a detachment of the covenanting
army sent to oppose the king. According
to Law's Memorials, Kelso was totally de-
stroyed by an accidental fire in the month of
March 1684. We believe that the town was
assisted in being re- built by a general contri-
bution throughout the country, as a public pro-
clamation was made for that purpose. About
eighty years ago, says Mr. Haig, it met with
nearly a similar fate ; and since that period, it
has suffered considerably at different times,
from the acts of wilful incendiaries. So frequent
at one time were the attempts at wilful fire-
raising, that the inhabitants were put into a state
of the utmost consternation, and it was deemed
necessary to institute a nightly watch for their
safety. The next historical incident connected
with Kelso occurred in 1715, during the dis-
turbances of the civil war. Invited by the pro-
mising appearance of a rising in the north of
England, Macintosh of Borlum, with his party
in the Jacobite interest, departed from Seton
house, whither they had come from Leith,
and arrived at Kelso, where they effected a
junction with the forces from Northumber-
land and Nithsdale. Thus increased in mag-
nitude, they remained in Kelso a few days,
and proclaimed James VIII- at the market
cross ; at length, hearing of the approach of
General Carpenter, by way of Wooler, it was
agreed to retire from the town, which was

KELSO.

r,i3

speedily done, and taking the road to the south
by Jedburgh, the whole proceeded to Preston,
where they were surrounded by the govern-
ment troops, and forced to surrender piisoners
at discretion. On the occasion of the civil
war of 1745, Kelso a second time sustained,
against the inclinations of the inhabitants,
a visit from an army of the house of
Stuart. Prince Charles, on departing from
Edinburgh southward, headed a division of
4000 men, who took the route to England in
this direction. After a stay of a single day,
and having sent a small party down the
Tweed to Carham, as the nearest English
ground, to proclaim King James, he marched
towards Carlisle by Hawick and Langholm.
With the departure of this prince, the last of
a long line of kings who had, in many in-
stances, been munificent patrons of Kelso,
closes its historical memoirs. Since this event
it has steadily increased in size, opulence, and
respectability, and has attained a high rank
among the provincial Scottish towns. The
beauty of the situation of Kelso, which is
hardly excelled by any in this country, is not
more striking than the cleanliness, the sub-
stantiality, and the city-like appearance of the
town itself. Built, as we have said, on a
plain on the north or left bank of the Tweed,
and indebted to the great fire of 1 684 and sub-
sequent conflagrations for the restoration of
its houses in a modern and uniform style, it
consists of a spacious square or market-place,
with four streets and some considerable wynds,
diverging from it in different directions. The
principal street, which bears the name of
Roxburgh Street, is upwards of a quarter of
a mile in length, and is esteemed the most
healthy, as it certainly is the most pleasant,
in the town, running in a parallel direction
with the river. Bridge Street, though not
equal to Roxburgh Street in extent, surpasses
it in general appearance, as it contains many
elegant houses. The market-place is chiefly
composed of modern buildings, containing the
principal shops, and from its aspect would not
be unworthy of the metropolis. In very few
towns are the houses built so lofty or with so
dignified an air, and in still fewer is there
seen such regularity and general neatness.
Some handsome villas embellish the environs,
and there are some pleasing residences close
upon the Tweed, standing amidst luxuriant
gardens and shrubberies. From the bridge

across the stream, which is here of a much
enlarged size, being just augmented by the
Tiviot on its right bank, the view up or
down is equally delightful, and can perhaps
be only matched by the prospect from the
bridge of Perth. The view up the stream to
the west is met, on the south side, by the
the woody locality whereon once stood the
castle of Roxburgh, and, on the opposite side,
by the plantations and pleasure-grounds of
Fleurs, the princely seat of the Roxburghe
family, which is seen on the face of a declin-
ing bank. A pretty little verdant islet, orna-
mented with a few shrubs, lies in the centre
of the river, in the foreground, and assists in
forming one of the most charming pictures.
The bridge of Kelso, which was erected in
the year 1800 to supply the place of the for-
mer bridge, swept away by a flood in 1797, and
which cost altogether with its approaches about
L. 18,000, is the best on the Tweed, and is
of the most elegant proportions. It consists
of five elliptical arches, and is the model of
Waterloo bridge over the Thames. Rennie
was the architect of both. Unfortunately it
has been necessary to subject the passage to
a pontage both for carriages and foot passen-
gers. Recently this toll let for L.900perannum.
In entering Kelso by this thoroughfare from
the south, the stranger passes on his right hand
the conspicuous ruin of the abbey church, still
noble in its decay. It stands almost close upon
the street, but is secluded from intrusion by a
rail. Of the very extensive erections little
now remains but the .transept, and the great
central tower, which rises to the height of about
ninety feet. The arches are clustered with
admirable strength and beauty, and those which
support the lantern are more magnificent than
any in the island, except those of York Min-
ster. The building was begun to be used as
a parish church, at an unknown period subse-
quent to the Reformation, and continued as
such till within the last sixty years, when pub-
lic worship was discontinued in it, on account
of its dangerous state. The modern additions
which had been made, either to render it use-
ful as a church or for some other cause, till
lately greatly disfigured its ancient simplicity
and beauty ; such were, however, removed by
the two last Dukes of Roxburghe, and now
the side arches and several windows are expos-
ed to view- In consequence of an apprehen-
sion that the ruin, from its decayed condition,

614

K E h S O.

would soon fall, the heritors and others sub-
scribed L.500 to keep it in repair, and it was
rendered firm and durable in the most tasteful
manner, under the professional and gratuitous
superintendence of Mr. Gillespie Graham.
Next to the ruin of the Abbey church, the
most prominent object, in the character of a
public edifice, is the Town House, a modern
building in the Grecian style, of considerable
elegance ; it has a good situation on the east
side of the market-place, and is surmounted
by a neat spire. The other public erections,
as churches, &c. do not bear or require de-
scription. The government of the town,
(which was originally a burgh of regality,) is
vested in a baron bailie, appointed by the Duke
of Roxburghe, assisted by fifteen stent-masters
or councillors, who act in conjunction with
him in the assessment of the inhabitants. Of
these stent-masters, his Grace has the nomina-
tion of eight, who hold their appointment for
two years ; the others are elected annually by
the different corporations, of which there are
five. The bailie holds a court eveiy Saturday,
for the recovery of small debts within the ju-
risdiction of the town ; and the justices of the
peace sit here once a- month for the recovery of
small debts within the county. The streets
are kept in a very cleanly condition, a cart with
a bell, taking away, as in Edinburgh, all the
refuse of the domiciles. Though not ranking
as a manufacturing or commercial town, Kelso
enjoys a considerable trade, from being the
chief seat of population in a wide agricultural
district, which affords employment and support
to a numerous body of the working classes.
The first and principal branch is the dressing
of lamb and sheep skins, the tanning of hides,
and the currying of leather, all which are car-
ried on to a great extent ; the number of lamb
and sheep skins dressed annually, amounts, on
an average, to not less than I00;000. Pork is
here cured to a great extent, and finds a
ready sale in the English market. The manu-
facture of flannel is pretty extensive, as is also
that of different kinds of linen. Woollen cloth
is likewise made here, but not in any great
quantity. The manufacture of hats forms an
important branch of the trade of the town, and
the quantity of stockings made annually is con-
siderable. Boot and shoe-making is carried
on upon a very large scale, supplying not oidy
the town and neighbourhood, but the different
fair& Rnd maifeets in the nortit of England,

where immense quantities are disposed of.
The town has a great variety of respectable
shops, dealing in nearly all kinds of goods for
inland consumpt. A distillery upon a large
scale was commenced shortly after the law was
passed, allowing the introduction of whisky
into England. A severe drawback upon
nearly all manufactures, as well as the gene-
ral comfort of the town, is the absence of coal
in the neighbourhood, this article having to
be carted from a great distance. Kelso
has a weekly market on Friday for the sale of
corn by sample, and is the best attended in the
county. There are besides twelve monthly
markets, or fairs, which, by a recent regulation
of the Border Agricultural Society, are held
on the third Friday after the Coldstream mar-
ket, which is permanently fixed to take place
on the last Thursday of each month. Besides
these markets there are four annual fairs ; the
first held on the second Friday of May ; the
second, or Summer fair, on the second Friday
in July; the third, St. James' fair, on the
fifth of August ; and the fourth, or Winter
fair, on the second of November. The privi-
lege of holding St. James' fair was originally
granted to the burgh of Roxburgh, but that
town being now extinct, it is ranked with
the Kelso fairs, although it is still held on
the spot once occupied by Roxburgh, about a
mile from the town. This fair is the largest,
for its show of horses and cattle, in the south
of Scotland — St. Boswell's excepted. Kelso
has a neat butcher market, fitted up in the
style of the high market at Edinburgh. The
trade of Kelso, and its vicinity, is aided by
branches of the Bank of Scotland and Com-
mercial Bank ; the former was settled here as
early as 1774 — a great antiquity for a Scot-
tish Branch Bank. The town has also a
Savings Bank. There are seven places of
public worship in Kelso — the Parochial church
(a very inelegant edifice) an Episcopal chapel,
(a tasteful Gothic building on the banks of the
Tweed) and a Relief, Burgher, Antiburgher,
Cameronian, and Quaker meeting-house. The
town possesses a good Grammar-school for
the learned languages, and an English school,
also some private schools, including those for
female education, and two Sunday schools; —
a charity school was instituted in 1816. The
inhabitants support an excellent subscription
library, of the date 1795, and some others
less extensive. Some years ago one of those

KELSO.

G15

valuable establishments, named Schools of
Arts, was begun here with every prospect of
success. Kelso has the credit of publishing
a newspaper, which has a good circidation on
the borders. It is entitled the Kelso Mail,
and was begun in 1797. It is published on
Mondays and Thursdays. There was at one
time another paper, which has been lately
discontinued. A public Dispensary was esta-
blished in a healthy situation, at the head of
the town, in 1 789, chiefly by the philanthropic
exertions of Mrs. Baillie of Jerviswood, and,
as it also answers the purposes of an Infirmary,
it has been of great benefit to the place. Kelso
owns several benefit societies, and two lodges
of free masons, besides two or three clubs.
An association composed of the noblemen and
gentlemen residing in this quarter, styled the
Bowmen of the Border, was instituted in 1768,
by a diploma from the Royal Company of
Archers. Kelso has been long celebrated for
its horse-races. About ten years since a very
suitable new course was opened at the request
of the Duke of Roxburghe, and prepared by
the voluntary labour of the inhabitants, at the
distance of a mile to the northward of the
town. There is an excellent stand on the
model of that at Doncaster. Races are here
run twice in the year — in Spring and Autumn,
and never fail to attract a concourse of persons,
of the upper ranks, from both sides of the bor-
der. The Royal Caledonian Hunt meets
occasionally, and during the stay of the noble-
men and gentlemen of that association the
town presents a more than ordinarily gay appear-
ance ; and at this period, and while the races last,
brilliant assemblies are held almost every even-
ing. The town possesses a neat small thea-
tre, in which scenic representations take place
generally in the summer season. This place
of public amusement was first fitted up by a
body of French officers, who were here as pri-
soners on parole, during the Jast war, and who,
in gratitude for the polite attention and kind
treatment they had experienced, left the whole
standing, with all the scenery and decorations,
as a present to the town. The beauty of the
scenery around Kelso, and the neat city-like
appearance of the town, are not more observa-
ble by strangers than the polite manners of
the inhabitants, which, as Mr. Haig says, may
be traced to the place being " the resort of all
the fashion in the vicinity, and of numerous
visitors of the first rank in both kingdoms.

The higher classes are allowed to be affable
and courteous in their address, and benevolent
and liberal in their dispositions. The middle
classes are polite and obliging, hospitable and
friendly. The poorer orders are, in general,
sober, honest, and industrious. The upper
ranks dress in the first style of fashion, and
the balls and assemblies present an elegance of
female attire not to be exceeded out of the me-
tropolis." Notwithstanding the well-known af-
fability and hospitality of the people of Kelso,
whose peculiarities in this respect are by no
means only of modern date, the town, by some
strange fatality, is the subject of a popular pro-
verbial expression of a contrary import. The
phrase is " a Kelso convoy," which has been in
use from time immemorial in the Lowlands of
Scotland, to signify the circumstance of being
accompanied by one's host no farther than the
threshold, or rather, as it is commonly termed,
" a step and a half ower the door-stane." The
origin of this stigma upon the hospitality of
Kelso is unknown; but, that the reader may
the better understand the extent of satire which
it implies, it is necessary to inform him, that
at all old Scottish mansion-houses, there was a
tree at some distance from the door, called the
coglin tree, (variously the covan tree,) .where
the landlord met his guests, and to which he
always accompanied them uncovered, when
they took their departure. In old society, ac-
customed to such punctilio, and with whom
any neglect of the laws of hospitality was held
more heinous than at least two of the pleas of
the crown, it is easy to conceive how the cold-
ness of a Kelso convoy would be appreciated. —
Population of the town in 1821, about 4000,
including the parish, 4860-

KELTIE WATER, a rivulet in the pa-
rish of Callander, Perthshire, a tributary of
the Teith.

KELTON, a parish in the stewartry of
Kirkcudbright, somewhat of a triangular figure,
with its apex to the north, having its western-
side presented to the river Dee, which se-
parates it from Tongland and Balmaghie,
bounded on the north by Crossmichael, on the
east by Buittle, and on the south by Rerrick
and Kirkcudbright. The length of the parish
is about six miles by a breadth nearly as great
at the widest part. The present parish com-
prehends the three ancient parochial divisions
of Kelton, Gelston, and Kirkcormack. The
surface is uneven, and in some parts hilly, but

610

KELVIN.

in the northern district it is chiefly flat, though
not characterised for its fertility. In this
Quarter is situated the modem thriving town of
Castle Douglas, which has been already no-
ticed. From one to two miles south from
thence is the Kirk of Kelton, and near it is
the village of Keltonhill, a place once noted
for its great annual horse-market, on the 17th
of June O- S., now transferred to a more eli-
gible locality at Castle Douglas. — Population
in 1821, 2416.

KELTON, a sea-port village on the east
side of the embouchure of the Nith, Dumfries-
shire.

KELTY, a small village in the parish of
Cleish, Kinross-shire, five miles south from
Kinross.

KELVIN, a river equally belonging to Stir-
ling, Dumbarton, and Lanarkshires. It ori-
ginates at a place called Kelvin- Head on the
borders of the parishes of Kilsyth and Cum-
bernauld, from whence it flows, a mere rivu-
let, in a direct south-westerly course, not reck-
oning small sinuosities, fifteen miles, dividing
Stirlingshire from Dumbartonshire and Lanark-
shire, when turning towards the south-east, it
flows a few miles in that direction, and again
wheeling into a south-westerly course, it flows
into the Clyde about two miles below Glasgow.
This river resembles the Leven in Fife, though
not large, being of similar importance in
communicating a water-power to mills, and of
equal use to bleachfields. Having a natural
tendency to overflow its banks, its channel has
been in many places greatly improved by
straightening and banking up. While entering
the parish of New or East Kilpatrick, a few
miles from its mouth, it passes beneath an
aqueduct bridge of the Forth and Clyde Canal,
which is 350 feet in length, 57 feet broad, and
57 feet in height The bridge is of four
arches, each 50 feet in span, and 37 feet high ;
it is reckoned one of the chief objects of inte-
rest in this part of the country. Before steam-
power came so much into use, the Kelvin was
chosen for the settlement of a great number of
mills, mostly in the proprietary of houses in
Glasgow. These and other trading character-
istics on its banks have very much detracted
from the original beauty and romantic appear-
ance of the scenery through which it passes,
which has furnished a theme for at least one
beautiful Scottish song ; but still the Kelvin
is not destitute of a variety of delightful land-

scapes throughout its course, and is well
worthy of the visits of the tourist. The
above canal pursues a line parallel to and at a
short distance from the Kelvin on its south
side.

KEMBACK, a parish in Fife, lying be-
tween the parishes of St. Andrews and Ceres,
and Cupar, and having Dairsie and part of Leu-
chars on the north : The river Eden is the
boundary with the two latter. Its length and
breadth is about three or three and a half miles,
being somewhat triangular in its figure, with
the broadest side to the Eden. This parish
is not very level in its surface, but it is one of
the richest and most beautiful districts in Fife,
having now many fine plantations, everywhere
the best enclosures, and a variety of improve-
ments. Freestone, coal, and limestone abound.
—Population in 1821, 634.

KEMNAY, a parish in Aberdeenshire,
lying with its western side on the Don, which
separates it from Chapel- of- Garioch and Mo-
nymusk. Inverury, also separated from it by
the Don, lies on the north. It is bounded by
Kintore on the east, and Cluny on the south.
The length of the parish parallel with the
Don is between four and five miles ; the
breadth being not more than two. The dis-
trict is arable adjacent to the river, and in the
low parts. Kemnay house is pleasantly si-
tuated among plantations and pleasure-grounds,
near the centre of the parish. — Population in
1821, 657.

KEN, a river in the stewartiy of Kirkcud-
bright, rising in the upper part of the north-
west division of that district, and in its course
separating it into two almost equal divisions.
The Ken rises in the parishes of Carsphairn
and Dairy, and its first tributary is the Dough
water, or rather we may say the Ken is a tri-
butary of the Deugh, for it appears the most
direct fountain of the river. After this junc-
tion the Ken flows in a south-easterly direc-
tion for about eight miles, separating the pa-
rish of Kells from Dairy and Balmaclellan,
when it expands into a lake, termed Loch
Ken, which extends four and a half miles in
length, by half a mile in general breadth, and
is continued nearly an equal length under the
name of the Dee, in consequence of that
water falling into it on the west side. The
waters of the joint rivers fall into the Solway
firth at Kirkcudbright. The vale of the Ken,
and the district adjacent on both sides is usual ■

K E N M O R E.

617

ly 6tyled Glenkens, and enjoys a high reputation
in the south of Scotland for its peculiarly fine
breed of sheep.

KENETHMONT, or KINNETH-
MONT, a parish in Aberdeenshire, hav-
ing Gartly on the north, Insch on the east,
Leslie and Clatt on the southland Clatt on the
west. It extends six miles in length from
east to west, by three in breadth, and is six
miles from Huntly. The surface is diversi-
fied with hills and eminences, and is generally
productive, with a variety of plantations. Ke-
nethmont has a parish in whole, or in part,
annexed to it, named Christ's Kirk, the
church of which is in ruins. — Population in
1821,974.

KENLOWIE, a small stream in the
eastern part of Fife, parish of St. Andrews.

KENMORE, a parish in the Highland
district of Breadalbane, Perthshire, surrounding
the large beautiful lake called Loch Tay;
bounded on the north by Fortingall, on the east
by Dull, on the south and west by Comrie,
Killin, and Weem ; twenty-one miles in length
from east to west, by an irregular breadth of
five to twelve. There is also a large detached
portion of this parish, a considerable way to
the west, in the beautiful and sequestered vale
of Glenlochay. Kenmore signifies " the great
head," and we must therefore suppose that
the origin of the name is reflective. Loch
Tay, which in some measure gives figure and
character to the parish, is twenty- one miles
long, a breadth of about one, and from that to
two miles ; the great river Tay issuing from
its north-east extremity. The banks of this
loch are densely peopled by a race of small
crofters, who, having been permitted to remain
upon the paupera regna of their fathers, while
the greater part of the country around is thrown
into sheep farms, form a rather extraordinary
feature in the population of the Highlands. It
is to the benevolence of the earl of Breadalbane,
the proprietor of the parish — we ought to say of
the province — that we are indebted for this ex-
isting memorial of a former state of things. The
parochial church is situated at the village of Ken-
more, at the north-east extremity of the parish ;
but this disadvantage is now counterbalanced by
the establishment of various subsidiary places of
worship in different parts of the district With
the exception of the banks of the lake, where
the crofters have their little patches of potato
ground and their humble clay-built cottages, the

parish is generally mountainous ; Ben Lawers,
which is 4015 feet high, rises on the north-
east side of the loch. The waters of Loch
Tay seldom or never freeze, and it is remark-
able that they are occasionally liable to strong
agitations, which only can be accounted for on
the supposition that they are connected with
earthquakes in other parts of the world.
The loch abounds in salmon and other fish.
The clean, elegant village of Kenmore, with
its church, its inn, and its few white cottages,
occupies a lovely eminence at the north-east
end of the loch, close by the point where it
opens into a river. Over that river is thrown
a handsome bridge of three arches. Ken-
more ranks unquestionably as among the most
beautiful villages in Scotland ; a kind of ob-
ject, it must be confessed, which Scotland does
not as yet possess in great numbers, while it
is decidedly one of the most remarkable fea-
tures of the sister kingdom. It is a favourite
point in a tour to the Highlands, and hence is
much visited in summer. In the fine alluvial
vale below the village, are the park and castle
of Taymouth, the seat of the Earl of Bread-
albane. The original name of this place was
Balloch, from its situation at the bottom of a
lake. It became the property of the Bread-
albane branch of the Argyle family in the six-
teenth century, ere it was as yet ennobled.
Sir Colin Campbell, ancestor of the earls, built
the castle in 1580. Within the last few years,
the Earl of Breadalbane has improved the ori-
ginal narrow residence of his fathers into a
splendid modern castellated mansion, consist-
ing of one huge square tower, with turrets at
the corners, after the fashion of Inverlochy,
together with several additional portions of
less altitude, but equally beautiful architecture.
The varied turretted outline of the building ren-
ders it one of the most pleasing architectural
objects in the whole kingdom. The park,
which spreads away around the house till it
meets the fine wooded hills which rise on
all sides except towards the lake, is laid out
in admirable taste, and has few equals in
beauty. Within Taymouth castle is a large
collection of portraits of the principal person-
ages of the reign of Charles I., painted by
the Scottish Vandyke, Jamieson of Aber-
deen ; in addition to which, are many fine
miscellaneous pictures and portraits, rendering
" the Breadalbane gallery" one of the best in
Scotland. At the opposite extremity of Loch
4k

613

KERERA.

Tay, near the village of Killin, is a little is-
land, whereon Alexander I. founded a small
priory, in 1 122 ; it was dependent on the abbey
of Scone. Sybilla, consort of Alexander I.,
was buried there. The Earl of Breadalbane
has, by his charters, liberty to fish for salmon
upon Loch Tay at all seasons, without any
regard to statutory restriction. The privilege,
it is said, was intended for supplying the nuns,
who lived in this convent with fish. — Popula-
tion in 1821, 3347.

KENNET, otherwise NEW KENNET,
a neat small village, of modern growth, in the
parish and county of Clackmannan, in the pro-
prietary of the family of Bruce of Kennet — a
seat in the vicinity. About a mile south from
thence, at a place on the coast of the Firth of
Forth called Kennet- Pans, there has long been
a considerable distillery.

KENNOWA Y, a parish in the county of
Fife, extending from north to south about four
miles, by nearly an equal breadth at the widest
part, bounded on the north by Kettle, on the
east by Scoonie, on the south by part of
Wemyss and Markinch, and on the west alto-
gether by Markinch. The whole parish lies
with a pleasing exposure to the south, and is in
the present day nearly altogether under the
most productive tillage or thriving plantations,
and is well enclosed. The village of Ken-
noway, situated twelve miles north-east of
Kinghorn, and eight south-west of Cupar, is
built along the top of a Yery beautiful and ro-
mantic den, the sides of which are steep and
rocky, and contain some caves. Besides the
parish church there is a meeting-house of the
United Associate Synod. The inhabitants
are chiefly employed as linen weavers ; the
place has two annual fairs. Population of the
parish and village in 1821, 1649.

KERERA or KERRERA, an island
belonging to Argyleshire, in the Sound of
Mull opposite Oban, at the distance of five
miles from Mull, and one from the mainland,
on which Oban is situated. Kerera measures
four miles in length by two in breadth ; " but,"
says an intelligent traveller who visited it,
" excepting on its shores, it has no features of
any kind to attract attention, unless it be the
inequality and confusion of the surface, which
is extreme. Not only is there nothing like
level ground, but the hilly parts are so steep
and frequent, the valleys so deep, and the
whole so intermixed, that the toil of walking
26.

over it is incredible. Its want of beauty is
however much recompensed by the noble pros -
pects which it affords of the bay of Oban, and
of that magnificent range of mountains which
encloses the Linnhe Loch, with all the islands
that are scattered about its variegated sea. The
southern shore of the island affords one very
wild and picturesque scene, of which Gylen
Castle proves the chief object. On the mar-
gin of a high cliff impending over the sea is
perched this tall grey tower ; the whole bay,
rude with rocks and cliffs, presenting no traces
of land or of verdure ; appearing as if it had,
for uncounted ages, braved the fury of the waves
that break in from over the whole breadth of
the inlet and far out to sea. A scene more
savage and desolate, and more in character
with the deserted and melancholy air of this
solitary dwelling, that seems to shun all the
haunts of man, is not easily conceived. This
castle must have belonged to the Macdougalls,
as it is of a date at least equal to Dunolly, and
to the times when this family were lords of
Lorn. It was in Kerera that Alexander II.
died, (July 8, 1249,) when preparing to invade
the western islands, then under the supreme
dominion of Norway and of Haco. The tale
has something of the superstition of the times,
when there was a solution for every dream in
its being a warning from the land of shadows.
As his majesty lay in his bed, there appeared
to him three men ; one of them dressed in royal
garments, with a red face, squinting eyes, and
a terrible aspect, the second being very young
and beautiful with a costly dress, and a third
of a larger stature than either, and of a still
fiercer countenance than the first. The last
personage demanded of him whether he meant
to subdue the islands, and on receiving his
assent, advised him to return home ; which
warning he having neglected, died. The three
persons were supposed to be St. Olave, St.
Magnus, and St. Columba ; although what in-
terest the latter could have in taking part with
the two Norwegian saints, does not appear ; as
the piratical invaders of that country had been
early and bitter enemies to his monastery.
There is a short ferry from this island, though
an indirect one, to Oban, constituting a part of
the greater ferry to Mull, and therefore well
known to all tourists."

KERSHOPE BURN, a rivulet belong-
ing equally to England and Scotland, rising in
the heights on the east side of the parish of

KILBAHCHAN.

619

Castletown, Roxburghshire, and running a
course of about eight miles, forms, from head
to foot, with very small exceptions, the bound-
ary of the two kingdoms. It falls into the
Liddel about four miles below the village of
Castletown, and abounds in trout of an excel-
lent quality.

KE T, a rivulet in Wigtonshire, which pass-
ing Whithorn, falls into the sea at the bay
termed Port Yarrock.

KETTINS, a parish in the south-west
corner of Forfarshire, extending three miles
and a half in breadth from east to west, and
four miles and a half in length, bounded on the
east by Newtyle and Lundie, and on the
west by Cupar- Angus in Perthshire. The dis-
trict has a pleasant exposure to the valley of
Strathmore, on the northern descent of the Sid-
law hills ; the greater part is now well culti-
vated, enclosed, and embellished with planta-
tions. It possesses several fine seats and some
villages, that of Kettins being the largest. It
has also some bleachfields. The road from
Perth to Forfar passes through the parish. The
church of Kettins, prior to the Reformation,
belonged to the ministry of the Red Friars at
Peebles,— Population in 1821, 1215.

KETTLE, a parish in the county of Fife,
extending nearly eight miles from north-west
to south-east, by a breadth of about three
miles and a half in the middle part, bounded
by Falkland on the west, Markinch, Kenno-
way, and Scoonie on the south, Cults on the
east, and by Collessie on the north. The pa-
rish forms a large portion of that rich and
beautiful territory on the north side of the
Howe of Fife, and, whatever was its original
condition, it is now under.an excellent system
of cultivation. The small river Eden, with a
slight exception, bounds the district on its
northern side, and in this quarter the land is
still moorish. The parish contains two vil-
lages, styled Kettle and Hole-Kettle ; the
latter is of small size, and lies on the main
road through Fife to Cupar. Kettle, the ca-
pital of the parish, is situated away from all
thoroughfare, in the lower ground, about a mile
to the north-west, at the distance of 6 J miles
south-west from Cupar. It is inhabited chiefly
by weavers, and besides the church has a Relief
meeting-house. The strange name of Kettle
is of very obscure etymology, and all that can
be said of it is, that anciently it was called
Katul ; in common phraseology it is invariably

entitled the Kettle. At one period the pa-
rish was denominated King's Kettle, from be-
ing the property of the crown. — Population of
the parish, in 1821, 2046.

KIL, or KILL. When names of places
begin with this adjunct, it is generally import-
ed that the place was originally the cell or her-
mitage of a saint, whose name is frequently
found forming the second half of the appella-
tion. In the Highland districts, Kil as often
implies a burial-place.

KILARROW See Killarrow.

KILBAGIE, a place in the parish and
county of Clackmannan, celebrated for the
whisky which has been long manufactured at
its extensive distillery. We feel inclined to
suggest that it must have anciently been the
spot on which stood the cell or residence of
St. Bega, a pious virgin, who flourished in
Scotland in an early age, and for a notice of
whose life, Camerarius refers to the history of
the Sinclairs and others.

KILBARCHAN, a parish in Renfrew-
shire, lying like a peninsula betwixt the river
Gryfe (which separates it from Houston) on
the north, and the Black Cart (which separates
it from the Abbey parish of Paisley) on the
south-east. Lochwinnoch chiefly bounds it
on the south. It extends between six and se-
ven miles in length, by a breadth of nearly
four at the widest end. In the quarter near
the junction of the above rivers, the land is of a
mossy nature ; in other places, the parish has
undergone various improvements as to cultiva-
tion and planting. The parish contains some
remains of antiquity, but they do not appear
to be of much interest. It appears that John
Knox, the Scottish reformer, was descended
from a very ancient family in the parish, his
ancestors having been originally proprietors of
the lands of Knock, in the parish of Renfrew,
from whence they assumed the surname of
Knocks or Knock. They afterwards obtain,
ed the lands of Craigends and Ranfurly in this
parish. The family failed in the person of
Mr. Andrew Knox, a clergyman of the mode-
rate party in the reign of James VI., who
gave him the bishopric of the Isles, and after-
wards the see of Rapboe in Ireland. The
Sempills of Belltrees, a family in which poeti-
cal talent was long hereditary, were also at
one time distinguished proprietors in the pa-
rish. Besides the large village of Kilbarchan,
the parish contains the thriving village of the

620

KILBARCHAN.

Bridge of Weir, which is situated on the
Gryfe, two miles north-west from Kilbarchan,
and about a mile from Houston. The Bridge,
or Brig' o' Weir, originated in 1790 as a seat
for a cotton manufactory, and it has now four
considerable cotton mills moved by the water
of the Gryfe, besides a tany ard. The inhabitants
are supposed to be about 1000 in number, and
are said to be sober and industrious. The
village has a dissenting meeting-house.

Kilbarchan, a considerable village or town
in the above parish, at the distance of four
miles from Lochwinnoch, one mile and a half
from Johnstone, five and a half from Paisley,
and thirteen from Glasgow. It is delightfully
situated on a southern declivity, sheltered on
both sides by two large eminences rising to
the height of nearly 200 feet above the valley
in which the lower part of the town is built.
Of these eminences, the one on the east side
of the village is mostly within the policies of
Milliken, and is tastefully adorned with fruit-
trees. From a quarry of excellent freestone,
on the west side of this hill, almost contigu-
ous to the village, the houses are mostly built.
The other eminence, which is called Bank-
brae, is partly within the policies of Glentyan,
and is similarly embellished. Kilbarchan, ori-
ginally the settlement of an apostle of Christi-
anity in this part of the country, who ap-
pears to have been a foreigner, from not hav-
ing his name noticed by Camerarius, has been
long a place of great activity and trade. Linen
weaving was introduced by the establishment
of a large factory in 1739, but this branch of
trade has completely given way before the cot-
ton and silk manufacture, in which six hun-
dred looms were lately engaged. The inhabi-
tants, who are mostly weavers, are character-
ised by their ingenuity in different branches of
the trade ; and the young women are reputed
as being among the most expert in the art of
tambouring, embroidering, or making flowers
on fine muslin and silk. Two annual fairs
are held here, one on Lillia's day, the third
Tuesday of July, O. S., the other on Bar-
chan's day, the first Tuesday of December,
O. S., the last, which was formerly a cele-
brated fair for lint and tow, is now a noted
horse market. Kilbarchan possesses, besides
the parish church, a Relief Meeting-house, and
a Baptist Chapel. We are informed by our
authority, Fowler, that " there is a strong turn
for letters, antiquities, and natural history,

and especially a taste for poetry, among the
inhabitants : many of them write good verses ;
and some of them are acquainted with the
learned languages." Perhaps such poetical
qualifications might be traced to the example
given to the people by the above-mentioned
Sempills, one of whom, Robert Sempill, son
of Sir James, the ambassador to England in
1599, was the author of " the Life and Death
of the Piper of Kilbarchan," a poem which
has enjoyed its full share of celebrity, though
now valuable merely as being the first of that
popular race of hobbling elegies in which Scot-
tish poets have taken such great delight, and
which Burns carried to a state of perfection.
Francis, the son of this poet, a zealous par-
tizan of the Stuart family, exercised the poeti-
cal talent of his own in panegyrics on James
VII., addresses on the births of his children,
and satires aimed at the Whigs. If these have
little merit, his " Punishment of Poverty," and
his well-known songs entitled " Maggie Lauder,"
and " She rose and loot me in," display no mean
poetical genius. Habbie Simson, the piper so
honourably alluded to in the former of these
songs, it seems, was the town-piper of Kilbar-
chan, and a personage of whom the inhabitants,
from his notoriety, have had occasion to be
proud. With that taste for popular antiquities
which is noticed above, and which is now insen-
sibly creeping upon people in authority, a statue
of Habbie, copied from an original picture, has
lately been affixed to the steeple of the school-
house of the town. Kilbarchan is placed under
a committee of town-management, with justices
of peace resident in the neighbourhood ; the
inhabitants have formed themselves into a va-
riety of Friendly Societies ; a society for mu-
tual protection against loss by fire ; a Curlers
society; and the Kilbarchan and Neighbour-
hood Agricultural Society, which has stated
shows of cattle, when premiums are awarded.
There is also a mason lodge in the town ;
and there are two public libraries, containing
several thousand volumes — Population of
the parish, including the villages, in 1821,
4213.

KILBERRY, a parish in Argyleshire,
united to Kilcalmonell. — See Kilcalmonell.

KILBIRNY, a parish in the district of
Cunningham, Ayrshire, bounded on the north
by Largs, on the east by Lochwinnoch, on the
south by Beith, and on the west by D;dry. The
surface is uneven, and though at one time

K ILB1A ND O N.

621

moorish to a considerable extent, is now under
improvements, and in the lower parts adjacent
to the Garnock water, is ornamented with
plantations, and well enclosed. The Gar-
nock, in its upper part, is the only river
of any consequence, and intersects the parish.
On its banks stands the village of Kilbirny,
inhabited chiefly by weavers. Kilbirny House,
a very ancient settlement of the Crawford
family, situated amidst pleasant parks and
plantations, is situated in the vicinity. At
the distance of less than a mile east from
the village lies the Loch of Kilbirny, which
extends about two miles in length by half a
mile in breadth, and is well stored with
pikes, perch, trout, and eel. — Population in
1821, 1333.

KILBRANDON, a parish in Argyleshire,
lying on the Sound of Mull, incorporating the
abrogated parish of Kilchattan, and owning the
islands of Luing, Seil, Shuna, Forsa, and Eas-
dale. The total length of the united parish is
ten miles, by a breadth of six, including the
narrow sounds intersecting the islands. The
greater part is of the usual hilly and pastoral
character of Argyleshire, with some arable
land. Kilbrandon appears to derive its name
from having been a cell of St. Brandan, one of
those early apostles of Christianity, whose
names are found in so many of the local ap-
pellations throughout Scotland, and who was
a holy man of such distinction, that the people
of Bute, over which island he peculiarly pre-
sided, were frequently called by the epithet
of Brandanes. We translate an account of
St. Brandan from Camerarius : — " Saint Bran-
dan, abbot and apostle of the Orkneys and
Scottish isxes, who, when a boy, stuck close to
the side of that erudite man, Bishop Hercus,
from whom he derived the elements of learn-
ing. His father was Finlag : his mother was
called Cara. She one night dreamt that her
lap was filled full of gold, that her breasts took
fire, and shone with a great light ; which hav-
ing told to her husband, he immediately relat-
ed the case to Bishop Hercus, who, under-
standing the mysterious dream, said, ' Finlag,
your wife shall bring forth a son, in power very
great, in holiness very illustrious ; wherefore
I request that you will bring him to me to be
nursed.' This was done, and, as we said, he ad-
hered to the instructions of this holy bishop. One
St. Peter's day, St. Brandan, seeing an immense
multitude of fishes, commanded them to praise

God, whereupon they leapt out of the water,
and began to tune their voices. At another
time, being brought to the grave of a young
man, whose parents and friends were lament-
ing him bitterly, the holy man, full of piety
and faith, commanded him who was dead to
become again alive, and the order was obeyed.''
St. Brandan appears to have lived in the sixth
century. — Population of Kilbrandon in 1821,
1492, and of Kilchattan, 1152.

KILBRANNAN SOUND, an arm of
the sea, between the peninsula of Cantire, and
the isle of Arran ; and which most probably
derives its name from the saint noticed in the
above article.

KILBRIDE, a parish in Argyleshire,

united to Kilmore See Kilmore.

KILBRIDE, a parish in the county of
Bute, isle of Arran, being about one half of
the island, on the east side, extending eighteen
miles in length, by a breadth of from four to
six. On the east side of the parish are Brodick
Bay and Lamlash Bay ; Holy Island, which
belongs to this parochial division, lying in the
latter. Goatfield, and the other exceedingly
high mountains of Arran, are within the
parish. This parish and the places beneath
of the same name are understood to have
derived their title from St. Bride or Bridget,
a pious virgin, who is said to have been coeval
with King Congalus, and who, after a life of
great piety, died and was buried at Abernethy,
in the lower part of Strathearn, having wrought
a great variety of miracles, both before and
long after her death. The fame of this saint-
ed Scottish female seems to have been ex-
tended over the whole of Britain. — Popula-
tion in 1821,2714.

KILBRIDE, (EAST) a parish on the
west side of Lanarkshire, extending nearly
ten miles in length by from two to five in
breadth, bounded by Carmunnock and Cam-
buslang on the north, Blantyre and Glassford
on the east, Strathaven on the south, and
Ayrshire on the west. It comprehends the
abrogated parish of Torrance. A considerable
portion remains in a moorish state, especially
in the southern quarter of the parish, while
the other parts are generally arable. In the
parish are some extensive lime works. The
village of Kilbride lies on the road from Glas-
gow to Muirkirk, eight miles south-south-east
of the former, eight north of Strathaven, and
six south west of Hamilton. Its inhabitants

622

KILCONQUHAR.

are chiefly weavers, and, besides the parish
kirk, it has a relief meeting house. The parish
has produced several eminent men, among
whom are found Dr. William Hunter, and his
brother, Mr. John Hunter, the celebrated ana-
tomist and physiologist. — Population of the
village and parish in 1821, 3685.

KILBRIDE, (WEST) a parish in the
district of Cunningham, Ayrshire, lying on the
shore of the Firth of Clyde, opposite the Cum-
bray Islands, and bounded by Largs on the
north ; Kilbirny and Dairy on the east, and
Ardrossan on the south. In extent it stretches
six miles along the shore by a breadth inland
of from two to three miles. The whole is
part of a mountainous tract of country, which,
commencing at its southern boundary, extends
all the way to Greenock. It, therefore,
presents everywhere a broken, unequal sur-
face, rising in many places into high hills,
interspersed with a number of romantic rivu-
lets. From the tops of these hills an exten-
sive and varied view may be obtained. A
great part of the parish is pastoral. The dis-
trict, besides possessing the ruins of some old
castles, has other objects of antiquity, and it
may be remarked that near the shore of the
parish one of the largest of the vessels com-
posing the Spanish armada sunk in ten fa-
thoms water. An attempt was made about
eighty years since to examine the condition
of this ship, and the operation succeeded so
far, that a piece of ordnance was raised.
The village of Kilbride is situated about four
miles north-west from Ardrossan. —Popula-
tion in 1821, 1371.

KILBUCHO, a parish in the county of
Peebles on its western side, now incorporated
with the adjoining parish of Broughton. It
is a pleasing pastoral district ; and its name
has been traced to St. Bega, a Scottish saint
of early times, noticed above under the head of
Kilbagie.

KIL C ALMONELL, a parish in the coun-
ty of Ajgyle, incorporating the abrogated pa-
rish of Kilberry, situated in the most norther-
ly part of the peninsula of Cantire, and bounded
on the north by the isthmus of Tarbert. For
a short distance, it comprehends the whole
breadth of the peninsula, from Loch Tarbert
on the west to Loch Fyne on the east, till
separated from the latter by the narrow but
long parish of Skipness, whose northern ex-
tremity once formed a part of Kilcalmonell.

On the west, the parish stretches twelve miles
along the shore. The face of the country has
the greatest variety in its appearance, consist-
ing of flats and hills, vallies, woods and lakes.
The original character of the district has been
considerably altered by improvements in cul-
tivation, planting, &c, especially on the west
coast — Population in 1821, 2511.

KIL CH ATT AN.— See Kh-brandon.

KILCHOMAN, a parish in the island of
Islay, Argyleshire, extending twenty miles in
length by six in breadth, and occupying the
south-western corner of the island. The ge-
neral description given of Islay under that
head precludes the necessity of specifying the
peculiarities of this district. — Population in
1821, 3966.

KILCHRENAN, a parish in Argyleshire
incorporating the abrogated parish of Dalavich,
extending twelve miles in length by eight in
breadth, and lying on both sides of Loch Awe.
The parish kirk stands on the west side of this
beautiful lake, whose vicinity is now finely
embellished and improved by a road along its
banks. — Population in 1821, 591.

KILCHRIST.— See Urray.

KILCONQUHAR, a parish in the east
part of Fife, extending, in an oblong form, al-
most seven miles from north to south, and about
five from east to west at the broadest, but more
generally about two miles. It is bounded on
the south by the Firth of Forth and the parish
of Elie, on the east by the parishes of St.
Monance, Carnbee, and Cameron, on the north
by Ceres, and on the west by the parishes of
Largo and Newburn. Its surface is somewhat
irregular, being flat in the south for a mile and a
half from the sea, and rising gently to the north
for about two miles ; the rest being all of an
upland character. The flat part to the south
is a sandy soil and very fertile. There are a
number of elegant seats in this parish ; Bal-
carras, the seat of the Hon. Mr. Lindsay, and
from which the family of that gentleman takes
the title of Earl of Balcarras, Kilconquhar,
the seat of Mr. Bethune, Newton, Lathallan,
Kincraig, and Grange. The royal burgh of
Earlsferry, and the villages of Colinsburgh,
Kilconquhar, and Barnyards are in the parish.
The village of Kilconquhar has an extensive
tanwork, besides which there are a number of
shoemakers and weavers. For some particu-
lars regarding the neighbourhood of Earlsferry,
see that article. Kilconquhar Loch is a fine

KILDA (ST.;

623

sheet of water, three quarters of a mile in
length, and nearly the same in breadth, with
two small islands, which harbour a few swans.
Coal and limestone are found in the parish.
Besides the parish church at Kilconquhar,
which is a remarkably elegant modern structure,
with a fine tower, there is a dissenting meeting-
house at the village of Colinsburgh. Kilcon-
quhar might be supposed to imply the cell or re-
ligious place of some holy man of the name of
Conquhar; and such is the etymology suggested
by the writer of the Statistical Account. The
ordinary name it bears is Kinnuchar, which is a
word so different from the above that we consi-
der the one to have no relation to the other ;
believing rather that Kinnuchar is of Celtic
etymology, and is significant of the character of

the locale Population in 1821, 2317.

KILDA (ST.), or HIRTA, a solitary isle
in the Atlantic Ocean, belonging to the range
of the Hebrides, though removed to such a
distance, as not only to seem distinct from
them, but from Scotland itself. The nearest
land to it is Harris, from which it is distant
sixty miles in a west-south-west direction ; and
it is about 140 miles from the nearest point of
the mainland of Scotland. It belongs to the
parish of South Uist, one of the district
of the Long Island. It is about three miles
long, from east to west, and two broad, from
north to south. An island so solitary and re-
mote, so small, and containing such a slender
population, naturally excites a lively interest,
and we shall therefore treat it more at large
than some districts of greater political import-
ance. The island consists of a lofty uneven
ridge, fenced round on all sides by one conti-
nued perpendicular face of rock, of prodigious
height, except a part of the bay or landing-
place, and even there the rocks are of great
height ; and the narrow passage to the top is
so steep that a few men with stones could pre-
vent any hostile multitude from landing on the
island. The bay is also of difficult access, as
the tides and waves are so impetuous, that
unless in a calm, it is extremely dangerous of
approach. The surface of the island is rocky,
rising into four eminences, the tallest of which,
called Conachan, is ascertained by Dr. Mac-
culloch to be 1380 feet above the level of the
sea. The general surface of the ground is a
black loam, six or eight inches deep, and pre-
sents a nearly uniform, smooth, and green sur-
face. Excepting some imperfect peat on the

highest point, the whole i3 covered by a thick
turf of the finest and freshest verdure. The
sides of the island go sheer down to the sea,
as at the Bass in the Firth of Forth, and thus
there is clear riding ground for vessels all round
The hill Conachan is cut down abruptly on
one side into a steep-down precipice of about
1300 feet high, being thus perhaps the highest
cliff in Britain. " It is a dizzy altitude," says
Macculloch, " to the spectator who looks from
above on the inaudible waves dashing below.
There are some rocky points near the bottom
of this precipice, one of them presenting a
magnificent natural arch, which in any other
situation, would be striking, but are here lost
in the overpowering vicinity of the cliffs that
tower above them. In proceeding, these soon
become low ; but at the north-western extre-
mity, the island again rises into a hill nearly
as high as Conachan, terminating all round
towards the sea by formidable precipices,
which are continued nearly to the south-east-
ern point of the bay. Here, a rock, separat-
ed by a fissure from the island, displays the
remains of an ancient work ; whence it has
derived the name of Dune. The island
contains three principal springs, of which,
one called Tober-nam-buy, rises by a large
well, producing at once a considerable stream.
Of St. Kilda, who communicated his name to
the island, nothing seems to be ascertained.
At least I have searched the Irish hagiology
for him in vain. In Martin's time (1690)
it appears to have been known by the name of
Hirt or Hirta, a term derived from the parent
of Terra by the same inversion as our own
earth. It is a remarkable instance of the zeal
or influence of the early clergy, that in a spot
like this three chapels should have existed.
They were extant in Martin's time, and the
traces of two still remain." St. Kilda is the
property of the chief, or laird of Macleod, and
the island was formerly visited annually by his
steward, to collect the rents, which used to be
paid in sheep, butter, and wild fowl, particu-
larly the solan geese. The property is now
under the supervision of a tacksman, which
must have occasioned a considerable change
in that particular. The people who, in Mar-
tin's time, amounted to 180 persons, and in
1764 were reduced by an attack of small pox
to 88, are at present a little above 100. They
are evidently the same race with the natives of
the other Hebrides j but, though the Gaelic is

624

KILD A (ST.)

the vernacular language, they show no trace of
tartan, or of that distinct fashion of clothes
which is peculiar to the Highlands. They
all live in a small village ahout a quarter of a
mile from the bay, on the south-east, consist-
ing of two rows of houses, with a pavement
in the middle, and their habitations are nearly
flat in the roof, like those of the Oriental na-
tions, in order to avoid injury from the storms
which sweep over the island. Excepting a
small tract near the village, the whole island
is in pasture, though the soil would admit of
cultivation to any extent. But the violence of
the west winds limits the agriculture to the
south-east declivity where there is most shel-
ter. This tract is held conjointly by all the
village, on the system of run-rig, the ridges be-
ing interchanged after three years, and the
work is performed by the spade and caschrom,
or hand-plough. The produce consists chiefly
of bear, as in the Long Isle, which is said to be
the finest in the Highlands. The oats are
very inferior in quality, and are scantily cul-
tivated ; nor are potatoes grown to nearly the
extent which is usual in Highland farming.
There is nowhere any attempt at a garden.
A few horses are kept for the purpose of carry-
ing peat, together with some goats, which are
milked like sheep. But the pasture is princi-
pally allotted to sheep and black cattle. In
Martin's time the former amounted to about
1000, and the latter to 90; a tolerable mea-
sure, probably, of their present proportion.
As the adjacent islets of Soa and Borera con-
tain also from 400 to 500 sheep each, the
whole amount of the flocks must be about
2000. The breed of sheep is exclusively the
Norwegian, distinguished by the extreme
shortness of their tails — and the wool is both
thin and coarse. They are occasionally of a
dun colour, and are subject here, as in Ice-
land, to produce an additional number of horns.
The mutton is peculiarly delicate and high-
flavoured. The cattle are small, and both the
ewes and the cows are milked. The cheese,
which is made of a mixture of these milks; is
much esteemed ; forming one of the prevail-
ing articles of export to the Long Island, the
mart in which all their little commerce centres.
Their other exports consist of wool and fea-
thers, and with these they purchase the few
articles of dress and furniture which they re-
quire. The St. Kilda system of husbandry is
quite original and peculiar. The soil, though

naturally poor, is rendered extremely fertile by
the singular industiy of the inhabitants, who
manure their fields so as to convert them into
a sort of garden. All the instruments they
use, or indeed require, according to their sys-
tem, are a spade, a mallet, and a rake or har-
row. After turning up the ground with the
spade, they rake it very carefully, removing
every small stone, every noxious root or growing
weed that falls in their way, and with the
mallet pound down every stiff clod to dust.
They then manure it with a rich compost pre-
pared in the manner afterwards to be describ-
ed. It is certain that a small number of acres,
prepared in this manner, must yield a greater
return than a much greater poorly cultivated,
as in the other isles. The inhabitants of St.
Kilda sow and reap much earlier than others
in the same latitude. The heat of the sun,
reflected from the high hills upon the culti-
vated lands to the south-east, is very great,
and the climate being rainy, from the attrac-
tion which the hills exercise upon the clouds
from the Atlantic, the com grows fast and
ripens early. The harvest is commonly over
before September; and if it unfortunately
happens otherwise, the whole crop is liable to
be destroyed by the equinoctial storms, which,
in this island, are generally attended with
the most dreadful hurricanes and excessive
rains. Potatoes have been lately introduced,
and cabbages and other garden-plants are now
beginning to be used. The walls of the cot-
tages are built of coarse freestone, without
lime or mortar, but made solid by alternate
layers of turf. The doors have bolts of wood,
which, we should think, are scarcely necessary
for security. In the middle of the walls are
the beds, formed also of stone, and overlaid
with large flag-stones, capable of containing
three persons, and having a small opening to-
wards the house. All their houses are divid-
ed into two apartments, the interior of which
is the habitation of the family; the other,
nearest the door receives the cattle during the
winter season. The walls of their houses are
raised to a greater height than the cottages in
the other western islands. This is done to
allow them to prepare the manure for their
fields, which they do in the following manner ;
after having burnt a considerable quantity of
dried turf, they spread the ashes, with the
greatest care, over the apartment in which
they eat and sleep; these ashes, so exactly

K I L D A (3 T.)

625

laid out, they cover with a rich vegetable
mould or Mack earth; and on this bed of
earth they scatter a proportionate quantity of
peat dust; this done, they water, tread, and
beat the compost into a hard flour, on which
they immediately kindle large fires, which they
never extinguish till they have a sufficient
quantity of new ashes on hand. The same
operations are punctually repeated, till they
are ready to sow their barley, by which time
the walls of their houses have sunk down, or
rather their floors have risen about four or five
feet. The manure thus produced is excellent, and
scattered every year over their fields causes the
land to yield large crops. They speak highly
in its praise, and call it a " commodity inesti-
mably precious." Though cleanliness is high-
ly conducive to health and longevity, yet, in
spite of the instance of indelicacy already giv-
en, and many more which might have been
added, the St. Kildians are as long-lived as
other men. Their total want of those articles
of luxury which destroy and enervate the con-
stitution, and their moderate exercise, keep
the balance of life equal between them and
those of a more civilized country. Besides
the habitations we have mentioned, there are a
number of cells or store-houses, scattered over
the whole island. These are spoken of by
Martin as pyramids, but are in reality of a co-
nical form. They are used for saving the
produce, — the peats, the corn, the hay, and
even the birds. They are described by Mac-
culloch as " round or oval domes, resembling
ovens, eight or ten feet in diameter, and five or
six feet in height. They are veiy ingeniously
built, by gradually diminishing the courses of
dry stone — affording free passage to the wind
at all sides, while the top is closed by heavy
stones, and further protected from rain by a
covering of turf. No attempt is made to dry
the grass or com out of doors ; but when cut
they are thrown loose into these buildings, and
thus secured from all risk. It is remarkable
that this practice should have been alluded to
by Solinus as common in the Western Islands,
and that it should now be entirely unknown
any where else. It is well worthy of being
imitated on the western shore, where the hay
and corn are often utterly lost, and generally
much damaged by the rains, and by the sloven-
ly method in which the process of harvest-
ing is managed. " It would be a heresy
worthy of Quemadero," continues this lively

writer, " to suppose it possible that Ar-
thur's Oven, the temple of the god Termi-
nus, the never-to-be-forgotten cause of anti-
quarian groans and remonstrance, had been
one of Solinus's ovens ; a St. Kilda barn.
Yet there is a most identical and unlucky re-
semblance between them, in construction, form,
and magnitude ; and, indeed, I have been long
inclined to think that this Otho was only a bad
halfpenny." The people of St. Kilda, placed
thus far " amid the melancholy main,'' are a
kind of moral phenomenon in our Scottish
population. They have probably maintain-
ed the same manners, customs, and general
style of life for centuries. It very seldom
happens that any one migrates either to or
from the island ; and hence, the community is
as essentially peculiar as any large nation liv-
ing within the pale of continental Europe.
Though it appears that there were three reli-
gious buildings on the island before the Re-
formation, the inhabitants continued for ages
after that event unsolaced by the blessings of
religion, being only connected with a parish
by name. They were also unable to read and
write. These disadvantages are now obviated
by the establishment of a missionary and a
schoolmaster, under the patronage of the So-
ciety for Propagating Christian Knowledge.
From the remoteness of the island, the people
can scarcely be imagined to have any political
connexion with Great Britain. They proba-
bly never heard of the revolution of 1688 till
this blessed hour. After the suppression of the
insurrection of 1745, a rumour was propagated
that Prince Charles had sought refuge in St.
Kilda. General Campbell repaired to the
island with a large fleet, which no sooner ap-
proached, than the people fled to the caves and
the tops of mountains ; and it was not without
considerable difficulty that the general could
procure a hearing among them. His men
asked those whom they found, " what had be-
come of the Pretender?" to which they an-
swered, that " they had never heard of such a
person." It turned out that all they had heard
of the late troubles, by which the tranquillity of
the mainland was so effectually shaken, was,
that their laird (Macleod,) had been at war
with a woman a great way abroad, and that he
had got the better of her ! The land had been
in arms for King George, and they probably
supposed that if any other body was concerned
on that side, it must have been under him.
4l

626

KILDA (ST.)

Clarke, who visited the island, gives an ac-
count of the terror which had been inflicted
upon them by a French privateer ; and Dr.
Macculloch relates that though he visited the
island in 1815, the people not having heard of
the conclusion of the recent American war,
thought his vessel a privateer from that quar-
ter, and were with difficulty assured of the con-
trary. A writer of the last century gives an
account of a native of St. Kilda, who could
conceive, though not write poetry ; and some
specimens of his genius, which have been pre-
served, are certainly found to throw the ideas
that might be expected to enter an untutored
mind amidst such a scene, into very poetical
forms. But this person must have been a rare
wonder in St. Kilda. The people live much
upon the wild sea- fowl, with which the preci-
pices abound, and their mode of catching them
is very entertaining. The men are divided
into fowling parties, each of which generally
consists of four persons, distinguished for their
agility and skill. Each party must have at
least one rope, about thirty fathoms long, made
out of a strong raw cow-hide, salted for the
purpose, and cut circularly into three thongs of
equal length. These thongs being closely
twisted together form a threefold cord, able to
sustain a great weight, and durable enough to
last two generations. To prevent its receiv-
ing injuries from the sharp edges of the rocks,
it is covered with sheep skins, dressed in the
same manner. This rope is the most valuable
piece of furniture a St. Kildian can be possess-
ed of : it makes the first article in the testa-
ment of a father, and if it falls to a daughter's
share, she is esteemed one of the best matches
of the island. By help of these ropes, the
people of the greatest prowess examine the
fronts of rocks of prodigious heights. Linked
together in couples, each having the end of the
cord fastened about his waist, they go down
and ascend the most dreadful precipices.
When one is in motion, the other plants him-
self in a stony shelf, and takes care to have so
sure a footing, that if his fellow-adventurer
makes a false step and tumble over, he may
be able to save him. When one has arrived
at a safe landing-place, he sets himself firmly,
while the other endeavours to follow. Mr.
Macaulay gives an instance of the dexterity of
the inhabitants in catching wild fowl, to which
he was an eye witness. One of them fixed
himself on a craggy shelf, his companion des-
'2 7.

cended about sixty feet below, and, having
darted himself away from the face of a most
alarming precipice, hanging over the ocean, he
began to play his gambols, sung merrily,
and laughed very heartily ; at last, having af-
forded all the entertainment he could, he re-
turned in triumph, full of his own merit, with
a large string of sea-fowls round his neck, and
a number of eggs in his bosom. Upwards of
20,000 solan geese are annually consumed by
the natives of St. Kilda, besides an immense
number of eggs. The following is from the
ever vivacious Macculloch. " Swift, in his
Tale of a Tub, describes a land of feathers,
and perhaps he drew the hint from St. Kilda.
The air here is full of feathered animals, the
sea is covered with them, the houses are orna-
mented by them, the ground is speckled by
them like a flowery meadow in May. The
town is paved with feathers, the very dung-
hills are made of feathers, the ploughed
land seems as if it had been sown with
feathers, and the inhabitants look as if they
had been all tarred and feathered, for their
hair is full of feathers, and their clothes
are covered with feathers. The women look
like feathered Mercuries, for their shoes are
made of a gannet's skin ; every thing smells
of feathers ; and the smell pursued us over
all the islands, for the Captain had a sack-
ful in the cabin." " The rent of St. Kilda,"
says this writer, in reference to the island
before the arrival of the tacksman, "was
then extremely low, compared with the ave-
rage of insular farms, being only L.40, or L.2
per family; a sum far inferior to the value
of the land, excluding all consideration of the
birds. Independently of the food which these
afford, that value is considerable, as the whole
of the rent was paid in feathers, not in money,
while a surplus of these also remained for
sale. Thus the land was in fact held rent
free ; the whole amount being also paid by a
small portion of that labour which was more
than compensated by the food it produced.
It is evident that this rent might have been
augmented without any refusal ; if, however,
St. Kilda chose to refuse payment and rebel,
it woidd not be easy to execute a warrant of
distress or ejectment without a fleet and an
army. All this may be pretty speculation for
an economist ; but I shall be sorry to find that
it has influenced the conduct of the proprietor.
When we have been saddened at every step

K I L D O N A N.

627

by the sight of irremediable poverty and dis-
tress in all its forms, it is delightful to find
one green place in this dreary world of islands,
where want is unknown. I trust that St.
Kilda may yet long continue the Eden of the
western ocean. It is in a state of real opulence.
Their arable land supplies the people with
corn, their woods with game, and their cattle
with milk. If this island is not the Utopia
so long sought, where is it to be found ? Where
is the land which has neither arms, money, law,
physic, politics, nor taxes ? That land is St.
Kilda. War may rage all around, provided it
be not with America, but the storm reaches it
not. Neither Times nor Courier disturbs its
judgments, nor do patriots, bursting with he-
roic rage, terrify it with contradictory anticipa-
tions of that ' which will ne'er come to pass.'
Francis Moore may prognosticate, but it
touches not St. Kilda. No tax-gatherer's bill
threatens on a church-door ; the game-laws
reach not gannets. Well may the pampered
native of the happy Hirta refuse to change his
situation. His slumbers are late, his labours
are light, and his occupation is his amusement,
6ince his sea-fowl constitute at once his food,
his luxury, his game, his wealth, and his bed
of down. Government he has not, law he feels
not, physic he wants not, money he sees not,
and war he hears not. His state is his city,
and his city is his social circle ; he has the li-
berty of his thoughts, his actions, and his king-
dom, and all his world are his equals. If hap-
piness be not a dweller in St. Kilda, where
shall it be sought ?"

KILDALTON, a parish in Islay, Argyle-
shire, occupying the south-east part of the is-
land, extending fifteen miles in length by about
six in breadth. Its ancient primitive character
has been greatly improved. The kirk of Kil-
dalton, now in a ruined state, is situated at
Ardmore point, a foreland at the centre of the
east side of the island, and the church in com-
mon use is at Lagamhuilin, some miles to the
southward, where there is a small village. —
Population in 1821, 2427.

KILDONAN, an extensive pastoral pa-
rish in Sutherlandshire, near its east side, se-
parated from the county of Caithness by the
mountain range terminating at the Ord of
Caithness, bounded by Loth on the south and
south east, Clyne on the south-west, and Farr
on the north. The centre part is the vale
through which flows the water of Helmsdale,

the lower part of which, wherein the church
stands, being wooded, and in the upper part
there is a variety of lakes, the sources of
the stream. The parish is computed to ex-
tend twenty miles in length, and though nar-
row in the lower part, widens out to a
breadth of eight miles. It contains some lofty
mountains. The population, as elsewhere in
this wild pastoral country, has prodigiously di-
minished. In 1755, there was a population of
1 433, which remained steady till within the
last twenty years, when by the too well-known
process of expulsion, it had sank to 565 in
1821. The vale of Kildonan before this ex-
patriation took place, was remarkable for pro-
ducing the tallest and handsomest men in Su-
therland. Among five hundred strapping fel-
lows whom this district boasted of containing,
scarcely one was found beneath six feet. They
seemed, in fact, a distinct race from the rest of
the dalesmen. It is affectionately remembered
of the Kildonan men, many of whom are now
over the Atlantic, that they were such hearty
fellows -as to be able even to sup whisky with
their porridge-

KILDRUMMY, a parish in the upper
parts of Aberdeenshire, intersected by the river
Don, about twenty miles from its source, and
having a valley of two or three miles square
on its banks, bounded by Kearn and Auchin-
doir on the east, and Towie and Cabrach on
the west. In the vale of the Don stands the
ruins of the once magnificent castle of Kil-
drummy, anciently the property of David, Earl
of Huntingdon and Garioch, and at one period
a seat of Robert Bruce, whose queen enjoyed
a retreat here in the winter of 1306. — Popu-
lation in 1821, 496.

KILFINAN, a parish in Cowal, Argyle-
shire, lying on the east side of Loch Fyne,
extending fifteen miles in length by from three
to six in breadth. The parish church stands on
the borders of the lake. The district is beau-
tified by a considerable extent of natural wood
and shrubs, and shows a variety of pleasing
improvements — Population in 1821, 1839.

KILFINICHEN and KILVICEUEN,
a united parish in Argyleshire, island of Mull,
of which it forms the south-western limb or
Ross, which is peninsulated by the projection
of Loch Seriden ; it has also a portion on the
north side of this salt-water lake. Its super-
ficies may be twenty- two miles in lengtl by
twelve in breadth. The district is bleak »rd

628

K I L L E A It N.

mountainous, and is only interesting as con-
nected with the early history of Christianity
in this part of Scotland. To the parish is
attached the island of Icolmkill, already suffi-
ciently described, Eorsa and Inch- Kenneth. —
Population in 1821, 1839.

KILL, a rivulet in Ayrshire, parish of Stair,
a tributary of the water of Ayr.

KILLALLAN.— See Houston.

KILLARROW, a parish in the island of
Islay, Argyleshire, occupying the central divi-
sion and incorporating the abrogated parish of
Kilmeny (in which is now a parliamentary
church. ) The appellation of Killarrow is now
almost sunk in the modern title of Bowmore,
from the name of the chief or only town, where
the parish church is situated. The parish ex-
tends about eighteen miles in length by eight
in breadth, and is of a hilly nature, but greatly
improved, particularly on the shores of Loch
Indal. On the east side of this arm of the
sea, stands Bowmore, a thriving small town
begun in 1768 on a regular plan. Besides the
church, which is a circular building with a neat
spire, there is an edifice of recent erection, con-
taining a jail and an assembly room. There
is likewise a large and excellent parochial
school, built and liberally endowed by Camp-
bell of Shawfield, a considerable proprietor in
the island. It stands on an eminence at a short
distance from the town, and commands a beau-
tiful prospect of the lake and Islay House, en-
vironed in plantations at its upper extremity.
In the school, the learned languages, mathe-
matics, geography, &c. are taught. Much to
the credit of the patroness of this useful insti-
tution, Lady Ellinor Campbell, she has award-
ed thirty elegant prizes for distribution at the
public examinations, and famishes books for
the poorer pupils. Bowmore has a good pier
for shipping at the harbour, with eight or nine
feet of water at ordinary full tides. Distilla-
tion is here carried on to a considerable extent.
At the village of Bridgend, about three miles
from Bowmore, a justice of peace court is
held. A road leads across the island from
near Bowmore to Port Askaig on the sound
of Jura, at which steam-boats touch Popula-
tion of the parish of Killarrow or Bowmore in
1821, 3777— of Kilmeny district, 2001.

KILLASAY, an islet of the Hebrides on
the west coast of Lewis.

KILLE AN and KILCHENZIE, a unit-
ed parish in Cantire, Argyleshire, extending

eighteen miles in length by about four in
breadth, bounded on the south by the parish
of Campbelton, on the north by Kilcalmonell,
on the. east by the united parish of Saddel and
Skipness, and on the west by the Atlantic
ocean. — Population in 1821, 3306.

KILLEARN, a parish in Stirlingshire of
an irregular figure, but in a general sense con-
sisting of a large portion of the south side of
the vale of the Endrick, and altogether mea-
suring twelve miles in length by two and a half
in breadth. It is bounded by Fintry on the
east, Strathblane on the south, Drymen on the
west, and Balfron on the north. The beauti-
ful, though small, river Endrick runs along
the greater part of its north side, and on its
banks and the adjacent district the land is
finely cultivated and wooded. The scenery is
justly esteemed as among the most picturesque
and charming in " sweet Innerdale." The
banks of the Blane, a tributary of the Endrick,
likewise possess much beauty. In proportion
as the land recedes from these waters, it rises
higher, and finally is elevated in a lofty hilly
range. The village of Killearn stands in the
centre of the district in a pleasant part of the
country, at the distance of 16f miles from
Glasgow, and 20 from Stirling. The parish
abounds in gentlemen's seats and pleasure-
grounds, and contains localities consecrated by
the birth or residence of men eminent in the
biography of Scotland. In its more secluded
recesses, Sir William Wallace is known to
have occasionally found a retreat ; and in a
much later age, Napier of Merchiston, inven-
tor of the logarithms, when he was making his
calculations, resided for some years at Gart-
ness, a place on the Endrick, to the west of
Killearn. The house in which this ingenious
man resided adjoined a mill erected on the wa-
ter ; and it is a tradition in these parts, that
the rushing of the cascade, though very noisy,
gave him no uneasiness, because of its non-in-
termission, but that the clack of the mill,
which was only occasional, greatly disturbed
his thoughts. He was, therefore, when in
deep study, sometimes under the necessity of
desiring the miller to stop the mill, that the
train of his ideas might not be interrupted.
" No spot in the parish, or perhaps in Scotland,"
writes the author of the Statistical Account,
" has a better claim to the attention of the pub-
lic, than the indisputable birth-place of George
Buchanan, the celebrated poet and histori-

KILLIECRANKIE.

620

i an. This great man, whose name is deserved
ly famous through Europe, was born at a
place called the Moss, a small farm-house on
the bank of the water of Blane, and about two
miles from the village of Killearn. The farm
was the property of George Buchanan's fa-
ther, and was for a long time possessed by the
name of Buchanan. The place is called the
Moss, because it is situated in the vicinity of a
peat-moss, which is part of the farm. The
dwelling-house, considered as a building, is
very far from being conspicuous ; although it
is no worse, and probably never was worse,
than the ordinary farm-houses in this part of
the country. Its appearance of meanness
arises from its being very low, and covered
with straw thatch. Part of it, however, has
been rebuilt, since George was born, in the

. year 1506. Mr. Finlay is highly to be
commended for preserving, as much as possi-
ble, the ancient construction and appearance
of this far-famed arid much-honoured house.
The most superb edifice would sink into ob-
livion when compared with the humble birth-
place of George Buchanan. Long may the
Moss of Killearn afford mankind a striking
proof that the Genius of learning does not al-
ways prefer the lofty abodes of the great and
powerful. It must, however, be remarked,
that the parents of Buchanan, although not
very opulent, yet were not in abject or indi-
gent circumstances. The farm, which con-
sists of a plough of land, was able, by the aid
of industry and economy, to keep them easy.
A place in the neighbourhood is, to this day,
called Heriot s Shiels, so denominated from
Buchanan's mother, whose name was Agnes
Heriot, and who first used that place for the
shielding of sheep. It is reported, that he re-
ceived the first rudiments of his education at
the public school of Killearn, which was for a
long time in great repute, and much frequent-
ed. He afterwards, by the liberal assistance
of his uncle George Heriot, after whom he
was named, went to Dumbarton, Paris, &c.
&c. to complete his studies. A considerable
number of old trees yet remain adjacent to the
house, and are reported to have been planted
by George when a boy. A mountain ash, fa-
mous for its age and size, was blown down a
few years ago ; but care is taken to preserve
two thriving shoots that have risen from the
old stool. The gentlemen of this parish and
neighbourhood, led by a laudable ambition to

contribute a testimony of respect to their
learned countryman, lately erected, by volun-
tary subscription, a beautiful monument to his
memory. By such public marks of approba-
tion bestowed upon good and great men, the
living may reap advantage from the dead.
Emulation is thereby excited, and the active
powers of the mind stimulated, by an ardour
to excel in whatever is praiseworthy. Bu-
chanan's monument is situated in the village
of Killearn, and commands an extensive
view. It is a well proportioned obelisk, 19
feet square at the basis, and reaching to the
height of 103 feet above the ground." — Popu-
lation in 1821, 1126.

KILLEARNAN, a parish in Ross-shire,
bounded on the west by Urray, on the north
by a range of common dividing it from Fer-
intosh, on the east by Kilmuir-wester and
Suddie, and on the south by the Firth of
Beauly, along which it is pleasantly situated.
Population in 1821, 1371.

KILLIECRANKIE, a noted pass in the
district of Athole, Perthshire, formed by a nar-
row vale or chasm, through which flows the tu-
multuous river Garry, a tributary of the Tay,
and which, moreover, forms part of the great ac-
cess to the Highlands between Perth and In-
verness. Previous to the general revival of the
Highland roads, this pass was the most wild
in appearance, and the most dangerous, in the
whole of the north of Scotland ; the road being
led along a narrow tract by the left bank of
the river, with a stupendous precipice rising
almost perpendicularly above it. Here, ac-
cording to the account given by one of the
present writers in a former work (History of
the Rebellion of 1689, Constable's Miscellany)
the bold dark hills which range along the vale
of the Garry on both sides, advance so near,
and start up with such perpendicular majesty,
that the eagles call to each other from their
various tops, and the shadow of the left range
lies in everlasting gloom upon the face of the
right. The road (now) passes along the brink
of a precipitous brae on the north-east side,
the bare, steep face of the hill rising above, and
the deep black water of the Garry tumbling
below, while the eye and the imagination are
impressed by the wilderness of dusky foliage
which clothes the opposite hills. This road,
formerly so difficult and dangerous, is now no
longer terrible, unless to an imagination unac-
customed to such wild scenes. The pass of

6G0

K I L L I N.

Killiecrankie, which extends two or three miles
in length, is remarkable as giving name to a
battle fought upon the rough ground at its
north-west extremity, July 27, 1689, between
the forces of General Mackay, commander of
the government troops for the protection of
the Revolution settlement, and the Highland-
ers, who assembled under Viscount Dundee,
in behalf of King James VII. The former be-
ing defeated, were driven back through the vale,
amidst whose tortuous and contracted recesses
great numbers were slain by the pursuing
Highlanders. On the other hand, the cause
of King James suffered more by the death of
Dundee, who was killed by a musket bullet
near Urrard House, while cheering on his men
to victory. So dreaded was the pass of Kil-
liecrankie by regular soldiers after this event,
that, in 1746, when the Hessian troops fur-
nished to this country to assist in the suppres-
sion of the insurrection, were brought to enter
the Highlands at this point, they started back
and returned to Perth, declaring it to be the
ne plus ultra of a civilized country.

KILLIN, a parish in the Highland district
of Breadalbane, Perthshire ; bounded generally
on the south by Balquhidder, on the east by
Kenmore, on the north by Fortingall, and parts
of Weem and Kenmore, and on the west by
Glenorchy in Argyleshire ; being in length
about twenty-eight miles, and from six to eight
in breadth. The parish consists chiefly of the
vale of the Dochart, which is the principal
feeder of Loch Tay ; and the church town,
called also Killin, is situated at the eastern
extremity of the parish, where that river falls
into the lake. Glendochart is, upon the whole,
an arid, moorish, and marshy valley, and does
not support a great population. The High-
land road from Stirling to Fort William passes
through it. The mountains on both sides rise
to a great height, the highest being the well
known Benmore. The name Killin, which
has extended from the town to the parish, sig-
nifies the cell or religious building at the wa-
terfall, an etymology justified by circumstances,
as in the very centre of the village the river
forms a series of beautiful, though gentle cas-
cades. A small eminence in the neighbour-
hood of the village is pointed out as the burial
place of the famed Highland hero Fingal. It
has been already noticed under Fillans (St.),
that that celebrated saint, who died in 649,
spent the latter part of his life and gave his

name to a vale in this parish (Strathfillan),
where a chapel and priory were afterwards
erected to his honour by Robert Bruce, who
gave the church of Killin to the Abbot of
Inchaffray, on condition that one of the canons
should always officiate in St. Fillan's chapel.
The king was induced to pay this respect to
St. Fillan, from gratitude for the hand, or ra-
ther the arm, which his reverence was suppos-
ed to have had in the battle of Bannockburn ;
such a relic of the saint having been present in
a box, and understood to be very powerful
in bringing about the victory. It would ap-
pear from these circumstances that Killin has
been a seat of population, and a scene of pub-
lic worship, from a very early period. At
present, the village is famed for the picturesque
beauty of its situation at the south-west end
of Loch Tay, and is therefore, like Kenmore,
from which it is distant sixteen miles, a fa-
vourite point in the tour of the central High-
lands. There is a good inn. Besides this
village, there is another called Clifton, in the
western part of the parish, which contains
about 200 inhabitants, chiefly employed in
working the lead mine of Cairndoom. — Popu-
lation of the whole parish in 1821, 2103.

KILMADAN, or KILMODAN, a pa-
rish in Cowal, Argyleshire, extending twelve
miles in length by one in breadth, consisting
chiefly of a vale bounded by hills on the west
and east. The parish of Kilfinnan lies on the
west, separating it from Loch Fyne. The
rivel Ruail pursues a southerly course through
the vale and falls into Loch Ridon. The ex-
tent of sea-coast is about three miles. The
small village of Kilmcdan is situated in the
vale of Ruail, on its left bank, and here an an-
nual meeting of the Cowal Agriculture Asso-
ciation takes place, on the last Wednesday of
September, with a show of cattle and sheep.
—Population in 1821, 731.

KILMADOCK, or DOUNE, an exten-
sive parish in the southern part of Perthshire,
district of Menteith, bounded by a detached
part of Strowan, united to Monivaird on the
north ; Dumblane, and part of Lecropt on the
east ; Kincardine and the Forth, which sepa-
rates it from Gargunnock and Kippen on the
south, and by a part of Kincardine and Callan-
der on the west. The Teith intersects the dis-
trict from the northwest to south-east. Alto-
gether the parish consists of a superficies of about
64 square miles. The original, and still legal,

KILMANV.

631

title of the parish, Kilmadock, is derived from
a locality in the district, once honoured by the
residence of St. Madock or Madocus ; but
this appellation has been gradually dropped
since 1756, when the old parish church being
removed, the seat of worship was transferred
to the village of Doune, where a new kirk
was erected. For a description of this thriv-
ing village, with the Castle of Doune, and the
scenery around them, we refer to the article
Doune. The parish of Kilmadock and part
of Kincardine parish on the south comprise a
series of most beautiful rural and woodland
scenes in the vale of the Teith, which is now
highly cultivated and enclosed. This part of
the country is populous, and has been enrich-
ed by being made the settlement of certain ex-
tensive cotton works at a place called Dean-
Eton, which lies on the west bank of the
Teith, opposite Doune. Adjacent to Doune
are the small villages of Buchany and Burn of
Cambus. — Population of the village of Doune
in 1821, nearly 1000, including the parish,
3150.

KILMAHOG, a small village in Perth-
shire, parish of Callander, situated on the left
bank of the Teith, about a mile west from the
village of Callander. Immediately to the west-
ward is the celebrated pass of Leny.

KILMALCOLM, a parish in the western
part of Renfrewshire, having Port- Glasgow
and the Clyde on the north, Erskine, Hous-
ton, and Kilbarchan on the east, Lochwinnoch
and part of Ayrshire on the south, and chiefly
Greenock on the west. This district, which
may be a square of six miles, is among the
most moorish and unpromising in the county,
a very great part of it in the south being a
waste called Kilmalcolm Moss. It is not
mountainous, though there are frequent risings
on the surface, and some parts of it are rocky.
The Gryfe and the Duchal, in their upper
parts, intersect and water the parish, and have
their banks cultivated, and in some places
planted. The village of Kilmalcolm is situat-
ed on the east side of the parish, on the road
from the Bridge of Weir to Port- Glasgow. —
Population in 1821, 1600.

KILMALIE, an extensive mountainous
parish in the West Highlands, partly belong-
ing to Argyleshire, but the greater proportion
to Inverness-shire, and being a part of the
country of Locheil. It is intersected in three
different places, by as many arms of the sea,

and, measuring by straight lines, is sixty miles
in length by thirty in breadth. Altogether,
its superficies will be nearly 600 square miles.
The chief indentation of the sea is Loch Eil,
into which falls the Caledonian Canal. Near
the junction of the latter with the Loch, and
on the northern side, stands the parish kirk.
On the other side of the canal and river is the
castle of Inverlochy, the military strength of
Fort- William, and the village of Maryburgh,
all described_in this work in their proper places.
Upon the banks of the rivers Lochy and Ne-
vis, and in several other places, there is a good
deal of arable land. — Popidation in 1821,5527.

KILMANIVAIG, an extensive pastoral
and mountainous parish in Inverness-shire,
lying to the east of the above parish of Kilma-
lie, having Fortingal on the south-east, Lag-
gan on the east, Glenelg and Kintail on the
north, and Boleskine on the north-east. Its
appearance is very much diversified by ranges
oflofty mountains towards the extremities, in-
tersected by extensive glens in different direc-
tions, and rapid rivers, which all discharge
themselves into the river Lochy. The Kirk-
toun of Kilmanivaig is situated at the south-
western extremity of Loch Lochy. The chief
natural curiosity of this district is the series of
parallel roads in the vale of Glenroy ; — see
Glenroy.— Population in 1821, 2842.

KILMANY, a parish in the county of
Fife, separated by Balmerino and Forgan
from the Tay, having Logie, Dairsie, and Cu-
par on the east and south, and Moonzie and
Criech on the west. In figure, the district is
very irregular, being six and a half miles in
length by five in breadth at the west end, and
tapering to two miles and less in the eastern
part. The parish is wholly agricultural and
highly productive. In modern times it has, in
many places, been much improved by planta-
tions, &c. The small village of Kilmany,
with its kirk placed in a romantic and beauti-
ful situation on the face of a bank rising from
a small stream, is situated on the old road from
Cupar to Dundee, about five miles north from
the former, and three and a half from the har-
bour of Balmerino on the Tay. Rather more
than a mile westward is the village of Rathil-
let, and near it is the house of Rathillet, the
ancient seat of the Hackston family, one of
whom obtained great distinction during the
troubles in Scotland betwixt the Restoration
and Revolution.— Population in 1821, 751. t

632

KILMARNOCK.

KILMARNOCK, a parish in the district
of Cunningham, Ayrshire, about nine miles
long and four broad, bounded by Loudon on
the east, by Fenwick and Stevvarton on the
north, by Kilmaurs upon the west, and by the
liver Inane, which divides it from Riccarton
and Galston, on the south. The surface is
level, or with only a slight declination towards
the Irvine, and the whole is in a state of the
highest cultivation. The name Kilmarnock,
or Cellmarnock, evidently denotes a religious
place originating in reference to St. Mar-
noch, a holy man who is said to have died so
early as 322, though it is hardly credible that
he could have lived here. The Duchess of
Portland, and the Marchioness of Hastings,
(Countess of Loudoun,) are the principal pro-
prietors of the parish. The most remarkable
object in the parish is the ruin of Dean
Castle, an ancient, extensive, and well defended
house, formerly the property of the Earls of
Kilmarnock. It stands in a dean or hollow,
less than a mile north from the town of Kil-
marnock, and is an august object. It was
burnt down in 1735, in consequence of the in-
attention of a servant girl, who, in preparing
some lint for spinning, unfortunately let it take
fire. There afterwards sprung up in one of
its ruined halls, a large ash-tree, which verified,
it was said, a prediction uttered in the time of
" the Persecution." Half a mile north-west
from the town is an extensive coal-field, whence
coal is driven for the works in Kilmarnock,
besides large supplies which are transmitted by
a rail- way to Troon, where they are shipped
for various places.

Kilmarnock, a town in the above pa-
rish— the principal one in Ayrshire, for po-
pulation, wealth, and appearance, though neither
a royal burgh nor the capital of the county.
This large and flourishing town is situated on
level ground near the debouche of the Kilmar-
nock water into the Irvine, distant from Edin-
burgh, (through Glasgow,) sixty-five and a- half
miles ; Glasgow, twenty-one and a-half ; Ayr,
twelve ; Irvine, six and a-half; Ballantrae, forty-
six; Girvan, thirty- two; Maybole, twenty-one;
Largs, twenty -eight ; and Mauchline, nine and
a-half. The aspect of the town is agreeable,
especially in its central parts, where the streets
are regular, and the greater part of the houses
are erected in an elegant style in freestone.
Recently the town has extended considerably
to the south and east, and in these directions

has now many handsome edifices. Two cen-
turies ago, Kilmarnock was a mere hamlet,
depending upon the baronial castle in its neigh-
bourhood. It received its first charter as a
burgh of barony in 1591, a second in 1672,
and in 1700, its magistrates were able to pur-
chase, from its feudal superiors, the whole com-
mon good and customs of the burgh. The five
incorporated trades which now exist in the
town, namely, the bonnet-makers, skinners,
tailors, shoemakers, and weavers, have all been
created -within the last two hundred years ; the
bonnet-makers, in 1646, being the first incor-
porated. For many years and generations, the
place seems to have been only distinguished
by the manufacture of the broad fiat bonnets,
which so long were the characteristic wear of
the Scottish lowland peasantry, as also the
striped cowls which yet bear the name of the
town. As this business increased, so grew the
population; and in 1731, the number had
swelled so much, that the parish church was
found inadequate for its accommodation, and a
new church was built- Some years later, ac-
cording to the Rev. Dr. Mackinlay, in his
Statistical Account of the parish, "the principal
trade was carried on by three or four individu-
als, who bought serges and other woollen arti-
cles from private manufacturers, and exported
them to Holland. When the demand after-
wards increased, a company was formed, who
erected a woollen factory for different branches
of that business, which has ever since continu-
ed in a very flourishing state. The shoe trade
was introduced about the same time." At the
time when this gentleman wrote (1791), the
proportion of the produce of the chief manu-
factures was as follows : —

Carpets manufactured, - L.21,400
Shoes and boots, - 21,216

Tanning, - - 9000

Gloves, - - 3000

Bonnets, night-caps, and mits, 1706

And the whole amount, including a variety of
different articles, was L.86,850. The advan-
tages of the place as a site of manufactures
were coal, healthiness of situation, a populous
country around, and abundance of provisions ;
the chief disadvantage the distance from the
sea, (six or seven miles,) -and the consequent
expense of land carriage. It would appear
that the former have been much too powerful
for the latter ; for Kilmarnock, since the date
of the above statement, has made prodigious

KILMARNOCK.

633

advances in business, in all its former branches
of manufacture. It is now a rival to Kid-
derminster in the manufacture of carpets ; the
number of firms in that line in 1826 being six.
It continues to enjoy its pre-eminence as a place
for making shoes, the number of professors
of this art in the same year amounting to
thirty-three. Since 1791, it has entered into
and carried on to a large extent, the cotton
manufacture ; the number of agents for the
management of that branch of employment in
1 826 was twenty. Shawls, gauzes, and mus-
lins of the finest texture and most elegant pat-
tern are here produced upon an extensive scale.
Bonnets and plaids, now that they have become
articles of fancy wear, are wrought in greater
quantities than ever, no fewer than seventeen
houses being employed in 1826 in making bon-
nets alone. The tanning and dressing of leather,
extensive dye-works, a large calico printing con-
cern, breweries, together with several large
nurseries, all add to the wealth and importance
of the town. It must also be mentioned, that
the whole of the different branches of business
are carried on in an amazingly active and liberal
spirit. A good idea of the value and extent
of the manufactures of this thriving town may
be gained from the following statistical facts,
published in the newspapers in July 1831 : —
" In Kilmarnock, about 1200 weavers and
200 printers are engaged in the manufacture of
harness and worsted printed shawls. From
31st May 1830 to June 1, 1831, there were no
less than 1,128,814 of these shawls manufac-
tured, the value of which would be about
L.200,000. In the manufacture of Brussels,
Venetian, and Scottish carpets and rugs, the
quality and patterns of which are not surpass-
ed by any in the country, there are upwards of
1000 weavers employed. The annual amount
of this important branch of manufacture can-
not be less than L. 100,000. About 2400
pairs of boots and shoes are made every week,
of which three-fourths are for exportation ; an-
nual value about L.32,000. The manufac-
ture of bonnets is also extensive, there being
upwards of 224,640 yearly made by the cor-
poration, the annual value of which is L. 1 2,000.
The number of sheep and lamb skins dressed
annually exceeds 140,000." The town, both
in its public and private business, is a notable
example of the negative advantage which is so
often seen to attend the exemption from politi-
cal privileges. Its magistracy, consisting of

two bailies, a treasurer, and sixteen councillors,
are in a great measure a committee of the in-
habitants for the management of the town, and,
being under no particular control or temptation,
from neighbours anxious to obtain a place in
parliament, they conduct public affairs simply
with a regard to the general good, neither
swerving to the right nor the left. The three
magistrates, the baron bailie, and the convener
of the trades, ex officio, together with sixteen
ordinary commissioners, form a commission for
the management of the police. There is, be-
sides, an association entrusted with the im-
provement of the town. Kilmarnock was
lighted with gas in 1823, by a joint-stock com-
pany formed of shareholders of ten pounds
each share, the management being entrusted to
a committee of twelve gentlemen. The shops
throughout the town are filled with elegant
assortments of goods, and a degree of ani-
mation prevails among the inhabitants, which
makes a favourable impression upon strangers.
The trade of Kilmarnock is assisted by branch ■
es of the Commercial and Ayr banks. A hand-
some new edifice at the east end of the town is
in the course of erection for a new branch bank.
The town-house, built in 1805, contains a
court-room for the magistracy and public of-
fices. In 1814, an elegant news-room was
built in the centre of the town ; this serves the
double purpose of a reading-room, and a place
of general resort, and is supplied with most of
the London, Edinburgh, and Scottish provincial
newspapers. Kilmarnock possesses an excel-
lent academy, in which a variety of branches
of education are taught by four masters ; and,
besides, there are nine private schools through-
out the town. An association, under the title
of a Society for Promoting Knowledge, has
been established, and the town is furnished
with a large subscription library, besides those
which are managed by booksellers. There
are three printers in Kilmarnock, one of whom
prints a newspaper lately established ; and it
is not to be forgotten in the literary history
of the town, that here was put to press and pub-
lished the first edition of the poems of Robert
Burns. The town contains several respects
ble and well-conducted societies, among which
are the Procurators', the Merchants', with se-
veral benefit societies and clubs. A very fine
observatory, some valuable machinery, and ex-
cellent telescopes have been constructed by the
inventive genius of Mr. Thomas Morton, a
4 M

0S4

KILMAURS.

self-instrflcted mechanist residing in the neigh-
bourhood. The religions culture of the peo-
ple is superintended by three town clergymen,
two of whom are colleagues in one church ; by
two ministers of the United Secession ; and by
one minister of each of the following denomi-
nations : — Relief, Original Seceders, Original
Burghers, Independents, and Reformed Pres-
bytery. Almost the only antiquity in the
town used to be a cross, called Lord Soulis'
Cross, commemorating the assassination of this
nobleman by one of the family of Boyd. This
stood in one of the streets, till it gradually fell
to ruin. The incident took place in 1444.
At Kilmarnock, strangers should inquire for a
museum of curiosities, the property of Mr.
David Gray, vintner. It consists of coins,
minerals, natural curiosities, arms, &c, and is
well worthy of a visit. Kilmarnock was a
modern earldom in the old family of Boyd, at-
tainted in 1743. — Population of the town in
1821, 12,500, including the parish 12,769.

KILMARNOCK WATER, a consider-
able rivulet in Ayrshire, rising in the upper
parts of the parish of Fenwick (by whose name
it is sometimes called) and after a course of
eight or nine miles, and having intersected the
above town of Kilmarnock, falls into the Ir-
vine a short way to the east, at Riccarton.

KILMARONOCK, a parish in Dumbar-
tonshire, lying at the south end of Loch Lo-
mond, by which and the Endrick water, it is
bounded on the west and north ; Bonhill and
Dumbarton lie on the south. From near Bal-
loch on the west to Spittal on the Endrick, the1
direct distance is about seven miles, and from
Loch Lomond to the boundary with Dumbar-
ton, the distance is five miles. Within these
dimensions, the parish is diversified with hill
and dale, beautiful plantations and pleasure-
grounds, and arable fields now in a good state
of cultivation. Ardoch is one of the chief
seats- The village of Kilmaronock is situated
near the Endrick. — Population in 1821, 1008.

K1LMARTIN, a parish in Argyleshire,
lying on the west coast in Argyle Proper, ex-
tending twelve miles in length by about three
in breadth, bounded on the north-east for six
miles by Loch Awe. The parish of Glassary
or Kilmichael lies on the east. The district,
like other parts of Argyleshire, in this quarter
is hilly with arable fields intermixed. The pa-
rish comprehends the Crinan canal. The

church of Kilmartin is situated about four miles
northward from thence, in a valley which pro-
ceeds to Loch Awe, and is esteemed for its
romantic beauty. — Population in 1821, 1452.
KILMARTIN WATER, a small river
in the parish of Kilmuir, Isle of Skye.

KILMAURS, a parish in the district of
Cunningham, Ayrshire, extending six miles
from east to west, by at most three miles from
north to south, and situated betwixt Kilmar-
nock and Dreghorn. The surface consists of
large flat fields, with many gentle risings and
declivities interspersed. The summits of these
are covered with trees, and the whole district
has a pleasing appearance. The village or
town of Kilmaurs, the capital of the parish, is
situated on the right bank of a rivulet which
rises in Fenwick parish, and is here called Kil-
maurs Water, but which is more properly styl-
ed the Carmel Water, at the distance of two
miles north-west from Kilmarnock. " It was
erected into a burgh of barony," says the author
of the Statistical Account of the parish, " by
James V., at the instance of Cuthbert, Earl
of Glencairn, and William his son, Lord Kil-
maurs. That noble family then resided in this
parish, where they had a house, some small
ruins of which yet remain on the farm, which
is called Jock's Thorn, near to the road leading
from Stewarton to Kilmarnock, and their
house known by the name of the Place, was
situated, where the late Lord Chancellor had
laid the foundation of a very extensive build-
ing. By a charter, written in Latin, and sign-
ed by the said Cuthbert and his son at Glas-
gow, 15th November 1577, it appears, that the
five pound land of Kilmaurs, consisting of
240 acres, was disposed to forty different per-
sons in feu farm and free burgage, and to be
held in equal proportions by them, their heirs
and successors, upon the yearly rent of eighty
merks for every fortieth part." The charter
which thus erected the then village of Kilmaurs
into a free barony, contains many remarkable
clauses, and among the rest, one to the effect
that " no woman succeeding to an inheritance
in the said burgh, shall marry without the spe-
cial licence of the Earl of Glencairn." It was
the design of this nobleman to bring together
into one place a number of tradesmen of dif-
ferent professions, and to lay the basis of a
manufacturing and commercial population ; but
here, as almost everywhere, it was soon made

27

K1LM0RE.

635

evident that trade and manufactures can hardly
be coerced with a chance of success. The
feuars, instead of turning their attention to the
arts, in time drew their entire subsistence from
the soil, and ultimately the place became noted
for its production of the best kail plants in the
country. The only trade which settled in the
little town was the manufacture of clasp knives
or whittles, the sharpness of the edge of which
instruments gave rise in Ayrshire to a form of
speech yet in use through the country : A
man of acute understanding and quickness of
action, is said to be as sharp as a Kihnaurs
whittle, a mode of expression once so common
that it is known to have entered into the pul-
pit eloquence of a certain old presbyterian cler-
gyman, who, on one occasion, in addressing
himself to his audience, upon rising to speak
after a young divine, who had delivered a dis-
course in flowery language and English pro-
nunciation, said, " My friends, we have had a
great deal of fine English ware among us the
day, but aiblins my Kilmaurs whittle will cut
as sharply as ony English blade !" In later
times this species of manufacture was aban-
doned, and trade has subsequently been direct-
ed into the channel of weaving, &c. There is
plenty of coal in the vicinity. The town now
consists principally of one street, in the middle
of which is a small town-house with a steeple
and clock. It is governed by two bailies, cho-
sen annually by a majority of the portioners,
before whom debts may be recovered. Before
the Reformation the church of Kilmaurs was
a collegiate institution, founded in 1503, for a
provost and several prebendaries, with two sing-
ing boys, by Sir William Cunningham of Kil-
maurs. Besides the present parish church,
there is a meeting-house of the United Seces-
sion body. In the cemetery of the Glencairn
family, near the church, is a piece of beautiful
ancient sculpture, erected as a monument to
the memory of William, the ninth Earl, who
was raised to the dignity of Lord High Chan-
cellor of Scotland by Charles II. — Population
of the town in 1821, 900, including the parish
1660.

KILMENY, an abrogated parish in the
Isle of Islay, now united to Killarrow ; — see
Kill arrow.

KILMORACK, a parish in the north-
eastern part of Inverness shire, bounded on its
north-eastern quarter by Beauly Firth and the
parish of Kirkhill, and on the south-west

by Kintail and Lochalsh. This parish is among
the largest in Scotland, and stretches from
Farradale to the eastward of the village of
Beauly, in a direction pretty nearly from east
to west, till within a short distance of the Croe
of Kintail, — a tract of ground upwards of six-
ty miles in length, by ten, twenty, and even
thirty in breadth. Pastoral mountains and hills,
glens, rivers, some arable grounds, and water-
falls enter into the description of this vast ex-
tent of country. Adjacent to the Beauly Firth
the district is exceedingly beautiful and produc-
tive, and there are in this quarter large plan-
tations of firs. The principal river is the
Beauly, composed of three lesser ones, the
Farrar, Canich, and Glass, which give names to
as many glens. The falls of Kilmorack on
the Beauly river, are noticed under the latter
head — Population in 1821, 2862.

KILMORE, a parish in Lorn, Argyle-
shire, to which the abrogated parish of Kil-
bride has been united, lying opposite the en •
trance to Loch Linnhe on the sea-coast, ex-
tending seven miles in length, by six in
breadth, and including the island of Kerera.
The country is hilly, but not mountainous.
The hills, though low, are covered with heath.
The valleys are generally arable. The parish
includes the town of Oban, which, as well as
Kerera, lying opposite to it, are described un-
der their respective heads. The parish also
includes the ruined Castle of Dunstaffnage, at
the entrance to Loch Etive, a notice of which
will also be found under its appropriate head.
—Population in 1821, 804-

KILMORICH, a parish in Argyleshire,
united to that of Loch-goil-head ; — See Loch-

GOIL-HEAD.

KILMORY, a parish in the isle of Arran,
county of Bute, occupying about the half of
the island on its west side, — Kilbride parish
forming the eastern division. The Kirk of
Kilmory is at the southern extremity of the
island Population in 1821, 3827.

KILMUIR, a parish belonging to Inver-
ness-shire, in the isle of Skye, occupying the
most northerly portion of the island, and be-
ing bounded by the sea on all sides but the
south, where it has the parish of Snizort.
Its length is computed at sixteen miles, by
eight miles in breadth, and it is generally hilly
and pastoral. The low grounds or habitable
parts are arable. The palish church stands on
the west coast, near the northern. extreiK >fy of

036

KILNINVER.

the island. At a creek north from it is the
ruin of the once magnificent Castle of Dun-
tulm, the ancient residences of the M'Donald
family. It is situated high on a rock, the foot
of which is washed by the sea. A lofty
mountain range terminates in this parish, and
at its northern extremity there is, says the au-
thor of the Statistical Account of the parish,
" a most curious concealed valley. It is on
all sides surrounded with high rocks, and ac-
cessible to man or beast only in three or four
places. A person seeing the top of the rocky
boundaries, could never imagine that they sur-
rounded so great a space of ground. In bar-
barous times, when perpetual feuds and dis-
cords subsisted between the clans, to such a
degree that life and moveable property could
not be secure, when the approach of an enemy
was announced, the weakest of the inhabitants,
with all the cattle, were sent into this secret
asylum, where strangers could never discover
them without particular information. It is so
capacious as to hold, but not to pasture for any
length of time, 4000 head of cattle, and is
justly accounted a very great natural curiosity."
There are a number of safe natural harbours
on the coast, which is bold and precipitous,
and a few small pastoral islands belong to the
parochial districts. — Population in 1821, 3387.
KILMUIR, (EASTER) a parish partly
in Ross and partly in Cromartyshire, extend-
ing ten miles by four and a half on an average
in breadth, bounded on the east by the small
river of Balnagown, and by the sands of Nigg
and bay of Cromarty on the south. The situa-
tion is highly delightful, having the best cul-
tivated parts of six neighbouring parishes full
in view. Beyond these, the eye extends over
a prospect of thirty miles from east to west
along the firth ; and, towards the south-east,
a passage opens between the two rocks, called
the Sutors or Saviours of Cromarty, through
which a considerable part of the county of
Moray is visible ; and all the vessels, small
and great, that enter into the bay, and anchor
in this Portus salutis, are seen from almost
every house in the parish ; the whole forming
one of the richest and most beautifully varie-
gated landscapes in Britain. The soil of this
parish is various ; along the shore, which is
flat, it is generally light and sandy, but in rainy
seasons very fertile ; and, even in the driest
summer, it seldom fails of yielding a good crop.
About a mile from the shore, and almost

parallel to it, a sloping bank runs from east to
west through the whole parish : here both the
soil and the climate begin to change, though
the bank at its utmost altitude is not more than
thirty feet above the level of the sea Popu-
lation in 182], 1381.

KILMUN, a small village at the head of
Holy Loch, district of Cowal, Argyleshire.
Kilmun was formerly the capital of a parish of
the same name, now incorporated with that of
Dunoon; and here, in the year 1442, Sir
Duncan Campbell of Lochawe ancestor of the
Duke of Argyle, founded a collegiate church
for a provost and several prebendaries, — " in
honorem Sancti Mundi abbatis," — from whom
the name of the place is derived. The burial
vault of the Argyle family is still at the old
church of Kilmun.

KILMUIR, (WESTER) and SUDDY,
a united parish in Ross-shire, now termed
Knockbain — See Knockbain.

KILNINIAN, a parish in Argyleshire,
island of Mull, forming the northern division
of that island, and rendered peninsular by the
indentation of Loch-na-Keal on the west, and
the bay of Aros from the sound of Mull on
the east. In extent it measures nearly a square
of twelve miles, but being a hilly pastoral dis-
trict, it contains little to excite description.
In Loch-na-Keal there are some islands be-
longing to the parish, the chief of which are
Ulva and Gometray, also Little Colonsay,
Kenneth, and Eorsa- Farther out to sea is
Staffa island, which is also ecclesiastically at-
tached to the district. Between Gometray
and Ulva and the main land of Mull is the
sound called Loch Tua, and opposite this
quarter, at some distance from land, is the
Treishnish group of islets, also belonging to
Kilninian. In the centre of the parish lies
Loch Erisa. The modern town of Tober-
mory is on the sound of Mull in this parish,
but it as well as the above islands and lochs
being sufficiently described under their particu-
lar heads, do not here require notice. — Popula-
tion in 1821,4357.

KILNINVER, a parish in Lorn, Argyle-
shire, incorporating the abrogated parish of
Kilmelfort, lying on the west coast to the
south of Kilmore, being of a square form,
measuring twelve miles each way. The Kil-
melfort part of the parish is south of Kilnin-
ver. The lower parts of the district on the
west are generally smooth sloping declivities

KILPATRICK.

637

toivards the sea, yielding, when properly culti-
vated, and in favourable seasons, good crops of
corn and potatoes. The upper parts, towards
the east and south, are mountainous. There
is a good deal of natural wood, and planta-
tions in a thriving condition. The parish has
six miles of sea coast opposite Mull.— Popula-
tion in 1821,685.

KILPATRICK, (NEW or EAST) a
parish belonging partly to Dumbartonshire and
partly to Stirlingshire, having a portion of its
south-eastern extremity bounded by the river
Kelvin, bounded on the west by Old or West
Kilpatrick, on the north by Strathblane, and
on the east by Baldernock ; in extent it is up-
wards of six miles from north to south, by a
breadth of from two to four miles. The sur-
face is generally uneven and hilly, but is now
in a great measure cultivated and enclosed,
and improved by plantations. The Forth
and Clyde canal intersects the parish in its
southern part, entering the district on crossing
the Kelvin by a stupendous aqueduct bridge
(see Kelvin.) The parish has a variety of
gentlemen's seats, and a village called Millguy,
with a number of bleachfields, and mills for
different purposes. The district was separat-
ed from Old Kilpatrick in the year 1649 —
Population in 1821, 2530.

KILPATRICK, (OLD or WEST) a
parish in Dumbartonshire of a triangular form,
lying with its base to the Clyde, bounded by
Dumbarton on the west, and East Kilpatrick
on the east ; in extent it presents a shore of
eight miles to the above river, by a depth in-
land, narrowing to ah obtuse point, of upwards
of four miles. The surface is uneven and
mostly hilly, being excellently adapted for
cattle and sheep^pasture ; the lower parts are
arable. The district has several small rivulets,
which, from the number of the works erected
upon them, have added very much to the
wealth and population of the parish ; calico
printing, bleaching, paper-making, and iron
founding, and distilling, are the chief trades
carried on upon a great scale. The Forth and
Clyde Canal intersects the lower or southern
end of the parish, and falls into the Clyde at
Bowling Bay, a short way westward from
West Kilpatrick. This village lies ten miles
west from Glasgow on the road from thence
along the Clyde to Dumbarton, from which it
is five miles distant. It occupies a pleasant
situation at the foot of the hilly country in

view of the Clyde, and contained in 1821
about 700 inhabitants. The village is not dis-
tinguished by manufactories, but in the neigh-
bourhood is an extensive paper manufactory,
and two miles to the northward are two of the
largest cotton mills in Scotland ; these and the
other works in the parish give employment to
some thousands of hands. The village has
two good inns. At the entrance from Dum-
barton stands the established church, a neat
stone building with a handsome tower and a
good clock. Kilpatrick has, besides, a Burghei
and a Relief meeting-house. Contiguous to
the village is the parochial school. The name
Kilpatrick implies the Cell of Patrick ; and it
is universally allowed that this was the birth-
place of the celebrated tutelar saint of Ireland
who, in the words of the song,

" drove the frogs into the bogs,

And banished all the varmint."

According to the ancient monkish biographers
of St. Patrick, he first saw the light about the
year 372, near the town of Dumbarton.
Scotland was then a Roman province, except-
ing what lay to the north of the wall which
ran through this parish ; and the father of St-
Patrick was a Roman provincial, named Cal-
purnius, his mother's name being Conevessa.
Mr. Dillon, the late Secretary of the Scottish
Antiquarian Society, in a paper published in
the second volume of the Archaelogia Scotica,
conjectures that the ancient, but now extinct,
village of Duntocher, which stood on a hill in
this parish, was the proper birth place of the
frog-compelling saint, instead of Kilpatrick,
which more probably was a religious place
brought into existence in commemoration of
him, or founded by himself. To support this
theory, Duntocher is found to exhibit the re-
mains of a Roman statue, while nothing of
the kind is to be traced at Kilpatrick. At all
events, the birth-place of the saint is certainly
within the parish. When Patrick was six-
teen years of age, a band of Irish pirates made
a descent upon this civilized Roman district,
and carried him off, along with other captives,
to their own comparatively barbarous country.
Thus commenced his connexion with Ireland.
He was placed as a slave under Milcho, a
petty king at Skirry, in the county of Antrim ;
from whom, however, he afterwards made his
escape in a ship that carried him to the Con-
tinent; whence he subsequently rejoined his

638

KILKENNY.

parents in bis native country. Having now
acquired that gift of holiness for which he was
so distinguished, he re-visited Ireland in the
imposing character of an apostle of Christian-
ity ; and after a most eventful and useful life,
he died in 491, in the 120th year of his age.
There is good reason to suppose that he was
buried at Glasgow, on the spot which was
subsequently occupied by the cathedral. In
the river Clyde, opposite to the church, there
is, or was, a large stone or rock, visible at
low water, called St. Patrick's stone. As al-
ready mentioned, the celebrated wall of An-
toninus, which crossed the island from the
Forth to the Clyde, terminated on the west, in
this parish, at the place called Dunglas, and
vestiges of this massive work of art are still
visible. In much later times Dunglas was the
site of a fortlet which being situated on a low
rocky promontory on the Clyde, was service-
able in commanding the passage up or down the
river. It is now a complete ruin shrouded in
ivy, and has a romantic appearance in the eye
of the tourist. By a very excusable ignorance,
the writer of the Statistical Account, Webster,
and the common herd of topographers who
have blindly followed their descriptions, have
confounded this castle of Dunglas with another
of the same name, on the borders of East
Lothian and Berwickshire, (see Oldham-
stocks,) seven miles below Dunbar, by men-
tioning that it was blown up in the year 1 640,
by the treachery of an English boy, when the
Earl of Haddington and other persons of rank
were killed. The Dunglas on the Clyde,
which had no connexion with this event, was
formerly the property of the Colquhouns of
Luss, who likewise enjoyed the whole tract of
country from that to Dumbarton, at one time
known as the barony of Colquhoun. Adja-
cent to Dunglas on the west, rises a strangely
shaped basaltic hill, termed Dumbuck, which
shoots up its fantastic head into the air,
and bears a resemblance to the rock of Dum-
barton Castle in the vicinity. From the
propinquity and resemblance of these objects,
has arisen the proverbial expression in this
part of the country, that " after swallowing
Dumbuck, it's needless to make faces at Dum-
barton ;" a sentiment similar in moral signifi-
cation to the elegant adage, " Eat a cow and
worry at the tail." — Population of this parish
in 1821, 3692.

KILRENNY, a parish in the county of
P'ife, of a triangular form, with its base, of froru
two to three miles in extent, along the shore
of the Firth of Forth, near its mouth, and
having a depth inland of nearly the same di-
mensions. It includes the fishing village of
Cellardykes or Nether Kilrenny, on the coast
contiguous to Easter Anstrutber. The parish
of Crail encompasses the district on the north
and east. The shore is bold and rocky, and
is in some places perforated with caves. The
country is here under the best processes of pro-
ductive agriculture, and is well enclosed and
embellished with plantations.

Kilkenny, a royal burgh, the capital of
the above parish, situated one mile east of
Easter Anstruther, three west of Crail, and
about three quarters of a mile north of Cellar-
dykes or Nether Kilrenny. This latter place
was included with Kilrenny in a charter from
James VI., creating the town a royal burgh.
In virtue of this imprudent grant, the burgh,
unless when disfranchised by some informality,
has joined with Crail, Easter and Wester An-
struther, and Pittenweem, in electing a mem-
ber of parliament. In the present day, Kil-
renny may be said to be almost extinct, as it
certainly is unknown, as a town, having had a
population of only 630 individuals by the cen-
sus of 1821. Its civic government is com-
posed of a chief magistrate, two bailies, and a
treasurer. Kilrenny derives its name from the
ancient church of the parish, which was dedi-
cated to St. Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons, whose
fame for piety was in early times great through-
out Christendom. By the ordinary custom
of cutting down names in Scotland, St. Irenaeus
was usually styled St. Irnie, and from that, the
title was finally turned into St. Renny, which
has been since in common acceptation. A
tradition was till lately current in this part of
Fife, that so much was St. Irnie held in es-
teem previous to the Reformation, that the
devotees of Anstruther, who could not see the
church of Kilrenny till they travelled up the
rising ground to what they called the Hill, on ■
arriving at the summit, pulled off their bonnets,
fell on their knees, crossed themselves, and
prayed to the saint to whom it was dedicated.
Such an alteration in the name of St. Irenajus
is countenanced by the change in the name of
a contiguous estate, which, from being at one
time called Imiehill, is now entitled Rennie-

KILSYTH.

639

hill — Population of the burgh and parish in
1821, 1494.

KILSPINDIE,-a parish in Perthshire, ly-
ing partly in the Carse of Gowrie, and partly
among the Sidlaw hills ; it is nearly of a square
form, measuring three and a half miles from
east to west, by a breadth of about three miles,
bounded by Kinnoul, Scoon, and St. Martins
on the west and north west, Kinnaird on the
north-east, Errol on the south-east, and Kin-
fauns on the south. Except a portion on the
south-eastern side which belongs to the beauti-
ful and highly cultivated Carse of Gowrie, near-
ly the whole is a hilly and generally a pastoral
territory. The Kirktown of Kilspindie stands
on a public road in the south-eastern part. A
short way north from thence is the village of
Rait, once the capital of the parochial division
of Rait, now incorporated in the present pa-
rish ; and in its immediate vicinity is Fingask
castle, the elegant seat of Sir Peter Murray
Threipland, baronet. — Population in 1821, 722-

KILSYTH, a parish in the southern part
of Stirlingshire, extending a length of seven
miles chiefly along the north side of the Kel-
vin water, by a breadth of four miles, and at
the east end by a breadth of only two miles,
bounded by Fintry and St. Ninian's on the
north, Denny on the east, Cumbernauld in
Dumbartonshire on the south, and Campsie
on the west. The rivers Carron on the north,
Bushburn on the east, Kelvin on the south,
and Inchburn on the west, form, in a great
measure, the boundaries. The surface is rough,
being an almost uninterrupted succession of
hill and dale, with a lofty mountainous range
called the Kilsyth hills, a continuation of the
Campsie fells, in the northern division. The
district is chiefly arable and of a pleasing
nature towards the Kelvin. The parish a-
bounds in coal and iron ore, vast quantities of
the latter being supplied to the Carron iron
works near Falkirk. The village of Kilsyth
is situated on the public road twelve and a half
miles from Glasgow, eleven and a half from
Falkirk, sixteen from Stirling, and five from
Kirkintulloch. It is a straggling, irregularly
built, but populous place, and the inhabitants,
amounting to upwards of two thousand indivi-
duals, are chiefly engaged in weaving for the
Glasgow manufacturers. Kilsyth is a burgh
of barony with the privilege of holding five an-
nual fairs. Besides the parish church, there is
a Relief meeting-house. Charles II. in 1661,

elevated Sir James Livingston, a branch of the
family of Linlithgow, to the dignity of Vis-
count Kilsyth, Lord Campsie, &c- for his
faithful services during the preceding civil
wars ; but the title was lost in the person of
William, the third of the rank, whose hon-
ours were attainted and estates forfeited for
joining the Earl of Mar in the insurrection of
1715. In the burial vault, at Kilsyth, of this
unfortunate family, the bodies of the last Lady
Kilsyth and her infant son lie embalmed. Kil-
syth is commemorated in the history of Scot-
land by having given its name to by far the
most brilliant victory of the Marquis of Mon-
trose, over General Baillie and the parliament-
ary forces, in the year 1 645. This battle was
fought at a place about two miles east from
Kilsyth, in a field so broken and irregular,
that, did not tradition and history concur,
it could hardly be believed that it had ever
been the scene of any military operation.
It lies around a hollow, where a reservoir is
now formed for supplying the great canal,
a little north of Shaw-end. Two or three
of Baillie's regiments began, by attempting
to dislodge a party from the cottages and
yards, but meeting with a warm reception, were
forced to retire. A general engagement then
commenced, and the undisciplined and almost
savage army of Montrose soon effectually rout-
ed their opponents. Near the field of battle, on
the south, lies a large morass, called Dullater.
Bog, through the midst of which the Forth
and Clyde Canal now stretches, and into this
dismal swamp several of Baillie's cavalry in the
hurry of flight ran unawares and perished ;
both men and horses in good preservation hav-
ing been dug up, according to the author of the
History of Stirlingshire, in the memory of per-
sons then alive. — Population of the parish in
1821, 4260.

KILTARLITY, a large mountainous pa-
rish in Inverness-shire, incorporating the sup-
pressed parish of Conveth ; extending at least
thirty miles from the north-east to the south-
west, by an average breadth of six miles, bound-
ed on the north-east by Kirkhill, on the east
by Dores, on the south by Urquhart, and on
the west and north by Kilmorack. The church
of Kiltarlity stands on the right bank of the
Beauly, nearly opposite the Kirktown of Kilmo-
rack. The lower grounds are arable, and the
district is now well wooded. — Population in
1821, 2429.

640

KILWINNING.

KILTEARN, a parish in Ross-shire, in
the district of Easter Ross, lying on the north
side of the Firth of Cromarty, and extending
ahout six miles in length. The breadth is va-
rious ; that part which is well cultivated is
ahout two miles broad from the sea-shore to
the foot of the hilly ground on the north, but
there are several grazings and Highland pos-
sessions at the distance of five, ten, and even
fifteen miles from the sea. It is bounded by
Alness on the east, Contin and Lochbroom on
the west, and by Dingwall and Fodderty on
the south. The Highland district of this
parish is, for the most part, wild and unculti-
vated, consisting of high mountains separated
from each other by rapid rivulets, and exten-
sive tracts of moor and mossy ground. The
low district of the parish, which inclines gently
from the foot of the hills towards the sea, is of
a very rich and beautiful nature, exhibiting
well cultivated fields, plantations, and pleasure
and garden grounds. The chief river in the
parish is the Skiach, which falls into the Cro-
marty Firth at Kiltearn. On its left bank
stands the small village of Drummond. — Po-
pulation in 1821, 1656.

KILVICEUEN, a parish in the island of
Mull, now incorporated with Kilfinichen. —
See Kilfinichen.

KILWINNING, a parish in the district of
Cunningham, Ayrshire, extending about nine
miles at the utmost each way, and bounded on
the north by Dairy, on the east by Dunlop and
Stewarton, on the south by Irvine, and on tbe
west by Stevenston, which divides it from the
coast of the Firth of Clyde. The parish lies
upon a gentle inclination towards the east,
with slight intermediate undulations, the tops
of which are generally covered by beautiful
plantations. Like the rest of this fertile dis-
trict, it is in a state of the highest cultivation,
and is everywhere well enclosed. It is water-
ed by the Garnock water, and by the Lugton,
a tributary of that rivulet. There are several
large collieries in the parish, and freestone
and limestone are found in great abundance.
A great part of the parish is composed of the
barony of Eglinton, which is one of the
most beautiful pieces of cultivated territory in
Scotland, as its seat, Eglinton Castle, is one
•of the most elegant and distinguished mansions.
For the early history of this family, see Eg-
linton Castle. This spot has been the prin-
cipal seat of the family for between four and

live hundred years, and has conferred upon it
its title. The ancient family house was re-
built since the commencement of the present
century, in the castellated style, and the result
is well entitled to the description above bestow-
ed upon it. It is surrounded by about two
thousand Scotch acres of park and pleasure
ground, laid out in the very best taste. The
first efforts for the decoration of this spot
were made by Alexander Earl of Eglinton,
a most liberal and patriotic young nobleman,
who unfortunately was shot in 1780, ere his
plans for the good of his country had been half
completed. Ayrshire, as already mentioned,
owes much of its present advancement in
agriculture to his exertions ; and it ought here
to be mentioned that a great part of the culti-
vated and wooded beauty of Kilwinning is also
owing to him. The statist of the parish very
properly characterises him in the well-known
lilies: —

Cui pudor et jnstitiae soror
Incorrupta fides, nudaque Veritas
Quando ullum inveniet parem ?
Multis ille bonis flebilis occidit.
Kilwinning, an ancient and now a consider-
able and thriving town in the above parish, si-
tuated on a rising ground about two miles from
the sea, three miles north-north-west of Irvine,
four south of Dairy, and four north-east of
Saltcoats. Kilwinning depends chiefly on the
weaving and manufacture of gauzes, muslins,
&c- for the Glasgow and Paisley markets.
With the contiguous village of Byres on the
west, its inhabitants amounted in the year
1821 to 1934. Two fairs are held in the town
annually. Besides the parish church, there are
two dissenting meeting-houses- This curious
old-fashioned little town stretches westward
from the right bank of the Garnock, and con-
sists chiefly of one street and some bye-lanes,
together with a few rows of modern houses.
It is approached through long umbrageous
paths, skirted by beautiful fields, and the tra-
veller, on entering from the east, is reminded
of the ancient sacred character of the place
by ascending the Cross Hill, an eminence
where, in former times, the monks of Kilwin-
ning Abbey had established the revered ensign
of Christianity, to receive the preliminary
adoration of the pilgrims who flocked to visit
their shrines. The Abbey of Kilwinning,
from which the town has evidently taken its .
origin, was one of the most wealthy and im-
portant institutions of that kind in the king-

KILWINNING.

641

dom, and was founded by Hugh de Morville,
constable of Scotland, in the year 1 1 40, while
the pious David was king of Scotland. As
such buildings were frequently founded upon
spots previously consecrated by the residence
of holy men or the ceremonies of an earlier
worship, this is believed to have been placed
here, in consequence of the previous residence
of St. Winning, a saint of the eighth cen-
tury. The memory of this pious personage is
preserved in the name of the place, Kilwinning
signifying simply the cell of Winning. It is also
commemorated by a well at no great distance
from the present manse, being called Winning's
Well; as also by a fair held annually on the
first day of February, and called Winning's
Day Fair. Either this fountain, or some
other near Kilwinning, is said by the old
monkish writers to have exemplified the miracle,
in 1184, of running for eight days and nights
with blood ; a portent which had formerly
appeared, but never for so long a space. In
the opinion of the people of the country, this
prognosticated war. Probably a redness was
given to the water by some natural cause.
Hailes' Annals. — An old popular name of Kil-
winning is Saig-town, which the statist of the
parish conjectures to mean Saint's-town — an
etymology, however, which we believe may
be liable to correction. The abbey of Kil-
winning was dedicated to St. Winning, and
appropriated for the reception of monks of the
Tyronensian order, a detachment of whom were
brought from Kelso. King Robert Bruce,
who appears to have been a most munificent
benefactor of the church, probably in order to
appease the clergy for the murder of Comyn
before one of their altars, granted to the monks
of Kilwinning the lands of Halland near Ir-
vine, as also viginti solidos, quos annuatim de
terra sua de Kilmernock heredibus de Balioh
reddere solebant. Previous to the Reformation,
through the gifts of various persons, the mo-
nastery is supposed to have enjoyed a revenue
equal to L. 20,000 of present money. The
following is a list of the parish churches be-
longing to it at that time : Kilwinning, Irvine,
Kilmarnock, Loudon, Ardrossan, Kilbirnie,
Kilbride, Beith, Dunlop, Dreghorn, Dairy,
Stevenston, and Stewarton, in the district of
Cunningham ; Dumbarton and Kilmaronock in
Dumbartonshire ; South and North Knapdale
in Argyllshire ; Kilmeny and Kilbride in the
isle of Arran. The last abbot was Gavin

Hamilton, a man of high historical note,
on account of the vigorous resistance which
he made to the progress of the Reformation.
This zealous divine not only thought it ne-
cessary to battle with the arms of the Spirit,
but was induced by the exigency of the time
to take up mortal weapons. He perished in
a skirmish between the adherents of Queen
Mary and those of James VI. fought near the
Watergate of Edinburgh, June 28, 1571. At
the general dissolution of the religious houses,
Alexander, Earl of Glencairn, so noted for his
zeal in promoting the Reformation, obtained a
grant of the abbey of Kilwinning ; but the
temporalities were afterwards (1003) erected
into a lordship in favour of the Earl of Eglin-
ton. The most remarkable circumstance con-
nected with this monastery is, that its erec-
tion is believed to have given occasion to the
introduction of Free Masonry into Scotland.
The foreign architect employed in building
the house is supposed to have brought that
inexplicable, but apparently trifling and unmean-
ing mystery — art — craft — aut quocunque alio
nomine gaudeat — and planted it in this place.
It seems at least certain, that Kilwinning
was the first place in Scotland, where Free
Masonry was established. For centuries,
Free Masonry seems to have made little
impression in Scotland ; at least it scarcely
rises into notice in history. It cannot there-
fore be ascertained whether it was in those
early ages employed for what appears to have
been its original purpose, a communication
of ideas and sentiments more free than what
was sanctioned by the public authorities, or
only what seems in later times to have been
its chief and almost exclusive use, the promo-
tion of a more decorous, but not less seductive
species of conviviality. The first historical
notice of it occurs in the reign of James I.,
that monarch having appointed that the Grand
Master should be chosen by the brethren from
either the nobility or the clergy, and that this
officer, being approven by the crown, should
receive an annual revenue of L. 4 Scots (6s. 8d.
sterling) from each Master- Mason. From the
early use of such titles, we should suppose
that masonry at the first was a grotesque imi-
tation, on the part of the class of artizans from
which it takes its name, of the great asso-
ciations instituted in the time of the Crusaders
for the protection of the Holy Sepulchre,
one of which survived till recent times in the
4 N

642

KILWINNING.

Knights of Malta. The dignity of Grand Master
was afterwards granted as a hereditary office to
the family of William Sinclair, Earl of Orkney
and Caithness, who had testified his love of at
least the operative department of masonry, by
erecting the beautiful collegiate church of Roslin .
The office having passed into the Roslin branch
of this nobleman's descendants, they used to
hold their principal annual meetings at Kilwin-
ning ; and the lodge of that place, as the parent
institution, was in the habit of granting con-
stitutions and charters to other lodges through-
out the country, all of which joined the word
Kilwinning to their own name, in token of
respect to the acknowledged birth-place of
masonry. In 1771, William Sinclair of Ros-
lin, finding himself to be the last of his race,
resigned the office into the hands of the Edin-
burgh and neighbouring lodges ; and since then
it has been elective. In gratitude for this gra-
cious act on the part of the old baron, his me-
mory is still regularly toasted at the meetings
of the Edinburgh, and perhaps also of other
lodges. The statist of the parish of Kilwin-
ning says, " The sobriety and decency of the
brethren in all their meetings, the very peculiar
and distinguishing harmony in which they
lived, and their humanity and liberality to the
sick and indigent, made the mother lodge highly
respected in the sixteenth centuiy. An un-
common spirit for masonry then exhibited it-
self. Laws founded on the original acts and
constitutions of the mother lodge, were renew-
ed, and are still adhered to. The records yet
extant at Kilwinning contain a succession of
grand masters, charters of creation to other
lodges, &c. as daughters of the mother lodge.
The Earls of Eglinton have successively pa-
tronized this lodge. Some years ago, the pre-
sent Earl made a donation to the fraternity of
a piece of ground for building a new and very
elegant lodge, and, with many other gentlemen,
anxious to preserve the rights of the very an-
cient and venerable mother lodge, liberally con-
tributed to its erection. There is a common
seal, expressive of the antiquity of the mother
lodge, and of the emblems of the ancient art
of masonry, and by which charters and all
other public deeds of the society are ratified."
By the institution of the Grand Lodge of Scot-
land, which is located at Edinburgh, the use
of the Kilwinning mother lodge has been of
late years in a great measure superseded ; but
still we must acknowledge, with the author of
27.

the Beauties of Scotland, " that the humble
village of Kilwinning, considered as the spot
where this order was preserved while it was
extinguished on the continent of Europe, and
from which it was to rise from its ashes, and
spread to the rising and setting sun, enjoys a
singular degree of importance, which it could
scarcely have obtained from any other circum-
stance." Besides its distinction on account of
free-masonry, Kilwinning is also remarkable
for being the seat of a very ancient company
of archers. This noble art is practised at differ-
ent places in Scotland, as at Edinburgh, St.
Andrews, Peebles, and Musselburgh • but no-
where does it seem to have so long flourished
as at Kilwinning. While archery seems to
have been practised at those places only for
amusement, and from no remote date, it would
appear to have originated here, in consequence
of the acts of the early Scottish kings for the
encouragement of archery as a branch of the
military system of the state. It is pretty well
authenticated that the company existed in 1488.
The members meet to practise their delightful
and romantic recreation in June. " Two kinds
of archery," says the statist so often quoted,
" have been practised here from time immemo-
rial. The one is a perpendicular mark, called
the papingo. The papingo is a bird well
known in heraldry : [the parrot.] It is on this
occasion cut out in wood, fixed in the end of a
pole, and placed 120 feet high on the steeple of
the monastery. The archer who shoots down
this mark is honoured with the title of Captain
of the Papingo. He is master of the ceremo-
nies for the ensuing year, sends cards of invita-
tion to the ladies, gives them a ball and sup-
per, and transmits his honours to posterity by
a medal with suitable devices, appended to a
silver arrow. The prize from 1488 to 1688
was a sash, or as it was called a benn, consist-
ing of a piece of taffeta or Persian, of different
colours, chiefly red, green, white, and blue, and
not less in value than L.20 Scots. This ho-
nourable badge was worn and kept by the cap-
tain, who produced another of equal value the
following year. At the revival of archery in
1 688, there was substituted a piece of plate,
which continued to be given by every captain
till 1723, when the present silver arrow was sub-
stituted. The other kind of shooting is at butts,
point blank distance (about twenty- six yards.)
The prize at butts is some useful piece of
plate, given annually to the society by the senior

K INCA 11 DINES H ft E.

643

jurviving archer." It cannot have escaped the
recollection of our readers, that the custom of
shooting the papingo is introduced fictitiously
into the tale of " Old Mortality," where, how-
ever, it is called the Popinjay. Unless we are
misinformed, this latter word is now generally
used to designate the Kilwinning festival, and
the mark is composed, not as formerly of a
piece of wood, but of a bundle of feathers, ar-
ranged in such a way as to resemble a parrot,
and this is tied to the top of the pole by a
6tring, like the pigeon shot for in the fifth
book of the -ZEneid. The Society, or more
properly the Company, is at present in a most
respectable and flourishing condition. Kil-
winning is superintended magisterially by a
baron bailie. The parish church, with a fine
modern spire, stands amidst the few remaining
fragments of the once splendid abbey. — Po-
pulation of the town and parish in 1821, 3696.
KINCARDINESHIRE, frequently and
familiarly styled the Mearns, a county on the
east coast of Scotland, of a triangular form ;
bounded by Aberdeenshire on the north, by
Forfarshire en the south-west, and on the re-
maining quarters by the sea ; extending in its
greatest length from south-west to north-east
82 miles, and in a direction, at right angles
across, 22 miles. By a correct measurement
taken in 1774, by Mr. Gardner, who surveyed
it for a map, it was found to contain 243,444
English acres ; which, by a very minute inves-
tigation, made by Mr. George Robertson in
1807, were found to be characterised as fol-
lows : —

In actual cultivation 74,849

Improvable by tillage 27,816

Woodland, natural or planted 1 7,609
Mountains, &c. 123,170;

occupied by the following descriptions of live
stock : —

Milch cows 6236

Draft oxen 446

Calves rearing 5280

Other cattle 12,863

Horses of all kinds 2887

Sheep 24,927

Swine, fully grown,

chiefly brood swine 478

The population in 1821, was 29,118, of whom
only about 8000 lived in towns or villages.
The valued rent of the county is L.74,921,
Is. 4d. Scots; the real rent in 1804 .was
L.67,748 Sterling, in 1811 L.159,875. It

must now be much more. Kincardineshire is
occasionally, in popidar parlance, called the
Mearns ; but this phrase, after the strictest
investigation, seems only properly applicable
to the champaign and more populous district
of the county. Part of this district is called
the Howe (or hollow) o' the Mearns, from its
being sunk between a large branch of the
Grampians on the one hand, and a more gentle
swelling territory which divides it from the sea
on the other ; it is properly a continuation of
the great valley of Strathmore. Mearns is
probably a word of local meaning ; but it is
generally said to have been affixed to this part
of Scotland, from its having become the pro-
perty of Mernia, a brother of King Kenneth
II. ; another brother, called Angus, conferring
his name upon the neighbouring county of For-
far. The county is naturally divided into four
districts, whereof the Howe of the Mearns, and
the swelling ground between it and the sea, are
the most important ; the third division, con-
sisting of the detachment of the Grampians
above mentioned, generally called the Braes of
Fordoun, while the fourth lies in the northern
part of the county, within the district of Mar.
The term Mearns- shire, which is sometimes
used, is a vulgar error. Kincardineshire has
figured very little in history ; its peasantry,
however, have always been considered an indus-
trious and able race of men. " The Men of the
Mearns," is a proverbial expression of old date :
There is also another common saying, flatter-
ing to this people — " I can do fat I dow (can J;
the men o' the Meams can do nae mair."
The Hollow of the Mearns being the only
proper access to the north of Scotland, owing
to the hills occupying uninterruptedly all the
rest of the breadth except at this point, it has
been the common passage for armies going to
and fro, since the earliest periods of history;
yet, unless the great battle between Galgacusand
Agricola took place here, it has not been the
scene of any great military achievements. The
county is now almost exclusively of an agri-
cultural character ; for though blessed with a
sea-coast of thirty-five miles in extent, it pos-
sesses no harbour of any eminence; neither
have manufactures of any kind made a great
progress in the district. The soil is of a
very productive kind, and is cultivated in a
style no where surpassed in Scotland; of
which there is gcod evidence in the fact
that of all the hads in tillage nearly a

644

KINCARDINE.

seventh part is yearly in turnip. Much
of this is owing to the example set by the
landed gentlemen in the latter part of the last
century, in the introduction of a more spirited
system of cultivation ; an example readily
adopted by an intelligent and industrious te-
nantry. The county, in its more level parts,
is highly embellished by the country seats of
its numerous resident proprietors, each amid
its own thriving woodland. Kincardineshire
takes its name from Kincardine, formerly
a small town in the parish of Fordoun, and
which was the seat of the county courts, &c,
till the year 1600, when they were removed
to Stonehaven. Kincardine, which has now
dwindled into a mere hamlet or farm- stead-
ing, was connected with an ancient seat of
royalty, called Kincardine Castle, of which
only the foundations of the walls can now be
traced. Kincardine signifies, in Gaelic, the
clan of friends ; and the name is applied
to several parishes and towns throughout
Scotland, though it does not designate any
parish in the county under notice. In Kin-
cardineshire there is no coal or marl, and very
little limestone, all of which circumstances
bear hard upon agricultural improvement, —
though it must be confessed they only seem to
have excited more strongly the spirit of enter-
prise in its husbandmen, who import lime in
great quantities from England, and from the
Firth of Forth. The county is divided into
nineteen parishes, and it contains seven or
eight small towns, as Stonehaven, the county-
town, Bervie, a small royal burgh, Johnshaven,
Lawrencekirk, Fettercairn, Fordoun, and Au-
cbinblae, &c. The principal rivers connected
with the county are — the Dee, which passes
for eight or ten miles through the northern
limb of Kincardineshire, the North Esk, which
forms the boundary on the south-west for about
ten miles, Cowie Water, which falls into the
sea at Stonehaven, after a course of ten miles,
Carron, which is describable in the same terms,
Bervie Water, which, after a course of fourteen
or sixteen miles, discharges itself into the sea
at Inverbervie, and the Luther Water, a tribu-
tary of the North Esk. The chief mountains
are — the Cairn o'Mount, called of old the
Muunth, (and perhaps the Mons Grampius of
Tacitus,) a steep and barren mountain, 2000
feet high, in the south front of the Grampians,
and over which the direct road from Forfar-
shire to Dee»side passes in a zig-zag fashion —

Clachnabane, in the parish of Strachan, 2370
feet high, remarkable for a protuberance of
solid rock at the top, which projects about 100
feet above the surface, and looks like the ruins
of some ancient fort ; serving also, as a good
land-mark at sea, fifteen or twenty miles off —
Strathfenella, a detached Grampian in the vi-
cinity of Fordoun, supposed to be from 1200
to 1500 feet high — Mount Battoch, on the
boundary line between Kincardine and Forfar-
shires, stated in Garden's Map to be 3465 feet
in height, and the most lofty of all the Gram-
pians in this quarter — and the Hill of Fare, in
that part of the county which lies to the north
of the Dee, 1500 feet high.

Kincardine, a parish in the counties of Ross
and Cromarty, separated from Sutherlandshire
on the north by the river Oickel. It extends
upwards of thirty miles in length from east to
west. At the east end it is very narrow, but
widens gradually to the extent of nearly twenty
miles at its western extremity, where the great
forest of Balnagown is situated. It consists
of several straths or glens, and abounds with
hills and rivers. Craig- Chonichan, where Mon-
trose fought his last battle, lies in this parish;
the place is called the Rock of Lamentation, from
this event. The village and small harbour of
Kincardine are situated on the coast of the
Firth of Dornoch Population in 1821, 1666.

KINCARDINE, a parish in the southern
part of Perthshire, district of Menteith, chiefly
lying as a peninsula betwixt the Forth on the
south, and the Teith on the north, these streams
uniting at the south-east point of the parish.
This division of Kincardine parish is bounded
by Kilmadock on the west and north, Lecropt
on the east, and Gargunnock on the south ; in
its extent measuring upwards of four miles
from east to west, and above three miles in
breadth at the widest part. There is a second
division of the parish of about half the size oi
this, lying beyond Kilmadock parish on the
west, adjoining Port-Menteith, and bounded
by Kippen on the south. Altogether, the
parish has been computed to contain 6000
acres. The parish is situated in the widest
part of the valley, called the Strath of Men-
teith, and both on the Forth and Teith pos-
sesses the most beautiful grounds, with planta-
tions in the finest order, and cultivation on the
best scale. Adjacent to the Teith, and on
the road from Stirling to Doune by the right
bank of that river, is the highly omameutcd

KINCARDINE.

645

and improved estate of Blair-Drummond,
whose moss has obtained a considerable noto-
riety from the operations performed upon it.
This moss, which for ages had been of no
farther use than the production of peats to the
neighbouring inhabitants, was begun to be im-
proved in the year 1770, by the late Henry
Home, Lord Kames, a senator of the college
of justice, and the author of several eminent
works, and continued by his son and successor,
Mr. Home Drummond. Originally covering
2000 acres, with a depth of from three to
twelve feet of peat bog, this vast extent of
moss has been for the last sixty years in the
course of gradual diminution, by a process
of cutting and floating away into the waters
of the Teith and Forth. Many hundreds
of acres of the superincumbent moss have
been thus cleared, leaving a soil for agricul-
tural operations similar to that of the Carse
lands, and the ground is now under a course of
regular farming. Such a violent system of im-
provement has been frequently objected to as
highly injudicious, and it has been often said
that the reduction of the moss to ashes by
burning would have been more to the purpose
of creating a productive soil. This is, how-
ever, one of the nicely disputed points among
agriculturists. It has been asserted, probably
erroneously, that the incessant pollution of
the above rivers by the masses of floating
mossy matter, has been the means of injuring
the salmon-fishings in the Forth. As the
pieces of moss neither sink nor decompose for
a considerable space of time, they may be seen
at all times floating over the whole of the
Firth and for a great distance out to sea. The
parish of Kincardine contains two villages,
both in the western division, and now almost
united, namely, Thornhill and Norrieston.
The parish church being at the centre of the
eastern division, there is a chapel of ease at
Thornhill — Population in 1821, 2388.

KINCARDINE, a considerable thriving
town in the parish of Tulliallan, in the south-
ern detached part of Perthshire, situated on
the shore of the Firth of Forth, near its upper
extremity, at the distance of five miles east
from Alloa, four west from Culross, ten from
Dunfermline, fifteen from North Queensferry,
and twenty-five from Edinburgh. At one time
the place used to be called West- Pans, from
the salt- works carried on, and which, in the
year 1780, were fifteen in number ; but these

manufactories, as well as the name they induc-
ed, are now gone. The houses of Kincardine
are well built, but the streets are narrow, dirty,
and irregular. The sea-port Kincardine is one
of the most thriving towns on the Forth, having
now a good quay and harbour, and there being
a considerable trade in the building of vessels,
chiefly for coasting. That predilection for being
ship-owners, mentioned under thehead of Kirk-
aldy, as being strongly characteristic of the in-
habitants along the shores of Fife, is here par-
ticularly observable. By a recent calculation,
there were upwards of fifty ship-owners in Kin-
cardine, which is a great proportion of the per-
sons engaged in trade. A company is formed
among the ship-owners for mutual insurance of
their vessels, a complete protection against the
danger of individual loss at sea being thus
judiciously rendered. In the town there are
works for making sails and ropes. Distilla-
tion is carried on at Tulliallan in the neigh-
bourhood. There is a brewery in the town.
Kincardine is a burgh of barony under the
government of several bailies. A fair is held
on the last Friday in July. The established
church is at Tulliallan, but there is a dissenting
meeting-house in the place. — Population in
1821, about 2500.

KINCARDINE O'NEIL, a parish in
Aberdeenshire, lying with its south-western
side to the river Dee, and stretching north-
wards from thence a distance of between seven
and eight miles, by a breadth of seven in the
southern division, and but three in the north-
ern ; bounded by Aboyne and Lumphanan on
the west, Tough and Cluny on the north ; Mid-
mar and Banchory- Ternan on the east, and Ban-
chory-Ternan and the Dee on the south. It is
partly hilly and pastoral and partly arable, with
a proportion of excellent plantations. The vil-
lage of Kincardine O'Neil, which is the seat of
a presbytery, stands on the public road on the
left bank of the Dee, and commands an exten-
sive prospect up the river towards the Gram-
pian mountains. It is esteemed as an excel-
lent place for the summer retirement of inva-
lids Population in 1821, 1793.

KINCHARDINE, a parish in Inverness-
shire, incorporated with Abernethy — See
Abernethy and Kinchardine.

KINCLAVEN, a parish in the beautiful
and fertile district of Stormonr, Perthshire,
bounded by Caputh on the north and north-
east, Cargill on the south-east, and Auchter-

046

K I N F A U N S,

gaven on the south and west ; in form, it is
oblong, being about four and a half miles long
by little more than two broad. The Tay
sweeps round the northern and eastern bound-
ary of the district, and it is chiefly in the vici-
nity of this noble river that the land is under
good cultivation, enclosures and plantations.
The principal village in the parish is Arntilly,
situated in the south-western part, a few miles
west from the church. Besides this, there are
some small villages, all on the public roads. The
fishings of the Tay are here valuable. The an-
cient castle of Kinclaven stands in ruins on the
banks of the river. — Population in 1821, 986.

KINCRAIG POINT, a headland on the
coast of Fife, immediately east of Largo bay.

KINDER, (LOCH) a small lake in the
parish of New-abbey, stewartry of Kirkcud-
bright, with an islet showing the ruins of an
ancient chapel, and emitted by a streamlet to
the estuary of the Nith.

KINFAUNS, a parish in Perthshire, at
the western extremity of the Carse of Gowrie,
beautifully situated on the left bank of the Tay,
bounded by Errol and St. Madoes on the east,
part of Kinnoul parish and the Tay on the
south, the larger division of Kinnoul on the
west and north ; also on the north by Kilspin-
die. In form it is very irregular, extending about
five miles in length, by the average breadth of
two and a half, and containing altogether 3780
Scots acres. The parish lies chiefly in a hol-
low or valley, which gradually opens in an east-
erly direction, into the plain ef the Carse of
Gowrie, and is partly encompassed by lofty
eminences richly wooded. A part of the con-
spicuous and romantic hill of Kinnoul is within
the parish. The road from Dundee to Perth
passes through the lower division of the parish
near the Tay. In this quarter stands the an-
cient seat of the family of Seggieden, who still
possess their drinking horn, a vessel which has
enjoyed a considerable celebrity. It is about
fourteen inches deep, straight and tapering,
with ornamental rings round it. The princi-
pal use of this heir-loom seems to have been
similar to that of the horn of Rorie More, as
described by Dr. Johnson : every successive
heir of the family, on his accession to the es-
tate, had to prove his being a worthy represen-
tative of his ancestors, by drinking its contents
at a draught. There was a rhyme used on this
occasion : " Sook it out, Seggieden ! though it's
thin, it's wee! pledged ;" and the young laird

had to sound a whistle at the bottom of the
horn, after having sooked out the liquor, to
signify that he had redeemed his pledge. The
same ceremony was gone through, to prove
the powers of the laird's guests. Nearly a
mile west from Seggieden, stands Kinfauns
Castle, the seat of Lord Gray. This re-
markably fine edifice occupies a delightful
situation on an elevation overlooking the Tay,
and the Carse to the east. " In the Castle of
Kinfauns," says the writer of the Statistical
Account of the parish, " is kept a large old
sword, probably made near five hundred years
ago, and to be used by both hands. It is
shaped like a broad sword, and is five feet
nine inches long, two and a half inches broad
at the hilt, and of a proportionable thickness,
with a round knob at the upper end near eight
inches in circumference. This terrible weapon
bears the name of Charteris' sword; and pro-
bably belonged to Sir Thomas Charteris,
commonly called Thomas de Longueville,
once proprietor of the estate of Kinfauns.
Sir Thomas Charteris, alias Longueville, was
a native of France, and of an ancient family
in that country. If credit can be given to ac-
counts of such remote date, when he was at
the court of Philip le Bel, in the end of the
thirteenth century, he had a dispute with, and
killed, a French nobleman in the king's pre-
sence. He escaped, but was refused pardon.
Having, for several years, infested the seas as
a pirate, known by the name of the Red
Reaver, from the colour of the flags he carried
on his ships, in 1301 or 1302, Sir William
Wallace, in his way to France, encountered
and took him prisoner. At Wallace's inter-
cession, the French king conferred on him a
pardon, and the honour of knighthood. He
accompanied Wallace on his return to Scot-
land, and was ever after his faithful friend,
and aided in his exploits. Upon that hero's
being betrayed, and carried to England, Sir
Thomas Charteris retired to Lochmaben,
where he remained till Robert Bruce began to
assert his right to the crown of Scotland.
He joined Bruce ; and was, if we may believe
Adamson, who refers to Barbour, the first
who followed that king into the water at the
taking of Perth, January 8, 1313. Bruce re-
warded his bravery, by giving him lands in the
neighbourhood of Perth, which appear to have
been those of Kinfauns, and which continued
in the family of Charteris for many years. Il

K I N G H O R N.

647

is to this ancient knight, and to the antique
sword above-mentioned, that Adamson refers
in these,, lines (Book VI.) of his Muse's
Threnodie.

Kinfauns, which Thomas Longueville

Some time did hold, whose ancient sword of steel
Remains unto this day, and of that land
Is chiefest evident.

About forty years ago, upon opening the
burying vault under the aisle of the Church of
Kinfauns, erected by this family, there was
found a head-piece, or kind of helmet, made of
several folds of linen, or some strong stuff,
painted over with broad stripes of blue and
white, which seems to have been part of the
fictitious armour wherein the body of Thomas
Longueville, or Charteris, had been deposited"
—Population in 1821, 802.

KINGARTH, a parish in the county and
isle of Bute, occupying the southern part, to
the extent of a third of the whole island.
Loch Fadd is its boundary from the parish of
Rothesay. The kirk is situated inland, op-
posite Kilchatten Bay on the east coast.
Mount- Stewart, the elegant seat of the Mar-
quis of Bute, is within the parish, and occupies
an agreeable site on the east side of the is-
land, having an extensive prospect towards the
Cumbray Islands and the Ayrshire coast. It
is environed by extensive plantations. — Po-
pulation in 1821, 890.

KING-EDWARD, properly KEN-
ED A R, a parish in the northern part of
Aberdeenshire, extending twelve miles in
length from east to west, by from two to five
in breadth, having its western extremity lying
on the river Deveron, and bounded by Gamrie
on the north, Tyrie on the east, and Mont-
quhitter and Turriff on the south. The surface
is hilly, heathy, and only about one half arable.
There are, however, large plantations, and the
district is improving. The only village is
New-Byth on the south-eastern extremity of
the parish, situated about three miles north
from Cumineston, both of which places arose,
in the course of last century, by the exertions
and patronage of their respective" proprietors.
New-Byth was begun to be feued in 1764.
A streamlet, tributary to the Deveron, flows

I through the parish in a westerly direction, and
on its right bank stands the nun of the ancient
Castle of Ken-Edar, once the seat of the po-
tent Earl of Buchan.— Population in 1821,
1822.

KINGHORN, a parish in the county of
Fife, bounded on the south and east by the
Firth of Forth, on the west by Burntisland and
Aberdour, on the north by Auchtertoul and
Abbotshall ; extending about three miles along
the coast, and stretching rather more into the
interior. The island of Inchkeith, in the Firth
of Forth, is a detached part of the parish.
There are two harbours, one at the town of
Kinghorn, the other a little to the west at
Pettycur : these form the ordinary landing
places on the north side of the Firth of Forth
for boats crossing by the ferry from Newhaven.
On the coast about half way between the two
ports, is a basaltic rock, composed of columns
about twelve feet in height, of, different dia-
meters, each having from four to seven faces.
Within the parish, moreover, is a mineral
spring, considered to be of a powerfully diur-
etic quality, and calculated to give vigour to
debilitated constitutions, as also to relieve
difficulty of breathing, and allay inflammation
both external and internal. An account of it
was published in 1618 by the famous Dr.
Anderson, inventor of the pills which go
by his name. The surface of the parish is
beautifully diversified by rising grounds, now
generally under a high state of cultivation.
About a mile to the west of the town, is Ihe
fatal rock, a lofty and rugged eminence, which
proved the death of king Alexander III. This
monarch was pressing forward from Inverkeith-
ing to Kinghorn, late in the evening. The
night was dark, and the road wound dangerous-
ly along some precipitous cliffs overhanging the
sea ; his courtiers earnestly entreated him to
delay his journey till the morning ; but he in-
sisted on advancing ; and his horse, making a
false step, stumbled over a cliff, and, falling
with its rider, killed him in an instant. The
place is still pointed out, in the tradition of the
neighbourhood by the name of " the King's
Wood-end," and a cross of stone was erected
on the spot, which existed in the reign of
James II. The fatal consequences of the
death of this monarch, who had so long govern-
ed Scotland " in luve and lee," are well known.
The accident happened on the 16th of March
1285. In England, if we are to believe the
chronicler Knighton, the death of Alexander
was considered as a judgment from heaven for
his having broken the holy season of Lent by
a visit to his queen ! The country hereabouts
was at that early period entirely covered with

648

K I N G H O R N.

wood. A farm in the neighbourhood of the
scene of the accident is called Woodfield-
park. At one period there was a regular
royal residence on the high ground overlooking
the town, and we observe that, previous to the
death of Alexander III., it was frequently
occupied by the kings or their relatives. When
Alexander II. married the Princess Joan of
England in 1221, she was secured in a join-
ture rent of L.1000 upon the royal lands of
Jedburgh, Lassudden, Kinghorn, and Crail.
The royal house and demesne were afterwards
gifted by Robert II. to Sir John Lyon, who
had married the king's third daughter Jane by
Elizabeth Mure ; hence, the family of Lyon,
which first was advanced to the dignity of
the baronage under the title of Lord Glammis,
and was in 1606 elevated to a superior rank
under the title of Earl of Kinghorn. This
title was changed by the consent of Charles II.
to that at present borne by the family ( Earl of
Strathmore) in consequence, we have heard,
of the dislike which Patrick, the third earl of
Kinghorn, conceived against it. It is said by
tradition that the title Kinghorn became ab-
breviated into the mean and disagreeable epi-
thet of " Hornie," and that as the earl was
walking along the streets of Edinburgh, the very
boys would cry that word after him in ridicule.
Hence, as the place was at the best a rather
homely seat for an earldom, his lordship made
interest to obtain the more noble and sono-
rous title of Strathmore.

Kinghorn, an ancient town and royal burgh,
the capital of the above parish, occupying an
agreeable situation on the face of a sloping
ground to the Firth of Forth, directly opposite
Leith, at the distance of three miles south from
Kirkaldy. Kinghorn is understood to be one of
the oldest towns in Fife, and derives its name —
not from any circumstance connected with a king,
—but from the adjoining promontory of land,
styled in Gaelic cean gorn or gorm, signifying
the blue head. Such an etymology is found to
be countenanced by the popular title kln-gorn,
the name in use by the common people being
here, as is often the case elsewhere, the more
correct. The town had risen to some conse-
quence in the reign of David I., in the twelfth
century, when it was created a royal burgh,
having all its privileges confirmed by Alexan-
der III. Till within the last forty years we
find Kinghorn to have been one of the most
irregularly and meanly constructed towns in I

the district, the greater part of the houses be-
ing of two storeys, with outside stairs to the
street, which was generally in a very dirty
state. Several of these houses still remain,
but in the present day the town has undergone
a variety of beneficial improvements, and now
possesses many modern substantial edifices.
Formerly the court-house and jail were in an
old building in the centre of the town, called
St. Lawrence's Tower ; but there is now an ele-
gant new edifice for these purposes. Besides this,
the only other public erection worthy of special
notice, is a handsome new school-house, en-
closed within an extensive play-ground at the
west end of the town. The plan for this erec-
tion, which possesses a small spire, was fur-
nished by Mr. Hamilton, and displays his usual
taste for elegance combined with utility. It
contains an infant school-room, a female school-
room, a common school-room, and a library and
museum. Towards this building the town's
people subscribed L.200, the burgal corpora-
tion gave the ground and L. 150, and the heritors
of the parish also contributed L.150. The
system of education pursued is that which Pro-
fessor Pillans has laid down in his well-known
work on that subject. By referring to the ar-
ticle KntKALDY it will be seen that the town
of Kinghorn is entitled to a portion of the mu-
nificent endowment for education by the late
Robert Philp, Esq. of that place, and in vir-
tue of this grant a certain number of children
aTe gratuitously taught the elementary branches.
Kinghorn possesses a small and not very good
harbour, and though nominally enjoying the
importance of being the seat of the ferry across
the Firth of Forth to Leith and Newhaven,
all boats engaged in this thoroughfare land at
Pettycur, a small village or hamlet, with a
more accessible port, lying about half a mile
to the west. The trade of Kinghorn, it is sa-
tisfactory to remark, has not lagged behind in
the general career of improvement and pros-
perity, observable in most of the Fife towns.
Like the rest, its chief trade is that connected
with the spinning and preparation of lint for
the linen fabrics for which the county is now
so deservedly reputed. The town now pos-
sesses two large spinning establishments, mov-
ed by steam power, which employ a good num-
ber of persons ; weaving by the hand is the .
other chief trade in Kinghorn. Though la-
bouring under the disadvantage of a poor har-
bour, in which hardly any shipping is ever

KINGLASSIE.

649

Been, and with the above exceptions, having
little local traffic, Kinghorn exhibits a pleas-
ing example of what may be done, under very
discouraging circumstances, for the improve-
ment and advancement of a town. These ob-
jects, with the cultivation of their minds, seem
to occupy a great part of the attention of the
inhabitants- Though the burgh be possessed
of a very small free revenue, yet, by strict eco-
nomy, private subscription, and, what is most
honourable to the working classes, their volun-
tary labour after work hours, the burgesses are
securing, as far as in their power, the comfort of
good roads and streets, public libraries, and, in
conjunction with the heritors and private sub-
scribers of the parish, have founded a seminary
and erected a school-house which would do ho-
nour to any city. Altogether, a stranger might
be astonished to learn the progress which has
been made in this ancient little burgh during
the last four years in all kinds of establish-
ments that tend to the diffusion of knowledge :
two large scientific libraries have been insti-
tuted within a very short time. In searching
for the cause of so creditable a taste for liter-
ature, it is found that much has been owing
to the free perusal of newspapers and periodi-
cal works by the industrious artisans of the
town, who, like most persons of their class
engaged at large factories, are keenly alive to
passing events. During the excitation of poli-
tical feeling in 1830 and in the summer of
1831, the magistrates of the burgh rendered
themselves highly popular by their singularly
independent tone in the election contests. The
civic government is placed in a provost, two
bailies, a treasurer, and town-clerk. The
town-council in 1818, much to their honour,
set an example of reforming themselves, and
have since by their public acts and various im-
provements shown what a reformed magistracy
may effect. The burgh joins with Kirkaldy,
Dysart, and Burntisland, in electing a mem-
ber of parliament. Besides the parish church
there is a Burgher meeting-house. The fast day
of the church is the Thursday before the third
Sunday of July. — Population of the town in
1821, 1500, including the parish, 2443.

KINGLASSIE, a parish in the county of
Fife, bounded by Auchterderran on the west,
Dysart on the south, Markinch on the east,
and Leslie on the north, extending four miles
in length by two in breadth at the east end,
and four at the west. A hilly range separates

the bulk of the parish from the vale of the
Leven on the north, and from these uplands
the grounds spread away into an arable vale of
considerable length and breadth. Through the
bottom flows the Lochty, a streamlet which
joins the Orr, and on the former stands the
confused village of Kinglassie, which is said
to derive its name from being the " head of the
grey moor," a signification pointing out the
former condition of the vale. The village is
situated at the distance of two miles arid a
half south-west of Leslie, and seven north
from Kinghorn. The road on which it stands
is rather unfrequented. The inhabitants are
supported principally by weaving, and the place
is entitled to hold two annual fairs. Inch-
dairnie, the seat of John Aytoun, Esq., is
pleasantly situated about a mile east from the
village, amidst some old plantations. — Popu-
lation in 1821, 1027.

KINGOLDRUM, a parish in Forfarshire,
bounded by Lentrathen on the west, the upper
division of Kirriemuir on the north, Cortachy
and the lower division of Kirriemuir on the
east, and Airly on the south. In length it
extends seven miles by a breadth of two and a
half. The Prosen water flows along a portion
of its east side. The parish is hilly or moun-
tainous, with small rivulets between the hills.
In the north part of the district the mountains
rise to a considerable height, especially one
termed Catlaw. On this and the adjoining
mountains there is excellent pasture for sheep,
and Catlaw mutton is esteemed for its delicacy.
The lower portions of the parish are in a high
state of cultivation. The village of Kingol-
drum lies in the southern part, a few miles
north-west of Kirriemuir. — Population in
1821, 517.

KINGOODIE, a small village in the pa-
rish of Longforgan, Perthshire, erected to ac-
commodate the workmen of an adjacent free-
stone quarry of the same name.

KING'S-BARNS, a parish in the eastern
part of Fife, lying with its east side to the
German Ocean, and bounded by Crail on the
south, Denino on the west, and St. Andrews
on the north ; in form it is nearly a square of
four miles. Originally the parish belonged to
Crail, and it only became a separate cure in
1631. The district is arable and of a very
productive nature. Pitmilly, the seat of ona
of the most ancient families in Fife, is in the
northern part of the parish, near the sea.
4 o

650

KINLOSS.

The village of King's- Barns lies a mile to the
south, on the public road, round the coast,
and at a short distance, on the south-east,
stands Cambo-House, the seat of Sir David
Erskine. The parish, especially in this quar-
ter, abounds in freestone. Limestone, and
ironstone also prevail. The village of King's-
Barns stands six miles south-east of St. An-
drews, and three and a half north of Crail.
The inhabitants are generally employed in the
weaving of linen goods ; and the place is en-
titled to hold two annual fairs. — Population in
18-21, 998.

KING'S KETTLE.— See Kettle.

KING'S-MUIR, a district in Fife.— See
Denino.

KINGUSSIE and INCH, a mountainous
pastoral parish in the district of Badenoch,
Inverness- shire, extending twenty miles in
length, by seventeen in breadth, bounded on
the north by Moy and Dalarossie, on the east
by Alvie, on the south by Blair in Athole,
and on the west by Laggan. The district is
intersected by the Spey, which pursues a sinu-
ous course through the low country, and on
its left bank, on the great road from Perth to
Inverness, stands the beautiful village of Kin-
gussie, at the distance of 43 miles from Inver-
ness, and 72 from Perth. It possesses a
small jail, with a court-room, in which justice
of peace courts for the district of Badenoch
are held. The village is entitled to hold
five fairs annually. About four miles farther
up the Spey is Spey-Bridge, which carries the
road across towards the south. Some miles
down the river on the right bank stands the
small village of Inch. Rothiemurchus is the
next village on the same side. The conjoint
parish of Kingussie and Inch is well watered
by a number of small streams — Population
in 1821, 2006.

KINLOCH, a parish in Perthshire, of an ir-
regular long figure, extending nearly seven miles
in length, by an average breadth of one and
a half; bounded by Blairgowrie on the east,
Cluny on the south and part of the west, a
smaller division of Blairgowrie also on the
west, and Bendothy on the north. The sur-
face is finely diversified by lakes, woods,
and gentlemen's seats, all uniting to render the
scenery highly beautiful. There are three
l<;kes, all in the southern division, namely,
Drumelie loch, the Rae loch, and the Fenzies

loch ; the first of these is the largest, and from
9S_ 1

their banks, the ground rises to the northward
in well -cultivated fields for several miles. The
kirk-town of the parish stands on the public
road on the south-east verge of the district.
— Population in 1821, 415.

KINLOSS, a parish in the northern part
of the county of Moray or Elgin, lying on the
shore of the Moray firth, bounded on the east
by Alves, on the south and south-west by
Rafford and Forres. It is of a square form,
and level surface, measuring ebout three and
a half miles each way. It is well- cultivated
and enclosed. The village of Findhorn, at
the mouth of the river of that name, is in the
parish. Before arriving at this small sea-port,
the river Findhorn forms a lake of considera-
ble magnitude, and at its south-east extremity,
on a streamlet which enters it, stands the kirk-
town of Kinloss, which, judging from the situa-
tion, it is said, should be properly styled Kin-
loch; but such an etymology is extremely
doubtful, for in old writings the place is va-
riously called Killoss and Kilfloss which are
interpreted into, " the church on the water."
The religious structure thus designated, we ima-
gine either to have been an abbey of Cistertian
monks, of considerable celebrity, which was
founded here by David I. in the year 1 150, or
some chapel which was then superseded, of a
more remote antiquity. There prevailed at
one time a popular tradition, to the effect
that on one occasion the life of King Duffus
was here preserved by concealing himself be-
neath a bridge, and that a chapel was reared
in thankfulness for his escape from those who
sought his life. Dempster, following this
story, gives the following account of it, and the
reason for its foundation : " Killoss, in Mora-
via, nomen habet a fiuctibus, qui, praeter am-
nis naturam, derepente vicino in campo pullu-
larent, dum Duffi Regis corpus revelaretur.
Coenobium, post duo fere secula quam Duffus
occubuit, fundatum in memoriam miraculi
quod ibidem contigisse memoratur." Boethius
speaks of the circumstance in a similar man-
ner. Pursuing the relation of the event, he
adds, " Nunc ibi ccenobium est, cum amplissi-
mo templo, Divae Virgini sacro, atque augus-
tissimo, aedibusque magnificae structurae pio-
rum ccetu Cistertiensis instituti insigne, nulli
in Albione religionis observatione secundum."
One of the most distinguished abbots of the
Cistertian monastery was Robert Reid, official
of Moray in 1530, bishop of Orkney in 1557,

K I N E L L A R.

651

•nd president for some time of the court of
eession. He was employed in various state
negotiations and assisted at the marriage of
Queen Mary with the Dauphin of France.
He has been much commended by Spottis-
wood, for his integrity and care in the adminis-
tration of justice, but though the primary en-
dower of the Edinburgh University, which was
begun from a legacy of his, amounting to 8000
merks, specially for that purpose, his name has
been completely forgotten in Scotland. The
abbey of Kinloss owned property to the extent
of upwards of L. 1200 per annum, and at the
Reformation, when the whole was seized,
Mr. Edward Bruce, commissary of Edinburgh,
afterwards a lord of session, was made com-
mendator of the establishment, and elevated to
the condition of Baron Kinloss in 1604. His
son, Thomas Bruce, received the increased
dignity of Earl of Elgin in 1 633, from Charles I. ,
and his descendants still enjoythe title. — Popu-
lation in 1821, 1071.

KINNAIRD, a suppressed parish in For-
farshire, now divided between the parishes of
Fernell and Brechin.

KINNAIRD, a parish in Perthshire, in
the district of Gowrie, and partly within the
carse of that name, lying betwixt Abernyte on
the north-east, and Kilspindie on the south-
west, Inchture an*? Errol on the south-
east, and Collace on the north-west. In form
it is nearly square, being three miles in length
by two in breadth. The grounds in the hilly
district on the north are pastoral ; those in the
beautiful carse on the south are agricultural.
In the parish, on the right of the road in passing
northward, are slight remains of the ancient
castle of Kinnaird, which, along with the
barony lands of Kinnaird, belong to the noble
family of that name. — Population in 1821, 465.

KINNAIRD HEAD, a promontory on
the coast of Buchan, Aberdeenshire, a short
way north of Fraserburgh. Upon an old cas-
tle, the property of Lord Saltoun, a light-
house was erected in December 1787, in lat.
57° 42', and long. 2° 19' west of London;
Cairnbulg from the light-house bearing by com-
pass south-east, distant two miles ; and Troup-
head west north-west, distant nine miles. The
lantern is 120 feet above the level of the sea
at high water, and is lighted from the going
away of daylight till its return.

KINNEFF, a parish in the county of Kin-
cardine, lying on the sea-coast south from Dun-

notar, and bounded by Arbuthnot on the «vest,
and Bervie on the south. From the water of
Bervie, which is the southern boundary for a
short distance, to the northern extremity the
length is about five miles, and the whole su-
perficies measures 6408 acres, of which 4023
are in cultivation, 1 184 are capable of improve-
ment, 17 in plantations, and 1184 hills and
wastes. By computation, the parish lately
possessed 1194 head of cattle, about 150 horses,
202 sheep, and 30 swine, while the real rental
was L.3406. The coast is here, as in Dun-
notar parish, exceedingly bold and rocky. The
parish, which incorporates the abrogated parish
of Caterline, has probably taken its name from
a castle, the ruins of which are still to be seen
upon the margin of the sea, not above a hun-
dred yards distant from the church. There is
a vulgar tradition of this having been the resi-
dence of one of the Scottish monarchs named
Kenneth. — Population in 1821, 1036.

KINNELL, a parish in Forfarshire, lying
with its south side to the Lunan water, and
separated from the sea by the parish of Lunan ;
bounded by Fernell on the north, and Guthrie
and part of Kirkden on the west, extending
above four miles in length by three in breadth.
Unless in one quarter on the Lunan water,
which is hilly, the surface is generally flat and
under a good state of cultivation. Plantations
are now also in a thriving condition. The
church stands on the left bank of the Lunan
water, at the distance of six miles from Ar-
broath— Population in 1821, 732.

KINNEL or KINEL, a rivulet in Dum-
fries-shire, rising in the parish of Kirbpatrick-
juxta, and running in a south easterly direction,
it receives the Ae at Esby, and falls into the
Annan at Broomhill, in the parish of Loch-
maben.

KINNELL AR. a small parish in Aberdeen-
shire, lying with its north end to the river Don,
near which it is intersected by the Inverury
Canal, bounded on the west by Kintore, on
the south by Skene, and on the east by Dyce
and Newhills. It extends about four miles
from the Don, but unless at a wide part on tho
south, is not more than a mile and a- half broad.
The lands are generally enclosed and well cul-
tivated.—Population in 1821, 996.

KINNESSWOOD, a small sequestered
and ancient village in the parish of Portmoak,
Kinross-shire, situated on the north-east shore
of Loch Leven, at the distance of five miles

652

KINROSS-SHIRE.

east from Kinross, and one west from the vil-
lage of Scotland-well. The situation of the
village is somewhat romantic and pleasing,
being beneath the shadow of the western ter-
mination of the Lomond hills, and having a
beautiful prospect in front, of the lake and its
islands. Though otherwise obscure, it derives
a slight fame from having been the birth-place
of Michael Bruce, the Scottish poet, and au-
thor of many much-admired and often-printed
pieces. The house in which he first saw
the light — a thatched one of two storeys — is
pointed out on the left side of a wynd proceed-
ing up from the main street towards the hills.
There is a garden behind, which once contain-
ed a bower formed by the youth's own hands,
for purposes of study and poetical recreation.
After a very brief, but pure and blameless ex-
istence, he died of consumption, and was buried
in the church- yard of Scotland-well, (Port-
moak,) where there is an obelisk to his me-
mory.

KINNETTLES, a parish at the centre of
Forfarshire, nearly of a square form, extend-
ing two miles and a-half in length by two in
breadth, bounded by the parish of Glammis on
the west and north, Forfar on the east, and
Inverarity on the south. The district is arable,
and among the most beautiful and productive
in the shire. — Population in 1821, 566.

KINNOUL, a parish in Perthshire, lying
with its western extremity to the Tay, oppo-
site Perth, and extending from thence in a
most irregular manner for three or four miles,
by a general breadth of one mile. Besides
this larger portion, there are two detached parts
— one to the north between St. Martin's pa-
rish and Kilspindie, and one on the Tay,
encompassed by the parish of Kinfauns and
St. Madoes. The surface of this parish is
hilly, but romantic, and exceedingly beauti-
ful, being clothed to a great extent with
fine plantations, and having many gentlemen's
seats. The hill of Kinnoul, rising from the
Tay opposite, and within view of the town
of Perth, is one of the very finest objects
of the kind in Britain. It is crowned and
highly embellished with wood, and has a va-
riety of villas environed in shrubberies and
gardens of the most exuberant description, the
whole only paralleled in beauty and salubrity
of situation by Richmond Hill. At the east
end of the bridge which crosses the Tay from
Perth, a large suburb or distinct town has

arisen under the name of Kinnoul or Bridge-
end, which is a burgh of barony under the Earl
of Kinnoul, and is entitled to hold a weekly
market and four annual fairs. The houses,
which are substantial and handsomely built,
chiefly line the public roads for a short distance.
About the year 1767, a nursery was begun in
this parish, opposite Perth, by Mr. James
Dickson of Hassendean-burn, near Hawick, and
it has continued ever since as a very extensive
and useful establishment of the kind to this
part of Scotland. The ancient church of the
parish was long a rectory in the proprietary of
the monastery of Cambuskenneth, and was de-
dicated to rather a rare saint, Constantine, who
was a king of Scots in the tenth century, and
who became a Monk among the Culdees of
St. Andrews. The modern church of Kin-
noul is a neat edifice built on a bank over-
hanging the Tay, south from the village.
About a quarter of a mile south from the
church once stood the old Castle of Kinnoul.
This place has given the title of Earl to a
branch of the family of Hay of Errol, the first
of the title being ennobled in 1627, as Lord
Hay of Kinfauns, and elevated to be Earl of
Kinnoul, Viscount Dupplin, in 1633. — Popu-
lation of the parish and village in 1821, 2674.

KIN ORE, a parish in Aberdeenshire, now
incorporated with the parish of Huntly.

KINROSS-SHIRE, a small inland coun-
ty, situated at the western extremity of the
county of Fife, from which it was disjoined in
the year 1426, and encompassed on its west
and north sides by Perthshire, with Fife on its
southern quarter. Its name is significant of
its local situation, importing the " head of the
peninsula." As now constituted, it measures
from east to west, that is, from Auchmuir
bridge at the bottom of the carse of Loch
Leven to Fossaway kirk, eleven miles and a
quarter in length ; and from Keltybridge, nearly
due north to Damhead, nine miles and three
quarters. The general figure of the county is
somewhat circular, although the line of its
boundary is very irregular, and its total super-
ficies amounts to seventy-eight square miles,
or about 39,702 Scots acres. The bounda-
ries or outskirts of the county are generally
hilly, and in point of fact the shire may be de-
scribed as an open vale, or plain, environed in
uplands and hills. The Ochil hills, which
separate the district from Strathearn, are the
northern boundary, the Lomond hills are the

KINROSS-SHIRE.

653

eastern, Benarty hill the south-eastern, and
Cleish hills the south and south-western. These
hills are generally pastoral, and adapted for
the rearing of cattle, but they are also suited in
many places to cultivation, and exhibit many
pleasing and productive arable fields. The origi-
nal condition of this minute territory seems to
have resembled that of the contiguous shire of
Fife, having been of a moory, mossy nature,
and most probably once bearing a forest of
trees, the fit residence of wild boars and other
animals usually found in savage countries. Up
1o a comparatively recent epoch, the lands of
Kinross-shire were bleak and unreclaimed, a
circumstance partly attributable to a certain
local characteristic worth mentioning. The
district has the remarkable peculiarity in its
proprietary of being very much divided into
farms, each owned in feu by its tenant,
wherefore there are more resident lairds in
proportion in this part of the country than
are to be found anywhere else, establishing
a resemblance betwixt the proprietary of this
county and that of Fife. The farms, it
appears, were feued about the commence-
ment of the eighteenth century from the
Douse of Kinross, to the tenants then in pos-
session, whose descendants inherit the proper-
ties, paying for them an exceedingly trifling
duty or quit rent. The marches of the vari-
ous farms not having been well defined, and
being distracted by the practice of run-rig,
it was long before the county manifested very
active signs of improvement. Within the re-
collection of persons of middle life, few dis-
tricts were worse cultivated or less profitable
than Kinross-shire ; but the rack-rent taxes
levied by Pitt, and other circumstances, among
which is included tke good example shown
by neighbours, ultimately induced a spirited
change, and now, from less to more, the agri-
culture, the mode of draining, enclosing, and
planting, can vie with those of Fife or most
other places. Draining on a great and effec-
tual scale has been instituted on the carse east
from Loch Leven and on its shore, there be-
ing in all directions in this quarter productive
arable fields, where, only a few years ago, there
was nothing but desolate moors and mosses.
The county possesses no running waters except
a few small rivulets which are chiefly tributary
to Loch Leven. This beautiful and large ex-
panse of water, which is sufficiently noticed
in its proper place, lies at the east end of the

wide vale of the shire, and is emptied by a
small river of the same name, which pursues an
easterly course through Fife. By its recent
partial drainage a considerable addition of land
has been acquired, but generally of a poor qua-
lity. The river Leven, from its source to
Auchmuir bridge above alluded to, is the
boundary with the shire of Fife ; Kinross-shire
being on the north bank. Besides Loch Le-
ven, there are a few small lakes or tarns on the
hills above Cleish. The district is now in
many places well sheltered by plantations.
The mineralogy of the shire is a subject of lit-
tle importance. Whinstone is found in a va •
riety of situations ; and sandstone of the best
quality abounds. Limestone likewise has been
discovered in abundance, and wrought. There
are no coal- works established in the county ;
but coal is found in great quantities in the
neighbourhood. The shire is now provided
with good roads. The county comprises but
four complete parochial divisions; and possesses
only one town, namely, Kinross, with a large
populous village, in its neighbourhood, called
Mil-na-thort, vulgarly Mills-o'-forth. The
county is joined with that of Clackmannan
under one sheriff-depute ; but there is a resi-
dent sheriff- substitute at Kinross. The real
rental of the shire in 1811 was for lands
L.22,752, houses L.6870.— Population in
1821, males 3660, females 4102, total 7762.

KINROSS, a parish in the above county,
extending about three and a half miles in length
from north to south, and nearly the same at
its greatest breadth ; bounded by Loch Leven
on the east, on the north by Orwell, on the
south by Cleish, and on the west by Fossaway
and Tulliebole. Stretching westward from the
margin of Loch Leven, the parish consists of a
large portion of the flat or undulating vale of
Kinross, and though originally moorish and
unproductive, is now improved and well en-
closed, and yields tolerably good crops. There
are three small rivers in the district, namely,
the Gairney on the south boundary, the South
Queich below the town, and North Queich on
the north boundary, all of which discharge
themselves into Loch Leven, and are stored
with srnail trout. The small island in Loch
Leven on which stands the ruined castle, be-
longs to the parish.

Kinross, the capital of the above county
and parish, and a town of considerable antiqui-
ty, occupies a pleasant situation at the foot of

654

KINROSS.

the open vale to which it has given its name,
on the north-western shore of Loch Leven, at
the distance of 27 miles from Edinburgh, 17
from Perth, and 19 from Cupar. Formerly
the town consisted of a series of tortuous lanes
of an antique appearance, bordering on the
above beautiful lake, but in the present day
there is a tolerably well built, though not very
straight main street, bounding these lanes on
their northern quarter, and lining the chief
road to the north, which thus passes through
the town. Originally, the locality was dig-
nified by a castle of great strength, situ-
ated on a promontory jutting into the lake,
and of which the town was a dependance.
This ancient stronghold, long the residence
»f the Earls of Morton, was removed upwards
of a century ago, and the promontory is now
occupied by Kinross House, an elegant struc-
ture, built and inhabited by Sir William
Bruce of Kinross, the architect of the modern
part of Holyroodhouse, and many other man-
sions of the reign of Charles II. The envi-
rons of Kinross are much indebted for their
beauty to the pleasure-grounds and exuberant
plantations around this edifice, which stands
near the northern entrance to the town, and
opposite the island and castle of Queen Mary ;
for a description of which important objects in
connexion with Kinross, we refer to the article
Leven (Loch). Kinross has, in recent
times, undergone many extensive improve-
ments, in the building of handsome new
houses on the main street, and otherwise, and
now possesses a large splendid inn at the
northern extremity of the town, which for ap-
pearance and accommodation is perhaps not
surpassed in Scotland. It is tastefully built on
the plan of the old English manor-houses, and
has an extensive suit of stables. There are
other good inns in the town. The parish-
church, which stands near the centre of the
town, is a plain edifice, with an ordinary
steeple. Besides this place of worship, there
are two meeting-houses of the United Seces-
sion church. As the capital of the county,
the courts of the sheriff sit in Kinross, and
justice of peace courts are likewise held at
stated periods. The place is undistinguished
by manufactories, and the chief trade of the
working classes is the weaving of linen and
cotton goods. The adjacent lake abounds in
fish ; but being rented for the Edinburgh mar-
ket, the town enjoys little benefit from it.

Kinross is entitled to hold four fairs annually.
A branch of the British Linen Company's
Bank is of considerable use to the town and
its vicinity. — Population of the parish and
town in 1821, 2563.

KINTAIL, a parish at the south-west
corner of Ross-shire, so named from the words
Cean-dha-haal, the " head of the two salt water
lakes." The large indentation of the sea, op-
posite the south-eastern corner of Skye, called
Loch Alsh, divides itself into two branches,
the most northerly of which is called Loch
Long, and the most southerly Loch Duich.
These two arms of the sea enclose the parish
of Kintail, the church of which is situated at a
point at the head of Loch Duich. Glenshiel lies
on the south, Lochalsh parish on the north, and
the parish of Kintail measures between the
two, thirteen miles in length by six in breadth.
The parish is mountainous, wild, and pastoral,
and in popular language is divided into the
three districts of Croe, Glenelchaig, and Glas-
leter. There are two rivers, the Loigh and
the Croe, which rise in small rivulets in the
mountains ; the former runs into Loch Long,
and the latter into Loch Duich. The cascade
of Glomach lies in the heights of Glenelchaig,
far from public view. The fall of water is
very considerable, and rendered awful by the
darkness of the surrounding hills and woods.
Kintail is, in its inland quarter, surrounded
with high hills ; the most eminent is Tulloch-
ard, which commands a view of many of the
Hebrides. This mountain claims particular
attention, on account of the veneration in
which it was held in ancient times. Like the
temple of Janus at Rome, it indicated peace
or war : when warfare commenced, a burning
fire on the highest ridge was the signal ; and
all the tenants of Seaforth appeared in arms
next morning at the Castle of Donan, the usu-
al place of rendezvous. This burning mount
the family of Seaforth bear for their crest ;
and those who relish the music of the bag-
pipe, show no little regard to the rune of Tul-
loch-ard, or Seaforth's gathering. The castle
of Donan, just mentioned, was built in the
reign of Alexander III., to resist the depreda-
tions of the Danes. It commanded a very ex-
tensive prospect, being situated in the western
extremity of the parish, at the parting of Loch
Long from Loch Duich, where there is now a
ferry. It consisted of a tower and rampart,
and at full sea was surrounded by water. It

K I P P E N.

655

was demolished in the year 1719, after the
battle of Glenshiel, by a ship of war, and
some of the balls employed in battering it
down are still found in the mossy ground in its
vicinity. The author of the Statistical Ac-
count informs us, that, in his day, (1793) an
old inhabitant of the parish remembered of
having seen the Kintail men under arms,
dancing on the leaden roof of Castle Donan,
just as they were setting out for Sheriff- Muir,
where this resolute band were cut in pieces.
By the same authority we learn that before the
parish manse is a place called Downan Diar-
mod, being the remains of an ancient fort, near
which is shown the tomb of that Fingtdian
hero, composed of large rough stones. Kin-
tail was long known as the country of the
MacRaes, a name importing " the sons of
good fortune," who, it is said, emigrated thither
from the braes of Aird, on the Lovat estate.
—Population in 1821, 1027.

KINTORE, a parish in Aberdeenshire,
lying on the right side of the Don, opposite
Keithhall and Fintray, bounded on the north
by Inverury, from which it is separated
by the Don, on the west by Kemnay, and
on the south by Skene and Kinnellar. The
surface rises gradually from the neighbour-
hood of the river to the western quarter of
the parish, which extends six miles in length
by about three in breadth at the middle.
The lower district is arable, and produces to-
lerably good crops. There are also now some
plantations. The road and Inverury canal
from Aberdeen pass through the parish. An-
ciently this part of the country was covered
with a forest, a part of which, with a castle,
were given, by Robert Bruce, to Robert de
Keith, Marischal of Scotland, after the battle
of Bannockburn, and the district still remains
in the hands of his descendants, the family of
Kintore ; having been bestowed, in the seven-
teenth century by the Earl Marischal, on his
son, Sir John Keith, who was afterwards
(1677) created Earl of Kintore, by Charles II.
on account of his instrumentality in preserving
the regalia of the kingdom during the troubles
of the civil wars.

Kintore, the capital of the above parish,
and a royal burgh, is situated on the public
road near the Don, at the distance of twelve
miles north-west of the county town, and
three south-east of Inverury. We are inform-
ed by the author of the Statistical Account,

and his followers, that Kintore was created a"
royal burgh about the beginning of the ninth
century, — that is to say, nearly three hundred
years before burgal privileges of that class
were known in Scotland. And it can only
now be conjectured that the town most proba-
bly was elevated to be a royal burgh about
the same period as Aberdeen, namely, the
twelfth century. The only old charter it pos-
sesses is one of James V., confirming some of
an ancient date. It is governed by a provost,
two bailies, a dean of guild, and treasurer, as-
sisted by a council of eight other burgesses ;
and unites with Banff, Cullen, Elgin, and
Inverury in electing a member of parliament.
The set of the burgh not requiring any periodi-
cal change in the officials, the head of the
Kintore family has been provost for about a
hundred and fifty years. By a recent exami-
nation before the House of Lords, it appears,
that this royal burgh was in the most impover-
ished condition of almost any town in Scotland.
The town is of small size, with the parish
church standing beside it. The Inverury
canal passes it on the west — Population of
the burgh in 1821, about 350, including the
parish 1053.

KINTYRE.— See Cantirk.

KIPPEN, a parish, of which a third part
belongs to Perthshire, and the remainder to
Stirlingshire, lying on the right bank of the
Forth, bounded by Gargunnock on the east,
Balfron on the south, and Drymen on the
west. The Forth separates it on the north
from Kilmadock, Kincardine, and Port-Men-
teith. In extent it measures nearly eight
miles in length, by from two to four in
breadth. The parish is divided into level
carse ground and upland ; the former, which
lies on the Forth, is of unequal breadth, and
forms a part of that extensive plain which
reaches from Gartmore on both sides of the
river, as far eastward as Borrowstounness.
Much of the land is of a mossy nature. From
some of the higher grounds, an ample and va-
riegated prospect presents itself to the eye of
the spectator. At the head of the strath
stands the house of Gartmore, commanding a
view of the whole plain below, which through-
out is a rich and beautiful valley, exhibiting
an enclosed and well cultivated country, em-
bellished with numberless farms and gentle-
men's seats. Stirling Castle, and the roman-
tic woody eminences adjacent, are seen on the

650

IRKALDY.

east, like islands emerging out of the level
carse land. In former times this district,
from lying near the borders of the Highlands,
was occasionally subjected to the predatory
incursions of the nearest clans. At one time
there were a number of places of strength in
the district. In the western division of the
parish stands the village of Bucklyvie, and in
the eastern part, on the public road, at the
distance of 9| miles west from Stirling, is si-
tuated the village of Kippen, which is entitled
to hold several annual fairs, and which derives
no small distinction from having been for fifty
years the seat of whisky distillation to a con-
siderable extent. The manufacture of this
article here was primarily encouraged by an old
distillery act of parliament, which permitted
the distillation on a very free scale within the
Highland line, and as Kippen was, till a new
act in 1793, reckoned within this imaginary
boundary, it enjoyed its trade in whisky on fa-
vourable terms. — Population of the parish
and villages in 1821, 2029.

KIRBISTER, a small lake in the parish
of Orphir, Orkney.

KIRKALDY, or KIRKCALDY, a
parish in the county of Fife, bounded on
the south by the Firth of Forth, on the
west by the parish of Abbotshall, and by
Dysart on all the remaining sides. In the
southern extremity of this parish lies the
town of Kirkaldy, from which it takes its
name, and the landward part is merely a small
stripe of territory stretching to the north for
about two miles, and generally less than a mile
in breadth. The beautiful estate of Dunni-
keir' forms the principal part of the northern
division of the parish. The parish of Abbots-
hall, with the exception of three farms that
belonged to Kinghorn, anciently formed part
of Kirkaldy parish, but was separated in 1649,
on account of the anxiety prevalent at that time
to increase the facilities of attending public
worship. The church of the parish of Kirk-
aldy is situated at the town. In this parish
were born several eminent individuals, though
of very different estimations in life — namely,
Michael Scott, the celebrated philosopher
of the thirteenth century, [he first saw the
light at Balweary, in that part of the parish
now separated, under the name of Abbotshall] ;
Oswald of Dunnikeir, the well known patriot
and statesman ; and Dr. Adam Smith, author
of the Wealth of Nations.

Kirkaldy, a populous thriving sea- port
town, a royal burgh, and seat of a presbytery,
in the above parish, in the county of Fife, oc-
cupying a somewhat incommodious situation
between the shore of the Firth of Forth and
the base of a range of rising grounds on the
north, at the distance of three miles north from
Kinghorn, two west from Dysart, thirty-one
south-west from Dundee, and thirteen from
Edinburgh, by way of Pettycur and Kinghorn.
Besides stretching through the whole breadth of
the parish of Kirkaldy, it also crosses through
Abbotshall, and transgresses a little upon the
parish of Kinghorn. Though a town of con-
siderable antiquity, like most of those in Fife
on the shores of the Forth, and at an early pe-
riod enjoying a considerable trade, it is only in
recent times that it has emerged from an obscure
history, and, partly on the ruin of other places,
has taken an honourable station at the head
of all the towns in this rich and influential
county. From the narrow dimensions of the
ground on which Kirkaldy is situated, the in-
habitants have been from the first necessitated
to erect their habitations in a continuous line
along the shore, though unluckily without
much regard to the regularity of the buildings,
and having thence stretched to a most dispro-
portionate length, the place from an early
period, has been styled " the lang town o'
Kirka'dy" in familiar allusion to its appearance.
From being a long straggling town of a single
ill-arranged street, houses were in time planted
on the ascent behind or near the shore in front,
and in the present day, it comprises several
well-built cross streets and a variety of detach-
ed edifices, the residence of the more wealthy
classes. The town has as yet, however,
reached only a short way up the acclivity on
its northern side, and when viewed from the
sea it appears environed by finely enclosed
productive fields, with the beautiful grounds
and conspicuous tower of Raith and the verdant
plantations surrounding the house of Dunnikeir
crowning the heights. Long as the town is,
it has bean in appearance drawn out to much
greater extent by the close proximity of the
village of Path-head on the east, which al-
most connects it with Dysart. Kirkaldy
is supposed to take its name from the Cul-
dees (the Keldei, as they are often termed
in old charters), of whom it is said to have
been a cell. The first notice of it occurs
in 1334, when it was mortified by David II.

KIRKALDY.

657

to the abbots of Dunfermline successively,
and thus became a burgb of regality. It con-
tinued in the possession of these dignitaries
till 1450, when the commendator and convent,
by indentures made with the bailies and com-
munity of Kirkaldy, disponed to them and
their successors for ever the burgh and har-
bour, burgh acres, the small customs, common
pasture in the moor, &c. We are informed
by the writer of the Statistical Account, that
it was soon after erected into a royal burgh,
with the customary privileges ; and these were
specifically ratified by a charter of confirma-
tion granted by Charles I. in 1644 ; when the
burgh, for good and]gratuitous service done by it,
was erected de novo into a free royal burgh and
free port, with new and large immunities. It
is probable that these privileges, instead of be-
ing granted for good and gratuitous service,
were given as a means of preventing the good
burghers from continuing that hostility which
they, in common with all the other burgh com-
munities of Fife, had shown to his Majesty
during the unhappy contest he carried on with
a party of his people. Among the privileges
enumerated in the new charter, were powers
given to the bailies, councillors, and communi-
ty of electing and constituting annual magi-
strates for the administration of justice and
the government of the burgb, of uplifting cus-
toms and applying them to the public good ;
of holding courts; of seizing, incarcerating,
and punishing delinquents ; with which were
conjoined various other privileges expressed in
the barbarous language of the early feudal
times, when they first became customary —
such as herezelds, bludewits, merchetae mu-
lierum, fork, foss, sok, sak, tholl, thame, wraik,
vat, weth, wair, venyson, infangthief, out-
fangthief, pit and gallows, &c. Kirkaldy ap-
pears to have prospered in common with the
other busy towns along the coast of Fife.
Tradition relates that at the time when Charles
I. erected it anew into a royal burgh, it had a
hundred sail of ships belonging to it ; which
is not improbable, as we learn from authentic
documents that the port lost ninety-four vessels
by the accidents of the troubled times between
1644 and 1660. A proof of its prosperity at
even an earlier age is found in the circum-
stance that in 1622, when the General As-
sembly of the Protestant churches of France
deputed Boesnage to the king of Great Britain,
to solicit aid to enable them to resist the op-

pression of Louis XIII., the town and parish of
Kirkaldy contributed, according to the good-
will and permission of the king, a pecuniary aid
of 1030 merks ; for which Boesnage's receipt
is engrossed in the parish records. So many
men did Kirkaldy send to resist the Marquis
of Montrose at Kilsyth in 1645, that the
slaughter which distinguished that defeat is
said to have made two hundred widows in this
town alone. At the sack of Dundee in 1651,
by General Monk, the good presbyterians of
Kirkaldy lost goods to the amount of about
L.500, which they had deposited there for
safety. Yet this is nothing to the value of
the ships lost before the Restoration — which
amounted to L.53,791 sterling. The town
was at this time the seventh town in Scotland,
only Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen, Glasgow,
Perth, and St. Andrews ranking above it ;
and latterly this last falling below it, made it
the sixth. For several years before and after
1650, the monthly assessments laid on it, for
the maintenance of the troops, exceeded L.400
at an average. It contributed as 1 in 40 of
the whole supplies levied from the burghs of
Scotland. This, however, was the golden age
of the early history of Kirkaldy. One of sil-
ver— we might almost say of coppt.^ --soon
ensued. The town seems to have become at
length much reduced in wealth and the means
of carrying on its trade, by the losses which it
sustained in the course of the civil war. In 1 673,
the number of ships belonging to it had fallen to
twenty-five. And, in 1682, its distress was so
great that an application was made to the con-
vention of burghs to consider its poverty, and to
take methods for easing it as to its public burdens.
" But the burgh," says the writer of the Sta-
tistical Account, " having fallen under the dis-
pleasure of the court, on account of the oppo-
sition given by its representative to the arbi-
trary measures then carried on, the inhabitants
were not only denied relief, but farther bur-
dened with an addition of 2000 merks to their
annual assessment. The application to the
convocation was, however, renewed in 1687,
when a visitation of the burgh was ordered.
A committee appointed for that purpose met
at Kirkaldy the following year; and on the
evidence of the books and declarations both of
the magistrates of the burgh and the officers of
the customs, reported to the Convention, ' that
the customs payable to his Majesty were not
half of what they had been some years before :
4p

058

KIRKALDY.

that tin's was occasioned by the death of many
substantial merchants and shippers, and loss of
ships and decay of trade : that many of the in-
habitants, some of whom were magistrates of
the burgh, had fled from and deserted the same :
that so great was the poverty of the inhabitants,
that all the taxations imposed on the town
could do no more than pay the eight months
cess payable to the king yearly, and that with
difficulty. Before the effect of this represent-
ation could be known, the Revolution took
place ; an event highly grateful to the Scots in
general, and particularly to the whigs of Fife.
The inhabitants of Kirkaldy entering warmly
into the spirit of it, and anxious to distinguish
themselves in the support of it, found means
to apprehend the Earl of Perth, who was Lord
Chancellor, and had managed the affairs of
Scotland under James, and who, knowing that
he was generally obnoxious as one of the in-
struments of the late king, withdrew himself
as soon as the public mind had declared in fa-
vour of the Prince of Orange. After detain-
ing that nobleman five days and nights in pri-
son, under a constant guard of 300 men, they
sent him under a convoy of three boats manned
with 200 hands to Alloa, where they delivered
him on receipt into the hands of the Earl of
Mar. The guard of 300 men they found it
necessary to keep up for four months, on re-
ceiving information that a force was com-
ing down from the Highlands to burn the
town, in revenge for Perth's apprehension.
These facts, and a particular account of their
losses, having been stated in a petition to
King William in 1689, they obtained an abate-
ment of L.1000 Scots of their annual assess-
ments." The prosperity of the town, which
revived a little after this event, was soon again
depressed in consequence of the Union, the
effect of which was at first very different from
what it has been since. " Taxes, which by the
treaty of Union, were laid on many of the ne-
cessaries of life, the duties and customs which
were imposed on various articles of merchan-
dise, and the numerous restrictions with which
the English contrived, in the narrow spirit of
commercial monopoly, to fetter the trade of
Scotland in general, were quickly and severely
felt over the whole of this part of the United
Kingdom. Commerce everywhere declined ;
in spite of the attempts which were made to sup-
port it by the wretched resource of smuggling.
It suffered particularly in the towns on the
28.

Firth of Forth ; many of which were quickly
reduced to distress, and all of them languished.
This town was involved in the common fate.
Its shipping, on which it had till then entirely
depended, fell rapidly into decay ; and the se-
veral wars which followed each other for more
than half a century, having continued the ef-
fect which the disadvantageous terms of the
Union had begun, the trade of this place was
at length so much reduced, that, in 1760, it
employed no more than one coaster of fifty
tons, and two ferry-boats each of thirty. On
the return, however, of peace in 1763, the
shipping immediately revived. By the year
1 772, it had increased to eleven vessels carry-
ing 515 tons and forty-nine men ; and though
its progress was retarded by the war with Ame-
rica, it amounted at the close of that contest
to twelve vessels, carrying 750 tons and fifty-
nine men." The increase still continuing, the
number of vessels in 1792, was twenty- six,
carrying 3700 tons register, or about 5000 dead
weight, and employing 225 men, being, when
clear to sail, worth L. 30,000. From this pe-
riod, the town has gradually increased in im-
portance as a port and manufacturing town, as
may be learned from the following particulars,
which are all referable to its present state,
(July 1831.) The trade of Kirkaldy bears
an intimate resemblance to that of Dundee,
consisting almost exclusively in the spinning of
flax, and the weaving of coarse linen goods for
home and foreign consumption. The town
now possesses ten distinct establishments for
the spinning and preparation of flax, in all of
which steam-power is employed. There is
one large establishment for weaving, in which
steam is also the agent of movement. The
rest of the flax prepared here is woven by the
hand, and engages a great number of individu-
als. The fabrics prepared and woven, are
chiefly ticks, dowlas, checks, and sail-cloth.
There are four bleachfields connected with the
town for the whitening of the yarns. Kirkaldy
has likewise a rope-work. In the town and en-
virons, there are two breweries and a distillery,
likewise two iron foundries, where the machine-
ry employed in the spinning-mills is manufactur-
ed. Salt was once made to a considerable ex-
tent, but it is now manufactured on a very small
scale. Besides these chief public works, there
are many minor establishments incidental to a
populous sea-port town. Within these few
years the style of shop -keeping has been great-

KIRKALDY.

659

ly altered and improved, there being now many
elegant shops, with extensive stocks of fashion-
able and other kinds of goods, which formerly
used to be found only in cities such as Edin-
burgh. Kirkaldy is the seat of a customhouse,
having a control over a line of coast extending
from Aberdour on the west to St. Andrews
on the east, in which district are included the
creeks of Aberdour, Kinghorn, Dysart, West
and East Wemyss Leven, Largo, Elie, Pit-
tenweem, West and East Anstruther, Crail,
and St. Andrews. Anstruther is constituted a
deputy port to Kirkaldy, with a supervision
over those places to the east of it. By the
politeness of the gentlemen connected with the
customhouse establishment of Kirkaldy, we
have been furnished with a list of the shipping
belonging to the port and its creeks, which is
highly illustrative ofthe character of these places.
It appears that on the 1st of January 1831, the
whole owned 191 vessels, having a burden of
14,596 tons, and 1289 seamen. Out of this,
Kirkaldy and its creeks, as far as Largo, had
95 vessels, with 10,610 tons, and 831 seamen.
The circumstance of such a number of vessels
belonging to the small towns on the coast of
Fife is very significant of the mode in which
spare capital is employed in this ancient trad-
ing district. We find that here many a one
who realizes two or three hundred pounds in
trade, lays the sum out — frequently staking his
all, or next to it — in the purchase of a brig or
sehooner, to be engaged in foreign or coasting
traffic. There are even instances of persons
with more humble means clubbing their earn-
ings to enter into speculations of this kind. In
no other part of Scotland, indeed, that we know
of, is there exactly the same species of rage for
being ship-owners ; and, on the opposite shores
of the Lothians, such a desire is very faintly
expressed. It will, of course, be understood,
that the above number of vessels is by no
means allied to the trade of the ports to which
they belong, (though such may happen to be
the case,) the ships being employed in the ge-
neral carrying trade of the country. Among
those vessels belonging to Kirkaldy are reckon-
ed six which are engaged in whale-fishing, a
trade in which the port has been exceedingly
successful. A substantially constructed series
of edifices for the preparation of oil, in con-
nexion with the Greenland trade, was some time
ago erected on the shore below Pathhead, near
Ravenscraig castle, but the work having been

interdicted by the Earl of Roslin till a recent
period, it is not as yet in operation. The
trade of the port has been considerably benefit-
ed by the institution of a company having smacks
sailing to and from London direct. At present
there are two vessels engaged in this traffic,
carrying goods and passengers, by which the
sometimes tedious and expensive process of
sending goods by Leith is avoided. Kirk-
aldy is the only port in Fife having these
smacks, and the circumstance argues a great
deal for the enterprise and affluence of the in-
habitants. To the regular sailing to and fro
of steam-vessels in communication with New-
haven, and which go and come at least three
times a-day, much of the comfort and prospe-
rity of the port is also owing. The harbour of
Kirkaldy is situated at the east end of the
town, and though of large dimensions, with a
good stone pier at the east and west sides,
it has the misfortune of being dry at low
water ; and at such times of the tide the pas-
sengers of steam- vessels have to embark by
means of small boats. To obviate, as far as
possible, so disagreeable an inconveniency, along
moveable pier, or narrow scaffold, on wheels,
has been erected, which bears the passengers
from the sands to the boats. We would strongly
recommend the use of a convenience of this
kind to the other parts on the coast having no
low water piers, where passengers have often
to be carried out of and into the boats on the
backs of the sailors. It is the custom of the
different inn-keepers of Kirkaldy to send
chaises to the water's edge, in order to convey
gratuitously the strangers who may land to their
respective hotels. The increase of the spin-
ning trade has not been more remarkable in
Kirkaldy within these few years than the
steady improvement of the trade in corn, in
which it now surpasses any other market in
Fife. A weekly grain market is held on Sa-
turday, which collects the produce ofthe farmers
from a very extensive district in the counties of
Fife and Kinross, and commands the attend-
ance of corn factors from Edinburgh, Leith, and
other places on the southern shores of the firth.
Purchasers having here frequently the advan-
tage of seeing their grain shipped for Leith,
Glasgow — (by way of the Forth and Clyde
canal) — or other ports, before they leave the
market, there is held out a great inducement
to attendance on the part of the dealers, who
have further the benefit of the numerous steam-

660

K I R K A L D Y.

vessels ©rt the firth for transporting themselves,
with perfect certainty as to time, from side to
side, at a moderate expense.* A prodigious
revolution has been effected within the last
forty years in marketing at Kirkaldy, by the
institution of day instead of candle-light mar-
kets, tne latter being once common, and held
so early in the mornings, that during the win-
ter all the articles were bought and sold before
sunrise. This ridiculous practice has been
long since abrogated. By a very recent ar-
rangement, there are in future to be three cat-
tle markets in the year, held respectively on
the third Friday of February, the third Friday
of July, and the third Friday of October.
The first market, according to this programme,
was held in July 1831. As illustrative of the
flourishing state of the Saturday's stock mar-
ket, it may be mentioned, that during the first
year it was held, there were 8669 quarters of
wheat brought for sale ; and that in the last or
third year, recently closed, there were 16,393
quarters. The trade of Kirkaldy and neigh-
bourhood is assisted by branches of the Bank
of Scotland, and the Commercial, National,
and Glasgow Banks. The gradual but
steady progress of trade in Kirkaldy, and
the general advance of the inhabitants in man-
ners and taste, have led to the improve-
ment of the town, both in its public and pri-
vate works. In 181 1 a bill was carried through
parliament for widening, paving, and lighting
the streets, and introducing a supply of water,
and from that period may be dated the begin-
ning of those extensive alterations for the im-
provement of the appearance of the place, which
have given Kirkaldy a lively and modern, in-
stead of an antiquated and gloomy aspect.
The chief alterations have been made from
about the middle of the town to its eastern ex-
tremity, there being now, within this division,
many handsome stone edifices, while the street

* Persons proceeding from the Edinburgh side of the
firth to Kirkaldy, may either go by the ferry boats
direct from Newhaven, or by those from Newhaven to
Kinghorn ; going from thence eastward by the coaches
which run through Fife. The fares charged at both
ferries are alike, being at present two shillings for the
best, and one shilling and sixpence for the second cabin,
which, though in one sense moderate, are at all times
complained of as being too high, considering that the
voyage to Kinghorn occupies but forty — and that to
Kirkaldy about seventy minutes. The ferries in this
quarter are mostly in the hands of certain trustees, and
it is seldom that there are not vexatious disputes among
parties concerned. Both on the Fife and Mid-Lothian
coasts there is the modt deplorable want of low water piers.

has been rendered liere and there more straight
by the removal of projecting old houses. The
greatest alteration has taken place near the
centre of the eastern half, the street being here
lined with lofty good stone houses, among which
are two or three excellent inns ; and, on the
south side of the thoroughfare, is a new edifice,
of large proportions, answering the various pur-
poses of a hall for district and burgh meetings,
and a jail. From the front of this erection
rises a neat spire, in which is a conspicuous
town clock. This substantial and elegant build-
ing, which was finished in 1829, superseded ar.
exceedingly old court-house and jail, which pro-
jected on the thoroughfare, and was long a nuis-
ance to the street. The improved condition
of Kirkaldy is particularly marked by the use
of side pavement on the main and chief cross
streets, and the lighting of the town and shops
with gas, the latter improvement being made
in 1830. The inhabitants support two public
reading rooms, and there is a mechanics' insti-
tution, which differs from other establishments
of the kind, inasmuch as it is little else than
an association for the support of a library cal-
culated for the instruction of the members.
The town has no academy beyond the scale of
a parochial school, which is a somewhat re-
markable circumstance. Recently, the com-
munity have had planted amongst them a cha-
rity school, on such a principle of extensive
philanthropy that it requires particular notice.
A wealthy citizen designed Robert Philp of
Edenshead, merchant in the town, died in
1828, bequeathing property, which, after liqui-
dating minor legacies, &c, may be estimated
at nearly L. 70,000. This large sum was re-
posed in the administration of certain general
and local trustees for the purpose of erecting
and sustaining four schools, namely one in
Kirkaldy, for 100 children, one in Path-
head or St. Clair-town for 150 children, one
in the Linktown of Abbotshall (the western
suburb of Kirkaldy), for 100 children, and one
in Kinghorn for fifty children : the pupils to
be of both sexes, and to be selected from among
the very poorest inhabitants of those pJaces,
from six to fifteen years of age, and the edu-
cation to consist of only the plainest elemen-
tary branches : thirty shillings to be allowed for
clothing per annum to each pupil. In virtue of
this munificent endowment, a school-house has
been built at Kirkaldy, and in the other places
they are in the course of erection, or about to be

KIRKCONNEL.

G61

commenced, while the proper number of
children have been for some time under the care
of teachers. The civic government of Kirk-
aldy consists of a provost, two bailies, a dean
of guild and treasurer ; the council in whole
consisting of twenty-one members, ten of whom
are mariners, eight merchants, and three crafts-
men ; eleven of whom form a quorum. On
account of the expense of different public im-
provements, the burgh is now in debt L.9800,
while the revenue annually drawn is about
L.2000. The town accounts are managed by
a chamberlain. Besides the established church,
which is conspicuously situated on the rising
ground above the town, Kirkaldy has the ad-
vantage of having the parish church of Abbots-
hall, situated at a short distance to the west of
the town church, on the same rising ground.
There are also two meeting-houses of the
United Associate Synod, one of Original
Seceders, one of the Original Burgher Sy-
nod, one of Independents, and one of Episco-
palians, In closing this account of Kirkaldy,
the present writers cannot take leave of the
subject without expressing it as their belief,
founded on what they consider an accurate ex-
amination of the town — of the spirited indus-
try of its intelligent inhabitants — of its local
situation — and of its rising character, that
at no distant day it will be found by topogra-
phers occupying an honourable and distinguish-
ed rank among what are styled the first-rate
Scottish towns. — Population of Kirkaldy and
the suburbs in its vicinity in 1821, 7000; —
population of the burgh and parish, excluding
suburbs not ecclesiastically belonging to them,
4452. It is only by the former of these com-
putations that a correct idea can be gained of
the population of the place.

KIRKBEAN, a parish in the stewartry of
Kirkcudbright, occupying the south-eastern
corner of that division of Galloway on the
Solway firth at the estuary of the Nith ; bound-
ed by Colvend on the west and Newabbey on
the north : on the east and south is the Sol-
way. It is under five miles in length from
north to south, by a breadth of about three and
a half miles. Its south-eastern corner or pro-
montory is called Southernes Point. From
some high hills on its western quarter the land
generally declines towards the shore in long
pleasing expanses, presenting to the eye a rich,
beautiful and extensive prospect, fields well
enclosed, and in a high state of cultivation, with

a variety of thriving plantations. The ground
is exceedingly low on the southern sea-shore,
and is here styled the Merse. There are three
villages of very small size in the parish — Kirk-
bean, Preston, and Southerness. The first of
these, which stands in the public road from
Dumfries, in the northern part of the parish,
about a mile from the sea, enjoys a small dis-
tinction from having been the birth-place of
John Paul, otherwise Paul Jones, who was
born here in 1745, and was the son of an honest
gardener in the place. The only antiquities
in the district are the utterly ruined castles of
Cavens and Weatks, both of which were the
property and occasionally the residence of the
Regent Morton. The huge and conspicuous
mountain called Criffel, stands partly within
this parish and partly within that of Newabbey.
—Population in 1821, 790.

KIRKBOST, an islet of the Hebrides,
lying on the west coast of North Uist.

KIRKCHRIST.— See Twynholm.

KIRKCOLM, a parish in Wigtonshire,
occupying the outer extremity of the peninsu-
la, bounded by the Irish channel on the west
and north, and Loch Ryan on the east. On
its inland boundary it has the parish of Les-
walt. In extent it measures almost a square
of five miles. The surface is undulating, and
is under a good process of tillage. The
church of Kirkcolm, which before the Re-
formation be'onged to the monks of Sweet-
heart Abbey, is pleasantly situated near the
shore of Loch Ryan, north of the bay called
the Wig. About two miles south from the
present kirk, on the side of Loch Ryan, there
was, in ancient times, a chapel called Kilmo-
rie, signifying the Chapel of the Virgin Mary.
This chapel was altogether ruinous upwards
of a century ago, but the Virgin's Well, in the
vicinity, still retained its celebrity, among the
country people, for miraculous properties, as
regarded the cure of sick persons. — Popula-
tion in 1821, 1821.

KIRKCONNEL, a parish in Dumfries-
shire, occupying the north-west corner of
Nithsdale, extending from west to east be-
tween ten and fourteen miles by a breadth of
seven and eight, boimded by Sanquhar on the
south and east, and on the west and north by
New- Cumnock. A large portion of the dis-
trict is the vale through which the Nith flows
from west to east, with minute vales on either
side, and throLw which tributary rivulets run to

662

KIRKCUDBRIGHT (STEWARTRY OF)

this beautiful river. From these low grounds
the land rises into a mountainous terrritory on
the northern and south-western confines. The
low lying lands are now under excellent cultiva-
tion, and the hills are devoted to the pasturing
of black cattle and sheep. The public road
from Sanquhar into Ayrshire pursues a west-
erly direction through the parish, on the left
bank of the Nith. On the entrance of the
road into the parish stands the village of
Whitehill ; and nearly three miles farther on
is the Kirktown of Kirkconnel. The ancient
parish church stood at a place called Old
Kirkconnel, about two miles to the north of
the modern edifice. The old church before
the Reformation belonged to the monks of
Holyrood. Tradition and record are equally
silent regarding who St. Connel or Conel was,
to whom this and several other churches in
Dumfries-shire were dedicated ; and we are
left to conjecture that he may have been St.
Conwal, a disciple of St. Kentigernor Mungo,
at Glasgow, and who flourished as early as
612 — Population in 1821, 1075.

KIRKCONNEL, a parish in Dumfries-
shire, now merged in that of Kirkpatrick- Flem-
ing. It is in this district in which is found the
scene of the impassioned and pathetic tale of
" Fair Helen of Kirkconnel Lee," which we
notice under the head Kirkpatrick- Fleming.

KIRKCOWAN or KIRKOWEN, a
parish in Wigtonshire, bounded by Ayrshire
on the north, Penningham on the east, Moch-
rum on the south, and Old Luce and New
Luce on the west; extending from north to
south fifteen miles, by a general breadth of
about five miles. ' The surface of this district
is various, consisting of moorland interspersed
with pieces of arable land. The parish is
bounded on its west side by the Tarf water,
which in the south intersects the district and
joins the Bladenoch, a larger stream which
similarly bounds the east side of the parish,
and which, after passing Wigton, falls into
Wigton Bay. The church of Kirkowen stands
on the Tarf near its junction with the Blade-
noch. A doubt prevails as to who St. Cowan
was, to whom the old church was dedicated.
Dempster, in his Menologium, claims him as an
Abbot and as a Scot, who belonged to the
western isles, and it is probable that he was
the same personage commemorated there under
the title of Keuin, in the parish of Kilvi-
ceuen — Population in 1821, 1283.

KIRKCUDBRIGHT, styled a stewartry,
but to all intents and purposes a sheriffdom or
shire, in the south of Scotland, being a portion
of the ancient district of Galloway, situated
betwixt Dumfries-shire on the east and north-
east, Ayrshire on the north and north-west,
Wigtonshire or Western Galloway on the
west, and the Solway Firth on the south.
Its boundaries are, on the east the Nith,
the Cairn Water, on the north-east, and the
water of Cree on the west. In extent it mea-
sures from south-east to north-west forty-four
miles, by a breadth of from twenty-one to
thirty-one miles. It contains a superficies of
855 square miles, or 547,200 statute acres.
The ancient history of this portion of Gallo-
way being included in the article Galloway,
it need not be here recapitulated ; and it may be
sufficient to state how it acquired the uncommon
title of a stewartry. It appears that during
the thirteenth century, this district formed part
of the county of Dumfries ; but during this
period there prevailed throughout Galloway a
violent struggle between the Scoto-Irish usages
of ancient times, and the municipal law of re-
cent introduction. The influence of the
Cumins, under the minority of Alexander III.
established here an extraordinary change, by
having had the address to erect regular justici-
aries. The restoration of the monarchy under
Robert Bruce altered the system which had
been thus instituted. By the forfeiture of the
possessions of the Baliols, the Cumins, and
their various vassals, the district became the
property of the crown, when it is understood
to have been first put under the authority of a
royal stewart. Owing to the weakness of
David II., and the audacity of Archibald
Douglas the Grim, the lordship of Galloway,
with the stewartiy of Kirkcudbright, fell into
the hands of that nobleman ; but on the for-
feiture of the Douglases, in 1455, these pos-
sessions once more became royal property. In
subsequent times, the office of Stewart, in the
appointment of the king, was one of much
honour, and was often the subject of contest.
For a considerable period after the establish-
ment of a separate stewartship, the district was
still in some measure esteemed to be politi-
cally attached to Dumfries-shire; such a connex-
ion, however, was totally abrogated before the
civil wars of Charles the First's reign. From
mere force of ancient usage, the appellation
of Stewart instead of sheriff, has, till the pre-

KIRKCUDBRIGHT. (STEWARTRY OF)

663

sent day, remained in constant use, although,
by the civil arrangements of modern times,
there is not the least difference in the two
offices. The stewartry of Kirkcudbright dif-
fers considerably from Dumfries shire in na-
tural appearance, not having any extensive
plain on the margin of the sea, and the whole
being hilly to the very shores of the Solway.
It only varies in the greater or less size of the
hills, which are everywhere intermixed with
valleys, forming the natural drains of this
hilly and ridgy district. The general as-
pect has been well described by Buchanan
in the laconic expression, tumescit collibus-
The most conspicuous mountain is Criffel
or Crawfell, situated near the Nith, and rising
to the height of 1831 feet above the level of the
sea. It is seen at a great distance both on the
Scottish and English side of the Solway Firth.
Many of the hills of this district are of a fer-
tile nature, and being of easy ascent, and not
of too great height, are cultivated to their sum-
mits. Those of a more lofty kind are adapted
for pasturing sheep and cattle. The district
possesses a variety of lakes. The principal rivers
are the Dee, the Ken, the Cree, and the Urr,
and the smaller streams are the Fleet, the Tarf,
the Deugh, and the Cluden. The Ken is con-
sidered the largest, receiving in its course all the
rivulets which drain the neighbouring hills, and
even receiving the Dee, although by some strange
chance the latter assumes the appellative pri-
vilege after entering the Ken. That the Ken
was anciently held as the superior river in
Galloway, is established by its name, which
signifies the head or chief. The Solway
Firth, in a circular form, washes the coast of
the stewartry from the Nith to the Cree, a
space of forty-five miles, and along the shore
of this useful estuary the coast is bold and
rocky, the cliffs rising sometimes to a great
height. Besides the salmon fishings at the
mouths of the rivers, the Solway affords every
opportunity for catching sea-fish, but for what
reason we know not, no part of the Scottish
shores is so destitute of fishermen and their
villages. The district is very nearly destitute of
coal, which, as well as the greater part of the
lime used, is brought from Cumberland. The
soil of the country is chiefly a thin mould, or a
brownish loam, mixed with sand, and is incum-
bent sometimes on gravel, and in many places
on rock. The whole is interspersed with mea-
dows and mingled with moss. Anciently the
land was covered with a forest, which is now

completely gone, or seen in dwindled remnants
on the banks of the streams. We learn from
the patient researches of the erudite Chalmers,
that as early as the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries this hilly territory was under a most
productive process of agriculture, originated
and improved by the assiduity of the numerous
monks in the different abbeys in the district.
It appears that in the summer and autumn of
the memorable year 1300, when Edward I.
subdued Galloway, he caused considerable
quantities of wheat to be exported from the
port of Kirkcudbright to Cumberland, and
even to Dublin, to be manufactured into flour ;
in this state it was brought back to victual
the castles of Ayr, Caerlaverock, Dumfries,
Lochmaben, and other strongholds. We
should not, however, suppose from this that
the district was without mills, for we find by
Dugdale's Monasticon, that Edward fined a
miller at the village of Fleet for some offence
in his mill, and he thence perhaps distrusted
the Scottish millers. In these times the staple
products were wheat and oats ; barley, peas,
and beans being only in small quantities. The
English garrisons used a good deal of malt for
their beer, but we find it was " brasium avenae"
— the malt of oats. These remarks may be
applied generally to Galloway, which, in point
of fact, was in a much more flourishing condi-
tion as regarded its agricultural wealth, in the
thirteenth, than it was in the seventeenth cen-
tury. Its age of prosperity was succeeded
by destructive intestine wars, rapine, misery,
fanaticism, sloth, and other follies, which last-
ed four hundred years, and reduced the coun-
try to a desert. At the beginning of the last
century, the stewartry is known to have ex-
hibited all the worst features of the system
of crofting by small tenants and cottagers,
who had neither the will nor the means to
improve the district. The first step made
towards a resuscitation of its agricultural cha-
racter, and the first of a series of extensive
improvements, was the enclosing of the lands
with fences in the year 1724. This bene-
ficial measure was viewed with the utmost
hostility by the country people, who, inflamed
by the harangues of a mountain preacher, ac-
tually rose to the number of five hundred,
and under the title of Levellers, proceeded to
demolish the fences which had been erected.
This tumultuous insurrection, which seems to
have originated in some peculiar notions as to
the general right of property, was suppressed

664

KIRKCUDBRIGHT.

by six troops of dragoons. After this the
country advanced in improvement, and when
shell marl was first applied as manure in 1740,
a great stride was made towards a better
condition. The land was now " torn in" on
a great scale, and after the year 1760, con-
siderable exportations began to be made. The
important changes which ensued have, with
justice, been traced in a great degree to Wil-
liam Craik of Arbigland, a person of original
genius, the chairman of the Dumfries Farm-
ing Society, who introduced new rotations of
cropping, new methods of cultivation, new
machinery, and new modes of treating cattle.
Since 1790 the district has coped with Dum-
fries-shire and other counties adjacent, in its
agricultural improvements, and in the begin-
ning of the present century, Colonel M'Dow-
al of Logan, accomplished much in reclaiming
moss-lands. Much has been effected by judi-
cious planting by several noblemen and gentle-
men of the stewartry, among whom Lord Daer,
whose noble qualities Burns has made fami-
liar to every one, is distinguished. In 1814 it
possessed 6000 horses, 50,000 cattle, and
178,000 sheep, besides swine to a prodigious
extent ; these animals being now a staple com-
modity in the usual produce, both for home
consumpt and exportation. The real rental
of the stewartry in 1811 was L. 83,487 for
lands, and L-3549 for houses. The manufac-
ture of linen, woollen, and cotton goods engages
a great number of hands in the towns and vil-
lages. The stewartry contains two royal burghs
—Kirkcudbright and New Galloway ; and
several considerable villages, as Maxwelltown,
Castle Douglas, Gatehouse-of- Fleet, Cree-
town, &c. most of which have been built with-
in the last seventy years. It includes twenty-
eight parishes. — Population in 1821, males
18,506, females 20,037; total 38,903.

KIRKCUDBRIGHT,aparishin the above
stewartry, situated on the east side of the Dee,
at its confluence with the Solway Firth, bound-
ed by Tongland and Kelton on the north,
and Rerwick on the east. On the south is the
Solway. In extent it measures seven miles
in length by from three to four in breadth,
being a tolerably regular parallelogram in
figure. It comprehends the three ancient
parishes of Kirkcudbright, Dunrod, and
Galtway, which were united in the seven-
teenth century. The churches of the two
latter have been since abandoned and ruin-
ed, but their several burial-grounds remain

in use. The district is billy, but the greater
part is under cultivation, or laid out in grass
parks.

Kirkcudbright, a royal burgh, the capi-
tal of the above stewartry and parish, the
seat of a presbytery, and a sea-port, occupies
a remarkable peninsular situation on the left
bank of the Dee, about six miles from its en-
trance into the Solway, at the distance of 100
miles from Edinburgh, 60 from Portpatrick,
and about 28 from Dumfries. Of the origin
of Kirkcudbright nothing is certain, and it is
only a matter of conjecture that it is as
old as the church of St. Cuthbert, which,
as it has given the name, may also be sup-
posed to have given origin to the place.
The church here spoken of was erected as
early as the eighth century, and some time be-
tween 1161 and 1174, it was granted by Uch-
tred the son of Fergus, the lord of Galloway,
to the monks of Holyrood, who retained it till
the Reformation, and by the general annexa-
tion act it was afterwards vested in the crown.
There was also in Kirkcudbright a church
dedicated to St. Andrew, which, after the
Reformation, was conferred on the burgh ; and
it appears that there was likewise a Franciscan
monastery, of which the records are altogether
silent. The establishment of St. Cuthbert's
church was preceded or followed by the erec-
tion of a small fort by the lords of Galloway,
which became in later times a castle in the
proprietary of the crown, and caused the place
to be put under the government of a con-
stable. During the domination of the Doug-
lasses in Galloway, Kirkcudbright became a
burgh of regality under their influence ; and
on their forfeiture, James II. erected the town
into a royal burgh, by a charter dated at Perth,
the 26th of October, 1455. Hector Boece,
referring to it soon after this period, calls it
" ane rich town full of merchandise," a charac-
ter it most likely deserved till injured by the
troubles in the country. Kirkcudbright, as
well on account of the castle as its prosperous
condition, was visited by Edward I. with his
queen and court, who spent some time here
during the warfare of 1300. In 1455 it was
visited by its patron, James II., in the course
of his march through Galloway to crush the
power of the Douglases. A few years later,
in 1461, Henry VI. with his queen and court
fled thither after his defeat at Towton ; and
this unfortunate monarch resided here for
some time, while Margaret, his queen, went

KIRKCUDBRIGHT.

665

to visit the Scottish queen at Edinburgh.
Next year Margaret sailed from Kirkcudbright
to Bretagne, and in 1463 Henry returned to
England in disguise. In 1508, the town was
again cheered by royalty, in the temporary re-
sidence of James IV., who was here hospi-
tably entertained. In 1547, a party of the
English army sent to revenge the broken
treaty of marriage between Edward VI. and
Mary queen of Scots, repaired to Kirkcud-
bright, with the intention of causing the peo-
ple to swear allegiance to their master ; but
though early in the morning, the people were
upon the alert, and shut their gates and kept
their dykes j " for," says our authority, " the
town was dyked on both sides, with a gate to
the water-ward and a gate on the over end to
the fell-ward ;" and this defence was effectual
in preserving the town. It then consisted of
a single street, at the extremity of which was
the harbour. In more recent history, Kirkcud-
bright does not make a very conspicuous figure.
With the revival of prosperity in the stewart-
ry, the capital arose from its original condition
into that state in which we now find it. In
the present day it is a town of remarkably
pleasing appearance; within, it is regular,
clean, and neat ; externally, it seems embosom-
ed in the beautiful foliage of a fine sylvan
country, and derives some degree almost of
city-like grandeur from the towers of the jail,
and of the ruined abode of the lords of Kirk-
cudbright, which at a little distance are
seen overtopping the ordinary buildings. It
consists of six or seven distinct streets, built
at right angles with each other, like those
of the New Town of Edinburgh. The
High Street, Castle Street, St. Cuthbert's
Street, and Union Street are the principal
thoroughfares. The western extremities of
the High Street and Castle Street are to-
wards the river. No town in Scotland pos-
sesses such a proportion of new houses ; the
cause of which is to be found in an arrange-
ment among the inhabitants, by which a
certain number of houses are built by sub-
scription every year, and acquired by lot. In
addition to the modern appearance which the
town has acquired in this way, it is ornament-
ed by the residences of many persons of good
fortune, which, instead of being scattered in
the suburbs of the town, as elsewhere, are
placed in the streets, and that in considerable
numbers. The town now possesses little or

no trade, and has no manufactures except
hosiery on a small scale and the weaving of
cotton. There is also a brewery. Chiefly
subsisting upon its resources as a county
town, it is a very quiet and genteel-looking
place. Several of the inhabitants are opulent ;
and few have the appearance of living in ab-
ject poverty. The stewartry buildings and
jail, erected in 1816, have a highly respectable
appearance ; and from the tall tower which sur-
mounts the latter an extensive view may be
obtained of the beautiful environs of the town.
The former jail and court-house is a very eu-
rious old structure, on the opposite side
of the same thoroughfare, with the market-
cross stuck up against it, and a pair of formi-
dable jougs attached thereto. From an inscrip-
tion, the date of its erection seems to have been
1504. A large and elegant academy has like-
wise been erected, containing a spacious room
for a public subscription library. The esta-
blished church is an old building erected on
the site of the Franciscan monastery, near the
harbour. In the High Street is a neat chapel
belonging to a United Associate congregation.
The annual fast day of the church is generally
the first Thursday of May. The town is pro-
vided with a news-room. The harbour is the
best in the stewartry ; at ordinary spring tides
the depth of the water is thirty feet, and at the
lowest neap tides eighteen feet. It is well cal-
culated for commercial purposes, but has no
communication with any of the manufac-
turing districts. There is as yet no bridge
across the Dee at Kirkcudbright, and passen-
gers and carriages have to be ferried over in a
flat-bottomed boat of a very peculiar con-
struction. The river is navigable for
two miles above the town, to the bridge of
Tongland, which is built of one arch of 110
feet span. The erection of a draw-bridge at
Kirkcudbright would be esteemed a great im-
provement. The town is entitled to hold two
annual fairs, and it has two weekly market-
days, Tuesday and Friday. A branch of the
Bank of Scotland is settled in the place. The
original charter of the burgh was renewed in
1633, by Charles I., and the town has since
been under the government of a provost, two
bailies, and thirteen councillors, with a trea-
surer and chamberlain. The burgh joins with
Dumfries, Annan, Sanquhar, and Lochmaben,
in sending a member to parliament. The re-
venue of the corporation is considerably in-
4 Q

666

KIRKCUDBRIGHT.

creased by salmon-fishings in the Dee. What
is called the castle of Kirkcudbright is a large
dingy house, partaking slightly of the fortified
character, formerly the property and residence
of the Lords of Kirkcudbright. Though
bearing date 1584, the walls are still perfect-
ly entire and very strong ; but the interior walls
of the building have been removed, and the
court now forms a wood-yard. The notice of
this ancient house, which occupies a situation
betwixt the foot of High Street and Castle
Street, near the river, leads us to explain who
the lords of Kirkcudbright were, and are ; for
the reader may confound them with the Dou-
glases, already mentioned as superiors in this
part of the country. The family of Kirkcud-
bright, which is surnamed Maclellan, traces its
origin to Sir Patrick Maclellan of the barony
of Bomby, who, having forfeited his posses-
sions by illegal depredations on the Douglas
lands in Galloway, they were recovered by his
son Sir William, during the reign of James II.,
in the following manner. A powerful band of
gipsies infesting the district of Galloway, that
sovereign issued a proclamation offering the
barony of Bomby as a reward to whoever should
disperse them and bring their captain dead or
alive. Roused by such a prospect of gaining
back his patrimony, Sir William Maclellan
succeeded in routing the marauders and in
bringing the head of their chief on the point of
his sword. The king accordingly rewarded
him, by the restitution of the property of Bom-
by ; and to commemorate this event the fortu-
nate knight adopted as his crest a right arm
erect, the hand grasping a dagger with a Moor's
head couped, proper, on the point thereof, with
the motto Think on — as significant of his form-
ing a resolution to re-acquire the family posses-
sions. Sir Robert, the sixth in the main line
of the Bomby family, was a gentleman of the
bed-chamber to James VI. and Charles I., and
by the latter was created a baron, with the title of
Lord Kirkcudbright, in 1 633. Dying without
male issue, the family honours, by a second re-
move, fell to John Maclellan of Burg, younger
brother of the first lord. This was a strange
personage who seems to have exemplified in
real life the fictitious misfortunes assigned in a
popular novel to another Galloway house. He
was a violent opponent of Oliver Cromwell
and the Independents, so long as they were in
power, and lost not a little in the royal service.
But such was this nobleman's felicitous knack
28.

of contradiction, that, when the Restoration
seemed to have put him on the right side of
the hedge, he was just as much in the wrong
as ever. For opposing the introduction of an
Episcopal clergyman into the church of Kirk-
cudbright, or rather for helping the honest old
women who took that matter in hand, he had
four of his neighbours sent to inquire into his
conduct ; a circumstance equivalent to an at-
tainder, for these good gentlemen were by no
means backward in finding reasons for sending
the unfortunate presbyterian to jail, and far
less in adjusting among themselves the parti-
tion of his estates. From these losses and
difficulties the family, however, arose, and after
a period of dormancy, the title was revived
in 1722, by a descendant of a collateral branch,
whose successors have since enjoyed the dis-
tinction of Lords Kirkcudbright. The castle
of Kirkcudbright, the nominal seat of this fa-
mily, has not been occupied since the fall of
Lord Kirkcudbright's fortunes at the Restora-
tion. Near the harbour of Kirkcudbright
may be seen the remains of a battery which
was erected by King William III., when
forced to put into Kirkcudbright bay during
a storm, on his voyage to raise the siege
of Londonderry. A more ancient piece of
fortification is pointed out at a little distance
from the town, in the shape of some indistinct
mounds, vulgarly called Castle- dykes, which
are now all that remain of that fort belong-
ing of old to the house of Douglas, and to
the crown, and which was, as has been seen,
the frequent residence of royalty. The burial-
ground of Kirkcudbright is situated about half
a mile north-east from the town, in a beautiful
and sequestered spot, surrounded by fine old
trees, being the precinct of the church of the
worthy Cuthbert. The church has long dis-
appeared ; but with a natural attachment to
the graves of their fathers, the people scrupu-
lously cling to the ancient place of sepulture,
in preference to any which might be laid out
in the more immediate vicinity of the town.
St Cuthbert's sacred ground contains some
very old monuments, which, owing to the laud-
able enthusiasm of a citizen of Kirkcudbright,
have been kept in singularly good order.
Among the rest are those of several cove-
nanters, who happened to be shot or hanged
in the neighbourhood, and whose epitaphs,
in rude gingling rhymes, unworthy of the
subject, do not suit very happily with the

KIRKCUDBRIGHT.

667

tranquil sorrow which seems to reign over
the rest of the beech-shaded graves. The
distinguishing ornament of Kirkcudbright is
St. Mary's Isle, the seat of the Earl of Selkirk,
which lies about a mile south from the town
farther down the Dee. Originally an island
between the waters of this river and the swel-
ling tide, it is now a peninsula projecting into
the bay, luxuriantly wooded with oak, chesnut,
walnut, and all the finer species of forest trees ;
and is, beyond all question, one of the loveliest
spots in Scotland. The house is large and of
respectable appearance. It was originally a
priory, which was founded either in the reign
of David I. or his successor Malcolm IV., in
the twelfth century, by Fergus, lord of Gal-
loway, and called " Prioratus Sanctae Mariae
de Trayll." The monks were canons regular
of the order of St. Augustine. Their prior, as
usual, was a lord of parliament, and we observe
that that dignitary held the office of royal trea-
surer from 1559 till 1571. After the Refor-
mation, this churchman, who was called Ro-
bert Richardson, and the commendator William
Rutherford, granted the greater part of the pro-
perty of the house to a person styled James
Lidderdail. The property in churches, &c.
was vested in the crown in 1587. The priory
of St. Mary was surrounded by high walls,
which have long since disappeared, and the
house itself was converted by many alterations
into a private dwelling-house. The back-wall
alone is said to be original, and the only other
memorials of the monks that can now be shown,
are, a richly ornamented font-stone with this
inscription round its brim, " Hie jacet J. E.
anno Domini 1404: Ave Maria! or a pro no-
bis," and a fountain of the purest and finest
water, shaded over with trees, called the
Monks' Well. The outer gate of the priory
stood at least half a mile from the house ;
and the place where it stood is still called
the Great cross. The inner gate led immedi-
ately to a group of cells, where the monks
lodged ; and is still denominated the Little
cross. — The intrepid and redoubtable Paul
Jones, the active partizan of America in the
war which secured its independence — though
still popularly remembered in Scotland only as
a lawless bucanier — comes into notice in con-
nexion with Kirkcudbright. His father, John
Paul, was gardener to Mr. Craik of Arbigland,
and young Paul was apprenticed to a ship-
owner in Whitehaven. From his excellent

character and talents he soon rose to be master
of a trading vessel belonging to Kirkcudbright.
When in command of an American ship, in
1778, immediately after his attack on White-
haven he appeared in Kirkcudbright bay, and
made a descent at the extreme point of St.
Mary's Isle, the seat of the Earl of Selkirk,
with a view, as he afterwards explained, of car-
rying off that nobleman as a hostage. Find-
ing his lordship was absent from home, he re-
turned to the boat with the design of leaving
the island, but was induced by the murmurs of
his crew to permit them to return to the house
for the purpose of bringing away the silver-
plate. He charged them, however, to take
only what was offered, and to come away with-
out making a search or demanding any thing
else. On the sale of the plate, Jones pur-
chased it and returned it at his own expense,
with a letter to the Earl explaining his motives
for the descent. From his Lordship's reply it
appears the officers and men engaged in the
affair behaved in the most respectful manner,
and strictly in accordance with the injunctions
of their commander. The plate was returned
exactly as it had been taken away ; it is even
said that the tea-pot which had been hastily
taken from Lady Selkirk's breakfast-table,
was found, on its return, to contain the tea-
leaves that were in it when carried off. The
news of an armed and inimical vessel hovering
on their coast, and of a band having landed and
attacked Lord Selkirk's house, soon reached
Kirkcudbright, whose inhabitants were thrown
into a dreadful panic by the event, though, as
ultimately appeared, without any reason for
their fears. — In the words of the author of " the
Picture of Scotland," from which some ot
the foregoing particulars are gleaned, this no •
tice of Kirkcudbright should not be terminated
without adverting to the excellent arrangements
and successful system of education pursued in
the high school or academy of the burgh, under
the patronage and direction of the magistrates.
Nor would the antiquary forgive us were we to
forbear mentioning that the vestiges of ancient
camps and fortresses are innumerable, indicat-
ing that this quarter of the country was former-
ly the scene of much greater activity than now.
The town has some other attractions. It is a
place where one could live very idly and very
cheaply ; and, to sum up all, if we were asked
to write out a list of the six prettiest and plea-
santest places in our native country, Kirkcud-

GC8

K I R KI NN E a

bright should occupy a conspicuoiis situation
in the catalogue. — Population of the burgh
in 1821 about 2000, including the parish
3377.

KIRKDEN,a paiish in Forfarshire, bound-
ed by part of G'thrie, Rescobie, and Dunni-
chen on the north, Dunnichen also on the west,
and Carmylie on the south. By a most awkward
arrangement, a large detached portion of Dun-
nichen parish lies in the centre of Kirkden, and
cuts it very nearly into two divisions. The
western division is a square of about two
miles ; the eastern is the same breadth, but ra-
ther larger. The parish is watered by the
L.unan water, and one of its tributaries called
the Vinny. The district has some remains of
antiquity, but of little interest. The lands are
now well cultivated, enclosed, and planted. —
Population in 1821, 813.

KIRKGUNZEON,aparishinthesrewart-
ry of Kirkcudbright, bounded on the north by
Lochrutton, on the east by Newabbey, on the
south by Colvend, and on the west by Urr;
extending seven miles from south to west, by
three and a half in breadth. The appearance
of the parish is rather hilly, but there is a good
deal of fine flat land adapted to agricultural
purposes. There are three ancient buildings
in the parish, Barclosh, Corrah, and Drumcul-
tran, once the seats of distinguished families.
The etymology of the name Kirkgunzeon has
so puzzled Symson, author of an account of Gal-
loway, that he is constrained to say it means
" the kirk of unction," from the religious de-
votion of former times ; but this is found to be
mere nonsense ; the ancient title, of which he
does not seem to have been aware, having been
Kirk-ivinnyn, or the church of St. Winnyn, a
saint who has similarly given a name to Kil-
winning. Of old, the parish belonged to the
abbey of Holm-Cultram in Cumberland. At
the south-west corner of the parish, on Dal-
beattie burn and enclosed by the parish of Urr,
stands the village of Dalbeattie. — Population in
1821, 776.

KIRKHILL, a parish in Inverness-shire,
lying immediately west from Inverness, on the
shore of Loch Beauly, having Kilmorack and
Kiltarlity on the north and west, and part of
Inverness on the south, extending eight miles
in length, by from one to three in breadth. For
four miles it is a narrow stripe ori an inclined
plane, facing the above indentation of the sea,
with a south-west exposure. Beyond these

four miles, the firth contracts, and the country
enlarges ; but instead of forming a plain, a
ridge of rising ground is projected and divides
it into two valleys ; the summit of this ridge
is Wardlaw or Mary's hill. The low grounds
are fertile, and the country is here generally
beautiful. The Kirktown of Kirkhill, is on the
Beauly river, which bounds the district on the
west. The parish is formed of the two ancient
parochial divisions of Wardlaw and Farnua.
—Population in 1821, 1572.

KIRKHILL, a village in the parish of
Pennycuick, Edinburghshire, situated on a
height, on the left bank of the North Esk,
nearly half a mile east from Pennycuick, and
inhabited principally by weavers and paper-
makers.

KIRKINNER, a parish in Wigtonshire,
lying with its east side to Wigton bay, bound-
ed by Sorbie and Glasserton on the south,
Mochrum on the west, and part of Kirkcowan
and Wigton on the north ; extending about
three miles along the sea-coast, and proceeding
inland a distance of more than five miles ; the
breadth of the parish in its inner part being
nearly eight miles. The Bladenoch water
divides it on the north from the parish of Wig-
ton. The surface is uneven or hilly, but in a
good state of culture, and embellished with plan-
tations. On the south side of the parish it is
touched by the lake of Dowalton or Longcas-
tel. The Kirktown of Kirkinner is on the
public road from Wigton to Garlieston.This
parish comprehends the two old parochial dis-
tricts of Kirkinner and Longcaster, or Long-
castel. The ancient church of the former was
dedicated to St. Kenneir, virgin and martyr,
who suffered death at Cologne, with many
others, in the year 450. Hence the name of
the parish, and, most probably, also, the com-
mon surname — Kinnear. This church was
granted by Edward Bruce, the lord of Gal-
loway, to the prior and canons of Whithorn.
In 1503, being resigned by these monks to
James V. in exchange for the church of Kirk-
andrews, that monarch attached it to the chapel-
royal of Stirling, and after this it formed the
benefice of the sub-dean of that establishment.
In 1591, James VI. granted the patronage of
the church to Sir Patrick Vans of Bambarroch,
and the representative of this person, Colonel
Vans Agnew, still enjoys the gift. The south-
ern part of the parish was that of Longcaster.
a district obtaining its name from an ancient cas-

KIRKLISTON.

0G<)

tie, the ruins whereof are still visible on an islet
in the above-mentioned lake. The ruins of
Longeaster church stand about a mile distant
from the lake. The annexation took place in
1630— Population in 1821, 1488.

KIRKINTILLOCH, or Kirkintul-
loch, a parish belonging to Dumbartonshire,
though it, along with Cumbernauld, lies several
miles detached eastward from the body of that
county. Under the head Dumbartonshire,
it has been mentioned that these two parishes
were annexed to the shire to which they now
belong, in the reign of Robert Bruce. The
parish of Kirkintilloch is bounded on the north
by Campsie, on the east by Cumbernauld, and
on the south and west by Cadder ; it extends
about six miles from east to west, having the
Kelvin river chiefly on its northern border, by
an average breadth of nearly two and ahalf
miles. The Forth and Clyde canal passes
through it on its northern side, near the Kel-
vin. The lands are almost entirely arable and
finely planted. The wall of Antoninus passed
through this parish, and its remains may still
here and there be traced. Originally, the dis-
trict, including this parish and that of Cumber-
nauld, formed but one parochial division under
the name of Lenzie or Lenyie — a term supposed
by the author of the Statistical Account to be
a corruption of Linea, as applicable to the
line of Roman wall intersecting this part of
the country; The division of the parish took
place in the seventeenth century, and for some
time the divisions were called Easter and
Wester Lenzie. Limestone, coal, and sand-
stone are abundant.

Kirkintilloch, or Kirkintulloch, a
considerable town, the capital of the above
parish, and a burgh .of barony, situated on
the water of Luggie, near its junction with
the Kelvin, at the distance of seven and a-half
miles north-east of Glasgow, and five west of
Kilsyth. It is understood to derive its name
from its locality, the original title being, it is
said, Caer-pen-tuUoch, which, in the Cambro-
British, signifies the fort on the head or end
of a hill, which is descriptive of the site of the
town, as it stands on the extremity of a ridge,
advancing from the south, into a plain on the
banks of the Kelvin. Whether this etymo-
logy be correct or not, the place was call-
ed Kirkintulloch in the charters of the twelfth
century. The ancient parish church was de-
dicated to St. Ninian, and before the year

1195 it was granted by William the son of
Thorald, the lord of the manor, to the monks
of Cambuskenneth, with whom it remained
till the Reformation. The ruins of this pri-
mary church, with a burying ground, are still
extant, about a mile south-east of the town of
Kirkintilloch. On its abandonment, the cha-
pel of the Virgin Mary, at this place, became
the parish church. Kirkintilloch was created
a burgh of barony in the twelfth century, by
William the Lion, in favour of William
Cumyne, baron of Lenzie, and lord of Cum-
bernauld ; and the latter barony is still held
for payment of twelve merks Scots of feu-duty.
The privileges of the burgh are extensive, and
it is governed by two bailies, chosen by the
freemen. Its inhabitants are chiefly artisans
who weave cotton goods for the Glasgow ma-
nufacturers. It possesses a modern town-
house, with a spire and clock. A fair is held
annually on the 20th of October. The po-
pulation of the town has been much on the
increase in recent times; in 1821 it amounted
to about 2500 ; and, including the parish, 4580.

KIRKLAND, an extensive establishment
for the spinning and preparation of linen yarn,
in the parish of Wemyss, county of Fife. It
consists of a large spinning house, and a series
of other erections, with residences for the
working people and proprietor ; and lies in a
secluded beautiful situation on the right bank
of the river Leven, at the distance of a mile
above the town of that name — See the article
descriptive of the town of Leven.

KIRKLISTON, a parish partly in the
county of Edinburgh and partly in the county
of Linlithgow, bounded by Dalmeny on the
north ; Abercorn, a detached portion of Dal
meny, and Ecclesmachan on the west ; Uphall
and Kirk-newton on the south ; and Ratho
and Corstorphine on the east. The form of
the parish is irregular, but the length may be
taken as being five and a half miles, and the
breadth three and a half. The Almond inter-
sects the district from south to north, that
portion on its left bank, which.is two thirds of
the whole, being in Linlithgowshire. The ori-
ginal condition of this district of country,
which is rather of an upland nature, was as
wretched and unproductive as many other out-
lying divisions of Mid-Lothian, but in process
of time, by the application of capital, science
and industry, has become one of the most thriv-
ing and best cultivated parishes in this part

670

KIRKLISTON.

of Scotland. The village of Kirkliston is
situated on a high portion of the parish on
the left bank of the Almond, within Linlith-
gowshire, at the distance of eight miles from
Edinburgh on the road to Falkirk. It is un-
distinguished by any thing worthy of remark ;
and has a plain modern edifice for a church,
which succeeded one of an ancient date, for-
merly belonging to the order of Knights- Tem-
plars. Not the least interesting objects in the
parish, are the house of Newliston and its
pleasure-grounds, once the favourite residence
of the Stair family, but now passed from them
into other hands. The celebrated John, Earl
of Stair, Field- Marshal to his Majesty's forces,
a nobleman equally distinguished for enter-
prise and capacity in the field, and for wisdom
in the cabinet, inherited the estate of New-
liston, and resided upon it for twenty years.
The pleasure-grounds, which have been long
known as a curiosity in their way, were, it
seems, disposed by this nobleman in a fanciful
manner, particularly by the planting of a va-
riety of trees, in clumps and other figures,
so as to bear, it is said, an exact resemblance
to the disposition of the British troops, on the
eve of the battle of Dettingen. By the growth
of the wood, and other circumstances, the
plan of the batik cannot be now distinctly trac-
ed from the position of the trees, but they
certainly have the appearance of such an ar-
rangement, and they are still as nicely trim-
med as any soldiers of Queen Anne's wars.
The grandmother of Earl John was Dame
Margaret Dalrymple, a daugher of Ross of
Balniel, who, according to popular belief,
purchased the temporal prosperity of her fa-
mily from the Master whom she served, un-
der a singular condition, thus narrated in the
life of her grandson, and noticed by Sir Wal-
ter Scott in the preface to the tale of the
" Bride of Lammermoor," — (new edition
1831). — " She lived to a great age, and at her
death desired that she might not be put under
ground, but that her coffin should be placed
upright on one end of it, promising, that while
she remained in that situation, the Dalrymples
should continue in prosperity. What was
the old lady's motive for such a promise, I can-
not take upon me to determine ; but it is cer-
tain her coffin stands upright in the aisle of the
church of Kirkliston, the burial-place of the fa^
mily." Having instituted some inquiries as to
the truth of this fact, the present writers have

learned that the coffin of Dame Margaret is not
standing ; and that it lies as flat as the others in
the vault beneath the Newliston aisle in the
church. Whether the estate of Newliston
departed from the house of Stair, when the
coffin was prostrated, is left to conjecture.
This same Dame Margaret, or Lady Stair, is
mentioned, by the author of " the Bride of
Lammermoor," as having been the prototype
of Lady Ashton, in that beautiful tale of fic-
tion. John, Earl of Stair, was also interred
in the above vault, and lies without a memen-
to of any kind to mark the spot where he rests.
To pass from this subject : Within a field on
the east side of the Almond, in Cramond
parish, but close on the boundary, stands a
remarkable monument of antiquity called the
Catstane. It consists of a single upright
stone of a prismatic figure, about four feet
and a-half high, and shows the remains of an
inscription, evidently in the Latin language.
The cutting is very rude, and somewhat
damaged, from the circumstance of a farmer,
some forty years since, having set fire to a pile
of rack around it, but still shows these letters,
in oc T

VMVLO IACI
VETTA D
VICTA

It is understood that this rude stone, and its
dilapidated legend, are commemorative of some
person or persons here interred, after being
slain in a battle near the spot, which was
fought in the year 995, between Kennethus,
natural brother, and commander of the forces,
of Malcolm II. King of Scotland, and Con-
stantine, the usurper of the crown, wherein
both generals were killed. But as this dis-
trict abounds in stone coffins, tumuli, and
other tokens of early strife, it is impossible
now to say that the date given to this monu-
ment is correct. A tradition exists in the pa-
rish, that in this quarter of the country the
plague raged very destructively at one time —
(most probably when it afflicted Edinburgh,
about the year 1649) — and a proprietor of a
small estate, who was named Linn, happened
most unfortunately to be smitten, after all his
precautions, by coming in contact with his dog,
which had gone into an infected house. Hav-
ing sickened and died, it seems no one would
attend his funeral, and one of his own servants
had to bury him in his garden. The place
where this took place is upon the Almond,

KIRKMAIDEN.

071

and is called Linn's MilL Here the solitary
grave of Linn is still shown, distinguished by
a humble monumental stone, with the inscrip-
tion :

Here lieth William Linn,

The rightful heir of Linn.

Another object of antiquarian research in
Kirkliston parish is Niddry Castle, which is
now a deserted ruin. It has been said that it
was in this house in which Queen Mary rest-
ed on the night on which she made her escape
from Loch Leven Castle. A short way north
from Niddry Castle, on the road from Edin-
burgh, stands the small village of Winchburgh,
a place at which, it is traditionally mentioned,
Edward I. rested in his flight from Bannock-
burn — Population in 1821, 2213.

KIRKMABRECK, a parish in the stew-
artry of Kirkcudbright, lying on the east side
of Wigton Bay, bounded by Anwoth and
Girthon on the east, and Minnigaff on the
north, extending eight miles in length by about
four in breadth. The district is hilly, with
some good arable valleys, and a few planta-
tions in these places and on the shore. There
are several elegant seats, of which Kirkdale-
House and Barholm are the principal. The
word Kirkmabreck, signifies in the Scoto-
Irish speech,. " the kirk on the variegated
plain," which is descriptive of the locale of
the old church, which stood at a place near the
shore in a plain abounding with granite stones,
of a speckled appearance. The modern
church stands at Creetown, a neat village,
to the north, noticed in its appropriate place.—
Population in 1821, 1519.

KIRKMAHOE, a parish in Nithsdale,
Dumfries-shire, lying on the left bank of the
Nith, immediately north from Dumfries,
bounded by Tinvvald and Kirkmichael on the
east, on the north by Closeburn, and on the
west by Holywood and Dunscore. It extends
about eight miles from north to south, by five
in breadth at the middle. On the south it
tapers to a point. The northern and eastern
parts are hilly, but there are no mountains of
any note. Where the parish joins Tinwald,
there are many little rising grounds. This
district was not begun to be improved in 1750,
and at that time it owned only two carts.
The first improver was Mr. Johnston of Carn-
calloch, whose example was quickly followed,
and the spirit of imitation, with the intelligence
of modern times, has now effected great meli-

orations in the soil and climate. The lands
are well cultivated, and there are several
plantations. The largest estate in the parish is
Dalswinton, long the property of a family nam-
ed Miller, whose seat stands near the Nith.
Besides a modern village on this estate, there
are four others, among which is Duncow and
Kirkmahoe. The latter, with the church, which
is a handsome Gothic edifice of modern erection,
stands on a rivulet tributary to the Nith, near
the southern extremity of the parish. The
name of the parish cannot be attributed to
that of a saint, inasmuch as in the whole
hagiology there does not appear a St. Maho ;
and, therefore, George Chalmers has shrewdly
conjectured that it imports the kirk on the
plain near the water, from magh a plain and o
water (hence Mayo, in Ireland). In the
northern part of the parish there was formerly
a church dedicated to St. Blane, a favourite
confessor of the eleventh century ; which still
gives the name of Kilblane to its site. — Po-
pulation in 1821, 1008.

KIRKMAIDEN, a parish in the county
of Wigton, occupying nearly the whole of the
western limb or peninsula of the shire, pro-
jected southwards into the mouth of the Sol-
way Firth. Luce Bay bounds it on the east ;
Stonykirk parish is on its land boundary.
From Chapel- Rosen bay, or Luce bay, where
the line of division is, to the extreme south
point of the land, the length is about ten miles,
by a breadth of from two to four miles and
a half. On the south the parish tapers to a
point, with an inclination to the east. The
southern termination of the parish is the most
southerly land in Scotland, being advanced about
two degrees more to the south than the latitude
of Newcastle. Such a circumstance is the sub-
ject of proverbial expression in the same man-
ner as John o' Groats House is, in reference
to the other extremity of Scotland. In such
allusions the component parts of the name are
transposed. Burns' lines will recur to remem-
brance :

Hear land o' Cakes and brither Scots,
Frae Maiden-Kirk to Jonny Groats, &c.

The parish of Kirkmaiden obtained its appel-
lation from the church, which was dedicated to
St. Medan, of whom little is now known.
Of old, the church was a dependancy of the
abbey of Saulseat. The modern church is
situated on the road along the eastern side of
the peninsula, near Drumore Bay. Farther

672

KIKKMICHAEL.

south is the Maryport Bay or Haven, which
takes its name from a chapel dedicated to the
Virgin Mary, and which was in ruins when
Symson wrote in 1684. The parish of Kirk-
maiden has still a wild appearance, but pro-
duces good crops of corn and potatoes, and
feeds numbers of black cattle. The coast is
generally bold and indented by caves created
by the furious lashing of the sea during storms.
There are several good anchoring grounds on
both sides of the peninsula. The coast pro-
duces great quantities of sea-ware. Sand-
stone and whinstone abound, and the slate
quarries are valuable — Population in 1821,
2210.

KIRKMICHAEL, a parish in Nithsdale,
Dumfries-shire, consisting of the united pa-
rishes of Kirkmichael and Garrel; bounded
on the north by Kirkpatrick-juxta, on the east
by Johnstone and Lochmaben,on the south by
Tinwald, and on the west by Closebum and
Kirkmahoe ; extending about eleven miles in
length from north to south, by a breadth of
nearly six miles. The river Ae bounds the
parish on the west, and here and on Glenkill
burn, which intersects the district, the land is
arable. The lower or south-east parts are
generally plain, interspersed with rising grounds.
The district was in a poor condition forty years
since, but is now considerably improved. The
parish kirk is near the Ae. The old church
was dedicated to St. Michael, as the name sig-
nifies. The ancient church of Garrel or Gar-
vald, was a mensal church of the bishops of
Glasgow. The junction of the parishes took
place in 1660.— Population in 1821, 1202.

KIRKMICHAEL, a parish in the district
of Carrick, Ayrshire, lying on the south side
of the Doon water, opposite Dalrymple, and
having Maybole on the west, separating it from
the sea; extending nine miles in length, by a
breadth of four miles. The surface is hilly,
and towards the south and east mountainous
and rocky. The ground is for the most part
pastoral. The water of Girvan runs through
the southern part of the parisb, and near it is
the kirktown of Kirkmichael, and the seat
called Kirkmichael House. There are now a
few plantations Population in 1821, 2235.

KIRKMICHAEL, a large parish in
Banffshire, occupying the upper extremity of
the county from beyond the mountain of Cairn-
gorm, to near the confluence of the Livat
with the Aven, a length of about twenty-five

miles, by a variable breadth of from three to
six. The parish is chiefly the great wild vale
of the river Aven, from its source in Loch
Aven near Cairngorm, to the spot just men-
tioned. The water of Altnach forms the boun-
dary with Inverness-shire for a considerable
length, and the heights which separate Banff-
shire from Aberdeenshire are the boundary on
the other side. The parish adjoining further
down the vale is Inveraven. The district is
only in a small proportion arable. The church
of the parish stands nearer the foot than head ot
the parish, on the right bank of the Aven, at
the small village of Tomantoul, of which the
reverend statist of the parish presents some
curious, and we must say, indelicate, particu-
lars. He represents it as a place quite unfetter-
ed by laws human or divine. " No monopo-
lies are established here," says he, "no re-
straints upon the industry of the community.
All of them sell whisky, and all of them drink
it. When disengaged from this business, the
women spin yarn, or dance to the discordant
tunes of an old fiddle. The men, when not
participating in such amusement, sell small ar-
ticles of merchandise, or let themselves occa-
sionally for days-labour, and by these means
earn a scanty subsistence for themselves or
families. The village, to them, has more than
the charms of a Thessalian Tempe. Absent
from it, they are seized with the vial de pais ,-
and never did a Laplander long more ardently
for his snow-clad mountains, than they sicken to
re-visit the barren moor and their turf-thatch-
ed hovels. Here the Roman Catholic priest
has got an elegant meeting-house, and the Pro-
testant clergyman the reverse of it ; yet, to an
expiring mode of worship, it would be illiberal
to envy this transient superiority, in a countiy
where a succession of ages has witnessed its
absurdities. A school is stationed at the vil-
lage." Since this notice was written, Toman-
toul has been a good deal improved, and must
have been by this time very properly cured of
its free-trading system by a gentle application
of the Excise laws. — Population in 1821, 1570.
KIRKMICHAEL, a parish occupying the
north-east corner of Perthshire, adjoining
Aberdeenshire on the north, and Forfarshire
on the east ; bounded by parts of Bendochy,
Blair- Gowrie, and Cluny, on the south, and
Logierait, Dowally, Moulin, and Blair-
Athole on the west ; extending seventeen miles
in length, and from six to se\ en in breadth

KIRKOSWALD.

673

It comprehends the greater part of Strathardle,
and the whole of Glenshee. The Ardle in-
tersects its southern quarter. The Shee is in
the north. The district is arahle on the banks
of these waters, especially the former, and
there are some neat seats with plantations. A
good road passes along the left bank of the
Ardle. The military road from Cupar- Angus
to Fort- George proceeds through the northern
part of the parish, by the Spittal of Glenshee.
The kirk and village of Kirkmichael stand on
the left bank of the Ardle. — Population in
1821, 1551.

KIRKMICHAEL and CULLECUD-
DEN, a united parish in the counties of Ross
and Cromarty, consisting of a portion of that
peninsular territory called Ardmeanach or
Black Isle, bounded by the Cromarty Firth on
the north, and by the ridge of the Mullbuy,
an extensive tract of common which stretches
along the summit of the peninsula, on the
south ; extending eight miles in length from
east to west, and three milts in breadth from
north to south. This common is now divided
among the adjacent proprietors. — Population
in the year 1793, 1234; no returns in 1811 or
1821.

KIRKNEWTON, a parish in the coun-
ty of Edinburgh, including the abrogated
parochial division of Calder Clere, extend-
ing six miles in length, by about four in
breadth. On the south and west it is bound-
ed by Mid- Calder, on the east by Currie and
Ratho, and on the north by Ratho and
Kirkliston. The Almond river runs along
its western boundary. The surface is very
generally hilly, especially towards the north,
but on the south and east it is of a level
and fertile nature. In these latter directions
there are many thriving plantations and well
disposed arable fields. The villages in the
parish are Kirknewton and East Calder, the
latter, which is the principal, lies on the south
road from Edinburgh to Glasgow. The pa-
rish contains some fine seats and pleasure
grounds ; one of these is Meadowbank, once
the residence of a late Senator of the College
of Justice, entitled Lord Meadowbank, who
was one of the chief improvers in this quar-
ter. The celebrated Dr. Cullen, who was
proprietor of the estate of Ormiston-hill, and
one of the most distinguished agricultural im-
provers in this part of the country, lies inter-
ed in the church-yard of Kirknewton. Dal-

mahoy, a seat of the Earl of Morton, is also in
the parish. The manner in which the proper-
ty came into the possession of this family, and
the reason for a part of the district being
styled Calder- Clere, are explained under the
head Calder. — Population in 1821, 1513.

KIRKOSWALD, a parish in the district
of Carrick, Ayrshire, lying on the sea-coast,
along which it extends about six miles, imme-
diately south of Maybole, and containing
11,000 Scots acres. The sea-coast presents
for the greater part a sandy beach, with a beau-
tiful rich sward to the very sea-mark. The
surface of the parish is hilly, but the hills, ex-
cept in two instances, Mochrum and Craig-
dow, never rise to a considerable height. Near
Mochrum there is a loch which covers twenty-
four Scots acres, and another nearly as large,
near Craigdow. From these lakes and from
the springs which rise out of every hill, flow
many small streams, which wander through
the district, towards the sea. Except the very
tops of the above hills, nearly the whole pa-
rish is arable. Of late years there have been
raised various beautiful plantations, particu-
larly near the coast around Culzean, the seat
of the Marquis of Ailsa. In proceeding from
Girvan to Maybole, by the coast-road through
this parish, at the distance of five miles north
from the former, the remains of Turnberry
Castle may be seen upon the points of a
rocky promontory which projects into the sea
from a low sandy beach of several miles in
extent. Turnberry was the property and
residence of Robert Bruce, having been ac-
quired by his father's marriage to Marjorie,
Countess of Carrick. It was in the neigh-
bourhood of this place that a kiln-fire, mis-
taken by the hero for an appointed signal,
brought him prematurely over from Arran
with his followers, to attempt the deliverance of
his country, as related by Barbour, Sir Wal-
ter Scott, and others of his historians. Burns
describes the place as " where Bruce ance
ruled the martial ranks, and shook his Carrick
spear." Though Turnberry is dreadfully dila-
pidated, and worn by the action of the sea
and weather, the vestiges of the drawbridge,
several large vaults, or caves, and the extent
of rock covered by the ruins, testify, in a very
impressive manner, the former vast strength
and importance of the fortress. Within sight
of Turnberry, and not more than a mile
from it, the farm of Shanter may be seen
4 u

674

KIRKOSWALD.

on the height which gently swells up from
the shore towards Kirkoswald. This was
the residence fifty years ago, sooner or later,
of Douglas Graham, a rough-spun Carrick far-
mer, who was in the habit of wearing a
broad blue bonnet, riding a sturdy white mare,
and getting regularly drunk at all the fairs and
markets held within forty miles round. Burns,
being on a visit for some months, when nine-
teen years of age, at the farm of Ballochniel,
Ihen occupied by a maternal relation, had con-
s tant intercourse with this doughty hero, and
ft ill leisure to observe all the peculiarities of
his highly original and amusing character. He
accordingly is made the hero of his poem,
" Tarn o' Shanter ;" though we are not una-
ware that the honour is disputed in favour of
a person called Thomas Reid, another far-
m<r in this part of the country. The pic-
ture there given of the dissolute manners of a
Carrick farmer is generally allowed in Ayrshire
to have been by no means overcharged. Smug-
gling having at that period wrought fearful
changes in their primitive character, and in-
volved them in all the evils of dissipation and
idleness, it was nothing unusual for the whole
family — men, women and children — to conti-
nue in a state of intoxication for three days
and nights without intermission. It is even
said to have been by no means an unfrequent
occurrence, at the farm of Shanter in particu-
lar, for the servants to be so stupid with li-
quor, as to boil the matinal meal of the fami-
ly with brandy instead of water, a mistake the
more natural, because all the domestic vessels
were occasionally put in requisition to hold
the generous fluids which had been hastily
transferred from on board the passing luggers.
The farm of Shanter is now annexed to another
farm ; all the buildings of the steading have
been taken away ; and a modern cottage, built
out of the materials, and occupied by one poor
family, alone exists to mark the place to the
eye of the curious traveller. The relation
with whom Burns resided at Ballochniel was
Samuel Brown, his mother's brother ; and this,
probably, was the scene of a love adventure,
alluded to in his letters, as having overset
his mathematical studies. Kirkoswald is
a picturesque old village ;" and the school still
stands which Burns attended when residing at
Duwhat. The noble mansion of Culzean, the
seat of the Marquis of Ailsa, is situated upon a
bold part of the shore, about three miles north
29

from these last mentioned localities. This is
the finest house in Ayrshire ; and whether its
architectural elegance, its internal decoration, or
its prospect sea-ward be considered, commands
the admiration of all strangers. It was built
about the year 1770. The rock underneath
the castle is penetrated by deep caves, which
the vulgar have peopled with supernatural be-
ings, and which are known to have afforded
shelter, after the Revolution, to Sir Archibald
Kennedy of Culzean, who had rendered him-
self offensive by his adherence to the cause of
the exiled family. Between Kirkoswald and
Maybole are situated, in a low valley, the re-
mains of the abbey of Corsregal, Crossraguell,
or Crosragwel. This once important religious
house was founded by Duncan, the first Earl
of Carrick, who died about, the year 1 240 ;
it was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Dun-
can had granted to the monks of Paisley se-
veral churches, and some lands in Carrick,
upon condition that they should establish in
that country a monastery of their order ; but
they having failed to perform this, he founded
the abbey now under notice, for Cluniac
monks — (the order of those of Paisley) — and
transferred to it the churches and lands which
he had granted conditionally to the establish-
ment at Paisley. Enraged at being thus de-
frauded, as they thought, of the emoluments
which they had received, the abbot and monks
of that place endeavoured to claim the new
establishment at Crossraguell, as a cell of their
own monastery ; but, after a struggle of some
duration, this controversy was decided against
them. The endowment of Crossraguell, by
the founder, was greatly augmented by addi-
tional grants from his son Neil, the second
Earl of Carrick, from his grand-daughter
Marjorie, Countess of Carrick, and from his
great-grandsons, Robert Bruce and Edward
Bruce. The monks of the establishment ob-
tained from Robert III. in 1404, a charter
confirming to them all their churches and
lands, to be held in free regality, with the
mostamplejurisdiction, comprehending even the
four points of law that belonged to the crown.
The last abbot was the celebrated Quentin
Kennedy, upon whose death, in 1564, George
Buchanan obtained from the Queen a grant of
a pension of L.500 yearly, from the revenues
of the abbey, for life ; but the Earl of Cas-
sillis seized possession, and it required all the
authority of the queen and her council to

KIRKPATRICK-FLEMING.

675

maintain the rights of the historian. Mr. Alan
Stewart, a younger son of James Stewart of
Cardonald, was appointed commendator on the
ahhot's death ; but owing to the violence of
the Earl of Cassillis, he found much danger, aad
little profit, in his appointment. Impelled by
;i diabolical rapacity, the Earl seized the com-
mendator, who enjoyed the principal part of
the revenues, and in order to make him sign a
deed in his favour, roasted him before, or over,
a slow fire, till pain obliged him to comply.
Buchanan hearing of this horrible exertion of
feudal power, put his person under the pro-
tection of the state, lest he might have been
caught and roasted on the same account.
The brutal earl was one of the most zealous of
the reformers, and like too many of his bre-
thren in that holy cause, chiefly indebted for
his hypocritical enthusiasm to a love of the
good things of this world. The only good
point we discover in his history, was the
protection he yielded, at the Reformation, to
the abbey itself, which he helped to preserve
from demolition. Ruined, as it now is, the
abbey is one of the most entire in the west of
Scotland. Two towers, or castles, close to
the ruins, and which were the houses occupied
by the abbots, are yet but little injured ; and
the chapter-house, as in the cases of Glenluce,
Elgin, &c. is fortunately almost entire, being
a small but beautiful apartment supported by
one pillar in the centre. Grose has given
three views of the ruins. — Population in 1821,
1847.

KIRKPATRICK-DURHAM, a parish
in the stewartry of Kirkcudbright, bounded by
Dunscore, in Dumfries-shire, on the north, by
Balmaclellan and Parton on the west, Cross-
michael and Urr on the south, also by the latter
with Kirkpatrick- Irongray on the east, ex-
tending nearly ten miles in length, by an ave-
rage breadth of three miles and a half. The
upper part of the parish, which gradually rises
to the north, is pastoral, and the lower or
southern part arable. The parish is now con-
siderably improved by the enterprise of diffe-
rent proprietors. The Urr water skirts the
parish on its west side. The old church was
dedicated to St. Patrick, and the adjunct
Durham in the name of the parish, is taken
from the hamlet at which it stood. Durham,
signifies the hamlet on the water, and the
church and village stand on a streamlet which
falls into the Urr. In the western part of the

parish there was of old a church dedicated to
St. Bridget, upon the bank of the Urr, at a
place still distinguished by the name of Kirk-
bride.— Population in 1821, 1473; in 1831,
1487.

KIRKPATRICK-FLEMING, a parish
in the district of Annandale, Dumfries-shire,
comprehending the old parishes of Kirkpatrick,
Kirkconnel, and Irvin, which were united after
the Reformation. The name of the lord of the
manor, Fleming, during the fourteenth and fif-
teenth centuries, was added to the name of the
present parish to distinguish it from others of
the same name. It is bounded on the north by
Middlebie, on the west by Middlebie and An-
nan, on the south by Graitney and Dornock, and
on the east by Half- Morton. It extends from
north to south nearly six miles, by a general
breadth of two and a half. The Kirtle water
bounds the district partly on the west, and cross-
ing the lower division it enters the.parish of
Graitney. The surface of the country rises from
south to north by a gradual succession of wav-
ing swells of a pleasing appearance. A great
portion is now arable and finely planted. The
parish abounds in freestone. The interest at-
tached to the parish of Kirkpatrick- Fleming is
derived more from moral than physical causes.
Here stood, at a place called Redhall, on the left
bank of the Kirtle, the baronial mansion of "the
bold Flemings," who are noted in border history
for the stand they often made in cases of English
aggression in the lower part of Dumfries-shire.
The lands which they enjoyed were, it seems,
held by the tenure of defending the district at
all times, and at all hazards, against the Eng-
lish forces ; and the manner in which they kept
possession of their castle shows that they
steadily fulfilled the obligation of their char-
ter. Towards the conclusion of Baliol's reign,
in one of Edward's incursions into Scotland,
the tower of Redhall was attacked by an Eng-
lish army. It was at the time occupied by no
more than thirty Flemings, who, in spite of
every attempt, held out a close siege of three
days. Offers were made of an honourable na-
ture to induce the surrender; but all would
not do. They swore to each other that they
would hold out to the last extremity, whatso-
ever might be the result. Fire was at length
applied to the edifice, and while the smoke
shrouded it partially from the foe, they were
beheld standing in mute defiance of the Eng-
lish on the topmost battlement. The flames

676

KIRKPATRICK-JUXTA.

shortly reached them in this exalted situation,
and they sunk at last in the midst of the roar-
ing furnace, bequeathing a name for daring
hardihood, which is still remembered with re-
verence in the district. No vestige of the
tower is extant ; but its site is still pointed out
to the curious tourist. The parish contains
certain interesting localities, consecrated by
the Scottish muse. A rivulet called Logan
water, with the " braes," which bound it in
its course, have been celebrated by a ballad or
song, by Mayne, from an old one well known
in our national anthology. Within the vale of
Logan once stood a chapel, alluded to in the
ballad as a kirk : —

" Nae mair at Logap-Kirk will he,
Atween the preachings, meet wi' me,
Meet, with me, and when it's mirk,
Convoy me hame frae Logan-Kirk."

We find by the chartulary of Glasgow, that
Logan chapel, along with the church of Kirk-
patvick, was the property of the monks of
Giseburn, who conceded to the bishops of
Glasgow the right of collation to both places
of worship, but reserved to themselves the
tithe of corn ; and it was stipulated that they
should receive yearly a skepful of meal from
the rector of Kirkpatrick. This transaction
took place in the year 1223, so that Logan
chapel was of considerable antiquity. It seems
that it existed till the seventeenth century,
and its site, which bears the name of Chapel-
Know, is pointed out at a place called Logan-
Mains. The river Kirtle traverses, in this
parish, the scene of the impassioned and pa-
thetic tale of " Fair Helen of Kirkconnel
Lee," which has been embodied in so many
and in such various forms of poetry. Fair
Helen is said to have been a lady of the name
of Irving, and to have lived about three cen-
turies ago. She was the daughter of a person
of rank, but beloved for her beauty only, by a
gentleman named Adam Fleming. Another
lover, whom she had rejected, entertaining the
most fiendish emotions of revenge, stole one
day upon their privacy, as they were conversing
in a bower upon the banks of the Kirtle, and
fired a carabine across the stream at the bosom
of Fleming. Helen leapt before her lover,
and, receiving the shot, immediately fell down
and expired. Fleming then drew his sword,
pursued the murderer, and is said not to have
been satisfied with vengeance till he had cut
his body into a thousand pieces. After this

he went abroad and served as a soldier in
some foreign army ; but, finding no peace of
mind, he at last came home and laid himself
down upon the grave of his mistress, from
which he never again arose. The graves of
both the lovers are pointed out in the church-
yard of Kirkconnel, near Springkell; that of
Fleming is distinguished by a stone bearing
the figure of a cross and sword, with the in-
scription " Hie jacet Adamus Fleming''' A
heap of stones is raised on the spot where the
murder was committed ; and the peasantry still
point out the place where Fleming slew the
murderer at a little distance, upon the oppo-
site banks of the Kirtle. — Population in 1821,
1696.

KIRKPATRICK-IRONGRAY, a pa-
rish in the stewartry of Kirkcudbright, lying on
the right or south bank of the Cairn Water, which
separates it from Holywood in Dumfries-shire,
bounded by Terregles on the east, Lochrutton
on the south, and Kirkpatrick-Durham on
the west. It is situated only a few miles
west of Dumfries. On the west the dis-
trict is hilly ; on the east and in the other low
parts the land is now under excellent cultiva-
tion. The adjunct Irongray is put to the
name to distinguish it from other places of a
similar name. Irongray is the local name of
the place where the church was placed, and
signifies " Gray's land ;" Iron, Em, Earan,
and Arn, all meaning "land," in Scoto-Irish. —
Population in 1821, 880.

KIRKPATRICK-JUXTA, a large pa-
rish in the upper part of the district of An-
nandale, Dumfries-shire, of a triangular figure,
each side measuring about eight miles in length ;
bounded on the north and east by Moffat, on
the south by Johnston, and on the west by
Closeburn, as well as Crawford in Lanark-
shire. It comprises thirty and a quarter square
miles, or 15,430 Scots acres. The surface
resembles that of the rest of the country in this
quarter, being hilly, and only arable in the
dales. Of late there have been various im-
provements made, and there are now some
thriving plantations. The Kinnel water in-
tersects the district, and the Evan runs through
its north-eastern part to join the Annan, which
bounds the parish on the east. This upland
parish was long in a backward condition, and
the writer of the statistical account, to illus-
trate this circumstance, mentions that seven-
ty years before his time, there was not a pane

KIRKWALL.

677

of glass in tbe parish, except in two houses ;
"and now, (in 1792)," says he, "every house
has at least one glass window !" In the fif-
teenth century, the adjunct juxla was added to
the name of the parish, in order to distinguish
it from Kirkpatrick-Fleming in the same
county. Judging from the following case in
the records of the Scots parliament, it would
appear that the parsons of the old church of the
parish did not always enjoy peacefid possession
of their property among the Annandale thieves :
— On the 3d of July 1489, a cause was heard
by the lords auditors in parliament, at the in-
stance of Mr. Clement Fairlie, the parson of
Kirkpatrick-juxta, and Robert Charteris of
Amisfield, his lessee, against several persons,
for the spoliation of the Pasch-reckoning,
[Easter offerings,] of the said kirk, and the
penny offerings on St. Patrick's day, amount-
ing to ten merks ; and for the spoliation of
two hundred lambs, which were valued at L. 18,
and a sack of tithe wool, containing twenty-
four stone that was valued at L.12, and for
unjustly possessing and labouring the forty
shilling land, belonging to the said kirk. The
lords ordained the defenders to make full resti-
tution and give satisfaction for the damages ;
and they issued a precept to the Stewart of
Annandale to enforce this judgment. — On the
left bank of the Evan water, in this parish,
stands the ruin of Auchancass Castle, originally
a quadrangular edifice, measuring 130 feet each
way. It is understood to have belonged to
the family of Bruce, once lords of Annandale.
—Population in 1821, 912.

KIRKTOWN, a parish in Roxburghshire,
lying like a long stripe between the parish of
Hawick and part of Cavers on the west, and
Hobkirk and another part of Cavers on the
east ; extending eight miles in length, by from
one to two and a half in breadth. The district
is hilly and mostly of a pastoral nature. — Po-
pulation in 1821, 315, being five less than in
1801.

KIRKURD, a parish in the western con-
fines of Peebles-shire, bounded by Linton and
Newlands on the north, part of Newlands and
Stobo on the east, part of Stobo ani Brough-
ton and Skirling on the south, and Dolphington
on the west. In extent it measures five and a
half miles in length, by from three to four in
breadth. The sluggish Tarth river, a tributa-
ry of the Tweed, bounds a great part of the
parish on its northern side, and from this water

the land rises in finely cultivated and enclosed
fields, and then becomes of a hilly description,
with eminences richly clothed in thriving plan-
tations. The district is now much improved,
chiefly by the principal landed proprietor in
this quarter, Sir Thomas Gibson Carmichael,
The modern church of Kirkurd stands near
the road side on the thoroughfare from
Tweeddale towards Glasgow by Biggar. The
name of the parish imports " the kirk on the
height," — urd, ord, or aird, all signifying an
eminence of some kind. There are some
farms in the parish with the same adjunct, as
Lochurd, Leddyurd, Netherurd, &c. The an-
cient church of Kirkurd belonged at an early
period to the bishops of Glasgow, one of whom
gave it to the hospital of Soltra, (for an ac-
count of which, see Fala,) about the begin-
ning of the thirteenth century, and it remained
the property of this useful and pious institution
till 1462, when Mary of Gueldres transferred
the hospital to the Trinity collegiate church at
Edinburgh ; though on condition tliat the
sacrist of that establishment should keep in
repair the kirk of Kirkurd. The urd so fre-
quently found in connexion with names in this
parish, would seem to have been derived from
the very extensive domain or barony of Urd or
Ord, (this being a high part of the country,)
a great part of which was granted about 1 226,
by Walter Murdak, its proprietor, to the
Monks of Paisley, who hence included it
within their regality. At a later date it pass-
ed into the possession of the Scots of Buc-
cleugh. — Population in 1821, 352.

KIRKWALL and ST. OLA, a united
parish on the mainland of Orkney, compre-
hending the town of Kirkwall and a district of
country around it, stretching from sea to sea,
and measuring between four and five miles
square ; bounded on the east by St. Andrews'
parish, and on the west by Orphir and Sten-
nis. An indentation of Scalpa Flow pene-
trates the southern side of the parish, and a si-
milar inlet called Kirkwall bay is protruded
on the north side directly opposite it. Be-
twixt the heads of the two inlets the distance
is just two miles, and from one to the other
the land partakes of the character of a strath.
The rest of the parish is hilly and of a pasto-
ral character ; the low_grounds, and especially
the territory round Kirkwall, being arable, and
by proper manuring and working, yielding good
crops of big and oats.

678

KIRKWALL

KIRKWALL, a town of great antiquity,
a royal burgh, the seat of a synod and presby-
tery, and the capital of the above parish and of
the Orkney islands, is situated at the head of
the bay of Kirkwall, with a northern exposure,
at the distance of fourteen miles north-east
from Stromness, fifty-eight from Wick, fifty-
nine from Thurso, 334| from Edinburgh, and
forty- one from Houna, the most northerly part
of Great Britain. It stands in north latitude
58° 33', and in west longitude 0" 25'. The
direction of the town is that of the strath to-
wards Scalpa Flow, and it extends nearly a
mile in length, but consists of little else than
a single street. This thoroughfare is exceed-
ingly inconvenient from its narrowness, and
particularly from its pavement, which was
complained of, we perceive, by the statist of
the parish in 1793, and which is now, if not
very recently mended, in the worst possible
state. By a fashion common in old Scottish
towns, borrowed from a usage in the north of
Europe, the houses are generally placed with
their ends or gables towards the street, which
gives the town an awkward appearance. Many
of these houses bear strong marks of old age,
as the doors and windows are very small, the
walls uncommonly thick, and almost all the
apartments narrow, gloomy, and irregular. To
this form, however, there are also many ex-
ceptions ; for such of them as have been lately
repaired or rebuilt, and particularly such new
ones as have been erected, may, both for ele-
gance and conveniency, compare with those of
any other town of the same extent in Scot-
land. The time when, and the persons by
whom Kirkwall was founded, are both lost in
the darkness of antiquity. Previous to the
junction of the western and northern islands
with the kingdom of Scotland, it was under
the rule of the Norwegians or Danes, by whom
it was called Kirkivog, Kirkvaa, or Kirkwaa,
words signifying " the Great Kirk," in allusion
to the cathedral of St. Magnus, here planted,
and from which the present name Kirkwall is
derived. This venerable edifice, which still
exists, is the chief object of curiosity in Kirk-
wall, and is remarkable as the only structure
of the kind, besides that of Glasgow, which
survived the Reformation. It stands on the
east side of the town, which it dignifies by its
stately and ancient appearance, arid is said to
have been founded by Reginald, Count of Ork-
ney, in the year 1138, though there is no evi-

dence to prove such an antiquity. It is never-
theless probable that it was erected in the
twelfth century, as it was in that epoch that the
bishops of Orkney began to have a fixed resi-
dence in their diocess. It is certain it was
not all completed at once, as some of the later
bishops made additions to what was previously
erected. As it now stands, the length of the
fabric outside is 226 feet ; its breadth fifty-six ;
the height of the main roof seventy-one ; and
from the level of the floor to the top of the
steeple 133 feet. The roof is supported by a
row of fourteen pillars on each side, besides
four, the most magnificent of the whole, which
support the spire. The window in the east is
thirty-six feet high, by twelve broad, including
a circular rose-window at the top, twelve feet
in diameter. There is a window in the west
end somewhat similar, but much smaller ; as
also a rose-window on the south gable of the
cross, of like form and dimensions with that
on the top of the east window. The circum-
ference of the pillars that support the roof is
fifteen feet, and that of those on which the
steeple rests is twenty-four feet nearly. Ed-
ward Stewart, bishop, who died 1538, made an
addition of three pillars and arches in the east
end with a window, which for grandeur and
beauty are far superior to any others in the
edifice. Robert Maxwell, the second bishop
in succession after Stewart, and a son of Sir
John Maxwell of Pollock, highly ornamented
the interior, by building the stalls for the in-
ferior clergy, which were curiously engraven
with the arms of several of his predecessors in
the see ; he also furnished the steeple with a
set of excellent bells, which were cast within
the castle of Edinburgh, by Robert Borthwick,
in 1528, as appears by an inscription on them
to that effect. When James V. visited the
isles in 1536, he was nobly entertained by this
bishop at his own charges ; and at this time
the king was pleased to give the town of Kirk-
wall a confirmation of its royalty. The suc-
ceeding and the last bishop under the Romish
hierarchy, was Robert Reid, a munificent pa-
tron of learning, and the originator of the Uni-
versity of Edinburgh. Having been abbot of
Kinloss in Moray, he is noticed under that
head. This worthy prelate added three pillars
to the west end of the cathedral, which were
never completely finished, and which in point
of elegance are much inferior to the former.
He also adorned the entry by the erection ot a

K I R K WALL.

679

magnificent porch, and, as will be immediately
seen, made some other additions to the esta-
blishment of a beneficent kind. The cathe-
dral is built of red sandstone, and is covered at
present with gray slate. Much to the credit of
the kirk- session, it has been preserved in mo-
dern times from decay, without any expense
to the town or heritors. One end of the
structure has been long used as the parish
church, while the other division is liberally
left open as a promenade for strangers or
others, as is customary in foreign churches.
The sides of the walls near the floor are covered
with monumental slabs, in a slanting position,
the memorials of sea kings, chieftains of note,
and other personages once distinguished in
this remote country, but whose names are now
otherwise completely unknown. Opposite
the cathedral of St. Magnus, on the west side
of the street, stood the king's castle of Kirk-
wall, which time and the ravages of war have
long since laid in ruins. According to the
statist, no tradition remains by whom it was
founded; though it is probable, as Wallace
observes, from a stone placed in the wall next
the street, on which there was seen, in his
time, the figure of a mitre of a bishop and his
arms, that it was built by some bishop of
Orkney. The walls of it are very thick ; the
dimensions large ; and the stones with which
it is Constructed are so firmly cemented to-
gether, that it is more difficidt to dig them
from the rubbish than it would be to cut stones
from the quarry. This fortress seems to have
been in good repair, and a place of no incon-
siderable strength, in the days of the infamous
Patrick Stewart. This man was son of Ro-
bert Stewart, natural son of James V. who,
in 1581, was raised to be Earl of Orkney.
Patrick, who succeeded his father, was a man
of a haughty turn of mind, and being of a cruel
disposition, he committed not only many acts
of rebellion against his sovereign, but many
acts of oppression. In order to screen him-
self from the punishment he justly deserved,
he took refuge in the castle, which he main-
tained with desperate valour for some time
against the king's troops, till it was at last
taken and demolished. On being captured,
he was carried to Edinburgh, and, after trial,
put to death for his crimes. It is mentioned
in " The Histofie and Life of King James
the Sext," printed for the Bannatyne Club,
that " Erie Pate" used to live here in great

pomp ; that he never went from his castle to
the church, nor abroad otherwise, without the
convoy of fifty musqueteers and other gentle-
men as a guard; that at dinner and supper
there were three trumpeters that sounded till
the meat of the first service was set on the
table, did the same at the second service, and
also after the grace. It is likewise mentioned
that from his practice of intercepting pirates,
and collecting tributes of fishermen that
came to these seas, he formed such a collec-
tion of great guns, and other weapons of war,
as that no house, palace, or castle in Scotland
was equally well furnished in that respect. This
same Earl of Orkney built an extensive mansion
of solid but plain masonry on the east side of
the town, known now by the name of the Earl's
palace, and which, from the date above the prin-
cipal door, still legible, appears to have been
erected in 1607. This building, which is only
of two storeys in height, has been uninhabited
since 1688, and is now unroofed and deserted.
Almost adjoining to this stands the much more
interesting and ancient ruin of the Bishop's
palace. Of the origin of this structure both
tradition and record are alike silent. " So
long ago," says the statist of the parish, (the
Rev. George Barry, whose description is among
the best of those in the Statistical Account of
Scotland,) " as 1263, the year in which Haco,
King of Norway, undertook an expedition
against Alexander III. King of Scotland, on
account of a dispute that had arisen about the
Western Isles, it would appear to have been a
place of consequence. This monarch, on re-
turning from the mouth of the Clyde and the
Highlands of Argyleshire, where he had spent
the summer in waging war with the Scots,
with little success, [see our article Hebrides,
p. 535.] resolved to winter in Orkney ; and
for this purpose stationed his ships in the
harbours about the main land, and he himself
took up his quarters in Kirkwall. Here he
kept court in a hall in the Bishop's Palace for
some time, till, worn out with disease, occa-
sioned perhaps by disappointment, and the fa-
tigues of his unsuccessful campaign in the
south, he expired after a lingering illness.
Bishop Reid repaired, we are certain, or,
more properly, rebuilt, several parts of the
Bishop's Palace ; for on more than one place
there are to be seen engraven on stones in the
wall, the first letters of his name, and below
them his arms and mitre. A round tower, on

680

KIRKWALL.

the north west, was raised by him ; and on the
side that looks to the town, there is a small
niche in the wall, occupied, even at present, by
a rude stone statue of that very celebrated pre-
late. Near to this palace, on the west, this
beneficent churchman mortified to the town of
Kirkwall a piece of ground for the purpose of
building a college, for instructing youth in
grammar and the various branches of philoso-
phy, with a very considerable sum of money,
for carrying his pious design into effect. But
his death, which unfortunately happened soon
after, on his returning from France, where he
had been witnessing Queen Mary's marriage
with the Dauphin, prevented any part of this
excellent plan from being carried into execu-
tion." We learn from Keith, that Bishop
Reid, moreover, made a new foundation of the
chapter, enlarging the number of canons, and
settling ample provisions for their maintenance,
although, from the almost immediate abroga-
tion of the Roman Catholic church, such must
be allowed to have scarcely had time to take
effect. In terminating our allusions to this
worthy and now forgotten man, whom we may
not again have occasion to notice in this work,
we may be permitted to say of him, in the Ian-
guage of an epigrammatic poem written by
Adam Elder, a monk of Kinloss, commemo-
rative of his character :

" Quid tentera augusto perstringere carmine laudes,

Quas nulla eloquii vis celebrare queat?
Clavis es eloquio, coelo dignissime prasul,

Antiqua generis nobilitate viges :
* * *

Pauperibus tua tecta patent, tua prompta voluntas,

Atque bonis semper dextera larga tua est.
Nemo lupos melius sacris ob ovilibusarcet,

Ne Christi lanient diripiantve gregem
Ergo pia ob studia, et magna, durosque labores

Ille Deus pacis, det tibi pace frui.
Concedatque tuis succedant omnia votis,

Et bona successus adjuvet aura tuos."

Leaving the foregoing remains of antiquity, a
description of which sheds a glow of romance
over that of a town now dedicated entirely to
purposes of trade, we may resume our notice
of Kirkwall as regards its modern statistics.
Originally created a royal burgh by James III.,
and its charter renewed by James V., as above
noticed, the civic government consists of a
provost, four bailies, a treasurer, dean of guild,
and fifteen councillors, who are elected annu-
ally. The burgh joins with Wick, Dornoch,
Dingwall, and Tain, in sending a member to
parliament. The burgh possesses a town-hall,
which is a building of a good appearance, form-

ing a piazza in front ; the first storey is divided
into apartments for a common prison, the se-
cond for an assembly hall, with a large room
adjoining for courts of justice, and the highest
is set apart as a lodge for freemasons. The
sheriff, commissary, and admiralty courts of
Orkney and Zetland are held in Kirkwall. All
capital crimes are tried before the supreme
courts at Edinburgh, whither offenders are
transmitted. Justice of peace courts are also
held here at short intervals ; as also the courts
of the burgh. Besides the established church,
in the old cathedral, which is superintended by
two clergymen, there is a meeting-house of the
United Associate Synod, and a meeting-house
of Independents. The fast days of the church
are the Thursdays before the last Sunday of
April and November. The town possesses a
grammar school, and some schools on charita-
ble foundations, or instituted by societies. The
inhabitants support a subscription library ; but
some of the upper classes are supplied with
books from the circulating libraries of Edin-
burgh. There is a bookseller in the town who
binds books and keeps a small printing-press.
Some time ago it was the custom more than
now for the shopkeepers of Kirkwall to have
stocks of miscellaneous goods, and of the most
opposite kind, but such a practice is wearing out
or nearly abandoned, and there are now various
shops with suitable assortments of articles be-
longing to a special profession. By Piggot's
Directory, of 1826, there appear to have then
been about fifty resident gentry and clergy, four
agents to Lloyds, three blacksmiths, fourteen
boot and shoemakers, two brewers, one baker,
one builder, one bookseller, one cooper, one
dyer, two distillers, four earthenware dealers,
three fieshers, two grocers and spirit-dealers,
one straw-plait maker, six tailors, nine vint-
ners, three watch and clock-makers, two wheel-
wrights, five wrights, eight writers, besides
others in less important businesses. Branches
of the Commercial and National Banks are set-
tled in the place. The gradual establishment of
regular merchants and tradesmen in this distant
town is understood to have injured the " Kirk-
wall fair," a market of great antiquity, and not-
ed for the variety and extent of the traffic in-
duced by it. This fair is held on the first
Tuesday after the 11th of August, and conti-
nues that week and the following. Like the
fair of Leipsic, to which alone it can be com-
pared, it is attended by merchants and pur-

KIRRIEMUIR.

681

chasers from a very great distance, and into
the brief period in which it is held, a great
proportion of the commerce of these northern
islands is, as it were, concentrated. Dealers
in cambrics, and printed calicoes, and muslins,
from Glasgow and " the manufacturing dis-
tricts," cloth and hard-ware merchants, book-
sellers, and other tradesmen, all arrive with
stocks of their respective goods by the packets
from Leith or other ports, and the stranger
should not even be surprised in discovering at
the fair, a dealer in trinkets or jewellery from
Hamburg, in the shape of a Jew, with a white
beard, party-coloured garments, and a pair of
yellow boots: While the market lasts, there
is a prodigious stir and concourse of people in
Kirkwall, for it is at this time that the fishers,
kelp-makers, and other dealers in raw or native
produce in the islands exchange their goods for
money or articles of comfort and luxury. As
we have just said, the settlement of regular
tradesmen in Kirkwall, if not also in some
other places in Orkney, has somewhat derang-
ed the traffic carried on at the fair ; and we are
oound to suppose that this great market must
have either already received or will shortly re-
ceive, a most severe blow through the reduc-
tion of duties on foreign barilla, whereby kelp,
which for about sixty years has been a staple
article of manufacture in Orkney, and the
means of subsistence to thousands, will be no
longer purchased for transmission to the south ;
at least, not on the scale it has hitherto been.
The situation of Kirkwall well adapts it for
the resort of shipping. The outer bay road-
stead in front affords safe anchorage, and the
harbour close on the town is excellent, having
been made safe by means of two new piers.
The port, however, does not lie so con-
veniently for ships proceeding to or from
North America as Stromness. It is a general
belief that living is much cheaper in Kirkwall
than in most places m Scotland, but it seems
this is not so much the case as is supposed.
If some articles be cheap, others are consider-
ably dearer : all the coal used has to be im-
ported, chiefly from Newcastle ; bread made
from wheat flour is bad and exceedingly dear,
and all grocery goods are likewise high-priced.
Kirkwall has a constant intercourse with
Leith, by means of vessels, which sail every
week alternately, and are fitted up for the ac-
commodation of passengers. The mail is brought
(weather permitting) three times a-week from

JJjuna, by a ferry boat.— Population of the
parish of St. Ola, (the landward part of the
united parish,) in 1821, 1034; population of
Kirkwall, 2212. It appears from these returns
that the population of the town has increased
only about 200 in the space of sixty years,
when Dr. Webster made up his popidation
tables.

KIRK-YETHOLM, a small village in
the parish of Yetholm, Roxburghshire; see
Yetholm.

KIRRIEMUIR, a parish in Forfarshire,
consisting of two detached portions, separated
by an intervening part of the parish of Kingol-
drum. The northerly portion is called Glen-
prosen, being the vale of the river Prosen and
its tributary burns ; it is hilly and chiefly
pastoral ; it measures nine miles in length, by
a general breadth of about two and a half;
Clova bounds it on the north, and partly also
on the east, along with Cortachy ; Lentrather
and Glenisla bound it on the west. The
southerly is the main district, and measures
four and a half miles from north to south, by a
breadth nearly of as much ; the Prosen bounds
it partly on the north, and it has Tannadice,
Oathlaw, and Rescobie on the east, a small
part of Forfar with Glammis on the south,
and Airly and Kingoldrum on the west. The
face of the country is various. For about a
mile to the north of the parishes of Glammis
and Forfar it is almost flat. Then it rises
gently about two miles more, forming almost
one continued sloping bank, till within a few
hundred yards of the town of Kirriemuir, which
thus stands nearly in the centre of the south-
erly division, and is separated by a narrow
valley or den about 100 feet deep from the
above bank. To the east and west of the town
it is almost level. The rest of the parish is
beautifully diversified with hills and dales,
rivers, woods, and arable fields. It is now also
embellished with thriving plantations, and is
intersected by roads in all directions. Im-
provements have now brought the district into
a most productive and thriving state. The
chief object of antiquarian interest in the parish
is the ancient castle of Invercarity, which
stands on the small river Carity as it enters
the South Esk, on the north-east boundary of
the southern division of the parish. It is a
huge Gothic edifice in tolerably good repair.

KIRRIEMUIR, a burgh of barony, and a
town of considerable antiquity and size, the
4 s

682

K N A P D A L E.

capital of the above parish, is agreeably situat-
ed near the foot of the braes of Angus, in the
centre of a fertile populous district, at the dis-
tance of five miles north from Glammis, five
miles north-west from Forfar, sixteen' from
Dundee, and fifty- eight from Edinburgh. It
enjoys a very healthy and pleasant situation,
partly on a flat, and partly on an inclined plane,
on the south-west side of a hill of the same
name, along the northern brow of a beautiful
den, through which runs the small river Gairie.
The prospect of the lower part of the town is
bounded by the southern braes of the den ; but
from the higher part is seen almost the whole
vale of Strathmore. The appearance of Kir-
riemuir has been much improved of late years ;
it now is reckoned one of the most thriving
and most industrious towns in the county. For
a considerable time it has been the seat of ex-
tensive manufactures, in the same branch of
osnaburgs and coarse linens for which Dun-
dee is now so celebrated ; and it appears, that
so early as 1792, the value of these sorts of
goods manufactured in one year was L. 38,000.
Since that period, with the exception of fluc-
tuations, the business of weaving linens has
been steadily pursued by the inhabitants. The
town is noted for the excellent fabric of its
cloth, and the ingenuity of its manufactures ;
about 25,000 pieces, consisting of 146 yards
each, were lately said to be manufactured year-
ly. The number of yards of linen stamped in
one year, from November 1819 to November
1820, was 2,376,711. The " Kirnemurians"
are not more noted for their ingenious and
persevering industry than for their intelligence
and general knowledge. Much of their leisure
time is devoted to reading or other means of
improving the mind. They support an excel-
lent news-room, well supplied with London and
provincial newspapers. The town possesses a
very handsomely built parish church, with a neat
spire and clock. There is, besides, an Epis-
copal chapel of good architecture with a spire,
and of a size commensurate with the great body
of individuals of the Episcopal communion in
the town and surrounding district. There are
also meeting-houses of the United Associate
Synod and Independents. There are a variety
of Friendly Societies. Besides the parish
school, there are some private schools, and a
very large Sunday school, which possesses an
extensive and usefid library. The date of the
barony of Kirriemuir is unknown, and it is
29.

OTily certain that the jurisdiction of its bailie
was once extended over a large tract of
country. The barony is under Lord Douglas,
who appoints a bailie. The peace is preserved
by a body of constables, chosen annually. An
excellent weekly market is held on Friday, and
there are four annual fairs. A branch of the
British Linen Company Bank is settled in the
town — Population of the town in 1821, 2150 ;
including the parish, 5066; total, in 1831,
6425.

KIRTA, an islet of the Hebrides, near the
west coast of Lewis.

KIRTLE, a beautiful small river in Dum-
fries-shire, rising in the heights of the parish
of Middlebie, and running in a straggling, but
generally southerly course, along the west side
of the parish of Kirkpatrick- Fleming, and
through the parish of Graitney; it falls into
the Solway Firth, at the place called Kirtle-
Foot. Its banks are, in many places, embel-
lished with plantations, and the scenery through
which it passes is pleasing. The vale of the
Kirtle is a minor dale betwixt Eskdale and
Annandale.

KLETT, a rocky islet, lying about three
miles from the west coast of Sutherland.

KNAPDALE, a district of Argyleshire,
lying betwixt Cantire and Nether Lorn, and,
forming, in reality, the inner extremity of the
peninsula of Cantire. It extends from the neck
of land traversed by the Crinan canal, southward
to the isthmus formed by Loch Tarbert, a
length of twenty miles, by a breadth of from
five to nine miles. On the west coast it is in-
dented by Loch-Swein and Loch-Killisport.
The district is of the usual Argyleshire cha-
racter, and from its diversified appearance of
hill and dale, it derives its name, which is sig-
nificant of a territory so distinguished.

KNAPDALE (NORTH), a parish in the
above division of Argyleshire, disjoined from
the parish of South Knapdale in the year 1734.
It extends twelve miles long and three broad,
and is bounded on the west by the Atlantic.
The parish kirk is near Loch Fyne. The
district is hilly, but the soil for pasturage and
tillage is excellent ; and there is a very great
proportion of arable ground. — Population va
1821, 2545.

KNAPDALE (SOUTH), a parish in
Argyleshire lying south from the above parish ;
extending fifteen miles in length and five and
a half in breadth. It contains 37,000 acres

LADYKIRK.

688

of land ; a small proportion only is arable.
—Population in 1821, 1913.

KNIACK, a rivulet in the parish of Mu-
thil, Perthshire, which joins the Allan a mile
below the bridge of Ardoch.

KNOCKANDO, a parish in Morayshire,
lying on the left bank of the Spey, between
the parish of Rothes on the north and Crom-
dale on the south ; extending ten miles in
length, by two in breadth. The country is
hilly and generally pastoral. During the
great floods in Moray in 1829, the parish of
Knockando suffered severely, twelve cases of
families being rendered destitute by the cala-
mity having occured, and the grounds being
much injured. The burn of Knockando, a
small rivulet, was on this occasion swollen to
a size equal to that of the Spey in its ordinary
state. — Population in 1821, J 414-

KNOCKBA1N, a parish in Ross shire,
formed by the junction, in 1756, of the parishes
of Kilmuir Wester, and Suddy, and lying on
the side of the Black Isle next the Moray
Firth. It extends from six to seven miles in
length, and from five to six in breadth, having

Killearnan on its south-west side. It is in-
dented by the bay of Munlochy, which is pro-
truded from the Moray Firth, and near the
head of this bay stands the church of Knock-
bain. The surface of the country rises gra-
dually from the firth, and is generally fertile,
as well as embellished with plantations. — Po-
pulation in 1821, 1973.

KOOMB, an islet on the north coast of
Sutherlandshire, upon which are the remains
of a chapel and burying-ground.

KYLE, the central district of Ayrshire,
now unconnected with any political or judicial
distinction. It comprehends the land betwixt
the rivers Doon and Irvine, but is divided into
two sections, namely, King's Kyle, lying on
the south, and Kyle Stewart, on the north side
of the river Ayr. It contains twenty-one
parishes — See Ayrshire.

KYPE, a streamlet in Lanarkshire, rising
on the borders of Lesmahago parish, and which,
after separating it from Avendale, falls into
the Aven, a few miles above its confluence with
the Clyde.

LADY-ISLE,an islet in the firth of Clyde,
lying about three miles from the shore, a little
way south of Troon, at the distance of six
miles south-west by south of Irvine, and five
north-north-west of Ayr. Two pillars or bea-
cons are erected upon it to guide the mariners
sailing along the Ayrshire coast into the
Clyde.

LADYKIRK, a parish in Berwickshire,
lying on the north bank of the Tweed between
Hutton on the north-east and Coldstream on the
south-west. On the west side it has the pa-
rishes of Whitsome and Swinton. It extends
about three miles along the margin of the
Tweed, by a breadth inland of from one to two
miles. The district partakes of the usually
rich and beautiful appearance of the Merse.
The parish church of Ladykirk stands near
the Tweed, opposite Norham on the Northum •
brian side of the river, and is remarkable as
one of the few Gothic buildings of the kind
which survived the Reformation. The legend
connected with this church gives it an addition-
al claim to notice. It seems that, when James

the Fourth was crossing the Tweed at the head
of his army by a ford in the neighbourhood,
he suddenly found himself in a situation of
great peril from the violence of the flood, which
had nearly carried him away. In his emer-
gency, he vowed to build a church to the Vir-
gin, in case that she should be so good as de-
liver him. The result was this edifice, which,
being dedicated to " Our Lady," or the Vir-
gin Mary, was denominated Ladykirk, a name
which afterwards extended to the parish, for-
merly designated Upsettlington. The ford it-
self deserves some notice. It was one of the pas-
sages by which the English and Scottish armies
generally invaded the countries of each other,
before the bridge of Berwick, which appears
not to have been erected till the reign of Eli-
zabeth, had its existence. It was, on this ac-
count, a point of resort and conference, and
the adjacent field called Holywell Haugh, was
the place where Edward I. met the Scottish
nobility, to settle the dispute betwixt Bruce
and Baliol to the crown of Scotland. At the
church of Upsettlington, or Ladykirk, in the

684

LAMBHOLM.

reign of Queen Mary, a supplementary treaty
to that of Chateau Cambrensis was settled by
commissioners ; and Norham castle, on the
opposite bank of the river, derived importance
from its commanding this isthmus of conference
between the two kingdoms.— Population in
1821, 527.

LADYKIRK, or LADY PARISH, a
parish occupying the north-eastern limb of the
island of Sanday, Orkney, which besides com-
prehends the united parish of Cross and Bur-
ness. The kirk is situated at the head of a
small bay on the south side of the island. The
district is sufficiently described under the ge-
neral head Sanday. — Population in J 821, 880.

LAGGAN, a parish in the district of
Badenocb, Inverness-shire, extending from
north-east to south-west upwards of twenty
miles. The breadth of the inhabited part is
about three miles; but taking its boundaries
from south to north, it will measure more than
twenty miles. It is bounded by Boleskine on
the north, Kingussie on the east, by the moun-
tains of Perthshire on the south, and by Kil-
manivaig on the west. The boundary on the
north is Monu-liec, or grey mountain, a prodigi-
ous ridge of inaccessible rocks. The river
Spey takes its rise from a very small lake of
the same name in the western parts of the
parish, and is formed by currents falling down
from the mountains. It runs through the
middle of the parish in an easterly direction,
receiving in its progress the river Mashie and
Truim, both having their rise in the Grampi-
ans. The most remarkable natural object of
a beautiful kind, is Loch Laggan, which, with
its environs, forms a district by itself, and lies
on the south-west extremity of the parish. This
lake, which extends about eight miles in length,
by one in breadth, is very deep, with a bold
rocky shore, and surrounded by high woody
mountains. On the south side is the coiU
more or great wood, said to be the most con-
siderable relic of the Caledonian Forest.
This wood, which extends five miles along the
loch side, is the scene of many traditions. The
eastern extremity of the lake is somewhat
picturesque, and the most remarkable feature
is a rocky hill, split by a fissure of great mag-
nitude, and conveying a strong impression of
recent and sudden violence. Along the north
precipitous bank of Loch Laggan, a road has
been cut communicating with the west coast.
The lake is chiefly fed by the river Pattaig at

the east end, and discharges itself at the west-
ern extremity, by the Spean, a tributary of the
Lochy, near Fort- William. The lake pos-
sesses two small islets, named Elan-na-Ri
and Ehn-na-conn, — the island of the king, and
the island of dogs. On the former is the ruin
of some building, traditionally mentioned as
having been a hunting-seat of one of the
ancient Scottish kings, and it was on the other
he is said to have kept his dogs for the chase.
The parish is mountainous and principally
pastoral, yet it contains some fertile lands in
the low grounds, and it is substantiated that
here is found the highest lying cultivated land
in Britain. The vegetable produce is oats,
barley, rye, and potatoes. At the east end of
Loch Laggan stand the remains of an
old church, dedicated to St. Kenneth, sur-
rounded by a burying-ground, which is still
more used than any other. The modern
parish church is at the small village of
Laggan, about four miles to the north-east,
and situated on the left bank of the Spey,
now a large stream. The village lies near to
the gi eat road northward by Dalwhinnie and
Garvamore, about half way between both. A
road from Laggan proceeds north-eastward by
Kingussie down the Spey. The writer of the
Statistical account of the parish was the Rev.
James Grant, minister of the district, whose
wife — Mrs. Grant of Laggan — has been justly
celebrated for her literary attainments.— Po-
pulation in 1821, 1234.

LAIRG, or LARIG, a large parish in
Sutherlandshire, bounded by Farr on the north,
Edderachylis on the west, Criech on the south,
and Rogart on the east. Its extreme length
is about twenty-four miles, by a breadth of
eight and upwards. Like the rest of Suther-
landshire, it is quite a mountainous pastoral
district, and is for a great part the basin of
Loch Shin, a large fresh water lake, lying in
the direction of north-west and south-east, and
whose waters are emitted into (he Dornoch
Firth. The great road across Sutherlandshire
proceeds through the parish, along the north side
of this lake. There are a few small lakes also
in the parish. The kirk of Lairg is at the foot
of Loch Shin — Population in 1821, 1094.

LAMBA, an uninhabited islet of Shet-
land, on the north-east coast of the mainland,
in the parish of Northmaven.

LAMBHOLM, an islet of the Orkneys,
situated in Holm Sound, of three miles in

LANARKSHIRE.

683

circumference, and containing a very few in-
habitants.

LAMBERTON, a parish in Berwickshire,
now incorporated with Mordington — See

MoRDINGTON.

LAMINGTON, a parish in the upper
ward of Lanarkshire, lying on the right or
south-east bank of the Clyde, along which it
extends nine miles, having a breadth, at most,
of four miles ; bounded by Wiston and Sym-
ington on the north, Crawford-John on the
west, Crawford on the south, and Culter on
the east. The parish is hilly and mostly pas-
toral or of an upland character, with fine
haughs and arable lands adjacent to the Clyde.
The present parish comprehends the two old
parishes of Lamington and Hartside, or Wan-
del, which were united in the seventeenth cen-
tury. The old parish and district of Laming-
ton obtained its name from a Flemish settler,
who was called Lambin, and who obtained a
grant of this territory, during the reign of
David I. and gave the place where he settled
the name of Lambinstoun. James, a son of
this Lambin, obtained from Richard Morvile,
the constable of Scotland, a grant of the ter-
ritory of Loudon in Ayrshire, and was the
progenitor of the family of Loudon, The
barony of Lambinstoun passed, during the
reign of David II. into the possession of Sir
William Baillie, who obtained a charter of it
from that king, on the 27th January, 1367-8.
His descendants still possess the property.
The account of this family in the Appendix
to Nisbet's Heraldry, ii. 136, states that Sir
William Wallace acquired the estate of Lam-
ington, by marrying the heiress of a family,
wnich was sumamed Braidfoot ; and that Sir
William Baillie obtained it by marrying the
eldest daughter and heiress of William. This
statement, though agreeable to common tra-
dition, is unsupported by any recorded autho-
rity; and, according to George Chalmers, is
certainly erroneous ; Sir William Wallace left
no legitimate issue, but he left a natural
daughter, who is said to have married Sir
William Baillie of Hoperig, the progenitor of
the Baillies of Lamington. Upon the south
bank of the Clyde, near the little parish town,
stands the tall and sheltered ruin of Laming-
ton tower, the seat of this ancient family.
The hill of Tinto overlooks the tower of
Lamington on the north. The village of Lam-
ington is small; it is situated on the road

which traverses Clydesdale.— Population in
1821, 359

LAMLASH, a land-locked bay on the
south-east side of the island of Arran, very suit-
able for the reception of vessels driven by
stress of weather from the Irish Channel. It
is protected by a high rocky islet, called Holy
Island, from the sea. The loch, as it is call-
ed, is spacious and beautiful, though its banks
are bare of wood, and the general aspect of
the scenery is wild. On the inner side of
the bay is the small village of Lamlash, at
which there is an inn.

LAMMERMOOR, or LAMMER-
MUIR, a mountainous range of brown pas-
toral hills, belonging to Berwickshire. — See
Berwickshire, p. 92.

LANARKSHIRE, a large, populous, and
important county in the western part of the
Lowlands, or south division of Scotland, bound-
ed by Dumfries-shire on the south, Ayrshire
and Renfrewshire on the west, Dumbarton
and Stirlingshire on the north, and Linlithgow,
Edinburgh, and Peebles-shire on the east.
It lies between 55° 18' 40", and 55° 56' north
latitude. Its extreme length from south-south-
east, to north-north-west, is fifty-four miles,
and the greatest breadth in the middle is thirty-
two miles ; but it becomes narrower towards
the extremities, even to less than ten miles.
The superficial contents are 927 square miles,
or 593,280 English acres. At an early period
this extensive district was for convenience di-
vided into two wards, called the over ward and
nether ward ; Lanark being the chief town and
seat of justice of the former, and Rutherglen
of the latter. This arrangement was alter-
ed during the last century, when the county
was divided into three wards, namely, the up-
per, middle, and lower wards ; the chief
towns being Lanark, Hamilton, and Glasgow,
at each of which there is a sheriff-substitute
stationed. The central part of the county
throughout is termed Clydesdale, or the vale of
Clyde, from being the basin of that beautiful
and useful river. Before entering on a des-
cription of the natural products, and the agri-
cultural and mercantile peculiarities of the
shire, it may be proper to say a few words
upon the history of the district : Under the
heads Dumbarton and Glasgow, some slight
notices of the ancient kingdom of Strath Clyde
have been given ; and it is now our duty to
present a connected historical outline of that

686'

LANARKSHIRE.

British kingdom. The district of country
known as the vale of Clyde, with its minor
vales, at the time at which Roman writers de-
scribed North Britain, was inhabited by the
British tribe, called by them the Damnii, a
people who designated their territory y-strad-
clur/d, a compound name signifying the warm
vale or strath. Of these hardy Britons or
Celts, there are numerous remains in the dis-
trict, as circular walls and fosses, sepulchral
tumuli, and memorial stones of a warlike
nature. The Damnii yielded to the Roman
yoke towards the end of the first century, and
the country became a part of the province of
Valentia. The Romans secured this, like
other possessions, by roads and camps, the re-
mains of which, in different parishes, have en-
gaged the attention of the topographers. The
recession of the Romans — see Edinburgh-
shire— in the fourth century left the inhabi-
tants to re-form their original kingdom. From
this period, arose a powerful demi- savage race,
who held in thrall some adjacent districts ; and
a few centuries later we find the kingdom of
Strath- Clyde involving within its limits Liddis-
dale, Tiviotdale, Dumfries-shire, all Galloway,
Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Strath- Clyde proper,
part of Peebles-shire, the western part of
Stirlingshire, and the greater part of Dum-
bartonshire ; from which it seems to have
been a kingdom, including nearly the whole
of Scotland south of the Forth, with the ex-
ception of ancient Lothian, which was in-
habited by Ottadini, and afterwards by Sax-
ons. Within this ample territory there were
subordinate tribes, some of whom are no-
ticed in this work, as occasion requires, by
the name of Selgovse, Attacotti, &c. It is un-
derstood that the capital of the Strath- Clyde
Britons was at Dumbarton, which was at a most
important pass into their kingdom from the
west ; but with regard to this and other matters
relative to their political condition, great
obscurity prevails. This barbarous people
were frequently attacked by the Picts, from
the northern side of the Forth, by the Scoto-
Irish from Cantire, by the Saxons of Northum-
bria, and by the Cruithne of Ulster. At
the death of Bede in 735, the Strath- Clyde
Britons retained their beloved possessions in
spite of all attacks, but, soon after, they began
to decline in power from the union of the Pic-
tish and Saxon forces, and their metropolis
was taken in 756. It is most probable that,

after the political union of the Picts and Scots
in 844, through the intrepidity of Kenneth, all
show of a separate kingdom in Strath Clyde was
gone ; and soon after this period, it is likely that
the petty chiefs or reguli were gradually over-
powered, while their laws and usages melted
away before those of a Scottish sovereign. The
descendants of the Damnii seem to have deeply
grieved the loss of their rude independence, and
emigrated rather than submit to foreigners.
Mournfully leaving the graves of their fathers,
the first human beings who had roved through
the forests of the west, they slowly departed
from the warm vale, and pursuing a southerly
course, crossed the Solway and the Mersey,
and finally found a resting-place amidst a con-
genial race among the hills and dales of Wales.
The less adventurous Strath- Clyde Britons re-
mained, and, by the encroachments of different
races of Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Normans, Gae-
lic-Scots, and Galloway, or Half-Irishmen,
they were soon lost as a distinct people. * The
extinction of the Saxon power, north of the
Tweed, in 1020 — again see Edinburghshire
— consolidated for the first time the Scottish
dynasty, and levelled many trifling distinctions
among the inhabitants of the country. Be-
sides the above classes of foreigners who were
introduced into the district of Strathclyde, we
may here remark, what is well worthy of ob-
servation, that a number of Flemish families
of consideration settled in Clydesdale in the
twelfth century, not a few of whom received
grants of land from the abbots of Kelso, who
had large possessions in this quarter. Of these
families none became afterwards so distinguish-
ed as the Douglasses, who have no higher
an origin than a Flemish church vassal, al-
though such is now attempted to be refuted.
Lanarkshire was allowed to progress in civili-
zation and rural wealth, with some brief inter-
vals of war and waste, till the period of the
national troubles consequent on the demise of
Alexander III. Now

" followed the dayis,

Quen was gud Willeyham Walays,"
whose first exploit was to expel the English
from the town of Lanark. We need not tell

* Yet one of the editors of this work has been inform-
ed by a Welchman, well qualified to judge, namely, the
Rev. Mr. Williams, of the Edinburgh Academy, and
author of the Life of Alexander the Great, that the
peasantry of Clydesdale at this day bear a strong resem-
blance, not only in features, but even in some points of
cosU-ime, to the modern Welsh.

LANARKSHIRE.

687

our readers that throughout the arduous strug-
gle which followed for Scottish independence,
Lanarkshire was the theatre of many miseries
and military disturbances. Under the reign
of James I., and the regency of Robert, Duke
of Albany, a portion of Lanarkshire was cut
off from the body of the county, and was form-
ed into the distinct sheriffdom of Renfrew.
At a subsequent date, the ambition and turbu-
lence of the Douglasses, with the intrigues of
the first Lord Hamilton, involved Lanarkshire
in the various miseries of civil war. The fall
of the house of Douglas, 1 455, was followed
by an instantaneous herrying of the family pos-
sessions. " In March 1455," says Gray's
Chronicle, " James the second cast doune the
castel of Inveravyne ; and syne incontinent past
till Glasgow, and gaderit the westland men,
with part of the Areschery [Irish], and passit
to Lanerick, and to Douglas, and syne brynt
all Douglasdale, and all Avendale, and all the
Lord Hammiltounis lands, and herrit them
clerlye ; and syne passit to Edinburgh, and fra
them till the forest, with ane host of lawland
men," &c. Such were the devastations sus-
tained by the district on the rebellion of its
principal baron. From this period till the
comparatively recent epoch of the latter part
of the seventeenth century, Lanarkshire does
not make any remarkable figure in history. It
then became the scene of a thirty years' civil
war, carried on by Charles II. against the
more zealous presbyterians of this district, every
particular of which must be already known to
the readers of Scottish history. During this
unhappy period, the country suffered severely
by military execution, but the Revolution of
1688 brought it once more peaceful times, and
it has ever since advanced in wealth and every
species of improvement. To return to the
physical character of Lanarkshire : The upper
division of the county is very mountainous,
one of the Lowther hills rising to a height of
2450 feet above the level of the sea. Next in
height is Culter Fell ; and Tinto, the loftiest
hill on the frontier of the mountain district, is
2236 feet above the sea level. From Tinto,
looking northward, the face of the country is
softened down to gentle elevations and gradual
depressions. The upper ward, which may
be deemed three-fifths of the county, is
mostly hilly and moorish; and from the na-
ture of the soil, and the elevation of the sur-
face, cannot be deemed capable of much agri-

cultural improvement. At the commence-
ment of the middle ward, the elevation of the
land is considerably diminished, while the de-
clivity continues to fall towards the north-
west. The surface is everywhere diversified
by frequent inequalities, so as to leave no
level space except the valleys along the river.
The height of the middle ward may be re-
garded as from 250 to 800 feet above the level
of the sea ; and though reckoned a good agri-
cultural district, it comprises 42,000 acres of
moss, nearly a third of the whole. The
lower ward is of very limited extent, and de-
rives its importance from being the seat of a
most abundant population. The county al-
most everywhere abounds in coal. Sand-
stone and whinstone are equally prevalent.
Lime lies in the same tract of country as
the sandstone. In the mountainous region
at the head of Clydesdale, lead has been
long wrought to advantage. Ironstone is also
wrought in the shire. The mines of different
descriptions lately yielded, on the whole ope-
rations, an annual revenue of L. 222, 900. The
waters of Lanarkshire may be described in
brief terms. The county is watered and beau-
tified by the Clyde throughout, and this river
receives on either side a great variety of
streams, nearly the whole being of extensive
use in application to the machinery of mills.
The principal tributaries within the shire,
are the Douglas Water, the Mouse, the
Nethan, the Aven, the Calder, the North
Calder, and the Kelvin. A very complete
account of the Clyde, its extent, and pro-
perties, will be found under the article
Clyde. Those who search deeply into the
ancient history of Clydesdale, have reason for
believing that the district was once much warmer
that it is at present. The old British poets
sing of the delicious summer heats of their
native vale ; and Merthyn, one of their most
distinguished bards, mentions with feelings of
regret the orchards of Cluyd. We might be
inclined to suggest that the fancies of these
remote minstrels perhaps blinded them to the
truth, had we not sufficient evidence of the
former temperateness of the climate in the re-
mains of cultivation upon hills now suitable
only to pasturage. The climate of Lanark-
shire is now moist and cold, a circumstance
attributable to the proximity of the western
seas, and to the very extensive masses of wet
peat earth, which shed an unhappy influence

688

LANARKSHIRE.

over the arable soil. Within the more shelt-
ered and sunny vale through which the Clyde
pursues its course, the climate is often much
warmer, and in such cases such is the dif-
ference of atmosphere, that while the wind
blows with a keen blast over the waste moors
of the exposed country, at a very short dis-
tance, within the protection of the banks of
the river, the air has all the genial mildness of
an Italian summer. The commencement of
improvements in soil and cultivation in this
division of Scotland, is said to have taken place
about the year 1758. From this period may
be dated a series of meliorations, by draining,
planting, and enclosing, equal in amount to
such in other improved districts. Wheat, a
still greater quantity of oats, and some barley,
are in various proportions sown in different
soils, in the county. Some flax is grown,
which is spun by the women, who sell the
yarn in the markets of Lanark, Carnwath,
Biggar, and others. Potatoes are universally
planted in great quantities. Turnips are sown
pretty generally. Artificial grasses are every-
where in use. Gardens and orchards were of
early use in Clydesdale, and in the present
day the banks of the river are embellished by
fruit-trees of the most luxuriant growth. The
orchards consist chiefly of apple, pear, and
plum trees, and cover altogether about 300
acres. The products are very numerous, and
in fortunate years the whole produce has been
valued at L.2000. The manufactures of
Glasgow being treated of at length under that
head, we do not require here to specify the
trading statistics of the shire. It needs only
be mentioned, that the cotton goods for which
that city is celebrated, are to a great extent
woven in different villages in the county, and
that this branch alone yields support to a very
large proportion of the inhabitants. Lanarkshire
contains three royal burghs, Glasgow, Ruther-
glen, and Lanark, and a variety of consider-
able villages, as Hamilton, Douglas, Biggar,
Strathaven, Carnwath, Bothwell, Airdrie,
Lesmahago, &c. Including the city parishes
of Glasgow, the shire comprises nearly fifty
parishes, which form four presbyteries in the
synod of Glasgow and Ayr. The valued rent
of the shire in 1814 was, for land, L.298,019,
and for houses, L.286,071. The increase of
the population of Lanarkshire since the middle
of the last century is very conspicuous. In
1755 it was 81,781; in 1791, 126,354; in

1801, 150, 690; in 1811, 192,097; and in
1821, 244,766, of which 115,385 were males,
and 129,002 females.

LANARK, a parish in the above county,
lying on the right or east bank of the Clyde,
along which it stretches from four to five miles,
by a breadth of three miles ; bounded by Car-
luke on the north, Carstairs on the east, Car-
michael on the south, and Lesmahago, on the
opposite side of the Clyde, on the west. Th
greater part of the parish consists of flat or un-
dulating land, generally suitable to agriculture,
but in some places moorish. In modern times
the district has been greatly improved by plan-
tations, enclosures, draining, &c The Mouse
water, tributary to the Clyde, runs through the
parish, cutting it into two nearly equal divi-
sions. The chief objects of interest in the
district are noticed in the following article.

Lanark, a royal burgh, the capital of the
above parish and county, to which it has given
a name, and the seat of a presbytery, is situated
on an elevated piece of ground half a mile from
the right bank of the Clyde, at the distance of
32 miles west from Edinburgh, 25 south-east
of Glasgow, and 15 from Hamilton. Lanark
is one of the most ancient towns in Scotland.
It is understood to have been a seat of popula-
tion in those early times when the British re-
mained undisputed masters of the territory, and
from them received the appellation it has
maintained through a succession of dynasties
and changes of language; The word Lanark
is a favourite object of philological dispute
among antiquaries, and has been by them tor-
tured into the most strange significations. It
is, we think, with good evidence derived from
Llanerch, or Lanerch, signifying a green, a bare
or open place ; in a word, a glade, a paddock,
and with one or other such meanings is attach-
ed to different names in Scotland and Wales.
Merthyn, the ancient British bard, in his poem
of the " Afallenau," or apple-trees, thus men-
tions the place, —

'* Afallen berena dyf yn TJanvrrch,
Angerdd oi hargel rhag rhieu Rhydderch."

A sweet apple-tree doth grow in Lanerch,
Potent its shade against the chiefs of Rhydderch.

In several charters of Robert I., David II.,
Robert II., and Robert III., the county and
town are called Lanerk, and George Chalmers
throughout pertinaciously adheres to such an
orthography, although fashion, accident, orde-

LANARK.

(589

sign has for ages induced the general adoption
of Lanark. The town is said to have received
a charter of burgal privileges from Alexander
I., and it is certain that it was a royal town as
early at least as Malcolm IV. (1153-65), who,
in granting a toft in the place, says it is " in
meo burgo." It is exceedingly probable that at
this and a later period Lanark was chosen as a
royal residence, as there was at one period a
castle or fortification on an eminence south
from the town, which has been for a long pe-
riod demolished, and so cleared away as to leave
a site for a bowling green.* Whether from
its possession of this castle or the importance
of the station, the English under Edward se-
cured Lanark, and according to Blind Harry,
it was the fate of Sir William Wallace to re-
side in it with his bride, when the insolence of
the English sheriff compelled the patriot to
deal that personage such a blow as proved his
death. Tradition points out a house, now an
inn, at the head of the Castle-gate, opposite to
the parish church, as occupying the site of
that which was possessed by Wallace at the
period of this incident. He fied from his
house to a cave in the Cartland Crags, about
a mile off, and only emerged from that conceal-
ment to spread terror and destruction amongst
all who bore the English name in Scotland.
Miss Porter, previous to the publication of her
work entitled " The Scottish Chiefs," visited
this and other scenes in the neighbourhood of
Lanark, sanctified by the name of Wallace.
The consequence of Lanark will be supposed
to have increased by the establishment of a
monastery of Franciscan or Grey friars in the
year 1314. Besides this institution, there was
a chapel within the burgh dedicated to St. Ni-
cholas, which had four altars, one of which was
dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and was called
" Our Lady's Altar ;" another, which was
consecrated to the holy blood of Christ, was
called " The Haly Bluid Altar : " a third was
dedicated to St. Michael, and a fourth to St.
Catherine. This chapel and its different al-
tars were well endowed. At a spot about half
a mile east from the town, there was a chapel
dedicated to St. Leonard, with an hospital.
We are not aware of the date of this establish-
ment, but we learn that it was exceedingly well

* By a strange coincidence, there are a number of
towns in Scotland which have bowling-greens on the ex-
act sites of old castles. Among others we may instance
those of Inverness and Peebles.

endowed with lands, and that in 1393 Sir
John Dalziel obtained of Robert III. a gift of
the whole revenue belonging to St. Leonards,
within the town of Lanark, upon condition that
he and his heirs should cause say three masses
every week " pro salute Domini Ret/is et Anna-
bellce Rcgina? proliumque eorumJ" The chapel-
ry, however, as it would appear, was still well
sustained by lands in the district, which con-
stituted a species of independent parochial di-
vision. By an act of parliament, in 1 409, St.
Leonard's kirk was united to the parish of
Lanark. The old parish church of Lanark
was dedicated to Kentigern or Mungo, and
with its tithes and pertinents was granted by
David I. in 11 50 to the monastery which he
then founded at Dryburgh, with the monks of
which place it continued till the Reformation.
At Clegorn, or Cleghorn, in the parish of Lanark,
there was a chapel in the twelfth century, and
at East Nemphlar, or, as it was once called,
Nenfelar, the templars had some lands, and a
chapel, the ruin of which is still extant, nearly
a mile and a half north-west from Lanark.
The number and variety of religious estab-
lishments at one period in and about Lan-
ark, must certainly have added considerably to
its importance, and no doubt to its wealth.
At the Reformation, all the different charter-
grants, tithes, patronages, and land and proper-
ty of every description, were seized by, or giv-
en to, lay nobility and gentry, whose descend-
ants still enjoy them-s-almost no spot in Scot-
land having offered so much ready unpro-
tected prey of this character. The old parish
church, which stood at the distance of a quar-
ter of a mile eastward from the town, has been
deserted upwards of fifty years, and is now
hurrying fast to decay. It has been of Gothic
architecture, although never a fine building.
It is said, that it was here, at public worship,
that the Scottish hero, Wallace, first saw his
wife. The church-yard around contains the
grave of William Lithgow, the celebrated tra-
veller of the reign of James VI., a strange
compound of good sense, fanaticism, impu-
dence, and pedantry, to which this parish had
the honour of giving birth. Lithgow travelled
over a great part of Europe and Asia, and
came home miserably maimed and disfigured
by the Inquisitors of Spain, whom he pro-
voked by his insufferable boldness in regard
to their religion. He settled in his native
parish, where, till his death, he was known, as
4 T

690

LANARK.

he is now popularly remembered, by the name
of Lugless Willie Lithgow. He left children
and other relations, whose representatives are
still in the place. Lanark has had the honour
of giving birth to more than one man of note.
The most distinguished, and we may now be
permitted to say, the most infamous, was the
late Lord Justice- Clerk Braxfield, whose
brutality on the bench will not soon be forgot-
ten in Scotland. Many good scholars, more-
over, have been produced at its school, which,
for more than fifty years during the last cen-
tury, was conducted by Mr. Robert Thomson,
brother-in-law to the author of the Seasons, a
man of talents, and of great assiduity and suc-
cess in his profession. The wife of this gen-
tleman, displaying an activity and spirit very
different from her illustrious brother, is said to
have been peculiarly well qualified for her si-
tuation as matron of a large boarding-school.
The town of Lanark, of which it is now time
to say something, consists of one main street,
5n the direction of east and west. At the
eastern extremity it branches into two thorough-
fares, one leading to Edinburgh, and another
to Hyndford Bridge. On the west it leads to
the Clyde. Near the centre of the town
stands the modern parish church, and at the
corner of an adjacent lane caUed the Wellgate,
leading to the south, is the town and county
jail. From near this spot there are other two
minor thoroughfares branching towards the
river. The streets are well paved, but a great
number of the houses are still very mean in
appearance, being thatched with broom, heath,
or straw, and exhibiting on the whole, the
spectacle of a decayed Scottish burgh, desert-
ed by trade, and injured by the distractions of
local politics and petty interests. As a royal
burgh, whose charters were finally confirmed
by Charles I. in 1632, it is governed by a pro-
vost, two bailies, a dean of guild, thirteen mer-
chant councillors, and seven deacons of trades ;
and unites with Linlithgow, Selkirk, and
Peebles in sending a member to parliament.
Besides the established church there is a Re-
lief and Secession Meeting- House. Almost
the only trade in Lanark is weaving, which en-
gages a number of men in the employment
of Glasgow manufacturers. In the neighbour-
hood, higher up the Clyde, stand the cotton-
mills and town of New-Lanark, noticed in
next article. Lanark is much better known
from the romantic beauty of the fills of the
29.

Clyde in its vicinity, and some other scenery
in its neighbourhood, than from any tiling else.
In the environs of the town there are many
handsome seats, among which, Carstairs, the
seat of Mr. Monteith, seems to be considered
the most splendid. But these objects fail to
interest the tourist in comparison with the
celebrated falls. Of these two are above, and
one below, the town. The uppermost is
Bonniton Linn, a cascade of about thirty feet.
The next below is Corra Linn, where the wa-
ter takes three distinct leaps, each apparently
as high as that of Bonniton, The third fall
occurs at Stonebyres, about two miles below
the town of Lanark. These falls are individ-
ually described under the article Clyde. He
who traverses this district for pleasure, or for
the indulgence of sentiment and association,
will visit Cartland Crags. This is a deep
chasm, supposed to have been formed by an
earthquake, through which the Mouse Water
(remarkable a little farther up for Roman an-
tiquities on its banks) seeks its way to the
Clyde, instead of following a more natural chan-
nel, which every body seems to think it should
have followed, a little farther to the east. A
bridge of three arches was thrown, in the year
1825, across the narrow profound ; its two
piers, being at least a hundred feet high, while
the whole length is little more, the building
has an exceedingly striking effect. At a little
distance below may be seen one of those nar-
row old bridges, with an arch precisely semi-
circular, supposed to be of Roman structure.
In the western face of the chasm of the Cartland
Crags, a few yards above the new bridge, a
small slit in the rock is pointed out by tradi-
tion as having been the hiding-place of Wal-
lace after he had slain Hesilrig. It is still
termed Wallace's Cave. Still farther to the
north-west, about three miles from the town,
and within the verge of the parish, is the Lee,
the patrimonial estate of the family of Lock-
hart, so distinguished during the seventeenth
century for their eminence in the Scottish
Courts of Law. Lee House is a very fine
mansion, lately modernized in the castellated
style. It contains many good portraits, as
well as a singular curiosity, or object of super-
stition, called the Lee ■penny, a talisman of
eastern origin, which it is said was brought
from Palestine in the fourteenth century by
Simon Locard, ancestor of the present fa-
mily, and possesses medicinal virtues similar

L A N G II O L M.

691

(o those detailed as belonging to " the Ta-
lisman," in the tale of that name, by the
author of Waverley. Being now visited by
an incredible number of persons, whose cu-
riosity has been excited respecting it, Sir
Charles M'Donald Lockhart, the present pro-
prietor, has recently adopted the idea of keep-
ing an album in which their names are record-
ed. The environs of the Lee comprise a re-
markable natural curiosity in the shape of a
large oak tree, which having become rotten
through age, can hold in its hollow inside half
a dozen individuals standing upright. It is
called the Pease Tree. — Population of the
burgh and parish, including New Lanark, in
1821, 7085.

LANARK, (NEW), a series of cotton
factories and houses, in the parish of Lanark,
occupying a secluded situation on the right
bank of the Clyde, about a mile above the
foregoing town of Lanark. This extensive
manufacturing establishment was first insti-
tuted in the year 1783, by Mr. David Dale, a
man whose character is said to have been
marked by almost Quixotic benevolence. It
is now in the possession of a company which
owns for its head the son-in-law of Mr.
Dale, Mr. Robert Owen, so remarkable for
his notions regarding the domestic polity
of mankind. The village may be described
as a series of huge square buildings con-
nected with one or two streets of inferior
magnitude, and stretching along the north or
right bank of the river, which here rises so
abruptly and so near the' stream as only to al-
low room for two lines of edifices. The large
buildings are cotton-mills, and the inferior
streets contain the residences of the persons
employed in them, amounting, it is said, to
about two thousand. " The first mill," says
a contemporary, " was begun in 1 785, and a
subterraneous passage was formed through a
rocky hill, nearly one hundred yards in length,
for the purpose of an aqueduct. In 1788, a
second one was built, and was nearly roofed
in, when the first one was totally consumed by
an accidental fire, but was again rebuilt in the
ensuing year ; and the proprietor afterwards
erected other two, the machinery of which is
driven by the water brought in the same aque-
duct. These mills have from 20,000 to
30,000 spindles, and spin from 10 to 12
tons of cotton wool weekly. In them fourteen
hundred people, including women and children,

are employed. The greatest attention is paid
to cleanliness, and there is a public washing
house and bleaching green." The communi-
ty is of a singular description. No person is
admitted into it except as connected with the
manufactory. The inhabitants are a peculiar
people, speak with an accent of their own, and
dress themselves better on Sunday than their
neighbours of the same rank. They are said
to live harmoniously, and even to exhibit a
considerable degree of esprit-de-corps. They
are supplied with clothes and other necessaries
by the proprietors of the works ; who very pro-
perly devote the profits arising from this branch
of business to the education of the children,
none of whom are permitted to engage in la-
bour till the age of ten. Mr. Owen has paid
very considerable attention to the education of
the children of this establishment, and has with
praiseworthy, though perhaps, misdirected phi-
lanthropy, tried a number of plans to train up
youth in novel principles, the success of which
can only be substantiated by time. The manu-
factory of New Lanark, and the schools which
are there established, are now interesting ob-
jects of curiosity to all tourists, and strangers
would do well not to leave this part of the
country without paying them a visit.

LANGHOLM, a parish in the district of
Eskdale, Dumfrieshire, bounded on the north by
Westerkirk and Ewes, on the east by Ewes
and Cannoby, on the south also by Cannoby,
and on the west by Middlebie and Tunder-
garth. At the south-west corner it is touched
by the district of Halfmorton, which is eccle-
siastically joined to it. It contains, exclusive of
Halfmorton, about 14,320 acres, of which by
far the greater part belongs to the Duke of
Buccleugh. This parish is hilly and chiefly
pastoral, and may be described as comprising
several miles of the vale of the Esk, which
pursues a southerly course through it, and the
inferior vale of Wauchope water, a tributary
of that river on its western bank. The
country here is exceedingly beautiful, the low
grounds being well cultivated and sheltered by
the most umbrageous green woods or planta-
tions, the whole having a pleasing sylvan ef-
fect

LANGHOLM, a thriving small town of
modem growth in the above parish, and the
seat of a presbytery, situated on the left or
east bank of the Esk, at the distance of twenty-
one miles from Carlisle, twelve from Long-

6D2

L A N G T O N.

town, eighteen from Annan, thirty from Dum-
fries, and twenty-three from Hawick. The
town owes its origin to a border-house or
tower, which was formerly the property of the
all-powerful Armstrongs, but is now only seen
in a state of ruin. The curious stranger may
also see here a place where several witches
suffered in the century before the last. The
witches of Eskdale are said to have played
pranks beyond all example in the history of
female necromancy. Some of them were mid-
wives, and had the power of transferring part
of the primeval curse bestowed upon our first
mother from the gudewife to her husband ; so
that the former underwent the actual process
of labour without the least uneasiness, all the
while that the gudeman was roaring with agony
in his uncouth and unnatural pains ! Lang-
holm was long famed for a curious iron in-
strument, " called the Branks," which, fitted
upon the head of a shrewish female, and
projecting a sharp spike into her mouth,
fairly subdued the more dreadful weapon
within. It was formerly customary for hus-
bands who were afflicted with scolding wives,
to subject their heads to this instrument, and
lead them through the town exposed to the
eyes and ridicule of all the people ; and tradi-
tion records, that the discipline was rarely un-
productive of a complete reformation. A si-
milar way of taming shrews formerly prevailed,
it seems, in Staffordshire ; and Dr. Plot, the
quaint old historian of that county, sagely ob-
serves, that he looks upon it " as much to be
preferred to the ducking-stool, which not only
endangers the health of the patient, but also
gives the tongue liberty betwixt every dip ; to
neither of which disadvantages this is at all
lyable." " Eskdale," says the author of the
Picture of Scotland, " derives a more than com-
mon charm from the memory of Johnie Arm-
strong, whose name is associated with many
of its localities." His tower of Gilnockie still
stands, — though converted into a cow-house, —
a few miles below Langholm, on the left bank
of the Esk. It was on " Langholm Holm,"
that, when going to meet the king, he and his
" gallant companie" of thirty-six men, " ran
their horse and brak their spears ;" when, to
pursue the picturesque language of the ballad,

The ladies lookit frac their loft windows,
Saying, God send our men well back again.

Johnie terminated his mortal career at Car-

lenrig, a place not far distant from Moss- Paul,
on the road between Langholm and Hawick.
The story of the judicial execution of this
border thief and his companions by James V-
is well known. The graves of the whole
marauders are to be seen in a deserted church-
yard at Carlenrig. In the present day, Lang-
holm does not seem to partake of any of the
peculiarities which distinguished the country in
" the riding times," or in the age of supersti-
tion ; being now one of the most thriving and
industrious towns of its size in Scotland. The
town is built in the bosom of a lovely wood-
land scene, along the Edinburgh and Carlisle
road, which pursues a line down the left bank
of the Esk, and consists generally of good
stone houses, covered with blue slate. A
bridge is here built across the Esk, connecting
the main part of the town with a more modern
suburb on the opposite side, called New Lang-
holm. At the market-place of the old town,
stands the town-hall and jail, ornamented with
a neat spire and clock. The church is built
on a rising ground in the rear of the town.
The chief trade in Langholm is the manufac-
ture of cotton and woollen goods, as checks,
stockings, &c. It also possesses a number of
good shops, a brewery, a distillery, dye-houses,
and other establishments. It contains likewise
branches of the British Linen Company and
National banks. There are two libraries, and
a well-conducted parochial school. The Crown
inn is a well known house of entertainment on
the road. Besides the Established church,
there is a United Secession church, and Re-
lief chapel. The town is a burgh of barony
under the Duke of Buccleugh, — a family to
whom the people of this part of Scotland
have been much indebted. That nobleman
appoints a baron-bailie to govern the town, as
in the case of Dalkeith. The weekly market-
day of Langholm is Wednesday, and there are
fairs on the 16th of April ; last Tuesday in
May, old style ; 26th of July ; 18th of Sep-
tember, and in November. At the July fair
vast quantities of lambs are usually disposed
of. There are two annual fairs for hiring
servants. — Population of the town in 1821,
1800, including the parish 2404.

LANGTON, a parish in the centre of
Berwickshire, with its northern part among
the uplands of the Lammermuir division, and
its opposite extremity in the low rich lands of
the Merse ; bounded by Longformacus on the

LARGO.

G93

west and part of the north, Dunse on part of
the north and on the east, and Polwarth chief-
ly on the south. Tlie figure of the parish is
somewhat triangular, with the apex towards
the south-east ; its mean length may be four
and a-half miles, and its breadth two and a-
half. From the east to the north-west limit
the ascent is gradual ; from south to north the
ascent is the same as far as the foot of the
high ground, known by the name of Langton
Edge. On this Edge or eminence, all the
enclosed and cultivated part of the parish is
presented to the eye, as well as the whole
breadth of Merse and of Northumberland, as
far as Wooler. The country is here now ex-
ceedingly beautiful and productive, having been
much improved during last century, and well
planted. The ancient village of Langton,
which stood in the lower part of the parish,
was long a mean straggling place ; " it suffer-
ed," we are told, " like the greater part of the
border towns, from the incursions of the Eng-
lish, having been burnt in 1558 by Sir Henry
Percy and Sir George Bowes, and at other
times by marauding parties from Berwick and
Northumberland. Mr. Gavin, the late pro-
prietor, (and, according to the author of the
Statistical Account of the parish, a gentleman
who effected very extensive and beneficial im-
provements in this district, subsequent to 1758,
the year he purchased his estate,) finding the
village an obstacle to improvement, offered to
feu the inhabitants on easy terms a piece of
ground, in a pleasant situation, about half a
mile distant. This was aerepted, and the old
town of Langton in a short time disappeared,
and the new and thriving village of Gavinton
arose in its room." This neat village is situ-
ated at the distance of about a mile and a-half
west of Dunse.— Population in 1821, 477.

LANGWELL, a small river in the parish
of Latheron, Caithness, which joining the water
of Berridale, falls into the sea at the village of
Berridale.

LAOGHAL, (LOCH,) a lake in the pa-
rish of Tongue, Sutherlandshire, bounding the
parish of Farr on its west side, extending
about four miles in length and one in breadth.
Jt is environed in rude mountain scenery, and
on the west is overshadowed by the lofty
mountain of Benlaoghal. At the north end
the lake is emitted by the water of Borgie, or
Torrisdale, a river flowing into the ocean at
Torrisdale village and bay.

LARBERT, a parish in Stirlingshire, in-
corporating the abrogated parish of Dunipace,
which lies on the west of Larbert. Jointly
they occupy a central and productive part of
the county, extending from east to west eight
miles, and from south to north about two
miles. St. Ninians is on the west and north,
Airth and Bothkennar on the east, and Fal-
kirk and Denny on the south. The river
Carron is the boundary throughout on the
south. The land is beautifully cultivated, en-
closed, and planted ; and the district is popu-
lous, from the manufactures within it. Of
public works those of Carron are the chief; they
are described in their appropriate place. The old
parish of Dunipace is remarkable for two singu-
lar conical mounts which it possesses, which
are likewise mentioned under their proper
head. The district has some gentlemen's
seats of the first class, among which is Kin-
naird, once the residence and property of
Bruce, the Abyssinian traveller, who was
born, died, and was buried in this parish.
The site of Arthur's Oven, a curious monu-
ment of antiquity, now removed, is in the pa-
rish. It has been sufficiently described under
its own head. The capital of the parish is the
village of Larbert, which lies two miles west-
north-west of Falkirk, and nine from Stirling,
the road betwixt these towns passing through
it. Besides this there are some other villages
and hamlets in the district. Population of
Dunipace in 1821, 1168, and of Larbert
3491.

LARGO, a parish in the county of Fife,
lying on the shore of the Firth of Forth, be-
twixt Newburn and Kilconquhar on the east,
and Scoonie (Leven,) on the west. Ceres-
bounds it on its inland quarter. It is some-
what of a square form, the mean breadth being
three miles, and the length inland about three
miles and a half. The area of the whole con-
tains 5469 acres. The ground rises in pleas-
ing undulations or elevations to the north, of-
fering a remarkably fine southern exposure.
Cultivation is here at a very high pitch of per-
fection ; the fields are well enclosed, and orna-
mented with plantations. The most striking
natural feature in the district is Largo Law, a
conspicuous conical hill, showing a kind of
double summit, and rising to the height of 1010
feet above the level of the sea ; it can be seen at
a great distance on both sides of the F'orth.
The parish contains objects of interest to the

G94

LARGO.

antiquary in what are called, " tlie Standing
Stanes of Lundin." These are three tall up-
right stones standing in the middle of a park,
about half way betwixt the villages of Largo
and Leven, on the north side of the road.
Two of them measure about eighteen or twen-
ty feet above ground, and the third is not so
high. They stand so as to describe the figure
of a triangle, but from the appearance of the
place, and the knowledge that one has been
prostrated, we would be tempted to say, that
there must have formerly been others beside
them, so as to form a Druidical circle. Though
evidently sunk deep in the ground, they lean in
different directions, and the weather has made
sad havock upon their original appearance- They
certainly bear the marks of great antiquity,
and if, as wre imagine, the remains of a British
or Druidic people, they cannot have a later
date than before the dawn of Christianity, or an
age of two thousand years. It is impossible to
be confident respecting the origin of these in-
teresting stones, for they have no inscription,
and it is the general opinion at the place —
which, however, is of little value — that they
are mementos of Danish generals slain here in
battle. Some have conjectured them to be of
Roman origin, which is the least likely. The
parish of Largo contains two villages, one with
the title of Upper, or Kirktoun of Largo, and
another with the title of Nether Largo. It
will be best to describe these without entering
on a new article. Upper Largo, locally Kirk-
toun of Largo, is situated a mile from the sea,
on the road betwixt Leven and Anstruther,
three miles east from the former. It is a re-
markably agreeable little village. Here stands
•the parish church, an ancient Gothic fabric,
with a spire rising from the middle. This was
the birth-place of the celebrated Scottish ad-
miral Sir Andrew Wood, who, in the reign of
James IV-, defeated the English fleet under
Stephen Bull. Having been invested by the
king in the barony of Largo, he retired thither ;
and, according to the statist of the parish, it ap-
pears that, like Commodore Trunnion, he
brought on shore his nautical ideas and man-
ners. From his house down almost as far as
the church, he formed a canal, upon which he
sailed to church ! Here is an Hospital
founded by one of his descendants in 1659
for old men of the name of Wood ; it has
been handsomely rebuilt. Nether Largo is
situated at the head of the indentation of

the Firth, called Largo Bay. It stands at
the influx of a rivulet named the Keil,
whose estuary forms a poor harbour to the
place. The weaving of linen goods is a source
of emolument here and at Upper Largo.
This village would have remained among the
most obscure on the Scottish coasts, but
for the fortuitous circumstance of its hav-
ing been the birth-place of Alexander Sel-
kirk, the accredited prototype of the ficti-
tious Robinson Crusoe. The real history of
this man has been often printed ; but the fol-
lowing additional memorabilia respecting him,
picked up by the author of the " Picture of
Scotland," will perhaps be new to most read-
ers. Alexander Selkirk was born in the year
1676. His father, like almost all the rest of
the people of Nether Largo, was a fisherman,
and had another son, who carried on the line
of the family. There are many people in this
village of the rare name of Selkirk; but this
particular family has ended in a daughter, who,
being a married woman, has lost the name.
Alexander is remembered to have been a youth
of high spirit and incontrollable temper ; to
which, in all probability, we are to attribute
the circumstance which occasioned his being
left at Juan Fernandez. To a trivial family
quarrel, resulting from this bad quality on his
part, the world is indebted for the admirable
fiction which, for a century past, has charmed
the romantic imaginations of its youth. After
an absence of several years, during which
he had endured the solitude of Juan Fernan-
dez, he returned to Largo. He brought with
him the gun, sea-chest, and cup, which he had
used on the uninhabited island. He spent
nine months in the bosom of his family ; then
went away on another voyage, and was never
more heard of. The house in which this re-
markable person was born still exists. It is
an ordinary cottage of one story and a garret
and is situated on the north side of the princi-
pal street of Largo. It has never been out of
the possession of the family since his time.
The present occupant is his great-grand-niece,
Katherine Selkirk or Gillies, who inherited it
from her father, the late John Selkirk, who
was grandson to the brother with whom Alex-
ander had the quarrel, and died so late as Oc-
tober 1825, ab the age of 74. Mrs. Gillies,
who has very properly called one of her child-
ren after her celebrated kinsman, to prevent,
as she says, the name from going out of the

LARGS.

GO-

fannly, is very willing to show the chest and
cup to strangers applying for a sight of them.
The chest is a very strong one, of the ordi-
nary size, but composed of peculiarly fine
wood, jointed in a remarkably complicated
manner, and convex at the top. The
cup is formed out of a cocoa-nut, the small
segment cut from the mouth supplying a
stand. It was recently mounted anew with sil-
ver, at the expense of the late Mr. A. Con-
stable, the celebrated bookseller. The gun,
with which the adventurer killed his game, and
which is said to be about seven feet long, has
been alienated from the family, and is now in
possession of James Lumsdaine, Esq. of La-
thallan.— Population in 1821, 2301.

LARGS, always popularly called the Largs,
a town and parish in the northern extremity of
Ayrshire, beautifully situated on the Firth
of Clyde. The parish is bounded by that es-
tuary on the west, by Innerkip on the north,
by Dairy on the south, and by Wester Kil-
bride on the south-west. A range of hills
backs it in such a way, that it may be consider-
ed in a great measure cut off from all the
neighbouring cultivated ground, except towards
the south ; whence a proverbial expression
which even survives the new and facile inter-
course of steam-boats on the Clyde, " Out of
Scotland into the Largs." It is a remarkably
healthy and well sheltered district, and nothing
can excel the beautiful views opened up in
front by the Firth of Clyde, where so many
picturesque islands and headlands stretch
their lengthy forms upon the smooth green
waters, ever animated by the white-winged
ships, sailing out and in upon their various er-
rands of profit and pleasure. The parish is in
a state of high cultivation, and contains a num-
ber of elegant seats and villages. Among the
former may be noticed Fairlie and Kelburne
Castles, the residences of the Earl of Glas-
gow ; Brisbane House, the seat of Sir T. M.
Brisbane, baronet; and Skelmorlie, the man-
sion of ' Montgomery of Skelmorlay.
The town of Largs is now one of the most fa-
vourite retreats on the west coast for ruralising
and bathing, being rendered accessible to Glas-
gow and other large towns on this side of the
island by means, as above mentioned, of steam •
boats. It is now a pretty small town, con-
taining many neat modern houses for the ac-
commodation of visitors, besides some good
inns. An elegant suit of baths was erected

in 1816 by public subscription, four of them
after the model of those at Seafield, near
Leith, and one a vapour bath. Attached to
these are a reading-room and library, supplied
with many newspapers, and every popular work
as soon as published. The parish church is a
handsome building of stone, with a spire and
clock, and is a great ornament to the town.
There are several benevolent societies and two
Sabbath schools, which form the principal
charitable institutions. Various circulating li -
braries afford literary amusement to the studi-
ous, and a company of comedians generally at-
tends during the summer. Considerable busi-
ness is carried on in fishing. In the year
1818, an account of the number of resident vi-
sitors for the whole season, exclusive of casual
ones for shorter periods, gave 1000 persons.
The town is of considerable antiquity, and
was once the scene of an extraordinary kind
of fair, where the people used to come in boats
from the neighbouring Highlands, on St.
Colm's day, near midsummer, and exchange
their produce with a like convention of the
Lowland peasantry. It is governed by a baron
bailie. In the church is an aisle built by Sir
Robert Montgomery of Skelmorlie about two
centuries ago, and which, both for sculpture
and painting, does no discredit to those times.
Under ground is a vault, where, among others,
the body of Sir Robert lies in a leaden coffin ;
on which is the following Latin inscription : —

Ipse mihi prsemortuus fui, fato fimera praripui, uni-
cum idque Cassareum exemplar, inter tot mortales,
secutus.

Signifying, " I was dead before myself; I an-
ticipated my proper burial ; alone, of all mor-
tals, following the example of Caesar," i. e.
Charles V., who, it will be recollected, had
his obsequies performed before he died. The
explanation usually given of the strange con-
ceits of the inscription is, that Sir Robert was
a very pious man, and used to descend into the
vaults at night for his devotions ; thus buiying
himself, as it were, alive. Sir James Montgo-
meryof Skelmorlie, a subsequent representative
of this family, was a distinguished leader among
the Scottish presbyterians at the revolution,
and some years afterwards made himself
strangely and most inconsistently conspicuous
by a conspiracy with the ultra Jacobites for
the restoration of King James. Among the
antiquities of this parish may be mentioned a

69G

L A S S W A D E

chair, preserved in Brisbane house, and con-
sidered an heir-loom in the family of Brisbane ;
it is made of oak, and on the back bears the
date 1357, together with the arms of this an-
cient family, and the initials J. B. and E. H.
which must refer to the names of the first
proprietor and his wife. The castle of Fairlie,
which was formerly possessed by a family of
the same name, and is beautifully situated,
must be remembered as the scene of the fine
modern ballad of " Hardiknute." But decid-
edly the most remarkable antiquities in the
parish are the vestiges and relics of the famed
battle of Largs, which was fought on Tuesday
the 2d of October 1263, between the forces
of Haco, king of Norway, and Alexander III.
king of Scotland. The cause of dispute in
this case was the sovereignty of the western
islands. Haco, to enforce his claims to
that honour, approached the west coast of
Scotland with a numerous fleet, and well-ap-
pointed army, and cast anchor in the sound
between the coast at this point and the Cum-
bray islands. The king of Scotland having put
in force every artifice to gain time, assembled
about fifteen hundred well-appointed troops,
and a considerable number of an inferior kind,
whom he marshalled on the heights overlook-
ing the sea. During the night of the 1st of
October, a dreadful storm from the south-west
did prodigious damage to the fleet of king
Haco, and next morning, under great embarrass-
ment, he was obliged to land about 900 of his
men, all the rest being either sunk in the deep
sound, or engaged in attending to the relics of
the fleet. Of course, this little dispirited party
stood no chance against the large numbers,
perfect preparation, and keen patriotic feeling
of the Scots. Part of it was immediately
swept into the sea ; the rest retired to a place
called the Kepping Burn, a little below Kel-
burne, defending itself bravely all the way.
Afterwards, king Haco was able to land a few
more of his troops, and the united bands fought
bravely against the overpowering force of the
Scots during the whole day, night at length
permitting them to draw off their shattered
strength to their ships. The unfortunate
Norse were afterwards permitted by the king
of Scots to land and bury their friends. The
cairns and tumuli erected over them are still
visible on the field of battle, a little to the
south of Largs. In the centre there once stood
a large granite pillar ten feet high ; it fell

down many years ago. On some of the heaps
being opened, the bones of these stalwart fo-
reigners have been found in them ; and Danish
war-axes are occasionally picked up. King
Haco, a few days after the battle, collected all
that remained of his once noble fleet, and sail-
ed to Orkney, which was then his undisputed
property. Here he died in the ensuing De-
cember, of a broken heart for his misfortunes.
No writer can with justice assume any glory
to his country on account of the victory of
Largs, as circumstances were so much in favour
of the defending party as to put defeat almost
out of the question. Great credit, however,
is due to Alexander III. for his address in
protracting Haco's proceedings by negotiation,
till his enemy was left to the mercy of the ele-
ments ; a degree of address the more remark-
able, as the king was only about three and
twenty years of age — Population in 1821,
2479.

LARKHALL, a neat modern village in
the parish of Dalserf, Lanarkshire, situated on
the road from Glasgow to Carlisle, four miles
south-east of Hamilton, and eight north wrest
of Lesmahago. It is inhabited chiefly by
weavers.

LAROCH, a small river in Argyleshire,
district of Appin, and tributary to Loch" Cre-
ran.

LASSWADE, a parish in the centre of
Edinburghshire, bounded on the north by Lib-
erton, on the east by Dalkeith, on the south
by Pennycuik, and on the wast by Pennycuik
and Glencorse ; extending in length about eight
miles, and in breadth from two to four. The
name of the parish is derived from the Kirk-
town or village of Lasswade, which is said by
Mr. George Chalmers, the learned author of
the Caledonia, to signify a well-watered pasture
of common use ; Laeswe, in Anglo Saxon, sig-
nifying a common, and Weyde, in old English,
a meadow ; a definition certainly justified by
the situation of this beautiful village, though
the common people go more directly to the
point, and assert that here was stationed, in
former times, a girl or lass, who supplied the
place of a bridge or ferry-boat, by wading
through the water with travellers on her back.
The parish, with the exception of a part of
the Pentland hills, which falls within its
boundary, consists of a tract of fine level
ground, in the highest state of cultivation.
Throughout its whole length runs the river

L A S S W A D E.

097

North Esk, for which nature has formed a
channel of a very peculiar nature. This river
does not run over a broad alluvial bed, like
many other streams. Nature has formed
for it a more splendid channel, by hollowing
out, in the midst of the level upland country,
a profound ravine or chasm, at the bottom of
which the water pursues a most irregular
course, over large rocks and under deep banks,
the sides of which are everywhere clothed up to
the very edge of the level country with trees
in the most romantic arrangement. The va-
rious angularities, recesses, and projections of
this long ravine, afford situations of the most
romantic beauty for a series of antique objects,
and also of modern villas. These last are
occupied chiefly by families connected with
Edinburgh, who retire hither in summer, to
forget the smoke and the cares of the city, in
a climate which seems rather to belong to Italy
than to Scotland, and amidst scenes of the
most perfect loveliness. From its propinquity
to the capital, and the fertility of its soil, Lass-
wade parish has for many centuries been the
seat of great baronial families. About the
centre of the parish, and upon the north bank
of the Esk, stands the ancient castle of Roslin,
now in ruins, but formerly the princely seat
of the proud family of Sinclair, Earl of Ork-
ney. Adjacent, on the brow of the eminence,
stands the venerable and beautiful ruin of Ros-
lin chapel, or rather collegiate church. The
village of Roslin, which is situated on the flat
ground to the north, and other objects of in-
terest at this charming spot, including the
castle and chapel, are noticed at length under
the more appropriate head of Roslin. Far-
ther down the vale of the Esk, on the summit
of the south bank, is perched the curious old
baronial mansion of Hawthornden, the seat of
William Drummond, the Scottish poet and
historian, and which is still the property of his
descendants. Drummond was a gentleman of
moderate fortune, born in 1585. He cultivat-
ed literature to an extent little known among
his class in that age, and seems to have been
the personal friend of all the contemporary
English poets. He died in 1649, his end be-
ing hastened, it is said, by grief for the death
of Charles L, to whose cause he was zealously
attached. His remains lie interred in the fa-
mily vault at Lasswade church. His house of
Hawthornden, which may be described as a
mansion of the seventeenth century engrafted

upon the ruins of an ancient baronial castle,
has been deserted, but not disfumished by his
representative, Sir Francis Walker Drum-
mond, Bart, who designs to build a more
commodious mansion in the neighbourhood.
Within the house may still be seen a number
of jacobite portraits and other relics, including
a dress worn by Prince Charles Stuart during
his Scottish campaign of 1745. In a walk ad-
jacent to the house is a cool recess in the face
of the precipitous freestone rock : this is call-
ed the Cypress Grove, and it is said to have
been a favourite retreat of the poet. From
disappointments in life — in particular, the loss
of a beloved mistress by death — Drummond's
mind was rather of a melancholy cast ; a se-
ries of his poems bears the name of the Cypress
Grove, and expresses his melancholy feelings.
Perhaps these elegies took their name from
this arbour. Underneath the foundations of
Hawthornden house there is a strange souterrain,
consisting of different apartments, furnished
with a draw-well, and lighted by apertures in
the face of the precipice. This is supposed to
have been an early British retreat, and to have
more lately served as a place of concealment
for the patriots who endeavoured to rescue their
country from the sway of Edward III., par-
ticularly Sir Alexander Ramsay. This arti-
ficial wonder is styled " the caves of Haw-
thornden," and attracts many visitors. It can
never be forgotten in a notice of Hawthorn-
den, that Ben Jonson walked from London
on foot, and here spent a few weeks with
the congenial intellect of Drummond. The
walks along the banks of the Esk, both above
and below this point, are the most delightful
imaginable, opening up at every step some new
arrangement of picturesque and romantic ob-
jects. The parish of Lasswade was originally
smaller ; but at the Reformation received the
accession of a part of the parish of Pentland
then suppressed, and in 1633 was further in-
creased by the addition of part of Melville pa-
rish. Even before these additions, the church
was considered a veiy valuable living. In the
ancient taxation, it is rated at 90 merks, which
proves it to have been second only to St. Cuth-
bert's in Mid- Lothian. The church and lands
of Lasswade were granted to the bishop of St.
Andrews so early as the twelfth century, and
it thus became a mensal church of the bishop-
ric : the parsonage belonged to the bishop, and
the cure was served by a vicar. The church
4v

698

LASSWADE.

constituted one of the prebends of St. Salva-
dor's college, St. Andrews, till, in the reign of
James III. it was annexed to the collegiate
church of Restalrig, after which the sacerdotal
duty was performed by the dean of the latter
establishment. In Bagimont's roll, formed in
the reign of James V., the rectory of Lass-
wade was taxed at L.20, and the vicarage L.2,
13s. 4d., which evinces the great value of the
church at the Reformation; The ancient pa-
rochial church, which from first to last has wit-
nessed all the different forms of public worship
as they became successively triumphant, still
exists as a feeble ruin, shrouded from pubKc
notice amidst a cluster of trees, and within a
few yards of the conspicuous modern edifice.
An aisle of the old structure is appropriated
as the burial-vault of the noble family of Mel-
ville, and here lies interred the first Viscount
of that title, whose eminent situation in the
ministry of Mr. Pitt is too well known to re-
quire particular notice. The barony of Mel-
ville received its name from Male, an English
baron, who came into Scotland during the reign
of David I. at the beginning of the twelfth
century, and became Justiciary under William
the Lion. Together with the barony of Lug-
ton, this property formed the distinct parish
of Melville, which was suppressed in 1633.
The family of' Malville, as it was at first
styled, acquired more land in Mid-Lothian
daring the thirteenth century. In the reign
of Robert II. (1371-90,) it ended in a fe-
male heir, Agnes, who married Sir John Ross
of Halkhead. The descendants of this mar-
riage acquired the peerage of Lord Ross in 1705.
It was purchased in the last century by David
Rennie, whose daughter carried it by marriage
to Henry Dundas, created Viscount Melville in
1802. Melville Castle, a seat built on the
property of this eminent man, is a fine castel-
lated edifice, occupying a secluded but charm-
ing situation on a piece of low ground on the
margin of the Esk, surrounded by high banks
finely wooded and cultivated. "Within view,
and a very short way to the west, stands the
thriving and pleasant village of Lasswade, built
on both sides of the river, which is here cross-
ed by a good stone bridge. With its neat mo-
dern white-washed church crowning the height
on the north bank of the stream, and its thatch-
ed cottages below, embosomed in luxuriant gar-
dens and umbrageous trees, it may be esteem-
ed one of the very prettiest and most pictur-
30.

esque villages in Scotland. Within a period
of a few years it has been greatly improved by
the erection of many substantial freestone
houses, and has recently received the addi
tion of a dissenting meeting-house, originat-
ing in a split from one in the neighbouring
town of Dalkeith. It now possesses a distil-
lery, a paper-mill, a candle manufactory, and
its oat-meal and barley mills have been long
celebrated for their excellence. We believe
that, through the recommendation of the late
Lord Melville, the oat-meal used by the pre-
sent royal family in their juvenile days was im-
ported from the mills at this place. Within the
parish are several bleachfields and paper manu-
factories, all on the Esk, betwixt Lasswade and
Roslin, and at the latter there is an extensive
gunpowder manufactory. Springfield, a scat-
tered hamlet, the residence chiefly of paper-
makers, in a dell on the Esk, is reputed for its
rural beauty. The parish also includes the po-
pulous village of Loanhead, lying on the high
ground between Lasswade and Roslin. Lass-
wade is yearly increasing in size, and being
situated within six miles south from Edin-
burgh, it is considered by the citizens one of
the best places for half a day's recreation
during the summer months ; jaunting parties
generally coming round this way from Roslin.
Stage coaches in communication with Edin-
burgh run several times every day — Popula-
tion of the parish, its villages included, in
1821, 4186.

LATHERON, a large parish in the
county of Caithness, occupying the south-east
corner of the shire, and lying on the German
Ocean. From the Ord of Caithness it ex-
tends twenty-seven miles along the coast, by
a breadth of from thirteen to fifteen miles.
It is bounded by Halkirk on the north, and
Watten and Wick on the north-east. The
district is hilly and pastoral, with straths or
vales, through which streams flow towards the
sea, and the lower grounds are arable. In
modern times a good road intersects the pa-
rish along the shore, and on this road there are
some pretty thriving little villages. The first
in proceeding northward is Berridale. La-
theron Kirk stands half way along the coast,
near the spot where a road leaves the thorough-
fare and crosses the country to Thurso. — Po-
pulation in 1821, 6575.

LAUDER, a parish in the western part
of Berwickshire, in the district of Lauderdale.

LAUDER.

699

It extends upwards of nine miles from south-
west to north-east, by a breadth of from five
to six miles. A very large portion is included
in the hilly region of Lammermoor, and the
productive, as well as mainly habitable, part
of the parish lies in the vale of Leader water,
a stream intersecting it, and from which this
division of the country, as well as the parish and
town, appear to have taken their names. The
fields in this quarter are now greatly improved,
and plantations ornament the ground. The
parish of Channelkirk lies on the north-west,
higher up the vale of the Leader. The next
parish below is Legerwood. A small tract
of ground belongs to Lauder parish, on the
opposite side of the Leader from Legerwood.

Lauder, a royal burgh, the capital of
the above parish, the seat of a presbytery, and
the chief town in this quarter of Berwickshire,
is situated in the above mentioned vale of the
Leader, at the distance of twenty-five miles from
Edinburgh, thirty-two from Berwick, eighteen
from Dunse, seventeen from Kelso, twelve
from Greenlaw, twenty-one from Coldstream,
twenty-one from Jedburgh, and seven miles above
Earlstoun. It stands on the main road from Edin-
burgh to Kelso, and consists of little else than a
line of houses on each side of the thoroughfare.
The street widens sufficiently about the centre
to admit an additional line of houses, at the west
end of which is the town-house. The build-
ings of the town are plain and of an irregular
appearance, and the place is one of the dullest
in the county. The church stands near the
street, to the south of the town-house. It
was built in 1673, when the Duke of Lauder-
dale removed the former church from the
neighbourhood of his house. The building,
though in the venerable form of a cross, is not
remarkable for elegance. A market-cross
formerly stood in front of the town-house ; but
the spot is now only marked, as in the similar
case of Edinburgh, by a radiated pavement.
As a royal burgh, and of a very ancient date,
Lauder is governed by two bailies and fifteen
councillors. The qualification of a burgess of
Lauder is very peculiar. There is attached to
the town a quantity of land divided into up-
wards of a hundred portions called burgh acres,
though varying in size, and generally above a
Scottish acre. The possession of one of these
acres constitutes the claim to be admitted a
burgess. The burgh common consists of a
considerable quantity of outfield land, includ-

ing some neighbouring hills ; this is divided
into shares, which are apportioned by lot among
the burgesses, for each rotation of crops, a pos-
sessor of the infield acres receiving a pro-
portionate extent of the common. It joins
with Haddington, Dunbar, North-Berwick
and Jedburgh, in sending a member to parlia-
ment. The town is entitled to hold five an-
nual fairs. Besides the parish church, there
is a United Secession meeting-house. The
most conspicuous object in and about Lauder
is Thirlstane castle, a stupendous and spa-
cious house, surrounded by a park and some
fine trees, and the seat of the family of
Lauderdale. It stands between the Leader
and the town, on a fine lawn. The nu-
cleus of this edifice was a strong tower called
Lauder Fort, originally built by Edward I.,
as a check to the Scots in this quarter. The
Duke of Lauderdale, (whose family had for-
merly resided in a little tower called Thirl-
stane, about two miles to the eastward,) ir.
1672 added a new front and wings, removed
the church and church-yard from the space they
had formerly occupied directly between the
castle and the town, and changing the name
made it his family residence. The church
then removed was that in which took place
the celebrated conference of the Scottish no-
bles, that ended in the murder of king James
the Third's favourites. Cochrane, the chief,
was seized at the church door, and hanged
over a neighbouring bridge, by a rope which
his assassins found, during a search for such
an article, in one of the cellars of the Fort.
The said bridge, though still " flourishing in
immortal youth" in the ordinary books for
the road, has not existed for a century ;
the foundations alone are to be seen about
two hundred yards below the Castle, and the
river is now crossed by a modern erection, a
good way farther down. Thirlstane Castle is
fitted up and decorated in the best taste of the
reign of Charles II. with massive balustrades
and cornices, and a profusion of marble chim-
ney-pieces and flowers. It contains a vast
quantity of family portraits, including" the poe •
tical knight of Mary's time, his son, usually
denominated in history Secretary Maitland,
and the Duke himself, of whom there are no
fewer than five paintings — Population of
Lauder in 1821, 1000 ; including the parish,
1845.

LAUDERDALE, a district in Berwick.

700

LAURENCEKIRK.

shire, (see Berwickshire,) the capital of
which is the ahove town of Lauder. It gives
the title of Earl to the family of Maitland, en-
nobled in the reign of James VI.

LAURANCE, (ST.)— See Slamanan.

LAURENCEKIRK,or LAWRENCE-
KIRK, a parish in Kincardineshire, former-
ly, and still in some cases, called Conveth j
bounded on the north by Fordoun, on the east
by Garvock, on the south by the same and
by Marykirk, which latter also bounds it on
the west. In figure it is triangular, with the
apex to the south. Its greatest length is
rather above four miles, and its greatest breadth
about three. The area of the parish measures
4381 square acres. The district consists of
one large ridge, extending longitudinally from
east to west, and sloping gently to its northern
and southern extremities. The small river Leu-
ther, which rises in the Grampian hills, and falls
into the North Esk, passes through it. Nine
brooks likewise intersect the parish, seven upon
the southern and two upon the northern side of
the Leuther. This part of Kincardineshire
is now a good deal improved in its agriculture,
and there are some plantations.

Laurencekirk, a village in Kincar-
dineshire, and the capital of the above pa-
rish, situated on the road from Perth to Aber-
deen, at the distance of ninety-three miles from
Edinburgh, ten from Montrose, five from
Marykirk, and thirteen from Stonehaven. It
takes its name from the old parish church,
which was dedicated to St. Laurence. This
village was formerly a mere hamlet, surround-
ed by a moorish and uncultivated tract of
country. In the year 1772, it was taken un-
der the care of Lord Gardenstone, a judge of
the Court of Session, known, but scarcely so
well as he should be, for his successful culti-
vation of the belles lettres, and distinguished,
in his own day, by his eccentric manners, and
speculative turn of mind. His lordship hay-
ing formed the resolution of creating a town
here, laid out a plan for buildings, and soon
succeeded in attracting settlers. In 1 779, he
procured for the place the privileges of a burgh
of barony, empowering the inhabitants, every
three years, to choose a bailie and four coun-
cillors, to regulate the police, &c, with the
privilege of holding weekly markets, and an
annual fair. Before he died, he had the satis-
faction of seeing Laurencekirk a thriving little
town, and the people enjoying many comforts

which are frequently denied to older settlements.
A good inn was established by the public-spirit-
ed proprietor, who attached to it a select library
for the amusement of travellers. He also en-
couraged and contributed liberally to the esta-
blishment of a linen manufacture and bleach-
field, which are now in a thriving state. In
modern times, the village has become noted
for its manufacture of snuff-boxes, which are
made of wood, in a style similar to those of
Cumnock in Ayrshire. Besides the esta-
blished church there is a large and neat Epis-
copal chapel, and a congregation belonging to the
United Associate Synod. The parochial school
is in the village. The parish of Laurencekirk
had for its schoolmaster, at the beginning of
the last century, the illustrious Ruddiman, who
might have there wasted his fine talents and
profound learning in hopeless obscurity, but for
a singularly fortuitous circumstance : The ce-
lebrated Dr. Pitcaim, being once benighted
at the little inn of this country village, found it
very difficult to while away the hours which
preceded bed-time ; his hotel not being, like
the present, furnished with a library. As a last
resource, he sent for the schoolmaster ; and
the youthful Ruddiman was soon ushered in-
to his presence. A conversation ensued, in
the course of which, to his infinite surprise,
he discovered the modest young man to be a
most excellent scholar; a qualification of
which no man in Scotland was better able to
judge. Before the conversation was con-
cluded, he promised to become his patron ;
and soon after procured an appointment at
Edinburgh : by which his valuable talents
were secured for the use of a more extended
circle than the parish-school of Laurencekirk
afforded. Laurencekirk had the merit of giv-
ing birth to Dr. Beattie, who was first brought
into notice by the influence of Lord Garden-
stone, while acting as schoolmaster of the ad-
jacent parish of Fordoun. — Population in 1821,
1515.

LAURISTOUN, or LAWRISTOUN,
a large village in the parish of Falkirk, Stirling-
shire, about one mile east from that town, con-
taining about nine hundred inhabitants, who
are chiefly employed in weaving and agricul-
tural labours. It was originally called Lang-
toun — then Merchiston, — and is now named
Lauristoun, in honour of the late Sir Law-
rence Dundas, who added considerably to it.

LAVERN, a small river in Renfrewshire,

LEADHILLS.

701

vyhich rises in the parish of Neilston, and af-
ter a north-easterly course of six or seven
miles, falls into the White Cart, a short way
above Crookston Castle. It is of considerable
use in turning the mills of a variety of cot-
ton factories. On its banks are also bleach-
fields and printfields.

LAX AY, an islet on the south-east coast
of Lewis.

LAXFORD, a river in Sutherlandshire,
originating in Loch Stalk, parish of Eddera-
chylis, and pursuing a westerly course, falls
into the bay or indentation of the sea called
Loch Laxtord. This salt water lake pene-
trates four miles into the country in an irre-
gular manner. It is celebrated for its sal-
mon, as its Norwegian name would indicate ;
and where the river first joins the sea the
scenery is not unpleasing. The bay offers
good anchorage.

LE ADER, or LAUDER, a small river in
the western part of Berwickshire, rising in the
Lammermoor hills, and pursuing a southerly
course through the vale, to which it conveys the
appellation of Lauderdale, falls into the Tweed
at Drygrange bridge, a short way above the
abbey and grounds of Dryburgb. It passes
i he town of Lauder, which stands on its right
bank, and some miles farther down the plea-
sant village of Earlstoun and the heights of
Cowdenknows, situated on its left bank. It
offers a considerable source of amusement to
the angler, being one of the trouting waters of
the south, and its haughs (" Leader Laughs
and Yarrow" being the theme of Scottish song,)
will possess unseen cbarms to the poetic fancy.

LEADHILLS, a village in the parish of
Crawford, LanarksLire, at tLe distance of
forty-six miles soutL-west of Edinburgb, forty-
four soutL of Glasgow, fifteen and a quarter
soutL of Douglas Mill, and sixteen nortL of
TLornLill. It stands in an alpine region, thirteen
hundred feet above the level of the sea, amidst
a wilderness of dismal heathy mountains. It de-
rives its name from being the residence of work-
men employed in the valuable lead- mines in this
quarter of the country, " The rich mineral
treasures which the hills contain in their
bosom," says a contemporary, " have, by the
concourse of miners, formed two considerable
villages, Leadhills, and WanlockLead, in a
situation not likely to become the seat of any
numerous population. Gold has been found
in the sand of these mountains at an early pe-

riod ; and Sir Bevis Bulmer was here for
several summers collecting it, by order of
queen Elizabeth, with the consent of James
VI. He had a house at Wanlockhead, where
he deposited tLe fruits of Lis labour. It is
believed tbat lead was found Lere in tLe time
of tLe Romans. However, it is certain tLat
one Martin Templeton discovered a vein in
tLe bed of tLe rivulet in 1517. TLe lead ore
dug from tLese mines affords a very libera,
proportion of silver. TLe business is car-
ried on by a company named tLe Scots Mining
Company, who farm tLe hills from the Earl
of Hopetoun the proprietor. He receives
from the company every sixth bar of lead as
his rent. The number of bars annually cast
amounts on an average to about 18,000. The
largest piece of blue ore ever found in these
mines is now at Hopetoun House, and
weighs between four and five tons. In 1809,
the produce of these mines was 25,'J00 bars,
at nine stone avoirdupois the bar, makes 14174
tons, which at L.32 per ton, the then price,
amounts to L.45,360. It has a fair in June,
and anotLer in October, and a cbapel and
scLool." TLe inLabitants, tbougL cLiefly
employed in tLe severe labour of mining, are
an enligbtened set of people, Laving a pretty
extensive subscription library, and exbibit-
ing a zeal in tLe acquisition of useful know-
ledge perfectly astonisLing. It was Lere tLat
Allan Ramsay, a poet of great merit, but
wLose reputation Las quailed before tbat of
Burns, as Lindsay's Lad formerly been extin-
guisLed by Lis, first saw tLe light and spent
his earlier years. The ruins of the house in
which he was born were lately to be seen at
tbe corner of a field, near tLe Louse occupied
by tbe superintendent of tLe lead-mines. —
TLe population of LeadLills in 1821 was
about 1050.

LECROPT, a parisb in tLe counties of
PertL and Stirling, lying on tLe left bank of
tLe TeitL at its junction witL tLe Allan. It
is tLus peninsular in form ; from east to west
it extends about tbree miles, and nearly about
as mucb from nortL to soutL. It is bounded
by Kilmadock on tLe west, and Dumblane on
tLe nortL. TLe parisL of Kincardine lies oppo-
site to it on tLe TeitL. AltogetLer it con-
tains two tLousand acres, one Lalf of wLicL is
a ricL clay, and tLe otLer Lalf upland, or
wLat is generally called dryfield. TLe word
Lecropt is significant of these local charac-

702

L E I T II.

teristics. The country is here exceedingly
beautiful, well improved, and planted. At
the bridge over the Allan connecting the pa-
rish of Logic with Lecropt, stands the pretty
little village called " Bridge of Allan," which is
noticed under its own head. — Population in
1821, 513.

LEDNOCK, a small river in Perthshire,
parish of Comrie, which falls into the Earn
at Comrie, and gives the name of Glenlednock
to the vale through which it flows.

LEET, a small river in Berwickshire,
falling into the Tweed at the west end of
the town of Coldstream. In the parish of
Eccles, on this rivulet, stands the small village
of Leet-holm.

LEGERWOOD, a parish in Berwick-
shire, lying on the east bank of the Leader,
betwixt Lauder on the north, and Earlstoun on
the south. It measures about three miles in
length by two and a half in breadth. The
surface is hilly, and partly pastoral and part-
ly arable. The country is rather bare and
not very interesting. The village of Leger-
wood stands on a cross road off the thorough-
fare through Lauderdale Population in 1821,

476.

LEITH,* a large and populous town and
sea-port, in the county of Edinburgh, occupy-
ing a low situation on the shore of the Firth
of Forth, at the distance of about a mile and
a half north-east from the cross of Edinburgh.
Originally, and for many ages, Leith remained
a distinct town, but in recent times, such has
been the extension of buildings and the great
intercourse between it and the metropolis,
that both unite in forming a great city. Never-
theless, though thus physically joined with
Edinburgh, and though there is a great mutual
dependence on each other, Leith is still so
much a town having its own institutions, its
own manners and usages, and its own inde-
pendent feelings, that though it might have
been as well to have described the place in
connexion with Edinburgh, these circum-
stances, together with the nature of the present
work, required it to have a distinct place for
itself.

The primitive name of the place was Inver-

* Besides the authorities consulted in the composi-
tion of the article Edinburgh, we have had recourse
to the recent " History of Leith, by Alexander Camp-
bell," a compendious work full of instructive and amus-
ing particulars.

leith, from its situation on the mouth of the
Leith, but in the course of time, the present
mutilated designation prevailed. The proxi-
mity of this ancient sea-port to Edinburgh
has been at once its misfortune and its source
of prosperity. Its history opens in the four-
teenth century, with the fact, that while yet
a mere village on the estuary of the river, it
excited the cupidity of the magistrates of the
adjacent and powerful city; and we trace
through the accounts of the impartial histo-
rians of both places, an unvarying tale de-
scriptive of the persevering efforts of the town-
council to secure its revenues and cramp its
independence. Yet, with this drawback on
its freedom and opulence, it may be admitted,
that being the only port of the metropolis,
it owes to it much of its consequence as a
town.

Nothing is certainly known of the history
of Leith until the year 1329, at which time it
was a dependency of the family of Logan of
Restalrig, and had obtained sufficient import-
ance and prosperity to excite the fears and
tempt the avarice of the citizens of Edin-
burgh, who in that year applied for and ob-
tained, from Robert I. a grant of " the har-
bour and mills of Leith, with their apurte-
nances, for payment of fifty-two merks yearly."
With this privilege the town-council were not
content, and, taking at the same time the
ground adjacent to the harbour, the baronial
superior contested the claims of that body,
and obliged it to buy the waste ground extend-
ing from the houses to the river, with liberty
to erect wharves and quays thereon for loading
goods, and the council farther stipulated, that
allowances should be given to make ways or
roads through the lands of Restalrig, for the
more easy transporting of goods to and from
the port of Leith, and a liberty to erect grana-
ries for the reception of corn. The road form-
ed in virtue of the purchase still exists, under
the name of the Easter Road, and leads from
the head of Leith Links to the foot of the
Canongate.

Logan, the superior of Leith, who negotiated
this transaction, appears to have been as heart-
less and greedy as the magistrates of the city
were rapacious. He ultimately granted a bond
to the town-council, for a large consideration,
by which the inhabitants of Leith were not on-
ly restrained from carrying on any sort of trade,
but debarred from keeping shops, warehouses,

L E I T H.

703

or inns, or houses of entertainment for stran-
gers. Not satisfied with this measure, the
town-council, with an illiberal policy, for which
it is difficult to account on rational grounds,
further ordained, in the year 1485, that no
merchant of Edinburgh should presume to take
into partnership an inhabitant of Leith, under
a penalty of forty shillings, and a deprivation of
the freedom of the city for one year. Other
acts of a similar tendency followed. The
council ordained that none of the revenues of
the city should be farmed to an individual be-
longing to Leith, nor that any of the farmers
should take one of them as a partner in such
contracts. It was also enacted that no staple
goods should be deposited in warehouses in
Leith, or be disposed of in that place, under a
severe penalty. In these acts of the town-council
of Edinburgh, we have very luminous instances
of the vile embargoes on free trade in towns,
and on the industry of the people, so common in
Scotland in former times, and even now far from
being removed, wherever close corporations
have a predominating influence. It does not
appear, however, that those enactments had
a permanent effect in depressing Leith. It
gradually rose in spite of opposition, and from
an act of parliament relating to dues payable by
foreigners, it is certain that it even had inns
for the reception of such persons.

In the reign of James IV., that monarch
erected a sea-port town about a mile further
west, which he styled Newhaven, and endowed
with «ertain burgal privileges ; but the town-
council entertaining similar fears about the rising
consequence of this port, in 1511, purchased of
the king the town and harbour, with all their
rights and privileges, which are still retained by
the metropolis. Coeval with the erection of
this suburb, James built a chapel, which he de-
dicated to St. Mary, and from this religious
fabric the little haven was sometimes called
" Our Lady's Port of Grace."

According to Pitscottie, the year 1511 was
rendered famous by the construction of " ane
varie monstrous great schip, called the Michael,"
in Leith or Newhaven, which vessel we are
told required so much timber in building, " that
she waisted all the woodis in Fyfe, except
Falkland wood, besides the timber that came
out of Norway." The captain of this huge
vessel, which appears to have been a favourite
work of the king, was Andro Wood, a seaman

who is eminent in the Scottish annals for his
intrepidity, and for his services to the state.

The first great calamity which befel the
town after it began to rise into a state of
prosperity, was its seizure and burning by the
Earl of Hertford in 1544. Landing at Roy-
ston, he marched eastward to Leith with ten
thousand men, and meeting with little opposi-
tion, he arrived in the town in the middle of
a day in April, just while the inhabitants were
sitting down to dinner, which was abandoned to
the English soldiers. After seizing the ves-
sels in the harbour, and leaving 1500 men in
the town, the Earl proceeded to lay waste the
country, and to burn the metropolis, an outrage
he was ordered above all things to commit.
Having accomplished the purposes of the war,
he returned with his victorious troops, and on
leaving the port committed it to the flames.

Three years afterwards, Leith was again
visited by the same general, then Duke of So-
merset, and was again injured by fire, though
not to the same extent. The English fleet,
on this occasion, found thirty-five vessels in
the harbour. After the year 1547, we find
Leith involved, less or more, in almost every
transaction of importance which occurred in
the kingdom during the regency of Mary
of Lorraine, who fortified the town, and gar-
risoned it with a body of French troops, in
order to resist the progress of the Refor-
mation. The walls formed on this occa-
sion defied all the attempts of the Protestant
forces. The rampart was of an octagonal
form, with eight bastions, at so many angles.
The line it pursued seems to have been on the
site of the present Bernard Street and Consti-
tution Street, from nearly the west end of which
it proceeded in a northerly direction to the
river. Here the wall was connected with its
continuation on the west side of the stream by
a wooden bridge, which stood exactly 115 yards
below the new stone bridge at the saw mills.
From the river it proceeded to the citadel, and
then taking an easterly direction, it terminated
at the sand-port. The bastions were of great
strength, and the wall was wholly of stone. It
had several ports, the chief of which was one
called the Block-house, and it was here the
greatest carnage took place at the general as
sault made by the besiegers in 1560. No ves-
tige of these defences now exists, and it is on-
ly when making excavations that traces of the

704

L E I T II.

ancient military character of the town is dis-
coverable. Recently, in digging the founda-
tion of a building at the head of the Links, a
closed-up well was laid open, which, on being
cleared out, was found to contain several cart-
loads of horses' heads, a striking, though certain-
ly a singular testimony of the slaughter which
had been committed in the adjacent field of
battle. On the Links, not far from this spot,
is still a mound of earth, now almost the only
remaining part of the works thrown up by the
besiegers of Leith to protect their advance to
the ramparts.

Some time before these commotions, the
Queen Regent had endeavoured to propitiate
and to secure the inhabitants of Leith to her
own and her daughter's interest, by granting
them a contract, dated at Holyrood, 1555, to
erect the town into a burgh of barony, to con-
tinue in force until she erected it into a royal
burgh, preparatory to which she purchased,
with money advanced to her by the people of
Leith for that purpose, the superiority of the
town, and of the Links, for the use of the in-
habitants, from Logan of Restalrig. The
Queen Dowager, however, failed in her en-
gagements, and it is generally alleged that the
city of Edinburgh offered her 20,000 merks to
prevent the erection of the town into a royal
burgh. According to Knox, Mary of Lorraine
was a woman who " could make her profit at
all hands," and it is certain that in this case she
duped the town out of a considerable sum.

After the reins of government had been
placed in the hands of Mary Queen of Scots,
the inhabitants of Leith had reason to expect
some indulgence from that princess, but all
their hopes were finally frustrated in the year
1565, when, among other shifts to recruit her
exhausted finances, she mortgaged the superi-
ority of Leith to Edinburgh, redeemable for
1000 merks, with the reversion in favour of
Bothwell. Mary, like-most of the other mem-
bers of the house of Stewart in similar casej,
was compelled by exigent necessity to do this
act of injustice against her inclinations, as is
testified by a letter which she wrote to the
town-council in 1566, requesting that body to
delay the assumption of superiority. The
short indulgence she craved, as might have been
expected, was refused after some shifting, and
on the 2d of July, 1567, the citizens of Edin-
burgh marched in military array to Leith, which
they went through the form of taking by a sort

of capture, and thus the independence of the
town was lost.

After this humiliating event, the town-coun-
cil and incorporations of Edinburgh enacted
many severe laws applicable to the public and
private trade of Leith. The inhabitants made
an attempt, in 1607, to procure the good- will of
James VI. to assist in emancipating them from
bondage, but without effect, as, by a private
arrangement with the king, the town-council
secured their supremacy on a broader basis
than ever.

When the matter of the Solemn League and
Covenant was entered into with England, in no
place was it treated with more reverence, or its
ratification more solemnly conducted than in
Leith, where it was signed by the inhabitants
in the month of October 1643. Four years
later, the town was visited by that ancient
scourge of Scotland, the plague, the horrors of
which were aggravated by a dreadful famine.
At this period the population of the town and
its neighbourhood amounted to between four
and five thousand individuals, out of which
number fully a half were destroyed in the short
space of six or eight months. The church-
yards were insufficient to receive the bodies
of those who died, and the adjacent links and
grounds were made their place of sepulture.
Till this day, in trenching the neighbouring
fields and gardens, the half-decayed bones of
the unhappy victims of this dreadful malady
are occasionally found, wrapped in the blankets
in which they died. Such were the ravages
committed by the plague and the famine, that,
in a representation to parliament for relief,
the number of the dead were said to exceed
the number of the living; and so impressed
were the Estates with the miserable condition
of the starving inhabitants, that they gave the
magistrates the right of seizing grain in ware-
houses and cellars for the use of the people,
leaving them to make future payment by sub-
sequent appeals to the generosity of the inha-
bitants of the country.

The next memorable period in the annals
of Leith is the year 1650, when Cromwell,
having defeated the Scottish forces at Dunbar,
proceeded to Edinburgh, while Lambert, his
major-general, took possession of Leith. The
only way in which the port suffered by this
event, was by an assessment of about the sum
of L.22 Sterling, which was considered a griev-
ous exaction, especially so soon after the cala-

L E I T H.

7o;

inities of the plague and famine. On the ap-
pointment of General Monk to be commander-
in-chief, he came to reside in Leith, where a
strong and regular garrison was established.
The citadel of Leith, which was improved and
mostly constructed by Cromwell's army, was
situated on the north side of the estuary of
Leith, and was of a pentagonal form, consist-
ing of a wall with five bastions at so many
angles, with one principal gate fronting the east.
In its internal structure it had some strong
works rising above each other, with well-built
houses for the governor, officers, and soldiers,
and for magazines and stores. It was also
provided with a chapel, having a spacious court-
yard in front. The whole of these defences
are now gone, and the only portions of the ci-
tadel now left are a Saxon archway, over which
a modern house has been erected, and about
twenty yards of the wall extending eastward
from thence.

While resident at Leith, General Monk in-
duced a number of English families to settle
in the town, and the most of those who ar-
rived are reputed to have been of consider-
able wealth. They engrafted a spirit of mer-
cantile adventure on the port, and established
certain branches of manufacture which are yet
among the staple trades of the town. It is re-
corded that those and other trades felt the re-
strictive exactions of the town-council to be
of a cramping and annoying nature, and made
frequent appeals to the republican government
to have themselves released from their appli-
cation, but for various reasons their petitions
met with little attention. Even with such
burdens, Leith gradually grew in prosperity
and opulence, and in spite of innumerable vex-
ations, in time arose to that degree of size
and opulence in which we now find it.

The succeeding historical events with which
the town of Leith is connected, the chief of
which was the landing of his Majesty George
IV. in 1822, being already noticed in the his-
tory of Edinburgh, do not here require recapi-
tulation.

For a very long period Leith was famed for
its horse races. These were held during the
recess of the tide upon a flat expanse of sand
in front of the town ; and although a course
of this nature was much inferior to that on the
regular turf, yet these races were persevered
in with a spirit and satisfaction rarely witness-
ed in other places. Leith races were as an-

cient as the period of the Restoration, when
out of door amusements came much into fa-
shion ; and for fifty years after that event,
this pastime seems to have divided the at-
tention of the boisterous young men of the
country with cock-fighting, #nd still more bru-
tal games. From the Restoration till the year
1816, these races appear to have been conti-
nued annually with very little intermission.
They generally occurred in the last week of
July, or the first week in August, and lasted for
four orfive days. The race- week was then reck-
oned the carnival of the metropolis, which was
crowded with persons of fashion from all parts
of the country, who came to enjoy the sports
of the race-ground, as well as the balls and as-
semblies which took place in Edinburgh in the
evenings. During the whole week, but princi-
pally on Saturday, the sands were the scene of
the most boisterous revels, and of not a few skir-
mishes and battles betwixt the town-guard and
the lower classes from the city. The outer edge
of the shore was lined with booths or taverns,
and places of theatrical amusements, and the
pier served on the occasion as a most excellent
stand for the spectators. Latterly it was felt
by those concerned in supporting the Edin-
burgh races held here, that the soft wet sands
were too heavy for the generality of mettled
racers, and in consequence they were removed
to the links of Musselburgh in 1816, much to
the dissatisfaction of the town, and we need
hardly say, of the juvenile part of the popu-
lation of Edinburgh.

Leith is ecclesiastically and popularly divid-
ed into the parishes and districts of North and
South Leith, the former lying on the west
side of the river, and the latter on the east.
The greater part of the town and extent of
territory, however, lie on the east, or South-
Leith side. The parish of North-Leith ori-
ginally belonged to the parish of Holyrood,
from which it was disjoined in 1606, and in
1630 it received an accession of the baronies of
Newhaven and Hillhousefield, formerly belong-
ing to the parish of St. Cuthberts. It extends
more than a mile westwards along the shore
from the mouth of the Leith water, and is
about a quarter of a mile in breadth. The pa-
rish of South-Leith is of a triangular figure, the
base of which extends eastwards along the
shore from the mouth of the river to the Figgat-
burn, at Portobello, from whence the line of
boundary is chiefly the public road to Edin-
4x

706

L E I T H.

burgh, enclosing the Calton hill, and turning
northward down Leith Walk, and near the
foot of that thoroughfare bending westwards to
the river. In this district is comprehended the
abrogated parish of Restalrig.

The situation of the town of Leith is not that
which ought a 'priori to have been chosen for
the site of a sea-port. It lies at the head of a
flat sandy shore, which is left dry for a mile in
breadth at low water, and consequently is unfitted
for an active maritime trade. The river Leith
runs through the harbour, but in most seasons
this is a small stream with little current near
its mouth, and it has scarcely the power of
keeping the entrance to the port clear of mud.
The most ancient part of the town reaches
from the shore along the east bank of the
stream for about half a mile, the houses stand-
ing so far back as to leave a continuous quay
for the convenience of vessels and the em-
barkation or delivery of goods, as well as
the purposes of a street. From this quay the
town diverges in narrow streets and alleys to
the eastward, and the houses in this quarter
are mostly of a heavy dingy appearance. The
chief old thoroughfare thus leading off the quay
is the Tolbooth Wynd, a most incommodious
passage, which joins the foot of the Kirkgate.
This street is also of narrow dimensions,
though having many modern houses, and leads
in a southerly direction to the foot of Leith
Walk. The road by these communications
with Edinburgh is now much disused in fa-
vour of a handsome cross street, called Ber-
nard Street, which leaving the quay nearer
the sea, leads to the foot of a spacious street
named Constitution Street, which goes south-
wards along the back of the town till it also
joins the foot of the Walk. Beyond Constitu-
tion Street are many good modern but small
streets and places, and fronting the open downs
or links, there are rows of handsome new edi-
fices, the residences of the more opulent classes.
The links, which come so frequently into no-
tice, are formed by an extensive grassy plain
of nearly a mile in length, which is used for
the bleaching of clothes, or as the play-ground
of a company of golfers. On its outer side it
is skirted by some fine fields and pleasure-
grounds rising on the sloping ridge which in-
tervenes betwixt the town and the ancient vil-
lage of Restalrig

The great modern road, or rather street, be-
twixt the town of Leith and Edinburgh, styled
30.

Leith Walk, formerly noticed, has made the
communication safe and easy, in a very gentle
ascent to the metropolis. From the bottom of
the walk a road has recently been opened lead-
ing westwards to the river, which being here
crossed by a handsome new stone bridge, di-
rect access is gained from this district to North
Leith. The changes made in North-Leith
within the last twenty years, and more particu-
larly since the conclusion of the late war, have
been very great. The citadel and many of the
low dwellings in its vicinity having been remov-
ed, some elegant new streets have been erected,
which stretch considerably to the south and
west. On the west side of the harbour there
is little or no quay, this part being mostly oc-
cupied by ship-building yards, graving docks,
or rows of houses generally of an old decayed
character.

On all that is connected with the maritime
traffic of the port there have been vast altera-
tions and improvements within the last quarter
of a century. For a very long period the only
bridge across the river was an ancient stone
structure, originally built by Robert Ballen-
dean, Abbot of Holyrood, for the convenience
of those who attended a chapel he erected in
North Leith. This venerable bridge has been
removed, and, besides the new stone bridge
above the town, there are now two wooden
draw-bridges, which are raised, as occasion may
require, for the issue and entrance of vessels.
The pier, which projects from the east side of
the harbour, at its mouth, is built partly of
wood and partly of stone.

When the port was visited by Hertford in
1544, he formed a wooden pier, which he burnt
on his departure, and its exact site is now un-
known. The wooden part of the present pier
was built about the beginning of the seventeenth
century, and is extended from the quay for a cer-
tain length, when it is continued by a stone erec-
tion projecting with a curve to the west; the
stone part is of the date of 1 720-30, and was
partly built of stones brought from the ruins of
a curious coal-pit at Culross. At present an
additional extension of the eastern pier, of wood
and stone, is making, which, when finished,
will cause it to be 2550 feet longer, and the
whole length to be more than half a nvle.
Another pier is at present making of wood
and stone on the opposite side of the harbour,
which will be extended 1500 feet, and will
terminate within 200 feet of the other. It is

LEIT H.

707

confidently anticipated by engineers and others
that the execution of this bold project will
deepen the water very much in the channel of
entrance to the port, and we learn with plea-
sure that already [August, 1831] such an ef-
fect has been partly produced.

As early as 1720 a dock was formed on
the west side of the river, and among other
measures taken to improve the harbour in the
next sixty years, a short pier, now called the
Custom-House Quay, was erected in 1777.
Even with these " improvements" the accom-
modation for shipping in Leith was then very
insufficient, for the chief landing place continu-
ed to be the common quays, while the har-
bour was dry and the vessels left fixed in
mud at the recess of the tides. The vast in-
crease of trade in the port towards the end of
the last century, rendered it absolutely neces-
sary that improvements on the harbour on a
great scale should be effected. Impressed
with the necessity of this measure, the magis-
trates of Edinburgh, in 1799, obtained an act
of parliament, authorizing them to borrow
L. 160,000 to enable them to form a superb
range of docks, designed by John Rennie,
Esq. civil engineer. In consequence of this,
the wet docks were begun in 1800, and both
completed in 1817. Each dock is 250 yards
long, and 100 yards wide; on their north side
are three graving docks ; they are protected
from the sea by a strong retaining wall. The
whole is upon a magnificent scale, and was
finished at an expense of about L. 285,000.
It was projected to have a third and still larger
dock on the west, reaching almost to New-
haven ; but from want of funds this was laid
aside. Out of the great mass of matter which
has been written on the subject of the Leith
docks, we select the following illustrative par-
ticulars. By an act of parliament of May
182G, the amount of the debt on the docks is
reduced to L.265,000. Government lends
this sum to Edinburgh at the rate of 3 per
cent., to be redeemed by a sinking fund, form-
ed by a deposit of 1 per cent, for twelve years,
and 2 per cent, thereafter, till the debt is ex-
tinguished, after which the docks to revert to
the city of Edinburgh. The city agrees to
expend L.2800 on the extension of the eastern
pier, while government expends L 19,000 on
the extension of the western pier. The af-
fairs of the docks are put under the manage-
ment of a commission formed by persons no-
minated by both Edinburgh and Leith.

By these, and other previous arrangements,
Leith is by no means released from its vassal-
age to Edinburgh, whose town-council con-
tinues to exercise a complete mastery over the
traffic of the port, and can either heighten or
lower the dues of entry, &c. as caprice or con-
venience may dictate. At present the number
of vessels belonging to the port is 191, having
an aggregate burden of 23,094 tons. In the
course of the year ending January 5, 1831,
the number of arrivals of vessels from foreign
parts was 408, and coastwise 3653. The cus-
tom-house duties payable on goods landed in
the same space of time amounted to nearly
L.500,000. The chief articles landed from
foreign countries are wines, wood, tobacco,
hemp, and tallow.

There are three companies belonging to the
town engaged in the London and Leith trade,
who have altogether twenty-two vessels in
constant intercourse with the two ports ; — a
company in the Leith and Hull trade, with
five vessels ; — a company in the Liverpool
and Leith trade, with five vessels ; — a com-
pany in the Leith and Newcastle trade, with
four vessels; — one in the Hamburgh and
Rotterdam trade, with eight vessels ; — one
in the Aberdeen trade, with four vessels ;
— one in the Inverness trade, with two
vessels ; — one in the trade with Wick, with
two vessels ; — one in the Helmsdale trade,
with one vessel ; — one in the Greenock
trade, with four vessels ; — besides companies
which trade with different parts in Fife, with
Dundee, Stirling, and other places. There
are seven vessels belonging to the port engag-
ed in the Greenland trade.

The greater part of the coasting vessels
lie in the harbour of the river, the others
in the docks. These docks are lined on the
south side by a row of lofty and spacious
warehouses for bonding corn, foreign liquors,
and other goods, or for other useful pur-
poses. The port has now no powder ma-
gazine, which is a shameful deficiency, as the
manufacturers of that article, in sending it to
the port, have to drive back their goods to the
mills when vessels do not sail at the time spe-
cified. There have thus been instances of gun-
powder being carted backwards and forwards
through the streets six times, to a distance of
ten and twelve miles, for the authorities will
not allow it to remain in the town. Vessels
generally anchor in the roadstead about two
miles from land. During the war this was

708

LEITH.

an admiral's station, with an admiral's guard-
ship, and generally several cruizers. Vessels
requiring to ride quarantine, proceed several
miles up the firth to a station in Inverkeith-
ing bay. For the guidance of vessels entering
Leith harbour, a light-house is erected upon
the end of the old pier. The light is station-
ary, and is exhibited while there are nine feet
water on the bar. In the daytime a train of
signals is used to mark the rise of the tide.
It is the misfortune of Leith that the shallow-
ness of its water at the recess of the tides
prevents it from enjoying the trade carried on
by steam-vessels. The steam-packets plying
between Aberdeen and Edinburgh, and Lon-
don and Edinburgh, either touch at Newhaven
or lie off that port for passengers. The
great thoroughfare also with Fife, Stirling,
and most other places on the Firth is carried
on by the same small port, from which there
are direct communications to the metropolis.
Perhaps the new eastern pier, when completed,
may induce steam-vessels to touch at Leith,
in preference.

Until recent times, Leith enjoyed nearly the
whole Baltic trade on the east of Scotland, but
this traffic has greatly declined in favour of
Kirkaldy, Dundee, and Aberdeen. During
the war it was the principal naval station, to
which prizes were brought for condemnation
and sale. That source of profit being also
gone, its prosperity has been greatly circum-
scribed ; but, perhaps the greatest of all its
misfortunes has been the levying of enor-
mous dues from ships for its harbour and docks.
This circumstance alone has paralyzed its ma-
ritime trade, and will continue to do so till
modifying measures be adopted. As signifi-
cant of the weight of these burdens, it may be
mentioned that wood and other bulky articles
can be landed at Grangemouth, Fisherrow, or
other ports, and carted to Edinburgh at a
cheaper rate than they can be landed at Leith.
This town likewise flourished during the French
war on the preventive measures of Bonaparte ;
many fortunes having been here realized by
the extensive system of smuggling British
goods into the continent by way of Heligoland.
Latterly, however, many individuals suffered
severely by foreign speculations, and the com-
merce of the port seems to have received a
blow it has never altogether recovered.

Leith is not a " manufacturing" town, yet
it possesses a great variety of establishments
for producing different kinds of good3 on a

great scale. It has several breweries, a
distillery, some manufactories of soap and
candles, manufactories of cordage j and ship-
building is prosecuted by different companies
or individuals ; the rectifying of spirits is like-
wise a common profession, and the town has a
great number of merchants who disperse fo-
reign and British liquors and other luxuries
over a great part of Scotland. There is an
extensive sugar-refining establishment. The
chief manufacture is of glass, principally in the
common quart bottle department. Along the
shore to the east there are now seven cones all
for producing this article. It is generally sup-
posed that this manufacture was introduced
into Leith by some of the English settlers in
the time of Cromwell. In 1829-30, a most
extensive establishment was introduced for
grinding corn, entirely at the expense and
risk of a single spirited individual. This im-
mense mill is situated in the heart of the town,
and rising to a height considerably above the
tops of the houses, has very much altered the
sky outline of the place. The machinery is
driven by a steam power. The proprietor has
further fitted up part of the premises as baths,
of all descriptions, the price of admission to
which is very trifling. The trade of Leith is
assisted by one native bank, and branches of
four metropolitan banks.

In the year 1809, a newspaper was attempt-
ed in Leith, but it was withdrawn for want
of support. The only periodical publication
in the town is a " Commercial List," publish-
ed by the very respectable firm of William
Reid and Son, and containing much valuable
information for merchants. The town is pro-
vided with two public subscription libraries.
It has also a Mechanics' Institution, with a
library and lecturing room in the Exchange
Buildings. This establishment is in a flourish-
ing condition. The ordinary tickets cost seven
shillings and sixpence each to ordinary students,
and five shillings to apprentices. There are
now lectures given on mechanical philosophy
and chemistry, by individuals eminent in these
sciences. In January 1830, a Philharmonic
Society was established in Leith, which ^has
weekly meetings, and must be of great ser-
vice in improving the taste for and execu-
tion of vocal and instrumental music. It has
occasionally very splendid and tasteful soirees,
at which there is a large orchestra of amateur
and professional players.

The only public buildings in Leith and its

L E I T H.

709

vicinity worthy of remark, are as follows. The
Exchange Buildings, situated at the foot of
Constitution Street, form a large elegant struc-
ture in the Grecian style of architecture, three
storeys in height, ornamented with Ionic co-
lumns. The structure contains a large assem-
bly room, a hotel, and a public reading room.
The expense of the erection was L. 16000.
Unfortunately, from the decline of trade, the
speculation has not met with that success
which was expected. The Custom House is a
large and handsome building of the date of
1812, situated in North Leith at the end of
the lower draw-bridge. It is also of the Gre-
cian style, with°pillars and pediment in front ;
it cost about L. 12,600. The Leith Bank is a
neat and rather elegant but small edifice, on the
south side of Bernard Street. It is surmount-
ed by a vane, and is of the date of 1805-6. —
The New Court House is a square and very hand-
some building, situated at the corner of Charlotte
Street and Constitution Street. Itiscornmodi-
ously fitted up, and has an exceedingly elegant
appearance. The Grammar School is a spacious
building of an oblong figure, in the Grecian
style, situated at the head of the links, and is
also of the era of 1805-3. It is surmounted
by a small spire and clock, and has excellent
apartments for the different classes. — Seafield
Baths are situated at the eastern extremity of
the Links, fronting the beach, and were built
in 1813 at an expense of L.800, raised in
shares of fifty guineas each. The building
is large and of an elegant construction, and,
besides the baths, contains a hotel. The es-
tablishment, from its distance from Edinburgh,
has not been successful. — The Trinity House
is another handsome edifice erected in 1817,
at an expense of L.2500. It occupies a con-
fined situation on the west side of the Kirk-
gate, opposite the church, and is also of the
Grecian style of architecture. It stands on
the site of the old Trinity House erected in
1 555, during the domination of Mary of Lor-
raine. The present institution possesses a
good painting of that princess, by Mytens. —
The Tolbooth is a new edifice of the Saxon
style of architecture, occupying the site of
the old tolbooth, built in 1565, which, be-
fore being pulled down, was in a state of
great decay. The present jail has several
suits of well lighted apartments, and stands
on the south side of the Tolbooth Wynd —
The Markets of Leith are situated a short

way east from the Tolbooth, and were reared
so late as 1819. The areas of the different
markets are surrounded with neatly fitted-up
stalls, and the whole has a commodious and
creditable appearance.

The ecclesiastical structures of Leith are not
unworthy of attention. In 1435, Robert
Logan of Restalrig founded a preceptory of
St. Anthony, the only religious house of the
kind in Scotland. It was furnished with canons
brought from St. Anthony of Vienne in
France, the seat of the order. These monks
were of the order of St. Augustine, and their
establishment was of a magnificent descrip-
tion. They had a church, a cemetery, a mon-
astery, and gardens at the south-west corner of
the alley, which was named from them St-
Anthony's Wynd. Nothing now remains of
the different structures but some vaults, form-
ing part of the premises of a brewer. At the
Reformation the establishment was suppress-
ed : and in 1614, it was granted, with all its
rights, to the kirk-session of South Leith.

The church of South-Leith, which stands
amidst a neatly arranged cemetery on the east
side of the Kirkgate, is a venerable Gothic
structure, of a date anterior to 1 496. It was
originally cruciform in its construction, but
was diminished to the nave by the conflag-
ration of 1544. In 1674 a turret was erect-
ed at the west end, with a spire of wood
and metal, springing from its summit. A
clock was added in 1681. When the church
of Restalrig was suppressed in 1609 this be-
came the parochial place of public worship. It
was originally dedicated to St. Mary. The
charge is collegiate, with two ministers. In
North- Leith, a chapel was erected in the fif-
teenth century, by the above-mentioned Ro-
bert Ballendean, Abbot of Holyrood, who en-
dowed it with certain revenues, and dedicated
it to St. Ninian. This chapel continued as a
species of Chapel of Ease to the Abbey
Church till 1606, when it was converted into
the parish-church. The inhabitants at the
same time bought the house of the chaplain,
the tithes, and other pertinents, from John
Bothwell, the Commendator of Holyrood.
In virtue of this agreement the clergyman of
North-Leith parish enjoys, till this day, the
tithes of fish tended on the beach, though, like
all other tithes in Scotland, the exaction is
commuted into a money payment. The old
church still stands in a bye street near the up-

710

L E I T H.

per draw-bridge, but some years ago, being in
a frail condition, it was abandoned to secular
purposes, and a very handsome large church
was built in the open ground betwixt the town
and Newhaven. This structure is of plain
architecture, and has a lofty and tasteful spire.
This church has only one clergyman, whose
stipend is considered among the best in the
Church of Scotland. Agreeably to the deed
of purchase by the inhabitants, they still pos-
sess the right of nominating their parish mi-
nister.

The parish of South-Leith has a Chapel of
Ease of very spacious dimensions in Constitu-
tion Street, the late incumbent of which was
the Rev. Dr. Colquhoun, author of several po-
pular works of a pious nature. Besides these
places of worship, the town is provided with
three meeting-houses of the United Secession
Church, and one of the Relief Body. One of
these houses is situated beside the Grammar
School at the head of the Links, and is of
more ornate architecture than most of the
meeting-houses of the dissenters. There is
another equally handsome in the new road
leading from the foot of the Walk to North-
Leith. And a third, with a Gothic front, si-
tuated in North- Leith, near the citadel. The
town has likewise an Episcopal Chapel, situ-
ated in Constitution Street, and under the mi-
nisterial charge of the Rev. Dr. Michael Rus-
sel, the eminent author of the Connexion of
Sacred and Profane History, in continuation
of Prideaux, and other works distinguished for
their elegance of composition.

Leith had the honour of giving birth to
John Home, the author of the tragedy of
Douglas. His father was town-clerk of
Leith ; and the house in which the poet was
bom (September 22, 1722, O. S.) stood at
the east corner of Quality Street, and was
pulled down some years ago to make way for
the new buildings which now occupy that
site. The town was no less distinguished
during last century in having had a ministerial
incumbent in the person of the Rev. John
Logan, author of a popular volume of sermons,
as well as the greater and the most beautiful
part of the translations and paraphrases used
by the Church of Scotland, and some dramatic
compositions ; the odium attached to him by
a party in the church for his having indulged in
literary pursuits of so profane a character, in-
duced this elegant writer to resign his charge.

The charitable institutions of Leith next
deserve notice. There was an hospital for
poor women, founded in the reign of James
VI-, which is now extinct. There are at
present a Female Society for relieving Indi-
gent and Sick Women, — a Society for relieving
the Destitute Sick, — the Sympathetic Society,—
a Female School of Industry, — and a Charity
School for Boys, besides some associations for
disseminating the Scriptures and a knowledge
of Christianity. The Trinity House of Leith
is an ancient institution, formed on the usual
principles, being a species of mutual insurance
society for the relief of indigent or superannuat-
ed mariners, and for protecting their general
interests. The number of poor in Leith ap-
pears to be very great. They are crowded
into all the various mean alleys, and loiter on
the streets in all directions beseeching alms
from the passengers, or melting them into
compassion by more indirect appeals from
fiddles and other instruments of music. The
favourite station of these musical mendicants
has been from time immemorial the thorough-
fare of Leith Walk, where at one time every
loathsome object was daily exhibited to the
passengers.

The town of Leith is equally disagreeable
from the filthiness of its streets. A person
in proceeding out of the boundaries of Edin-
burgh into those of the sea-port, will perceive
an immediate change in the appearance of the
streets. Such an evil may perhaps chiefly be
attributed to a laxity in the discipline of the
police, and partly to the trading character of
the town. Until within the last two or three
years, Leith was very ill supplied with water
from Lochend, a small lake near Restalrig,
or by means of carts from St. Margaret's
Well. It now enjoys a branch of the pipes
which supply Edinburgh so abundantly, and
this important improvement may lead to a
greater air of comfort and cleanliness in the
streets and lanes. The town is lighted with
coal gas, manufactured by a joint-stock com-
pany, who have the liberty of also supplying
Edinburgh, which they do to a considerable
extent.

To revert to the municipal government of
Leith. The town is under the special juris-
diction of a sheriff- substitute, who is paid by
the inhabitants for his services. This func-
tionary, who is only of recent institution, holds
a small-debt court every Friday. The burgh

L E I T H.

711

and port continue subordinate to Edinburgh,
but a modification of the authority of the town-
council has been instituted by an act of par-
liament, (7 and 8 Geo. IV. cap. 112,) in conse-
quence of some disputes on the subject. There
are three resident magistrates or bailies, who
are chosen by the town-council from a leet or
list presented by those bailies retiring, as well
as by all those who have formerly been bailies,
and by the masters of the incorporations. By
this means Leith can, in general, secure those
magistrates it chooses, and by an act of cour-
tesy, the council, in most cases, consult popu-
larity by nominating those in particular whom
they know to be most in favour. The num-
ber of incorporations having a power of elec-
tion is four. The town-council have a com-
plete power of admiralty over Leith and the
sea for a certain distance. That body appoints
an admiral of Leith, who is generally an old
Edinburgh bailie, and the duties of his office are
chiefly executed by the resident bailies who are
admirals- substitute, with a procurator-fiscal, and
other officers. The watching, lighting, and clean-
ing of the town, are placed under the control
of a board of commissioners of police, whose
expenditure is liquidated by a heavy assess-
ment on the inhabitants. There are ten
wards of police, each having two commission-
ers chosen directly by the inhabitants, and be-
sides these there is the preposterous number
of thirty ex officio commissioners, (or partly
chosen by incorporations ;) in this strange con-
stitution of the board, we have perhaps the
real cause of the unseemly condition of the
town. The annual rent of heritable property
in Leith is estimated to be L. 105,000.

As conscientious topographers, we are com-
pelled to state, that the very peculiar manner
in which Leith is dependant on Edinburgh
seems to retard nearly every improvement in
and about the port, and, without doubt, the
time is almost arrived when either a complete
separation or amalgamation must take place.
Here prevails the most untoward jealousies
and conflict of jurisdictions anywhere to be met
with in Scotland ; and amidst the altercations
which are produced, the actual benefit and mu-
tual friendship of the inhabitants of the me-
tropolis and the port are sacrificed to the spirit
of faction. By the absurd manner in which
the affairs of the port and its dependencies
have been for a long while managed, the con-
dition of the suburb of Newhaven is fully

worse than that of Leith, and the road between
them is worst of all. This fishing village of
Newhaven, which lies a mile to the west, and
is connected with Edinburgh by direct roads,
has been for some years unapproachable from
Leith, unless by a very bad circuitous route,
entirely in consequence of the general careless-
ness of the " authorities," in allowing the direct
road to be washed away by the sea, and we
must say, the supineness of the inhabitants in
not long since bringing about a restitution of
the thoroughfare. At present subscriptions
are set on foot by private individuals to do so.
Between Leith and Newhaven, and almost
close to the former, is situated an extensive
series of barracks for the royal artillery, with
a battery fronting the sea — Population of the
parishes of North and South-Leith in 1821,
26,000.

LEITH, or WATER OF LEITH, a
river in Edinburghshire, above alluded to as
issuing into the firth of Forth at the town of
Leith, to which it has communicated its name.
It rises in the parish of Mid- Calder, or the west-
ern hilly part of the county, and in its course is
of great use in moving machinery, as is noticed
under the head Edinburghshire. When it
comes within the precincts of Edinburgh, it
pursues its way through a deep dell, in which
stands an ancient village on both banks, called
also the Water of Leith, and at which there
are extensive flour mills and granaries. Just
below the village, the river is crossed by a
splendid and stupendous new bridge, connect-
ing the western extensions of the metropolis
with the high grounds on the opposite bank.
Being from this point distracted into a mill-
lead, the channel, till near Leith, is left almost
empty in dry weather, and is nearly at all times
a real nuisance to the adjacent inhabitants from
its conversion into a common sewer.

LEITHEN, a small stream in Peebles-
shire, falling into the Tweed a little way be-
low the village of Innerleithen, to which it has
given its name See Innerleithen.

LENNOCK, a rivulet in the parish of
Birnie, Morayshire, tributary to the Lossie.

LENNOX, an ancient district in the west-
ern part of Scotland, forming a portion of the
modern shires of Dumbarton and Stirling. As
to the origin of its name and the other par-
ticulars, see Dumbartonshire.

LENNOX-HILLS, a mountain ridge ex-
tending from Dumbarton to Stirling, beyond

712

LERWICK.

which it is continued from the Forth to the
Tay, under the name of Ochils. Throughout
the whole, stupendous basaltic columns and
volcanic rocks present themselves.

LENNOX-TOWN, or NEWTOWN
OFCAMPSIE, a large village in the parish
of Campsie, Stirlingshire, distant forty-two
miles from Edinburgh, nine from Glasgow,
and twenty from Stirling. It is situated in
the vicinity of some large collieries, extensive
alum works, and the Lennox-mill printfield —
all affording constant employment to many
hundred persons. " This thriving village,"
says a contemporary, "is rapidly improving,
and it is with feelings of pleasure we mark its
progress ; an increasing intelligence, with a
thirst for knowledge, characterises its native
inhabitants. A literary or debating society
was some years ago established."

LENTRATHEN, or GLENTRATH-
EN, a parish in the western and more hilly
part of Forfarshire, lying betwixt Glenisla 'on
the west, and part of Kirriemuir and King-
oldrum on the east. It extends eight miles
from north to south, by a breadth of about
four, and is in a great measure the vale of
the Blackwater, and its diverging valleys.
The district is chiefly pastoral. The village
of Lentrathen is situated near the bottom of
the vale near a small lake called Lentrathen
Loch — Population in 1821, 941.

LEOCHEL and CUSHNIE, a united
parish in Aberdeenshire, lying south from Al-
ford, extending six miles and a half from west
to east, by a breadth of two and a half miles
in the eastern part, and five in the western.
The district is hilly and pastoral. Popula-
tion of the conjoined parishes in 1821, 766.

LEOCHEL, a small river in Aberdeen-
shire, originating in the above parish, and fall-
ing into the Don near the church of Alford.

LEONARD'S, (St.) a parish in the town
of St. Andrews. See Andrews, (St.)

LERWICK, a parish on the Mainland of
Shetland, extending about six miles along the
coast of Bressay sound, (east side of the Main-
land,) by about a mile in breadth. The parish
and country around are rocky and mountain-
ous. The arable land lies in spots along the
sea shore ; the soil is light and sandy, but as
fertile and productive as cnn well be supposed
from the situation and climate. The air,
though moist, is far from being unhealthy.

Lerwick, a town, the capital of the Shet-

land islands, and of the above parish, and the
seat of a presbytery, is situated on the east
side of the Mainland, by which name the prin-
cipal island of the group which constitutes the
Shetland islands, is known. We are told that
Lerwick originated in some miserable huts
erected about 200 years ago, for the conve-
nience of carrying on traffic with the Dutch
herring vessels, and by them was called Buss
Bay so late as 1690. About 150 years since
earnest application was made to the higher
authorities of the time, that they would order
it to be burnt, and for ever made desolate, be-
cause of its great wickedness. The parish of
which it is the capital, was confirmed as a dis-
tinct district about 1720. Throughout the
greater part of last century it was a very poor
place, supported chiefly by smuggling, and
many of its houses were ruinous in 1777.
Since this period it has gradually and steadily
improved, and now illicit importation has en-
tirely ceased. Lerwick was erected into a
burgh of barony about fourteen years ago,
with two bailies and nine councillors, all elect-
ed every third year by proprietors within burgh
and tenants of a L. 10 rental. The town has
at present a rental of twopence per pound
sterling on real rents, which was agreed to for
three years, to pay expenses of cleaning and
of keeping the peace, and it possesses a certain
extent of land. In the present day, the town
which is about half a mile in length, is built in
the form of a crescent, upon the margin of a bay
on the west side of the spacious harbour of
Bressay Sound, opposite the island of that
name. One principal street, which follows
the curvature of the bay, runs through the
town from south to north, from which several
lanes of houses branch off to the west on a
gradually rising amphitheatre. At the north
end of the town, on a small rocky eminence,
stands Fort Charlotte, which commands the
harbour, and could effectually protect the town
from any attack by sea. The houses are ge-
nerally built without order or regularity ; and
many of them, according to the Norwegian
fashion, have their ends to the street, project-
ing more or less as suited the views of the ori-
ginal proprietors. Of late years, however,
more attention has been paid to method, and
some of the houses built within the last thirty
or forty years are equal to any in towns of si-
milar magnitude in the south. Not a few of
the houses are built upon the sea-shore, and

lesli i.:.

713

some of them extend so far into the sea as to
admit of their inmates enjoying piscatorial re-
creation without leaving home. Besides the
parish church, there are two independent and
one methodist chapel in the town, which proves
the progress of dissenterism ; for Neill remarks
in the tour which he made to Shetland in
1804, that at that time there were no dissent-
ing meeting-houses in Lerwick. As Bressay
Sound is a rendezvous for a considerable num-
ber of the Davis' Straits and Greenland whal-
ers and the Dutch herring fishery busses, dur-
ing the summer months, there is a considera-
ble bustle in the town during the best half of
the year ; and besides this intercourse, a regu-
lar and pretty extensive trade is carried on with
Leith by means of well-appointed smacks.
The vessels of all descriptions belonging to
Shetland, and which clear from Lerwick, may
amount to about ninety, the great majority of
which are employed in the cod fishery. The
Lerwick shopkeepers or merchants, as they
are called, though models for attention to busi-
ness, still continue a practice which existed in
many towns in the south, of shutting up their
shops at meal hours, so that a stranger landing
in Lerwick at the hours of breakfast or dinner
would at once conclude that the shopkeepers
at least were celebrating a fast instead of a. feast.
The inhabitants of Lerwick are fully on a par
in point of education and general intelligence
with those of places more highly favoured from
local circumstances, and their manners differ
in no respect from those of the inhabitants of
the south. They, moreover, display much
courtesy and hospitality towards strangers.
There is no regular inn in the town, but tra-
vellers, notwithstanding, are never at a loss, as
comtortable accommodation is to be obtained
in private lodgings. As fishing is a favourite
amusement with some of the inhabitants, and
a means of subsistence with others, a large
flotilla of boats is attached to Lerwick, and
it is no uncommon sight in winter to see forty
or fifty of these anchored within a few yards of
the town playing havock with the finny tribe.
Nearly adjoining Fort- Charlotte, to the north-
west, is a small dock, with warehouses and
dwelling-houses attached, chiefly erected by
Mr. Hay, the enterprising partner of Messrs.
Hay and Ogilvies, who may be regarded as the
chief merchants in Lerwick. This firm carri-
ed on a banking establishment a few years

ago, and Issued notes, but they called in their
issues, and now act as agents for the Royal
Bank of Scotland. The National Bank has
also established a branch. There are two
subscription libraries. No regular post has yet
been established, letters being carried by trad-
ing vessels. There are two entries to Bressay
Sound from the north and south, and as it is
land-locked, a stranger on approaching it can
have no idea that he is about to enter a harbour
which could contain almost the whole of
the royal navy of Great Britain. The popu-
lation of the parish of Lerwick, which amount-
ed in 1801 to 1706, now exceeds 3000 souls,
of which 2800 may now be reckoned as inha-
bitants of the town. — The population returns
of 1821, give the population of the town as
2224. *

LESLIE, or LESLY, a small parish in the
district of Garioch, Aberdeenshire, lying south
from Kinnethmont, and east from Clatt, ex-
tending about two miles in length, by from
one to two in breadth. The general appear-
ance is hilly, but the district is of a productive
nature. The water of Gadie, so sweetly ce-
lebrated by Arthur Johnston, in his elegant
Latin poems, runs through the parish, from
west to east. — Population in 1821, 444.

LESLIE, a parish in the county of Fife,
extending from six to seven miles in length,
separated on the south from the parish of
Kinglassie by the river Leven, bounded on the
west by Portmoak, on the north by Falkland,
and on the east by Markinch. The district
consists chiefly of fine arable lands, undulating
downwards to the Leven, from the Lomond hills.
Towards the summit of these hills the ground
is moorish and pastoral. The parks are well
enclosed with hedgerows, and other fences ;
and there is a considerable quantity of wood of
a superior quality, principally on the estate of
the Earl of Rothes, near the town of Leslie*
West from Leslie, on the face of the descend-
ing grounds, stands the house of Strathhenry,
the seat of an ancient family in the shire. To
the east of Leslie, also on the face of the hilly
ground, is the ruined house of Pitcairn, once
the residence of the celebrated Dr. Pitcairn.
Leslie, a populous town in the above

* For the greater part of the above account of Lerwick,
we have to acknowledge ourselves indebted to James
Smith, Esq. Edinburgh, author of a talented work en-
titled " Dialogues on the Rule of Faith."
4 Y

714

LESLIE.

parish, situated at the distance of twelve miles
from Kinross, twelve from Cupar, and nine
from Kirkaldy. It occupies a pleasant site
along the summit of a ridge of ground, rising
from the Leven on the south, and a shallow
vale on the northern side, and lies on the pub-
lic road, which pursues an irregular course up
the vale of the Leven, towards Kinross-shire.
Leslie consists of one long street, in the direc-
tion of east and west, lined by tolerably well-
built houses of one and two storeys, partly
thatched and partly slated. At the western
extremity there are some neat modern man-
sions. Nearly all the houses are provided with
gardens behind, and the environs display much
rural beauty. At the east end of the town,
just at the entrance, is an exceedingly beauti-
ful public green, of a triangular figure, bounded
by houses and the parish church on the north,
the manse and gardens on the east, and the
road on the south. This pleasing ver-
dant esplanade, which is unequalled in the
provincial towns, except at Dirleton in East
Lothian, is ornamented by a tall tree at each
end, that on the west being of the most magni-
ficent proportions. In former times, this
green was the appropriated place for the an-
nual festival of the pedlars or packmen of
Scotland, who, on such occasions, crowded
thither to indulge in various pastimes, not the
least amusing of which was the initiation of
members, by ducking them in a pool, or well,
in the vale north of the town. One of the
games was riding at the ring, an exceedingly
ancient pastime now obsolete, or only found
in the degenerate practice of riding at some
living animal, and trying to kill it when pass-
ing. Another pastime, we are told, was bull-
baiting, for which purpose a bull was chained
to a massive stone, on the north side of the
green, still standing, and showing a deep inden-
tation around, made by the furious working of
the chain which secured the unhappy animal.
It is now many years since Leslie was the seat
of these festivals, which, in their modified style,
are now held at Stirling ; but they have entail-
ed on the inhabitants a love of sports, which
in foot-ball at least, have made them eminent
over all their neighbours. It has been alleged
that Leslie is the place alluded to in the poem
of " Christ's Kirk on the Green ;" but this
does not bear accurate confirmation, though
the circumstance is not unlikely. At one time
30.

there prevailed a strong feeling of animosity
betwixt the people in and about Leslie, and
those of Falkland, which lies on the other side
of the East Lomond ; and it is said, that at all
fairs the latter used to come hither to attack the
Leslians ; happily, such outrages are now quite
unknown. Whether from such instances of
liveliness and fondness of public sports, pe-
culiar to the people of Leslie, or the modern
trading character of the town, it happens that
almost no one in Scotland is so strongly cha-
racterised by an independent political tone of
sentiment, on every occasion of natural excite-
ment ; as was manifested at the first French
revolution, and has been latterly exemplified by
the establishment of one of those institutions call-
ed Political Unions, in which, it may be further
remarked, it preceded all other places in Scot-
land. Few people are more prompt than the
Leslians in appreciating any triumph of popu-
lar over unpopular politics, and none could
be more heartily engaged in the reforming en-
thusiasm of 1831. The desire of instruction in
the inhabitants is met by the establishment of a
good subscription library. Leslie has been
doubled in size within the last thirty or forty
years ; chiefly from the vast increase, in that
period, of the spinning and bleaching of lint
yarn in this quarter. Here, as in most Fife
towns; the sound of the weaving shuttle is
heard from one end of the town to the other,
certifying that this is the chief, if not the only
trade carried on in the place. Below the
town, on the banks of the Leven, are several
extensive mills and bleaching greens, which
circulate money in the district, and sup-
port a variety of shopkeepers. Leslie is a
burgh of barony under the Earls of Rothes,
and as such, is governed by two bailies, and
some councillors. At the west end of the
green stands a good modern inn. The church,
which stands on the opposite side of this open
space, is a plain edifice with a spire, of recent
erection, neatly fitted up in the interior.
In the surrounding church-yard are several
monumental stones, with poetical inscrip-
tions, written in a very homely style. Ad-
jacent is the parish school-house. In a low
situation to the east, and very near the town,
stands Leslie-house, the seat of the Earl of
Rothes. It is a plain, middle-aged mansion,
standing on a peninsula formed by the con-
fluence of a small brook with the Leven. It

LESMAHAGO.

715

contains a few good pictures. Around are
some fine pleasure grounds, embellished by
considerable plantations ; much fine wood
having been planted about a century and a half
ago, by Charles, the fifth Earl of Hadding-
ton, who succeeded to the estate by marrying
the heiress of John, Duke of Rothes, (see
Haddingtonshire.) — Population of the town
and parish in 1821, 2200.

LESMAHAGO, a populous parish in the
upper ward of Lanarkshire, composed chiefly
of a minor vale running off from the great dale
of the Clyde, towards the south-west, and mea-
suring fourteen miles in length, by twelve in
breadth, being bounded by the Clyde for nine
or ten miles on the north-east border. The
rivulet called the Nethan, a tributary of the
Clyde, runs through the whole vale, and has
itself several small tributaries. The Clyde,
during its course along the borders of the pa-
rish, forms the stupendous falls of Bonniton,
Corehouse, and Stonebyres. In its upper
division the district exhibits a series of broad
swelling uplands, almost everywhere in high
cultivation, while the banks of the rivulets are
lined with fine alluvial levels. But at the
lower part of the parish, it partakes of the
rugged and picturesque character which belongs
to the banks of the Clyde in this part of its
course. " The banks of the Clyde in this
parish," says the writer of the Statistical Ac-
count, " are very bold, rising, in many places,
abruptly into hills of considerable height,
everywhere divided by deep gullets, formed by the
numerous brooks and torrents which fall into
the river. The intermixture of coppice-woods,
plantations of forest trees, and sloping open
glades ; of swelling eminences, deep ravines,
and towering hills on both sides of the river ;
added to the windings of its copious stream,
and the magnificent falls above mentioned ;
exhibit to the eye of the passenger, at every
change of situation, new landscapes strikingly
sublime and beautiful." The village of Les-
mahago, which gives its name to the parish,
and where the church is situated, lies upon the
west bank of the Nethan, six miles north-west
of Douglas Mill, and six south-west from La-
nark. Merely as the capital of a parish of great
extent, fertility, and population, it enjoys a con-
siderable degree of prosperity, which is farther
increased by a large cotton-mill in the neigh-
bourhood. The more popular name of the
village is Abbey-green, in consequence of its be-

ing chiefly built upon the green connected
with an ancient religious building. The name
Lesmahago is traced to the saint in whose
honour this building was erected, — " Sanctus
Maclonius sive Machatus, Episcopus et Con-
fessor. Hie nobilibus ortus in Scotia paren-
tibus," says David Chambers in his work De
Scotorum Pietate, (Parisiis, 1631,) p. 198,
" Comite scilicet de Guincastel et matre
Comitissa, cui nomen Darnal, longe nobilior
solidarum virtutum cumido evasit, in quibus
sub Brandano sancto eos progressus fecit, ut
eas inter se copularit, quas difficile fuerit
junctas reperire, singularem scilicet prudentiatu
cum rara simplicitate, morum eximiam gravi-
tatem cum summa comitate, orationis studium
cum chantatis operibus, sui denique in omni-
bus contemptum cum praeclara apud omnes
ob vita? sanctitatem existimatione. Vitam ip-
sius fuse describit Ribadeneira in tomo de vitis
Sanctorum." That is as much as to say, —
" Saint Maclovius or Machute, Bishop and
Confessor, born of noble parents in Scotland,
namely the earl of Guincastel and the countess
whose name was Darnal, but much more noble
from his mass of solid virtues, in which he
made such progress under St. Brandan, that
he joined those within his own single character
which it is most rare to find together, viz.
great prudence with equally great simplicity,
the utmost gravity of manners with the utmost
gentleness, and the study of literature with
works of charity. Ribadineira bath detailed
his life at full length in his Lives of the
Saints." The day of this holy man, and that
under which he occurs in Chambers's calendar,
is the 15th of November. It appears from the
circumstance of his being an eleve of St. Bran-
dan, that he must have lived about the sixth
or seventh century, and it was probably in a
hermitage or cell at this place, as Lesmahago
is supposed to signify the green or garden of
St. Machute, and as it is known, moreover,
that he was buried here. In 1144 the pious
David I. founded a priory at the tomb of the
holy Maebute, which he dedicated to that
saint and attached to the abbey of Kelso. The
monks, of course, were of the order of Tyron-
enses, following the rule of St. Bennet. The
fact of St. Machute's inhumation at this place
is shown by a grant of Robert Bruce,—
" Sancto Machuto et monachis apud Lesina-
hagovv Domino servientibus, ad luminare circa
tumbam Sancti Machuti, perpetuosustenendum

716

LESMAHAGO.

decern mercas Sterlingorum omni reditus, de
redditibus molendinorum suorum de Maldsley,
liberas et quietas ab omnibus exactionibus et
durandis, in liberam, puram, et perpetuam elee-
mosynam." This sum of ten merks sterling
towards the perpetual sustenance of a light at
the tomb of St. Machute, out of the mills of
Mauldslie, is farther directed in the same do-
cument to be paid, in two half-yearly payments,
to the monks or their attorney at Lanark, by
the sheriff thereof for the time being. A char-
ter granted in 1270 by the monks of Kelso to
Sir William Douglas, of the lands of " Polle-
nell," in the barony of Lesmahago, is burden-
ed with the stipulation, that he shall bestow
two pounds of wax annually during his whole
life towards this light. The torhb continued
to be lighted till the Reformation, by which
time St. Machute had been dead and buried the
best part of a thousand years, and, what is a
curious fact, an antique pair of snuffers, be-
lieved to have been the identical pair where-
with the lights were snuffed by the pious
watchmen of the tomb, was found some years
ago amidst the ruins, and are now in the pos-
session of an inhabitant of Lesmahago. Dur-
ing the fierce and unsparing war which was
carried on by Edward III. for the restoration
of the race of Baliol, the church belonging to
the priory of Lesmahago was burnt, together
with a great number of people who had taken
refuge in it, by John of Eltham, a younger
brother of the English monarch. Fordun tells
(but the fact is disputed,) that the incendiary
afterwards joining his brother at the high altar
of St. John's church in Perth, and there re-
counting the disgraceful act he had just commit-
ted, was rewarded by the king with such a blow
that he fell dead before the altar. At the Refor-
mation the people pulled down the priory, and
burnt the relics of the martyrs, the tomb of St.
Machute no doubt sufferingin the general wreck.
The revenues of the house at that time con-
sisted of L.1214, 4s. Gd. in money; bear, 15
chalders, 8 bolls, 1 fii-lot, 2 pecks ; meal, 41
chalders, 8 bolls, 3 firlots ; oats, 4 chalders, 3
bolls. The church seems to have survived the
reformation, and to have become the parish
church for Protestant worship. It was pulled
down in 1803, and replaced by the present
large edifice. The steeple destroyed on that
occasion seemed to have existed previous to
the fourteenth century, for on the side next
the church, it bore marks of having been scath-

ed by fire, and it was generally believed that
those marks were occasioned by the conflagra-
tion of John Plantagenet. Lesmahago has
been almost as much distinguished by its zeal in
the reformed system of religion, as from being
the seat of one of the principal establishments
under the old. Its population, situated in the
midst of a district where the principles of the
Covenant had deeply affected the public mind,
are noted in the annals of the persecution un-
der Charles II. and James II. for their exer-
tions and sufferings in that cause. The parish
turned out a great number of recruits to swell
the insurgent army at Bothwell bridge, and its
church-yard is observed to contain the monu-
ments of several of those heroes. Amongst the
rest is that of David Steel, a Covenanter kill-
ed by Captain Crichton, the cavalier trooper,
whose memoirs were published by Dean Swift.
An epitaph doing full justice to the memory
of this pious person, and narrating the story of
his death, is engraved on his monument, and
has been committed to still more certain re-
cord by being transcribed in the work called
" The Cloud of Witnesses." In the memoirs
of Crichton, where the deceased is spoken of
as a mere desperado, occurs a droll burlesque
upon the said epitaph: —

Here lies the body of Saint Steil,
Murder'd by John Crichton, that Dell !

The present ecclesiastical establishment of
Lesmahago is of the kind so rare in Scotland,
called collegiate, that is, there are two clergy-
men for the same place of worship. There is
also a congregation of Original Burghers. At
Lesmahago were taken two remarkable state
criminals at different periods of history;
first, the famous Colonel Rumbold, the
prime figurant in the Ryehouse Plot, who
was apprehended at this village, 1685, (af-
ter the break-up of the Earl of Argyle's in-
vasion,) by Hamilton of Raploch, a gentle-
man of the county of Lanark. The second
was Macdonald of Kinlochmoidart, aid-de-
camp of Prince Charles Stuart. As this gen-
tleman was proceeding to England with des-
patches for his prince and master, who was
then in the progress of his march to London,
he was seized by a young man of the name of
Linning, who was afterwards rewarded for his
good service to the existing government by be-
ing presented to the parish church as one of
its ministers, which office he filled for many

LESMAHAGO.

717

years after. In the parish of Lesmahago are
found both coal and lime, the respective hand-
maidens of manufacture and agriculture. A
well known species of the former mineral,
called cannel-coal, is found at Blair, and of the
latter the quality is so good that, upon an ana-
lysis, 29 parts in 30 have been found pure cal-
careous earth. In some places, particularly
near Craignethan, it approaches to the hardness
of marble, and is much valued for columns and
the steps of large stairs. Various petrifac-
tions, as shells and pieces of wood, are found
in the lime-quarries. Slate and sandstone of
excellent quality are abundant. Several at-
tempts have been made to work lead in Cum-
berhead hills, but without success. Besides
these, there are a great variety of other fossil
substances, which furnish an ample field for
the investigation of the philosopher and mine-
ralogist. The rocks and stones in the bed of
Clyde have a singular appearance. They look
as if they had been in a state of fusion, and
many have a heterogeneous appearance, with
small stones of a different kind adhering to
them, or embedded in the mass. In the pic-
turesque scenery of the parish, the remains of
Craignethan or Draphane Castle are conspi-
cuous. This noble ruin occupies the summit
of a lofty, rugged, and shaggy eminence,
which overhangs the junction of the Nethasn
and the Clyde. It was anciently the seat of
Sir James Hamilton, an illegitimate son of
the earl of Arran, and well known in the his-
tory of the reign of James V. from his fierce
and sanguinary character. This personage is
found at one time employed by his royal mas-
ter in the task of persecuting the reformers,
and at another in the more amiable duty of
architect of the royal palaces. He was at last
beheaded upon a charge of treason, and Bu-
chanan tells a story of his afterwards appear-
ing in a dream to James V., and, as it seemed,
hewing off the arms of the sleeping monarch
in revenge for his own death, which is suppos-
ed to have been unjust, at least as far as re-
garded that particidar crime. When Queen
Mary escaped from Lochleven, she took shel-
ter here for a few days, and the room in which
she slept is still pointed out amidst the ruins.
She marched hence to the fatal battle of Lang-
side. The steep and woody banks around
this castle, which is confessedly the prototype
of the Tillietudlem of the author of Waver-
ley, afford some scenery in which the beautiful

and the sublime contend for the mastery. Up-
on the whole, the parish of Lesmahago, whe-
ther considered on account of its subterraneous
wealth, or its superficial fertility and beauty,
is well deserving of a visit from the man of
science, and equally from the man of taste.
Population in 1821, 5592.

LESSUDDEN, a hamlet in the parish of
St. Boswell's, sometimes giving its name to
the parish. — See Boswell's. (St.)

LESWALT, a parish on the western part
of Wigtonshire, lying betwixt the Irish Chan-
nel on the west, and Loch Ryan on the
east, having the parish of Kirkcolm on the
north, and Port-Patrick on the south. It
is of a square figure, measuring about five
miles each way. The surface is finely varied
with hill and dale. The coast is bold and
rocky. The word Leswalt is from the Anglo-
Saxon, and signifies " the pasture ground in
the wood."— Population in 1821, 2332.

LE TH AM, a village in Fife, in the parish
of Monimail, lying in a sheltered situation on
the face of the descending braes, on the north
side of the Howe of the county, at the distance
of four miles west of Cupar, and five east from
Auchtermuchty. A fair is held here on the
third Wednesday of June.

LETHAM, or LETHEM, a village in
Forfarshire, in the parish of Dunnichen — See
Dunnichen.

LETHENDY, a small parish in Perth-
shire, having Cluny on the west and north,
Blairgowrie on the east, and Caputh on the
south. There exists here a strange confusion
in the boundaries of parishes, which very much
prevents accurate description. This parish
measures three miles in length by about one
in breadth. The district is all arable. — Po-
pulation in 1621, 408.

LETHNOT and NAVAR, a united pa-
rish in the northern part of Forfarshire, situated
among the Grampian mountains, bounded by
Lochlee and Edzel on the north, on the east
also by Edzel and Stricathro, on the south by
Menmuir, Fern, and Tannadice. It extends
from west to east about ten miles, by a mean
breadth of four. Mountainous and hilly on
the boundaries, its central part, throughout, is
in a great measure the vale of the West Wa-
ter, a tributary of the South Esk, and is both
pastoral and arable. The kirk of Lethnot
stands near the boundary with Menmuir, — Po-
pulation in 1821, 538.

713

LEVEN.(LOCH)

LEUCHARS, a parish in the north-east
part of Fife, lying on the left bank of the
Eden at its mouth, and separated from the
Tay by the parishes of Ferry-port-on-craig, and
Forgan. On the west it has Dairsie and Logie.
This portion of Fife is nearly as flat as Lin-
colnshire, and adapted to growing heavy
crops of grain. It has many plantations, and
is intersected by the road from St. Andrews
to Dundee. On that thoroughfare stands the
small village and kirk of Leuchars, at the dis-
tance of six miles from St. Andrews. The
inhabitants are chiefly weavers. On the es-
tate of Leuchars stands the ruin of an ancient
castle.— Population in 1821, 1731.

LEVEN, (LOCH) a lake in Kinross-
shire, of considerable beauty, and abounding
in historical interest, extending from ten to
eleven miles in jircumference, and covering
about 5000 Scottish acres of Land. It is of
an irregular oval figure, and, possessing several
islets, as well as being surrounded with scenery
of a pleasing or imposing kind, it is justly
deemed one of the many places in Scotland
worthy of a visit from tourists. On its west
and north-west side it is environed by the
beautiful vale of Kinross, surrounded by hills
in the distance, and in the foreground disposed
in plantations, arable and pasture fields, plea-
sure-grounds, and other materials of rural
beauty. On its margin, on the same side, lies
the ancient town of Kinross, with the adjacent
gardens and mansion of Kinross-house, the
seat of the Bruce family. A short way east
from thence, on the shore, stands the ruined
castle of Burleigh. On the north-east corner of
the lake it is overhung by the abrupt western
termination of the Lomond hills, and on the
south-east it is similarly shadowed by the hill
of Binarty. In the space betwixt these ele-
vations the lake has leave to stretch towards
the east, and in this direction is bounded by a
perfectly level piece of carse ground, extend-
ing fully three miles in length by nearly a mile
in breadth, which is bounded on the north by
the west Lomond, and on the south by the low
hill of Balbedie : Through the intermediate carse
flows the river Leven, which issues from the lake.
At the east end of the carse the rising grounds
almost close, and from signs which cannot be
mistaken, it is, we think, evident that this was
once the eastern termination of the lake ; and
that at an early period, by accident or design,
its embankments being broken down, the pre-

sent alluvial carse was left in a marshy condi-
tion, while the water receded to its lowest
level in the western hollow. If such was
really the case, it must have happened at a pe-
riod much earlier than the dawn of record, for
no tradition exists regarding it ; and we know
that in the Celtic age there were localities ex-
isting on the present eastern borders of the
lake, as is signified by their appellations. The
chief islands in Loch- Leven are two in num-
ber, namely, one situated near the shore op-
posite Kinross, on which are the picturesque
ruins of a castle, once dignified by the com-
pulsory residence of the hapless Mary Queen
of Scots, and another of a low bare appear-
ance called St. Serf's Isle, near the east end.
Lochleven and its islands make a very early
appearance in Scottish history. The follow-
ing account of a priory on St. Serf's Inch or
Isle is given in Spottiswood's Account of Scot-
tish Religious houses : " Formerly a house be-
longing to the Culdees, in whose place the
Canons Regular were introduced by the bishop
of St. Andrews. The priory was dedicated to
St. Serf or Servanus, a monk or pilgrim, who,
as is reported, came from Canaan to Inchkeith,
and got Merkinglass and Culross for his pos-
sessions. Bondeus, a Pictish king, founded
this place in honour of him, and gave the isle
to his Culdees ; which King David I. bestowed
upon St. Andrews, with the possessions be-
longing thereto. Our famous historian, An-
drew Winton, was prior of this place, and his
history, which begins with the creation of the
world, and ends with the captivity of James I.
in whose reign he died, is extant in the Advo-
cates' Library." Of the religious seat, which
must thus have been planted here upwards of
a thousand years ago, only a fragment, sufficient
to make a small pen-fold for cattle, is now to
be seen. The island being low and verdant,
supports a few sheep and cattle. The island
which contains the castle is about two acres in
extent, and it is said that a fortlet was first
built here by Congal, son of Dongart, king of
the Picts. In the wars which harassed Scot-
land during the minority of David II. the castle
of Lochleven was held in the patriotic interest
by Allan de Vipont, against the troops of
Edward III. who acted in behalf of Edward
Baliol. John de Strivilin blockaded it, erected
a fort in the church-yard of Kinross, which
occupies the point of a neighbouring promon-
tory- and, at the lower end of the lake, whera

LEVEN.(LOCH)

719

the water of Leyen issues out of it,it is said that
he raised a strong and lofty bulwark, by means
of which he hoped to lay the castle under water,
and constrain Vipont to surrender. The water
continued to rise daily, and the besiegers thought
themselves certain of success, when the English
general and most of the troops having left the
camp to celebrate the festival of St. Margaret
at Dunfermline, the besieged seized the favour-
able opportunity (June 19, 1335,) and, after
much labour and perseverance, broke through
the barrier, when the water rushed out with
such impetuosity as to overwhelm the English
encamped on that side. When John de Stri-
vilin came back from his pious duty at Dun-
fermline, he swore that he would never desist
from his enterprise till he had razed the castle
and put the garrison to the sword. But he
was after all obliged to give up the siege. The
Monkish historian, Fordun, very gravely as-
cribes the success of the Scots to St. Serf,
who was offended at the impiety of Sir John
de Strivilin in erecting a fort upon consecrated
ground, and who, we may be permitted to add,
would not have looked with any very patient
eye upon a project which was to lay his own
island and priory under water. But, as Lord
Hailes remarks, the monkish historian fails to
mention that St. Margaret was in duty bound
to exert an influence on the opposite score,
in consideration that the English commander
had been absent on her account. To lay aside
jocularity on this point, we have great difficulty
in believing, that the English on the occasion
specified dammed up the lake. To do so at
its east end in a way sufficient to drown the
castle, would haye required an embankment of
nearly a mile in length, and upwards of fifty
feet in height, and if it was at all done, it must
have been at the already mentioned gullet form-
ed by the high grounds at the bottom of the
carse, near the bleachfield of Strathenry,
where we supposed the ancient boundary of
the lake was ; but we are convinced, in spite of
all assertions to the contrary, that this also was
never done, the strength of the works required,
and the time to be occupied in filling a plain
vith such a vast body of accumulated water,
being obstacles almost insurmountable in a
time of warfare and slender resources. We
are much rather inclined to believe, that the
bulwark could have never been more than an
attempt or a threat on the part of the English,
as it could not have been proceeded with to an

extent necessary for inconveniencing the in-
habitants of the castle, without equally incon-
veniencing the camp on shore at Kinross. Loch-
leven castle was granted by Robert III. to a
branch of the Douglas family. Sir Robert
Douglas of Lochleven, in the middle of the
sixteenth century, was the near kinsman of the
famous James Earl of Morton, and step-father
to the equally famous Earl of Murray; on
which account he was selected by the con-
federated lords who seized Queen Maiy at
Carberry, as a proper jailor for that un fortunate
lady. She was here placed in durance, June
16, 1567. On the ensuing 24th of July, she
was obliged by a party of these statesmen
to sign an instrument resigning the crown
to her infant child, who accordingly was in-
augurated a few days after at Stirling, under
the title of James VI. Queen Mary escaped
from the castle, May 2, 1568, through the aid
of a young relation of the family, and is said by
tradition to have landed at a place called Bal-
binning, at the south side of the lake. She
was defeated a few days after at Langside, and
obliged to fly to England. The Earl of Nor-
thumberland, after his rebellion in England,
being seized in Scotland, was confined for three
years in Lochleven castle, from 1569 to 1572,
when he was basely given up to Queen Eliza-
beth and executed. This baronial family of
Lochleven succeeded some years after to the
earldom of Morton, which it still enjoys. The
island on which Lochleven castle is situated
lies a very little way from the shore ; and be-
tween it and the point of the promontory above-
mentioned, a causeway of large stones runs
beneath the water, which is here so shallow,
that in dry seasons, when the surface is a little
lower than usual, a man can wade along this
extraordinary pavement. A similar curiosity
exists in the lake of Forfar and in Lochma-
ben ; but how such works were formed, or for
what purpose, no one can tell. The island is
two acres in extent, and is partly occupied by
the garden of the castle, which is now a mere
waste, though still exhibiting a few fruit trees
in a wild and decayed state. The principal
tower of the castle is of the ordinary size of
the border towers, and can never, therefore,
have contained much accommodation. Con-
nected with it is a court-yard, 585 feet in cir-
cumference, and which has contained other
buildings of a subordinate character. No date
or inscription is now visible ; but some years

720

L E V E N. (L 0 C H)

ago a projecting stone presented the letters
R. D. and M. E., probably referring to Sir
Robert Douglas, and his wife Lady Margaret
Erskine, mother of the Earl of Murray, the
jailors of the queen. It is said traditionally,
that the castle was dismantled at the end of
the seventeenth century. An old man living
at a later period had been heard to say, that he
remembered when there were fifty-two beds in
it ; an assertion that appears to be, upon a survey
of the ruins, incredible. Lochleven is popularly
believed to be mysteriously connected with the
number eleven, being eleven miles round, sur-
rounded by eleven hills, fed by eleven streams,
peopled by eleven kinds of fish, and studded
by eleven islands. But some of these pro-
perties seem quite fanciful ; others are untrue.
Besides the islands already alluded to, there
are only two called the Reed Bower, and the
Paddock Bower ; both of which are so small
as to be hardly worthy of notice. The trout
produced in Loch Leven are of acknowledged
excellence. The following memoranda respect-
ing it are from the Statistical Account. " The
high flavour and bright red colour of the trout,
seem evidently to arise from the food which
nature has provided for them in the Loch. A
considerable part of the bottom is oozy and
spongy, from which aquatic herbs spring up
in abundance ; and so vigorous are they in
many parts, as towards the beginning of autumn
to cover the surface with their flowers. The
fronts, especially of size, lie much in that kind
of bottom ; and gentlemen accustomed to make
observations in angling, know well, that even
in clear running rivers, where their course
takes a direction through a long tract of mea-
dow or oozy ground, the trout that feed in that
ground, if of size, are generally less or more
of a pink colour in the flesh, while those that
feed, in a stony or gravelly soil, above or be-
low the swampy meadows, are all white, ex-
cepting the mixtures sometimes made by floods.
But what appears to contribute most to the
rich taste of Lochleven trout, is the vast quan-
tity of a small shell-fish, red in its colour,
which abounds all over the bottom of the loch,
especially among the aquatic weeds. It is of
a shape quite globular, precisely of the size
and appearance of a linseed boll at a little
distance, and the trouts, when caught have
often their stomachs full of them. These ob-
servations may account for a phenomenon of
another kind. In Lochleven are all the dif-

ferent species of hill, or burn, or river trout,
that are to be met with in Scotland, evident-
ly appearing from the different manner in
which they are spotted. Ye* all these dif-
ferent kinds, after being two years in the
loch, and arriving at three quarters or one
pound weight, are red in the flesh, as all the
trout of every kind in the loch are, except,
perhaps, those newly brought down by floods,
and such as are sickly. The silver-grey trout,
with about four or five spots on the middle of
each side, is apparently the original native of
the loch, and, in many respects, the finest fish
of the whole. The fry of all kinds are white
in the flesh till they come to the size of a her-
ring about the middle of their third year. The
gallytrough or char abounds in the loch. Some
of them weigh near two pounds, and yet they
are never known to rise to a fly, or to be caught
with a hook, baited in any way whatever. Be-
sides these, there are vast quantities of pike,
perch, and eel, in the loch." The fishing is let
by the proprietor. The birds that breed on
the loch are herons, gulls, pewit gulls, and pic-
tarnies. When the winds are high, and blow
in particular directions, the loch is very much
agitated, which makes it extremely difficult to
navigate, and intimidates those boating parties
who make a visit to " Queen Mary's Prison'
and St. Serf's, the object of their excursions.
The lake is fed by the small river Gairney,
and other streamlets on the west ; and, as has
been said, is emitted by the river Leven, after-
wards to be noticed.

Having thus described Loch Leven as it has
hitherto been known, we have now to give a
brief account of certain improvements recently
made upon it, of which little is yet satisfac-
torily understood. The shallowness of the
shore of the loch at its east end, and the possi-
bility of reclaiming a large tract of land, were
circumstances not unnoticed by various persons
within the last half century, and at various
times tempted individuals to make public pro-
posals to effect a purpose supposed to be so
beneficial. To quote an article in that intel-
ligent provincial paper, the Fife Herald, (June
4, 1829,) " The draining of the lands around
Loch Leven, and reducing the winter level of
the water, was thought an object of such im-
portance, by the late proprietor of the surround-
ing estate of Kinross, some years ago, that he
applied for an act of parliament to enable him
to lower it ; at that time, however, the project

L E V E N. (L O C H)

721

was opposed by the owners of mills, &c. on
the river, on the ground that, by lessening the
size of the reservoir, it would diminish the
quantity of water flowing from it. But a com-
promise was at last entered into ; it being
found to be the interest of both parties, that the
winter level of the loch should be reduced, and
provision made for regulating the flow of its
waters in summer — the same measures which
would prevent an overflow of the lands in win-
ter, being also useful in securing a more regular
and efficient supply for the purposes of the mills
and machinery during the droughts of summer.
Proprietors of land round the loch, and in
the carses, as also the mill-owners, having thus
come to an agreement, matters were brought
into a train about two years ago, for procuring
an act of parliament to authorize the formation
of a sluice, spill-water, and new-cut, at the
outlet of the loch, by which all possibility of
winter overflow might be taken away ; while
the supply of water from the reservoir might
be given always at a regular rate, and with-
out being left, as before, at the mercy of
every variation of the seasons." " In order
to apportion the expenses of this undertak-
ing, it became necessary to obtain some data
for ascertaining the advantage which, after its
completion, might result to the several parties
interested ; for this purpose the act of parlia-
ment provides, that the lands in the neighbour-
hood of the loch shall be inspected and valued
in their present state, by persons properly qua-
lified, who shall report thereon ; and in like
manner, that the mills and water-falls shall be
severally examined and valued as they now
stand, the commissioner being instructed to
' appoint an indifferent person or persons, skill-
ed in the value of water as a power or other-
wise, to survey and inspect the several mills,
manufactories, bleachfields, and other works on
the said river, and to determine the value of
the falls thereon, and the uses of the said river,
where the same is employed for the purpose of
bleaching or other manufactories, with the sup-
ply of water naturally afforded in the said river.' "
This task having been committed to Mr.
Thorn of Rothsay, projector of the Shaws Wa-
ter Works at Greenock, and Mr. Moon of
Russel Mill, was executed in the most satis-
factory manner. The works were commenced
under Dr. Coventry, as commissioner, with
Mr. Brown of Kirkaldy, and are in course of
completion under the superintendence of Mr.

Jardine of Edinburgh. The operations for
lowering Loch Leven were completed ia
December 1830, and the water then re-
duced to such an extent, as to add a thousand
acres of land to the estates on its banks. The
mechanism regulating the rise or fall of the
water, to restrain or increase the flow of the
river, consists of five sluices, each of nine feet
wide, made of iron, and placed under a house,
in which a man to regulate them resides, at the
south-east corner of the lake. From this
sluice-house the river Leven pursues a new cut
through the carse, so straight as to resemble a
common canal. In order to have a correct
idea of the alterations made on the loch
and river Leven, one of the present writers vi-
sited the spot twice in the summer of 1831,
inspecting the works as well as the land re-
claimed ; and his observations and inquiries
then made have led him to consider that the
advantages accruing to all concerned, excepting
to a few proprietors, have been very much
over-rated. With regard to a large tract of
land procured at the east end of the lake, which
is the principal part, it consists of a mere yel-
low sandy beach, as unfit for cultivation or any
other useful purpose as the sands of the sea-
shore. If any actual benefit follow this vast
undertaking, it must belong to the farmers or
owners of the carse, and other adjacent grounds,
who have got a lower level for draining ; and
to the lessees or proprietors of the mills. But
in the apportioning of the expense, there will
unquestionably occur an endless series of diffi-
culties and disputes. The original sum of
L. 20,000 allowed to be borrowed by par-
liament being more than exhausted, a new
bill has just been procured, for borrowing
L. 12,000 more, and it is even doubtful if this
sum will be adequate to finish some of the
half-completed works, and to satisfy the just
and tenable demands of individuals, who have
had their lands, bleachfields, &c. damaged and
temporarily rendered useless, by the cuttings for
the river, and I y the destruction on its banks.
For one thing, the bleachfield of Strathenry,
occupied by Mr. Gavin Inglis, has been utter-
ly wasted, and this person's business has con-
sequently been at a stand for about four years ;
damages in this case must be very considerable.
LEVEN, ariverinthe county of Fife, issuing
from the above loch in the manner and at the
place above described, and which, after leaving the
new channel through the carse at its upper ex-
4z

722

LEV EN.

tremity, enters and Hows through a narrow vale
to the sea, at the town of Leven on the Firth
of Forth. Its course is altogether about twelve
miles, and, in the upper part, it divides the
county of Fife from Kinross. Its banks are
not precipitous, but they are often steep and
woody, and, as frequently, they show pleasing
arable fields, sloping to the water's edge. The
scenery is particularly beautiful near the village
of Leslie, and at the seat of the Earl of Rothes;
There is no public road along either side of
the river, but the thoroughfare is at no great
distance, on the high grounds on the left bank.
The Leven is crossed by numerous bridges of
stone and wood, that highest up (but on the
old channel,) consisting of several arches, being
of old date, and standing near the lake. The
old bridge of Auchmuir, at the foot of the
carse, now replaced by a new one of stone,
was, it seems, built by one of the lairds of
Balbedie, baronets of the name of Malcolm, on
the neighbouring estate, as some say, as a pe-
nalty for a particular transgression. Such a
legend was countenanced by an inscription on
the old bridge lately pulled down, in the fol-
lowing words :

Ken ye this brig wi a' its larges,

Was built at Balbedie's proper charges;

I jet no man o' Balbedie's fa' boast,

Quhile this brig serves him at Balbedie's cost.

At the mouth of the Leven it is crossed by a
handsome new suspension bridge. Few ri-
vers in Scotland of the same magnitude, and
rnnning so short a course, are so serviceable in
turning machinery as this beautiful stream,
which is clad with mills, as well as several ex-
tensive bleachfields. A summary has been
published of the number and value of the
mills and falls of water in the river, from which
we extract the following enumeration, as af-
fording the means of much curious statistical
comparison in other districts : the table having
been drawn up in 1828, we do not now pledge
ourselves for its precise accuracy, and the local
characteristics of the falls are necessarily ex-
cluded : in some cases only half or portions of
falls are used ; —

Names.

Falls.

Value.

Feet

Inch

£ s.

East Strathenry Bleaclifield,

3

9.7

27 8

North Walkerton Spinning Mill,

4

2.1

30 0

South Walkerton Wool Mill,

5

10

14 0

Strathenry Corn Mill,

7

0.3

50 12

Mill Deans Corn Mill,

7

11.1

50 0

Prinlaws Spinning Mill and Bleachfield 7

5.3

58 18

Carry Over,

£230 18

Names.

Brought Forward,
East Prinlaws Bleachfield, -j
East Prinlaws Spinning Mill, /
Cabbage Hall Bleachfield,
Sparrow Snuff Mill,
Sparrow Spinning Mill,
Leslie Lint Mill, - -

Leslie Spinning Mill, (Haggart's)
Leslie Spinning Mill, (Cant's)
Auchmuty Paper Mill,
Rothes Bleachfield,
Rothes Paper Mill,
Balbirnie Engine Falls,
Balbirnie Saw Mill Fall,
Balbirnie Paper Mill,
Balbirnie Flour Mill,
Balbirnie Lint Mill,
Balbirnie West Mill,
Balgonie Middle Mill,
Sythrum Meal Mill,
Balgonie Corn Mill,
Balgonie Bleachfield,
Balgonie Saw Mills,
Balgonie Engines,
Milton of Balgonie Spinning Mill,
Milton Lint or Saw Mill,
Balfour Spinning Mill,
Balfour Corn Mill,
Haugh Corn Mill,
Haugh Spinning Mill,
Cameron Corn Mill and Distillery,
Methill Spinning Mill,
Methill Meal Mill,
Kirkland Spinning Mill,
Leven Saw and Flour Mills,
Barn Corn and Barley Mills,
Flint Mill,
Foundry, Leven,

Total annual rent or value of falls on the
Leven, as used in 1828, - - £'1106 4

Leven, a town, or large village on the coast
of Fife, parish of Scoonie, taking its name from
the river Leven, at whose mouth it is situated.
Leven has less of an antique appearance than
most of the sea-ports of Fife", and occupies a
low situation on the sea shore or west side of
Largo Bay; the Leven before entering the
firth, making a turn round its western side.
The town consists of two principal streets, ir-
regularly built, though possessing some good
houses, with a variety of bye-lanes and detach-
ed mansions. The thoroughfares are ill pav-
ed, badly cleaned, and are not lighted with
lamps, there being no local government of any
description either to enforce a better species of
arrangement for public convenience, or for the
punishment of evil doers. The only comfort
under such a system is that there are no burgal
taxes, and no disturbances created by the pro-
jects of a town-council. East from the town on
the sea shore are most extensive uninclosed
downs, at the head of which there was once a

Falls.
Feet. Inch

Value.

£ 8.

£230 18

3
5

7.6
10

46 4

2

9.7

12 12

6

9.7

30 12

6

7.8

30 0

7

11.8

35 19

10

6.5

47 8

16

3.6

79 7

16

3.5

45 1

9

3.6

47 13

18

9

53 5

25

3

293 16

6

6.2

22 9

7

7.8

13 1

6

6.5

11 3

4

8.3

3 0

9

6.1

30 7

6

1.1

19 10

5

9.3

17 14

7

1

8 10

7

9.1

12 7

7

5.1

11 18

20

6.9

211 4

8

1-7

83 6

5

9.5

9 5

4

10.1

49 10

6

2.9

9 11

9

3.8

31 6

8

7

86 10

8

l.l

93 4

4

8.4

14 7

4

5

14 0

20

8

278 10

7

2.6

83 3

7

8.5

17 15

7

8.5

13 0

3

8

8 9

31.

L E V E N.

723

number of salt works, which Lave been long
since abandoned. The town has one inn,
and supports a respectable subscription library
and reading room. There is an excellent pa-
rochial school. The harbour of Leven is very
limited, consisting only of a creek at the mouth
of the river, with a small quay, at which not
more than two or three vessels can lie. The
entrance to it is much impeded by banks form-
ed by deposits of sand, made during heavy sea
storms or floods in the river. As it is, the wa-
ter at the height of the tides can bear vessels
of about 300 tons burden. There is another har-
bour at the ancient and decayed town of Methill,
about a mile to the west, but it also has its
drawbacks, and consequently the traffic of this
part of Fife has no good outlet. Fishing is
not prosecuted at Leven, the fish consumed
(which are plentiful and cheap) being brought
from Buckhaven, which is on the coast to the
west. Between Methill and the mouth of the
Leven there are some fine open links or downs,
on which a golfing society pursue their health-
ful amusement, and annually play for a gold
and silver medal. On the inner side of these
downs lies the neat village of Dubbieside, (be-
longing to the parish of Markinch,) which is
connected by a new and handsome suspension
bridge with the town of Leven. This very
useful erection has cost altogether about
L.530, raised in shares by a joint-stock
company. A halfpenny is charged for each
person passing, and at present the pontage
is farmed for L.85 a-year. The staple
trade of Leven is the weaving of linen
goods, which employs a considerable number
of hands. For the preparation and spinning
of flax there are most extensive works at
Kirkland, a place situated on the right bank of
the Leven, about half a mile above the town.
The machinery of this large establishment is
moved by a water wheel of sixteen feet in breadth,
by nineteen and a half feet in diameter. The quan-
tity of flax manufactured annually at present
is from 700 to 800 tons, and the yarns pro-
duced are made into a great variety of fa-
brics for home and foreign consumption. The
operatives employed at the works amount to
500, and those employed in the neighbourhood
and the adjacent towns and villages may
amount to 1500 more. The weekly disburse-
ment for wages at the Kirkland works is
L.450. The workmen of this extensive estab-
lishment are distinguished for their literary taste,

as well as for a considerable degree of pub-
lic spirit and independent political feeling.
Being environed by trees and kept in a
state of great neatness and cleanliness, this
large establishment, which is the most ex-
tensive in the county, differs very materially
in appearance from the close and dingy spin-
ning mills of the manufacturing towns.
Among other improvements, the whole of the
buildings and walks around are lighted with
gas. At Leven there is another spinning
mill, moved by steam, but it is on a much
smaller scale. The other public works are
the Durie Iron Foundry, above the town on
the Leven, with a brick and tile work, and a
pottery for coarse earthenware. During the
summer months Leven is the resort of a num-
ber of families from the country for the bene-
fit of sea bathing, and at the same season
there is a daily communication with Largo,
Dysart, and Newhaven, by means of steam
vessels. The parish church of Scoonie,
which is one of the plainest in the county,
stands close upon the town, and might induce
an alteration of the name of the parish to that
of Leven. There is likewise an Independent
and Relief chapel. A Secession Meeting-
house is situated in Dubbieside Population

in 1821, of the parish of Scoonie, the greater
part of which were connected with the town
of Leven, 2042, which has since been greatly
increased.

LEVEN, (LOCH) a salt water lake or arm
of the sea on the west coast of the Highlands,
protruded a length of twelve or thirteen miles
inland, or eastward, from Loch Linnhe, and
throughout separating the county of Argyle on
the south from Invemess-shire on the north.
On the Argyleshire side is Balahulish, with its
slate quarries, and in the vicinity is the famed
vale of Glencoe. At the inner extremity it
receives the water of a small river called the
Leven, which is the issue of a series of small
lakes farther to the east. This lake has as
yet remained entirely undescribed by topo-
graphers ; and to bring it a little more into
notice, we may introduce a description of it
by the vivacious Macculloch : " It is with
justice that Glencoe is celebrated as one of the
wildest and most romantic specimens of Scot-
tish scenery ; but those who have written
about Glencoe, forget to write about Loch-
Leven, and those who occupy a day in wan-
dering from the inns at Balahulish through *s

724

LEWIS.

strange and rocky valley, forget to open their
eyes upon those beautiful landscapes which
surround them on all sides, and which render
Loch-Leven a spot that Scotland does not of-
ten exceed, either in its interior lakes or its
maritime inlets. From its mouth to its fur-
thest extremity, a distance of twelve miles,
this loch is one continued succession of land-
scapes on both sides, the northern shore being
accessible by the ancient road which crosses
the Devil's Staircase ; but the southern one
turning away from the water near to the quar-
ries. The chief beauties, however, lie at the
lower half; the interest of the scenes diminish-,
ing after passing the contraction which takes
place near the entrance of Glencoe ; and the
furthest extremity being rather wild than beau-
tiful. I was much amused by meeting here
with an antiquary and virtuoso who asked me
where he should find Loch-Leven Castle.
He had been inquiring among the Highland-
ers, and was very wrathful that he could ob-
tain no answer. I was a little at a loss myself
at first ; but soon guessed the nature of his
blunder. He had been crazing himself with
Whitakcr, and Tytler, and Robertson, and
Chalmers, like an old friend of mine who used
to sleep with the controversies under his pil-
low, and had come all the way from England
to worship at the shrine of Mary ; stumbling,
by some obliquity of understanding, on the
wrong Loch-Leven." We consider that the
caustic author of these remarks has been rather
severe upon the virtuoso who had mistaken the
Argyleshire for the Kinross-shire Loch-Leven,
the unfortunate sameness of names in Scot-
land for a variety of lakes and rivers being the
cause of many misunderstandings of this
nature. The word Leven, properly Lleven,
signifies, in British, smooth, a quality which
distinguishes both the lakes and rivers having
such a title.

LEVEN, a river in Dumbartonshire, be-
ing the water emitted from Loch Lomond,
which it leaves at Balloch, and after a course
of about nine miles falls into the Clyde at
Dumbarton. Its course, though thus short, is
most exquisitely beautiful, and has an interest
in the eyes of travellers, over and above its
real merits, on account of the admirable little
poem by which Smollett has consecrated it.
We have mentioned, under the head Dum-
bartonshire, that the banks of this stream
eeein to be the appropriate place of settlement

of print-works, in consequence of the ex-
ceeding purity of the water. About the year
1768, the first print-field was established on
the Leven, and soon after two more were
established on the same river. In the present
day the banks of the stream in various places
are clad with manufactories, and are the seat
of a dense population.

LEUTHER, or LUTHER, a small
river in Kincardineshire, intersecting the pa.
rish of Laurencekirk, and falling into the North
Esk.

LEWIS, an island of the Hebrides, and
one of the largest of the series, belonging
to the county of Ross. It includes the dis
trict of Harris (improperly called a detached
island by some writers,) which forms its
southern extremity, belonging to Inverness-
shire, and which is separated from Lewis pro-
per by an ideal line drawn betwixt Loch Re-
sort on the west coast, and Loch Seaforth on
the east ; — see Harris. The whole island is
eighty-two miles in length from the Sound of
Bernera on the south, to the Butt of Lewis,
on its northern extremity. The Lewis part
is of a triangular figure with the apex to the
north ; at the broadest end being thirty miles
across and declining to a breadth of two or
three miles. Lewis is not such a mountainous
region as Harris, but is of as desert a charac-
ter. The country everywhere, except along
the margin of the sea, and in the immediate
vicinity of Stornoway, is open, bare, brown,
and uninteresting. As usual in the islands,
there is a green line round the sea-shore ; but
throughout the interior, it is black as ink
and bare of every thing, almost of heath itself.
A much scantier crop, even of heath and
rushes, is not easily found than in this most
Hyperborean of all Hyperborean islands. The
shores, especially near the middle of the island,
are deeply indented with bays or arms of the
sea of different magnitudes, and afford an ex-
cellent field for the fishing of herrings and
white fish. A variety of streams issuing often
from small inland lakes, abound with trout
and salmon. The grazing of cattle is a chief
means of support to the inhabitants. Lewis
is divided into four parishes — Barvas, Lochs,
Stornoway, and Uig ; although Thomson
makes them seven in his map. Besides
some hamlets there is only one town, name-
ly, Stornoway, which lies on the east side
of the island at the head of a bay or bar-

LEWIS.

725

bour, to which it gives its name. This
seat of population is of considerable size, and
in this remote country it forms an agreeable
surprise. It is one of the three burghs erect-
ed by James VI., with the design of intro-
ducing civilization into the Highlands : In
modern times philanthropists, to promote
the increase of civilized usages and intelli-
gence, have adopted the surer course of send-
ing thither schoolmasters and missionaries.
In speaking of his visit to the Western Isles,
Macculloch mentions that he made here a dis-
covery of a distinct race of people entirely
different from ordinary Highlanders ; but we
shall allow him to tell the circumstance in his
own words. " At the Butt, which forms the
northern headland, we found many boats em-
ployed in fishing ; and their whole style ap-
peared so new, that we lay to for the purpose
of bringing one of them alongside. They were
manned by nine men, having eight rowers in
double banks ; a practice nowhere else in
this country. We found them a lively, good-
humoured people, totally unlike, in manners
as well as persons, to their neighbours. They
present an interesting singularity in the popu-
lation of these islands ; being of .pure Danish
origin, although speaking unmixed Gaelic, as
our seamen assured us. It would not have
been easy to mistake them for Highlanders ;
they resembled exactly the people whom
we had every day met manning the northern
timber-freighted ships. Fat and fair, with the
ruddy complexions and the blue eyes of their
race, their manners appeared peculiarly mild
and pleasing, although their aspect seemed, at
first sight, rude enough ; their hair being mat-
ted, as if from their birth it had never been
profaned by comb or scissors ; and their dress
being of woollen only, with conical caps, and
without handkerchief or vestige of linen. We
found, on subsequent inquiry, that they con-
stituted an independent colony, if it may so
be called ; scarcely mixing with their neigh-
bours, and never indeed but when brought
unavoidably into contact with them, as at
markets : the other inhabitants, in return, con-
sidering them in the light of foreigners, and
maintaining no voluntary communication with
them. They were, however, well spoken of,
as acute and intelligent, and as being very
industrious fishermen. They possess this green
northern extremity of the island in joint ten-
antry ; and their agriculture appeared to be

carried on in the same slovenly manner that
it usually is upon this system. Judging from
their aspect, however, we considered them as
much better fed than their neighbours, and
understood that they only fished for their owii
consumption. The existence of a detachment
of the original Northmen who so long possessed
a large share in these islands, in a state of
such purity, and of a separation which is al-
most hostile, appears a remarkable circum-
stance ; but it is, perhaps, more remarkable
that it should be the case nowhere else, and
that the breed should, throughout all the rest
of the islands, have so completely coalesced
with the native Celts. Even in Shetland,
and Orkney, where a separate northern breed
might have been more naturally expected,
nothing of this kind occurs, nor do the natives
of these islands present, by any means, such
distinct traces of a Scandinavian origin as this
little community. The characteristic circum-
stance of the matted hair, is peculiar to these
few individuals, yet scrupulously preserved ;
and it must have descended, with them, from
the most ancient times. That the whole of
this island, or at least the greater part, was
originally Norwegian, is not improbable ; and
Macleod, to whom, as chief, it belonged, was
unquestionably of northern descent." — Popula-
tion of the four parishes of Lewis in 1821,
12,231.

LEYS, a loch ©f about three miles in cir-
cumference, in the parish of Banchory-Teman,
Kincardineshire.

LHANBRIDE, or ST. ANDREWS-
LHANBRYD, a parish in Morayshire — See
St. Andrews-Lhanbride.

LIBBERTON, a parish in Lanarkshire,
bounded by Camwath on the north, Walston
and Biggar on the east, Symington and Cov-
ington on the south, Covington and Pittinain
on the west. It extends from north to south
about six miles, by a breadth of nearly four at
one part. It includes much fine haugh land
on the banks of the Clyde, in the western part
of the parish ; on the east the grounds are ele-
vated. The only hill in the parish is Quoth-
quon-law. The district is watered by the
Methven or Medwin, which is divided into
two branches, commonly called the North and
South Medwin, and tributary to the Clyde.
Curiously enough, a small branch of the south
Medwin runs off towards the east, near Garvald-
foot, and finally falls into the waters of th9

726

LIBERTON.

Tweed. The district abounds in antique re-
mains. The village of Libberton is small,
and stands on the road near the right bank of
the Clyde.— Population in 1821, 785.

LIBERTON, a parish in Edinburghshire,
lying immediately south from the metropolis,
bounded by St. Cuthberts and Duddingston on
the north, Inveresk and Newton on the east,
Lasswade on the south, and Collington and
St. Cuthberts on the west. In figure it is
very irregular ; the gross part of it is a square
of upwards of three miles, with a portion
three miles in length, and about one in
breadth, protruded eastward from the north-
east corner. This is one of the most beauti-
ful, the most productive, and the most popu-
lous parishes in the landward part of Mid- Lo-
thian. A gentle rising ground, on which the
village and church of Liberton have been built,
runs from west to east throughout, and declines
with an exposure towards Edinburgh, whose
streets are speedily approaching its confines.
It may be said to be entirely arable, and under
the very best processes of husbandry and en-
closure. Gentlemen's seats, pleasure-grounds,
small plantations and hamlets, with gardens,
make up the sum of its characteristics. It is
not also destitute of some interesting remains
of antiquity, as we shall immediately notice.
The word Liberton, or Libberton, is of obscure
etymology, but it is the opinion of our best
antiquarian philologist, George Chalmers, that
it is Anglo-Saxon, and imports the leper's town,
from there having once been an hospital here
for the reception of diseased persons. The
parish includes three villages of this name —
Upper or Over Liberton — Liberton Kirk —
and Nether Liberton, all of great antiquity.
Upper Liberton, which lies on the eminence
west from the Kirktown, was once the seat of
a baron styled Macbeth, who lived in the
reign of David I., (1 124-53) and who has been
confounded by Arnot, and all who have fol-
lowed him, with Macbeth the Usurper. At
the present day, this village consists of only a
few houses, and beside them a tall peel-house
in perfect external preservation ; but whether
this edifice had any connexion with Macbeth
we are not aware, though it is very probable.
At the same period there was a chapel here,
belonging to this feudal chief, most likely de-
dicated to the Virgin, as, till the present day,
or recent times, there was a spring called Our
Lady's Well. The Kirktown was likewise
m these times distinguished by a chapel, which

being crown property, was given by David I.
to the canons of Holyrood, along with the pa-
rish of St. Cuthbert's. At a subsequent pe-
riod, (some time after 1240) the chapelry of
Liberton was disjoined from the parish of St.
Cuthbert's by the Archbishop of St. Andrews,
at the request of the Abbot of Holyrood.
Thus constituted, it remained a rectory, serv-
ed by a vicar, till the Reformation, when it
became an independent parish church. This an-
cient chapel had in these times two subordin-
ate chapels in the district. The first was the
most ancient, and stood at a place called St.
Catherines, a name taken from the saint to
whom the house was dedicated. This sacred
structure had, for many ages, in its vicinity a
remarkable spring, called the Oily or Balm
Well, which was much resorted to by persons
afflicted with cutaneous diseases. This well
was, according to Boece, one of the most
famed in Scotland for working miracles ; and
it is told that every year it was the object of a
pilgrimage of all the nuns belonging to the
monastery of St. Mary of Sienna, Edin-
burgh, who went thither in pompous proces-
sion. At the Reformation, the chapel was
left to go into ruin, but the well was for a
long while after venerated for its healing pro-
perties. Among others, it was even visited
by James VI. on his return to Scotland in
1617, who at the same time ordered it to be
enclosed with a building and accommodated
with steps. Thus restored, it continued in re-
pute till the soldiers of Cromwell destroyed
the erections and choked it up. In the pre-
sent day it is extinct, or altogether buried
amidst the plantations of St. Catherines, the
seat of the Right Hon. Sir William Rae,
Bart. The other chapel was at a place called
Niddrie, about two miles east from the Kirk-
town, in the low ground. It was founded by
Wauchope of Niddrie in 1389, and dedicated
to the Virgin. The descendants of the found-
er re-endowed it with a manse, glebe, &c. re-
serving the patronage to his family. At the
Reformation, this chapelry was annexed to the
parish of Liberton. At the final establish-
ment of presbytery, the patronage of the parish
devolved on the crown, although Wauchope
of Niddrie, we believe, claims a conjunct
right, in consequence of the above annexation.
For a brief period, the parish of Liberton was
constituted the peculiar cure of a prebend of
Edinburgh, under the episcopate of 1633.
The old church of Liberton, which wae of

L I B E R T O N.

727

Gothic architecture, survived till a recent date,
when it was removed to make way for the
present handsome semi- Gothic structure, whose
square turret and pinnacles can be seen a great
way off. An excellent manse is adjacent, and
the village is contiguous. Nether Liberton
lies at the base of the eminence nearer Edin-
bufigh, and is now a mere hamlet. The larg-
est village in the parish is Gilmerton, which
lies about two miles farther south, and is chief-
ly inhabited by colliers and carters of coal to the
city. In its neighbourhood are most extensive
lime-stone quarries, noticed under the head Ed-
inburghshire. The most interesting object of
antiquity in the parish is the fine old massive
ruin of Craigmiller Castle, which stands south-
east from Liberton Kirk on the summit of an-
other rising ground, and commanding an exten-
sive view in all directions. The date of this
fine old ruin is uncertain, but it is mentioned
in veiy ancient national records, and it appears
that in the year 1212, it was held by William,
son of Henry de Craigmiller. It afterwards
became the property of Sir Simon Preston, in
1374, whose descendants possessed it almost
three hundred years, during which period that
family occasionally held the highest offices in
the magistracy of Edinburgh. In 1427, it re-
ceived the addition of a rampart or barbican,
as is observable by a date still on the wall. In
1477, the Earl of Mar, younger brother of
James III., was confined here a considerable
time. It was also the residence of James V.,
during his minority, when he left Edinburgh
Castle on account of the plague- In 1544,
this castle, with that of Roslin, and the town
of Leith, besides part of Edinburgh, was burn-
ed and plundered by the English army under
the Earl of Hertford ; and it is probable that
much of the present edifice was erected on an
improved plan after that disastrous event. In
1561, Queen Mary, after her return from
France, made this castle her residence, and her
French retinue having been settled in the
hamlet, in the low ground to the south, (now
on the road to Dalkeith,) it acquired from
that circumstance the name of Petit, or Little
France, which it still maintains. Craigmiller
was, in 1566, the scene of a remarkable con-
ference between Mary and her chief advisers,
when it was proposed, (but overruled by her,)
that she should be divorced from Darnley.
Here, in 1589, her son James devised the
scheme of his matrimonial trip to Denmark.

Craigmiller Castle consists of a huge square
fabric, or keep, several etoreys in height, en-
compassed by a square machicollated wall,
strengthened by a circular tower at each corner.
It has a number of apartments, and a large
hall. On the boundary wall may be seen the
arms of Cockburn of Ormiston, Congalton of
Congalton, Moubray of Barnbougle, and Ot-
terbourn of Redford, with whom the Prestons
were nearly connected. Over a small gate,
under three unicorns' heads couped, is a wine
press and tun, a rebus on the name of Pres-
ton. There are likewise a variety of armorial
bearings all over the outside of the building.
The apartment shown as Queen Mary's is one
of the upper turrets ; it measures only five
feet in breadth, and seven in length, but has,
nevertheless, two windows and a. fire-place.
It is remarkable, says Grose, that among the
many rooms shown as having been occupied
by this unhappy queen, as well in England as
in Scotland, most of them are such as a ser-
vant would now refuse to lodge in. About
the period of the Restoration, the castle and
estate came into the family of Gilmour, whose
descendants still possess it, A farm-steading
is now built close beside it, and the court,
keep, and outhouses answer as useful feeding-
houses for cattle, and for the deposition of
agricultural produce ! The slopes which decline
from around the castle have recently been
much beautified by plantations. — Population in
1821, 4276.

LICHART,orLUICHART, (LOCH)
a lake in Ross-shire, extending about four
miles in length, and from half a mile to a mile
in breadth, whose waters flow into the river
Conon, on its left bank, and which river is
poured into the Cromarty Firth.

LIDDAL, or LIDDLE, a river in Rox-
burghshire, rising in and running through the
parish of Castletown, in a south-west direction,
and falling into the Esk above Cannoby. For
a space of four or five miles, it forms the
boundary with England. The river gives the
name of Liddisdale to the district, and is
esteemed f©r the amusement it yields to the
angler.

LIDDISDALE, the vale of the Liddel,
above mentioned, forming the parish of Castle-
town, under which head it is minutely de-
scribed.

LIFF, a parish in Forfarshire, with which
the parish of Benvie was incorporated in 1758.

728

LINLITHGOWSHIRE.

The united parish lies immediately west from
Dundee, with a portion touching the Tay. It
is somewhat of a square figure, measuring about
three and a half miles each way in its widest parts,
with a small stripe projected westwards from
the lower division. The lands rise from
the Tay, and are now generally well cul-
tivated. They possess various fine planta-
tions. The country begins here to spread a-
way into the Carse of Gowrie. There are va-
rious villages and hamlets, among others, LifF,
Benvie, and Lochee. There are some beau-
tiful seats and pleasure-grounds, the principal
being Lundie house, the seat of Lord Viscount
Duncan, and the house of Gray, the seat of
Lord Gray.— Population in 1821,2585.

LILLIESLEAF, a parish in the western
part of Roxburghshire, bounded by Bowden on
the north, Ancrum on the east, Minto on the
south, and Ashkirk on the west. It is oblong
in form, being in mean length four miles, by
a breadth of nearly three. The Ale water
intersects it. West from thence the country
rises. The lands are now under good tillage,
and the district has a pleasing appearance.
The only village is Lilliesleaf, which contains
a few hundred inhabitants.— Population in
1821, 779.

LIMEKILNS, a small sea-port town on
the north bank of the Firth of Forth, county
of Fife, parish of Dunfermline, situated at the
distance of three miles south of that town, four
west of Inverkeithing, and four east of Tony-
burn. It possesses a commodious harbour,
admitting vessels of 300 tons burden at stream
tides, and a brewery. The chief traffic is in
the export of coal, lime, and ironstone.

LINADIL, an islet of the Hebrides, near
the coast of Skye.

LINDORES. An ancient abbey of this
name is described under the head Newburgh,
in which parish it was situated.

LINDORES, (LOCH,) a small lake in
the parish of Abdie, Fifeshire. The cross
road through Fife to Newburgh passes it on
the east side.

LING, an islet on the west coast of the
island of Stronsay, in Orkney.

LING A, two islets of Shetland, one lying
between Yell and the mainland, and the other
between Yell and Unst.

LINGAY, a small island of the Hebrides,
county of Inverness, district of North Uist.

LINKTOWN OF KIRKALDY, a sub-
urb on the west of the tow* of Kirkaldy, in

Fife, situated in the parish of Abbotshall. See
Kirkaldy.

LINLITHGOWSHIRE, or WEST-
LOTHIAN, a county lying on the south
shore of the Firth of Forth, along which it ex-
tends sixteen miles, having Edinburghshire on
the east and south-east, Lanarkshire on the
south-west, and Stirlingshire on the west. The
Briech water and river Almond form the line
of boundary betwixt the district and Edin-
burghshire, except at Mid-Calder, where the
latter intrudes more than a mile into Linlithgow-
shire. The breadth inland from the mouth of
the Almond; is nearly twenty-one miles, and
the width of the county is twelve miles ; the
superficial contents of the whole being 121
square miles, or 77,440 English acres. The
surface is neither flat nor hilly, the most
remarkable protuberances forming a range
running obliquely across the middle of the
county. The central and western parts have
the most hilly ground, while, on the east
and south, the land is generally level. The
hills which the shire does possess are ge-
nerally grassy and ornamented by woods.
The only river is the Almond, already noticed,
with a number of considerable rivulets and
burns, but the Forth yields advantages to the
county which are more beneficial than the in-
land streams. Linlithgowshire has a store
of minerals of the most useful kind. Coal
abounds throughout ; limestone is equally pre-
valent, and the whole district seems to rest on
a bed of sandstone of the finest quality. In
some parts ironstone is also found in profu-
sion ; silver and lead mines were formerly
wrought ; and there is plenty of marl, potter's
clay, brick clay, and red chalk. Much that is
applicable to the antiquities of, and historical
events connected with the county of Linlith-
gow has been detailed under the head Edin-
burghshire, as this district formed at an early
period a portion of the extensive Anglo- Saxon
province of Lothian, and cannot be said to
have a distinct history. A few local particu-
lars may be here added. The Gadeni tribe
of British people being overrun by the Ro-
mans, the latter made a firm settlement in the
shire, which happened to be the outermost
part of their conquests in this direction, and
gave a site to about 7650 yaFds of the wall
which they built across the island. No part
of Valentia was so well protected by forts.
From the station at Cramond, a Roman road
proceeded westward along the shore of the

LINLITHGOWSHIRE.

729

Forth to Carriden, where the wall terminated,
and along the sea shore were several posts,
which, we learn from old historians, were
strengthened by towers, and stood the bulwarks
of the Roman sway in this part of Britain. In
modern times there have been a variety of
urns, coins, and other relics of this conquering
race discovered in the shire. It is understood
that after the departure of the Romans from
this part of Lothian, and at a period a good
deal later, the Scoto-Irish and other northern
people, took up their residence here in greater
numbers than in that portion now called Edin-
burghshire, which became more an Anglo-
Saxon settlement. Linlithgowshire was pro-
bably separated into a sheriffdom in the reign
of David I. Under Robert I. the district was
placed under the administration of a constable,
in which state it continued till the time of James
III., the office of sheriff being as usual here-
ditary, till 1747. No county appears to have
been so covered with petty baronies, bailieries,
regalities, and other independent jurisdictions,
all of which were inimical to the perfect ad-
ministration of justice. The shire had also a
number of peers who domineered over the dis-
trict, but most of whom are extinct by for-
feiture or otherwise. The oldest family in
the shire is that of Dundas of Dundas, who
can trace an unbroken line of descent and re-
sidence on the same spot up to the reign of
William the Lion, (1165-1214,) an antiquity
very rarely surpassed in Scotland. The area
of the shire was in early times covered with
woods, but these being mostly extirpated, it
has been left for modern enterprise to plant ;
and this useful improvement has been carried
to a considerable extent on many estates.
About one-third part of the whole county
is either in woodland, old pastures, or arti-
ficial grasses, and there are more than four-
fifths of the shire enclosed. Until the year
1723, there was little improvement in the
agriculture of the district, and the first person
who was active in this department was John,
Earl of Stair, who in 1728 introduced new
modes of husbandry. He commenced the cul-
tivation of cabbages, turnips, and carrots by
the plough. His example was followed by
Charles, first Earl of Hopetoun; but both dying
in the decade of 1740, there was no successor
in their spirit, for a period of thirty years,
when some practical farmers, with the advan-
tages of skill and capital, pushed the agricul-

ture of the shire to comparative perfection. In
recent times this rich and lovely district of
Scotland has participated in the common im-
provements of the country. As early as the
reign of James VI. the practice of gardening
was general in the county. Linlithgowshire
is possessed by from thirty to forty landholders,
whose yearly incomes were some years since
computed at from L.200 to L.6000, besides in-
ferior holders of lands. The extent of the farms
is from fifty to three hundred acres, and the
leases are ordinarily for nineteen years. Of the
manufactures of the shire, salt is the chief
article, and there are considerable tanneries,
breweries, and distilleries. The traffic in coal
employs also a great number of hands. Linlith-
gowshire has two royal burghs, namely Linlith-
gow and Queensferry; its next largest town is
Bathgate. Its sea port is Bo'ness, and it has a
number of thriving villages. It includes thirteen
parishes, which, with two in Mid- Lothian and
four in Stirlingshire, form one presbytery. The
district is remarkable for the state of its popu-
lation, having undergone less increase in its
amount within the last eighty years than most
other districts ; a circumstance attributed per-
haps to its want of large towns, and the general
dependance on agriculture under a steady and
judicious mode of farming. The valued rental
of the shire in Sterling money is L.82,947 for
lands, and fo* houses L.5738. — Population in
1821, males 10,713, females 11,062; total
22,695.

Linlithgow, a parish in the above county,
about five miles in length and three in breadth ;
bounded on the north by Borrowstounness, on
the east by Abercorn and Ecclesmachan, on
the south by Bathgate and Ecclesmachan, and
on the west by the river Avon, whieh divides
it from Muiravonside in Stirlingshire. In this
parish, which includes the abrogated parish of
Binning, the principal object of interest is the
subject of the following article.

Linlithgow, popularly pronounced Lithgow,
an ancient royal burgh, the capital of Lin-
lithgowshire, and the seat of the presby-
tery of Linlithgow, is situated upon the bank
of a fine lake, sixteen miles west from Edin-
burgh, eight east from Falkirk, and thirty-
one from Glasgow. It consists chieny of a
single street, which lies east and west along
the south edge of the lake, and the houses
have in general an old and decayed, but yet
substantial look, which indicates that the place
5 a

730

LINLITHGOW.

has at one time been more than usually pros-
perous, but has not improved with the im-
provement of the country. The word Lin-
lithgow is supposed to be composed of British
vocables, signifying, what is certainly suffi-
ciently descriptive of the situation, the lake of
the sheltered valley. The town is placed upon
a very ancient seat of population. It is sup-
posed, upon the evidence of the name, to be
the Lindum of the Romans. Authentic his-
tory dawns upon it in the twelfth century,
when it was a town of the royal demesne, and
thence entitled to be called a king's burgh.
David I., who had a castle upon the spot,
granted to the monks of Holyrood (1128),
among many other things, omnes pelles arietinas
ovinas et agninas de Linlythgu de meo dominio,
namely, all the skins of the rams, sheep, and
lambs, of his demesne of Linlithgow. David
also built a church at this place, and granted
it to the priory of St. Andrews. Being thus
one of the royal estates, Linlithgow must have
been occasionally honoured, as a matter of
course, with the residence of royalty; for it
was the custom of the kings of those simple
times, when the representative medium was
not very plentiful, to move from one do-
main to another, and live as long at each as
was necessary for consuming the produce. At
the subjugation of Scotland by Edward I. in
1296, ere Linlithgow was a royal burgh, it
was governed by two bailies, who signed the
Ragman Roll as John Robuck and John de
Mar. In 1298, King Edward spent the night
before the battle of Falkirk on the heath to the
east of Linlithgow. He is said by Fordun to
have built a peel or castle at this place in the
year 1300. Here he spent the Christmas of
1301. On settling the kingdom in 1305, he
left one Peter Lubard as the keeper of the
castle. Some years after, when Bruce had
reduced nearly all Scotland under his subjec-
tion, he took the castle of Linlithgow by a
curious stratagem. The garrison was supplied
with hay by a neighbouring rustic of the name
of Binning, who was in the patriotic interest.
This man proposed to his sovereign to conceal
some armed men in his wains of hay, and
thereby smuggle them into the fort. Bruce
adopted the project, and easily made himself
master of the castle. He rewarded the faith-
ful rustic with some lands in the neighbour-
hood, and the Binnings of Wallyford, descend-
ed from that person, still bear in their coat-
31.

armorial a man loaded with hay, with the moi-
to, " Virtute doloque." Bruce, in pursuance
of-his usual policy, which recognised no advan-
tage in fortresses of stone and lime, but only
in the moral strength of the hearts of his coun-
trymen, demolished the castle of Linlithgow.
It appears, however, to have been rebuilt by
the English during their brief possession of
Scotland in the minority of David II. In
1334, the usurper Edward Baliol granted the
constabulary, town, and castle of Linlithgow
to Edward III., as part of the purchase-
money for his short-lived sovereignty, secur-
ed by the English monarch. The import-
ance which Linlithgow had attained to, as a
town, even at this early period, is indicated by
various circumstances. We find that, on a
new arrangement being made in 1368 as to the
four burghs which formed a eourt of jurisdic-
tion over the rest, it was thought proper to
substitute Linlithgow and Lanark for Berwick
and Roxburgh, then in the hands of the Eng-
lish. The sovereigns about this time made
large grants out of the " great customs" of
Linlithgow, — a circumstance which plainly de-
notes the existence of a commercial system
upon a scale not inconconsiderable. The port
of the town at this time was Blackness, as
Leith is that of Edinburgh at the present day.
The town seems to have now obtained its
charter as a royal burgh. Chalmers says —
" Robert II. (who reigned between 137J and
1390) was the first of the Scottish kings who
granted a charter to the burgesses and commu-
nity of Linlithgow, the firm of their town, and
the harbour of Blackness." It must there-
fore be a mistake which common writers have
fallen into, that the town was made a royal
burgh by David I. It was in reality no more
than a king's burgh, a town of the royal de-
mesne, at that early time. A castle or peel
now existed at Linlithgow, and was occasion-
ally the residence of royalty, as is indicated by
a precept of David II. to John Cairns, grant-
ing him the " peel of Linlithgow," and order-
ing him " to build it for the king's coming."
Bower, the continuator of Fordun, tells us that
in 1411 the town, palace, and the nave of the
church of Linlithgow were destroyed by fire.
The palace of those days, however, must have
been hardly worthy of the name, either from
its external appearance, or from its connexion
with royalty. James I. scarcely ever resided
here, although we are informed by Cardonnel,

LINLITHGOW.

731

the numismatist, that several of his coins bear
the legend " Villa de Linlithe ;" the only
time, he remarks, when the name of Linlith-
gow appears upon a coin. It is probable that
the palace of those days was simply a tower,
with the usual vaults below, and other apart-
ments above, and little superior in appearance
to the numerous fortlets along the border. We
are also of opinion that it still exists, in the
western division of the present quadrangular
edifice, though in a ruinous condition — the rest
of the building having been added to it in later
times. Several of the successors of James I.
appropriated the lands and castle, or palace of
Linlithgow, as part of the jointures of their
consorts. When James II. was married in
1 449 to Mary of Guelderland, he settled upon
her, as her dower, the lordship of Linlithgow,
and other lands, amounting to 10,000 crowns.
When James III. married Margaret of Den-
mark in 14G8, he settled upon her, as her
dower, in case of his demise, the lordship of
Linlithgow, with the palace, lake, and park,
as also " the great and small customs, and
firms of the burgh, with the fines and escheats
of the several courts of the justiciary, the cham-
berlain, the sheriff, and bailies, the wards, re-
liefs, and marriages within the lordship, and
the patronage of the churches, with other es-
tates." These specifications, remarks the
learned Chalmers, show what were the several
sources of the local revenue of such a lord-
ship. When James IV. married Margaret
of England, he gave her, in dower, the
whole lordship of Linlithgow, with the pa-
lace, its jurisdiction, and privileges. The
palace is said to have been a favourite
abode of James IV. and to have first become
distinguished in his time as a royal residence.
The eastern side of the quadrangle, which has
certainly been the most magnificent, and was
evidently designed to be the principal front,
was built by him. James V. also added much
to the buildings ; which were now so fine, that
his consort Mary of Guise, on being conducted
by him to this dotarial house, said, (though
perhaps part of the compliment is to be put
down to her French politeness), that " she had
never seen a more princely palace !" Compa-
ratively, at least, with other Scottish palaces,
this princess seems to have delighted in Lin-
lithgow, as she here spent a great part of her
time. James V. employed his architect, Sir
James Hamilton, the bastard of A nan, to

beautify and improve the palace of Linlithgow,
probably from a regard to the queen's taste or
convenience. We are inclined to believe that
he erected or rebuilt the south side of the
quadrangle, and shifted the entrance from the
east to that side, as he appears to have built
the splendid outer gate, which gives entrance
in that direction to the external court, and cor-
responds to the south and presently existing
passage into the quadrangle. Lesly, in his
history of Scotland, tells us, that James, on
being presented with several orders by foreign
sovereigns, placed effigies of them in stone
tablets over this gate : — " Cujus rei," says he,
[that is, the presentation of the orders,] " ut
lucidtm.ti.us sic/man toti posteritati eluceret, insignia
reyia in porta Lithcoensis palatii figenda, singu~
laque ordinum singulorum, simul ac Divi Andrece
ornamenta, (quae sunt nostra gentis propria, J
exquisiti artijicii circumplica?ida curavit." At
Epiphany, 1540, Sir David Lyndsay's Satire of
the three Estates was represented here before
the king and queen, the ladies of the court and
the people of the town : its inconceivable gross-
ness being apparently calculated alike for all
palates. The most memorable incident in the
history of Linlithgow occurred, December 7,
1542, in the birth of the unfortunate Queen
Mary, who remained here with her mother for
several months, till it was found necessary to
seek protection within the securer walls of
Stirling. During the troublous times which
followed, Linlithgow was the frequent scene
of political transactions. The parliament met
several times in 1545. A provincial synod
of the clergy was held here in 1552, with the
purpose of considering various reforms in the
church, so as to allay, if possible, the clamours
of the people regarding the abuses of the eccle-
siastical system, and the dissolute lives of the
churchmen. But it was too late for self-refor-
mation. That business was accomplished some
years after from without ; and the church and
religious buildings of Linlithgow were among
the first to fall under the hands of the Refor-
mers, who chanced to come this way in their
famous march from Perth to Edinburgh, June
1559. About this period the Duke of Chatel-
herault and other courtiers of high distinction,
had houses in Linlithgow. On the 23d of
January 1569-70, the Regent Murray, in pass-
ing through the town, was shot from the house
of the archbishop of St. Andrews, by David
Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh, in revenge for

732

LINLITHGOW.

private injury. Some months after, an English
army which entered Scotland for the readjust-
ment of the English interest, unsettled by his
death, burnt the house of the Duke of Cha-
telherault, and threatened to destroy the whole
town. In 1585, James VI. held a parliament
in Linlithgow for the establishment of the
Protestant councillors who had recently placed
themselves by force at the head of his govern-
ment. The palace, as usual, became part of
the dowry of the consort of this monarch ; but
it does not appear to have been a favourite
residence of royalty during his reign. When
the sapient king, however, visited Scotland in
1617, he took Linlithgow in his way, and was
regaled with a very strange welcome. Mr.
James Wiseman, schoolmaster of the town,
being enclosed in a plaster figure representing,
or intended to represent, a b"on, delivered the
following speech to his majesty as he entered
the town : —

" Thrice royal sir, here do I you beseech.

Who art a lion, to hear a lion's speech ;

A miracle ! for since the days of jEsop,

No lion, till those days, a voice dared raise up

To such a majesty ! Then, king of men.

The king of beasts speaks to thee from his den,

Who, though he now enclosed be in plaister,

When he was free, was Lithgow's wise school-master."

This may look ineffably ridiculous ; but when
people were accustomed to hear the 'familiar
pedantic character of James emblematised by
court flattery as a lion, they might well be ex-
cused for such an anomalous masquerade as a
schoolmaster in the guise of the same animal.
In truth, there could not have been a more
apt emblem of the king himself, who was nei-
ther more nor less at any time than a peda-
gogue enclosed within a plaster-cast of majes-
ty. This sovereign, finding, perhaps, that the
palace was going to decay, ordered considerable
repairs and additions. The north side of the
quadrangle which was then built, exhibits a
wearisome repetition of his majesty's initial,
and, being in an elegant style, was probably
designed by Inigo Jones, the king's architect.
The parliament hall of Linlithgow was em-
ployed by the Scottish estates in 1646, when
Edinburgh was rendered unsafe by the plague.
Linlithgow appears to have been a peculiarly
loyal town. After the Restoration the solemn
league and covenant was burnt publicly, with
great formality, being the only place in Scot-
land where the revulsion of feeling at the
advent of Charles II. was attended with such

an effect. The principal agent in this business
is said to have been one Ramsay, parson of the
parish, who had formerly been a zealous advo-
cate of the Covenant. Another exemplification
of loyalty took place among a perhaps scarcely
less rational part of the inhabitants of Linlith-
gow,— we mean the swans of the lake, who, as
we are seriously told in a newspaper of the
time, deserted their wonted abode when Crom-
well put a garrison of his soldiers into the
palace, but returned in a flight on the first New-
Year's day after the Restoration, and seemed to
celebrate that joyous event by " their extraor-
dinary motions and conceity interweavings of
swimming." The insurrection of 1745-6,
was the last historical event with which Lin-
lithgow was in the least connected. When
the English army was on its march to the
north, in pursuit of the Highland forces, Janu-
ary 1746, Hawley's craven dragoons occupied
the hall on the north side of the quadrangle of
the palace, and on the following morning testi-
fied their contempt for the associations of Scot-
tish royalty, by setting fire to their apartment.
The whole palace being speedily involved in
the conflagration, it was next day an empty and
blackened ruin. Among the interesting objects
of Linlithgow, the Palace still occupies the chief
place. It is a massive edifice in the form so
often alluded to, situated upon an eminence
which advances a little way into the lake, and
occupying no less than an acre of ground. The
present entrance is from the south, and is ap-
proached by an avenue leading up from the
street. At the head of this avenue is a forti-
fied gateway, over which formerly appeared the
four orders above-mentioned, namely, those of
the Garter, the Golden Fleece, St. Michael, and
St. Andrew, the three first of which were re-
spectively presented to James V. by Henry
VIII. of England, Charles V. of Germany and
Spain, and Francis I. of France, while of the
last he was himself the sovereign and founder.
The exterior of the palace, though of polished
stone, has a heavy appearance from the want
of windows ; but in the interior, where there
was no necessity for defence, the architecture
is extremely elegant. An obsolete gateway is
still to be seen on the east side, with the place
for the portcullis, and a sweeping avenue on
the outside, which is still lined with trees.
Over the interior of this entrance is a niche,
which was formerly filled by an elegant statue
of Pope Julius II., the pontiff who presented

LINLITHGOW;

733

James V. with the sword of state, yet existing
as part of the Scottish regalia, and at whose
request he was induced to stand out against
the progress of the Reformation. This me-
morial of one of the most interesting alliances in
our history was destroyed, during the last cen-
tury, by an ignorant zealot, who had heard the
pope abstractly inveighed against in the neigh-
bouring church. Two cardinals, it is said,
originally occupied two small niches by the
side of Pope Julius. Above this entrance was
the Parliament Hall, once a splendid apart-
ment, but now a haggard and roofless ruin.
The chapel was in the south side of the build-
ing, which is supposed to have been built by
James V. On the west side, which, as al-
ready mentioned, seems to have been originally
a tower, and the nucleus of the whole palace,
is shewn the apartment in which Queen Mary
was bom. At the north-west angle is a cu-
riously ornamented small room, looking out
upon the lake, and called the king's dressing-
closet. In the centre of the square there was
formerly a fine fountain ; but a pile of ruins
now alone remains. The palace is still a pic-
turesque and beautiful object, and, when taken
from any point beyond the lake, makes a very
pleasing picture ; but the visitor will sigh to
think that the following stanza of the " Lay
of the Last Minstrel," is applicable only to its
former condition, when it was one of the
proudest homes of the Scottish kings : —

" Of all the palaces so fair,

Built for the royal dwelling,
In Scotland, far beyond compare

Linlithgow is excelling :
And in its park in jovial June,
How sweet the merry linnet's tune.

How blythe the blackbird's lay !
The wild buck bells from ferny brake,
The coot dives merry on the lake, —
The saddest heart might pleasure take

To see a scene so gay."

The Church is situated betwixt the palace and
the town, and is a splendid specimen of the
Gothic taste of our forefathers, being 182 feet
in length, 100 in breadth, including the aisles,
and ninety feet in height, while from the
centre rises a lofty steeple, terminating in an
imperial crown, and forming a highly ornamen-
tal object in the outline of Linlithgow. The
exterior was formerly adorned with a range o.
statues, of which that of St. Michael alone
now remains. The church was dedicated to
this holy personage, who also became the patron

saint of the town, and hence perhaps his ex-
emption from the general destruction of these
objects. " This worthy gentleman," says the
sarcastic author of the Topographical Dic-
tionary of Scotland, " still retains his affection
for the place, and has his present abode on the
top of a wall at the East Port, where he very
politely tells you, that ' St. Michael is kind
to strangers;' they had better, however, not
trust entirely to the kindness of St. Michael."
He still retains a prominent place in the town-
arms, and the motto is, — " Vis Michaelis col-
locet nos in coelis ,■" upon which the minister of
the parish remarks, in the Statistical Account,
that " whatever the people might attribute to
his influence in ignorant times, it may be pre-
sumed they now build their hopes of admission
to heaven upon a surer basis." The church,
as already mentioned, was founded by David
I. ; but the edifice was perhaps put into its
present shape subsequent to 1411, when the
nave was destroyed by fire. It is now divided
by a partition-wall, and the eastern half is
occupied as the parochial place of worship,
while the western division, which served in
that capacity from the Reformation till very
lately, is vacant and unemployed. The roof
of the chancel is both elegant and durable-
It was erected by George Crichton, bishop of
Dunkeld, and adorned with the arms of that see,
and the initials of his own name. It has been
said, that this task was imposed on the bishop
as a penance ; but it may be more honourably,
and perhaps as justly accounted for, by his at-
tachment to the place in which he had origin-
ally officiated as vicar. In the ancient taxatio,
the church of Linlithgow is assessed at 120
merks. In Bagimont's roll, (1517) the vicaria
de Lynlithgv. is valued at L.5, the rectory being
in the priory of St. Andrews. There were
several chaplainries within St. Michael's church :
the only one which now retains a name
is the recess on the south side, called St.
Catharine's Aisle, which covers the burial vault
of the family of the attainted Earl of Linlith-
gow. It was here, according to tradition, that
King James IV. was sitting " at evensong,"
when he saw the strange masquerade or appa-
rition, which warned him against his fatal ex-
pedition to Flodden. It is known at least for
certain, that that mysterious incident took
place within this church. James V. ordered
a throne and twelve stalls to be erected within
the sacred edifice, for himself and the knights

784

LINLITHGOW.

-ompanions of the Order of the Thistle, in-
tending their banners to be hung up there;
Dut hi6 sudden death prevented the execu-
tion of the design. At the time of the Re-
formation there were a considerable number
of religious buildings in Linlithgow. A
convent of Carmelite or White Friars, had
been founded in 1290 by the inhabitants, and
dedicated to the Virgin. It stood on the south
side of the town, on a spot still called the
Friar's Brae, and, in point of antiquity, was
the third institution of the kind in Scotland.
It is also supposed, though with no certainty,
that there was a monastery of black friars in
Linlithgow. At the West Port there was a
chapel dedicated to St. Ninian, of which no
trace now remains. At the east end of the
town was St. Magdalene's Hospital, a place of
entertainment for strangers, originally the pro-
perty of a set of lazarites, but applied to this
beneficial purpose by James I. From the
church we come to the Town-house, a rather
elegant building near it, built in 1668, by Sir
Robert Miln of Bamton, chief manager of the
burgh, and afterwards altered, by the substitu-
tion of a sloping for a flat roof. Opposite to
this, in a little recess off the street, is the well,
an architectural object of no small elegance
and local celebrity. The original was erected
in 1620, but becoming much decayed, was dis-
placed in 1805 by the present building, which
is an exact fac-simile of the former, except that
the figures are more elegantly carved, and the
general proportions considerably improved. It
is of a hexagonal figure, ornamented with a
profusion of sculpture and ornaments, having
13 very beautiful jets d' eau, and the whole is
crowned by a lion rampant supporting the royal
arms of Scotland. The structure was plan-
ned, and the more intricate sculptures execut-
ed, by Robert Gray, an artist who had only
one living hand, the other being supplied by
a mallet fitted to the stump. A stranger is
apt to be impressed by this object with a high
sense of the profusion of water in this ancient
Scottish burgh ; and the idea is supported by
an old popular rhyme —

Glasgow for bells,
Lithgow for wells,
Fa'kirk for beans and pease.

Besides the parish church, there are three
oissenting congregations within the town.
The Magistracy consists of a Provost (first
elected in 1540 by express permission from

James V-) and four bailies ; the council being
composed of a dean of guild, twelve merchant
councillors, and the deacons of the eight cor-
porations. The Corporations are the Smiths,
the Tailors, the Baxters (Bakers,) the Cor-
diners (Shoemakers,) the Weavers, the
Wrights, the Coopers, and the Fleshers ; be-
sides which there are seven unincorporated
Fraternities — the Dyers, the Gardeners, the
Hecklers, the Skinners, [the Whipmen, the
Wool-combers, and the Tanners. The burgh
was associated, at the union, with Lanark,
Peebles, and Selkirk, in electing a member of
Parliament. Here is still kept up the old
custom of Riding the Marches. In June, an
equestrian procession is formed by the Magis-
trates, Council, Trades, and Fraternities, who
proceed in order, followed by great crowds of
the people, to circumambulate the limits of
the burgh property ; the Treasurer and Deacon
Convener carrying two silk flags bearing the
town arms ; and after the whole is over, the
individuals concerned spend the evening in
conviviality. The seal of the town has on
one side the figure of the archangel Michael,
with wings expanded, treading on the belly of a
serpent, and piercing its head with his spear.
But the arms proper is a bitch tied to a tree,
with the motto, " My fruit is_ fidelity to God
and the King ;" which alludes to some obscure
legendary tale respecting a dog found chained
to a tree upon a small island in the lake. By
an act of the Scottish parliament in 1437,
Linlithgow was appointed to be the place for
keeping the standard Firlot measure, from
which all others throughout the country were
appointed to be taken, while the Jug was
given to Stirling, the Ell to Edinburgh, the
Reel to Perth, and the Pound to Lanark.
This firlot, by which oats and barley used to
be measured till the introduction of the Im-
perial measures some years ago, contained
thirty-one Scots pints, while another for wheat
and pease was limited to twenty-one. It is
now only a matter of antiquarian curiosity.
The school of Linlithgow is one of some note.
At the time of the Reformation, it was super-
intended by a Roman Catholic priest of the
name of Ninian Wingate, or Winget, who
Was removed by Spottiswood, on account of
his devotion to popery, and who afterwards
drew up a set of questions against the new
doctrine, which were favourably received at
court, and much esteemed by all of his own

LINLITHGOW.

735

persuasion. John Knox answered some of
them from the pulpit, which occasioned a re-
ply by Wingate in several letters. On at-
tempting to publish them afterwards, the
impression was seized at the printer's, and
the author fled beyond seas. He lived for
many years after as abbot of the Scots con-
vent at Ratisbon. At the time of the Re-
volution, the school of Linlithgow was taught
by the grammarian Kirkwood, who, not-
withstanding his great scholarship, became
disagreeable in some way to the magistracy,
and was formally expelled. He took his re-
venge for this injury in a jeu d' esprit called
" the History of the Twenty-seven Gods of
.Linlithgow," which contains some curious
anecdotes. The author of the Caledonia re-
lates the following particulars regarding this
learned man. " He was sent for by the parlia-
mentary commissioners for colleges at the Re-
volution, on the motion of the Lord President
Stair ; and his advice was taken about the best
grammar for the Scotch schools. The Lord
President asked him what he thought of Des-
pauter. He answered, ' A very unfit grammar ;
but by some pains it might be made an excellent
one. ' The Lord Crosrig desiring him to be more
plain in that point, he said : ' My Lord Presi-
dent, if its superfluities were rescinded, the de-
fects supplied, the intricacies cleared, the errors
rectified, and the method amended, it might pass
for an excellent grammar.' The Lord President
afterwards sent for him, and told him it was the
desire of the Commissioners that he should im-
mediately reform Despauter, as he had propos-
ed ; as they knew none fitter for the task. He
was thus induced to put hand to pen, and not
without much labour published Despauter as
now revised. This, under the name of Kirk-
wood's Grammar, continued in the schools
till it was superseded by Ruddiman's. The
celebrated John Earl of Stair, soldier and
statesman, was taught at Kirkwood's school in
Linlithgow, and tabled in his house." Caledonia,
ii. 858. Though Linlithgow is rather a dull-
looking town, it contains a population by no
means idle. The soldiers of Cromwell are
said to have introduced the art of preparing
leather, which now forms the staple production
of the town, and is carried on by the bank of
the lake. In 1826, there were twelve tanners,
six curriers, and five skinners. Connected with
this business is the craft of shoemaking, which
has long been practised to a great extent in

Linlithgow, particularly during the late war,
and at the above date employed seventeen
master artisans. Linen and woollen manufac-
tures are also carried on to a considerable ex-
tent in the town, and at the distance of a mile
is an extensive calico-printing establishment.
The town derives considerable advantage from
the Union Canal, which passes along the high
grounds immediately to the south. Here an
extensive basin of excellent masonry affords
commodious accommodations to vessels trading
on the canal, and a most beautiful aqueduct,
unequalled in the united kingdom, conducts its
water over the river Avon, and a deep and ex-
tensive valley ; it stands upon twelve arches,
and adds much to the beauty of the surround-
ing scenery. Linlithgow has a weekly market
on Friday — Population of the burgh in 1821,
2600, including the parish 4692.

LINNHE, (LOCH) a large aim of the
sea on the west coast of Argyleshire, projected
in a north-easterly direction from the Sound of
Mull. In its lower and wider part lies the
island of Lismore, and from its east side is
protruded first Loch Etive and then Loch
Creran. Farther inward Loch Leven is pro-
truded from the same side. After this the
arm of the sea grows narrower and assumes the
name of Loch Eil, which finally makes a sud-
den turn to the west into the district of Loch
Eil, and there terminates. The scenery along
LochLinnhe is in many places exceedingly fine
and generally mountainous.

LINTON, a parish in the north-western
corner of Peebles-shire, bounded by Newlands
on the east, Edinburghshire on the north, and
Lanarkshire on the west. It is chiefly hilly
and pastoral. The small river Lyne, a tribu-
tary of the Tweed, rises in it and runs
through it. It is intersected by the road from
Edinburgh to Biggar. The small village of
Linton, sometimes called West Linton, to dis-
tinguish it from East Linton, in Haddington-
shire, stands on the Lyne at the distance of
16J miles south-west of Edinburgh, and 11
north-east of Biggar. It is inhabited chiefly
by weavers, shoemakers, and other mechanics.
It is celebrated for its large sheep markets in
June, which are among the principal in this part
of Scotland. The prosperity, former or present,
of this institution is indicated by a proverbial
phrase of the county ; it being customary for
the people of Tweeddale to compare any great
throng or crowd, without or within doors, to

736

L I S M O R E.

" Linton Mercat." This place gives a baron's
title to the family of Traquair. — Population in
1821,1194.

LINTON, a parish in Roxburghshire, in
its north-east border, having Sprouston on the
north, Northumberland on the east, Yetholm
and Morbattle on the south, and Eckford on
the west. The Kale water separates it from
Morbattle. It extends nine miles in length,
by three in breadth. The land rises from the
Kale, and nearly the whole is under an ex-
cellent process of husbandry. — Population in
1821, 458.

LINTON, (EAST,) a village in the par-
ish of Prestonkirk, Haddingtonshire, on the
left bank of the Tyne. A species of fall or
tinn of this water over a shelving bottom, gives
a name to the place. The village has an ex-
tensive distillery.

LINWOOD, a village in the parish of
Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire, situated three and a
half miles west of Paisley. It is inhabited by
the workmen of a cotton factory at the place.

LISMORE, an island belonging to Argyle-
*hire, situated in the lower part of Loch
Limine, extending from eight to ten miles
in length, by from one to two in breadth. It
may be described as a narrow ridge, uneven
and rocky, but green and fertile, as it is all
formed of limestone. It is noted for its pro-
duce, which is chiefly barley ; but the greater
part is so interspersed with projecting rocks
and abrupt hillocks, as to prevent the use of
the plough. Its fertile character has induced
the name Lismore, which imports the great
garden. Though deficient in interest to him in
whose eye flowery meadows and fertile fields
appear only tame and insipid, it is still a
point of view for the most magnificent expanse
©f maritime sceneiy throughout the western
islands. In former days, Lismore was the seat
of a bishop, being the episcopal seat for the dio-
cese of Argyle. The ruins of a church, with
some tombs, still remain, but there are no
marks of a cathedral, nor of the bishop's resi-
dence. The traces of its castles are now
barely visible, and are without interest. A
round fort, says Macculloch, is remarkable
as containing a gallery within the wall, like
the Pictish towers. The island used to be
one of the most noted seats of illicit distilla-
tion.

LISMORE and APPIN, a united parish
in Argyleshire, including the above island of

Lismore. " The extent of this parish," gays
the author of the Statistical Account, " will
hardly be credited by an inhabitant of the
south of Scotland, being from the south-west
end of Lismore to the extreme point of Kin-
lochbeg, to the north-east in Appin, sixty-three
miles long, by ten, and in some plaees sixteen
broad. It is intersected by considerable arms
of the sea, and comprehends the countries ot
Lismore, Airds, Strath of Appin, Duror,
Glencreran, Glencoe, and Kingerloch : The
last is nine computed miles long, situated in
the north side of Linnhe-loch, an arm of the
sea about three leagues over, which divides it
from Lismore. This united parish is bound-
ed by the seas that divide it from Ardchattan
and Kilmore, to the south and south-east, by
Glenorhy or Clachandysart on the east, at the
King's House ; by Kilmalie on the north-east ;
by Sunart, a part of the parish of Ardnamur-
chan, on the north-west ; by Morven on the
west ; and by the island of Mull and the
great Western Ocean on the west and south-
west."—Population in 1821, 1638.

LITTLE-DUNKELD. See Dunkelix
(Little)

LITTLE-FRANCE, a hamlet three miles
south from Edinburgh, on the road to Dal-
keith, a short way from Craigmiller Castle, its
name having been acquired by its being the
place of residence of the French retinue of
Queen Mary when she inhabited the adjacent
castle.

LI VAT, or LIVET, a small river in
Banffshire, tributary to the Avon, and giving
the name of Glenlivet to the vale and district
through which it flows.

LIVINGSTONE, a parish in the south-
east side of Linlithgowshire, stretching from
five to six miles along the north bank of the
Breich water, which separates it from Edin-
burghshire, by a breadth of from less than one
to two miles. It is bounded by Bathgate on the
west. The district is all well cultivated and
enclosed. The village of Livingstone is si-
tuated on the road from Edinburgh to Glas-
gow, by Mid-Calder. The adjacent parish of
Whitburn till 1730 formed part of Livingstone,
but was then disjoined from it, and erected into
a separate parish. — Population in 1821, 944.

LOANHEAD, a neat and populous vil-
lage in the parish of Laswade, situated five
miles south-east of Edinburgh. It is chiefly
inhabited by colliers and those employed in the

LOCHABER.

737

neighbouring paper-mills. It possesses the
advantage unusual in such a village of being
supplied with water brought in pipes. There
is a brewery and a Cameronian meeting-house
in the village.

LOCHABER, a district in the southern
part of Inverness-shire, bounded by Badenoch
on the east, Athole, Rannoch, and Argyleshire
on the south, on the west by Ardgower and
Moidart, and on the north by the lakes and
canal in the Great Glen of Albin. In it are
found the sources of the Spey, Loch Laggan,
and Ben Nevis. The district partakes of the
wildest mountainous character of Inverness-
shire. The " braes of Lochaber," it will be
remembered, are the subject of Scottish song.

LOCHALSH, a parish in the south-wes-
tern corner of Ross-shire, enclosed by the
sea on the west, north, and south sides. The
indentation of the sea called Loch Carron is
the northern boundary, and that of Lochalsh
the southern. The peninsula thus enclosed,
is, in its inhabited part, ten miles long, by five
broad. The district is of the usual pastoral
and hilly character of this quarter of the West
Highlands Population in 1821, 2492.

LOCHAR-MOSS, a morass of several
miles extent, lying to the east of Dumfries,
adjoining the Solway Firth, and divided into
two parts by Lochar water. The common
tradition respecting the origin of this waste is,
that it was originally a forest, that it was then
overflowed by the sea, and that by the recess
of the inundation, it finally became a peat-
moss. It is watered by a small river called
the Lochar Water. So late as the days of
Bruce it seems to have been in an impas-
sable state ; for it is recorded by tradition,
that, when that hero went from Torthorwald
Castle to meet Cumin at Dumfries, he went
round by the skirts of the Tinwald Hills, thus
making a considerable circuit along the upper
extremity of the moss. That it was once co-
vered by the sea, is proved by the quantity of
shells found beneath the stratum of moss, but
more unequivocally by several curraghs (or
boats of one piece of wood, used by the prime-
val inhabitants of this island) having been dug
up in the course of peat-casting, many miles
from the present shore of the Solway. The
origin of the road over Lochar-moss is remark-
able : A stranger, more than a century ago, sold
some goods upon credit to certain merchants
at Dumfries. Before the time appointed

for payment he disappeared, and neither he
nor his heirs ever claimed the money. The
merchants, in expectation of the demand, very
honestly put out the sum to interest ; and af-
ter a lapse of more than forty years, the town
of Dumfries obtained a gift of the money, and
applied it towards making this useful road.
Agricultural improvement is now gradually
diminishing the extent of the morass.

LOCHAR WATER,asmall dull stream
running through the above morass, falling into
the Solway at Lochar-mouth, near the village
of Blackshaws in the parish of Caerlaverock.

LOCHBROOM, a mountainous pastoral
parish in the western part of Ross-shire and
partly in the county of Cromarty. It is inter-
sected by a river and two arms of the sea call-
ed Loch- Broom and Little Loch- Broom, from
which it takes its name. They are described un-
der the head Broom (Loch). The parishis com-
puted to extend thirty miles in length and twenty
in breadth. Greinord lies to the south and its west-
ern boundary is washed by the Atlantic ocean :
Besides the mountainous and hilly parts, which
pasture a great number of black cattle, there are
many fertile pieces of arable land. At the head
of Loch-Broom stands the parish church. The
modern fishing village of Ullapool is situated in
the district on the north side of the same arm of
the sea — Population in 1821, 4540.

LOCHCARRON, a mountainous pas-
toral parish in the western part of Ross^shire,
lying betwixt Lochalsh on the south and Ap-
plecross on the north, extending fourteen miles
in length, by from five to six in breadth.
It takes its name from an arm of the sea,
which is projected inland in a north-easterly
direction. On its northern shore, near its inner
extremity, is the parish church. The small river
Carron falls into the loch at its head ; Loch-
carron is the seat of a presbytery Popula-
tion in 1821, 1932.

LOCHDUICH, an arm of the sea on the
west coast of Ross-shire, protruded from Loch-
alsh into the district of Kintail.

LOCHEE, a small village in the parish of
Liff, Forfarshire, about three miles from Dundee.

LOCHGELLIE, a village and small lake
of the same name, in the parish of Auchterder-
ran, Fifeshire. The village is eight miles
north-west of Kirkaldy and seven east of Dun-
fermline, and is inhabited principally by weavers.
It is entitled to hold three annual fairs. The
lake is in the neighbourhood, and extends to
5 B

738

LOCHMABEN.

about three miles in circumference, but is of an
uninteresting appearance.

LOCHGOIL-HEAD, a parish in the dis-
trict of Covval, Argyleshire, comprehending
the abrogated parish of Kilmorich, and lying
along the west side of Loch Long. It extends
about twenty miles in length., by from six to
twenty in breadth. This is exclusive of a dis-
trict belonging to it of five miles in length,
which is annexed, quoad sacra, to the parish of
Inverary. Loehgoil, from which the name of
the parish is taken, is a small braneh of Loch
Long, proceeding from thence in a north-west
direction, and intersects the north division of
the parish for six miles. The north-west part
of the parish is divided in the same manner by
Loch Fyne. The district is mountainous
and chiefly pastoral. At the head of Loehgoil,
stands the parish church and small village. Here
passengers land in proceeding by this route to
Inverary Population in 1821, 694.

LOCHINDORB, a small lake in the pa-
rish of Edenkeillie, Morayshire.

LOCHLEE, a large hilly parish in the
northern part of Forfarshire, lying amidst the
Grampians, extending twelve miles in length
by six in breadth; bounded by Edzel on the
east, and principally Lethnot on the south. It
possesses several vales through which waters are
poured, the chief being the Lee, the Mark,
and the Tarf. Lee forms a loch, which gives
the name to the parish, extending a mile in
length by about the fifth of a mile in breadth ;
the different waters coalescing from the
North Esk river— Population in 1821, 572.

LOCHMABEN, a parish in Annandale,
Dumfries-shire, lying along the banks of the
Annan, to the length of about ten miles, by
three in breadth. At the north end it is very
narrow. The parish is bounded by Johnstone
on the north, Applegarth and Dryfesdale on
the east, Dalton on the south, and Torthor-
wald and Tinwald on the west. The country
is here well cultivated, and pleasing in appear-
ance, being ornamented by plantations, and
well enclosed. The parish contains several
lochs, which, with other objects of interest,
are described in the following article.

LOCHMABEN, an ancient town, a royal
burgh, and the seat of a presbytery, and capi-
tal of the above parish, is situated at the dis-
tance of sixty-five miles from Edinburgh,
seventy from Glasgow, eight from Dumfries,
thirty from Carlisle, fifteen from Moffat, and
3].

four from Lockerbie. Lochmaben is situated
in a level country, surrounded by all the charms
which wood and water can bestow. It traces
its origin to a very early age, and derives its
name from the loch on which it is situated, —
the word Lochmaben signifying in the Scoto-
Irish, the lake in the white plain. The town
owes its rise to the protection of a castle of
vast strength, which was built by Robert
Bruce, Lord of Annandale, and was the chief
residence of the Bruces till the end of the
thirteenth century. It stood on the north-
west of the lake, which was called the
Castle-loch ; and the castle was surrounded by
a deep moat. This ancient castle was suc-
ceeded by a much larger fortress, which was
built on a peninsula, on the south-east
side of the Castle-loch. When this fort
was built cannot now be ascertained; but
it was probably towards the end of the
thirteenth century, about the time of the
competition for the crown. This castle,
with its outworks, covered about sixteen
acres. It was the strongest fort on this bor-
der, and was surrounded by three deep fosses,
each of which was filled with water from the
lake. After different grants to various relations
of the Bruces, this castle was annexed by the
parliament in 1487 to the Crown. It was
preserved as a border fence till the union of
the crowns. A governor of trust was main-
tained in it by very liberal provisions till
the reign of James VI., when border hostili-
ties had ceased, and when it was granted, with
the barony of Lochmaben, by the inconsider-
ate profusion of that sovereign, to John Mur-
ray, a groom of his bed-chamber. During the
reign of Charles II. the governorship of this
castle was transferred to James Johnstone, Earl
of Annandale, who obtained a charter for all
the emoluments which had belonged to the
keeper of the castle. The Marquis of Annan-
dale, remained hereditary constable of this castle
till about the year 1730, when the parishes of
Annandale, feeling themselves oppressed by
the claims of this nominal governor, resist-
ed the payment, and obtained from the
Court of Session a suspension of the levy-
ing of his usual receipts, which the same
court refused to sanction ; when the act of
1747, abolishing heritable jurisdictions, extin-
guished the office, and all claims under it.
On that occasion the marquis claimed L.1000
Sterling as compensation for the abolition of

LOCHMABE N.

739

his office ; but the Court of Session allowed
him nothing. The castle of Lochmaben was
allowed to fall into ruin during the seventeenth
century ; and most of the houses which were
then erected in the vicinity were built from
the quarry of its walls. Of this great pile
there only remains standing a part of the walls,
from which the fine ashlar work has been torn
off. At what time the town of Lochmaben,
which arose under the protection of the castle,
was created a royal burgh, cannot now be as-
certained. The tradition is, that it was made
a royal burgh soon after the accession of Bruce
to the throne. If this be well founded, it must
have been done before he granted the lord-
ship of Annandale, with the castle, to his
nephew Thomas Randolph. After the death
of Randolph's two sons without issue, the
lordship of Annandale, with the castle of
Lochmaben, in 1346, passed to his daughter
Black Agnes, and her husband Patrick Earl
of March. It was lost by the rebellion of
their son George, Earl of March, in 1400;
when it was granted to Archibald, the Earl of
Douglas, in 1409. It was forfeited by James,
Earl Douglas, in 1 455 ; and was then trans-
ferred by James II. to his second son Alex-
ander, the Duke of Albany, by whom it was
again forfeited in 1483 ; when it was annexed
to the crown by act of parliament in 1487.
Like many border towns, Lochmaben suffered
from the hostility of the English ; the town be-
ing frequently plundered, and sometimes burnt;
so that the older charters of this burgh were
thereby destroyed. In 1612 the burgh ob-
tained from James VI. a new charter, which
states as a reason for granting it, that the burgh
record had been destroyed, when the town was
burnt by the English. This new charter con-
firms all former charters which had been burnt
by enemies ; and it grants of new to the said
burgh all the lands belonging to it It also
empowers the election of a town magistracy.
Lochmaben is a town of considerable interest
from associations connected with its former
rank, and from its present ancient appearance.
It is a genuine rural town, a town subsisting
on its own resources, not upon the bounty of a
manufacturing city; a town of natural size
without being inflated hy the adventitious and
precarious wealth derivable from manufactures ;
a town where simplicity of life and ancient faith
that knew no guile, may still be found. Po-
verty may here be discovered, but it is ra-

ther the uniform res angustce of decent mo-
dest content, than the howling starvation of
unprincipled and improvident wretchedness.
Lochmaben chiefly consists of one wide street,
with a town-house and cross at one end, and a
very handsome modern church at the other.
Either from its unnecessary breadth, or the
unfrequency of travellers, the street is partially
overgrown with grass ; a mark of decay and
want of trade which Belhaven, in his speech
against the Union, predicted would be the fate
of all the Scottish burghs. It is considered at
this day the poorest royal burgh in the south of
Scotland. Robert Bruce, who seems to have
entertained a strong affection for the place,
gave the inhabitants certain singular immuni-
ties : He established all his domestics and re-
tainers in pieces of land in the neighbourhood,
where many of their descendants still continue,
under the denomination of " the king's kindly
tenants." They hold their possessions by a
species of right now without parallel in the
land, being virtually proprietors, while they are
nominally only tenants of King Robert's suc-
cessor and representative, his present majesty,
who is probably not aware of this part of his
property. The kindly tenants of the four
towns of Lochmaben live (or at least lived till
lately) much sequestered from their neigh-
bours, marry among themselves, and are distin-
guished from each other by soubriquets accord-
ing to the old border custom. Among their
writings there are to be met with such names
as John Out-bye, Will In-bye, White-fish,
Red-fish, &c. They are tenaciously obstinate
in defence of their privileges of commonty,
which are numerous. Their lands are in ge-
neral neatly enclosed and well cultivated, and
they form a contented and industrious little
community, exemplifying the ancient system
so much lauded by Goldsmith, by which

" Every rood of ground maintained its man."

Some enormous walls of Lochmaben Castle
yet exist amidst the melancholy firs which
have been permitted to overspread the place,
giving impressive manifestation of its former
strength and importance. These walls have a
peculiarly ghastly and emaciated look, — like a
large man broken down and disfigured by
disease, — in consequence of all the exterior
hewn stones having been picked out and
carried off, leaving only the ruder internal
work behind. The fortress of the Royal
Bruce, I am grieved to say, has, from time

740

LOCHMABEN.

immemorial, been regarded by the people
around in no other light than that of a super-
terraneous quarry. The Castle Loch is a fine
sheet of water, skirted by green and fruitful
fields, and woods of the true rich and massive ap-
pearance. Fed entirely by its own springs, it is
remarkable in the eyes of the natural historian
and the gourmand, for containing a peculiar
species of fish entitled the vendise. It is said
that a causeway traverses the bottom of the
loch between the point of the castle promon-
tory and a spot called the Castle-hill of Loch-
maben, where the vestiges of the ancient fort-
ress of the Bruces are yet very distinctly to be
traced. The common tradition regarding
this phenomenon is, that the materials of the
old castle were transported by its means over
to the site of the new one, which was thus built
out of it. But how so elaborate a work of
art could have been constructed at the bottom
of a loch seven feet deep, is not accounted
for. The history of the Cross of Loch-
maben is somewhat curious. It is a tall time-
worn stone, fixed into a broad freestone socket,
and stands in the market-place. At the time
when the neighbouring Castle of Elshieshields
was built, this stone was left from the materi-
als employed in its erection; and, Lochmaben
being then deficient in the object which was
considered indispensable to all burghs, the
town-council made over to the Laird of El-
shieshields, and his heirs and successors for
ever, the mill and mill-lands of Lochmaben, a
part of the burgh property, as the price and
purchase of the said stone, to the intent that
it might be erected as a market-cross in their
burgh, and remain a proud monument of their
taste and public spirit. The mill and mill-
lands with which it was purchased then afford ~
ed to the town a yearly rental of only a few
merks ; at present, the proprietor of Elshie-
shields draws from them annually the sum of
one hundred pounds sterling. Lochmaben is
poetically called " Queen of the Lochs," from
its situation in the midst of eight or nine
sheets of water. On account of these great
natural ornaments, an experienced person once
declared, that if the town were cleared away,
a good house built in its place, and the envi-
rons, including the lochs, converted into a
pleasure-ground, there would not be a finer
thing in Scotland. Lochmaben, in its present
state, is well worthy of a visit, and, indeed, is
much visited. The church of the town and

parish is a handsome and convenient building
in the pointed style, with a bold square tower.
It was opened in 1820, and cost L.3000.
There is also a chapel of the United Associ-
ate Synod and one of the Cameronians in
the neighbourhood. The town-house, with
its tower and clock, stands at the end of
the principal street. The town has a sub-
scription library and mason lodges. As a
royal burgh, it is governed by a provost, three
bailies, and a dean of guild, with a treasurer
and fifteen councillors. The burgh joins with
Annan, Dumfries, Kirkcudbright, and San-
quhar, in sending a member to parliament.
It has several annual fairs. — Population of the
town in 1826, 700; including the parish, 2651.

LOCHMOIR, a small lake in the parish
of Edderachylis, Sutherkndshire.

LOCHMORE, a lake in the parish of
Halkirk, Caithness, from which flows the
river Thurso.

LOCHNAGAR, a lofty mountain in Aber-
deenshire, noticed under the head Glenrnuick.

LOCHRUTTON, a parish in the eastern
part of the stewartry of Kirkcudbright, sepa-
rated by Troqueer from the Nith on the east,
bounded by Terregles and Irongray on the
north, Urr on the west, and Kirkgunzeon on
the south. It extends about four and a half
miles long, by three broad. From the town of
Dumfries, which is distant about four miles to
the eastward, the country rises gradually, more
especially throughout the whole extent of this
district. In the lower and upper extremities,
and towards the south, the country is hilly ;
but the rest of the parish lies in a valley con-
sisting of arable land, interspersed with
knolls, mosses, and meadows. The whole
forms a kind of amphitheatre. Near the cen-
tre of the district is a loch from which the
name of the parish has partly been derived.
It is a mile in length and about half a mile in
breadth: In the middle of it there is a small
island, about half a rood in extent, of a circular
form. It seems to have been, at least in part,
artificial. The remains of a distinct druidical
circle are still to be seen upon a hill at the
eastern extremity of the parish. The parish
has been considerably improved in modern
times, and is well intersected by roads. —
Population in 1821, 594.

LOCHRYAN. See Ryan. (Loch)

LOCHS, a parish in the island of Lewis,
county of Ross, lying on the south side of the

LOCHWINNOCH,

741

island, a great portion of it being encompass-
ed by Loch Erisort on the north, and Loch
Seaforth on the south-west. The part so
peninsulated is indented by Loch Sheil, a
smaller arm of the sea. The name of the pa-
rish is derived from a variety of small fresh-
water lochs in the district. It extends about
nineteen miles in length by nine in breadth,
and is of the usual bleak pastoral character of
the land in Lewis. — Population in 1821, 2669.
LOCHTOWN, a small village in the pa-
rish of Longforgan, Perthshire.

LOCHTURIT, a small lake in the pa-
rish of Monivaird, Perthshire.

LOCHTY, a small stream in Fife, rising
in the parish of Ballingry, which after flowing
in an easterly course eight or nine miles, falls
into the Orr, a short way above its junction
with the Leven.

LOCHWINNOCH, a parish in the south-
ern part of Renfrewshire, bounded by Kilmal-
colm and Kilbarchan on the north, and Paisley
and Neilston on the east; extending nearly
ten miles from west to east, by an irregular
breadth of from two to five. ( The rev. sta-
tist makes it '; about six miles square ;" which
is not in the least maintained by the best
maps. ) In its western and narrow end there is
much moorish and hilly land. The other parts
have been vastly improved, especially about
Castle Semple loch. This lake, now some-
what contracted, lies in the centre of the east-
ern part of the parish, and is the most inte-
resting object within it. This beautiful sheet
of water, which stretches in a northerly and
southerly direction, receives the Calder water
on its west side, and its issue forms the Black
Cart river. The lake was once more exten-
sive than at present ; a very enterprising gentle-
man, James Adam, Esq. then of Barr, having
lately made an embankment to retain the wa-
ter, and recovered several hundred acres of
rich carse land. The strath containing the
loch, is exceedingly beautiful and well wooded.
The village of Lochwinnoch is of considerable
size, and is pleasantly situated on the north-
west bank of the lake, at the distance of four
miles from Beith, nine miles and six furlongs
from Paisley, and seventeen and a quarter from
Glasgow. It contains now about 2000 inha-
bitants, and owes its rise and prosperity to
the cotton manufacture. There are now two
large cotton mills and a woollen mill. There are
also several bleachfields in the parish. The vil-

lage is ornamented by a new parochial church
having a handsome steeple, also a chapel be-
longing to the United Secession. The situa-
tion of the place is exceedingly favourable ;
coal, limestone, and sandstone being in the
neighbourhood, and an abundant supply of fine
water. On the north-west side of the loch
stands Castle Semple house, about a mile
north-east from the village. This is a modern
mansion built on the site of the ancient castle
of Semple, founded by John Lord Sempill
about the year 1500. It was demolished in
1735. On a small island in the lake is
the Peel, the remains of some ancient
strength, of which nothing but a vault re-
mains. Fowler in his Renfrewshire Directory
gives us the following notice of this part of
the country. " We would advise the stranger,
in these beautiful parts, to proceed to Loch
winnoch forthwith, and inquire the way to the
Ravenscraig and the Tow Brig. He may
safely advance as far as Garrat's Linn, which
every body in the neighbourhood knows to be
bottomless ; and if he be a good swimmer, he
may even venture into the cave at its north
corner. After this peril is over, he may pro-
ceed to Tappilickoch, and the Knockan Linn,
when, if Calder Water be not in a spate, he
may venture to pass under the bed of the river
without being wet. A little farther up the
water, he will meet with two very interesting
waterfalls, where the stream is so much con-
tracted by basaltic rocks, that it may be step-
ped over. Proceeding a mile farther up, he
will next be attracted by the Reikan Linn, a
most romantic and sublime cataract. After
this the water loses little of its wild impetuous
character for some distance, as its banks are
still covered with copsewood. The rocks
which compose the bed of the Calder, are all ba-
saltic, and contain, in great beauty and variety,
that class of minerals called zeolitic, rock-
crystal, amethysts, and cornelians. In short,
there is no inland place in the county of Ren-
frew, which contains so many beautiful, ro-
mantic, and sublime scenes, as the banks of
Calder." — Population of the parish in 1821,
4130.

LOCHY, (LOCH) a lake in Inverness-
shire, lying in the Great Glen of Caledonia,
and now forming the most westerly in the se-
ries composing the Caledonian canal. It ex-
tends fourteen miles in length, by from one
to two in breadth. Near its south-western

742

LOCKERBIE.

extremity is the small village of Kilmanivaig.
Here it is emptied by the river Lochy. On
the east bank of the lake, near the middle, is
the stage called Letter Finlay.

LOCHY, the river above noticed, which is
the natural emission of Loch Lochy, after a
course of about ten miles, it falls into Loch
Eil, near Inverlochy and Fort- William.

LOCHY, a small river in Perthshire, pa-
rish of Killin, rising in the Breadalbane hills ;
uniting with the Dochart at Killin, it falls into
Loch Tay, at its west end. It flows altoge-
ther above twelve miles.

LOCKERBIE, a neat small town in the
parish of Dryfesdale, or Dry'sdale, in the dis-
trict of Annandale, Dumfries-shire. It stands
on the great mail road betwixt Carlisle and
Glasgow, at the distance of ttventy-six miles
from the former, and seventy-two from the
latter, twelve from Dumfries, eleven from An-
nan, and sixteen from Moffat. It is a cleanly
little town, covering a considerable space of
ground, and the buildings have a regular ap-
pearance. The parish church has been built
here for reasons mentioned under the head
Dryfesdale- Besides this neat and convenient
edifice, there is a chapel belonging to the
United Secession. For several centuries past,
the town of Lockerbie has had a lamb and
wool market, though not upon the scale it is
at present. When the border raids had so far
ceased as to allow a slight intercourse be-
tween the Scot and Southron, it was custo-
mary for our sheep farmers to assemble annu-
ally at this place for the purpose of meeting
with English dealers, who bought up the
surplus stock for the southern market. This
meeting was called " a tryst," and was held a
little way north of the town, on the lowest ac-
clivity of the large hill, whose top is now the
arena of the market. This hill is now a com-
mon, and on the fair-days, presents an animat-
ed scene, combining the charms of business
and of sport, said to be unparalleled in
this country. The Lamb-fair of Lockerbie
may be in fact considered the Saturnalia
of the south-western province of Scot-
land. A contemporary notes the dates of the
Lockerbie markets and fairs thus : — " A mar-
ket is held on Thursday, and from the com-
mencement of October till the end of April,
it is extensively supplied with pork, of which
not less than about 1800 carcases are sold
during the season ; there is also a market for

the hiring of servants on the Thursday before
Old Martinmas. Fairs are held on the second
Thursday in January, the second Thursday in
February, the second Thursday in March, the
second Thursday in April, the second Thurs-
day in May, the third Thursday in June, and
the second Thursday in August ; (the last fair,
which is for lambs, is the largest fair of the
kind in Scotland;) a new one lately established
for the sale of cattle in September, the second
Thursday in October for cattle and horses, the
second Thursday in November, and the Thurs-
day before Christmas ; all old style. These
fairs add much to the prosperity of the town,
most of them being well attended ; the new
one in September takes place the Thursday
before the large fair, on Brough Hill, and is
likely to become considerable." — Population "
in 1821, 500.

LOGAN, a small stream in Lanarkshire,
which rising among the hills which separate the
parish of Lesmahago from Muirkirk, and run-
ning eastward for eight miles, joins the Nethan,
a small river originating in the same quarter.

LOGAN, a small stream in Edinburgh-
shire, pursuing a short course among the Pent-
land hills and grounds to the south, and falling
into the North Esk.

LOGAN, a small stream in the parish of
Kirkpatrick- Fleming, noticed under that head,
as being with its " braes" the subject of Scot-
tish song.

Logie. When this word is found applied
as the name of any place in Scotland, it sig-
nifies " a hollow situation."

LOGIE, a small parish in the north-eastern
part of Fife, bounded by Kilmanyon the west
and north, Leuchars on the east, and the same
with Dairsie on the south. It extends about
four miles in length from west to east, by
generally one and a-quarter in breadth. The
district is hiUy, but arable, and possessed of
plantations Population in 1821, 440.

LOGIE, a parish lying in the shires of
Stirling, Perth, and Clackmannan, and con-
sisting of two detached portions. The larger
portion of the parish lies immediately on the
north bank of the river Forth, opposite Stir-
ling, bounded by Alloa on the east, and Dum-
blane and Lecropt on the west and north. It
measures about four miles each way. The
other portion is a small patch farther to the
north. The parish, in general, is exceedingly
beautiful, highly productive, and well enclosed

LOGIERAIT

743

and planted. In the northern parts it is hilly,
but towards the south the district forms a part
of the valuable carse land on the Forth. The
village of Logie, or Blair-Logie, lies with its
neat little church at the base of the Ochil
hills at the entrance to Glendevon, and pre-
sents a singularly pleasing scene of natural
beauty. Within this parish, on a flat peninsula
formed by a sinuosity of the Forth, stands the
desolate and tall ruin of Cambuskenneth ab-
bey ; but we defer giving any account of this
interesting house, till we come to the history
of Stirling, with which its character and for-
tunes were always intimately associated. — Po-
pulation in 1821, 2115.

LOGIE, a parish in Forfarshire, lying on
the right bank of the North Esk, immediately
above Montrose, having Dun on the south,
and Stricathro on the west; extending four
miles from east to west, by three miles in
breadth, at the widest part. The present
parish includes the abrogated parochial district
of Pert. The lower part of the parish lies
along the banks of the river North Esk,
which, by a beautiful curve, divides it, towards
the north and east, from the parishes of Mary-
kirk and St. Cyrus. The upper part is pretty
high, generally bending with a gentle declivity
to the river, though a good part of it likewise
has a southern exposure. The district has
been subjected to various improvements, and
has now several fine pieces of planting. There
are several good mansions or gentlemens' seats
in the parish. — Population in 1821, 1012.

LOGIE-ALMOND, or AM ON, a dis-
trict in Perthshire, extending about three miles
square on the north bank of the river Almond
and recently disjoined from the parishes of
Foulis and Menzie, and annexed quoad sacra
to the parish of Monedie.

LOGIE-BUCHAN, a parish in the dis-
trict of Buchan, Aberdeenshire, lying in nearly
equal proportions on both sides of the river
Ythan ; bounded by Ellon on the inland or
north-west side, and separated from the sea
by Foveran and Slains- From south-west
to north-east, it extends about nine miles by a
mean breadth of one and a- quarter. This dis-
trict is arable, and a good deal improved. The
parish kirk stands on the right bank of the
Ythan.— Population in 1821, 629.

LOGIE-COLDSTONE, a parish in
Aberdeenshire, composed of the united pa-
rishes of Logie and Coldstone, which were

joined in 1618- It lies in the upper part of
the county called Cromar, at an equal distance
between the Dee and Don, bounded on the
west by Strathdon and Glenmuick. Towie
lies on the north. The parish is broad at the
two ends, and narrow in the middle, the
length being about six miles. The interior
part of the country is interspersed with a num-
ber of small hills and large moors. The dis-
trict contains a proportion of arable land.
There are three rivulets in the district, which

fall into the Dee in the parish of Aboyne

Population in 1821, 858.

LOGIE-E ASTER, a parish in the shires
of Rqss and Cromarty, bounded on the south
by Kilmuir, on the east by Nigg, on the north-
east by Fearn, on the north by Tain, and on
the west by Eddertown and Kilmuir. The
country here is now considerably improved ;
and there are several plantations. — Population
in 1821, 813.

LOGIERAIT, a parish in the northern
part of Perthshire, being partly the termina-
tion of the peninsula formed by the confluence
of the Tummel and Tay, while another portion
lies on the east side of the former stream.
There are also a few detached portions. Part
of Dowally and Moulin lie to the north of
the body of the parish. The length of the
sides of the parish may be estimated at seven
miles. The country here is remarkably
beautiful. " Not far from the church of
Logierait, is an eminence which commands
a prospect of the greater part of the pa-
rish. The windings of the rivers, the vales,
the corn-fields, and pastures on the sides
of the hills ; the woodlands, in some places,
extending to the edge of the banks of
the rivers ; and the distant mountains in the
back-ground, form together one of the richest
landscapes that the eye can behold. Except
where the woods approach the rivers, their
banks are arable ; and much of the rising
ground is cultivated, where the declivities do
not prevent the use of the plough. The hills
afford excellent sheep pasture. Of the whole
extent, about 3000 acres are arable, and nearly
1000 are covered with wood. The village of
Logierait is eight and a-half miles north of
Dunkeld, and eight east of Aberfeldie, and is
only noted for carrying on the distillation of
whisky." In that portion of the parish lying
east from the junction of the Tummel and Tay,
are the Braes of Tullimet, which give theii

744

LOMOND. (LOCH)

name to a favourite Scottish air. It was at
Logierait that Prince Charles kept the prisoners
whom he had taken at the battle of Preston-
pans.— Population in 1821, 3095.

LOGIE- WESTER, a parish united to
Urquhart. See Urquhart and Logie- Wes-
ter.

LOIGH, a small river in Ross-shire, which
falls into Loch Long.

LOMOND HILLS, two conical and con-
spicuous hills, lying in the direction of east
and west ; the eastern being in the parish of
Falkland, county of Fife, and the western be-
ing in the parish of Portmoak, Kinross-shire.
In viewing the peninsula of Fife from the
Edinburgh side of the Forth, these hills appear
to rise considerably above any other elevations
in the district. The eastern is computed to
be 1260 feet in height, while the western is
twenty feet higher. They are generally heathy
and almost entirely pastoral, but in recent
times cultivation has been rapidly spreading up
their northern sides from the vale or Howe of
Fife. The ground connecting the two hills is
not a great deal lower than the two summits.
At the western termination of the range, the
descent is rather abrupt, and at the base lies
the beautiful and placid lake Loch Leven.

LOMOND, (LOCH) a lake lying be-
twixt Dumbarton and Stirlingshire, nearly
equally belonging to both, as the boundary
line passes through it. This lake, which is
justly esteemed as the finest and most interest-
ing expanse of water in Britain, measures
about twenty-three miles in length from north
to south ; its breadth, where greatest, at the
southern extremity, is five miles, from which
it gradually grows narrower, till it is continued
up the vale of Glenfalloch in a mountain
streamlet. The depth of the lake is various ;
in the southern extremity it seldom exceeds
twenty fathoms ; near the north end it is in
some places a hundred fathoms, and there it
never freezes. The whole surface of the lake
extends to 31 \ square miles, or 20,000 Eng-
lish acres. The picturesque beauty of Loch
Lomond is greatly increased by nearly thirty
islands of different sizes. The islands called
Inch-Lonaig, Inch-Tavanach, Inch-Moan,
Inch- Conachan, Cre-inch, and Inch-Galbraith,
with nine islets, are in Dumbartonshire; Inch-
Cailloch, Inch- Fad, Inch-Cruin, Tor-inch,
Clair-inch, and Buc-inch, with six islets,
are in Stirlingshire; Inch- Murrin, it is under-

stood, has been left out of any political division.
These islands and islets are for the greater
part at the southern or widest end. Loch
Lomond receives the waters of the Uglass,
the Luss, the Fruin, the Falloch, and other
smaller rivulets on the west side, the Snaid
on the east, and the Endrick. its largest tri-
butary, on the south-east side. It is dis-
charged at the southern extremity by the river
Leven, which falls into the Clyde at Dumbar-
ton. Originally, the lake was called Loch-
Leven. The lake is environed in high moun-
tain scenery, and on the Stirlingshire side is
overshadowed by the lofty hill Benlomond.
" One of the finest points for enjoying the
scenery of Loch Lomond," says the author of
the Picture of Scotland, " is a place called
Stonehill, to the north of the village of Luss.
At this point, about one-third of the way up
a lofty hill, the whole breadth of the lake is
spanned by the eye, including

All the fairy crowds
Of islands which together lie,
As quietly as spots of sky

Among the evening clouds.

These islands are of different forms and mag-
nitudes. Some are covered with the most
luxuriant wood of every different tint ; others
shew a beautiful intermixture of rock and
copses ; some, like plains of emerald, scarcely
above the level of the water, are covered with
grass ; and others, again, are bare rocks, rising
into precipices, and destitute of vegetation.
From this point, they also appear distinctly
separated from each other, but not so much as
to give the idea of map or bird-eye view, which
a higher point of view would undoubtedly pre-
sent to the imagination. The prospect is
bounded on the south by the distant hills which
intervene between Loch Lomond and the
Clyde, and which here appear, in comparison
with the mountains around, to be only gentle
swells ; the Leven, its vale, the rock of Dum-
barton, and even the surface of the Clyde, are
in the same direction conspicuous. Towards
the east, the vale of the Endrick, its principal
seats, the obelisk erected to the memory of
Buchanan at Killearn, and the Lennox Hills,
are also distinctly visible. Turning to the
north, the lake is seen to wind far amongst the
mountains, which are finely varied in their
outline, and very lofty, particularly Benlo-
mond, which, like Saul among his brethren,
seems to tower to the heavens. The prospect

LONG.(LOCH)

745

here has something in it more grand than that
to the south or east, but not nearly so soft and
pleasing." The critical Macculloch thus writes
of this splendid lake, and his estimation of its
character will be allowed to be exceedingly just.
" Loch Lomond is unquestionably the pride of
our lakes ; incomparable in its beauty as in its
dimensions, exceeding all others in variety as
it does in extent and splendour, and uniting in
itself every style of scenery which is found in
the other lakes of the Highlands. I must even
assign it the palm above Loch Katrine, the
only one which is much distinguished from it
in character, the only one to which it does not
contain an exact parallel in the style of its
landscapes. With all its strange and splendid
beauties, it is a property of Loch Katrine to
weary and fatigue the eye ; dazzling by the
style and multiplicity of its ornament, and ra-
ther misleading the judgment on a first inspec-
tion, than continuing to satisfy it after long
familiarity. It must be remembered too, that
splendid and grand as are the landscapes of this
lake, and various as they may appear from their
excess and boldness of ornament, there is an
uniformity, even in that variety, and that a
sameness of character predominates every-
where. It possesses but one style : and nu-
merous as its pictures are, they are always
constructed from the same exact elements, and
these frequently but slight modifications of
each other. As with regard to the superiority
of Loch Lomond to all other lakes, there can
be no question, so, in the highly contrasted
characters of its upper and lower portions, it
offers points of comparison with the whole ;
with all those at least which possess any pic-
turesque beauty ; for it has no blank. It pre-
sents nowhere that poverty of aspect which
belongs to Loch Shin, and to many more, and
which even at Loch Katrine, marks nearly
three-fourths of the lake. Everywhere it is,
in some way, picturesque ; and, everywhere, it
offers landscapes, not merely to the cursory
spectator, but to the painter. Nor do I think
that I overrate its richness in scenery, when I
say, that if Loch Katrine and Loch Achray
are omitted, it presents numerically, more pic-
tures than all the lakes of the Highlands unit-
ed. With respect to style, from its upper ex-
tremity to a point above Luss, it may be com-
pared with the finest views on Loch Awe, on
Loch Lubnaig, on Loch Maree, and on Loch
Earn, since no others can here pretend to en-

ter into competition with it. There are also
points in this division not dissimilar to the
finer parts of the Trosachs, and fully equal to
them in wild grandeur. At the lower extre-
mity, it may compete with the lakes of a
middling character.'such as Loch Tummel ; ex-
celling them all, however, as well in variety as
in extent. But it possesses, moreover, a style
of landscape to which Scotland produces no
resemblance whatever ; since Loch Maree
scarcely offers an exception. This is found in
the varied and numerous islands that cover its
noble expanse ; forming the feature which,
above all others, distinguishes Loch Lomond,
and which, even had it no other attractions,
would render it, what it is in every respect,
the paragon of Scottish lakes."

LONCARTY, or LUNCARTY.aplace
in the parish of Redgorton, Perthshire, at
which is an extensive bleachfield. Here was
fought the celebrated battle of Luncarty be-
twixt the Danes and Scots, near the end of
the tenth century, in which the latter were
victorious.

LONG, (LOCH) an arm of the sea pro-
jected in a northerly direction from the firth
of Clyde, nearly opposite Gourock, and stretch-
ing inland a distance of twenty-four miles. At
its mouth a smaller arm of the sea called Holy
Loch, is protruded into Argyleshire, and about
half way up, Loch Long sends off the subsi-
diary branch Loch Goil, in a north-westerly
direction ; after this Loch Long tends to a
north-easterly direction. At its entrance the
breadth is a mile and a half ; but after passing
Loch Goil it becomes little more than half a
mile broad ; finally it tapers to a point, in its
inner part appearing almost like an inland lake.
The coast is generally bold and mountainous.
The lake divides Argyleshire on the west,
from Dumbartonshire on the east.

LONG, (LOCH) a small arm of the sea,
in the south-west part of Ross- shire, projected
inland from Loch Alsh in a north-easterly di-
rection, and forming the northern boundaiy of
Kintail.

LONGANNET, a small village in the pa-
rish of Tulliallan, Perthshire.

LONGFORGAN, a parish in Perthshire,
partly within the Carse of Gowrie, and lying
with its south side upon the Tay. On the
west it is bounded by Inchture and Abernyte,
on the north by Kettins, and on the east by
the united parishes of Foulis-Easter and
5c

740

LONGFORGAN.

LiiTidie, and of Liff and Benvie. Its shape is
irregular ; the greatest length is seven miles,
and the greatest breadth about three and a
half; but in some places it is so narrow, that
the whole parish does not contain above 7000
acres. The surface is uneven. Its southern
boundary upon the Tay to the eastward is bold
and steep, and ends in the rocky promontory
of Kingoodie. From that point a beautiful
bank rises, which as it proceeds north and west,
takes the shape of a crescent, and ends in a
bluff point, about three miles from its com-
mencement, at a place called the Snobs of
Drimmie, from which to the river Tay
the surface is a perfect plain, its lowest part
being a portion of the rich and beautiful
Carse of Gowrie. There are three remark-
able hills in the parish, Dron, Ballo, and
Lochtown. Webster's description of this dis-
trict is so much better than any other in his
work, that we give his words a place. " Upon
every estate there are great quantities of grow-
ing timber of all kinds, oak, ash, elm, &c. ;
many of the trees are from one hundred to
one hundred and fifty years of age ; and there
are about 600 acres of fine thriving planta-
tions, from thirty to forty years old. There
are several orchards, one in particidar at
Monorgan, reckoned the best in the Carse for
yielding fine fruit. There are two other
places which may be called villages, besides
Longforgan. viz Kingoodie and the small ham-
let of Lochtown. The most remarkable
building is Castle- Huntly, built on the top of
a rock, which rises in the middle of the plain,
and commanding one of the most varied and
extensive prospects that imagination can fancy.
It is said to have been built about the year
1 452, by Lord Gray, and named in honour of
his lady, who was of the family of Huntly.
In 1615, it came into the possession of the
Strathmore family, who changed its name to
Castle-Lyon. In 1777, it was purchased,
along with the estate, by Mr. Paterson, who
repaired it in a most elegant manner, and
laid out the plantations and pleasure grounds
in the finest modern style. Drimmie-house,
the seat of Lord Kinnaird, is also in this parish.
Mylnefield, a gentleman's seat, is beautifully
situated on a rising ground to the east of the
village. It is surrounded with a great deal of
planting, and commands a most excellent pros-
pect of the Tay, the distant hills of Fife, and
the rich banks of Gray and Lundie, in Forfar-
32.

shire. Hitherto no mineral, except mail: and
freestone, has been found ; the latter, wrought
at the quarry of Kingoodie, is perhaps the best
in Britain. The district shows the remains
of some ancient encampments." The village
of Longforgan is of considerable size, but of a
straggling appearance, situated on the road
from Perth to Dundee, about sixteen miles
from the former and six from the latter. It
enjoys a delightful situation on the rising
ground which bounds the Carse on the east,
and commands a fine prospect ofthe Tay. It
was erected into a free burgh of barony, by
Charles II., in 1672, in favour of Patrick,
earl of Strathmore and Kinghorn, with power
to elect and constitute bailies, &c, and to hold
a weekly market and two annual fairs. There
is now a handsome modern church, erected by
Mr. Paterson of Castle- Huntly, who acquired
the superiority of the village when he pur-
chased the estate. — Population of the village
and parish in 1821, 1544.

LONGFORMACUS, a parish in the dis-
trict of Lammermoor, Berwickshire, of a most
irregular figure, but generally reckoned twelve
miles in length, by six in breadth ; surrounded
by the parishes of Dunse, Langton, Greenlaw,
Westruther, Cranshaws, and Abbey St. Ba-
thans. It is quite hilly, being in the midst of
the Lammermoor range, and is for the greater
part pastoral. The low grounds are now well
cultivated. With the exception of two fine
conical hills, called Dirrington Laws, which
are seen at a great distance, it contains no lo-
calities of any interest. — Population in 1821,
402.

LONG-ISLAND. This appellation is
bestowed on that district of the Hebrides, ex-
tending from the island of Lewis on the north,
to Barra on the south, comprehending Lewis,
Harris, Benbecula, North and South Uist, Bar-
ra, &c, being a space of one hundred and sixty-
tix miles long and eight broad on an average*
The reason for so many islands being included
in this title, is that the sounding between
each is so shallow that the whole appear as if they
had once been a continuous ridge of land.
The chief passage through is by the sound of
Harris.

LONG-NIDDRY, a rural village in the
parish of Gladsmuir, Haddingtonshire, lying
about four miles north-east of Tranent, and
three east of Port-Seton. This is a curious
little old fashioned village, formerly much lar-

LOUDON.

747

ger, and the appendage of a baronial mansion-
house. The Laird of Long-Niddry was a
zealous Reformer, and had John Knox for the
tutor of his children. When residing here,
he often preached in the family chapel to
the inhabitants ; and the ruins of that edifice,
overgrown in their decay by ivy and weeping
plants, are yet pointed out and visited by his
admirers.

LONG-SIDE, a parish in the district of
Buchan, Aberdeenshire, of an irregular figure,
bounded on the north by Old Deer and Lon-
may, on the east by St. Fergus and Peter-
head, on the south by Cruden, and on the west
by Old Deer. It is like Buchan in general ;
is level, and liable to be overflowed by the
Ugie. At the small village of Nether Kin-
mundy there is a woollen manufactory — Po-
pulation in 1821, 2357.

LONMAY, a parish in Aberdeenshire, ex-
tending ten miles in length, by four miles in
breadth at the widest part ; bounded on the
south-east byCrimond, on the south by Long-
side and Old Deer, on the south-west by
Strichen, on the west and north-west by Ra-
then, and on the east by the sea. It has four
miles of sea-coast, and the shore is fiat and
sandy. The soil of the parish is various.
Near the sea side is the lake of Strathbeg,
covering some hundreds of acres, and originat-
ing in a rivulet having been blocked up by sand.
North-west from thence is Lonmay Kirk, and
near it is the elegant seat of Cairness, en-
vironed in plantations. — Population in 1821,
1589.

LORN, or LORNE, a district in Argyle-
shire, lying generally betwixt Loch Awe and
the sound at the mouth of Loch Limine, and
extending about thirty miles in length. On
the north it is bounded by Loch Etive. Po-
pularly, it is divided into the minute sections
of Upper, Mid, and Nether Lorn. The chief
or only town is Oban. Lorn is a marquisate
in the noble family of Argyle.

LOSSIE, a river in Morayshire, rising near
the centre of that county in the parish of
Edenkeillie, which, after passing through
the parish of Dallas, and flowing in a north-
erly and north-easterly direction round the
town of Elgin, falls into the sea at Lossie-
mouth.

LOSSIEMOUTH, a village in the parish
of Drainy, Morayshire, just mentioned as being
situated at the mouth of the Lossie, and hence

its name. It is the sea port of Elgin, from
which it is distant six or seven miles. It has
a convenient small harbour, and a new one is
proposed to be built by the magistrates of
Elgin.

LOTH, a parish in Sutherlandshire, lying
on the northern shore of the Moray firth, im-
mediately to the south-west of the Ord of
Caithness. It is bounded on the inland side
by Kildonan. It is a mere stripe in figure,
being about twelve miles in length, by from
one and a half to three and a half in breadth.
The district along the coast is arable, and the
upper hilly part is pastoral. The water of
Helmsdale issues from the vale of Kildonan,
and falls into the sea near the northern extre-
mity of Loth parish, at the village of Helms-
dale, which is described under its proper head.
—Population in 1821, 2008.

LOTHIAN, a district of country on the
south side of the firth of Forth, of consider-
able extent in ancient times, but by modem
interpretation, including only the counties of
Linlithgow, Edinburgh, and Haddington, —
or West, Mid, and East Lothian. For a more
complete account of this territory than is to be
found in any other topographical work, we re-
fer to the head Edinburghshire. It confers
the title of Marquis on the noble family of Kerr.

LOTHOSCAIR, a small island in Loch
Linnhe, Argyleshire.

LOTHRY, a small stream in Fife, which,
after a course of six or seven miles, falls into
the Leven, below the town of Leslie.

LOUDON, a parish in the district of Cun-
ningham, Ayrshire, extending nine miles in
length, by a breadth towards Eaglesham of
seven miles ; but at the western extremity it is
not above three miles broad. Kilmarnock
parish lies on the west. The parish is situat-
ed at the extremity of the strath of the river
of Irvine, which here separates the parish from
that of Galston, and this, narrow strath from
east to west forms a kind of ventilator, which
is thought to contribute towards the health of
the inhabitants. The greater part of the district
is arable, and it possesses the villages of Lou-
don, Newmills, Derval, and Auldtown. New-
mills stands on the Irvine, partly within the
parish of Galston. The author of the statisti-
cal account informs us that this parish was
first improved by John, Earl of Loudon, who
deserves the name of the father of agriculture
in this part of the shire. He prudently be-

748

LUCE.

gan by making roads through the parish as
early as 1733; an excellent bridge was, by
his influence, built over Irvine water, and the
road from thence, and from his house to
Newmills, was the first road in Ayrshire,
made by statute- work. The castle of Loudon
has been in recent times rebuilt, in the castel-
lated form, in a style of great elegance. It is
situated amidst some fine grounds near the Ir-
vine. East from it is Loudonhill, of note in
Scottish history for the battle fought at it, or
rather at the neighbouring farm of Drumclog,

in 1679 See Avendale. The " woods

and braes" of Loudon furnish a theme for one
of Tannahill's best songs. — Population of the
landward part of the parish in 1821, 1861.

LOUISBURGH, a small suburb of the
town of Wick, Caithness, built on the entailed
estate of Lord Duffus.

LOWLANDS, the popular designation of
all that portion of Scotland not included with-
in the district of the Highlands. The Lowlands
may thus be said to include all Scotland south
of the Forth and the Clyde, a portion of Stir-
lingshire, Dumbartonshire, and all the penin-
sula of Fife, a part of Perthshire, nearly the
whole of Forfarshire, and the lower country
along the coast from thence to Duncansb}*-
head. There is no regular boundary. The
perfect prevalence of the English language, —
at least the Scottish dialect of that language, —
and English usages and dress, under the same
modifications, are the marks which distinguish
the Lowlands from the Highlands, indepen-
dent of the comparative altitude of the land,
which, in many instances, is no criterion. As
the Lowlands, in reality, compose Scotland
proper, the district need not be here made the
object of lengthened description. Within the
low country is the district of the Southern
Highlands, being the hilly part of the shires of
Selkirk. Peebles, Lanark, and Dumfries.

LOWS, (LOCH OF THE) a small
lake extending no more than three quarters of
a mile in length, by a quarter of a mile in
breadth, in the north-western comer of the
parish of Ettrick, Selkirkshire. It lies in a
wild mountainous territory, and is formed by
the gathering of the water of Yarrow. At the
northern extremity it is emitted by a channel
into St. Mary's loch, from whence the river
Yarrow flows.

LOWS, (LOCH OF THE) a beautiful
small lake in the parish of Cluny, Perthshire,

a few miles east from Dunkeld, on the road
from that place to Blairgowrie.

LUBNAIG, a beautiful lake in Perthshire,
in the parishes of Balquhidder and Callander,
extending five miles in length, and from half a
mile to three quarters of a mile in breadth. It
takes its name from its winding appearance,
forming three gentle sweeps in the distance of
a few miles. It receives the waters of Loch
Voil at its north-western extremity, and at the
south end it emits the water of the Teith
river. It is the first lake the traveller comes
to in passing up the vale of the Teith from
Callander. Macculloch notices its charac-
teristics in these words, " Loch Lubnaig is a
lake remarkable for its singularity, and far from
deficient in beauty. It is rendered utterly un-
like every other Scottish lake, by the complete
dissimilarity of its two boundaries; the one
being flat and open, and the other a solid wall
of mountain, formed by the steep and rocky
declivity of Ben-Ledi. Though long, it there-
fore presents little variety ; but its best land-
scapes are rendered very striking by their great
simplicity, and by the profound and magnificent
breadth of shade which involves the hill, as it
towers aloft, impending over the black waters
on which it casts a solemn gloom. Nor is it
deficient in all those minute ornaments of rock
and tree, and cultivation, and of sinuous and
picturesque shores, which serve to contrast
with and embellish the breadth and grandeur
of character. Ardwhillary, the seat of the
Abyssinian Bruce, has acquired a sort of clas-
sical reputation, as having been the place
where he secluded himself for the purpose of
writing his opus magnum."

LUCE (BAY OF), or GLENLUCE
BAY, a spacious bay in Wigtonshire, formed
by the projection of the Rhinns of Galloway,
as they are called, being the two peninsulas of
the county of Wigton. Between the two is
Luce Bay, which is about twenty miles in
width throughout, and rather more in length
inland. It has generally a fine sandy bottom,
and is a safe place of anchorage for vessels.
It takes its name from the river Luce, which
falls into it at its inner extremity.

LUCE, the river just noticed, is one of the
principal streams of Wigtonshire, which ori-
ginating among the hills of Carrick in Ayrshire,
and intersecting the county of Wigton in a
southerly direction, falls into Luce Bay. The
vale through which it flows has from it been

LUCE. (OLD)

749

called Glenluce, and under this name there
was once a large tract of country, forming
a parish, chiefly on the left bank of the river,
which is now divided into the parishes of
Old and New Luce. The word Luce, or Lus,
is said to import an herb, or, as some say, a
leek; and from the same etymon we have per-
haps the French lis, or lily. Glenluce has
also given a name to a village in the parish of
Old Luce. The ruins of the once splendid
establishment of Glenluce Abbey are within
the latter parochial district, immediately to be
mentioned.

LUCE (NEW), a parish in Wigtonshire,
forming part of the old parish of Luce till
1646, when, for the accommodation of the in-
habitants, it was partitioned into the parishes
of Old and New Luce. This division is the
upper part of the original district ; it is of an
irregular figure, extending about ten miles in
length by from five to six in breadth, and lying
almost entirely on the left bank of the river
Luce. It has Ayrshire on the north, the pa-
rish of Kirkcowan on the east, Old Luce on
the south, and Inch on the west. It consists
partly of high and low ground. The arable
land is but limited in amount, and lies princi-
pally on the banks of the rivers ; the greater
part of the high land is covered by rocks or
heath. The other chief water besides the
Luce, is the Cross water, which runs through
a large portion of the parish, and falls into the
Luce on its left bank at the village of New
Luce.— Population in 1821, 609.

LUCE (OLD), a parish in Wigtonshire,
lying immediately south of New Luce, and
bounded by Luce Bay on the south. About
a third part of it lies on the right hand of the
river Luce, and the remainder on the opposite
side. The parish is bounded on the west by
Inch and ^Stoneykirk, and on the east by Kirk-
cowan and Mochrum ; in length it is ten miles,
by a breadth of from two to seven. There is
not a half of the district under cultivation,
there being a good deal of moorish land, but im-
provements have long since commenced. Near
the mouth of the Luce, the valley of the river
is warm and pleasing in appearance, from plan-
tations and the effect of careful culture. In
this quarter, on the left bank of the Luce, is
the village of Glenluce, noticed under its own
head ; and, at the distance of a mile and a half
up the vale, behind the town, are the ruins of
Glenluce Abbey. It is mentioned by Keith

that this abbey — ValKs Lucis — was founded by
Rolland, lord of Galloway and constable of
Scotland, the monks being of the. Cistertian
order, and brought from Melrose. Walter,
abbot of this place, was sent to Scotland by
John, Duke of Albany. In 1235 the monas-
tery was plundered by the lawless soldiery of
Alexander II., when he was subduing the re-
bellion of the Gallowaymen, in favour of Tho-
mas, the bastard son of Alan, the lord of Gal-
loway. The king had the appointment to this
abbey, and the Pope had merely the confirma-
tion. The abbey had a large garden and or-
chard, of twelve Scots acres, which now forms
the glebe of the minister of Old Luce
parish. James IV. and his Queen Mar-
garet, on their pilgrimage to Whithorn, (an-
other abbey in Galloway) visited Glenluce
Abbey in July 1507, when the king, as we
learn from the treasurer's accounts, gave a pre-
sent of four shillings (4d. Sterling) to the gar-
deners. At the epoch of the Reformation the
Earl of Cassillis, who held the office of bailie
to the Abbey of Glenluce, obtained from the
commendator, Mr. Thomas Hay, on the 14th
of February 1561-2, a lease of the whole pro-
perty and revenues of that monastery, for
the annual payment of 1000 marks, or
L.666, 13s. 4d. Scots., which was very far
below the amount of the real revenues of the
abbey. The whole property of the monastery
of Glenluce was vested in the king by the ge-
neral annexation act in 1 587 ; and it was grant-
ed by King James, in 1602, to Mr. Lawrence
Gordon, the commendator of Glenluce, a son
of Alexander Gordon, the bishop of Gallo-
way. On the death of Alexander Gordon in
1610, this property went to his brother, John
Gordon, the dean of Salisbury, who gave it,
with his only child Louisa, in marriage, to Sir
Robert Gordon of Gordonstoun, from whom
it was purchased by the king in 1613, and an-
nexed to the property and revenues of the bi-
shopric of Galloway. After episcopacy had
been abrogated in 1641, Charles I. granted
the whole property of this religious house to
the University of Glasgow. This property
was restored to the bishopric in 1681, and
was enjoyed by the bishops of Galloway
till the final abolition of episcopacy in 1689.
The abbey of Glenluce appears, from the
ruins, to have been an extensive pile of build-
ing. Symson, in his account of Galloway,
1684, says, that the steeple, and a part of the

750

L U N A N.

walls of the church, together with the chapter-
house, the walls of the cloisters, the gate-
house, with the walls of the large precincts,
were, for the most part, then standing. The
whole is now a vast mass of ruins, covering
about an acre and a half of ground, notwith-
standing the vast quantities which have been
carried away. The only part that now re-
mains entire, is a small apartment, on the east
side of the square, within which stood the
cloisters. In the middle of this apartment
there is a pillar about fourteen feet high, from
which eight arches spring, and have their ter-
minations in the surrounding walls ; the centre
of every arch is ornamented by foliage, and
various figures, very well cut, in coarse free-
stone. Tradition reports Michael Scot to
have been at one time Abbot of Glenluce, arid
that his magical library still exists under a
particular part of the ruins. At a period coe-
val with this ancient abbey, there were situat-
ed here two chapels besides the parish church,
all of which were the property of the abbot
and monks — Population in 1821, 1957.

LUGAR, or LUGGAR, a small river in
Ayrshire, arising in the Cumnock lakes, and
falling into the water of Ayr, at Barskimming.

LUGG-IE, a small river in Dumbarton-
shire, falling into the Kelvin, near Kirkintil-
loch.

LUGTON, a suburb of Dalkeith, on the
brow of the eminence north from that town.
It was anciently a barony, but as a village it is
now nearly extinguished by modern " im-
provements."

LUGTON, a small rive? in Renfrewshire,
rising in Loch Libo in the parish of Neilston,
and falling into the Garnock, in the parish of
Kilwinning, about a mile below the castle of
Eglintoun.

LUINA, (LOCH) otherwise Loch Avich,
under which head it is noticed.

LUING, a small island in the parish of
Kilbrandon, Argyleshire, lying in the same
cluster with Easdale and Seil. It lies to the
south of the latter, and in the sound betwixt it
and the mainland (Nether Lorn) lies the is-
land of Shuna. It extends about six miles in
length, and is about one in breadth. It
abounds in the slate so commonly found in
these isles. On it is found a very good speci-
men of one of those circular forts of loose stone,
so often described. This particular one happens
to be oval of about twenty yards by fifteen.

LUGUT, a rivulet in Edinburghshire,
rising in the wilds of Heriot parish, and after
a course of a few miles falling into the Gala
Water below Haugh-head.

LUMPHANAN, a parish in Aberdeen-
shire, bounded on the west by Coul, and on
the east by Kincardine-o-Neil, extending about
six miles in length from north to south, by a
breadth of four. Hills surround the greater
part of the district. The name, which signi-
fies " the bare little valley,'' leads us to sup-
pose that originally the place had been bare
and unproductive ; but time has produced great
changes, and the low grounds are now fruitful
and well-cultivated. There is a lake in the
parish of a mile in length, called the Loch of
Auchlossen, which produces pikes and eels in
great plenty. It is shallow and susceptible
of being drained. The parish has a few
rivulets. Lumphanan is noticed in Scottish
history, on account of having been the district
in which the usurper Macbeth is understood
to have been slain, (1057.) The spot where
this deed is said to have happened is about a
mile north from the kirk, on the brow of a
hill, where a huge cairn of stones has been
raised as commemorative of the transaction.
While flying from the south, it is told, he was
here overtaken by MacdufF, and immediately
slain in single combat. — Population in 1821,
733.

LUNAN, a river in Forfarshire, rising
from a spring called Lunan Well, in the parish
of Forfar, and running through the lake of
Rescobie, it flows in an easterly direction a dis-
tance of from twelve to fourteen miles, when
it falls into the sea at Lunan Bay, near Red-
castle.

LUNAN BAY, the bay just mentioned,
is a broad sinus of four miles along the
coast of Forfarshire, at the inner extremity of
which it receives the river Lunan.

LUNAN, a parish in Forfarshire, lying on
the left bank of the river Lunan, which sepa-
rates it from Inverkeilor, bounded by the sea
or Lunan Bay on the east, part of Maryton, and
Craig on the north, and Kinnell on the west.
It is nearly rectangular, being about two miles
long, by one in breadth, and therefore one of
the smallest parishes in the shire. The shore
is sandy, and bounded by hillocks overgrown
with bent ; but the adjoining land is for the
most part steep and high. The ground rises
so rapidly from the river towards the north,

L U S S.

751

that, when viewed from the south, the parish
has the appearance of being situated on the
side of a hill ; but, at the top, it becomes again
flat, and continues so to the distance of several
miles beyond the parish. The situation is at
once pleasant, and advantageous for agricul-
ture— Population in 182], 306.

LUNDIE, a parish in the western part of
Forfarshire, to which in 1618 was united the
parish of Foulis-Easter, situated within the
county of Perth. Limdie is of a square form,
bounded by Kettins on the west, Newtyle on
the north, and Auchterhouse on the east ; it
comprises 3258 acres. Foulis-Easter is of a
triangular form, its greatest length being four
miles, and its medium breadth somewhat more
than one. Conjunctly, the district forms a
productive well-cultivated tract of country,
embellished with plantations, and possessing
several small lakes. The greater part of
Lundie is the property of Lord Viscount
Duncan, who is patron of the parish. The old
church of Foulis was founded by Sir Andrew
Gray of Foulis, ancestor to Lord Gray, for a
provost and several prebendaries, in the reign
of James II. — Population in 1821, — Lundie,
401, and Foulis, 488.

LUNG A, a small island of Argyleshire,
belonging to the parish of Jura and Colonsay,
and having the sound of Luing betwixt it and
the island of that name. It measures about
two miles long, by half a mile broad, and pos-
sesses a rugged surface.

LUNESTING, a parish in Shetland now
incorporated with Nesting. See Nesting.

LUSS, a parish in Dumbartonshire, lying
on the west side of Loch Lomond, along which
it extends upwards of nine miles, by a breadth
of five and a half in its northern, and two and
a half in its southern, quarter. It has Bonhill
on the south, Row on the west, and Arroquhar
on the north. Originally, the parish was of
much greater extent. The country here is
exceedingly beautiful, especially on the borders
of the lake, where it is well wooded and culti-
vated. The parish is otherwise mountainous
and pastoral. The parish of Luss took its
name from the place -where the church and
village stand, on the western bank of Loch
Lomond, on a peninsula between the small ri-
ver Luss and the lake. This place derived its
appellation from the Gaelic lus, signifying a
plant or herb. The church of Luss was dedi-
cated to Saint Mackessog, a native of Lennox,

who was a bishop and confessor, and suffered
martyrdom about the year 520, at a place be-
low Luss, on the side of the lake, where a
large cairn of stones was raised to his me-
mory. He was buried in the parish church,
and was long regarded as the tutelar saint of
this part of the country. The present village
of Luss is a delightful little place, and is
much resorted to in summer, on account of its
being a convenient station for a tourist who
wishes to spend a few days in search of the
picturesque. Four islands in Loch Lomond be-
long to the parish. — Population in 1821 , 1 150.

LUTHER. See Leuther.

LUTHERMOOR, a small village in the
parish of Marykirk, Kincardineshire.

LYDOCH, (LOCH), a lake in the west-
ern wilds of Perthshire, parish of Fortingal,
with a portion of it belonging to Argyleshire,
extending several miles in length, by half a mile
in breadth. From the north-eastern part its
waters are emitted by the river Gauer, which
flows to Loch Rannoch.

LYNE, a small river in Peebles-shire,
one of the tributaries of the Tweed, in the
earlier part of its course. It originates in some
burns in the parish of Linton, and pursuing a
southerly course through Newlands parish, it
receives the Tarth below Drochil Castle, and
bounding the parish of Lyne on its south side;
it joins the Tweed at Lyne Mill.

LYNE and MEG GET, two parishes
in Peebles-shire, ecclesiastically united, though
not lying near each other. Lyne lies on the
left bank of the above stream, and measures
three miles in length, by little more than two
in breadth. It is bounded by the parish of
Edleston on the north, and Peebles on the
east. The district is hilly, and both pastoral
and arable. The road up the vale of Tweed
proceeds through the parish in a westerly di-
rection, along the river Lyne, and near it
stands the church of Lyne. The only object
worthy of notice is the remains of a distinct
Roman Camp, which is noticed under the
head Peebles-shire. The parish of Megget
is situated within the southern border of the
county, near the head of Ettrick and Yarrow,
bounded on the west by Tweedsmuir. It is
a bleak hilly and pastoral district, seven miles
in length, by six in breadth. It is intersected
by. the small stream, Megget Water, which
falls into St. Mary's Loch. — Population of
both parishes in 1821, 176.

752

MACDUFF.

LYON, (LOCH) a small lake in the
western borders of Perthshire, parish of For-
tingal, from whence flows the river Lyon in an
easterly direction to the Tay, into which it
falls two miles below Kenmore- The vale

through which the river Lyon runs is called
Glen Lyon. Though the general character of
the glen is that of a narrow alpine valley, there
are some splendid views of widely extended
scenery, as well as much river landscape.

MAALMORIE, a promontory and islet
on the south-east coast of the island of Islay.

MABERRY, (LOCH) a small lake in
the northern part of Wigtonshire, lying be-
tween the parishes of Penningham and Kirk-
cowan. It possesses several islets, on one of
which are the ruins of a castle. It is emitted
by the river Bladenoch.

MACDUFF, a sea-port town in the pa-
rish of Gamrie, county of Banff, situated about
one and a half miles east from the town of
Banff, on the opposite side of the Deveron
river. This modern town has risen since
1732, from being little else than the huts of a
few fishermen, to be a place of respectable
size and considerable trade. It is built on the
property of the Earl of Fife, whose splendid
seat is situated in its neighbourhood, and to
this nobleman it has been indebted for a va-
riety of improvements conducive to its pros-
perity. Under him it was created a burgh of
barony by George III., and he laid out a vast
sum in the erection of a harbour, which is
reckoned one of the best in the Moray Firth.
From this excellence in its harbour, Macduff
has much more import and export traffic than
Banff; possessing upwards of a dozen vessels
which trade with London and the Baltic, be-
sides innumerable fishing boats. The princi-
pal exports are corn, salmon, codfish, and gra-
nite. The town, which in 1821 contained
about 1500 inhabitants, is built on the side of
a hill descending towards the shore. The
church, or rather chapel of ease, occupies a
conspicuous situation on the eminence, and
Lord Fife has ornamented its precincts with a
cross, which has a fine effect at a little dis-
tance on either side, being relieved conspicu-
ously against the sky. The town contains a
grammar school, and a town-house and jail.
Macduff is accessible from Banff by a handsome
bridge across the Deveron, from which, look-
ing up the watc, a fine view is obtained.

MACDUIE, (BEN) a lofty mountain on
the confines of the counties of Inverness and
Aberdeen.

MACH AIG, (LOCH) a small lake in the
parish of Kilmadock (Doune,) Perthshire,
environed in fine woody scenery.

MACH ANY, a rivulet in Perthshire, pa-
rish of Muthill, falling into the Earn, above
the bridge of Kinkell.

MA CHAR, (NEW) a parish in Aberdeen-
shire, bounded on the east by Belhelvie, which
separates it from the sea, on the south by Old
Machar and Dyce, and on the west by Fintray.
On its northern quarter lie the lands of Stra-
loch, which form part of the parish, but belong
to Banffshire, though far separated from that
county. The length of the parish is about
nine miles, by two and a half in breadth. The
country is generally rather flat, and the soil,
though varying in different parts, is mostly ara-
ble. On the southern quarter, the district is
bounded by the Don river, and here it exhibits
some fine plantations. Near the boundary with
Old Machar is a small lake called Bishop's
Loch, in which, upon an islet, the bishops of
Aberdeen had once a residence. The ancient
name of the parish was the Upper Parochin of
St. Machar. The saint here alluded to was
the person to whom the cathedral in Old
Aberdeen was dedicated, and this district was
part of the deanery attached to that establish-
ment. On a moor within the parish an en-
gagement took place between the Royalists and
Covenanters in 1447, in which the latter were
victorious. — Population in 1821, 1183.

MACHAR. (OLD) See Aberdeen.
(Old)

MADDERTY, a parish in the district ol
Strathearn, Perthshire, bounded on the north
by Foul is, on the east by Gask, on the south
by Trinity Gask, and on the west by Crieff.
The paris i, which extends five and a half
miles in length, by rather more at the widest

II A K E R S T O N.

753

part, is altogether arable, well enclosed and
cultivated. Along its northern boundary flows
the water of Pow, a small sluggish stream.
The parish of Madderty is that in which once
was situated the important religious house of
Inchaffray. This establishment was founded
by Gilbert, Earl of Strathearn, in the year
1200, the monks being canons-regular of the
order of St. Augustine, and brought from
Scone. It was dedicated to the honour of
God, the Virgin Mary, and John the apostle
and evaflgelist. " The site of this famous
abbey," says the sensible writer of the Statis-
tical Account, " is a small rising ground, which
seems, from its situation and name, to have
once been an island surrounded by the water
of Pow. In the charters it is denominated
Insula Missarum — the island of masses. The
establishment was endowed with many pri-
vileges and immunities by David I. and
other Scottish kings. The edifices of this
Abbey, which were once extensive, are
now in ruins, and have, on several occa-
sions, supplied abundance of stones for build-
ing houses, and making roads in the neigh-
bourhood. The few remains of this ancient
abbey, with six or seven acres of land in the
immediate vicinity, belong to the Earl of Kin-
noul, who, in consequence of this comparative-
ly small possession, is patron of about twelve
parishes that formerly were attached to the
abbey. Mauritius, abbot of this place, was
present with Robert the Bruce at the battle
of Bannockburn, and is reported to have had
taken along with him the arm of St. P'illan.
This relic might, indeed, have given some en-
couragement to the superstitious ; but one arm
of a brave Scotsman, fighting in earnest for the
liberty of his country, had more effect in ob-
taining that memorable victory, than could
have been produced by the innate virtue of all
the relics of the dead that could have been
collected. James Drummond, a younger son
of David Lord Drummond, and his lady, a
daughter of William Lord Ruthven, was first
styled Lord Inchaffray, being commendator of
that abbey, and afterwards created Lord Mad-
derty, by James VI. in the year 1607. The
present parish church is situated about three
quarters of a mile from the ruins of the abbey."
—Population in 1821, 714.

MADDIE, (LOCH) an arm of the sea on
the east coast of North Uist.

MADOIS, or MADOES (ST.) a small
parish in Perthshire, at the western extremity
of the Carse of Gowrie, lying along the north
side of the river Tay, and consisting of a
square of about a mile. It is bounded by Errol
on the east, Kinnoul on the west, and Kinfauns
on the north. The district is arable, and ex-
ceedingly beautiful. The public road from
Dundee passes through it — Population in
1821, 331.

MAGNUS (ST.) BAY, a large bay on
the west side of the mainland of Shetland ; it
has the peninsular parish of Northmaven on the
north. It affords safe and commodious an-
chorage.

MAIN, a rivulet in Argyleshire, falling in-
to the northern extremity of Loch Awe.

MAINLAND OF ORKNEY— See
Orkney.

MAINLAND OF SHETLAND.—
See Shetland.

MAINS, or MAINS OF FINTRY, a
parish in Forfarshire, lying immediately north
of the parish of Dundee, and bounded by Muir-
house on the east. It is about four miles in
length along the south part, by three in breadth.
It is narrow in the northern quarter. The
parish is in a great measure part of the vale of
the small river Dichty, which divides the
parish into nearly two equal parts. From the
banks of this beautiful stream, the ground rises
gently to the north and south. Sometimes the
parish is called Strathdichty. The country has
a sweet and delightful appearance, being well
enclosed by thorn hedges, and possessing some
fine trees and plantations. On the Dichty are
several mills. Near the left bank of this stream
is the extensive bleachfield of Claverhouse, at
no great distance from which was the seat of
General Grahame, whose title of Claverhouse
from this his patrimonial estate, once sounded
such alarm in Scotland. The Grahames of
Fintry were one of the oldest families in this
part of the country. — Population in 1821,
1084.

MAKERSTON, a parish in Roxburgh-
shire, of an oblong figure, lying along the north
bank of the Tweed, bounded by Kelso on the
east, Smailholm on the north, and Mertoun on
the west The parish opposite, to it on the
south bank of the Tweed, is Maxton. It ex-
tends from five to six miles in length, by from
four to five in breadth. The countiy here is
5 D

764

MANO R.

flat, with l gentle ascent from the river, and is
Tinder a high state of cultivation and enclo-
sures. The reverend statist of the parish, and
all that have followed him, sagaciously ob-
serve that the Tweed is not navigable at this
place; (!) they might have added, nor is it for
thirty miles further down ; but it is here a
beautiful broad clear stream, environed with
the finest sylvan banks, and generally yielding
excellent salmon and trout fishing. — Popula-
tion in 1821, 345.

MALZIE WATER, a small river in
Wigtonshire, tributary to the Bladenoch, which
rises in Mochrum lake, parish of Mochrum.

MANOR, a parish in the county of Pee-
bles, with its northern extremity on the Tweed,
from which it extends in a southerly direction
about nine miles, by a breadth of three. It
is bounded by Peebles on the north, Stobo and
Drummelzier on the west, Megget on the south,
and on the south-east by Yarrow. The district
is entirely the vale of the stream called Manor
"Water, which rises in its southern hilly quarter,
and falls into the Tweed about two miles above
Peebles. Thelowergroundsnear this riveret are
all arable, and the hills which recede from thence,
some of which are very high, are pastoral.
The country has been a good deal improved in
recent times. At one period, prior to the dis-
solution of episcopacy, the parish belonged to
the rector of Peebles, and is supposed to de-
rive its name from being the manor of that
churchman. The parish contains several curi-
osities of an antique description ; in particular,
the remains of a Roman camp, where a Ro-
man urn and some old coins were dug up a
few years ago ; a tower raised upon an emin-
ence, and which appears to have served as the
watch-tower of the district ; and a huge up-
right stone, built into the wall by a way-side,
marked by strange holes, and apparently an
aboriginal monument. Perhaps the greatest
curiosity of all, as it certainly is the only ob-
ject which now attracts the attention of tour-
ists, is the humble dwelling of the late David
Ritchie, a deformed and eccentric dwarf, known
as the prototype of the fictitious personage
forming the subject of the tale of the Black
Dwarf, by the author of Waverley. The cot-
tage lies in the vale of Manor Water, near
the public road, at the farm-steading called
Woodhouse, and at no great distance from the

seat of the late Professor Ferguson Popula-

32.

tion in 1821, 324, being just four more than in
1755.

MARE or MAREE, (LOCH) a lake in

Ross-shire, in the parish of Gairloch, stretch-
ing in the direction of south-east and north-
west, a length of about sixteen miles, by a
breadth of from one to two, and studded with
some fine woody islets. Its waters are emit-
ted by a small river into Loch Ewe on the west
coast. Macculloch's account of this beautiful
sheet of water is the best yet written. " This
noble lake," says he, " lies so completely out
of the road, and so far beyond the courage of
ordinary travellers, that except by Pennant, I
believe it never has been visited. It is bound-
ed by high mountains, and having a very varied
and irregular outline, its shores present a good
deal of interesting scenery ; the entire lake it-
self being displayed from many different points,
and under a great variety of aspects, so as to
produce some of the finest specimens of this
class of landscape in the Highlands. In point
of style, it ranks rather more nearly with Loch
Lomond than with any other of the southern
lakes ; though still very inferior. The most
accessible and the finest general views may
be obtained from the rocky hills that bound the
exit of the river. The mountain outline, which
is grand and various, presents a greater diver-
sity of form and character than any of the Scot-
tish lakes ; but Ben Lair is always the princi-
pal feature ; graceful, solid, and broad. The
middle ground is a great source of variety :
splendid and wild, an intermixture of rock and
wood. The winding and wooded course of the
Ewe adds much to its liveliness. Though
there is a road on each side of the lake, the cir-
cuit is both laborious and tedious. The north-
ern margin of Loch Maree presents a great va-
riety of close shore scenery, consisting of rocky
and wooded bays and creeks, rising into noble
overhanging cliffs and mountains. In one
place the remains of a fir forest, in a situation
almost incredible, produce a style of landscape
that might be expected in the Alps, but not
among the more confined scope and lower ar-
rangements of Scottish mountains. It was
with some difficulty we explored our nocturnal
way through the labyrinth of islands in the cen-
tre of this lake ; as they are little raised above
the water, and covered with scattered firs and
with thickets of birch, alder, and holly, while
they are separated by narrow and tortuous

M A R K I N C H.

755

channels. Inch Maree has been dedicated to
a saint of that name ; and it still contains a
burial place, chosen, it is said, like all those
which are found in islands, to prevent depreda-
tions from the wolves of ancient days. I ought
not to forget, before quitting Loch Maree,
what is interesting as a point of natural his-
tory, namely, the existence of the grey eagle in
this place ; because it is not known any where
else in Scotland. There was a pair in Pen-
nant's time, and there is a pair still ; one of
which I had the good fortune to see. It is a
long-lived bird ; and it is not unlikely that these
are the same individuals."

MARLIE, (LOCH) a small lake in the
parish of Kinloch, Perthshire.

MARKINCH, a parish in the county of
Fife, bounded by Falkland and Kettle on the
north, Kennoway on the east, on the south by
Wemyss, and on the west by Dysart, Kinglas-
sie, and Leslie. It extends from north to south
five and a half miles by a mean breadth of two.
In the southern end it is considerably wider.
It possesses a detached portion, lying on the sea
6hore, west from the town of Leven, and cut
off from the main portion by the intervention
of Wemyss. This small district contains the
pretty little town of Dubbieside, a resort for
sea-bathers, and west from thence the exceed-
ingly ancient and decayed town and sea port of
Methill. The parish of Markinch has a gene-
ral slope towards the south, and is under the
best state of cultivation, enclosures, and plan-
tations, being among the most beautiful parts
of Fife. It is traversed by the river Leven
and by the Orr. The great road through Fife
crosses it, and has within its bounds two large
inns, the New Inn and Plasterers' Inn. The
parish contains Balgonie castle, one of the seats
of the Earl of Leven, and from whence his
eldest son takes the title of Baron. It is a
place of great antiquity and considerable
strength, in the Gothic style, situated on the
south bank of the Leven, in the midst of some
fine woods. About half a mile east, is the
castle of Balfour, an old building, surrounded
by fine plantations and enclosures. The
house of Balbirnie is a good modern mansion,
in a delightful situation in the parish. Besides
the village of Markinch and those already men-
tioned, the parish contains the village of Mill-
town, lying on the road from Markinch to
Leven. The district abounds in coal, and has
several manufactories. The village of Mark-

inch stands near the centre of the parish, at
the distance of ten miles from Cupar, and
eight north east of Kirkaldy. It occupies an
exposed situation oh a .piece of irregular rising
ground, and on the highest part of the emin-
ence stands the parish church. Weaving is a
principal employment. Three annual fairs are
held. The reverend statist of the parish in-
forms us that the original church of Markinch
was of considerable antiquity. " It was," says
he, " given by Maldevinus, Bishop of St. An-
drews, to the Culdees in the 10 th century.
Towards the end of the 12th century, it was
mortified to the Priory of St. Andrews, by
Eugenius, the son of Hugo, a second son of
Gillimichel M'Duff, the fourth Earl of Fife,
which deed was confirmed by a charter of
King William. From this Eugenius, the
Wemyss family is supposed to have sprung.
About the beginning of the 17th century,
the small parsonage of Kirkforthar, belong-
ing to Lindsay of Kirkforthar, a cadet of
the family of Crawford, was suppressed and
annexed to Markinch. The ruins of the
church of Kirkforthar are still to be seen, in
the northern part of the parish, standing in the
middle of the old church-yard, or burying-
ground, which is enclosed by a wall, and there
many of the people belonging to the district
still bury their dead. — Population of the pa-
rish and villages in 1821, 4661.

MARNOCH, a parish in Banffshire, lying
on the north bank of the Deveron river, bound-
ed by Forglen on the east, and Rothiemay on
the west, extending from nine to ten miles in
length, and from four to five in breadth. In
general it is rather flat, being mostly surround-
ed by hills upon the west, north, and east.
It has much fine land on the banks of the river,
and is generally arable; the hilly parts are
suited for the feeding of black cattle. The
parish contains some excellent and beautiful
plantations. The church of Marnoch is situa~

ted on the Deveron Population in 1821,

2210.

MARR, a district in Aberdeenshire, lying
chiefly betwixt the Dee and Don rivers, and
including thirty-nine parishes. — See Aber-
deenshire. Marr gives the title of Earl to the
ancient and noble family of Erskine. The Ers-
kines are first noticed in history in the thirteenth
century, and some of them were at first only
Lords Erskine. Thomas,- the ninth Lord, was
created or confirmed Earl of Marr, by James IL

756

MARYTOUN.

in 1436. The peerage was attainted in the
person. of John, the tenth Earl, on account of
his accession to the insurrection of 1715 ; but it
was restored in 1824, in the person of the lineal
descendant, the late venerated John Francis
Erskine.

MARTIN, or ISLE-MARTIN, a small
fishing village on the western coast of Ross-
shire, about five miles north from the village
of Ullapool.

MARTINS, (ST.) a parish in Perth-
shire, incorporating the abrogated parish of
Cambusmichael. It lies principally on the
left bank of the Tay, immediately north from
Scone, extending from the river about three
and a half miles, by a breadth of rather more
than two. The parish is considerably elevated
above the Tay, and though the grounds are not
hilly, they are pretty much diversified by ascents
and declivities, covered in many places by plan-
tations. The district is arable. Freestone is
abundant. The house of St. Martins is a
good modern mansion. — Population in 1821,
1004.

MARTINS, (ST.) an abrogated parish in
Ross-shire, nowincorporated with Kirkmichael
and Cullicudden.

MARTORHAM, (LOCH) asmalllake
in the parish of Coylton, Ayrshire, the waters
of wbich are tributary to the Ayr.

MARY'S (ST.) LOCH, a beautiful lake
in Selkirkshire, extending about three miles
in length, by from half a mile to a mile in
breadth. It lies at the head of the vale of the
Yarrow, a river flowing from it, and is four-
teen to eighteen miles distant from Selkirk.
A smaller lake called the Loch of the Lows,
is connected with its western extremity by a
small stream. This pleasing sheet of water
is situated in the very bosom of the Southern
Highlands, and the lulls around are of the
sombre russet description so common in the
north. St. Mary's Loch abounds in fish of
various sorts, and is much resorted to in sum-
mer by anglers. Further description of the
lake is deferred till we come to the article
Yarrow.

MARYBURGH, a modern viUage in In-
verness-shire, in the parish of Kilmalie, and
situated on the south side of Locheil, at a
short distance from Fort- William. " It was
established," says a contemporary, " shoitly
after the erection of the fort of Inverlochy,
and was first named Gordonburgh from the

noble family whose property it is ; but after the
accession of the Orange family to the throne
of Britain, the fort received the name of King
William, while the adjoining village received
the name of Maryburgh, in honour of his royal
consort Queen Mary. It is a thriving place,
and, with Fort William, contains about 1200
inhabitants, who are chiefly employed in the
fisheries. "

Maryburgh, a small village in Kinross-
shire, parish of Cleish, lying about five miles
south from the town of Kinross, on the road
to the North Ferry.

MARYCULTER, a parish in the north-
ern part of Kincardineshire, lying on the south
bank of the Dee, opposite Peterculter, mea-
suring six miles in length by two in breadth,
and extending from the Dee to the Grampian
mountains. It is bounded by Banchory-Da-
venick on the east, on the south by Fetteresso,
and on the west by Durris. The original cha-
racter of this somewhat rough rocky district
of country has been greatly modified by im-
provements, and the lands are here and there
embellished by plantations. The ancient
name of the parish was Maria Cultura Po-
pulation in 1821, 860.

MARYKIRK, a parish in the southern
part of Kincardineshire, lying on the north
bank of the North Esk, at the extremity of
the Howe or hollow of the Mearns. It is of
a square form, measuring four miles in length,
by between three and four in breadth. It is
bounded by Garvock and St. Cyrus on the east,
Laurencekirk on the north, and Fettercairn on
the west. The land, which is level and arable,
is much improved, and possesses a variety of
fine plantations. The appearance of the coun-
try is very beautiful. There are two villages,
Luthermoor and Marykirk. The latter is si-
tuated on the road, about half way between
Montrose and Laurencekirk. Anciently the
parish and chief village were called Aberluth-
not.— Population in 1821, 1839.

MARYPORT, a small port on the coast
of Wigtonshire, parish of Kirkmaiden.

MARYTO UN, a parish in Forfarshire, ly-
ing on the south side of the South Esk and on
the west side of the basin of Montrose, bounded
bv Craig on the south, and Fernell on the west.
In form it is nearly a square of two miles.
The land is arable, well enclosed, and cultivat-
ed. The parish derives much advantage from
its vicinity to the town of Montrose. Near

M A U C H L I N E.

757

the basin of this town, within the parish, is the
village of Old Montrose — Population in 1821,
476. ■

MAUCHLINE, a parish at the centre of
Ayrshire, on the right bank of the river Ayr;
extending about seven and a half miles in
length, by from two to four in breadth. It is
bounded by Tarbolton on the west. The pa-
rish is in general flat, excepting Mauchline
hill, which rises a little to the north-east of the
town, and runs in a ridge, from east to west,
about a mile in the parish. From this rising
ground there is a very extensive view. The
town of Mauchline is situated on the south
side of this elevation, which gradually declines
towards the water of Ayr, on the south and
south-west. This part of the country is ex-
ceedingly beautiful, being well cultivated, en-
closed, and richly planted. The parish of
Mauchline was formerly of very great extent ;
comprehending the whole of the extensive
country which now forms the three parishes of
Mauchline, Sorn, and Muirkirk. The whole
of this large tract belonged to the Stewarts,
being a part of their larger territory of Kyle-
Stewart. The account given by George Chal-
mers of this interesting part of Ayrshire, is
well worthy of transcription. — " At the com-
mencement of the reign of William, in 1165,
Walter the son of Alan granted to the monks
of Melrose the lands of Mauchline, with the
right of pasturage, in his wide-spreading forest
on the upper branches of the Ayr river ; ex-
tending to the boundaries of Clydesdale : and
the Stewart, also, gave the same monks a car-
rucate of land, to improve, in the places most
convenient ; all which was confirmed to them
by King William, at the request of the donor.
The monks of Melrose planted, at Mauchline,
a colony of their own order ; and this establish-
ment continued a cell of the monastery of Mel-
rose, till the Reformation. In the before-
mentioned grant of the lands of Mauchline, or
in the confirmations thereof, there is no men-
tion of the church of Mauchline. It is, there-
fore, more than probable that the parish church
of Mauchline was established by the monks of
Melrose, after they had become owners of the
territory : and it is quite certain that the
church belonged to them. It is apparent, that
the country, which formed the extensive parish
of Mauchline, was but very little settled, when
the monks obtained the grant from the first
Walter. This fact shows, that during the reign

of David I., and even during the reigns of his
grandsons and successors, Malcolm IV. and
William, Renfrew and Ayr were inhabited
chiefly by Scoto-Irish, who did not supply a
full population to the country. The monks
afterwards acquired great additional property
in the district, and contributed greatly to
the settlement and cultivation of it. They
obtained ample jurisdictions over their exten-
sive estates of Mauchline, Kylesmure, and Bar-
mure, which were formed into a regality, the
courts whereof were held at Mauchline. This
village was afterwards created a free burgh of
barony, by the charter of James IV., in Octo-
ber 1510. Before the Reformation, there
were in this parish two chapels ; the one on
Greenock water, in the district which now
forms the parish of Muirkirk, and the other on
the river Ayr, on the lands that now form
the parish of Sorn : This last was dedicated to
St. Cuthbert, and stood a little to the eastward
of the present village of Catrine, on a field
which is still called St. Cuthbertsholm.
The church of Mauchline, with its tithes and
pertinents, continued, at the Reformation, to
belong to the monks of Melrose, who also held
the extensive barony of Kylesmure and Bar-
mure, in that parish ; and the whole was grant-
ed, in 1606, to Hugh, Lord Loudon. An act
of parliament was then passed ; dissolving from
the abbey of Melrose the lands and barony
before mentioned, and the parish kirk of
Mauchline, with its tithes and other property ;
and erecting the whole into a temporal lord-
ship to Hugh, Lord Loudon ; and creating the
town of Mauchline into a free burgh of barony,
with a weekly market, and two fairs yearly.
The great effect of such grants was only to
make one ungrateful, and a dozen discontented.
The monks had done fifty times more good to
the country than the Loudons ever essayed.
In 1631, the large district which forms the
parish of Muirkirk, was detached from Mauch-
line, and formed into a separate parish. In
1686, it was settled, that the district, which is
now included in the parish of Sorn, should be
detached from Mauchline, and formed into a
separate parish ; and a church was built, at
Dalgain, in that year ; but, from the distractions
that followed, the establishment of this new
parish was not fully completed till 1692. The
parish of Mauchline was thus reduced to less
than a fifth of its former magnitude. The
patronage of the church has continued in the

758

M A X T O N.

family of Loudon since the grant in 1606,
and it now belongs to the Marchioness of
Hastings, as Countess of Loudon. "

Mauchline, a town in Ayrshire, the ca-
pital of the above parish, situated on a broad
eminence near the northern bank of the Ayr
water, at the distance of sixty-two miles from
Edinburgh, thirty from Glasgow, ten from
Kilmarnock, twelve from Ayr, five from Tar-
bolton, and two from Catrine. It takes its
name from the Scoto-Irish words Magh lyn —
the plain by the pool. It is surrounded on all
sides by a delightful country, interspersed with
several elegant mansions. The following anec-
dote relative to Mauchline in a former age, is
found in Spottiswood's Church History, and
may be acceptable to some readers. The ce-
lebrated martyr of the Scottish reformation,
George Wishart, was in 1544 invited to preach
at the Church of Mauchline. On his arriving
at the place, it was found that the Sheriff of
Ayr, an enemy to the new faith, had placed a
guard of soldiers in the church, to keep him
out. Some of the country people offered to
force an entrance for him, but he would not
suffer them, saying, " It is the word of
peace I preach unto you ; the blood of no man
shall be shed for it this day : Christ is as
mighty in the fields as in the church ; and he
himself, when he lived in the flesh, preached
oftener in the desert and upon the sea-side,
than in the temple of Jerusalem." Then
walking along to the edge of the moor on the
south side of Mauchline, he preached to the
multitude that flocked about him three hours
and upwards. — In modern days Mauchline is
a town of neat appearance ; it derives no im-
portance from any circumstance, except that
of its being the capital of a rich agricultural
district of country. Besides the established
church, there is a meeting house of the United
Associate Synod. There are several excellent
benefit societies for relief of their members
and poor widows, and a Bible Society. The
parish school is well conducted and numerous-
ly attended. A small prison or lock-up-house
is now built. The weaving of cotton goods
in this, as in all the towns of the neighbour-
hood, forms a chief support of the inhabitants.
As above stated, the town was once constitut-
ed a burgh of barony, with power to elect its
own magistrates, but its charter having been lost,
its rights have not been renewed. It is entit-
led to hold seven annual fairs. Burns resided

during several years at Mossgiel, a small farm
about half a mile to the north of Mauchline, on
the left side of the road from thence to Kil-
marnock. The steading may still be seen envi-
roned by a few trees, as well as the fields which
the inspired peasant so often ploughed, and in
traversing which he composed some of his best
poems. He frequently visited Mauchline, at-
tracted by the " clachan yill," or the clachan
damsels. His chief resort was the public
house kept by John Dow, which still stands ;
a thatched house of two flats, nearly opposite
to the church-yard gate, and forming the right-
hand corner house of the opening of " the Cow-
gate." It was upon a pane in one of the back
windows of this house, that he wrote the ridi-
culous epitaph upon his host, in which he makes
out the honest publican's creed to be a mere
comparative estimation of the value of his va-
rious liquors. The cottage of Poosie Nansie,
or Mrs. Gibson, and therefore the scene of
" the Jolly Beggars," stands more immediately
opposite to the church-yard gate, with only
the breadth of " the Cowgate" between its ga-
ble and that of John Dow's house. Mauch-
line kirk, the scene of " the Holy Fair," was a
huge place of worship, of the pure barn species
so common in the landward parts of Scotland.
The whole had precisely that dark, gousty, atra-
bilious look which one would expect from a
perusal of the poem. There is now an elegant
new church in the Gothic taste, with a steeple;
In the surrounding cemetery may be seen the
graves of the Rev. Mr. Auld, Nanse Tinnock,
and several other persons who figure in the sa-
tires of Burns. The scenes of some of his
more pleasing poems — his lyrics, to wit, — are
to be found on the banks of the Ayr, at a
short distance from Mauchline — Population
of the village in 1821, 1100, including the
parish, 2057.

MAUL-ELANAN, two islets on the
north-west coast of Sutherlandshire.

MAVESTON, or MAVISTON, a tract
of sandy ground on the coast of Morayshire,
parish of Dyke and Moy, traditionally said to
have once been a productive part of the coun-
try.

MA XT ON, a parish in Roxburghshire,
lying on the south bank of the Tweed oppo-
site Mertoun, bounded by Roxburgh on the
east, St. Boswells on the west, and Ancrum
on the south- It measures nearly four miles
in length, and three in breadth. This is a rich

MAY. (ISLE OF)

759

agricultural OJstrlGt, and is well enclosed and
planted. The only object of interest in the
district is Lilliard's Edge, situated on the
boundary betwixt this parish and that of An-
crum, whereon was fought the famous battle
betwixt the Scots and English, recorded in the
present work under the head Ancrum. — Po-
pulation in 1821, 365.

MAXWELL, a parish in Roxburghshire,
now incorporated with that of Kelso.

MAXWELLTON; see Troqcjeer.

MAY (ISLE OF,) or THE MAY, an
island lying in the mouth of the Firth of Forth,
between the coasts of East-Lothian and Fife.
It measures about a mile in length, by three-
fourths of a mile in breadth, and is of rather an
uninteresting appearance. The shores are ge-
nerally cliffy, and at the western extremity the
precipices are in some places 160 feet in
height. The surface is flat, as is indicated by
the name ; May, or Magh, (hence Mayo, in
Ireland,) in Celtic, signifying a plain. The
island is of a fertile character, and its pasture
supports a number of sheep, whose fleeces are
considerably improved by a residence on the
island. There is a small lake, and also a
spring of pure water, which has been of great
benefit to the recluses who have settled within
this small territory. In early times the Isle
of May belonged to the Monks of Reading in
Yorkshire ; for whom David I. founded here
a cell or monastery, and dedicated the place to
all the Saints. Afterwards it was consecrated
to the memory of St. Hadrian, a personage
who was murdered by the Danes in one of
their incursions, and buried here, 870. His
coffin of stone lies exposed in the church-yard of
Wester Anstruther. The monks were of the
order of St. Augustine. William Lamberton, a
bishop of St. Andrews, at the end of the 13th
century, purchased the island and its convent
from the abbot of Reading ; and notwithstand-
ing the complaints made thereupon by Edward
I., bestowed them upon the canons-regular of
his own cathedral. While the island was in-
habited by religionists it acquired a reputation
for curing the barrenness of women. For this
purpose it was a place of pilgrimage not only
so long as the conventual foundation lasted,
but, so inveterate were the prejudices of the
people, for a long while afterwards. At the re-
formation the island was attached ecclesiasti-
cally to the parish of Wester Anstruther, and
at a much later date it was acquired by pur-

chase by the family of Scotstarvit in Fife. We
find that as early as the reign of Charles I. the
island was distinguished by alight from a bea-
con tower, and it is mentioned by tradition,
that the architect who built the turret was
shipwrecked on his return to land, on ac-
count of which accident several women were
burnt as witches. By an act of Estates 1635,
power was granted to James Maxwell of Inner-
wick, and JohnCunninghame of Barnes, to erect
a light-house upon the Isle of May, and collect
certain duties from shipping for its maintenance.
The duties leviable for the light of May pro-
duced much dissatisfaction after the Union ;
English and Irish vessels having for some time
been charged double rates as foreigners. —
From 1736 till 1816, the light of the May was
produced by a burning chauffer of coal on the
summit of a tower, and the only alteration
made upon the light during the whole of the
intermediate period was the increasing of the
quantity of fuel, which was done for the last
thirty years. This rude species of light was
liable to be injured by the weather, and in
many ways was objectionable. About forty
years since, the keeper of the light, his wife and
five children, were suffocated, all in one night,
in consequence of inhaling the carbonic acid gas
from the cinders, too many of which had been
allowed to accumulate. Complaints had fre-
quently been made relative to the insufficiency
of the coal light, by bodies connected with the
navigation of the east coast of Scotland, but
nothing was done to remedy the grievance till
about the year 1814, when a bill was brought
into Parliament and passed, authorizing a loan
of L. 30,000 to be made from the Treasury to
the Commissioners of Northern Light-houses,
and empowering them to purchase the island
from the Duke of Portland, for the sum of
L. 60,000 ; he having become proprietor by his
marriage with Miss Scott of Scotstarvit. This
important measure had been hastened by the
wreck, near Dunbar, of two of his Majesty's
frigates, Nymphon and Pallas, in 1810, in
consequence of the belief that the flame of a
lime-kiln, on the coast of East Lothian, was the
light of the May : these vessels were valued
at L. 100,000. The light-house erected in
consequence of these arrangements, is a com-
modious building, capable of accommodating
the families of two keepers, with some spare
room for the reception of such members of the
Light-house Board, as might happen to be de-

760

M A Y J3 O L E.

tained by contrary winds, in occasional visits
to the Bell Rock, upon which landing is
very difficult and precarious. The beacon was
lit up on the new plan, on February 1, 1816.
It is situated in lat. 56° 12', and long. 2° 36'
west of London. From the light-house, Fife-
ness bears, by compass, N. by E. \ E., distant
five miles, and the Staple Rocks lying off
Dunbar S. by W. ^ W., distant ten miles.
The light resembles a star of the first magni-
tude, and may be seen from all points of the
compass, at the distance of about seven leagues.
It is elevated 240 feet above the medium level
of the sea. The Isle of May is occasionally
visited by parties of pleasure in the summer

months, by steam vessels and small craft

Ferguson the poet paid it a visit, on board a
vessel called the Blessed Endeavour of Dun-
bar, when he wrote some beautiful lines on its
appearance, from which the following may be
selected : —

And now we gain the May, whose midnight light,

Like vestal virgin's offerings undecay'd,

To mariners bewildered acts the part

Of social friendship, guiding those that err,

With kindly radiance, to their destined port.

■ Here the verdant shores

Teem with new freshness, and regale our sight
With caves, that ancient time, in days of yore,
Sequester' d for the haunt of druid lone.
There to remain in solitary cell.

MAY, a small river in Perthshire, rising
among the Ochill hills, in the parish of Forgan-
denny, after a circuitous course of eight or
nine miles, it Mis into the Earn, a short way
below the bridge of Forteviot, and nearly op-
posite to Dupplin House. The vale through
which this small stream flows, is well known
to the lovers of Scottish song, by the title of
Endermay or Invermay. The birches which
grow in Invermay were celebrated, about a
century ago, by Mallet, in a pleasing little ode,
which is known, however, to have been only
written to suit an air which had long before
existed under the same name. It is chiefly
around the house of Invermay, at the mouth
of the little vale, that these trees are to be
seen. They are accompanied by a prodigious
quantity of other trees ; and it is pleasing to
know that the whole scenery of Invermay is
worthy of the attentions which the muses of
music and poetry have conspired to bestow
upon it. Through the wide-spread pathless
woods, the little stream dashes over a series of
cascades, its course generally unseen by reason
of the trees, and sometimes on account of over-

hanging rocks. At one place of peculiar rug-
gedness and picturesque beauty, the water is
caused by the rocks to make a strange noise,
which is perhaps only to be described by the
uncouth name which the country people have
given to it— the Humble Bumble.

MAYBOLE, a parish in the district of
Carrick, Ayrshire, lying on the sea-coast, im-
mediately south from the water of Doon, which
divides it from Ayr ; it is bounded by Dal-
rymple and Kirkmichael on the east, and Kirk-
oswald on the south. The parish measures
twelve miles in length from north to south, by
a breadth of seven miles. The surface is hilly,
but fertile, and is both pastoral and arable.
There are now a variety of plantations, and
the district is pleasing in appearance, especi-
ally on the banks of the Doon. The beauti-
ful grounds around the seat of the Marquis of
Ailsa, on the coast at this part of Ayrshire,
are noticed under the head Kirkoswald. The
present parish comprehends the ancient and
abrogated parish of Kirkbride.

Maybole, a town in the above parish,
and the capital of the district of Carrick, is
situatedin a most delightful part of the country,
on the face of a gentle hill, with a southern
exposure, at the distance of nine miles from
Ayr, eighty-one from Edinburgh, twenty-
five from Ballantrae, forty-four from Glasgow,
and twenty-two from Kilmarnock. Maybole,
as a seat of population, is a place of consider-
able antiquity. The reverend statist of the
parish imagined that the wofd Maybole, was
only a corruption of Maypole, which is a most
absurd conclusion, and is given without the
knowledge, that, according to the charters,
the name was at one period Maybotil. Under
this aspect, the word, nevertheless, seems to
have puzzled the ingenious George Chalmers ;
yet he endeavours to account for it, by saying
that it probably signified " the dwelling of the
kinsmen." The manner in which etymolo-
gies have thus been sought for at a distance,
while they might be found at the very door, is
a satire on the researches of philological anti
quaries. It happens that here, as in a num-
ber of instances, the popular, or apparently
corrupt title, is the more correct. In the
part of the country in which the town is si-
tuated, it is invariably styled Minnibole, and
the real meaning of this appellation is found
in a common reproachful rhyme, beginning —

MAYBOLE.

761

Miimibole's a dirty hole,
It sits aboon a mire.*

Minnyz in the British signifies a moss or miry
place ; and with botil, the term for a residence,
the whole mystery is cleared up. Keith, in
his list of religious houses, uses the popular
cognomen. We are informed by him that the
old collegiate church of Minnibole was dedi-
cated to St. Cuthbert; and in the reign of
Alexander II. it was granted by Duncan of
Carrick, with its lands and tithes, to the Cis-
tertian nunnery of North Berwick, which was
founded soon after 1216. The church conti-
nued to belong to the nuns of that establish-
ment till the Reformation, although it appears
that one-half of the vicarage was annexed to
the prebend called Sacrista Major, in the col-
legiate church of Glasgow. In the church of
Maybole, a chaplainry, which was dedicated to
St. Ninian, was founded in 1451 by Sir Gil-
bert Kennedy of Dunure, who granted to God
and to St. Ninian, the lands of Largenlen and
Brockloch, in Carrick, for the support of a
chaplain to perform divine service. On the
lands of Auchindrain, which is about three
miles north-east of Maybole, there was, before
the Reformation, a chapel, that was subordin-
ate to the parish church of Maybole. The
ruins of this chapel were extant at the end of
the seventeenth century. The church of
Kirkbride stood on the sea coast, about half a
mile north of the old castle of Dunure. The
town of Maybole was created a burgh of ba-
rony 14th November 1516. in a grant to Gil-
bert, Earl of Cassillis, the patron, and to the
provost and prebendaries of the collegiate
church of Maybole, to which belonged the
lands whereon the town stands. In October
1639 an act, " ordaining the head courts of Car-
rick should be held at Mayboil, was passed by
the Lords of the Articles." — Acta Pari, v- 284.
In the present day, though the streets have the
fault of narrowness, and contain no eminently
fine places or public buildings, Maybole never-
theless possesses, a certain degree of massive
and metropolitan magnificence, seldom seen in
much larger towns. This is owing to the cir-
cumstance of its having been in former times
the winter residence of a number of the noble
and baronial families of the neighbourhood,

« Throughout a large district of country in Ayrshire
and Galloway, the word sit is very often used for stand,
or situated vpon.

some of whose mansions, yet surviving, with
their stately turrets and turnpikes, give an air
of antique dignity to all the houses around.
There were no fewer than twenty-eight such
mansion-houses ; and, previous to the abolition
of heritable jurisdictions, the town derived ad-
ditional respectability from the legal practi-
tioners who attended the court of the bailiery
of Carrick ; a few of whose ancient maiden
descendants, lately surviving, gave token by
their pride and high manners that the society
of Maybole was a veiy different thing a cen-
tury ago from what it is now. Tradition pre-
serves but a very faint remembrance of the
glories of that past time ; but it is at least evi-
dent that Maybole was then invested with
many of the proud attributes of a capital.
The mansion-house of the Cassillis family is
the finest surviving specimen of the twenty-
eight winter seats formerly existing in May-
bole. It is a tall, stately well-built house at
the east end of the town, and, par excellence,
is usually denominated " the castle." A finer,
more sufficient, and more entire house of the
kind, has never fallen under our observation.
It is said to have been the residence of the re-
pudiated Countess of Cassilis, whose story is
so well known, from its being the subject of a
popular ballad. Besides the parish church, a
plain building of the date 1755, Maybole has
a meeting-house of the United Associate Sy-
nod. The town has an extessively useful
parish school, and one or two private acade-
mies. The market-day is Thursday. There
are several annual fairs. There is a branch
bank settled in the place — The population of
the town in 1821 was 3033, including thp pa-
rish, 5204

MEADOW-MILL, ahamlet in the parish
of Tranent, Haddingtonshire, lying on the old
road eastward from Preston, between Tranent
and Prestonpans. It is situated on the ground
whereon took place the battle of Prestonpans
in 1745, and is thus alluded to in the well-
known Jacobite song —

•' At the thorn tree, which you may see
Bewest the Meadow-mill, man,

There many slain lay on the plain,
The clans pursuing still, man."

MEALFOURVONIE, one of the chief
and most conspicuous mountains of Inverness-
shire, in the parish of Urquhart, and on the
north-west side of Loch- Ness. It rises to
the height of 3060 feet above the level of the
sea.

5 E

762

MEARNS,

MEARNS, a parish in the south-eastern
part of Renfrewshire, extending about seven
miles in length, by generally three in breadth ;
bounded by Eaglesham on the south-east, part
of Cathcart and Eastwood on the north, and
Neilston on the west. The surface is beauti-
fully diversified by a great variety of waving
swells, and it rises gradually from the east ex-
tremity to the west, where there is some moorish
land. This district, though still chiefly fitted
for pasture, is much improved, especially to-
ward the northern part, where there are some
plantations, and where the population is great-
est. The parish contains the villages of
Mearns and Newton Shaw, the latter of mo-
dern growth. The name of the parish, as
mentioned in next article, is supposed to be
derived from the British, and signifies a dis-
trict inhabited by herdsmen, or dairy-people,
and was at one time applicable to a large dis-
trict in the east of Renfrewshire. The only
object of antiquity in the parish is the castle
of Mearns, near the village of the same name.
It is a large square tower, situated on a rocky
eminence, commanding an extensive and beau-
tiful prospect. It is surrounded by a strong
wall, and the entrance seems to have been se-
cured by a draw- bridge. This ancient strong-
hold, which is of obscure origin, is now dis-
mantled and out of repair, — the family of
Blackhall, to whom it belongs, having their
residence at Ardgowan. The great road from
Glasgow to Kilmarnock runs through the
whole length of the parish, as does also the
road from Glasgow to Stewarton. There are
several extensive bleachfields in the parish.
The village of Newton is well built, and has
rather a pleasing appearance. — Population in
1821, 2295.

MEARNS, a popular designation of Kin-
cardineshire, as Angus is for Forfarshire. Un-
der the head Kincardineshire, the ordinary
traditional etymon of the word Mearns is given
as being Mernia, a chief in that part of Scot-
land. Antiquaries, however, have much rea-
son to doubt this origin ; and it is more pro-
bable that the name, like that above noticed,
is from the British Maeronas, Meironas, or
Meirinas, which signify a country inhabited
by herdsmen, or persons engaged in dairy
pursuits.

MED WIN, a small river in Lanarkshire,
consisting of two branches tributary to the
Clyde. The river rises in the parish of Dun-
3i>

syre, in the highest central ground between
the eastern and western seas ; and it is some-
what remarkable that a portion of one of the
streams is diverted from its course, and made
to become tributary to the Tweed. " The
case is this," says the author of the Picture of
Scotland — " The greater part of the water of
the East Medwin is diverted from its course
near the head by a miller, who permits it,
when it has done its duty, to run off into the
Tarth, one of the tributaries of the Tweed.
This matter has been the cause of several
law-suits ; for the miller, who ha» a right to
half the water, has been more than once ac-
cused of drawing off more than his full share.
It is additionally remarkable, that the well out
of which the Medwin rises, sends off a distinct
rill to the Water of Leith ; whereby the Firth
of Forth is also connected with the two seas."

MEG GAT, a streamlet in the parish of
Westerkirk, Dumfries-shire, which, after join-
ing the Stennis, falls into the Esk.

MEG GET, a parish in Peebles-shire, ec-
clesiastically attached to that of Lyne. See
Lyne and Megget. A small stream, also
called the Megget, runs through it to St.
Mary's Loch. The district is bleak and pas-
toral, and popularly receives the name of
Meggetdale.

MEIG, a small river in Ross-shire, rising
in the western parts of the county, and falling
into the Lichart, about five miles above the
junction of that stream with the Conon.

MEIGLE, a parish in the district of
Strathmore, Perthshire, lying on the left bank
of the Isla, immediately above the parish of
Cupar Angus. It is bounded on the east and
south by the parishes of Essie and Nevay, and
Newtyle. The river Dean is in the northern
boundary. The parish measures four and a
half miles in length, by two in breadth. The
surface is level, and is well cultivated and en-
closed. There are some beautiful seats in the
district, particularly Belmont Castle, (the seat
of Lord WharnclifFe,) the gardens and fine
enclosures of which conspire to render it the
most delightful residence in Strathmore.

Meigle, a small town in the above parish,
situated at the distance of five and a half miles
north-east from Cupar-Angus, and twelve
north-west from Dundee. It is a place of con-
siderable antiquity, and is the seat of a pres-
bytery. It has two well- attended annual fairs.
Besides the established church there is an epis-

M E I G L E.

7G3

copal chapel. Meigle is worthy of a visit from
the tourist, on account of some very antique
monuments in the church-yard, which, it has
been asserted, denote the grave of Queen Va-
nora, the unworthy wife of King Arthur. It
is mentioned that in a battle between that
monarch (whose whole life is a fable) and the
united forces of Scots and Picts, Vanora was
taken prisoner, and carried along with other
spoils into Angus, where she lived some time
in miserable captivity on Barry hill. Such is
the doubtful account recorded in the ancient
annals of the county. Vanora has been re-
presented as one who led a lascivious life, and
held an unlawful correspondence with Mordred,
a Pictish king, which provoked the jealousy of
her husband, and excited him to take up arms
in revenge of the injury. It is mentioned that
Vanora, soon after the defeat of her lover,
went to hunt in the forest, and was attacked
and torn in pieces by wild beasts, and that her
remains were buried at Meigle. The monu-
ment, which it is supposed was raised over her
grave, seems to have been composed of many
stones artfully joined, and decorated with a
variety of hieroglyphical or symbolical charac-
ters, most of which are of the monstrous kind,
and represent acts of violence on the person of
a woman. On one stone are three small crosses,
with many animals above and below- On an-
other is a cross adorned with various flowers,
and the rude representations of fishes, beasts,
and men on horseback. On a third is an open
chariot drawn by two horses, and some persons
in it ; behind is a wild beast devouring a human
form lying prostrate on the earth. On a fourth
is an animal somewhat resembling an elephant.
On another, eight feet long, and three feet three
inches broad, standing upright in a socket, there
is a cross. In the middle are several figures
with the bodies of horses, or camels, and the
heads of serpents ; on each side of which are
wild beasts and reptiles, considerably impaired.
On the reverse is the figure of a woman, at-
tacked on all sides by dogs and other furious
animals. Above are several persons on horse-
back, with hounds engaged in the chase. Be-
low is a centaur, and a serpent of enormous
size fastened on the mouth of a bull. Accu-
rate drawings of those stones are to be found
in Pennant's Tour. Many other stones, which
originally belonged to this monument, have
been carried off, or broken in pieces by the
inhabitants of this place. As several of those

which remain have been removed from their
proper position, as many of the figures are de-
faced, and as we are in a great measure unac-
quainted with the art of deciphering hierogly-
phics, the history delineated on Vanora's monu-
ment is now irrecoverably lost. The antiqua-
ry may amuse himself with the fragments which
remain, but he can searcely form one plausible
conjecture with respect to their original mean-
ing and design. The fabulous Boece records
a tradition prevailing in his time, viz. that if a
young woman shall walk over the grave of
Vanora, she shall entail on herself perpetual
sterility. But whatever apprehensions of this
nature the fair sex in his time might have en-
tertained, the most credulous are not now afraid
of making the experiment. — Population of the
town and parish in 1821, 847.

MEIN WATER, a rivulet in Dumfries-
shire, rising in the parish of Middlebie, and
falling into the Annan at Meinfoot.

MELD RUM, a parish in Aberdeenshire,
lying betwixt Bourtie on the south and Fyvie
on the north, measuring about five miles in
length from north to south, by a breadth of
from two to four miles. The district is partly
arable and partly pastoral. The surface is
hilly, the chief eminence being Bethelny hill
on the northern part of the parish.

Meldrum (Old,) a town and burgh of ba-
rony in the above parish, situated at the dis-
tance of four and a half miles from Tarves,
and eighteen north-west of Aberdeen, on the
road from thence to Banff. It was constituted
a burgh of barony in the year 1672, under the
jurisdiction of two bailies. There is a good
weekly market for all kinds of provisions
on Saturdays, and there are two annual fairs.
The situation of the town is pleasant, the
church commodious, and the town hall a hand-
some building with a neat spire. The houses
are generally well built, but the streets are ra-
ther irregular. Considerable .improvements,
however, may be expected from the enterpris-
ing spirit of the inhabitants. The town con-
tains a brewery, and there are several corn
mills in the neighbourhood. Besides the es-
tablished church there is an episcopal chapel.
In the neighbourhood is the seat of James
Urquhart, Esq. superior of the burgh, standing
in a pleasant situation, and possessing a striking
effect from its romantic appearance. It is
built in the antique style of architecture, and
being surrounded with fine scenery, forms

764

MELROSE.

a most delightful residence. — Population of
the town in 1821, 950 ; including the parish,
1772.

MELGAM, or MELGUN, a small river
in Forfarshire, rising in and running through
the parish of Lentrathan, and forming a cata-
ract near the church of that parish ; after a cir-
cuitous course in a rocky channel, during which
it receives a variety of streamlets, it falls into
the Isla under the walls of Airly castle.

MELROSE, a parish in the western part
of Roxburghshire, upwards of seven miles in
length from north to south, by from five to six
in breadth, bounded by Stow on the north-
west, Galashiels on the west, Lauder on the
north, Earlstoun and Mertoun on the east, and
St. Boswells, Bowden, and part of Galashiels
on the south. About a fourth part lies on the
south side of the Tweed, and the remainder
on the north, extending along the right bank
of the Leader. Except that portion on the
Tweed and Leader, the greater part is hilly
and pastoral. On the Tweed, here a noble
stream, the country forms a beautiful vale,
level upon the south bank of the stream, and
skirted by fine woody eminences on the north.
On this rich tract of land, at the distance
of a field or two from the south side of the
Tweed, is situated the ancient village, and
still more ancient ruined abbey of Melrose,
immediately to be described. The rural and
antique village of Gattonside stands on the
opposite brae which ascends from the north
side of the stream, embosomed in orchards and
gardens. The communication across the river
is sustained by a modern wire bridge for foot
passengers. This lovely district of Roxburgh-
shire, though of no great extent, is unexam-
pled in beauty and fertility, as well as in the
most interesting historical and classic associa-
tions, anywhere in the south of Scotland.

Melrose, a village in Roxburghshire, the
capital of the above parish, pleasantly situated
on the plain above mentioned, at the northern
base of the Eildon hills, on the road from
Edinburgh to Jedburgh, by way of Galashiels,
and on the road from Selkirk to Lauder, at
the distance of thirty-five miles from Edin-
burgh, eleven from Jedburgh, seven from Sel-
kirk, and four from Galashiels. The village,
though recently much improved by the erection
of new houses, is an extremely curious and
antique little place, built in the form of a tri-
angle, with small streets leading out at the

corners. Some of the houses, in the midst of
the general plainness, exhibit decorated stones,
which have been evidently, as at Coldingham,
filched from the ruins of the superb abbey,
the town being, in a great measure, form-
ed out of the ruins of the monastery. The
parish church is a modern plain edifice with a
spire, standing aloof from the west end of the
village in a conspicuous situation. The only
public building in the place is the jail, a plain
and small structure, recently substituted for a
curious old one, of which no relic has been
preserved, except a stone bearing the arms of
Melrose, which are a meU or mallet, surmount-
ed by a rose ; a pun upon the name of the
town, no doubt suggested by some monkish
imagination. In the centre of the triangle
stands the cross, a structure supposed to be
coeval with the abbey, and which bears all
the marks of that great age. It is well known
that such things stood like outposts, at a little
distance, from all abbeys, on the principal
avenues leading towards them ; and that, mark-
ing the precinct of the monastery, they received
the first homage of the pilgrims who approach-
ed. The cross of Melrose has been more for-
tunate than most other such fabrics ; for it is
sustained by a particular endowment. There
is a ridge in a field near the town, called the
Corse-rig, which the proprietor of the said
field holds upon the sole condition that he shall
keep up the cross ; and it is actually not more
than eight or ten years since twenty pounds
were spent in repairing it, by Mrs. Goldie,
the present proprietor of the field. The si-
tuation of Melrose, like all other places ever
honoured by the residence of the monks, is
extremely beautiful. The fertility of the soil,
and amenity of the climate, are both indicated
by the excellence as well as abundance of the
fruit produced in the numerous gardens around
the town. Seclusion, not less than pleasantness,
having apparently been a matter of choice with
the monks, it is sheltered on every side by
hills. The most remarkable of these are the
Eildons, of which the most northerly over-
hangs the town upon the south. The Eildons
form properly one hill, divided into three peaks ;
a peculiarity of form which the Romans de-
scribed by the term Trimontium. The high-
est eminence was selected by that people for a
military station, and a more appropriate place
for such a fortification could not have been
found anywhere in the whole surrounding

MELROSE.

765

country, — the view which it commands being
very extensive. It is at the present day cus-
tomary for tourists to ascend the hill, in order
to have their eyes charmed by the prospect,
which includes a great portion of the south-
eastern province of Scotland. Melrose has a
post-office, and possesses a good inn, which
stands at the west end of the village. Such
being the modern characteristics of Melrose,
we now turn to that distinguished object, the
ancient monastic edifice which has been the
cause of the rise of the village, and from first to
last its chief means of support ; yet, in doing
so, it will be necessary to begin with a notice
of a place called Old Melrose. This prima
sedes of a religious institution is a small de-
cayed hamlet, about two miles eastward from
the village, occupying a beautiful situation on
a raised peninsula, round the eastern terminat-
ing point of which the Tweed makes a bend,
or, according to Bede, " Quod Tuidi fluminis
circumflexu maxima ex parte clauditur." Here,
upon the Moel-Rhos — the bare promontory, (or,
as some say, the promontory of the meadow,)
within sixteen years after the erection of the
episcopate of Lindisferne, in 635, a religious
house was established. On the death of Aidan,
the celebrated Cuthbert entered the monas-
tery, as a monk, under Boisil. This house
was, for many years, the seat of piety, and the
source of usefulness to the people, during those
benighted times. But, at length, as Chalmers
says, the lamp of piety burnt dimly ; and the
efFects of usefulness gradually languished.
The house became ruinous, and its establish-
ments seem to have been granted to the monks
of Coldingham, during those religious times
when the monks had much to ask, and the
kings and barons much to give. The monas-
tery of Old Melrose being thus extinguished,
it was revived, or rather replaced, by David I.
in 1136, in that spot on the level meadow to
the west, above-mentioned as contiguous to
the present village of Melrose. The edifices
which were thus reared as the monastic build-
ings of Melrose, were furnished with monks
of the Cistertian order, and dedicated to the
Virgin Mary. The munificent founder of this
institution, which may be esteemed among the
chief of the kind in Scotland, conferred on
the abbot and monks various lands and nume-
rous privileges. They were granted " the
lands of Melrose, Eldun, and Dernevie (Der-
nick ?), the lands and wood of Gattonside,
with the fishings of the Tweed, along the

whole extent of those lands, with the right of
pasturage and pannage in the king's forests
of Selkirk, Traquair, and in the forest lying
between the Gala and the Leader, and also
the privilege of taking wood for building and
burning from the same forests." — Chart. Mel.
David, and his successors, and their subjects,
bestowed on the monks of Melrose other
privileges, and several churches, so that in the
course of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries,
they had accumulated vast possessions and
various immunities. The lands which they
thus received lay in the counties of Ayr,
Dumfries, Selkirk, Berwick, &c. The pious
JoceKn, Bishop of Glasgow, within whose
diocese Melrose was, in the year 1172, grant-
ed a place called Hassendean to the monks
" ad susceptionem pauperum et peregrinorum
ad domum de Melros venientum," or, for the
establishing of a house of hospitality for way-
farers. They now settled a cell at Hassen-
dean, wherein several monks resided, for exe-
cuting the sacred trust of receiving the pilgrim
and relieving the distressed stranger. It ap-
pears from the Chronicle of Melrose, that, in
fact, the monastery itself became a species of
inn, for the use of poor and rich, provided, as
we suppose, they came " in nomine Domini."
Thus, in 1177, there died here Walter, the sort
of Alan, dapifer regis, familiaris noster ; in
1185, died Robert A venal, familiaris noster;
and in 1189, died Richard de Morvil, consta-
bularis regis, familiaris noster. — Chron. MeL
Pope Lucius (1181-85), by his bull, prohibit-
ed all persons from exacting tithes from the
monks of the establishment. In 1184, Wil-
liam the Lion, assisted by his bishops and
barons, settled a pertinacious controversy
which had long existed between the monks of
Melrose and the men of Wedale, upon the
Gala water, with regard to two objects of
great importance in that age, pannage and
pasturage. This settlement was emphatically
called, in those times, the peace of Wedale.
In 1285, the Yorkshire barons, who had con-
federated against King John, swore fealty to
Alexander II. in the chapter-house of Melrose
abbey. As Melrose stood near the hostile
border, it was usually involved in the ran-
corous conflicts of ancient times. In 1295,
Edward I. granted the monks a protection.
In 1322, the abbey was burnt, and several of
the monks, with William de Peeblis, then ab-
bot, were slain by Edward II. From this ca-
lamity the monastery recovered under the

766

MELROSE.

kindly patronage of Robert Bruce, who, in
1306, made a most munificent grant for re-
building it, amounting to L.2000 sterling, from
his revenue of wards, reliefs, marriages, es-
cheats, and fines within Roxburghshire. It
may be supposed that in consideration of the
attention shewn by Bruce to this establish-
ment, it was preferred as a place of sepulture
for his heart, — which had been brought back
to Scotland in consequence of the unsuccessful
attempt to deposit it at the sepulchre of Our
Lord, at Jerusalem, — his body being previously
buried at Dunfermline. The monastery hav-
ing been despoiled of a great part of its pro-
perty during the troubles in the country about
this period, we are told by Prynne that it was
all restored by writs from the English sove-
reigns. After the treaty of Northampton, in
1328, Edward III. issued a writ of this nature,
restoring to the abbots the pensions and lands
they had held in England, and which the
king's father had seized. In 1334, the same
prince granted protection to this among other
monasteries in the neighbourhood ; and in
1341, he came from Newcastle to Melrose
abbey, in order to keep his Christmas festival.
Richard II., in 1378, followed the example of
Edward, in granting protection to the abbot
and convent of Melrose ; yet, in 1 385, during
his expedition into Scotland, we find that he
himself burnt the house as well as others on
the borders. For this destruction, however,
the monks were indemnified, in 1 389, by a
grant of two shillings on the thousand sacks of
wool, being the growth of Scotland, which
should be sent to be exported from Berwick.
We hear little of Melrose abbey in the his-
tory of the fifteenth century ; but if this forms
its term of peaceful repose, the shocks it re-
ceived in the succeeding half century, and its
final demolition, amply compensated its day of
prosperity. The reformation in England under
Henry VIII- commenced the work of demo-
lition in the southern part of Scotland, the
monasteries within which district of country
suffered the most severely and the most readi-
ly. In 1545, a great part of the monastery of
Melrose was destroyed by Sir Ralph Eure
and Sir Bryan Layton, who, after committing
the deed, were pursued and beat on Ancrum
Moor, or Lilliard's Edge. In the same year,
Melrose, with its monastery, was again wasted
by the English army, under the Earl of Hert-
ford ; and in a few years afterwards it sustain-

ed the attacks of the reformers, or, more
properly, was pillaged by the nobility and their
military retainers. By the act of annexation
of religious houses and their property to the
crown, the abbey of Melrose, its lands and
revenues, fell into the hands of Queen Mary,
who conferred them on James, Earl of Both-
well ; but he lost them, by forfeiture, in 1568.
James Douglas, the son of William Douglas
of Lochleven, was now created commendator
of Melrose, by the influence of the well-known
Earl of Morton. At length, the estates were
erected into a temporal lordship, for Sir John
Ramsay, who had protected James VI. from
the poniard of Gowry ; but the greater part of
the property was given to Sir Thomas Hamil-
ton, who, from his eminence as a lawyer, rose
to high rank and great opulence, and who was
created Earl of Melrose in 1619, — a title after-
wards exchanged for the earldom of Hadding-
ton, though recently revived as a British peer-
age in the person of the present Earl of Had-
dington. The abbey and its domains, were
acquired in subsequent times by the family of
Buccleugh. With regard to the revenues of the
abbey at the epoch of the reformation, it is
recorded that they consisted of L.1758 Scots;
wheat 19 chalders, 9 bolls; bear 77 chalders,
3 bolls ; oats 47 chalders, 1 boll, 2 firlots ;
meal 14 chalders ; with 8 chalders of salt; 105
stones of butter ; 10 dozen of capons ; 26 doz-
en of poultry ; 376 muir-fowl ; 360 loads of
peats ; and 500 carriages. Out of this large
revenue, there were assigned 20 merks to
each of eleven monks, and three portioners ; al-
so 4 bolls of wheat, 1 chalder of bear, and 2
chalders of meal, Tiviotdale measure, to the
monks. Having now detailed some shreds of
the ancient history and character of this inter-
esting establishment, it is time to say some-
thing of the structures composing the abbey.
Nothing is now accurately known of the build-
ing reared by David I., for it was destroyed by
fire, as we have seen, in 1322, and what re-
mains in the present day, is understood to be
chiefly, if not altogether, the work of a suc-
ceeding period, through the munificence of Ro-
bert I. and others. The ruins of the monas-
tery, or rather of the chinch connected with
it, (for the cloisters are entirely gone,) afford
the finest specimen of Gothic architecture
and Gothic sculpture of which this coun-
try can boast. By singular good fortune,
Melrose is also one of the most entire, as

MELROSE.

7G7

it is the most beautiful, of all the ecclesias-
tical ruins scattered throughout this reformed
land. To say that this is beautiful, is to say
nothing. It is exquisitely — splendidly lovely.
It is an object possessed of infinite grace, and
unmeaoiirable charm ; it is fine in its general as-
pect, and in its minute details, it is a study — a
glory. It would require a distinct volume to do
justice to the infinite details of Melrose abbey;
for the whole is built in a style of such elaborate
ornament, that almost every foot breadth has its
beauty. Visitors usually approach by a stile
leading from the east end of the village into
the church- yard, so as first to get a view of the
south-side of the building. Having been rear-
ed in the form of a cross, with the upper part
of that figure towards the east, that portion of
the edifice which appears the most prominent,
is the south part of the transept, containing
the main entrance. The arching of this door-
way is composed of a semicircle with various
members of the most delicate work falling be-
hind each other, supported on light and well
proportioned pilasters ; with a projection on
each side of rich tabernacle work. The cor-
nices of this end of the structure are composed
of angular buttresses, terminated by spires, al-
so of tabernacle work. These .buttresses are
pierced with niches for statues ; the pedestals
and canopies are of the lightest Gothic order,
and ornamented by garlands of flowers in
pierced work. Above the entrance are several
niches for statues, decreasing in height as the
arch rises, in which some mutilated effigies re-
main, many in standing positions, others sitting,
said to represent the apostles. In the centre
are the arms of Scotland, a lion rampant,
with a double tressure ; above which is the
effigy of John the Baptist, to the waist, sus-
pended in a cloud, casting his looks upward,
and bearing on his bosom a fillet, inscribed
" Ecce films Dei." This is a very delicate
sculpture, and in good preservation. On the
buttress east of the door, is the effigy of a
monk suspended in the like manner, support-
ing on his shoulders the pedestal of the niche
above ; in his hand is a fillet extended, on
which is inscribed " Passus e. q. ipse voluit,"
fPassus est quia ipse voluit. J On the western
buttress is the like effigy bearing a fillet, in-
scribed " Cu. venit Jesu. seq. cessabit umbra,'"
(Cum venit Jesus, sequitur cessabit umbra. J
These two sculptures are of excellent work-
manship. To the westward of this last effigy

is the figure of a cripple, on the shoulders of
one that is blind, well executed ; under which
may be read " Uncte Dei." Above this south
door is an elegant window, divided by four
principal bars or mullions, terminating in a
pointed arch ; the tracery light, and collected
at the summit into a wheel ; the stone-work
of the whole window yet remaining perfect.
This window is twenty-four feet in height
within the arch, and sixteen in breadth ; the
mouldings of the arch contain many members,
graced with a filleting of foliage ; the outward
member runs into a point of pinnacle-work, and
encloses a niche highly ornamented, which it is
said contained the figure of our Lord. There
are eight niches which sink gradually on the
sides of the arch, formerly appropriated to re-
ceive the statues of the Apostles. The whole
south end rises to a point to form the roof,
garnished by an upper moulding, which is
ornamented by a fillet of excellent rose-work ;
the centre is terminated by a square tower. It
will suffice to remark, in this place, that the
pedestals for statues in general are composed
of five members of cornice, supported by palm
boughs, or some other rich wrought foliage,
and terminating at the foot in a point with a
triple roll. The caps, or canopies of the niches,
are composed of delicate tabernacle work, the
spires ornamented by mouldings and a fillet
of rose-work, and the suspended skirts graced
by flowers ; the interior of the canopy is of
ribbed work, terminating in a suspended knot
in the centre. This description will suffice to
carry the reader's idea to every particular niche,
without running into the tediousness of re-
petition. At the junction of the south and
west members of the cross, a hexagon tower
rises, terminating in a pinnacle roofed with
stone, highly ornamented ; from hence the
aisle is extended, so as to receive three large
windows, whose arches are pointed, each di-
vided by three upright bars or mullions, the
tracery various and light ; some in wheels, and
others in the windings of foliage. These win-
dows are separated by buttresses, ornamented
by niches. Here are sculptured the arms of
several of the abbots, and that also of the ab-
bey, " a mell and a rose." These buttresses
support pinnacles of the finest tabernacle work.
From the feet of these last pinnacles are ex-
tended bows or open arches, composed of the
quarter division of a circle, abutting to the bot-
tom of another race of buttresses, which arise

768

MELROSE.

at the side wall of the nave ; each of these last
huttresses also supporting an elegant pinnacle
of tabernacle work, are ornamented by niches,
in two of which statues remain, one of St.
Andrew, the other of the Holy Virgin ; the
side aisles are slated, but the nave is covered
by an arched roof of hewn stone. From the
west end of the church is continued a row of
buildings, containing five windows, divided by
the like buttresses, the traceiy of two of the
windows remaining, the rest open ; each of these
windows appertained to a separate chapel, ap-
propriated and dedicated to distinct personages
and services ; the places of the altar, and the
fonts, or holy-water basons, still remaining.
At the western extremity of this structure, on
the last buttress, are the arms of Scotland,
supported by unicorns collared and chained;
the motto above broken, the letters E, G, J, S,
only remaining. On one side is the letter J,
on the other Q, and a date, 1505, which was
the second year of the marriage of King
James IV., a marriage concerted at this abbey
between the King in person, and Richard Fox,
then Bishop of Durham. The east end of the
church is composed of the choir, with a small
aisle on each side, which appear to have been
open to the high altar. This part is lighted by
three windows towards the east, and two side
windows in the aisle ; the centre window is
divided by four upright bars or mullions ; the
traceries are of various figures, but chiefly
crosses, which support a large complicated
cross that forms the centre ; the arching is
pointed, and part of the tracery here is broken.
The side lights are nearly as high as the centre,
but very narrow, divided by three upright bars
or mullions ; the mouldings of the window
arches are small and delicate, yet ornamented
with a fillet of foliage. On each side of the
great window are niches for statues, and at the
top there appear the effigies of an old man
sitti.ng, with a globe in his left hand, rested on
his knee, with a young man on his right; over
their heads an open crown is suspended.
These figures, it is presumed, represent the
Father and Son. The buttresses at this end
terminate in pinnacles of tabernacle work ; the
mouldings and sculptures are elegantly wrought.
The north end of the cross aisle of the abbey
is not much ornamented externally, it having
adjoined to the cloister and other buildings.
The door which leads to the site of the
cloister (the building being demolished) is a

semicircular arch of many members ; the
fillet of foliage and flowers is of the highest
finishing that can be conceived to be executed
in freestone, it being pierced with flowers and
leaves separated from the one behind, and sus-
pended in a twisted garland. In the mould-
ings, pinnacle work, and foliage of the seats,
which remain of the cloister, it is under-
stood, there is as great excellence to be found
as in any stone work in Europe, for lightness,
ease, and disposition. Nature is studied
through the whole, and the flowers and plants
are represented as accurately as under the pen-
cil. In this fabric there are the finest lessons
and the greatest variety of Gothic ornaments
that the island affords, take all the religious
structures together. The west side of the
centre tower is yet standing ; it appears to have
supported a spire ; a loss to the dignity and
beauty of the present remains, to be regretted
by every visitant ; the balcony work is beauti-
ful, being formed of open rose- work. The
present height of the tower wall is seventy-five
feet. The length of the edifice, from east tc
west, is 258 feet, the cross aisle 137 feet, and
the whole contents of its ichnography 943 feet.
The north aisle is lighted by a circular window,
representing a crown of thorns, which makes an
uncommon appearance. Here are the effigies
of Peter and Paul, one on each side of the
tower, but of inferior sculpture. It is said that
Alexander II. lies buried at the high altar, be-
neath the east window. There is a marble
slab, the form of a coffin, on the south side of
the high altar ; but it bears no inscription, and
is supposed to be that of Gualterus, or Walter,
the second abbot, who was canonized. The
Chronicle of Melrose contains the anecdote, that
" Ingerim, bishop of Glasgow, and four abbots,
came to Melrose to open the grave after twelve
years interment, when they found the body of
Gaulterus uncorrupted, on which, with a reli-
gious rapture, they exclaimed ' Vere hie ho-
mo Dei est.' They afterwards placed a marble
monument over the remains." Many of the
noble line of Douglas were buried also within
the abbey, among whom was James, the son of
William, Earl of Douglas, who was slain at
the battle of Otterburn, and interred with all
military honours. A number of persons of
note were interred in the chapter-house. The
nave of the abbey was, at one time, most ab-
surdly fitted up as the parish church, and still
exhibits remains of clumsy masonry put up for

MELROSE.

7G§

that purpose ; but being now cleared of all in-
cumbrances, much of the ornamented walls
with windows and tombs are visible. On the
north wall is inscribed, under a coat of armour,
" Here lies the house of Zair." Many altars,
basins for holy water, and other remains of se-
parate chapels, appear in the aisles j among
which are those of St. Mary and St. Waldave.
The name of the architect of this venerable
pile is learned from an inscription on the wall,
on the left in entering by the south transept.
As nearly as it can be deciphered, the legend
runs thus :

John : Murrow : sum : tyme : callit :
was : I ; and : born : in : parysse :
certainly : and : had : in : kepyng :
al : mason : werk ; of santan
droys : ye : hye : kyrk : of = glas
gw ; Melros : and : paslay : of
nyddys : dayll : and : of : galway
: pray : to : god : and : mari : bath :
and

Two lines are here obliterated, but are thus
supplied by tradition :

And : sweet • St : John : keep : this
Haly . kyrk : frae : skaith.

In recent times, by order of the proprietor,
much has been done to preserve the walls
from dropping to pieces, as well as in secur-
ing the remaining part of the roof by new
slating, and other means of preservation. It
is somewhat remarkable, that it is only within
the date of the present century that Melrose
abbey became an object of interest to the
tourist, and it will be readily supposed that
this was in consequence of the publication of
the Lay of the Last Minstrel, by Sir Walter
Scott, whose poetical description induced the
visits of strangers from all quarters. The
foregoing imperfect notices of the ruin, cannot
but be improved by the following lines from
that poem :

" If thou would'st view fair Melrose aright,
Go visit it by the pale moonlight;
For the gay beams of lightsome day,
Gild but to flout the ruins gray.
When the broken arches are black in night,
And each shafted oriel glimmers white;
When the cold light's uncertain shower
Streams on the ruin'd central tower ;
When buttress and buttress, alternately,
Seem framed of ebon and ivory :
When silver edges the imagery,
And the scrolls that teach thee to live and die;
When distant Tweed is heard to rave,
And the howlet to hoot o'er the dead man's grave,
Then go— but go alone the while-
Then view St. David's ruined pile;

And, home returning, eoothly swear.
Was never scene so sad and fair.

« * « *

By a steel-clench'd postern door,

They enter'd now the chancel tall •
The darkened roof rose high aloof

On pillars, lofty, and light, and small ;
The key-stone, that locked each ribbed aisle,
Was a fleur-de-lys or a quatre-feuille ;
The corbells were carved grotesque and grim ;
And the pillars, with cluster'd shafts so trim,
With base and with capital flourish'd around,
Seem'd bundles of lances which garlands had bound.

* * » *

The moon on the east oriel shone,
Through slender shafts of shapely stone

B y foliaged tracery combined ;
Thou wouldst. have thought some fairy's hand
'Twixt poplars straight the osier wand

In many a freakish knot had twined ;
Then framed a spell, when the work was done,
And changed the willow-wreaths to stone."

The interest regarding Melrose was subse-
quently increased by the publication of the
" Monastery," by the author of Waverley, as
it was soon known that the religious house al-
luded to in that romance was no other than
that we have above described. The different
localities of the tale were also found to corre-
spond with tolerable accuracy to those in the
neighbourhood, as indeed, they could not fail
to do, the author's residence of Abbotsford be-
ing only a very few miles to the north-west of
the village. — Population of the parish and vil-
lage of Melrose in 1821, 3467.

MENGALAY, or MINGALA, one of
the Western islands, lying eight miles south
from the island of Barra, to which parochial
district it belongs. It has the small island of
Pabay on the north, and that of Bemera on
the south. Mengalay is about two miles
in length, by about one in breadth ; its surface
is pastoral and it posseses a few inhabitants.

MENMUIR, a parish in Forfarshire, ex-
tending five miles in length, by an average of
two in breadth ; bounded on the north by Leth-
not, on the east by Strickathrow, on the south by
Brechin, and on the west by Fern. In the
northern part the land is hilly, but in the south
it is flat, and forms the vale of the Cruick
Water. In this quarter the ground is arable,
well enclosed, and planted. — Population in
1821, 889.

MENSTRIE, a village in the parish of
Alloa, western part of Clackmannanshire, lying
at the base of the Ochil hills on the road from
Stirling to Dollar, at the distance of five miles
from the former, and two miles west of Alva.
It has been long famed for the manufacture of

770

M E T H I L L

blankets, and different kinds of woollen fabrics,
among which are now found the lighter fancy
articles of female wear.

MENTEITH See Monteith.

MERSE, or MARCH, a district in Ber-
wickshire, esteemed one of the richest tracts of
level arable land in. Scotland. It measures
about twenty miles long and ten broad. The
whole is so fertile, so well enclosed, and so
beautiful, that, seen from any of the very slight
eminences into which it here and there swells,
it looks like a vast garden, or rather like what
the French call une ferme ornee. The Merse
forms the northern bank of the Tweed, through-
out the whole space where the river divides the
two kingdoms. The " men of the merse" are
distinguished in history for their bravery. For
other particulars, see Berwickshire.

MERTAICK, an islet on the west coast
of Ross-shire, in Loch Broom.

MERTOUN, a parish in the south-west
corner of Berwickshire, lying]on the north side
of the Tweed, immediately south from Earl-
stoun, bounded by Melrose on the west, and
Smailholm on the east. In length it is nearly
six miles, by from two to three in breadth. The
western part is elevated, finely wooded and
picturesque in appearance ; and here, on a slip
of flat ground on the bank of the river, em-
bosomed among woods and orchards, stands
the venerable ruin of Dryburgh Abbey, de-
scribed under its own head in the present work.
From the rising grounds behind, the land de-
clines towards the east, and exhibits a scene of
fertile fields, enclosures, plantations, the river
winding towards the east, and other objects of
a rich and beautiful picture. The parish church
stands near the Tweed. Within the district
is the estate of Bemerside, for ages the resi-
dence and property of the family of Haig,
which, it is believed, from popular tradition,
will never be extinct, as has been certified by
that unfailing seer, Thomas the Rhymer, in the
couplet - —

Tide, tide, whate'er betide,
There'll ay be Haigs in Bemerside.

" This family," says Sir Robert Douglas, in
his baronage, " is of great antiquity in the
south of Scotland ; and in our ancient writings
the name is written De Haga. Some authors
are of opinion that they are of Pictish extrac-
tion ; others think they are descended from the
ancient Britons ; but as we cannot pretend, by
good authority, to trace them from their origin,

a;3.

we shall insist no further upon traditionary his
tory, and deduce their descent, by indisputable
documents, from Petrus de Haga, who was
undoubtedly proprietor of the lands and barony
of Bemerside, in Berwickshire, and lived in
the reigns of King Malcolm IV. and William
the Lion." From this Petrus de Haga the
present proprietor of Bemerside is nineteenth
in lineal discent. " The grandfather of the
present Mr. Haig," says the author of the
Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, " had
twelve daughters before his wife brought him
a male heir. The common people trembled
for the credit of their favourite soothsayer.
The late Mr. Haig was at length born, and
their belief in the prophecy confirmed beyond
the shadow of doubt." The family of De
Haga is mentioned in " The Monastery," by
Captain Clutterbuck, who says that his learn-
ed and all-knowing "friend, the Benedictine,
could tell to a day when they came into the
country. Upon a stone in Bemerside House
are the family arms, with the initials A. H.
L. M., and the date 1581 — Population in
1821,610.

ME THILL, a small decayed sea-port town,
in the parish of Markinch, in Fife, lying on the
shore of the Firth of Forth, at the distance of
one mile west of Lev en, about half that dis-
tance west of Dubbieside, and one mile east of
Buckhaven. This little town, whatever may
have been its original magnitude and charac-
ter, is in the present day one of the most
perfect pictures of decay and neglect, to be
met with almost anywhere in Scotland. A
number of itshouses are in ruins, and its trade
seems entirely gone. In 1662 it was erected
into a free burgh of barony by the bishop of
St. Andrews, but its privileges can now be of
little or no use. Methill has the misfortune
of being off the thoroughfare along the coast of
Fife, but this has not been the cause of its de-
cay. It has the reputation of having a better
harbour than that of any town in the neighbour-
hood ; and to all appearance it seems about as
good as that of Kirkaldy, while it is nearer
deep water. This excellence is however next
to unavailing, as the entrance is well nigh chok-
ed up by a mass of large stones, which were
carried away by a storm in 1803 from the ter-
mination of the east pier. This has been a
fatal blow to poor Methill, and in spite of all
attempts, or jobs, to restore the free entrance
of the channel, the stones still remain. Under

METHVEN.

771

this calamity, the only maritime trade carried
on is the sailing to and fro of small vessels with
goods belonging to the Kirkland manufactory,
which is situated a short way inland, and pre-
fers this to the small port at Leven. In 1811
the population was 388.

METHLICK, a parish in Aberdeenshire,
bounded by Fyvie on the west, New Deer on
the north and east, and Tarves also on the east
and south. It extends seven miles in length, by
upwards of three in breadth. The surface is
hilly. The district is intersected from the
north-west to the south-east by the river
Ythan, on whose banks there are now some
extensive plantations. — Population in 1821,
1320.

METHVEN, a parish in Perthshire, lying
chiefly on the right bank of the Almond, which
separates it from Monedie and Redgorton, the
latter on the east ; bounded by Tippermuir and
Gask on the south, and by Foulis Wester on
the west. It extends about five miles in length,
and from three to four in breadth. The sur-
face is agreeably varied by hollows and rising
grounds, but in general the land slopes towards
the south. The arable ground and moors have
been subjected to improvements, to a consider-
able extent ; and besides some natural woods
there are some large plantations. The Al-
mond, which is very rapid, possesses many fine
falls of water, upon which a considerable amount
of machinery has been erected, particularly the
extensive paper mills at Woodend. In this pa-
rish, east from the village of Methven, stands
Methven Castle, distinguished in Scottish
history as the place where king Robert was
defeated by the English army under the Earl
of Pembroke, in 1306. Also Balgowan, the
beautiful and elegant seat of General Graham,
Lord Lynedoch. The most interesting object in
the parish is the grave of the celebrated Bessie
Bell and Mary Gray, whose beauty and seclu-
sion from the world are the subject of a well-
known Scottish melody. According to the
author of the Picture >f Scotland, " the com-
mon tradition of Bessie Bell and Mary Gray
is, that the father of the former was laird of
Kinnaird, and of the latter the laird of Lyne-
doch ; that, in the words of the song, they were
' twa bonnie lassies,' and an intimate friend-
ship subsisted between them. The plague in
16ti6 broke out while Bessie Bell was on a
visit to her friend at Lynedoch. In order to
avoid the infection they built themselves a

bower about three-quarters of a mile west from
Lynedoch, in a very retired and romantic spot,
called Burn Braes, on the side of the Brawn
Burn, which soon after joins the Almond.
Here they lived for some time, supplied with
food, it is said, by a young gentleman of Perth,
wh$.was in love with them both. The disease
was unfortunately communicated to them by
their lover, and proved fatal. According to
custom, in cases of the plague, they were not
buried in the ordinary places of sepulture, but
in a secluded spot,— the Dronach Haugh, at
the foot of a brae of the same name, upon the
bank of the river Almond. Some tasteful
person has fashioned a sort of bower over the
spot; and there, ' violets blue, and daisies
pied,' sweetly blow over the^ remains of unfor-
tunate beauty."

Methven, a village, the capital of the above
parish, situated at the distance of six and a
half miles west from Perth, and eleven east
from CriefF, the main road to which passes
through it. It is a very neat village, and the
inhabitants are chiefly employed in weaving
for the Perth and Glasgow manufacturers.
It possesses a savings bank, a body of free-
masons, and a friendly society, — the members
of which erected a large building for their
meetings. The ancient church of Methven was
collegiate, being founded in 1433, for a pro-
vost and several prebendaries, by Walter Stu-
art, Earl of Athole, one of the younger sons
of Robert II. — Population of the village ir;
1821, 500; including the parish, 2904.

MEY (LOCH), a small lake in the parish
of Canisbay, Caithness.

MIDDLEBIE, a parish in the district of
Annandale, Dumfries-shire, including the abro-
gated parishes of Pennersaugh and Carruthers.
It extends nine miles in length, by four and a
half in breadth ; bounded by Tundergarth on
the north, Langholm on the east, Halfmorton,
Kirkpatrick- Fleming, and Annan on the
south, and Hoddana on the west. The sur-
face is flat, with gently rising hills interspersed.
The small river Kirtle runs through it, and
skirts it on the southern boundary for a few
miles. The district abounds in sandstone of a
reddish colour, with limestone. The name of
the parish is derived from Bie, signifying a
station, and Middle, from the circumstance of
being the middle station between Netherbie in
Cumberland and Overbie in Eskdalemuir ; at
both of which places, as well as at Middlebie,

M I N C H M O O R.

ftie plain vestiges of a Roman work. — Popula-
tion in 1821, 1874.

MIDDLE TON, a small village in the pa-
rish of Borthwick, Edinburghshire ; it is on the
mail-road to Carlisle, twelve miles south of
Edinburgh, and eighteen north of Galashiels.

MID-MARR, a parish in Aberdeenshire,
lying in that part of the county betwixt the
Dee and Don, bounded by Cluny on the north,
Echt on the east, and Kincardine O'Neil on
the west. Kincardineshire is on the south.
The parish, which is of an irregular square
figure, measures four and a half miles in length,
by about four in breadth. The superficial
contents of the parish amount to 9780 acres.
The only eminence that deserves attention is
the hill of Fare, the base of which is about
seventeen miles in circumference, and its
height is computed to be 1793 feet above the
level of the sea. The ground throughout the
district rises gradually from the east to the
south-west and west extremity, and is both
arable and pastoral — Population in 1821, 900.
MIGDOL (LOCH), a small lake in the
parish of Criech, Sutherlandshire.

MIGVIE, a parish in Aberdeenshire,
united to that of Tarland. See Tarland.

MILK, a small river in Annandale, Dum-
fries-shire, rising in the parish of Corrie,
after a course of about fourteen or fifteen
miles, chiefly along the northern boundary of
Tundergarth parish ; it falls into the Annan a
little above Hoddam Castle. On its left bank,
within the parish of St. Mungo, is the seat of
Castle-milk. This stream is esteemed a good
trouthig water.

MILLGUY, properly MILNGAVIE, a
village in che parish of New or East Kilpa-
trick, Stirlingshire, situated at the distance
of seven miles north-west of Glasgow, and
five south of Strathblane : its inhabitants are
chiefly employed at the bleachfields and print-
fields in the vicinity.

MILLHEUGH, a small village in the pa-
rish of Dalserf, Lanarkshire, on the road be-
twixt Glasgow and Carlisle.

MILLTON, a fishing village in the parish

of St. Cyrus or Ecclescraig, Kincardineshire.

MILLTOUN, a small village on the banks

of the Ruthven, in the parish of Auchterar-

der, Perthshire.

MILLTOWN of BALGONIE, a small
village in the parish of Markinch, Fife, lying
on the roud from Markinch to Leven.

MILNATHORT, a considerable village
in the parish of Orwell, Kinross-shire, situated
on the public road, at the distance of two miles
north-east of the town of Kinross, and four-
teen south of Perth. The village, which is
neatly built, is one of the most thriving and
industrious places in Kinross. The inhabitants
are chiefly engaged in weaving, and there is ?
brewery. Milnathort is remarkable for its ad-
herence to the more rigid tenets and discip-
line of the dissenters, as is in some measure
signified by the establishment of meeting-
houses of the Original Burgher Associate Sy-
nod, and of the United Secession. Popu-
larly, the village is invariably called Mills o1
Forth, a denomination most likely connected
with the ancient name of Forthrif, which
belonged to this part of the country. — Its
population in 1821 was upwards of 600.

MILNPORT, a small village on the south
side of the Greater Cumbray island, in the
mouth of the Clyde, being the capital of this
isolated territory. It is a neat small place,
with a harbour and tolerably good anchoring
ground, sheltered by a rocky islet. Milnport
is resorted to in the summer months by tran-
sient residents, and the life and bustle which
then prevail offer an agreeable variety to the
tameness of the Cumbray scenery. Its popu-
lation is considerably on the increase, being in
1821 about 560. The parish kirk is adjacent;
MINCH (THE), that part of the sea on
the west coast of Scotland, which separates
the isle of Skye from Long Island.

MINCHMOOR, a lofty mountain range
in Peebles-shire, east from Traquair, over
which there is an old road from Peebles to
Selkirk, still used by foot-passengers, from its
being much shorter than that by the regular
thoroughfare. At a particular part of the hill
there is a well by the way-side, called the
cheese well, once supposed to be under fairy
domination, and where some present was al-
ways left by the passing traveller, by way of
tribute, on quenching his thirst. Montrose
retreated from Philiphaugh by this wild road.
MINNICK WATER, a small river in
Dumfries-shire, rising in the parish of San-
quhar, on the borders of Crawford-John, and,
after a course of s'x or seven miles, falling
into the Nith three niles below Sanquhar.

MINNIEHIVE, a small village in the pa-
rish of Glencairn, Dumfries-shire, situated at
the distance of five and a half miles south-west

M I N T O.

773

from Penpont, sixteen and a half north-west
of Dumfries, and thirty-five and a half north
of Kirkcudbright. Jt is seated on the small
river Dalwhat, opposite the village of Dun-
reggan, with which it is connected by a bridge.

MINNIE GAFF, a large parish in the
western part of the stewartry of Kirkcud-
bright, extending fourteen miles in length by
ten in breadth, bounded, by the parish of
Kells on the east, and Girthon and Kirkma-
breck on the south. On the east side the dis-
trict is bounded by the water of Dee, and on
the west by the Cree. The intermediate
country is uneven, and of a rugged appearance,
being composed of rocky and heath-covered
hills, some of them of great height. In the
lower parts the land is now a good deal im-
proved, especially on the Cree, which being
navigable for several miles up, has been the
source of much benefit in an agricultural point
of view. This river likewise produces excel-
lent fish of different kinds ; but the best and
most abundant is the salmon. The parish is
devoted chiefly to the pasturage of large flocks
of sheep and herds of black cattle. — Popula-
tion in 1821, 1923.

MINTO, a parish in Roxburghshire, lying
on the left bank of the Tiviot, from which it
extends westward six miles, by a breadth of
at first fully three miles, and afterwards little
more than one. It is bounded by Lilliesleaf
and Ancrum on the north, and Cavers and
Wilton on the south. The surface rises in an
irregular manner to a considerable height, ex-
hibiting many beautiful and romantic scenes.
The low grounds are rich and well cultivated.
The reverend statist of the parish gives a good
description of the district, and of the families
resident within it- " Sir Gilbert Elliot, bar-
onet," says he, " is the patron, and his estate
lies on the east side, and comprehended the
old parish of Minto. The family of Minto,
[now elevated to the peerage] for ages past,
have been so eminent, both in the senate and
in the other departments of the state, that any
thing I can say might be considered as mere
panegyric. The house is large and commodi-
ous, has a south exposure, and is situated on
the bank of a beautiful winding glen,'extending
almost to the Tiviot, and well stocked with a
variety of [old trees, with natural and artificial
falls of water. In Coming along one of the
serpentine walks on the side of the glen, the
ear is all at once surprised with the unexpected

noise of the largest of these falls, the view be-
ing intercepted by a thicket ; on advancing a
little forward, the fall, the bridge, the large
sheet of water, the surrounding banks, inter-
spersed with variegated trees and shrubs, and
the house, gradually open to the eye, excite
the most pleasing emotions, and form one of
the most beautiful landscapes that can be
figured : the reflection of this landscape in the
water adds to the grandeur of the scene. The
pleasure-ground is extensive, and laid out with
great taste. A little to the east are Minto
Rocks, interspersed with clumps of planting,
which form an awful and picturesque object.
From the top of these rocks there is a beauti-
ful and extensive prospect of the different
windings of the Tiviot, andthe adjacent coun-
try, for many miles round. Here are the re-
mains of a building, which during the incur-
sions of the borderers, seems to have been a
watch-tower. Behind the house, to the north,
are two hills, which rise with a gentle ascent
to a considerable height, and are excellent
sheep-pasture. At a small distance from the
house, and in the middle of a grove of trees,
stands the church, which is neat, clean, and
well seated. The village is placed about half
a mile to the west." On the lands of Hassen-
deanburn was established one of the first nur-
series in the kingdom, which was carried on
by the late Mr. Dickson, who also established
the nursery at Hawick. — Population in 1821,
472.

MOCHRUM, a parish in Wigtonshire,
lying on the east side of Luce Bay, along
which it extends nearly ten miles, by a breadth
inland of from four to five; bounded on the
north-west by Old Luce, on the north by
Kirkcovvan, and on the east by Kirkinner. A
flat smooth gravelly beach, mostly about fifty
yards wide, runs along from the eastern, till
within a mil«> of the western extremity of the
parish, where it is intercepted by a steep rocky
hill projecting into the sea, and forming a bold
inaccessible shore. A road proceeds along
the coast. Parallel to the beach, the land,
rising suddenly, forms a steep bank or preci-
pice, which renders the access from the shore
into the country, in many places, rather diffi-
cult. Though there are various little bays, or
creeks, where small boats can land, there is
only one place, called Port- William, that de-
serves the name of a harbour. This port,
though but small, is commodious and safe.

774

MOFF A T.

The arable and pasture lands of the parish, it
is presumed, may be nearly equal in extent. Im-
provements of different descriptions have been
instituted by the proprietors. Merton-house,
the residence of Sir W. Maxwell of Monreith,
is situated on the banks of a fine lake, and
commands an extensive prospect of the Bay of
Luce, the shores of Galloway, the Isle of
Man, and the shores of Cumberland. Near it
stands an old castle, surrounded by lofty trees.
The castle, or old place of Mochrum, surround-
ed by lakes, is a very ancient picturesque
building, in an inland part of the parish. It
was formerly the seat of the Dunbars, Knights
of Mochrum, but has for many years been the
property of the Earl of Galloway — Popula-
tion in 1821, 1871.

MOFFAT, a parish and town at the head
of Annandale in Dumfries-shire, (two farms
lying within Lanarkshire). The parish is large
and mountainous, extending at its greatest
length from east to west fifteen miles, and in
breadth about nine, being bounded on the south
by Wamphray and Kirkpatrick Juxta, on the
east by Et trick and Meggat, respectively in
the shires of Selkirk and Peebles, (the latter
annexed to Lyne,) on the north by Tweeds-
muir and Crawford, in the shires of Peebles
and Lanark, and on the west by Crawford ; and
containing in all 56| square miles, or 28,865
Scots acres. The parish may be described as
occupying that part of the Southern Highlands
where the river Annan leaves its native hills,
and debouches upon the great plain of Dum-
fries-shire. Two considerable vallies, though
of a wild character, open in the midst of the
generally hilly scene ; one being formed by the
Annan, and the other by its tributary the
Moffat : they meet at the opening of the plain
of Annandale, where, in a most delightful si-
tuation, lies the town of Moffat. The name
of this parish, though said in Gaelic to signify
the Long holm, is rather, as we apprehend, a
mere corruption of the phrase Moor-foot, being
situated at one extremity of the great moor
which extends athwart nearly the whole of the
south of Scotland, from Coldingbam to Ayr-
shire. Some individuals of that range of hills,
within the parish of Moffat, rise to a great
height. Hartfell, the highest, is 2629 feet
above the level of the sea. This hill is
said to have been the first in Britain of
which the height was ascertained by the barome-
ter. The measurement was made by Professor

Sinclair of Glasgow in the seventeenth century.
There is a large and beautiful plain upon the
top of Hartfell, of extent large enough for a
horse race. The prospect from the top is, on
a clear day, very extensive. Westmoreland,
Cumberland, and Northumberland, are seen to
the south ; the ocean both east and west ; and
to the north, the view is terminated by the High-
land hills. The remaining hills in the parish
are mostly green, though some are darkened
by heath, and broken by rocks. One called
the Yoke has a top exactly opposite in charac-
ter to Hartfell, being so narrow that a person
can sit astride, as upon a saddle, and see to
the bottom on both sides, in each of which a
beautiful rivulet flows. The Johnstone fami-
ly, who latterly were Marquisses of Annan-
dale, took their first title of Earl of Hartfell,
or Hartfield, which was borne by two genera-
tions in the seventeenth century, from the
above remarkable hill. The vale of the Mof-
fat water forms the entrance of an important
pass into Selkirkshire, the remainder being
formed by the Yarrow water, which flows in a
different direction, though between the two
water-sheds there is hardly any rise in the
ground. In the bosom of the hill at the east-
ern extremity of the parish, lies Loch Skene,
a lonely desolate tarn, about half a mile long,
with a rock in the centre, where, from year to
year, the eagles bring forth their young undis-
turbed. The outlet of this lake is a small
stream, which dashes over a precipice of about
four hundred feet, and then joins the Moffat
water. The cascade is styled the Grey Mare's
Tail, from its peculiar appearance. In the
time of the persecution under the last Stuarts,
this region was selected as a place of secure
retreat by the unhappy presbyterians, and the
wilds are still rife with legends of their hair-
breadth escapes from Claverhouse and his dra-
goons, whom no difficulty seems to have deter-
red from the pursuit of their prey. A hill
where a party used to be stationed, to give no-
tice to the congregations in the ravines below of
the approach of danger, is still called the Watch
Hill. This terrific desert, which no future cir-
cumstances can be expected materially to alter,
will ever continue to afford a striking com-
mentary on the history of the reigns of Charles
II. and James II. It would appear that at
some earlier period of history this pass must
have been appreciated as a defensible point
against the aggression of some enemy from ths

MOFFAT.

noiith, as, upon a mount above the junction of
Loch Skene Water with the Moffat, there are
the remains of a primitive species of battery,
which has evidently been raised for the pro-
tection of the country to the north-east. The
course of the Annan affords in this parish a
passage for the roads from Glasgow to Car-
lisle, and from Edinburgh to Dumfries, which
are here joined for several miles. This is a
circumstance of material advantage, as it' causes
a perpetual transit of conveyances. Moffat,
situated, as already mentioned, on a beautiful
eminence near the junction of the two streams,
and one of the prettiest small towns in
Scotland, is distinguished by its mineral
well, which, it appears, was first discovered
in 1633, by a daughter of Bishop White ford,
who, having used medicinal waters in Eng-
land, remarked in them a similar taste to those
of Moffat. We have seen a scarce Latin tract
upon the nature of the waters, written so far
back as the year 1659, by Mr. Matthew Mac-
kaile, a physician in Edinburgh. We borrow
the following account of this Scottish Chel-
tenham, as it has been called, from an intelli-
gent little work, Wade's Guide to Scottish
Watering-Places. " The situation of Moffat,
although in a degree solemn, from overshadow-
ing hills, is pleasant. [It is also healthy.] It
is distant from Edinburgh fifty miles south-
west, from Glasgow fifty-four south-east,
and from Dumfries twenty-one north-east ; re-
posing in the very lap of mountains, although
some of them nearest the town display culti-
vation in a greater or less degree, ascending
their sides. The situation of Moffat itself is
considerably elevated, [the writer of the Sta-
tistical Account says, about 300 feet above
the level of the sea : ] and only about three
miles to the north is Erickstane-brae-head,
whence issue streams that run east, west, and
south. Sheltering plantations rising in the
neighbourhood, especially to the north and
west of the town, impart considerable beauty
to the environs of Moffat, as well as an air of
comfort to the place itself; the church spire
of which appears, when viewed in some direc-
tions, to rise elegantly from the midst of an
extensive grove. One principal street looking
from the gentle declivity on which the town
stands towards the south, constitutes the body
of the place, and affords fine prospects of the
vale beneath. This street is judiciously laid
out, spacious, and well calculated to form an

agreeable promenade for both inhabitants and
strangers. The church, a good stone edifice,
was built towards the end of last century. Its
interior is regularly disposed, and must con-
tain about a thousand hearers. Independently
of this place of worship, the town is provided
with a meeting house for the United Associ-
ate Synod. Much of the town is new.
Among the buildings are two good inns, vari-
ous minor houses of entertainment, and many
private ones in which lodgings of the most
comfortable description may be had. The
population is about 1400, or, including the
country part of the parish, about 2000. Abun-
dance of good provisions may always be had,
chiefly brought from the southern district.
Mildness and salubrity are considered emi-
nently to attach to the climate of Moffat, which
is resorted to not merely by those who come
to quaff its mineral waters, but by many others
whose chief object is to drink goats' milk or
goats' milk whey. The springs are three in
number ; one of them sulphureous, and two
chalybeate. The sulphureous one is distinctly
styled Moffat Well. It is, however, a mile
and a half from the town, between which and
the well an excellent carriage road has been
formed. Adjacent to this are a long-room for
the company, stables, and other requisite ac-
commodations. The water oozes out of a
rock of compact grey wacke, which contains
interspersed pyrites. At a little distance there
is a bog, which, along with the pyrites in the
grey wacke, probably affords the sulphureous
impregnation to the spring. The water of this
spring is said to have an odour resembling
that of Harrowgate, it being, although in a
less degree, strongly sulphureous. Its taste is
somewhat saline ; it sparkles when poured into
a glass, and requires, so quickly do some of its
best qualities evaporate, to be drunk at the
fountain. No closeness of cork wfll j-uflice
to preserve it in bottles. The sides of the
well are covered with a yellowish grey crust of
sulphur, and when the water has been allowed
to stand some days without pumping, it be-
comes covered with a yellowish white film of
sulphur. Another spring, called, from its ris-
ing at the base of Hartfell, the Hartfell Spa,
is a chalybeate, pretty strong at all times, but
most so after heavy rains. A third spring,
also chalybeate, is near Evan Bridge, a little to
the south of Moffat. Of a wine gallon taken
from each of the three, the analysis made by

776

MOFFAT.

the late Dr. Garnet,* Andersonian Professor at
Glasgow, afterwards lecturer to the Surrey
Institution, was as follow? i

MOFFAT WELL.

" Muriate of Soda (common salt) 36 grains.

Sulphuretted hydrogen gas • 10 cubic inches.

Azotic gas 4 do.

Carbonic acid - - - - 5 do.

" N. B. This water will become useless if kept. Its
efficacy has been proved in scorbutic and scrofulous
rases.

HAKTFELL SPA.

" Sulphate of iron (iron vitriol) 84 grains.

Sulphate of alumina - 12 do.

4.zotic gas ... 5 cubic inches.

" The water of this spring may be kept long without
injury to its medicinal powers. It is a powerful tonic,
of proved utility in obstinate coughs, stomach complaints
affecting the head, gouty ones disordering the internal
system, disorders to which the fair sex are liable, inter-
nal ulcers &c.

EVAN BRIDGE SPA.

" Oxide of iron 2 grains.

Carbonic acid 13 cubic inches.

Azotic gas 2 do.

" This being a weaker chalybeate than the preceding,
resembling, in fact, a good deal the Harrowgate chalybe-
ate, might, it is thought, although now much neglected,
prove useful when the preceding would be of too astrin-
gent a nature."

The Hartfell Spa was discovered about eighty
or ninety years ago by one John Williamson,
to whom there is a monument in the parish
church-yard, the erection of the late Sir George
Maxwell, commemorating the date of his dis-
cover}'. Evan Bridge Spa was discovered
by Dr. Garnet. From that gentleman's Tour
in Scotland we quote the following account
of a remarkable piece of natural scenery, called
the Bell-craig (Bald-rock), in the neighbour-
hood of Moffat. " About three hundred yards
beyond the third mile-stone on the road from
Moffat to Carlisle, we left the high way, and
ascended a kind of path on the right, which
conducted us over a hill to the entrance of a
green skirted with wood. Through this wood
we descended by a path not very distant, to a
little brook, which we crossed, and proceeded
along a road by the side of another brook : at
this place the glen begins to contract, and its
steep sides are crowned with wood to the very
top. On walking about ^ nundred yards, we
came to a scene highly picturesque. On our
right a fine rugged rock, crowned with oaks,
and whose face was covered with a lichen of a
beautiful whiteness, mixed with heath and
shrubs, rises perpendicularly from the bottom

of the glen, and threatens destruction to those
who venture near its base. The glen towards
the left is bounded by a precipice almost co-
vered with wood, there being only a few places
where the bare rock is seen : atone place a small
but beautiful cascade descends from the top of
the rock to join the burn below." Around
Moffat are some neat villas, all of them adding
more or less, by their shrubberies and small
plantations, to the beauty of the scenery. The
Earl of Hopetoun has a small subsidiary seat,
which he sometimes occupies. About one
and a half miles from Moffat is Drumcrieff,
the property of the late Dr. Currie of Liver-
pool, the well known editor of Bums' works.
In the neighbourhood, some vestiges of the
Roman road from the Esk to Stirling, and of
military stations near it, can be traced. A
piece of gold, apparently part of some military
ornament, was found some years ago near the
road, and was found to bear upon its outer
edge the following inscription, probably in re-
ference to the legion to which its owner be-
longed : " iov. aug. vot. xx." There are
vestiges of an encampment, supposed to be
British, near Moffat water, three miles south-
east of the village. Near the road from the
village to the well there is a moat-hill of consi-
derable height, of a conical form, and which,
being planted with trees, is a beautiful object
in the landscape. Such eminences, it is well
known, are artificial, and were used in the
days of our early ancestors as places for the
administration of justice Population of Mof-
fat parish in 1821, 2218.

MO ID ART, a district in the south-west
corner of Inverness -shire, lying betwixt Loch
Shiel and the west coast. It is indented by
Loch Moidart, a bay rendered interesting by
its singular and deceptive intricacy, as well as
by the height and character of the land ; but
still more by the remains of Castle Tirim,
which occupies a very picturesque elevation
on the margin of the sea, and is singularly hap-
py in its disposition, when compared to most
of the Highland castles.

MONANCE, (ST.) a parish in Fife, sit-
uated on the shore of the Firth of Forth, be-
tween the parish of Ely on the west and Pit-
tenvveem on the east, bounded on the rvorth by
Cambee and Kilconquhar. Until the year
1646, the name of the parish was Abercrom-
bie, or as it was sometimes called, Inverny.
The parish is of small extent, and forms near-

M ONANCE. (S T.)

777

ly a parallelogram, extending a mile and a half
in length, by almost a mile in breadth. The
surface is flat, at least not very uneven, and
is under a fine state of cultivation, embellished
by live "enclosures. The ancient fishing
village of St. Monance, or St. Monans, lies
about a mile west from Pittenweem, and is
worthy of a visit on account of its parish
church ; which is a curious little old Gothic
edifice, situated so near to the sea as to
be occasionally wet with its foam. Ac-
cording to Keith, there was here at one period
a monastery of Black Friars. " The chapel,"
says he, " was founded by king David II.
[the successor of Robert Bruce,] in the
fourteenth year of his reign, and was served by
a hermit. By his charter dated at Edinburgh,
he grants thereto the lands of Easter-Birny
in Fife, and some lands in the sheriffdom of
Edinburgh. This chapel, which was a large
and stately building of hewn stone, in form of
a cross, with a steeple in the centre, was given
to the Black Friars by king James III. (1460-
88) at the solicitation of Friar John Muir,
vicar then of that order amongst us. The
walls of the south and north branches of this
monastery are still standing, but want the roof ;
and the east end and steeple serve for a church
to the parishioners." It is related, that " St.
Monan, to whom this situation was dedicated,
was a saint of Scottish extraction, who lived in
the ninth century. Camerarius, in his cata-
logue of Scottish saints, gives an account of
him and the church, which I translate from the
original Latin, for the benefit of general readers.
— ' St. Monan was a martyr, celebrated for
the miracles he wrought in Fife and the adja-
cent isle of the May. When advancing to
manhood, he left his parents at the impulse of
the divine Being, and gave himself up entiiely
to the will of St. Adrian, bishop of St. An-
drews, under whose guidance he made great
progress in true virtue. He afterwards shed
his blood, along with Adrian and other six
thousand persons, for the name of Christ. To
testify the esteem in which he was held by
God, numerous miracles were wrought at his
tomb ; of which this may serve as a specimen
of all. When king David II., in fighting a-
^ainst the English, was grievously wounded
*)y a barbed arrow, which his surgeons in no
way could extract ; placing his whole hope in
God, and calling to mind the many miracles
which had been manifested through St. Mon-

an, he went to Invemy, where was the tomb
of that holy man, along with the nobles of his
kingdom ; when, proper oblations having been
made to God and St. Monan, the arrow drop-
ped without more ado from the wound, and
did not eventually leave so much as a scar be-
hind it. For the everlasting commemoration
of this event, the king caused a most superb
chapel to be built in honour of St. Monan, and
assigned rents to its priests, for the celebration
of the ordinances of religion.' Previous to the
year 1827, when it was subjected to a thorough
repair, the church of St. Monan 's exhibited, in
a state of perfect preservation, a complete
suit of church furniture, which, neither in the
pulpit, nor in the galleries, nor in the ground
pews, had experienced for nearly two hundred
years the least repair, or even been once touch-
ed by the brush of the painter : the whole had
evidently been suffered to exist, during that long
period, in its native condition, without so much
as an attempt having ever been made to reno-
vate it. A small old-fashioned model of a
ship, ki full rigging, hung from the roof, like a
chandelier, as an appropriate emblem of the
generally maritime character of the parishion-
ers. There also remained entire a gallery
which had been constructed for the use of the
great covenanter general, David Leslie, after-
wards Lord Newark ; who lived in the neigh-
bourhood, and whose taste was here apparent
in the number of pious inscriptions with which
the various seats, and the canopies above, were
adorned. In former times, the bell which rung
the people of St. Monan's to public worship hung
upon a tree in the church yard, and was removed
every year during the herring season, because the
fishermen had a superstitious notion that the
fish were scared away from the coast by its
noise." The village, or small town of St.
Monan's, is situated upon a small triangular
spot of ground, one side of which verges upon
and is washed by the sea ; the other two sides
are covered by the rising grounds ; and as it
enjoys a south and south-east exposure, it is
defended against the cold bleak winds from the
north and north-west. Its situation is thereby
mild and kindly even in winter, when blowing
from these points ; but quite the reverse, when
the wind blows from the sea. There is a
small harbour belonging to the town, but no
trade. The inhabitants are engaged in fish-
ing in the Firth of Forth, and their gen&ral
market is Edinburgh. St. Monan's is a burgb.

778

M O N I M A 1 L,

of barony, governed by three bailies, a treasur-
er and twelve councillors. Being away from
the thoroughfare near the coast, the town is
comparatively little known or visited. From
the adjacent country its old church is alone vi-
sible on the height above the houses.. — Popu-
lation of the village and parish in 1821, 912.

MONCRIEFF, or MORDUN, a fine
woody hill in Perthshire, in the parish of
Dumbarny, near the Bridge of Earn, from
which a most extensive view of this beautiful
part of the country may be obtained.

MONEDIE, a parish in Perthshire, bound-
ed by Auchtergaven on the north, and Red-
gorton on the east and south. In length and
breadth it extends about, two miles. There
are, properly speaking, no hills in the parish,
but only rising grounds, which run northward
and southward from the banks of the Shochie.
The husbandry of the district is now much
improved, and the produce correspondingly in-
creased. To the parish of Monedie was re-
cently, annexed, quoad sacra, the new parish of
Logie- Almond — Population in 1821, 1178.

MONIFIETH, a parish in Forfarshire,
lying on the shore of the Firth of Tay, at its
mouth, bounded by Barrie and Mom'kie on the
east, Monikie also on the north, and Muivhoiise
and Dundee on the west. It is of a triangular
form, with the base to the sea shore, from
which it extends inland a space of four and a
half miles. The land along the shore is here
a low flat sandy tract, evidently recovered from
the waters of the firth, and still unproductive,
or not very well reclaimed. From thence the
country rises, it declines in one part to the
small river Dichty. The greater proportion
is under cultivation. The most conspicuous
landmark is the southern of that collection of
hills called the Laws, on the northern side of
which is the village of Drumsturdy Moor.
The village of Monifieth lies on a brae with a
southern exposure, at no great distance from
the sea, and consists of little else than a series
of thatched cottages. The church is a plain
conspicuous edifice, surrounded by a burying-
ground, containing a variety of finely carved
antique tombstones, executed with a taste we
have rarely seen excelled in the country. A
new manse has just been erected near the
church. There are different manufactories
carried on in the neighbourhood, especially at
the Mill-town, on the Dichty. From thence
there is a bad road across the rough downs,
33.

westward to the modern village of Broughty
Ferry, a place which, having been sufficiently
described under its own head, need not be fur-
ther noticed. — Population in 1821, 2017.

MONIKIE, a parish in Forfarshire, bound-
ed by Barrie and Monifieth on the south, Pan-
bride on the east, Carmylie, part of Guthrie,
and Inverarity on the north, and Muirhouse on '
the west. In form it is triangular, with tie
apex to the south, extending seven miles in
length, by five in breadth at the widest end.
The face of the country is diversified with se-
veral large hills ; and a ridge, running from
east to west, divides it into two districts, which
vary considerably in point of fertility and cli-
mate, the southern part being rich and early,
and the northern moist and cold. In the
latter district is an extensive tract of moor,
which has been planted, and now forms part of
the pleasure-grounds of the house of Panmure,
situated in the neighbouring parish of Panbride.
Near a place called the Car-hills are a number
of cairns, called the hier cairns, the testimonial
of some conflict and inhumation in ancient
times ; and at a small village called Camus-
town is a large upright stone, which is said to
point out the place where Camus, the Danish
general, was slain and buried, after the battle
of Barrie, in 1010. There are several small
villages in the parish. — Population in 1821,
1325.

MONIMAIL, a parish in Fife, lying on
the north side of the vale or howe of that
county, extending northwards from the Eden,
a distance of four miles, by a breadth of from
one to three and a half, bounded by Denbog
and Criech on the north, Moonzie and Cupar
on the east, Cults on the south, and Collessie
on the west. The district, which is flat in
the southern part, is beautifully wooded, and
well cultivated and enclosed. Monimail
church stands on the rising ground, and, with
its hamlet, is sheltered by overhanging trees.
The chief village is Letham, which lies a
short way to the east. The house and plea-
sure-grounds of Melville, the seat of the Earl
of Leven, serve much to beautify this part of
the country. Near the church, and within
Melville grounds, there is a square tower in
pretty good preservation. Its age is uncer-
tain ; but it was repaired by Cardinal Beaton,
and was his residence in 1562. There are se-
veral distinct heads of the cardinal in his cap
in alto-relievo on the walls. This tower is

M O N K L A N D.

779

evidently the 'remains of a large building. —
Population in 1821, 1227.

MONIVAIRD, a parish in Perthshire,
incorporating the abrogated parish of Strowan,
which is now its southern part. The united
parish is bounded on the north by Monzie and
Connie, by the latter also on the west, Muthill
on the south, and Crieff and part of Monzie on
the east. It is of a triangular form, measuring
eight miles in length, and about six in breadth.
The general appearance of the country is ro-
mantic and hilly. The river Earn passes
through the district from west to east, and in
the neighbourhood of this stream the country
is beautiful, well planted, and enclosed. There
are several small lakes in the parish ; the
largest of them, Lochturit, lies in Glenturit,
and is surrounded by very bold craggy moun-
tains. It is about a mile long, and a quarter
of a mile broad. There is also a small lake,
in the same glen, about a mile north from the
former, remarkable for the great number of its
trouts. There is another lake called the Lake
of Monivaird, covering about thirty acres, and
containing pike, perch, and eels. This lake,
situated at the bottom of a fine hanging wood,
and surrounded by cultivated fields and planta-
tions, is a delightful object to passengers, and a
great beauty to the pleasure-grounds of Auch-
tertyre. It has yielded a great abundance of
shell marl. On the banks of this lake there
is a fine repeating echo, produced, it is suppos-
ed, from the walls of an old ruinous castle,
standing on a gently rising ground, running out
into the middle of the lake ; which was a
place of strength in ancient times, being then
surrounded by water, and accessible only in
one place by a drawbridge. All kinds of
wood, produced in Scotland, thrive remarkably
well in this parish ; but the oak seems to be a
particular favourite of the soil, and is, indeed,
alluded to in the old Scottish song,

By Auchtertyre there grows theaik.
The highest mountain, in the northern extre-
mity of the parish, is Benchonzie. The pa-
rish contains different remains of a remote an-
tiquity, and it possesses some gentlemen's seats
of great beauty and taste. The situation of
Lawers, the residence of Lord Balgray,
is among the most distinguished. The vale of
Strathearn lies under the commanding prospect
from the house, whilst a forest of tall trees
shelters it on every side — Population of Mo-
nivaird in 1821, 539 — of Strowan, 337.

MONKLAND, an ancient district in the
north-eastern part of Lanarkshire, extending
from the Clyde eastward to the boundary of
the county, and receiving this appellation
from having been once the property of the
monks of Newbotle Abbey in Mid-Lothian.
About the year 1640 it was divided into the
following parishes of New and Old Monklarid.

MONKLAND (NEW), a parish on the
north-east boundary of Lanarkshire, once form-
ing part of the foregoing district. It extends
ten miles in length, by seven in breadth ; bound-
ed by Old Monkland and Cadder on the west,
and Shotts on the south. It has Dumbarton-
shire on the north. Its boundary with Shotts
parish is chiefly the North Calder Water, and
on the opposite quarter it is bounded by the
Luggie. There is neither hill nor mountain
in the whole district, although the greater part
of it lies considerably above the level of the
sea. The highest lands are in the middle of
the parish, and run the whole length of it from
east to west. The whole is a beautiful cham-
paign country, agreeably diversified by vales
and gentle risings. The eastern part of the
parish is rather encumbered by moss. The
lands are generally greatly improved, and be-
sides being well enclosed, are finely sheltered
by plantations. Much of the improved land
is occupied as pasture for cattle. The southern
and western quarters of the parish are in mo-
dern times the seat of a dense population and
of manufactures of various kinds; a character-
istic arising in a great measure from the pre-
valence of coal and ironstone, which are here
raised in vast abundance, and transported by
canals in different directions. On the main road
betwixt Edinburgh and Glasgow, which passes
through the south-western part of the parish,
stands the modern thriving town of Airdrie,
(which has already been noticed in the present
work,) and some small villages, all showing
signs of being the residence of an industrious
and prosperous population. — Population of the
parish in 1821, 7362.

MONKLAND (OLD), a parish in La-
narkshire, once composing part of the fore-
going district ; extending from the right bank
of the Clyde to the border of New Monkland
parish, a distance of between seven and eight
miles, by a breadth near the Clyde of little
more than one mile, but afterwards expanding
to nearly four miles. It is bounded on the
north by the barony parish of Glasgow and

7-80

MONTEITH.

Calder, and on the south by BothvvclL This
is one of the most productive and most beau-
tiful parishes in Lanarkshire. It is well en-
closed, cultivated, and finely planted with forest
and fruit trees. There are several extensive
orchards, and a stranger, in viewing the district,
remarks that the whole resembles an immense
garden. The road from Edinburgh to Glas-
gow, by Airdrie, passes through the parish, and
is lined by villages, hamlets, and gentlemen's
seats. The road by Whitburn also passes
through the parish. The manufactures, like
those in New Monkland parish, are various,
and support a large and industrious population.
Weaving for the Glasgow manufacturers is a
chief employment. From near the heart of
the parish the Monkland canal proceeds to
Glasgow. An act of parliament for this
undertaking was procured in the year 1770,
with the design of opening an easy and
cheap communication between the Monkland
collieries and Glasgow. It was not till after
3790, that the canal was fairly finished, and
since that period it has been of great advantage
not only to the landed proprietors in this quar-
ter, but to the inhabitants and manufactures of
Glasgow; see Canal (Monkland). The tithes
of the parish, amounting to 349 bolls, together
with grassums at renewals of leases, belong
to the university of Glasgow, being part of the
subdeanery which was purchased by the col-
lege from the family of Hamilton about the
year 1652 Population in 1821, 6983.

MONKTON-HALL, a small village in
the parish of Inveresk, Edinburghshire. The
Scottish army lay around this little village be-
fore the battle of Pinkie, and a sort of parlia-
ment was held here by the Governor Arran,
at which an act was passed, providing that the
nearest heir of any churchman who should fall
in the ensuing battle, should have the gift of
his benefice, and the heirs of other persons
dying in the same cause should have their ward,
non-entresse, relief, and marriage free.

MONKTOWN, a parish in the district of
Kyle, Ayrshire, lying on the sea-coast betwixt
Symington and Dundonald on the north, and
Newton and St. Quivox on the south. Tar-
bolton lies on the east. The parish formerly
extended southward to the river Ayr, and com-
prehended the present parish of Newton, which,
for the accommodation of the inhabitants of
that place, was erected into a separate parochial
district last century. The present parish of

Monktown, which includes the ancient and
abrogated parish of Prestwick, extends about
four miles in length, by generally three miles
in breadth ; but in one place it is not above a
mile broad. The surface rises gradually from
the sea, and the soil varies from sandy downs
to a rich and productive loam. A great part
is enclosed and now considerably improved.
The united parish comprehends the ancient
and small burgh of Prestwick, or Prestick,
and the village of Monktown, both on the
road from Ayr to Irvine, the latter being far-
thest north. — Population of the parish, villages
included, in 1821, 1744.

MONTBATTOCK, a lofty and conspicu-
ous mountain among the Grampians, parish of
Strachan, Kincardineshire.

MONTEITH, MONTEATH, or
MENTEITH, a district of Perthshire, be-
ing a tract of country in the south-west quarter
of that extensive county. It is understood to
comprehend all the lands that lie on the streams
which discharge themselves into the Forth,
except the parish of Balquhidder, which be-
longed to the stewartry of Strathearn. Be-
sides being at one time under the jurisdiction
of a Stewart, Menteith formed an earldom
of a branch of the noble family of Graham ;
in modern times all such distinctions have
ceased.

MONTEITH, (PORT OF) or PORT,
as it is now more usually styled, a parish in the
above ancient district of Perthshire, lying chief-
ly on the north bank of the river Forth, which
separates it from Stirlingshire; bounded by
Aberfoyle on the west, Callander on the north,
and Kilmadock or Doune and part of Kincar-
dine on the east. It extends eight miles in
length from east to west, by five in breadth.
On its northern boundary lies Loch Venna-
cher ; in this quarter the district is mountain-
ous, rocky and wild ; towards the north the laud
declines till it becomes a rich level tract on the
banks of the Forth. A portion of the lower
part is mossy. The chief object of attraction
in the parish is the Loch or Lake of Menteith,
a beautiful expanse of water near the centre
of the district, adjoining the church and manse.
It is about five miles in circumference, and is
adorned by the small island of Inchmahome,
covered with fine wood and possessing the ruin
of an ancient abbey ; — see Inchmahome.
There is also a smaller island and a peninsula.
The scenery around is reckoned exceedingly

MONTROSE.

781

beautiful. The waters of the lake are emitted
by the small river Goodie, which is tributary to
the Forth. Near the latter river are the seats
of Cardross and Gartmore, both environed in
large and thriving plantations.— Population in
1821, 1614.

MONTQUHITTER, a parish in Aber-
deenshire, extending about nine miles in length
from north to south, by a breadth of nearly six,
bounded by Turrif on the west, King Edward
on the north, New Deer on the east, and Fyvie
on the south. The surface is uneven and ara-
ble in the lower parts. The district was once
very mossy and moorish; but has been consider-
ably improved. The parish comprehends the
villages of Garmond and Cumineston, both of
modem date. Montquhitter parish is watered
by two small rivers, which receive the tribute
of numberless and copious springs. One of
these discharges itself into the Ythan, and the
other into the Deveron. Both abound with
delicious trout. In this parish was fought the
battle of Lendrum, in which Donald of the
Isles received a final overthrow — Population
in 1821, 1918.

MONTROSE, a parish in Forfarshire,
lying on the sea-coast, bounded on the north
by the river North Esk, which separates it
from Kincardineshire, on the west by Logie-
Pert and Dun, and on the south by the South
Esk, which separates it from Craig. It is of
a triangular figure, with the apex pointing in-
land, in which direction it extends about three
miles and a half. The district is generally
flat ; but towards its northern extremity it
rises gradually, and terminates in a hill of no
very considerable height, called the Hill of
Montrose. The country in the neighbour-
hood, being fertile and well - cultivated, af-
fords a delightful view in every part of the
parish.

Montrose, a royal burgh, and sea-port
town, the capital of the above parish, is agree-
ably situated on a level sandy plain or penin-
sula, bounded on the north-east by the German
Ocean, on the south by the South Esk, and on
the west by a large expanse of this river, called
the Basin of Montrose, at the distance of se-
venty miles from Edinburgh, twenty two from
Stonehaven, eighteen from Forfar, thirteen from
Arbroath, and eight from Brechin ; in 56° 34'
of north lat., and 2° 10' of west long. Ac-
cording to Boece, the ancient name of Mon-
trose was Celurea; but the etymology of its

modern appellation has been variously resolved.
In Latin, it is called Manturum by Ravenna;
and by Cambden, Mons Rosarum, " the Mount
of Roses ;" in French, Mons-trois, " the three
hills or mounts ;" in the ancient British, Mant-
er-rose, " the mouth of the stream ;" in the
Gaelic, Mon-ross, " the promontory hill," or
Moin-ross, " the promontory of the moss j"
or meadh (pronounced not) ain-ross, " the field
or plain of the peninsula." The second of
these derivations, though the most unlikely of
all, is countenanced by the seal of the town,
which bears the ornament of roses, with the
following motto :— " Mare ditat, Rosa de-
corat," — the sea enriches and the rose adorns ;
but the two last, besides being the most
probable, correspond best with the pronun-
ciation of the name by the common people
in the neighbourhood, and by all who speak
the Gaelic language, to wit, Munross. The
erection of Montrose into a royal burgh, has
generally been referred to the year 1352, the
twenty-third of the reign of David II. ; but
there is every reason to think that the original
charter must have emanated from David I.
In the rolls of the parliament, which was held
at Edinburgh in September 1357, for effecting
the ransom of David II. from his captivity in
England, the burgh of Montrose stands the
ninth upon the list, with the names of eight
burghs behind it ; a circumstance which is
scarcely compatible with the supposition of its
having been created a royal burgh only five
years before. It appears, at least, to have been
a place of some note, long before the earliest
date assigned to its erection as a royal burgh ;
and is mentioned in Dalrymple's Annals of
Scotland, among some of the principal cities of
the kingdom which were nearly destroyed by
fire in the year 1244. Its name is connected
with many important events in Scottish his-
tory. It is mentioned by Froissart as the port
from which Sir James Douglas embarked, in
1330, with a numerous and splendid retinue,
on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, carrying
along with him the heart of Robert Bruce.
It is distinguished as the -first place in Scot-
land, where the Greek language was taught
by teachers from France, brought over by John
Erskine of Dun in 1534; and as having sent
forth from its seminary the celebrated scholar,
Andrew Melville. It was the birth-place of
the warlike Marquis of Montrose ; and the
house in which he was born was occupied as

7B2

MONTROSE.

tin inn not many years ago. It was the only
town in Scotland, so late as the commence-
ment of the eighteenth century, where a per-
son could be found who understood the ma-
nagement of pumps in coal works, namely,
John Young, a citizen of Montrose, who had
been sent over to Holland, by the magistrates,
for the purpose of learning the most approved
modes of constructing and using windmills. It
was the first port made by the French fleet
in December 1715, with the Chevalier on
board ; and that prince embarked at the same
place, in February of the following year. One
of the principal events in the recent history of
Montrose, regards an alteration in its municipal
constitution. The set of the burgh formerly
consisted of nineteen members, [seventeen as
representatives of the guildry, and two as re-
presenting the incorporated trades. The old
council elected the new ; and the old and new
elected the office-bearers. But the magistrates
and council, upon the petition of the guild-
brethren and the incorporated trades, granted
to the former the election of their dean, who
became ex officio a member of council ; and
to the latter the election of their two repre-
sentatives in council ; and this alteration in the
set having been submitted to the convention
of royal burghs, for their approbation, was con-
firmed by them in July 1816. Inconsequence,
however, of an informality in the mode of
electing the magistracy at Michaelmas follow-
ing, the burgh was disfranchised by a sentence
of the Court of Session ; and, in answer to a
petition from the inhabitants, a new charter,
with an improved constitution, was granted*by
the crown, in the following terms : — " That
the town-council shall, as formerly, consist of
nineteen persons, including, in that number the
provost, three bailies, the dean of guild, trea-
surer, and the master of the hospital ; of which
nineteen, fifteen shall be resident guild-breth-
ren, and four shall be resident craftsmen, in-
cluding the deacon-convener for the time :
That, at the Michaelmas election, the six
oldest councillors for the time from the guild-
ry, who have not served in any of the offices
after mentioned for the year preceding, and the
whole four councillors from the craftsmen,
shall go out, but shall nevertheless be re-eligible
if their respective constituents shall think fit :
That, upon the Monday of the week immedi-
ately preceding Michaelmas in each year, the
magistrates and council shall meet and declare

the names of the six councillors who go out
in rotation, and also what vacancies have arisen
during the preceding years by death or other-
wise, in the number of guild councillors : That
on the following day, being Tuesday, the guild-
ry incorporation shall assemble at their ordi-
nary place of meeting, and shall first elect their
dean of guild, and six members of the guildry,
as his council for the ensuing year ; and the
person so chosen as dean of guild, shall, in vir-
tue of his office, be a magistrate and councillor
of the burgh ; and the said incorporation shall
then proceed to fill up the vacancies in the num-
ber of merchant councillors, occasioned by ro-
tation, non-acceptance, resignation, death, or
otherwise, during the preceding year : That
the seven incorporated trades shall also assemble
together in one place on the said Tuesday, and
shall first elect their deacon convener, who
shall, in virtue of his office, be a councillor to
represent the trades ; and they shall then pro-
ceed to elect other three in the room of those
who retire from office, and that two of the four
trades' councillors to be so elected may be
guild-brethren, being always operative crafts-
men, and the persons electing them shall have
no vote in the guild in the same election ; but
the other two trades councillors shall be opera-
tive craftsmen and burgesses only : That the
council shall meet on the Wednesday immedi-
ately preceding Michaelmas, unless Michael-
mas day shall happen to be upon Wednesday,
in which case they shall meet on Michaelmas
day, and conclude the annual election for the
ensuing year, by continuing the ex officiis mem
bers, electing the two members of council, who
do not go out by rotation, and receiving the
new member from the guildry and trades ; and
after such election, and receiving the new
councillors, the members both of the old and
new council shall, according to the former set
of the burgh, choose a provost, bailies, trea-
surer, and hospital master ; that the provost,
bailies, treasurer, and hospital master, shall
not be continued in their offices longer than
two years together ; but they, with the dean
of guild, shall remain ex officiis, members of
the council for the year immediately following
that in which they shall have served in the
offices respectively." It is gratifying to men-
tion, that the new constitution of the burgh,
thus organized, has given satisfaction to the
inhabitants, and has ensured an efficient and
liberal magistracy. We have already said., that

MONTROSE.

783

Montrose is situated on a plain, environed on
the west by an expansion of the South Esk, and
on the south by the again contracted channel of
that fine river. The basin here alluded to is
nearly dry at low water, but is so completely
filled up by every tide, as to wash the garden
walls on the west side of the town, and to af-
ford sufficient depth of water in the channel of
the river for allowing small sloops to be navigat-
ed to the distance of three miles above the har-
bour. At these periods of high water, the ap-
pearance of Montrose, when first discerned
from the public road on the south, is peculiarly
striking, and seldom fails to arrest the eye of
a stranger. The basin opening towards the
left in all the beauty of a circular lake ; the fer-
tile and finely cultivated fields rising gently
from its banks ; the numerous surrounding
country seats which burst at once upon the
view ; the town, and harbour, and bay, stretch-
ing further on the right ; and the lofty sum-
mit of the Grampians, nearly in the centre of
the landscape, closing the view towards the
north-west — altogether present to the view of
the traveller one of the most magnificent and
diversified amphitheatres to be found in the
united kingdom. The South Esk is crossed
by a very magnificent suspension-bridge, which
is erected on the precise site of the former
wooden one. The foundation-stone of the
masonry was laid in September 1828, and the
Dridge declared open December 1829. It was
designed by Captain Brown, R. N., patentee,
and finished at an expense of L.20,000. It
stretches across the river in a noble span, the
distance between the points of suspension be-
ing 432 feet. The main chains, four in num-
ber, are supported by two stone towers, 72
feet in height, which form the grand entrance
to the platform of the bridge on each side,
through an archway 16 feet wide by 18 feet
high. The backstay-chains rise from cham-
bers in which they are strongly imbedded and
fastened by great plates to channels on the tops
of the towers. From these imperishable
main chains the platform is suspended ; it
forms a roadway, 26 feet in breadth, construct-
ed upon iron beams, to which the planking or
platform is bolted. On each side of the
bridge there is a footpath, railed off by a
handsome guard chain ; and the sides of the
platform aie furnished with an ornamental
cornice, so fastened as to stiffen the bridge
and prevent vibration or undulation. The

hollow noise arising from the treading of
horses, which has ever been an objection to
wooden platforms or roadways, and been the
cause of accidents, is entirely obviated, by
employing a composition, discovered by Cap-
tain Brown, of coal, tar, pitch, and broken
metal laid on of a proper thickness over the
planking, which besides being a superior pre-
servation of the platform, is impervious to
water. The river at this point is of a con-
siderable depth, about twenty feet at low wa-
ter in ordinary tides, and thirty-five at spring
tides ; and so rapid, that it frequently runs at
the rate of six miles an hour. On the west
side of this entrance, and close upon the river,
is the longest of the three mounts, to which
the French name of the town is supposed to
refer, called Forthill, on which a fortification
was formerly erected, and in cutting through
which, to form a new entrance to the town from
the bridge, a stratum of human bones, nearly
fourteen feet thick, was laid open. The har-
bour on the east side of the bridge is very com-
modious, and furnished with excellent quays.
Two light- houses were some years ago erect-
ed, to direct vessels in taking the river during
the night ; and a larger house in which the
keeper of the lights resides, is provided with
accommodation for the recovery of persons who
have suffered shipwreck. The spot upon which
the town is built is nearly a dead flat, from
which the sea seems gradually to have receded ;
but the soil, being a dry sandy beach, and the
whole exposure completely open on every side,
the climate is much more healthy than the low-
ness of the situation might give reason to ex-
pect. The town is neatly built, and consists
chiefly of |one spacious main street, from
which numerous lanes run off on each side, as
from the High Street of Edinburgh. Many
of the houses have their gables turned to the
street ; but a number of more modern build-
ings are constructed in a different manner, and
have a very handsome appearance. The prin-
cipal public buildings are the Town Hall, which
has been greatly enlarged, and which, with an
arcade below, makes a fine termination to the
main street ; the parish ohurch, which is a plain
edifice ; the Episcopal chapel, in the Links,
to the eastward of the town, neatly built and
handsomely fitted up ; the public schools,
standing in a safe and airy situation ; a new
chapel, of good architecture, at the end of St.
John Street ; the Academy, a spacious edifice,

784

MONTROSE.

surmounted by a neat dome, containing apart-
ments occupied by the master and usher of the
Latin school, two masters for writing and
arithmetic, a master for drawing, and a rector,
whose department includes the different branch-
es of mathematics, the elements of natural phi-
losophy, and several of the modern languages ;
the Lunatic Asylum, including also an in-
firmary and dispensary ; and the office of the
British Linen Company's agents, which forms
one of the principle ornaments of the main
street. In recent times there have been some
handsome new houses built on the Links.
Montrose is a place of considerable com-
merce, and its shipping has of late years
greatly increased. The port possesses a cus-
tom-house, which comprehends within its
bounds the coast from the lights of Tay on
the south, to Bervie Brow, or the Tod-head
on the north. In the year 1820, (we quote
from an excellent article in the Edinburgh
Encyclopaedia, to which we are indebted for
many of the foregoing particulars,) the ship-
ping belonging to Montrose amounted to 83
vessels, registered at 7946 tons, and navigated by
605 men. Since then there has been a consider-
able increase, and we perceive by the shipping
list of 1831, that there are now 106 vessels of
the aggregate burden of 10,300 tons. Four
large vessels were lately employed in the whale
fishery, but the greater part are engaged in the
coasting and Baltic trade. The most import-
ant branch of the export trade is grain, which
is said to exceed that of any other port in Scot-
land. Various branches of manufacturing in-
dustry are carried on in Montrose, particularly
sail-cloth, sheeting, and linen, and spinning
yarn. The exportation of cured salmon is con-
siderable. There is in the town an extensive
tan-work and foundry ; rope-walks, breweries,
starch works, soap and candle works. There
are excellent salmon fishings in the river ; most
abundant supplies of fresh white fish from se-
veral fishing villages in the vicinity, and immense
quantities of cod, particularly prepared by dry-
ing and salting for distant markets. There are
very extensive downs or links, between the
town and the sea, where the game of golf is ge-
nerally played, and where races occasionally take
place. Montrose is now lighted with gas, by a
joint stock company, on the usual principles.
The town is protected by a body of police un-
der the superintendence of a committee, elect-
ed by the annua] head court, in which the magis-

tracy are included. A justice of peace small
debt court is held in the town-hall on the first
Monday of every month, having a jurisdiction
over the parishes of Montrose, Craig, Lunan,
Maryton, Dun, and Logie- Pert. The burgh or
bailie court is held every Tuesday forenoon in
the court-room. A public library was institut-
ed in 1785 on a most liberal plan, and now con-
sists of some thousands of volumes by the best
authors. The exchange coffee-room is a use-
ful establishment, under a body of managers.
A reading society was established in 1819, and
now possesses 1500 volumes. A Session
Sabbath school library was begun in 1822.
Besides a native bank, there are agencies of
the British Linen Company, the National, and
Dundee Union Banks. There are sixteen
agencies of fire, life, and annuity insurance
offices. A savings' bank was established in
1815, which is open every Monday forenoon.
A Patent Slip Company was instituted in
1828; a Horticultural Society in 1826; the
Montrose Club in 1 760 ; the Golf Club in 1810 ;
and the Chess Club in 1825. A well con-
ducted weekly newspaper, under the title of
the Montrose, Arbroath, and Brechin Review,
was established in 181 1, and is published every
Friday morning. The public charities of Mon.
trose, which are numerous, and say much for
the philanthrophic feelings of the inhabi-
tants, are — the Ancient Hospital of Mon-
trose, under the guardianship of the town
council ; the Montrose Lunatic Asylum, In-
firmary and Dispensary, already noticed, and
incorporated by royal charter in 1810 ; Bailie
James Ouchterlony's Charity, instituted 1752;
Misses Mill's Charities, 1803; different mor-
tifications of money, the interest of which is
yearly distributed among the poor ; John Er-
skine of Jamaica's Charity, 1786, by which be-
quest the estate of Harvieston, Kincardine-
shire, was purchased, of which the Provost of
Montrose is factor, and from the revenue of
that estate, ten poor families derive support,
and eight boys are maintained and educated ;
David White's Free School, 1816, a charity
which educates 100 poor children ; Miss Jane
Straton's Charity, 1822, a mortified fund of
L.1800, the interest of one half of which is
applied for the education of forty-two boys,
and a like number of girls, while the interest of
the other half is divided amongst ten poor
gentlewomen ; Andrew Fvaser's Charity, 1826,
a fund, the interest of which is distributed in

MORA Y.

785

coals and meal to the poorest inhabitants, on
the 26th of February annually ; Society for
Relief of Destitute Sick, 1799 ; and Society
for Relief of Indigent Women, 1806. Of reli-
gious societies, there is a Bible Society,' a
Missionary and Tract Society, and a Home-
Missionary Society. On the whole, it is sel-
dom that the statist is called upon to notice
such a number of valuable institutions in a
single town, and the circumstance will doubt-
less be accepted as proving, what Las been
long understood, that Montrose is the place
of residence of many families of high respect-
ability and wealth, and the seat of a very in-
telligent and industrious population. For the
amusement of the inhabitants there is a small
neat theatre. We may conclude by men-
tioning that the places of worship are the Es-
tablished Church ; a Chapel of Ease ; two
Meeting- Houses of the United Associate
Synod ; one of tbe Independents ; and an
Episcopal Chapel. The fast days of the
kirk are generally the Thursdays before the
first Sundays of May and November — In
1821, the population of the town was about
9000, and including the parish, 10,338.

MONYM USK, a parish in Aberdeenshire,
measuring from four to five miles each way ;
bounded by Oyne on the north, Chapel-of-
Garioch and Kemnay on the east, Cluny on
the south, and Tough and Keig on the west.
The river Don bounds its northern part, and
flows through it in a south-easterly direction.
Near this river the land is well cultivated,
now enclosed, as well as embellished by
plantations. The hills which are not planted
are partly green and partly heathy. Mony-
musk house, the seat of the family of Grant,
is an elegant building, on the right bank of the
Don, environed by fine pleasure grounds. At
the village of Monymusk there is an Episcopal
chapel. — Population in 1821, 867.

MONZIE, a parish in Perthshire, extend-
ing twelve miles in length, by seven in
breadth, but of an irregular figure ; bounded
by Dull on the north, Foulis on the east,
Crieff on the south, and Monivaird on the west.
It lies on the south side of the Grampian hills,
and is a mountainous district ; the only habita-
ble part being two valleys, separated from each
other by a broad ridge of hills. Not above
one-third part is arable, the remainder being
heathy or mossy. It is watered by the Amond,
the Keltie, and the Shaggie, upon which there

are several romantic cascades. Monzie, an
elegant modern building, the seat of General
Campbell, delightfully situated, and sheltered
by a forest of very large trees, is the only house
of note in the parish. The parish possesses a
number of remains of antiquity. — Population
in 1821, 1167.

MOONZIE, a small parish in Fife, ex-
tending two miles in length by one and a half
in breadth, containing 1100 acres, bounded by
Criech on north-west and north, Kilmany on
the east, Cupar on the south, and Monimail
on the south-west. A great part of the parish
is hilly. The lower grounds -are arable.—
Population in 1821, 209.

MOORFOOT HILLS, a range of moor-
ish pastoral hills of a flattish appearance, on the
south-western confines of Edinburghshire, se-
parating that part of Lothian from the vale of
Tweed.

MORAY,or MURRAY,(PROVINCE
of) a district of country on the east side of
the northern division of Scotland, now with-
out any political distinction, and divided in mo-
dern times into the three several shires of
Banff, Moray, and Nairn. On the east, it is
separated from Aberdeenshire by the Deveron ;
on the west it is bounded by Inverness-shire ;
on the north it has the large arm of the sea,
called from it the Moray Firth. Unlike all
the districts which encompass it, it is remark-
able for equality of surface, fertility of soil, and
amenity of climate. Buchanan says, that
" for pleasantness, and the profit arising from
fruit trees, Moray surpasses all the other coun-
ties of Scotland ;" and there is an old popular
saying, that it enjoys forty days more of fair
weather than any other portion of the kingdom.
It was anciently, indeed, considered and desig-
nated " the Granary of Scotland." In addi-
tion to more respectable authorities, that of
William Lithgow may be adduced. " Tbe
third most beautiful soil," says that sage tra-
veller, after enumerating Clydesdale and the
Carse of Gowrie, " is the delectable plain of
Moray, thirty miles long, and six in breadth,
whose comely gardens, enriched with cornes,
plantings, pasturage, stately dwellings, over,
faced with a generous Octavian gentry, and
toped with a noble earl, its chief patron, it may
be called a second Lombardy, or pleasant mea-
dow of the north." Now, although William
is a notorious specimen of the leg of mutton
school of travellers, and confesses the gratifica-
5 H

786

MORAY.

tion of having been feasted for a whole week
by the noble earl whom he mentions, it would
really appear that the opinion formed by his
nead, in this case, was affected very little by the
prejudices of his stomach. The facility and
bounty of their soil seem to have had the effect,
in former times, of rendering the people of
Moray less apt in the use of arms than their
neighbours of the more sterile districts of Ba-
denoch and Lochaber. So late as the time of
Charles I., the Highlanders considered Moray
as a sort of neutral land, where every man was
at liberty to take his prey : and we hear won-
derfully little of any resistance ever made to
this pernicious theory. The Moravians, it
may be conceived, resembled the quiet com-
fortable Dutch settlers of North America, who,
on being plundered by the wild Indians, consi-
dered nothing but how they might best repair
the losses they had sustained, being generally
too fat either to resist or pursue. Moray, thus
unprotected, and destitute of alliances, must
have been a peculiarly convenient storehouse
for the mountain men, all of whom were too
poor to have any thing to spare, and, more-
over, too much engaged among themselves by
confederacies, and so forth, to allow of mutual
spoliation. Pennant seems to be of opinion
that the theory took its rise in the circumstance
of Moray having been chiefly peopled by aliens,
first by Picts, and finally by Danes, who kept
up a continual warfare with the Highlanders,
the last of whom, long after a change of cir-
cumstances, never exactly comprehended that
it was any crime to rob " the Moray men."
The province of Moray suffered more perhaps
than any other district of Scotland by the civil
wars. The people were then generally at-
tached to the covenant ; and as Montrose chose
to make it one of his principal scenes of action,
it is easy to conceive that its peaceable farm-
ers were not permitted to enjoy both their opi-
nions and their goods undisturbed. There is
an old couplet expressive of the different ad-
vantages derived from serving under Montrose
and his ally Lord Lewis Gordon, and corro-
borating the character which these chiefs have
obtained in history :

" If yo wi' Montrose gae, ye'll get sick and wae eneuch ;
If ye wi' Lord Lewis gae, ye'll get rob and reive eneuch."

And there is still another old rhyme, testi-
fying to the evil genius of the last leader, by
classing his name with two of the most de-
33.

structive things known in an agricultural ter-
ritory : —

"The gule,* the Gordon, and the hoodie craw,
Are the three warst things that Moray ever saw."

Montrose, in his descent upon Moray in 1645,
after his victory of Inverlochy, destroyed all
the houses of such as did not join his standard,
and gave up the towns of Banff, Cullen, and
Elgin, to indiscriminate pillage. It should
be observed of the province of Moray that its
inhabitants in no respect partake of the High-
land character, either in language or in dress,
these distinctions being entirely peculiar to the
people in the mountainous country to the west-
ward. The dialect spoken by the common
people in Moray, though much less disagreea-
ble than that of the inhabitants of Aberdeen-
shire, is, from its sharpness, by no means pleas-
ing. This, perhaps, in some degree proceeds
from their throwing out of their pronunciation
two of the most sonorous vowels in the Eng-
lish language, and from substituting short
sounds in their place. No man of the lower
ranks ever pronounces broad aw or long o.
For the first he always uses the short and slen-
der sound of a, as la for law, Agust for August,
al for all. In nearly the same manner, also,
as in Aberdeenshire, the natives of Moray
have a strange preference for the slender ee,
which usurps occasionally the place of almost
every other vowel, as meen for moon, speoi for
spoon, freet for fruit, &c. It has been re-
marked by the author of the Beauties of Scot-
land, that " that zealous regard for religion,
and particularly for the presbyterian form of
church government, which has so long distin-
guished the inhabitants of the south-west of
Scotland, and of the towns on the Tay, the
Forth and the Clyde, was never much known
here, excepting in the towns on the western
part of this coast. The men of Moray in
general, or at least in the upper parts of the
county, became presbyterians more from acci-
dent than from temper. During the alterca-
tions of presbytery and episcopacy which took
place at the Reformation, they did not at ull
discover that decided preference to presbytery
which marked the western and southern coun-
ties. Had no greater zeal existed elsewhere,
the island would probably at present have had
but one national church. At the revolution

* A weed that infests corn.

MORAYSHIRE.

787

few of tlifi clergy of this province conformed
to presbytery, but availed themselves of the
indulgence which the government gave of al-
lowing them to remain in their benefices for
life, upon qualifying to the civil government :
and in order to cherish presbytery, it was ne-
cessary, from time to time, to send clergy from
the south country to serve the cure. That
horror at the name of holidays which was once
a characteristic of the puritans, and true blue
presbyterians, never took possession of the
common people here, and they still celebrate
(perhaps without ever thinking of the origin
of the practice) St. John's day, St. Stephen's
day,. Christmas day, &c, by assembling in large
companies to play at foot-ball, and to dance
and make merry."

MORAYSHIRE, or, as it is sometimes
called, ELGINSHIRE, from the name of its
capital, is the central division of the above
mentioned province of Moray. It is bounded
on the north by the gulf of the German Ocean
called the Moray Firth, on the east and south-
east by Banffshire, on the south-west by In-
verness-shire, and on the west by the counties
of Nairn and Inverness. In describing this
beautiful district of country it is usual to in-
clude the small county of Nairn, with which
it is intimately connected. Thus conjoined,
the district is somewhat of a triangular figure,
with the apex pointed inland, and in this quar-
ter partaking of the wild rocky and mountain-
ous character of the Highlands. The low
country may be described as a large plain, ex-
tending from the Spey westward, between the
shore and a range of mountains, for the whole
length of the district, nearly forty miles, but
of unequal breadth, from about five to about
twelve miles, measured in a straight line from
the hills to the shore. This plain, how-
ever, is diversified over its whole extent by
short ridges of lower hills, in general nearly
parallel to the shore ; the mean breadth may
be estimated at seven miles. Within the range
of the mountain district, the country may be
described as chiefly pastoral, the arable land in
general hanging upon the acclivities of the val-
leys, or spread out in narrow plains, upon the
banks of the streams which wind among the
hills, the wideness of the valley bearing a rela-
tive proportion to the size of the river. There
are many plains in the course of-the Spey, and
some on the tract of the Findhorn, of great
fertility and beauty. The coast of this dis

trict, although within the fifty-eighth degree
of north latitude, has ever been distinguished
for the mildness of its climate. The harder
kinds of fruit, all the varieties pf the apple,
and almost all of the pear and of the plumb, by
a little attention on the part of the proprietors,
may be abundantly produced on every farm.
Where a sufficient length of lease, or allowance
for substantial enclosures offers an inducement,
gardens are generally formed, and fruit trees
cultivated. Fruits also of greater delicacy,
the apricot, the nectarine, and peach, ripen
sufficiently on a wall in the open air. With
respect to the winds, the most prevailing gales
are from the north-west. The district pre*
sents no object so elevated as to attract the
clouds, or to impede their course, and on
this account it is supposed that falls of snow
are comparatively unfrequent and of small
depth, as they are drifted over the subjacent
plain, insomuch that the operations of hus-
bandry are but little interrupted by the incle-
mency of the weather. Except sandstone,
limestone, and marl, no mineral substance of
value has been discovered. There are a number
of noblemen and gentlemen's seats in this fine
district of Scotland ; the principal are Gordon
Castle, the seat of the Duke of Gordon, and
Castle Grant, the seat of Sir James Grant.
The remains of antiquity are numerous, of
which the cathedral of Elgin, the bishop's pa-
lace at Spynie, the priory of Pluscardine, the
castles of Lochindorb, Dunphail, and the Dun
of Relugas are the chief. Of the struggles
with the Danes, who infested the district in ear-
ly times, there are various testimonials in the
shape of monumental pillars, &c. The prin-
cipal rivers are the Spey, the Findhorn, and
the Lossie, all flowing in a northerly direc-
tion, and each abounding with the finest sal-
mon. Morayshire contains two royal burghs,
to wit, Elgin and Forres ; and several con-
siderable towns, as Grantown, Garmouth, and
Lossie-mouth. Morayshire is divided in-
to eighteen parochial districts. With regard
to the division of property, we find that,
about twenty years ago, there were in Mo-
rayshire six proprietors who possessed from
L.2000 to L. 6000 of yearly rent each; ten
proprietors from L.500 to L.1500 of yearly
rent each ; the remainder of the territory
was shared amongst proprietors possessing
from L.50 to L.400 a-year ; amounting in
all to about L. 30,000 sterling, exclusive rt

im

MORDINGTON.

woods, which were computed at nearly L.180O,
and salmon fishings, which might amount
to L.3000 a-year. The general rise in rent-
al will, of course, have considerably enhanc-
ed these various sums. Of the great pro-
prietors of this district, only one or two reside
in the county ; and a small proportion, there-
fore, of the annual revenue arising from the
lands is expended there. This tends to relax
the connexion, and to diminish the intercourse
between the landlord and tenant, a circum-
stance allowed to be detrimental to improve-
ment. In the lower part of the county, the
Earl of Fife, and other proprietors, have form-
ed plantations to so great an extent, that al-
most every part of the country that is inac-
cessible to the plough has been covered with
different sorts of forest trees. A considerable
traffic in the export of wood from the forests
in Strathspey, by floating it to Garmouth, has
long been carried on to advantage. The chief
manufacture in this part of Scotland is that of
whisky ; and an idea of the amount of trade in
this article alone may be gathered from the
fact, that the distillers within the Elgin Excise
collection- pay annually L.50,000 to govern-
ment as duty on spirits. In concluding this
brief account of Morayshire, it may be men-
tioned that this district was subjected to an al-
most incredible degree of damage by a flood in
the month of August 1829, which carried off
cottages, bridges, and farm produce to a great
amount. The injuries sustained were partly
relieved by a general subscription all over the
country. — Population in 1821, 14,292 males,
16,870 females; total 31,162.

MORAY or MURRAY FIRTH, the
gulf of the German Ocean above alluded to,
bounded on the south side by the province of
Moray, and on the north by Sutherlandshire.
It extends from Kinnaird Head, in the district
of Bucbaii, to Inverness, in a westerly direc-
tion ; it is of great breadth at its mouth, but con-
tracted to about two miles at the place where
Fort George is built. Above this it again
expands, but not nearly to the original extent,
and at Inverness, again contracting, it termi-
nates in Loch Beauly. On its north side,
considerably north-east of Inverness, it sends
off a branch called the Cromarty Firth. It
receives several large rivers, among which is
the Ness at Inverness. Its herring fishing is
i «w of very great value.

MORBATTLE, a parish on the east side
of Roxburghshire, bounded by Linton and Yet-
holm on the north, Eckford on the west, How-
nam on the south, and on the east it has North-
umberland. From north-west to south-east it
extends about nine miles, by a mean breadth
of four. The greater part is hilly and pastor-
al, the low grounds only being arable. The
chief waters are the Bowmont and Kaile, both
yielding salmon and trout. The village of
Morbattle stands in a westerly part of the
district near the Kaile water. Morebotle, which
is the old and proper spelling of the name,
signifies the dwelling place at the marsh-
Population in 1821, 1070.

MORDINGTON, a parish in Berwick-
shire, lying on the sea-coast adjoining the Li-
berties of Berwick, having Ayton on the
north, and Foulden on the west. Its length,
from south to north, is between three and
four miles ; its breadth towards the northern
extremity above two miles, though at one
place, toward the south, it is only the breadth
of the minister's glebe. Its original extent was
very small, consisting only of the barony of
Mordington, and the estate of Edrington, till
the year 1650, when the lands of Lamerton or
Lamberton were disjoined from the parish of
Ayton and annexed to it. On the south, to-
wards the river Whitadder, the ground is flat,
and rises by a gentle and gradual ascent to the
north, for more than half the length of the
parish, when it attains a very considerable
elevation above the level of the sea, to which
the lands again gradually descend on the east of
this ridge. The district is generally arable, and
near the Whitadder is finely enclosed and plant-
ed. It was in the mansion-house of Mording-
ton that Cromwell, when he passed the Tweed,
for the first time, established his quarters.
The church of Lamberton, which is now in
ruins, stood on an eminence, three miles
northward from Berwick town, on the road to
Edinburgh. After the disgraceful year 1482,
it became, from its commodious situation, the
scene of successive public events. The mar-
riage treaty of the Princess Margaret with
James IV. stipulated, that she should be de-
livered to the Scottish king's commissioners
at Lamberton church, without any expense to
the bridegroom. Tradition idly tells, that
Margaret was married in that kirk, but she
was spoused at Windsor, and the contract

MORTLACH.

789

consummated at Dalkeith. She returned to
Lamberton kirk, in June 1517, a widowed
queen, in less felicitous circumstances, owing
to her own misconduct. In April 1573, Lord
Ruthven, on an auspicious day, met Sir William
Durie, the marshall of Berwick, at Lamberton
kirk, where they made a convention, which
encouraged Durie to besiege Edinburgh Cas-
tle. At the boundary of the parish with the
Liberties of Berwick is the toll-bar and ham-
let of Lamberton, at which marriages are so-
lemnized within the Scottish line, in the man-
ner and on the same principle as at Gretna

Population in 1821, 302.

MORE, (LOCH) a small lake in the
parish of Halkirk, Caithness.

MOREY, an islet of Argyleshire, near
Lismore.

MORHAM, a small parish in the centre of
Haddingtonshire, bounded on the north and
west by Haddington, on the east by Whitting-
ham, and on the south by Garvald. It mea-
sures about three miles in length, by a mean
breadth of one and a half, but this is without
reckoning a narrow stripe projected from the
north-east corner, betwixt Whittingham and
Prestonkirk parishes. The parish is under
h high state of cultivation, and is well enclos-
ed.— Population in 1821, 241.

MORISON'S- HAVEN, a small sea-
port, or rather a harbour, with a manufactory
of brown earthen-ware attached to it, on the
Firth of Forth, about half a mile west from
Prestonpans, to which it serves as a port. Few
are aware that this harbour was originally form-
ed by the monks of Newbotle, near Dalkeith.
We learn from a charter of James V., dated
April 26, 1526, and afterwards ratified by
parliament, that that monarch empowered
these religionists to construct a port within
their own lands of Prestongrange, from whence
they might export the coal they had had the
ingenuity to discover in this part of the coun-
try. The monks consequently erected this
harbour, which was at first called New-haven,
a name afterwards changed to Achieson's-
Haven, and latterly altered to Morison's-
Haven, from the name of the proprietor at the
commencement of the seventeenth century.
It is reckoned, though of limited extent, and
having only ten feet water at spring tides, to
be one of the safest harbours on the Forth.

MORISTON, a river in Inverness-shire,
rising in Glenshiel, and passing through Loch

Clunie, it falls into Loch Ness, near the hou*3
of Glenmoriston, where, a short way above its
entry into the lake, it forms a romantic cas-
cade. It gives the title of Glenmoriston to
the vale through which it flows.

MORMOND HILL, a conspicuous coni-
cal hill in the district of Buchan, Aberdeen-
shire. '

MORROR, one of the more minute dis-
tricts of Inverness-shire, lying on the west coast
of the county, between Moidart and Glenelg.

MORTLACH, a parish in the inland and
hilly part of Banffshire, extending about eleven
miles in length, by a breadth of from four to
six ; bounded on the north by Boharm and
Botriphinie, Cabrach and Gkss on the east,
Inveraven on the south, and Aberlour on the
west. The appearance of the country is pleas-
ing, being variegated by hill and dale, wood
and water, and arable and pastoral lands. The
district comprises two principal vales, pursu-
ing a north and south direction, — that on the
west side being the strath of the Dullan river,
and that on the east the glen of the Fiddich.
These streams afterwards unite in the parish,
and flowing towards the north-west, are tribu-
tary to the Spey. The banks of these differ-
ent waters are finely ornamented by planta-
tions, and exhibit some beautiful scenery. The
description of this parish in the Statistical
Account of Scotland, is one of the best in
that voluminous work. The writer of it, the
Rev. Mr. Gordon, once minister of Mortlach,
and afterwards of Aberdeen, presents us with
the following particulars : — " There are two
old castles in this parish, well worthy of no-
tice, Auchindune, and Balveny ; and when a
stranger is travelling through this part of Scot-
land, for curiosity or pleasure, they deserve his
attention, and will contribute to his amuse-
ment. Less than a hundred years ago, both
were inhabited. When they were first built
it is not known, or by whom.* The castle of
Auchindune stands on a green mount, of coni-
cal shape, over the Fiddich. Its situation is
bold and commanding. In the central apart-
ment of the building there is a piece of ad-
mirable workmanship, in grand and gothic
style. It has been in the possession of the
family of- Gordon since 1535, and of that

* Auchindune is said to have been built by Cochrane,
the favourite of James 111.

790

MORTON.

name there have been both knights and lords
of Auchindune. Before that period it be-
longed to the Ogilvies, and, with all its bar-
ony, was a part of the lordship of Deskford.
Balveny Castle is another very magnificent
structure. It is placed on a beautiful emin-
ence, on the banks of the Fiddich likewise, a
little below its confluence with the Dullan,
and has a variety of charming scenery in its
view. Tradition calls the oldest part of it —
for it has evidently been built at different
times — a Pictish tower. In days of old, it
successively owned as its masters the Cum-
mings, the Douglasses, and the Stewarts ; and,
after them, passing through other families in
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, it be-
came the property of Duff of Braco about the
year 1 687, and is now the Earl of Fife's. In
the year 1446 there was a Lord Balveny
of the name of Douglas. In the front, and
high over its high and massy gate, which still
remains, is a motto of the Stewarts, Earls of
A thole, descriptive of the savage valour and un-
happy circumstances of the times. FVRTH.
FORTVIN, AND. FIL. THE. FAT-
TRIS. The situations of both these ancient
fortalices are well chosen for defence. They
have also had their walls, their ditches, and
ramparts, and have been strongly fortified by
art. For prints of them, and more minute
observations, see Cordiner's Remarkable Ruins,
Nos. 11 and 12. Such objects, presenting
themselves to the eye, lead the mind to reflect
on the transitory nature of human things, and
inspire a contemplative and melancholy plea-
sure. Although now they are in ruins, they
were once the scenes of festivity and triumph.
Many of distinguished fame, though chiefly as
warriors, have dwelt within them ; for warlike
feats were almost the only accomplishments
which, in the days of their glory, conferred
renown. There was another old building here,
though of inferior note, at Edinglassie. One
occurrence about it, however, is very memor-
able. In 1690, the year of the engagement
in the haughs of Cromdale, some of the High-
land clans, on their march from Strathspey
through Mortlach to Strathbogie, and in a
connexion with the public dissensions of the
day, burnt the house ; for which the laird,
whose name was Gordon, took his opportunity
of revenge in their return a few weeks after,
by seizing eighteen of them at random, and
hanging them all on the trees of his garden, — a

shocking instance of the miseries of a civil war,
and also perhaps of the tyrannical and detest-
able power then too often exercised by chief-
tains or haughty landholders over the property,
liberty, and lives of their fellow-men ; for
either without any trial at all, or with a mere
shadow of one, they condemned even to death,
by pit or gallows. It is well known that the
abuses of these hereditary jurisdictions became
so intolerable, that they were put an end to by
an act of Parliament in the reign of George
II. At an early period Mortlach was exalted
to episcopal honours. One Bean was, by
Pope Benedict, made its first bishop ; but in
the person of the fourth who enjoyed the dig-
nity, the episcopate was translated by David
I. to Aberdeen, which soon got the name and
became the seat of the diocese. The see was
at Mortlach 129 years, from 1010 to 1139.
It seems that its jurisdiction and revenues
were but small, comprehending no more than
the church of Mortlach, the church of Cloveth,
and the church of Dulmeth, with all their
lands. But in regard to precedence, it was
the second in Scotland, that of St. Andrews
being the only one before it-" The old church
or cathedral of Mortlach was a plain edifice,
but of great age. Besides the old decayed
hamlet of Mortlach, there is a modern thriv-
ing village in the district, called Dufftown,
built on the property, and under the patronage
of the Earl of Fife. It is situated a short
way north from Mortlach, near the junction
of the Dullan and the Fiddich, at the distance
of 143 miles from Edinburgh, twenty-nine
from Banff, and ten from Keith. The vil-
lage was only begun a few years ago, but is
rapidly improving. It is governed by a justice
of peace. Four fairs are held annually. The
parish church is situated here, and there is a
neat Roman Catholic chapel, of the modern
Gothic style of architecture. The population
of Dufftown in 1826 was about 550 Popu-
lation of the parish in 1 821 , 2046 .

MORTON, a parish in the district of
Nithsdale, Dumfries-shire, extending from the
left bank of the Nith, north-eastwards to the
borders of Lanarkshire, a distance of five and
a half miles, by a breadth of two ; bounded on
the west and north-west by Penpont and
Durisdeer, and on the east and south by
Closeburn. It is both pastoral and arable,
and where cultivated is well enclosed and fer-
tile. Nearly the whole parish is the property

MOHYEN.

791

of the Duke of Buccleuch. Within the
district is the huge ruin of Morton Castle, the
ancient residence of the Earl of that title. In
the lower or southern part of the parish, on
the public road up Nithsdale, stands the con-
siderable village of Thomhill. — Population in
1821, 1806.

MORVEN, or MORYERN, a moun-
tainous parish in Argyleshire, on the main-
land, immediately north of the Sound of Mull,
along the shore of which it extends twenty
miles, by a breadth of ten ; Loch Sunart di-
vides it from Ardnamurchan. Morven is a
mere heap of mountains, rude in character,
without presenting much interest, either in
their heights or their forms. The shore is
generally dreary, except at Loch Aline, a bay
of considerable beauty. At a short distance
east from the entrance to this inlet on a pro-
montory, are the ruins of Ardtorinish Castle.
The remains of this place of strength are now
so slender that they are almost unworthy of no-
tice, except from their historical recollections.
The castle was one of the numerous mansions
of the Macdonalds, lords of the Isles ; and in
1441 the celebrated treaty with Edward IV.
was dated from it. John, lord of the Isles,
resided here in 1641. Another castle on this
shore, called the Castle of Dogs, and reputed
to be a hunting mansion of the same chief, is
equally a ruin, but without the same interest.
" It is far otherwise with Loch Aline Castle,"
says Macculloch, " which is not only in perfect
preservation, but is, from its commanding and
beautiful situation, one of the most pictur-
esque among the Highland castles. Though
only a square tower, with turrets and a corbel
table, its proportions confer on it a beauty
rarely found in these buildings. It has also
the reputation of being besieged by Colkitto
for Montrose. If Loch Aline itself is not so
beautiful as its name promise, it must be re-
membered that all beauty is comparative, and
that, for Morven, it is really a jewel. While
it forms a safe and convenient anchorage, the
sides are steep and woody, but without being
very strongly marked ; the outline also being
too uniform to admit of any picturesque cha-
racter, at least towards the lower part. But
at the upper end it is entirely changed; be-
coming rocky, intricate, and various with or-
nament ; and receiving two very romantic
streams, which, forcing their tortuous way in

deep and irregular, rocky and wooded chan-
nels, fall into it at opposite angles. Here it
indeed deserves the name of beautiful ; as far
at least as beauty can result from that species
of close mountain scenery, and from the ac-
cumulation, in a small space, of woods, and
rocks, and brawling streams, and cascades, and
wild bridges, intermingled also with farms and
fields, and gradually blending with the more
placid scenery of the loch itself. Though a
sea loch, being closed at the lower extremity,
and wooded as it is, it has all the characters of
a fresh water lake. To pursue these wild
torrents, leads to much more of the same kind
of alpine and rude landscape; the southern
stream ascending the mountain amid rocks and
woods ; and the northern, which is of much
more importance, conducting to a close, but
green and prolonged valley, which leads to
Loch Arienas, whence this river has its origin.
But the main feature at the head of this loch,
giving great additional importance to every
thing else, is the castle, boldly perched on a
high rock overhanging the water, as if the ar-
chitect had chosen the situation where its ef-
fect should be finest. In a military view, it is
a very strong position, on the ancient system ;
and the building is equally strong. Of the
numerous landscapes which it affords, there
are none of which the composition is not ex-
cellent ; but the finest will be found from the
higher grounds beyond, where the castle occu-
pies the middle ground, surrounded by all that
intricacy of ornament already mentioned, and
backed by the simple and beautiful expanse of
water." Morven is frequently mentioned in
the poems of Ossian ; but it seems doubtful if
this be the district particularly alluded to, as
the name "Mor-Bhean," which means " of the
great mountains," is said to have been a gene-
ral term for the Highlands or hilly country ;
and the common notion being that the whole
Highlands was the country of Fingal and his
heroes. This delicate matter of disputation
we leave for solution by the Gaelic antiquary
and philologist. — Population in 1821, 1995.

MORVEN, a lofty hill in the parish of
Latheron, Caithness.

MORVEN, a lofty hill on the boundaries
of Logie-Coldstone parish, Aberdeenshire.

MOSSPAUL, a solitary inn and stage in
the bare pastoral vale of the Ewes, near the
boundary of Roxburgh and Dumfries-shire, on

792

M O Y.

the road from Edinburgh to Carlisle, twelve
and a half miles south-west of Hawick, and
nine and a half from Langholm.

MOTRAY, a small river in the eastern
part of Fife, rising in the parish of Abdie, and
falling into the mouth of the Eden, about half
a mile below the Guard Bridge.

MOULIN, a parish in the northern part
of Perthshire, stretching in a north-easterly
direction from the conjoined waters of the
Tummel and Garry, a distance of eleven
miles, by a breadth of from four to six ;
bounded on the west and north-west by Blair-
Athole, on the north and north-east by Kirk-
michael, and on the south by Dowally and
Logierait. The parish is intersected by the
Briarachan and Fernet, which unite within the
district The vales or glens of these different
streams are exceedingly beautiful, particularly
on the banks of the Tummel and Garry.
The greater part of the parish is mountainous,
with several high and abrupt precipices,
though there are no mountains of extraordi-
nary height. The district is chiefly pastoral.
The fields round the village of Moulin, a
space of a mile and a half long, and half a
mile broad, are among the most fertile in the
highlands of Perthshire. The lower part of
the district has been opened up by the great
road from Perth to Inverness, which pursues
a route into Athole, and in this direction is
the famous pass of Killicrankie, noticed in
the present work under its own head. There
are some remains of antiquity in the parish,
among which is the ruin of an old castle near
Moulin — Population in 1821, 1915.

MOUSE, a small river in Lanarkshire,
originating in the Dippool and another rivulet
iii the parish of Carnwath, near the heights
bounding the county of Edinburgh, and which,
after a tortuous course, falls into the Clyde, a
short way below Lanark. As it approaches
its termination, its banks become romantic and
beautiful, especially when flowing in the
chasm of the Cartlane crags. See article
Lanark.

MOUSWALD, a parish in the lower part
of Dumfries-shire, extending from four to five
miles in length, by two in breadth ; bounded
by Torthorwald on the west, Lochmaben on
the north, Dalton on the east, and Rufhwell
on the south. A large portion of its southern
extremity is the moss adjoining the Lochar
water. The surface of the whole is level,

with several rising grounds, the ascent of
which is so gentle as to permit cultivation to
the summit. There are some plantations and
natural wood. Besides Mouswald there are other
two small villages — Population in 1821, 795.
MOY AND DALAROSSIE, a united
parish in the north-eastern part of Inverness-
shire, and in the county of Nairn, extending
from south-west to north-east a distance of
thirty miles, by a mean breadth of five ; bounded
on the north by Calder and Ardclach, on the
east by Duthil, on the south by Alvie, and on
the west by Dunlichty and Daviot. This dis-
trict is bleak, barren, rugged and mountainous,
except small stripes and spots on each side of
the river Findhorn, which are arable, with a
tolerably fertile soil, and upon which small
crops of black oats, bear, and rye, are raised.
Recently, upwards of 1 2,000 sheep, 1800 black
cattle, and 900 horses were pastured on the
hilly grounds, which abound with game of
all kinds. There is much of natural wood
on the banks of the river Findhorn, chiefly
birch and alder ; and the Laird of Mackintosh
has very considerable thriving plantations of
firs, mixed with other forest trees. The Find-
horn takes its rise among the hills of this pa-
rish. The lake of Moy is nearly two miles
long by three quarters of a mile in breadth. In
the middle of it is an island consisting of about
two acres of ground, and containing the re-
mains of a house once a chief seat of the
lairds of Mackintosh, or heads of the clan
Chattan. Macculloch presents us with the
following particulars of this interesting lake,
and its still more interesting castle. " Moy,"
says he, " is like pearl in a hog's nose, looking
as if it had mistaken its way to come and sit
down in this hopeless country. Its lake, and
its trees, and its island, are a gleam of sunshine
in a cloudy day, yet one that makes all the sur-
rounding brown browner, and all the wide
waste that encloses it more dreary. Moy,
however, as the seat of the ancient and power-
ful clan Chattan, has its historical interest as
well as its beauty. At what remote period it
possessed a castle, is unknown ; but the island
where that was situated, is said to have been
garrisoned in 1420, or thereabouts, by 400
men. Thus it is probable this structure must
have resembled Chisamiel, and was not merely
the strong house of the chief, while the
strength of such a standing force bespeaks,
what scarcely require such testimony, the opu-

M U C K.

793

lence and power of ttiis long-independent dy-
nasty. The marks of the ruins are in them-
selves sufficient to prove the magnitude of this
building, but the date which remains indicates
a later erection, or later additions ; since it only
reaches to 1665 ; Lauchlan, said to be the twen-
tieth chief, is the recorded founder of at least
this part. A smaller island, which is thought to
be artificial, is related to have been used as a
prison. Its name is Eilan na Clach, and the
tale is, that it was so kindly contrived, that its
inmates were compelled to stand up to their
middles in the water. The sword of James the
Fifth, a present from Leo the Tenth, is still
preserved at Moy. Many a tale of feud and
battle is related about Moy, and many times
have most of them been told. I shall only no-
tice one, a familiar one, because it has also
been related of the Forbeses and the Gordons,
and because I suspect that it is not the only
one which, like many other pointed tales, and
many pointed sayings, has been applied to
whomever it will fit. In a great battle between
Cumin and Macintosh, the former was de-
feated, and being unable or unwilling to renew
the war, a peace was proposed and accepted.
To celebrate it, the Cumins invited the Mac-
intoshes to a feast ; the hospitable design of
these hospitable and honourable personages,
being to seat a guest alternately among them-
selves, as a distinguished mark of friendship,
and, at a concerted signal to murder them, each
stabbing his neighbour. The signal was the in-
troduction of a bull's head ; but its purpose
having been revealed by the treachery of a Cu-
min, (for thus do words change their signifi-
cations,) the tables were turned on the hosts,
and all the Cumins were killed."— Population
in 1821, 1332.

MUCK, one of the western islands, belong-
ing to Argyleshire, and in the parish of Small
Isles. It is situated to the north-west of Ard-
namurchan, or the mainland, and about four
miles south-west by south from the larger
island of Eigg. Muck measures upwards of
two miles in length, by one and a half in
breadth. Its surface is pretty low, and it pos-
sesses only one hill of no great height. There
is nothing about it to attract attention beyond
its pleasing green surface. The soil is gener-
ally good, and its cattle attain a considerable
size. The coast is rocky, and indented by
several creeks, which afford shelter for fishing
boats, but no safe harbour for vessels ; in two

of these creeks are small piers. The island is
ill provided with fuel, and imports peats from
Rum. Near its north-west quarter lies the
Elan-nan-Each, " the island of horses," be-
tween which and Muck there is a foul rocky
channel. The etymology of the word Muck
is supposed to mean " of swine," although
such has been controverted, and the derivation
deduced from moch, "white." The adherents
of the latter etymon have not explained where-
in is the whiteness they allude to ; in Gaelic,
the name is properly Elan-nan-muchd, " the
island of swine," which has induced Buchanan
to term it Insula JPorcorum.

MUCKART, a parish in the southern part
of Perthshire, lying on the right bank of the
Devon, which bounds it on the east and south
from the parish of Fossaway. It is bounded on
the north by Glendevon, and on the west by
Dollar. It extends four miles in length by ra-
ther more than two in breadth. The surface
is partly hilly, but the greater part of the dis-
trict is arable and well enclosed. On the north
it has the Ochil Hills. The country is beau-
tiful and interesting on the banks of the De-
von, a river whose beauties and characteristics
are sufficiently noticed under the head Devon.
—Population in 1821, 704.

MUGDRUM, a small island in the river
Tay, near Newburgh, extending about a mile
long and 200 yards broad.

MUICK, (LOCH), a small lake in the
parish of Glenmuick, Aberdeenshire, from
which the Muick water issues. See Glen-
muick.

MUIRAVONSIDE, a parish on the east
side of Stirlingshire, lying on the left bank
of the river Avon, which separates it from
Linlithgowshire, bounded on the west by
Polmont and Falkirk, and on the south by
Slamannan. It is six miles in length by two in
breadth, and is nearly all arable and enclosed.
The ruins of an old nunnery of Manuel or
Emanuel, founded by Malcolm IV- in 1156,
and dedicated to the Virgin Mary, are situated
on the Avon. Half a mile west is the old
castle of Almond, surrounded by a fosse, for-
merly a seat of the Earls of Callander. The
district abounds in coal. The river is here of
great use, from the number of mills it keeps in
motion Population in 1821, 1678.

MUIRHOUSE, or MURROES, a pa-
rish in the southern part of Forfarshire, bound-
ed by Dundee on the south, and Monifieth or
h i

734

MULL.

the east. It is of a nrtost irregular figure, hav-
ing a large patch of Dundee parish within it.
The greater part is arable, and it now possesses

some fine plantations Population in 1821,

629.

MUIRKIRK, a parish in the district of
Kyle, on the eastern and elevated confines of
Ayrshire, formerly a portion of that district,
particularly described under the head Mauch-
line ; bounded on the north-east by Douglas,
on the east by Kirkconnel, on the south by
Cumnock, and on the west by Loudon. It is
.a rude bleak territory, partly reclaimed from
its original mossy and moorish character.

MUIRKIRK, a large manufacturing vil-
lage in the above parish, situated near the right
bank of the water of Ayr, at the distance of
fifty miles from Edinburgh, thirty from Glas-
gow, and about twenty-six from Ayr. Here
the road from the latter town to Edinburgh
crosses that from Dumfries to Glasgow. The
village is mostly of modern date, having come
into existence and increased in consequence of
the discovery and smelting of iron ores, of
which this part of the country contains a vast
abundance. There is also plenty of' coal, a
circumstance of great moment to the prosperity
of the manufactures. At the village, and in
its neighbourhood, there are several blast fur-
naces for pig iron, and an extensive forge for
bar iron. The pig iron made here is soft,
easily melted, and of the best quality. The
bar iron is superior to any in Britain, and not
inferior to Swedish iron, which is ascribed to
a certain peculiarity in its manufacture. There
are also now some British or coal tar works.
Muirkirk, surrounded by coal-pits and iron
works, the land either black heath or blacker
clay, destitute of trees, and the air perpetually
clouded with smoke, is not a village of the
most attractive possible character. In 1821
the population of Muirkirk amounted to about
1 200, a great proportion of whom were work-
men and their families ; including the parish,
2687.

MULL, a large island, esteemed one of the
Hebrides, belonging to Argyleshire, and se-
parated from the mainland, or districts of Mor-
ven and Ardnamurchan, on the north, by the
narrow gut of sea called the Sound of Mull.
Its figure is. rendered irregular by the inlets of
Loch Seridon and Loch-na-Keal on the west
coast. Measuring across these indentations,
from the south-west to the north-west corner,
34.

the island is about thirty miles in length, by a
breadth of twenty from west to east. " Mull,"
says Macculloch, " is a heap of rude moun-
tains, and almost every point on its shores is
rocky and precipitous ; while, with slender ex-
ceptions, it is an entire mass of trap rocks.
Ben More is the highest mountain, and the
ascent is neither very tedious nor difficult.
The view from its summit is various and ex-
tensive. Staffa, Iona, the Treishnish Isles,
Coll and Tiree, with Ulva, Gometra, Colonsa,
Eorsa, and other objects, are seen beautifully
diversifying the broad face of the western sea,
distinct as in a map ; while, to the southward,
Scarba and Jura, with the smaller isles of the
Argyleshire coast, recede gradually in the dis-
tant haze. The rugged surface of Mull itself
excludes the objects to the eastward; but Loch
Seridon forms a beautiful picture beneath our
feet ; its long and bright bay deeply intersecting
with its dazzling surface the troubled heap of
mountains. The southern coast of Mull is
nearly one continuous range of lofty precipices,
well known to those who visit Staffa. There
is little interest in Loch Don and Loch Spelve ;
but the former is the station of the Oban
ferry. Loch Buy is equally uninteresting ; aitd
the cliffs of this shore will disappoint him who
has seen those of Skye. On the western ex-
tremity, where the trap ceases, they become
much more interesting, though less striking
at a distance ; forming the low granite point
of the Ross, whence there is a short transit to
Iona. I might indeed spend a few pages in
describing the singular wildness of this strange
shore ; its labyrinths of red rocks and green
waves ; the fairy scenery of its deep recesses
and shrubby ravines ; its thousand bays, and
dells, and glades, where thousands might live,
each in his little paradise, unknowing and un-
known. The Sound of Mull is far too fami-
liar to demand much further remarks than
those which were formerly bestowed on its
Morven shore. It is a dreary strait, excepting
at its entrance, where Duart Castle is an ob-
ject of some note, though now familiar as
Dumbarton or Edinburgh. It seems to stand
here the tyrant of the strait — the wild palace
of wilder chieftains ; and, in contemplating the
barren hills around, the rude rocks, and the
ruder waves, we are carried back, through cen-
turies, to the days of warfare and piracy, to
Norwegian tyranny and feudal ferocity. It is
a strong military post, while it is a picturesque

M U L L.

795

object, and it was occupied as a barrack to a
late period. The great keep is of Norwegian
strength ; the walls being nine feet thick, and
the inner area thirty-six by twelve. The corbels
show that it was divided into two stories by a
wooden floor. The additional buildings seem
all to belong to 1 664, from the attached date,
and are of a much slighter construction. Hence
to Aros there is nothing interesting excepting
Scallasdale. This bouse is remarkable for its
beautiful ash trees, which meet us like an oasis
in the desert, giving an air of summer to all
around, and recalling to mind what weeks passed
among stormy seas, and barren rocks, and re-
gions of Mullish dreariness, had almost obli-
terated. As to the interior country, it may
be called impenetrable, — being a heap of
trackless mountains, offering no temptation to
quit the beaten road. But the little bay of
Aros is not deficient in beauty, though of a
wild character; while the valley, like the bay,
derives an interest from its castle, pitched in
a very picturesque manner on the summit of a
rocky hill of no great elevation. Hence there
is an irregular dreary valley, which conducts
to Loch-na-Keal and to Staffa, by a road well
contrived to give the strangers who frequent it
an unfavourable impression of Mull and of the
Highlands in general." Mull is divided into
the three parochial districts of Kilfinichen,
Kilninian, and Torosay, which comprehend
the adjacent isles of Icolmkill, Staffa, Ulva,
(iometra, &c. The only town is Tobermory,
situated near the north-east corner of the
island, on the Sound of Mull. It would be super-
fluous to enter into any description of the agri-
culture, or general pursuits and mariners of the
inhabitants, as our observations in the articles
Argyleshire, the Highlands, and the He-
brides, will apply to this particular territory.
— Population of Mull and islets ecclesiastically
attached to it in 1821, 10,612.

MULL, (SOUND OF) a narrow arm of
the sea, separating the above island from the
mainland of Argyleshire. It measures from
two to four miles in breadth, and has a few
islets. See articles Mull and Morven.

MULLBUI, or MULLBUY, a range of
hills running through the district of the Black
Isle, in Ross and Cromartyshires. See Ard-

MEANACH.

MUNGO, (ST.) a parish in Dumfries-
shire, district of Annandale, bounded on the
west by Dal ton and Dryfesdale, by the latter

on the north, Tundergarth and Hoddam on
the east, and Cummertrees on the south. It ex-
tends a little more than five miles in length,
by two in breadth at the middle, and tapering
to a mile in breadth at the extremities. It is
bounded by high hills on the east and west,
which gives its central part the character of a
valley. Through the lower and finely cultivat-
ed and fertile grounds flows the small river
Milk. The Annan river passes along the
south-western boundary of the district. The
vale of the Milk is beautiful, and derives some
interest from the ancient house, Castlemilk,
now modernized and ornamented. It stands
on a beautiful sloping hill, on a commanding
position, and has undergone a variety of for-
tunes. Originally it was a seat of the ancient
lords of Annandale, and came from the Bruces
to the Stewarts by Walter, high stewart of
Scotland, marrying the daughter of king Ro-
bert Bruce ; and so descended to Robert, high
stewart of Scotland, their son, the first of the
Stewarts that came to the crown, in 1371. It
afterwards belonged to the Maxwells and the
Douglasses. It was besieged by the Duke of
Somerset, protector in the minority of Edward
VI. ; whose station is still extant, the balls be-
ing found in 1771, when planting that spot.
It is still called " The Cannon Holes." —
Population in 1821, 709.

MUNLOCHY, a small village in Ross-
shire, in the parish of Knockbain, situated on
the north coast of the Moray Firth, on a small
bay of the same name ; it is an excellent fishing
station.

MURROES. See Muirhouse.

MUSARY, an islet of Shetland, on the
east coast of the mainland.

MUSSELBURGH, a town of considera-
ble antiquity in the county of Edinburgh, situ-
ated on the shore of the Firth of Forth, in the
parish of Inveresk, at the distance of six miles
east from Edinburgh, about half that distance
east from_Portobello, and three miles west from
Prestonpans. It is a burgh of regality, and
occupies a low situation on a flat expanse of
ground betwixt the eminence on which the
church of Inveresk is situated and the sea, on
the right bank of the mouth of the river Esk,
the town of Fisherrow lying on the opposite
side. It is presumed to have taken its name
from a mussel-bank near the mouth of the Esk.
Musselburgh is noticed in history eight hun-
dred year* since ; being the Eske-muthe of (l;»

796

MUSSELBURGH.

Northumbrian Saxons, in whose time it was
a seat of population. Throughout its early
history the town was intimately associated with
the fortunes of the parish of Inveresk, of which
it is the capital. It is found that at the dawn
of record, there existed two manors of the name
of Inveresk, to wit, Great- Inveresk and Lit-
tle-Inveresk. The manor of Little- Inveresk
was gifted by Malcolm Canmore and Mar-
garet his queen, to the monks of Dunfermline,
(see Dunfermline) ; and the grant was con-
firmed by a charter of David I. ; who added a
donation of Great- Inveresk, with the mill, the
fishing, and the church of Inveresk, its tithes,
and other pertinents. These grants were con-
firmed by David's successors, and by a bull of
Gregory IX., in 1236. The gift of Great-
Inveresk included the burgh and port of
Musselburgh. In the year 1201, the Magnates
Scolice swore fealty to Alexander II., the in-
fant son of William the Lion, at Muschelburg.
Alexander afterwards established a free warren,
within the manors of Inveresk and Mussel-
burgh, in favour also of the monks of Dun-
fermline. From the grants of David I. the
monks enjoyed a baronial jurisdiction over all
those lands ; and they afterwards obtained a
grant extending their powers to a regality. In-
veresk church seems to have been served by
vicars from Dunfermline, who were sometimes
styled " vicars of Muscilburg," and they ap-
pear as witnesses to many charters, among
men of consequence. In Bagimont's roll, as
it stood under James V., the vicarage of Mus-
cilburg was taxed at L.5, 6s. 8d. Early in
the thirteenth century, a dispute arose between
the monks and the vicar, which was settled by
the diocesan bishop, who directed that the
vicar should enjoy the small tithes, and the
offerings at the altars of Muscilburg ; excepting
the fish of every sort, and the tithes of the
mills, belonging to the monks, for which the
vicar was directed to pay yearly ten merks.
In the church of Inveresk, which was dedicat-
ed to St. Michael, there were several altars,
with their chaplains, who were endowed with
small livings for performing at them their ap-
propriate worship. Accordingly, we find that
in 1475, Sir Simon Preston of Craigmiller,
gave an annual rent of ten merks out of the
lands of Cameron to a chaplain, to do service
at a particular altar in Musselburgh church ;
and that James III. confirmed the grant. In
the parish there were various chapels, subordin-

ate to the mother church. Of those none were
so celebrated as that of Our Lady of Loretto,
at the east end of Musselburgh, which had the
cell of a hermit adjoining. To this chapel, in
a superstitious age, many pilgrimages were per-
formed, in the vain expectation of seeing mira-
cles performed, by the curing of diseases, or for
the purpose of beseeching the kindly exertions
of the patroness of the sanctuary. To it, in
the year 1530, James V. performed a pilgrim-
age from Stirling on foot, before proceeding
on his voyage to France in search of a wife.
What began in the depth of devotional piety,
however misdirected, ultimately degenerated into
absolute vice. It is observable from the satires
of Sir David Lindsay, which are well known to
have been pointed with the severest ridicule of
the ancient faith, that the chapel of Loretto
was resorted to by all classes of the communi-
ty, for purposes partly religious, but in many
cases for the indulgence of licentious passions.
During the Earl of Hertford's ravages, in 1544,
he destroyed the chapel of Loretto, with a part
of the town. It was, however, soon repaired,
but the Reformation in a few years overtook it,
and it was finally abolished and deserted. The
materials of the ruined chapel are said to have
been the first belonging to any sacred edifice
which were, after the Reformation, applied to
a secular purpose ; having, in 1590, been made
use of in the building of the tolbooth of Mus-
selburgh ; for which piece of sacrilege, it is said,
the inhabitants of the town were annually ex-
communicated at Rome till the end of the last
century. The site of the chapel and hermi-
tage is now occupied as a flourishing academi-
cal seminary, still under the name of Loretto,
and is surrounded by a delightful garden and
pleasure-ground. All that remains of the an-
cient structure is a cell above ground covered
with shrubbery, and used as a common cellar ;
in lowering the floor of which, in the year
1831, a number of human skulls were dug out.
Above the doorway is an antique carved stone,
but from a date upon it, we would suppose it to
be of an age subsequent to the Reformation.
In the town of Musselburgh there were two
other chapels, though of less note. The valu-
able territory and privileges once belonging
to the monks of Dunfermline, their vicars and
chaplains, became in time the property of a
lay nobleman, as was usual with the wealth cf
the church. The lordship and regality of
Musselburgh, with the patronage of the church

MUSSELBURGH

797

of Inveresk, and of the various chaplainries,
which were subordinate to it, were granted by
James VI. to his chancellor, Lord Thirlstane,
the progenitor of the Earls of Lauderdale.
The record of this transaction evinces, that
James granted to Lord Thirlstane the whole
lands, manors, regalities, jurisdictions, advow-
sons of churches and chapels, with every spe-
cies of property and right which the monks
of Dunfermline had amassed on this pleasant
site during so many centuries. The nobleman,
it is seen from the Retour, transmitted the
whole to his heirs, notwithstanding some un-
pleasant contests with Queen Anne, (the wife
of James VI.) who had right of dower over
the estates, which belonged to the monastery
of Dunfermline. Much of this vast estate,
notwithstanding the profusion of the noted
Duke of Lauderdale, and the dangers of for-
feiture, came down to Earl John, who died
in 1710. From him in 1709, Anne, the
Duchess of Buccleugh and Monmouth, pur-
chased what remained of that great property,
and it still continues in the family of Buccleugh,
along with the superiority of the burgh. It is
mentioned by contemporaries, that Mussel-
burgh received its first charter about 1340,
from the Earl of Marr, in reward for the at-
tention shown by the inhabitants to the great
Randolph, Earl of Murray, who died in the
town in July 1332; but that the most ancient
charter now extant is dated 11th December
1562, and is granted by Robert, commendator
of Dunfermline, with consent of the whole
members of the convent. This charter nar-
rates " that the title-deeds belonging to the
burgh were burnt by their enemies the Eng-
lish, after the fatal battle of Pinkie ; therefore
they de novo grant, dispone, and confirm to the
present bailies, community, and inhabitants of
Musselburgh, and to their successors," &c.
This charter is confirmed by various subsequent
acts of parliament, particularly by a charter
from the Duke of Lauderdale, dated 1670, in
which all their ancient rights are narrated and
confirmed. In 1632, it was erected into a
royal burgh, by a charter under the great seal ;
but the magistrates of Edinburgh found means
to obtain a reduction of that charter before the
privy council, on the 30th of November of the
same year. As a free burgh of regality it is
governed by a town-council of eighteen mem-
bers, ten of which are elected from Mussel-

burgh and eight from Fisherrow. Out of these,
two bailies and a treasurer are annually elected :
there are seven incorporated trades. This
burgal government has a jurisdiction over Fish-
prrow and its small harbour, which is the port
of the town, and draws a considerable revenue
from its lands, feus, and customs. This has
of late years varied from L.1800 to L.2000,
and might probably have been much more had
the magistracy uniformly consulted the public
interests ; but in common with most of the
self-elected boards, they occasionally over-
looked this. Greatly to their honour they
have, however, of late years, liquidated the
burgh debt, by a system of praiseworthy
economy, and expended their funds in every
way most conducive to the public interest
and comfort. As in ordinary Scottish royal
burghs, the magistrates hold courts of record,
and grant infeftments. To revert to the out-
ward appearance of Musselburgh ; it consists
of one main street, in the direction of nearly
east and west, extending from the Esk on the
west to the beautiful enclosures of Loretto
and Pinkie on the east, and through which the
road proceeds from Edinburgh to Berwick and
London. The main street, as well as several
bye thoroughfares, is not very straight or regu-
larly built, but it possesses many excellent
houses, and, on the whole, it may be considered
among the best High Streets in the smaller coun-
try towns. Musselburgh possesses the agreeable
peculiarity of having a much greater propor-
tion of good self-contained houses, chiefly in
the villa style, than any other place of the same
size in the country. It is surrounded by rich
and luxuriant gardens, yielding great quantities
of fruit, and seemingly in many cases as an-
cient as the time when the town was the resi-
dence of the churchmen of Dunfermline. In
recent times, the town has been greatly modern-
ized and beautified, especially on the Fisher-
row side of the water, there being now rows of
neat houses along the left bank of the river,
with a promenade in front, tastefully planted.
The central part of the High Street is spacious,
with a good inn on the north side, and the jail,
now partly renewed and ornamented in a
handsome manner, on the west. From this
part of the street, a thoroughfare, or suburb,
called Newbigging, leads southward to the
base of the mount on which stand the church
and village of Inveresk. The connexion with

798

MUSSELBURGH.

Fishcrrow is kept up by two stone and two
wooden bridges, all of considerable length ; for
the river E-sk, though a small stream, is here re-
markably broad in its channel. The uppermost
bridge, which stands a little above the town, is of
great antiquity, and was in former times a pass
of some moment. This bridge is remarkable as
that by which the Scottish army passed to the
battle of Pinkie, in 1547, when several of the
soldiers were killed by the shot of the English
fleet in the bay. It is like all buildings, of a
similar age and purpose, very narrow, and high
in the centre ; while the middle has been de-
fended after the manner of Both well Bridge and
others, by a gate, of which some traces still
remain in the side-wall. While the Duke of
Somerset, the Lord- Protector of England, had
his station at Inveresk, in the reign of Ed-
ward VI., he threw up a mound at the church-
yard to defend the passage across the river at
this thoroughfare, as may be seen by a diagram
in Birrell's Diary. It was also used for a si-
milar purpose by Oliver Cromwell (see Inver-
esk) at a subsequent period. The site of the
Duke of Somerset's tent is still pointed out in
the grounds of Eskgrove, at the termination of
the beautiful terrace or promenade known by
the name of the Long Walk ; and is marked
by a fleur-de-lis cut in stone, in the centre of
a circle of trees. The late Lord Eskgrove
caused a metallic statue, emblematic of Eng-
land, to be erected on the spot, surmounting a
pedestal, bearing an inscription, commemora-
tive of the event." This interesting old

* This was the route by which the Highland army of
Prince Charles Stewart approached the field of battle at
Prestonpans in 1745, a circumstance thus noticed in the
History of the Rebellion of 1745-6, by one of the authors
of the present work: — " Departing from Duddingston,
the insurgents soon after fell into the post-road, and con-
tinued their march till they entered the Market-gate of
Fisherrow, an old narrow street leading to the bridge, in
passing along which Charles bowed to the ladies who
surveyed him from the windows, bending to those who
were young or beautiful even till his hair mingled with
the mane of his charger. The army now passed along
the ancient bridge which there crosses the Esk ; a struc-
ture supposed to be of Roman origin, and over which the
Scottish army had passed, two centuries before, to the
field of Pinkie; a structure over which all of noble or
kingly birth, that had approached Edinburgh for at least
a thousand years, must certainly have passed ; which has
borne processions of monks, and marches of armies, and
trains of kings; which has rattled under the feet of
Mary's frolic steed, and thundered beneath the war-horse
of Cromwell. Proceeding directly onward, the column
traversed, not the town of Musselburgh, but the old kirh-

bridge is now used only by foot passengefs.the
main road passing by a new bridge a short
way farther down the stream. This is a
handsome structure erdcted within the present
century, after a design by Rennie. It exhibits
a very slight rise in the centre, and is of a
convenient breadth. Pinkie House, the seat
of Sir John Hope, Bart, as has been said, is
situated at the east end of Musselburgh, on
the south side of the road, and is a capital spe-
cimen of the Scottish Manor-house of the
reign of James VI. It consists of two sides of
a quadrangle; the square was formerly com-
pleted by a wall which is now removed. In the
centre of the court- yard thus formed, there is
a well or fountain of elaborate and beautiful
architecture, coeval with the house, but which
is now disused. The whole is enclosed with-
in a very tine shrubbery. Pinkie House was
originally a country mansion belonging to the
Abbot of Dunfermline, and was converted
into its present shape at the beginning of
the seventeenth century, by Alexander Se-
ton, Earl of Dunfermline, a younger brother
of the Seton family, who raised himself to
wealth by eminence in the law and the
state. This distinguished man, having made
himself master of most of the temporalities of
that abbacy, was raised to the peerage with the
title of Dunfermline, and here established his
principal residence, probably on account of its
propinquity to Edinburgh. An inscription on
the front of the building, now hid by a portico,
seems to hint that his lordship was not free
from vanity : " Dominus Alexander Setonius
hanc domum edificavit, non ad animi., sed adfor-
tunarum et agelli modum — (Lord Alexander
Seton built this house, not after the fashion of
his mind, but after that of his fortunes and
estate,)— 1613." He died here in 1622. Part
of the present house is supposed to be of a date
considerably antecedent to the time of the Earl
of Dunfermline, and an apartment, with a
magnificent stucco roof, in the taste of Henry
the Seventh's time, denominated the King's
Room, is shown as the place where an abbot
on one occasion entertained royalty. In the

road, as it is called, to Inveresk, and entered the street of
Newbigging about the centre. It then marched along the
precincts of Pinkie Cleuch, and sought the high grounds
near Carbery ; two localities memorable in Scottish his-
tory for the disaster and the shame with which they are
connected.'*

MUSSELBURGH.

7f>9

more modern part of the building, there is a long
and ample hall, nearly the size of the Picture
Gallery in Holyroodhouse. This room may
be esteemed a great curiosity, for it is still in
its original state, and gives an excellent idea of
the decorations of the best apartments of the
reign of King James. Its ceiling is of that an-
cient sort which, on account of its resemblance
to the bulging tops of the four-wheeled vehicles
used in former times, is called a coach-roof, and
the whole is painted over with blue and red
water-colours, gorgeously intermixed with gold
paintings of mythological scenes and personages,
of coats of arms, and emblematical figures,
liberally scattered along the splendid ceiling,
which must have shone down additional glory
upon the courtly companies which formerly as-
sembled under it. It is now somewhat faded,
yet, as a thing perfectly unique in Scotland,
(if we except the still more faded ceiling of
the King's Hall at Falkland,) it is well worthy
of a visit from modern curiosity. In the eyes
of some, it will be rendered rather more than
less interesting, by the recollection that it afford-
ed a lodging to Prince Charles Stewart, the
mght succeeding his victory at Preston, and
that he also spent, in it, the night betwixt
the 3 1st of October and 1st November, when
oh his march from Edinburgh to England.
Altogether, Pinkie House is perhaps one .of
the most interesting objects of its kind in Mid-
Lothian. The house, with its fine old Gothic
architecture, the curious beauty of the fountain
in front, the rich groves around, through which
the Scottish muse has sent her ancient voice,
and the neighbouring field where our brave an-
cestors fought so vainly against the overpower-
ing force of England, combine to render this, a
spot of no ordinary attraction to at least the
" sentimental traveller." There are scenes
in Scotland of more romantic and bewildering
beauty, and even some invested with a higher
charm of historical association, yet, when we
see the setting sun gilding the groves and tur-
rets of Pinkie, and hear the distant murmurs
of the bay, mingled with the softened evening
hum of the town, and think of all the circum-
stances of mighty import and exciting interest
which have befallen on this spot and its neigh-
bourhood, we must confess that we are dispos-
ed to yield that precedence to very few. " By
Pinkie House oft let me walk," was the prayer
of an old and true poet, and we heartily echo
the sentiment. Musselburgh Links, an ex

tensive plain that stretches between Pinkie
and the sea, will next attract the attention of the
traveller. This flat expanse was, in 1638, the
scene of a singular national transaction. The
Marquis of Hamilton, representing King
Charles I. was met there by many thousands
of the covenanting party, whose power he was
commissioned to overthrow, and it is said he
was convinced, from the spectacle, of the diffi-
culties of his task. From the Links of
Musselburgh to those of Leith, the road
was lined with the partisans of that trium-
phant party, and at the latter place he was
confounded at the sight of no fewer than
six hundred clergymen, standing upon the emi-
nence near the High School of Leith, with
Geneva caps and gowns, and faces which ex-
pressed their resolution to resist his purpose,
the establishment of Episcopacy. On Mus-
selburgh Links, Oliver Cromwell, in 1650,
quartered his infantry, while the cavalry were
lodged in the town. The place where his own
tent was fixed, is still shewn upon the ground.
In modern times, the links of Musselburgh
have been trimmed and improved as a racing-
ground, for which they are excellently adapt-
ed. Much to the gratification of the magnates
of Musselburgh, the magistrates of Edinburgh,
in 1817, removed their annual races from
Leith to this place, since which time they have
been run here every autumn, though under
much inconvenience to spectators from the me-
tropolis. The races of the Caledonian Hunt are
also run here every third year. At the west
ern extremity of the course an excellent stand
has been erected. Musselburgh links have
from time immemorial been in great repute for
their excellence as golfing ground, in which re-
spect the place divides the glory with the
links of Leith and Edinburgh. A club, at
present consisting of forty members, has been
established since 1760, and its silver cup play-
ed for annually. These downs have also long
been the resort for one day in the year of the
royal company of archers. At the competition
which then takes place in shooting, the vic-
tor receives from the town a riddle of claret,
to wit, thirteen bottles, and is bound to ap-
pend a medal of gold or silver to the prize
arrow, before the next year's annual meeting.
The earliest date of any of the medals is 1603 ;
but there are a few that are of more remote an-
tiquity. There are no public buildings in Mus-
selburgh demanding notice, except the jail, which

800

MUSSELBURGH.

has been already noticed, and which is conspi-
cuous over all the town by its antique slated
spire. The house in which the celebrated
Randolph died was situated at the eastern ex-
tremity and south side of theHigh Street, on the
site now occupied by the Morison's- Haven
Masonic Lodge. It was a building of two
storeys, buttressed in front, with conical win-
dows, in the Flemish style, each surmounted by
a rose carved in stone. At the west end of
the same street stands the house where Com-
missioner Cardonnel received Dr. Smollett, as
noted in the facetious letters of Humphrey
Clinker ; and at the foot of Fisherrow is the
villa of Dovecote, the quondam residence of
Professor Stuart and his son Gilbert. The
Study of the latter, a tasteful building of two
floors, beautifully overgrown with ivy, forms
at present one of the most striking objects in
looking from the new stone bridge down
the Esk. About half a mile up the river may
be seen from the same spot the villa of Stoney-
hill, remarkable in remote times as a selected
spot for the incremation of witches ; and nearer
our own, as the residence of Sir William Sharp,
son of Archbishop Sharp ; and more recently
still, as that of the infamous Colonel Char-
teris, who here breathed his last. The manse,
during the incumbency of the late Dr. Car-
lyle, was a favourite resort of the distinguish-
ed literati of the last age ; and it was among
his papers that the long-lost copy of Collin's
" Ode on the Superstitions of the Highlands"
was at length recovered. New Hailes, the
seat of Lord Hailes, the historian, is about a
gunshot north-west from Stoneyhill, and still
contains his library, so rich in antiquarian lore.
The inhabitants of Musselburgh support some
beneficiary institutions, and there are three pub-
lic libraries, one of which, commenced by me-
chanics, contains nearly a thousand judiciously
selected volumes. In the early part of the
last century there was a considerable manu-
facture carried on in Musselburgh, in coarse
woollen stuffs, but this has long been extinct
from the introduction of cotton goods into the
country. In the present day, the chief business
in Musselburgh and Fisherrow, is the tanning
of leather and preparation of skins. There is
also a manufactory of yarns; of hair-cloth ; of
shawls ; of sail-cloth ; of hats ; of bricks and
earthen ware, as well as of other articles.
We should not pass over one where fishing-
nets are wrought on the loom with complete

success, by the ingenious inventor, Mr. Pa-
terson, who, after many years of abortive trial,
at length completely succeeded in the attempt,
and now keeps a number of looms at work.
There are likewise several breweries, and
som,9 flour mills, the whole engaging a con-
siderable number of hands, and circulating
money in the place. The extensive dis-
tillery of St. Clement's Wells is situated
on the high grounds about two miles to the
60uth-east. Market gardening is carried on
as a trade, with a view to sales in Edinburgh ;
and in this branch of traffic the place has been
long celebrated for the excellence of its onions
and leeks, the seed of the latter being consi-
dered more valuable than that matured any-
where else in Scotland. At a place called
West- Pans, two miles to the east on the
sea shore, is an earthen- ware manufactory,
and at nearly an equal distance to the west
there is an extensive suit of salt works.
Fisherrow has been long noted as a port for
the importation of foreign timber, and its
harbour is now in a thriving condition. Sal-
mon-fishing is carried on by stake-nets at the
embouchure of the Esk, but it is unproductive,
and the station lets but for a small sum. On
its inland quarter, Musselburgh is surrounded
by a rich agricultural country, and by a number
of coal pits in full operation, engaging the in-
dustry of a dense population. Besides drawing
subsistence from all these sources of wealth, the
town is benefited by the residence of a number
of retired families in the upper classes of society,
though this'species of aristocracy, we believe, has
been greatly reduced in amount, within the last
twenty years, perhaps in consequence of the
rise of Portobello, which, at least, has to a cer-
tain extent drawn away the families which used
to eome hither for sea-bathing quarters. Be-
twixt Musselburgh and Edinburgh there is a
constant intercourse by means of stage coaches,
which run to and fro every two or three hours.
The trade in the town is assisted by a branch of
the Commercial Bank. A gas company has
been recently formed, and an elegant work
erected at the mouth of the Esk, for the sup-
ply of the town, and also of Portobello, which
has subscribed a third of the amount of the
expense. Besides the established church at
Inveresk, there are in Musselburgh and Fish-
errow, meeting-houses of the United Associ-
ate synod, of the Relief, of the Independ-
ent, and of the Baptist bodies. There is also an

MUTHIL L.

801

Episcopal chapel. It is worthy of remark that
a chapel of the latter description has existed in
the place since the period of the Revolution of
1 688, when it was commenced under the minis-
terial care of the Rev. Arthur Millar, the eject-
ed parochial clergyman, a divine of great piety
and abilities, who was afterwards consecrated
a bishop in the Scottish Episcopal Church.
For a long period, during the dark age of
episcopacy which followed the Revolution in
this country, when liturgical worship was pro-
scribed by law, and liable to interruption from
the populace, the chapel of the affrighted
Episcopalians was a miserable upper storey in
a humble edifice in Newbigging, approached
by an outside stair, and now shown as one of
the things worth noticing by strangers. The
present chapel is a very plain edifice near
Loretto. The fast day of the town is general-
ly the Wednesday before the second Sunday of
June. Few towns in Scotland have acquired
so distinguished a reputation for seminaries of
education as Musselburgh. It has long pos-
sessed an excellent grammar-school, under the
patronage of the magistrates, and the master of
which keeps a number of boarders. Having
the advantage of easily procuring the best
masters from Edinburgh, for the French and
Italian languages, music, drawing, and other
accomplishments, and being in an exceedingly
healthy situation, a variety of boarding-schools
for young ladies have been many years esta-
blished with success. There are also some
private schools for the elementary branches.
To conclude, whether we view Musselburgh
as an object of interest from its ancient recol-
lections, or its modern thriving condition ;
from the beauty of its environs, and the salu-
brity of its atmosphere, or the pleasing char-
acteristics of its respectable society, we cannot
fail to be satisfied that few places in this
country, and least of all near the capital, can
compete with it as an agreeable place of resi-
dence.— By the census of 1831, the population
of Musselburgh, Fisherrow, and their environs,
was found to be upwards of 8000.

MU THILL, a parish in Perthshire, situated
on the borders of the Highland district, on
the right bank of the Earn, bounded by Mo-
nivaird on the north, by Trinity Gask and
Hlaekfurd on the east, and on the south by
Dumblane. The parish is of an irregular shape,
but of considerable extent, being from eight to
ten miles in length, and from six to nine in

breadth. Towards the Earn and the Allan,
the land is level and arable, as well as popu-
lous ; in the eastern part the country is hilly
and pastoral. The chief objects of interest in
the parish are two Roman camps ; one at Stra-
geath, and another at Ardoch : the latter being
reckoned one of the most perfect and interesting
in Britain, and generally alluded to by antiqua-
ries, we present a description of it by the sta-
tist of the parish. " The situation of the camp
at Ardoch gave it many advantages ; being on
the north-west side of a deep moss that runs a
long way eastward. On the west side, it is
partly defended by the steep banks of the water
of Knaick ; which bank rises perpendicularly
between forty and fifty feet. The north and
east sides were most exposed ; and there, we
find, very particular care was taken to secure
them. The ground on the east is pretty regu-
lar, and descends by a gentle slope from the
lines of fortification, which, on that side, con-
sist of five rows of ditches, perfectly entire,
and running parallel to one another. These
altogether are about fifty-five yards in breadth.
On the north side, there is an equal number
of lines and ditches, but twenty yards broader
than the former. On the west, besides the
steep precipices above mentioned, it was de-
fended by at least two ditches. One is still
visible ; the others have probably been filled
up, in making the great military road from
Stirling to the North. The side of the camp,
lying to the southward, exhibits to the antiqua-
ry a less pleasing prospect- Here the peasant's
rugged hand has laid in ruins a great part of
the lines ; so that it may be with propriety said,
in the words of a Latin poet, ' Jam seges est,
ubi Troja fuit.' However, from the remains
yet to be traced, it appears there were also
three or four ditches, which, with its natural
advantages, rendered this side as strong and as
secure as any of the others. The four entries
crossing the lines, at right angles, are still dis-
tinctly to be seen. The area of the camp is
an oblong of 140 yards, by 125 within the lines.
The General's Quarter rises above the level of
the camp, but is not in the centre. It is a re-
gular square, each side being exactly twenty
yards. At present it exhibits evident marks
of having been enclosed with a stone wall, and
contains the foundation of a house, ten yards
by seven. That a place of worship has been
erected here, is not improbable, as it has ob-
tained the name of Chapel Hill from time im .
5 K

802

M CTHILL,

jnemorial. Besides the camp above mention-
ed, so completely fortified both by nature and
art, (and which is supposed to have been form-
ed by Agricola, for the Roman legions under
his command,) there are other two encamp-
ments adjoining to it, and having a communi-
cation with one another, containing above 130
acres of ground. These seem to have been
defended by only a single ditch and rampart,
and probably were intended for the cavalry and
auxiliaries. Here was room for all the forces,
that fought under Agricola near the Grampian
mountains, notwithstanding what has been said
by Mr. Gordon, in his Itinerarium Scptentrio-
nale, to the contrary ; who probably imagined,
as others have done since, that the whole
ground at Ardoch, fortified by the Romans,
lay within the small camp above mentioned.
It has already been observed, that the two
large encampments had a communication with
one another ; and, that there was a subterrane-
ous passage from the small one under the bed
of the river, is more than probable, from a cir-
cumstance now to be mentioned. There was
a hole near the side of the praetorium, that went
in a sloping direction for many fathoms ; in
which, it was generally believed, treasures, as
well as Roman antiquities, might be found.
In order to ascertain this fact, a man, who had
been condemned by the baron court of a neigh-
bouring lord, upon obtaining a pardon, agreed
to be let down by a rope into this hole. He
at first brought up with him, from a great depth,
Roman spears, helmets, fragments of bridles,
and several other articles : But upon being let
down a second time, was killed by foul air.
No attempt has been made 6ince that time.
The articles, above mentioned, lay at the house
of Ardoch for many years, but were all carried
off, by some soldiers in the Duke of Argyle's
army, in 1715, after the battle of Sheriffmuir,
and could never afterwards be recovered. The
mouth of the hole was covered up with a mill-
stone, by an old gentleman who lived at the
house of Ardoch, while the family were in
Russia, about the year 1720, to prevent hares
from running into it when pursued by his dogs ;
and as earth, to a considerable depth, was laid
34.

over the millstone, the place cannot now be
found, although diligent search has been made
for it. When the Ardoch family returned to
the country, the camp was used as a pasture
ground for cattle ; and, by Sir William Stir-
ling, the present proprietor, has been enclosed
by a high stone wall, that it may never again
suffer by a ploughshare. He has also prohi-
bited the tenants from ploughing up or other-
wise demolishing any part of the remaining
lines or ramparts round the two larger camps.
He has now an urn, perfectly entire, which was
dug up near the west side of the praetorium, or
general's quarters, containing ashes, and some
pieces of a human skull." The Roman camp
of Ardoch, thus minutely described, was at
the beginning of last century very much in-
jured by General Wade, who, as the statist
mentions, in making his celebrated northern
road in this direction, obliterated the whole
of one of its sides, though he might easily
have avoided this by turning a few yards
out cf his way. This road pursues a straight
line from Dumblane northwards by Ardoch
and Muthill, to Crieff in Strathearn, where
it enters the Highlands. By going through
the Roman camp, which lies in the parks
around Ardoch House, the stranger may
easily see that interesting object of antiqui-
ty, without leaving the vehicle in which he
may be passing. From this place the road
proceeds directly northwards to Muthill, over
a tract of hilly ground (now partly avoided by
new cuts) which, on account of its wild and
desolate character, is called the Muir of Or-
chil. The village of Muthill, situated on this
northern road, stands at the distance of three
miles south from Crieff, nineteen north from
Stirling, and sixteen west from Perth. About
a mile to the westward stands Drummond cas-
tle, the ancient seat of the noble family of
Perth, which was unroofed and partly demol-
ished in 1689, but since put in repair. It is
delightfully situated on a rock at the head of
the vale of Strathearn, and attracts the notice
and admiration of every stranger, from the
beautiful prospect it commands. — PoDulation
in 1821, 2862.

N A I R N.

803

NABEE (LOCH), a small lake in the
parish of St. Andrews-Lhanbryd, Morayshire.
NAIRN, (COUNTY OF) a small shire
in the north-eastern part of Scotland, once
forming a portion of the ancient province of
Moray, (see Moray.) It lies with its north-
ern side to the Moray Firth ; is bounded on the
east by Morayshire, and on the south and west
by Inverness- shire. It stretches from the coast
southerly to Lochindorb about twenty miles,
where it terminates nearly in a point between the
counties of Moray and Inverness. Its breadth,
along the shore, is twelve miles ; its sides ex-
tend to twenty-two miles about the middle, from
whence they begin to approximate to each other.
Exclusive of the hilly part of the district, it
may be described as a narrow border of level
ground along the shore from one to nearly six
miles in breadth. This county is crossed in
its southern or hilly part by the river Find-
horn, which runs in a direction from south-
west to north-east. Parallel with this rapid
stream, about eight or nine miles to the west,
is the river Nairn, which is also tributary to
the Moray Firth. The configuration and
agricultural properties of Nairnshire, have
been already noticed under the head Mo-
ray ; and it need only be repeated here, that
the district is flat and arable on its northern
side towards the Firth, and is hilly on its
southern quarter. The county comprises
only one royal burgh or town, to wit, Nairn,
the capital, with a few small villages. With-
in its boundaries there are four parochial
divisions, and portions of some others. In-
significant as the county is, it possesses a dis-
tinct political and judicial establishment. It
is observed by the Parliamentary census of
1821, that there were in the county 2012
dwelling-houses, inhabited by 2131 families;
of these families 799 were chiefly employed in
agriculture, 429 chiefly in trade, manufactures
or handicrafts, 902 were not comprised in
either of these classes. — The population at the
same time was 4082 males, 4924 females, total
9006.

NAIRN, a parish in the above county, ly-
ing with its north side to the Moray Firth,
bounded on the east by Auldearn, on the
south by Calder, and on the west by Ardersier.
From east to west it measures six miles, and
from north to south upwards of eight; its
figure somewhat resembling the letter X. The
river Nairn intersects it. On the north side of

this stream the ground is level, and on the
south it rises with a gradual ascent, terminating
at one corner of the parish in the hill of Ur-
chany, the oidy eminence in it deserving the
name of a hill.

Nairn, a royal burgh, the capital of the
above county and parish, is situated at the
mouth of the river of the same name, on its
left bank, at the distance of 86 miles from
Aberdeen, IS from Inverness, 168 from Edin-
burgh, 23 from Elgin, 31 1 from Fochabers,
and 11 from Forres. It is connected with
the right bank of the Nairn by a good bridge,
which, as well as the harbour, was greatly in-
jured by the great Moray floods in August 1829.
As a royal burgh it is of ancient though un-
certain erection, and is known to have possess-
ed at one time extensive immunities. Its first
charter, of which any copy is extant, was ob-
tained from James VI. in the year 1589, being
the renewal of one granted by Alexander, per-
haps the first of that name. There is another
charter by Charles II. in confirmation of that
of James, dated 1661. In virtue of these the
town-council consists of seventeen members,
namely, the provost, three bailies, a dean of
guild, and treasurers, with eleven councillors,
nine of whom make a quorum. The whole
trades make but one corporation. The burgh
joins with Inverness, Forres, and Fortrose, in
sending a member to parliament. Nairn is a
town of very old fashioned appearance, con-
sisting chiefly of one large street, the pavement
of which, (unless very lately repaired), is the
most uneasy of any in the kingdom. Near the
centre of the main street, is a building of hand-
some appearance, and modern erection, con-
taining the town and county jail, and a court
and county room ; the latter is exceedingly spa-
cious and elegant, and is occasionally used as a
ball room ; the structure is surmounted by a
spire. At the western extremity of the town
a neat monument has been erected to the me-
mory of Mr. John Straith, who had been forty
years schoolmaster of the place. The port of
Nairn has been greatly improved by an excel-
lent new pier, built partly by subscription and
partly by aid from government. Though un-
distinguished by manufacture, Nairn is under-
stood to be improving in its trade. The
importations are lime, coal, and foreign goods,
and besides fish, a vast quantity of fir wood is
exported. The fishing and curing of herrings
is carried on here with great spirit and succws.

sot

NAIRN.

Salmon fishing is also prosecuted. The town
possesses a remarkably good inn, and is provid-
ed with an excellent suit of baths. Besides
the established church there is a meeting-house
of the United Secession and Independents. Of
seminaries of education, there are a burgh and
parochial school, a private school, schools for
church music and dancing, and a boarding school
for young ladies. The town has two medical
practitioners, a distributor of stamps and post-
master, an excise officer, a tacksman and col-
lector of shore dues, and several practitioners
before the sheriff and bailie courts. A branch
of the National Bank is established. Of be-
neficiary and other institutions, there are the
Nairnshire Bible Society, a Missionary Society,
a Ladies' Home Bible and Benevolent Society,
a Farming Society, the Harvest Home Meet-
ing, a Subscription Library, a News Room,
a Theological and Literary Society, the Nairn
St. Ninian's Operative Lodge of Freemasons,
the Nairn Friendly Society, and the Nairn
Friendly Trades' Society. The weekly mar-
ket day is Friday. Fairs are held on the
first, third, and fifth Fridays after the 28th
of September, O S. The royal mail passes
through the town every day. A passage-boat
plies between Nairn and Cromarty every law-
ful day during the year, wind and weather per-
mitting, leaving Nairn on the arrival of a stage
coach from Elgin. The fare, by the latest
published list in 1831, was two shillings for
each passenger. The most remarkable thing
about Nairn, is the circumstance that it lies
so exactly on the boundary line of the High-
lands, that the Gaelic language is spoken at one
end of the street, and the English or Lowland
Scots at the other- There is a tradition among
the inhabitants, that King James the Sixth,
after his accession to the English throne, hav-
ing been rallied one day by some of his new
courtiers regarding the poverty and insignifi-
cance of his native kingdom, made the sagacious
reply, " By my saul, gentlemen, I can tell ye,
though, that I hae ae toun in Scotland, the
toun o' Nairn, which is sae big that two differ-
ent tongues are spoken in it, and the natives ot
the one end cannot understand what is spoken
by the natives of the other!" There are several
localities in the neighbourhood of Nairn, which
the stranger may view with some degree of in-
terest. A field to the west of the town, is
pointed out as having formed the encampment
of the Duke of Cumberland's army on the day

before the battle of Culloden. He arrived
here on the evening of the 14th of April 1745,
and spent the whole of the succeeding day up-
on the ground, before marching forward to
meet Prince Charles's troops. During the
night which intervened between the 15th and
16th, the insurgents made an advance along
the banks of the river Nairn, from their posi-
tion at Culloden, with the intention of sur-
prising the royal army, but daylight appearing
before they reached the point of attack, they
were obliged to retire without accomplishing
their object. The fatigue occasioned by this
night march is supposed to have been one of
the principal reasons of the Highlanders not
gaining the battle of Culloden next day. Some
miles to the west of Nairn stands the house of
Kilravock, (pronounced Kilrawk), the seat of
he ancient and respectable family of Rose.
The heroine of the song, " Ah ! Chloris could
I now Lut sit," was a daughter of this family,
and a bower is pointed out in the neighbour-
ing woods, as the place where Duncan Forbes
of Culloden, author of the song, held his in-
terviews with that young lady, with whom he
was deeply in love. It may also be mentioned
that the mother of Mr. Henry Mackenzie,
author of the " Man of Feeling," was another
daughter of the family In 1821, the popu-
lation of the burgh was 1500, including the
parish, 8228.

NAIRN, a river in the county of the same
name, on which, as above noticed, the town of
Nairn is situated. This river rises in the
high mountainous district of Badenoch, in In-
verness-shire, and after a tolerably straight
course in a north-easterly direction, falls into
the Moray Firth, at about an equal distance
from the Findhorn on the east, and Fort-
George on the west. In Gaelic it is called
Uisg Nearne, signifying " the Water of Al-
ders," and has hence communicated its name
to the county, town and parish, just specified.
The scenery of its upper district is of a bold
highland character, its valley being of consider-
able width, chiefly cultivated and pleasing, and
bounded by birch-fringed hills, grandly massed,
and everywhere exhibiting singularly pictur-
esque outlines. The Nairn was one of the
rivers which were swollen, and did so much
damage by the great Moray floods of August,
1829. The injury sustained on that occasion
was chiefly in the lower part of the stream, on
the estate of Kilravock and of Lord Cawdor,

NE1LST0N.

805

as well as at the burgh and harbour of Nairn.
The Nairn yields excellent salmon.

NANUAGH, (LOCH) an islet of the
sea on the west coast of Inverness-shire, in
the district of Moidart.

NAOIMPH, an islet on the north coast of
Sutherlandshire.

NAVAR. See Lethnot.
NAVER, a lake and river in the parish of
Farr, Sutherlandshire. Loch Naver lies in
the centre of the district, and extends several
miles in length, but is of no great breadth.
It is fed by the water emitted from Loch
Maddie, a small lake some miles to the west.
At its northern extremity its outlet is by the
river Naver, which flowing in a tortuous man-
ner, but in a northerly direction, through a
vale to which it gives the name of Strathnaver,
a length of nearly 30 miles, falls into the sea
at the bay of Torrisdale. The river Naver is
the largest water in Sutherlandshire. See Far.
NEARTAF, an islet of the Hebrides in
the sound of Mull.

NE ATTIE, (LOCH) a small lake in the
parish of Kiltarlity, Inverness-shire, tributary
to the Beauly.

NEILS TON, a parish in the south part of
Renfrewshire, extending eight miles in length,
by from two to four and a half in breadth,
bounded by the Abbey Parish of Paisley upon
the north-west and north, by Eastwood and
rViearus on Uie east, on the south by bte«-
arton, Dunlop, and part of Beith, and on the
west by Lochwinnoch. The country rises
towards the west, and is generally irregular
in its surface, with rivulets interspersed. The
Loch Libo-side hills form one ridge, reach-
ing several miles form north-east to south-
west. In the south-east part of the dis-
trict, rises the highest hill in the parish, and
the only one which stands alone. It re-
ceives the name of the Neilston Pad, from
having the appearance of a pillion. The pa-
rish of Neilston has been subjected to the
ordinary course of improvements, and is in
the present day the seat of a large and indus-
trious population. There are two small lakes,
called Loch Libo and Loch Long, the former
giving rise to the Lugton, a tributary stream of
the Garnock, and the latter discharging itself
by the Lavern, which runs north-east to join
the Cart near Crookston Castle. The village
of Neilston is situated nine miles south-west of
Glasgow, on the road to Irvine, and nine miles

north-east of Stewarton. The other chief
village in the parish is Barrhead, farther north
on the same line of road, and nearer Glas-
gow. The number of manufactories or public
works in the parish is considerable. At
present there are six cotton spinning mills,
nine bleachfields, three printfields, and two
Turkey-red discharging works, besides coal
works, corn mills, and freestone quarries. It
is computed that the value of the goods manu-
factured, of yarns spun, muslins bleached, &c.
amounts to about one million and a half of
pounds sterling yearly ; and that the amount of
capital sunk in public works for buildings and
machinery is about L. 150,000. According to
Fowler's Renfrewshire Directory for 1831,
the institutions of Neilston are — a Society for
Charity ; the Friendly Society ; the New
Friendly Society; the Original Sabbath School;
the Thistle and Crown Lodge of Freemasons;
the Masonic Sunk Fund ; the Female Socie-
ty ; the Younger Female Friendly Society ;
the Sabbath School Association; the Ren-
frewshire Bleachers' Friendly Society ; the
Carters' Society ; the Lavern Lodge of Free
Gardeners ; the Lavern Mechanics' Institu-
tion ; the Society for Mutual Information ;
and the Neilston and Neighbourhood Agricul-
tural Society. Neilston fairs for cattle are
held on the third Tuesday of February, May,
and October, O. S- ; and for horse-racing, &c.
on the fourth Friday of July, N. S — Popula-
tion of the village of Neilston in 1821,
750 ; including the parish and other villages,
6549.

NELL, (LOCH) a small lake in the pa-
rish of Kilmore and Kilbride, Argyleshire.

NENTHORN, a parish in the south-
western part of Berwickshire, lying partly on
the left bank of the Eden, and partly on the
right, bounded by Hume on the north, Earl-
stoun on the west, and Kelso on the south.
It extends four and a half miles in length, and
is of irregular breadth. It is mostly low
ground, with a moderate descent to the south,
except a rising in the north part of the parish.
By means of improvements the district is now
chiefly arable and under enclosures. The
present parish is composed of two ancient
manors, once the property of the Morvilles,
hereditary constables of Scotland, called Na-
thansthim and Newton. The prefix of the
word Nenthorn is unquestionably derived from
a person's name, and the affix may be regarded

806

NESS.

as the Saxon thyrn, a thorn. — Population in
1821, 393.

NESS, a lake and river in Inverness-shire.
Loch Ness is the chief of the different lakes
lying in the Great Glen of Albyn, and now
devoted to the purpose of the Caledonian
Canal. It is also the most northerly in the
line, extending from Fort-Augustus on the
south-west, to Bona on the north-east, a dis-
tance of about twenty-two miles, by a breadth
of from half a mile to one and a half, but more
general nearly a single mile. Its depth is con-
sidered to be greater than most parts of the sea
between the northerly part of Scotland and the
north of Europe, measuring in some places
185 fathoms, and throughout its whole length,
except at two points, being able to sail a ship
of the line, close upon the shore. It stretches
along in a perfectly straight line, between two
lofty piles of hills, which rise steep as walls
to a prodigious height ; and the tourist looks
along it from one end to the other, as through
a telescope. Loch Ness has some mysterious
and even terrible characteristics. It never
freezes in the severest winter, and, in frosty
weather, is covered with a thick mist, having the
appearance of a dense smoke ; and it is usually
agitated violently when any other part of the
world is undergoing the phenomenon of an
earthquake. This remarkable peculiarity was
particularly observable on the 1st of November
1755, at the time of the great earthquake at
Lisbon. The water rose rapidly, and flowed
up the lake with amazing impetuosity, the
waves being carried more than two hundred
yards up the river Oich, breaking on its banks
five feet above the level of the river. It con-
tinued ebbing and flowing for about an hour ;
at the end of which time, a wave much greater
than the others, terminated the commotion,
overflowing the north bank of the lake to the
extent of thirty feet. Loch Ness is fed by a
variety of small streams falling into it on both
sides, but chiefly by the Oich, at its south-
west extremity ; being the water emitted from
Loch Oich, the next lake in the series. The
water of Foyers, on which is the celebrated
fall, is tributary to it on the south bank. It is
discharged at the north-east extremity by the
river Ness, and also by the cut for the Caledo-
nian Canal. The river Ness flows in a north-
easterly direction for a distance of about six
miles, where it falls into the inner part of the
Moray Firth. It is a placid water, with a very
slight fall, and near its mouth forms the har-

bour of Inverness, a town chiefly situated on
its right bank, and to which it has communi-
cated its name.

NESTING, a parish on the east side of the
mainland of Shetland, comprising the abrogat-
ed parochial divisions of Lunnesting, Whalsay,
and the Skerries. Nesting is of a peninsular
character, with Catfhth Voe on the south.
Whalsay is an island to the east, with the
Skerry isles adjacent. One clergyman mini-
sters at different stations throughout these wild
districts. — Population in 1821, 2005.

NETHAN, a river in Lanarkshire, parish
of Lesmahago, originating in a variety of burns
rising from the hilly grounds on the verge of
the shire. It receives in its course the Logan
water and other streamlets, and after a course,
chiefly tending to the north-east, falls into the
Clyde three miles above Dalserf. Near its
confluence with the Clyde, upon a single rock
overhanging the former stream, stands Craig-
nethan or Dniphane Castle, supposed to have
furnished the author of " Old Mortality" with
his description of Tillietudlem. Craignethan
has been an extensive and important fortress,
but it is now in a ruinous condition.

NETHY, a small river in Inverness-shire,
rising in the heights of Badenoch, and falling
into the Spey near the church of Abernethv.

NEVAY. See Essie.

NEVIS, a river in Inverness-shire, rising
from the Mountain of Ben-Nevis, and after a
rapid course of eight or ten miles, in which it
forms several romantic cascades, falling into
Locheil, near Fort- William. It bestows the
name of Glen-Nevis to the vale through which
it flows.

NE VISH, (LOCH) an arm of the sea on
the west coast of Inverness-shire, opposite
Skye. It is a spacious inlet ; presenting, im-
mediately after entering it, a wide basin, and,
after a long course, taking an acute turn. The
scenery around it is of a simple imposing
kind.

NEWABBEY, a parish in the stewartry
of Kirkcudbright, situated on the Nith at its
mouth, bounded by Troqueer on the north,
Kirkgunzeon on the west, and Colvend and
Kirkbean on the south. It extends eight miles
in length, by nearly four in breadth. The ap-
pearance of the parish is very varied; the
lower part lying along the Nith being regular-
ly enclosed and highly improved, commanding
a noble prospect of the Solway firth and coast
of England ; while the upper division consists

N E W ABBEY

80',

of rocky liills, mosses, and muirs. There are
three lakes in the parish, namely, Loch Kin-
dar, Lochend, and Craigend. Within the
southern boundary of the parish is a portion of
the lofty hill called Criffel, which is conspicu-
ous to an immense distance on the Scottish and
English side of the firth. It rises to a height
of 2000 feet above the level of the sea,
from which it is a mile distant. On the
summit there is a spring of very fine water ;
near which is a large heap of stones, called
Douglas' cairn, probably from Douglas, Earl
of Morton, who, when he was Lord of the
Mi'.rches, had a castle called Weaths, at the
foot of the hill. The surface of Criffel is in
general good green pasture, especially on the
north and north-east sides. The parish, which
was originally styled Kirkinder, takes its pre-
sent name from the once celebrated religious
establishment of Newabbey. The monastery
with this designation, was a house for the Cis-
tertian order of monks, founded in the thir-
teenth century, by Devorgilla, daughter of
Alan, lord of Galloway, niece to David, earl of
Huntingdon, and spouse to John Baliol, lord
of Castle Bernard, who died in ] 269, and was
buried here, and mother of John Baliol, the
imbecile competitor for the crown. The ori-
ginal appellation of this abbey seems obscure.
Whatever it was at first, it was altered to
Sweetheart Abbey, according to Winton, who
informs us, that, after the death of Baliol, the
husband of the foundress caused take out his
heart and embalm it, and putting it in a box of
ivory, bound with si Iver, and enamelled, enclosed
it solemnly in the walls of the church, near to
the high altar ; from which circumstance the
house was called abbacia dulcis cordis — " the
abbey of the dear or sweet heart." According
to Prynne, John, abbot of this place, swore
fealty to Edward in 1296, and describes him-
self " Johan abbs' de Douxquer." There is a
charter by another John, abbot of this place,
dated the 23d of October 1528, granting " Cuth-
berto Brown de Cairn, in emphyteosim, totas et
integras quatuor mercatas terraram de Corbully,
in baronia sua de Lokendolo, infra senescalla-
tum de Kirkcudbright, reddendo annuatim sum-
mam octo mercarum usualis monetae regni
Scotse, ad duos anni terminos, viz. Pentecos-
tos, et Sancti Martini in hyeme." By this
and preceding grants, the abbey of Sweetheart,
or Newabbey, as it was latterly called, drew
an annual revenue in money of L.6S-2 from its

lands, feus, churches, and other possessions.
The last abbot was Gilbert Brown, who, we
are informed by Calderwood, sat in Parliament
in August 1560, when the Confession of Faith
was approved of. For some unexplained
cause, he was apprehended in the reign of
James VI. 1605, and sent out of the country ;
he died at Paris, 1612. By the Reforma-
tion and the act of annexation, the abbey
and its possessions became crown property, till
the year 1624, when a temporal barony was
erected out of the wreck of the property, and
bestowed on Sir Robert Spottiswood, presi-
dent of the Court of Session, and secretary to
Charles I., who was hence designed Lord
Newabbey. The property was afterwards
burdened by Queen Anne with an endow-
ment in favour of the second minister of
Dumfries. Although much dilapidated for
the sake of the stones, the ruins of this religious
structure are still very extensive, and form an
interesting subject of research to the antiqua-
ry, while the beauty of the surrounding scen-
ery is well calculated to gratify the most fasti-
dious taste. On the north and south lie the
woods of Shambelly, and on the south, Loch
Kindar and the dark braes of Criffel. The
buildings have been of Gothic architecture.,
and of considerable elegance. Grose gives
the measurement of the whole demesnes
of the abbey to be 16 acres; height of the
tower 90 feet ; length of the whole chinch 200
feet; and length of the transept 102 feet;
breadth of the arches 15 feet; height of the
shafts of the columns, of which there were six,
10 feet ; and height of the shafts of the pillars
supporting the tower, 20 feet. The parish
kirk stands on the south side of the church,
having been formed of that part of the ruins.
Newabbey is about seven or eight miles dis-
tant from Dumfries, and is considered an ob-
ject worthy of attracting the notice of the tour-
ist. From Newabbey to Kirkbean, the road
runs nearly parallel to the Nith. Between the
latter village and the river, is situated Arbig-
land, the seat of Mr. Craik, the representative
of the celebrated and patriotic agriculturist of
that name. — Population in 1821, 1112.

NEWARK, a barony in Renfrewshire,
united to New Port- Glasgow, which is now
termed the burgh of New Port- Glasgow and
Newark.

NEWBATTLE, a parish in the county of
l Edinburgh, bounded by Dalkeith on the Eorth,

808

N E W B A T T L E.

Cranston on the east, Borthwick on the south,
and Cockpen on the west. It is of an irregu-
lar triangular figure, each side of which is from
four to five miles in extent. Within its pre-
sent dimensions is included the small abrogat-
ed parochial division of Maisterton, which lay
on its western quarter, and was united to it at
the Reformation. A considerable portion of
the parish is the vale of the North Esk, with
a large share of the hilly range rising from the
south bank of that stream, and bounding the
district on which stands the town of Dalkeith.
The lands are nearly all under the best processes
of agriculture, beautifully enclosed, and well
wooded. The district is exceedingly valuable
from its coal mines. In the low bottom of the
vale of the Esk, sheltered in nearly every di-
rection, lies the small decayed village of New-
battle, and adjoining it, the splendid demesne
of Newbattle Abbey, now enclosed as a plea-
sure-ground of the Marquis of Lothian. This
locality is one of the most interesting in Mid-
Lothian, and from its associations requires a
deliberate notice from the statist. Actuated
by those motives of piety which distinguished
David I. this munificent prince founded here,
in 1 1 40, a monastery for Cistercian monks, who
were brought from the similar and recently
established abbey of Melrose. The place de-
rived its name, Newbotle, from the Saxon both,
a residence ; and the prefix, New, was most
probably attached, in contradistinction to Eld-
botle, or Old-botle, in East- Lothian. The
corrupt pronunciation of after times has changed
the word to Newbattle, as in the case of Mor-
battle in Roxburghshire, and other places with
names of a like character and etymology. The
endowment of this house, though less abun-
dant than that of Holyrood, was still of great
value. David gave the monks the district of
Mor-thwaite, or Moorfoot, as it is now called ;
the lands of Buchalch on the Esk ; two salt-
works on the Forth ; the right of pannage ;
and the privilege of cutting wood in his forests.
He also assigned them the patronage of seve-
ral churches, and the benefit of some reve-
nues. The example of so good a prince was
followed by his grandson Malcolm ; by the
Countess Ada, the widow of Earl Henry ; and
by William the Lion, who granted them the
lands of Mount ■ Lothian ; and with some spe-
cial services, he confirmed the grants of David
I. and Malcolm IV. The first abbot of Holy-
rood, the bountiful Alwin, relinquished to the

monks of Newbotle, the lands of Pittendriech
on the Esk ; and his example was followed by
various other persons of equal piety, who gave
lands in the country, tofts in the towns, and
churches in the shires. Alexander II. (1214-
49,) who delighted to dwell at Newbotle,
gave them various donations ; and the monks
in return gave his wife Mary a grave ; or, in
the words of the Chartulary, he gave them all
those rights, forthe salvation of his predecessors,
for his own, and for the salvation of Mary his
spouse, — " quae corpus suum apud Newbotle
sepeliendum reliquit." The monks further
acquired much property, and many privileges
by purchase. Among other lands, they owned
the district of Monkland in Lanarkshire, and it
appears that they procured the privilege of hav-
ing a road, for their own use, towards their
possessions in the west. In the year 1203,
Pope Innocent confirmed all their possessions
and privileges by a bull, and by another
prohibited all persons from extorting teinds
from the lands, which they held, or culti-
vated. In 1293, William de Lindsay gave
the monks an annuity of L.20 Sterling, which
he received from Symington of Kyle, and which
he directed to be distributed in a specified
manner worthy of being related. The grant
directed, that on St. Andrew's day, 104 shil-
lings Sterling should be given yearly to the
monks, " ad pitancias," a small portion of meat
and drink extra on some festival ; and that
two shillings should be distributed every Sun-
day among the brethren, to amend their usual
diet, for their solace ; and that the abbot
should be bound under a penalty to bestow
certain charities on the poor of Haddington
and Ormiston, on stated clays. David II.
gave the monks a charter, enabling them to
hold their lands, within the valley of Lothian,
in free forestry, with the various privileges
which belonged to a forestry. It is learned from
the records, that the monks of Newbotle were
of considerable service in promoting agricul-
tural operations, and that they had the merit of
discovering coal in their lands near Preston,
which they brought into use. They were
likewise traffickers to no mean extent, and in
the latter days of the monastery they had be-
stowed on them the small sea-port of Mori-
son's Haven, near Prestonpans. The first
abbot of Newbotle was Radulphus, who came
with the monks from Melrose in 1140. The
eighteenth abbot was John, who had to take

N E W 13 U II G H.

80S

part in the difficult transactions of the disputed
succession to Alexander III. He sat in the
great parliament of Birgham in March, 1290.
In July 1291, he swore fealty, with his monks,
to Edward I. in the chapel of Edinburgh
castle. He again swore fealty, with his monks,
to Edward in 1296; and thereupon obtained
writs to several sheriffs, for the return of his
property. In January 1296-7, Edward di-
rected his treasurer, Cressingham, to settle
with the abbot, for the firm, due by the abbey
of Newbotle, for his lands of Bothkennar.
Whether Abbot John witnessed the accession
of Robert Bruce, is uncertain. In 1385, the
monastery of Newbotle was burnt, during the
furious inroad of Richard II. ; and the monks
Were employed, during forty years, in re-edify-
ing their house. Patrick Madour, who was
abbot in April 1462, had the merit of collect-
ing the documents, which form, at present, the
Chartulary of Newbotle ; and he^had the spirit,
in October 1466, to institute a suit, in par-
liament, against James, Lord Hamilton, " for
the spoliation of a stone of lead ore, taken from
the abbot's lands of Fremure, in Clydesdale ;"
and the lords auditors found in the abbot's
favour. Andrew, the abbot, in May 1499,
granted his lands of Kinaird, in Stirlingshire,
to Edward Brus, his well-deserving armiger,
rendering for the same sixteen marks yearly;
and in December 1500, he gave to Robert
Brus of Bining, and Mary Preston his spouse,
the monastery stands, called the abbot's lands
of West Bining, in Linlithgowshire, rendering
for the same four shillings yearly. James
Hasmall, in whose time the monastery was
burnt during the Earl of Hertford's invasion, was
probably the last abbot. Mark Ker, the second
son of Sir Andrew Ker of Cessford, -becoming
a protestant, in 1560, obtained the vicarage of
Linton; and, in 1564, was made the first com-
mendator of Newbotle. In 1581, he obtained
the ratification of parliament for the grant of the
abbey, the revenues of which were stated to
be L.1413, Is. 2d. Scots; 99 bolls of wheat;
55 bolls, 2 pecks, of bear ; and 250 bolls, 2
firlots, of white oats. From this several
disbursements seem to have been claimed ;
particularly one, which is somewhat affecting,
to wit, L.240 Scots, for six aged, decrepid,
and recanted monks. Mark Ker died in
1584, an extraordinary lord of the Court of
Session. He was succeeded by his son Mark,
who had a reversion of the commendatorship,
which was confirmed to him. In 1587, this

person obtained from the facile James VI.
a grant of the whole estates of the mo-
nastery, as a temporal barony ; and this was
ratified in the parliament of 1587. In Oc-
tober 1591, the barony was converted into a
temporal lordship, with the title of Lord New-
botle, which was ratified by parliament in
1592. In 1606, this nobleman was created
Earl of Lothian ; and Robert, the fourth of
this title, a member of the privy council of
King William, was elevated to the rank of
Marquis of Lothian. The descendants of this
nobleman still enjoy the property. The mo-
nastery of Newbotle, once the seat of a body
of learned churchmen, has been long demolish-
ed, and on its site stands the modem mansion
of the Marquis of Lothian, in which, we be-
lieve, only a small portion of the ancient edi-
fice is preserved. The house contains many
fine paintings, and is surrounded by a verdant
lawn, preserved in a state of great beauty and
surrounded by trees of gigantic size. It is
also bounded by a high wall, evidently formed
in early times, and still called the Monkland
wall. The parish church, a plain edifice of
last century, stands in the adjoining village.
Of late years the village has been undergoing
a process of extinction, so as to allow the more
perfect seclusion of the family seat of the
proprietor ; and a new hamlet with a school-
house has been erected on the face of the hill
to the south. — Population in 1821, 1719.

NEWBURGH, a parish on the north side
of the county of Fife, of small extent, and en-
closed by the parish of Abdie on the east and
south. On the north it is bounded by the
Tay, and on the west by Abernethy, in Perth-
shire. This main portion of the parish is
about a mile in length and half a mile in
breadth ; the land being flat and well cultivat-
ed on the edge of the river, and spreading up
to a hilly region on the south. In this upland
quarter there is another portion of the parish
disjoined from the former, contiguous to the
parish of Auchtermuchty. The grounds on
the Tay are considered as rich and productive
as those of the Carse of Gowrie on the op-
posite shore. Much excellent land has here
been reclaimed from the Tay by dikes, in
the way noticed under the head Carse, in the
present work. The parish of Newburgh con-
tains certain localities and objects worthy
of the attention of the curious. At a short
distance east from the town of Newburgh, near
the river Tay, on a gentle rise, appears the
5 I.

810

NEWBURGH.

ruins of the once celebrated abbey of Lindores.
This establishment was founded by David,
Earl of Huntingdon, brother to king William,
upon his return from the Holy Land, about the
year 1178 ; he bestowed it upon the Tyronen-
ses of Kelso, whom Boethius highly commends,
as being " morum innocentia clari." There is
a bull of Pope Innocent III., granted at La-
teran in the year 1 1 98, confirming all the lands
and privileges granted to this place; it is
addressed, " Guidoni abbati monasterii Sanctae
Mariae de Lindores, ejusque fratribus." Jo-
hannes Scotus, Earl of Huntingdon, confirms
likewise to the monks all the donations which
had been made to them by his father. From
these and other grants, the monks of Lin-
dores had twenty- two parish churches, and
were otherwise very rich. In the course of fifty
years after the erection of the abbey, a similar
establishment for Cistertian monks was erected
a few miles to the east, at Balmerino. The
readers of Scottish history will perhaps re-
member that it was within the abbey of Lin-
dores that the body of the Duke of Rothesay,
eldest son of Robert III., was interred, after
being cruelly starved to death by his uncle in
the dungeon of Falkland palace ; and it will
not be forgotten that it was within the monas-
tery, that James, the ninth Earl of Douglas,
spent the four last years of his existence (1484-
88) in penitence and peace, after many vicissi-
tudes, and an unsuccessful rebellion against his
sovereign. At the Reformation, the abbey,
as a matter of course, was destroyed, and its
property sequestrated. In 1606, it was erected
into a temporal lordship by James VI., in
favour of Patrick Lesly, son to Andrew, Earl
of Rothes. Among the last seized moveables
belonging to the establishment, was the bell
of the church, which, in 1585, was removed
to Edinburgh and placed in the spire of St.
Giles. Such has been the dilapidation of the
buildings of the abbey that some fragments of
the walls alone remain standing, testifying the
former extent of the sacred precincts. " With-
in these walls," says the statist, " and for a
small space beyond them on one side, the
ground continues to be occupied by fruit trees,
which, having been long since planted, exhibit
appearances of decay, that, viewed in conjunc-
tion with the mouldering fragments of struc-
tures, half covered at top with ivy, and sur-
rounded at bottom with thorn and hazel, give
an air of melancholy grandeur to the place at
large. That dwelling-house, situated in the
34.

heart of the ruins, and occupied occasionally,
till of late years, by the proprietors, or their
friends, must have been repaired for some
more ancient fabric, or an entire new building
of stone taken out of the walls of the abbey.
If we may credit tradition, it was reared by
the first Lord Lindores, in the beginning of
the seventeenth century. Formerly, strangers
who visited the ruins had a stone coffin pointed
out to them, which was placed within the area
of the church, on the north wall, towards the
east end, which was said to have contained the
remains of the Earl of Douglas, but in conse-
quence of depredations lately made upon the
walls, it is now covered with rubbish. Whe-
ther this coffin did in fact contain the bones
of this person, or of the Duke of Rothesay,
or perhaps of some dignified ecclesiastic, no
certain information can be procured, as there
is not a single inscription to be found in any
part of the church, or of the other buildings."
Besides the ruins of Lindores abbey, this pa-
rish contains two crosses of very ancient erec-
tion. One of these is placed on a rising
ground a little westward of the town of New-
burgh, and within a few yards of the Tay, i»
the grounds of Mugdrum. It consists of one
large stone placed upright on another, and ex-
hibits the mutilated figures of animals carved
upon it. The other, called Macduff's cross,
is much more interesting, though less entire,
and is situated on the high grounds south-west
from Newburgh, near the side of an obscure
road leading across the hills to Auchtermuchty.
The site of this object of antiquity is a hollow
in the face of the hills, commanding an exten-
sive prospect of the lower part of Strathearn,
and when the cross was in a complete condi-
tion it must have been seen at a very great
distance. All that now remains of the cross
is a mass of freestone measuring about three
feet square, resting on a mound of earth ; from
its appearance it is impossible to say what
was its original figure ; it is reputed by tradition,
however, to have been of considerable height
and covered with a rude inscription. This
cross of Macduff was in early times a potent
sanctuary or place of refuge, the origin and
qualification of which will be best described in
the language of Sir Walter Scott, who thus
notices it in the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Bor-
der: "When the Revolution was accomplished,
in which Macbeth was dethroned and slain, Mal-
colm, sensible of the high services of the Thane
of Fife, is said by our historians to have promised

NEWBUROH.

811

to grant the first three requests he should make.
Macduff accordingly demanded, and obtained,
first, that he and his successors, Lords of Fife,
should place the crown on the King's head at
his coronation ; secondly, that they should lead
the vanguard of the army, whenever the royal
banner was displayed j and, lastly, this privi-
lege of clan Macduff, whereby any person, be-
ing related to Macduff within the ninth degree,
and having committed homicide in chaude millee,
(in hot blood, without premeditation,) should,
upon flying to Macduff's cross, and paying a
certain fine, obtain remission of bis guilt. Such,
at least, is the account given of the law by all
our historians. Nevertheless, there seems
ground to suspect, that the privilege did not
amount to an actual and total remission of the
crime, but only to a right of being exempted
from all other courts of jurisdiction, except that
of the Lord of Fife. But the privilege of be-
ing answerable only to the chief of their own
clan, was, to the descendants of Macduff, al-
most equal to an absolute indemnity. The
tumuli around the pedestal are said to be the
graves of those who, having claimed the privi-
lege of the law, failed in proving their con-
sanguinity to the Thane of Fife. Such per-
sons were instantly executed. The people of
Newburgh believe, that the spectres of these
criminals still haunt the ruined cross, and claim
that mercy for their souls which they had failed
to obtain for their mortal existence. Fordoun
and Wintoun state, that the fine to be paid by
the person taking sanctuary, was twenty merks
for a gentleman, and twelve for a yeoman. The
late Lord Hailes gives it as his opinion, that
the indulgence was only to last till the tenth
generation from Macduff." At what precise
period the law of Macduff ceased to be recog-
nised is not known. Having been only of
partial application, it is not alluded to in the
most distant manner by our institutional writ-
ers. From several concurring circumstances,
we have reason to believe that it fell into de-
suetude before the reign of James II. of Scot-
land. That it should have been continued for
such a length of time, more by the authority of
the Earls of Fife, than of the ecclesiastical
power, is noway surprising, considering the
degree of might which distinguished their
family.

Newbuhgh, a royal burgh and thriving sea-
port, in Fife, the capital of the above pa-
rish, advantageously situated on the Tay, at

the distance of twelve miles from Perth, fifteen
from Dundee, ten from Cupar, and five from
Auchtermuchty. It is a town of unrecorded
date, but is supposed to have arisen under the
patronage of the adjacent abbey, the name of
2Vew>-burgh being conferred on it most probably
in contradistinction to the ancient decayed
burgh of Abernethy, which lies about two miles
to the west. It now possesses a modern ap-
pearance, and consists chiefly of a single street
of considerable length, in the direction of east
and west, parallel with the course of the river,
and a lane or bye-street leading towards the
shore from its centre. Formerly, the gene-
rality of the houses were low built, and covered
with thatch, but of late years a better style of
architecture has prevailed, and there are now
many good edifices. The reverend statist of
the parish, who wrote his account in 1 793,
mentions that " sixty years before that period,
few of the houses concealed their rafters, while
at present, scarcely any of them present that
naked appearance. On the same spot where
twelve years ago a board was placed in the win-
dow to exclude the winter storm, may now be
seen a Venetian blind, attached to the case-
ment, for blunting the rays of the summer sun."
Since 1793, Newburgh has risen very consi-
derably in wealth and outward appearance,
through the industrious habits of its population,
and the traffic carried on at its port. The princi-
pal employment of the inhabitants is the weav-
ing of linen goods, as is the case with almost
every town in Fife and the lower part of Perth-
shire. The harbour is spacious, and the Tay
above this place being navigable only by ves-
sels of 200 tons, those which are of a greater
burden put in here to unload, and their cargoes
are sent to Perth by lighters. The shipping
belonging to the port was some years ago up-
wards of 1000 tons. Newburgh divides with
Kirkcaldy the trade of exporting grain from
Fife, and this traffic has been greatly increased
by the formation of a good road from the cen-
tre of the county. The church of Newburgh
stands near the middle of the town, and oppo-
site to it is the town-hall, a neat modern build-
ing with a spire. Besides the established
church, there is a meeting-house of the united
associate synod. At an early period the town
was erected into a burgh of regality under the
Abbot of Lindores, and this species of juris-
diction lasted till the year 1631, when Charles
I. granted the place a charter, forming the com-

812

N EWHAVE N.

manity into a royal burgh, with the several
immunities and privileges usually conferred on
the royal burghs of Scotland. In virtue of
his grant, Newburgh sent a commissioner to
the Scottish Estates, but, like Auchtermuchty,
being unable to pay his expenses, as was then
the custom, the burgh petitioned to be relieved
of the burden, which was consequently grant-
ed. Newburgh thus lost parliamentary repre-
sentation, and has since been kept out of
view as a royal burgh. The government is
vested in two bailies, and fifteen" councillors,
with a town clerk. The town has two annual

fairs Population of the burgh in 1821, 1750;

including the parish, 2190.

NEWBURGH, a small village in the parish
of Foveran, Aberdeenshire, situated at the
mouth of the Ythan, at the distance of twelve
miles north from Aberdeen.

NEWBURN, a parish in Fife, situated on
the east side of Largo Bay, Firth of Forth,
from which it extends about three and a half
miles, by a breadth of from one to two miles.
It is bounded by Largo on the west, and Kil-
conquhar on the east. The land lies with a
pleasant southern exposure, and is all arable
and enclosed. There are several elegant seats,
among which Hall-hill is the most conspicuous.
Mr. John Wood, who endowed the hospital at
Largo, left also the farm of Orkil, in the pa-
rish of Kettle, as an endowment for the edu-
cation of six poor children in the parish of
Newburn.— Population in 1821,398.

NEWBYTH, a modern village in the pa-
rish of King Edward, Aberdeenshire, begun
under the patronage, and on the property of the
late James Urquhart, Esq. in 1764.

NEWHAVEN, a considerable fishing vil-
lage in the parish of North Leith, county of
Edinburgh, lying on the shore of the Firth of
Forth, at the distance of one mile west from
Leith, and about a mile and a half north from
Edinburgh. Newhaven owes its origin to
James IV. who endowed it with certain bur-
gal privileges ; but the town-council of Edin-
burgh entertaining fears about its rising conse-
quence, in 1511 purchased of the King the
town and harbour, with all their rights and
privileges, and they are still retained by the
metropolis. Coeval with the erection of this
suburb, James built a chapel, which he dedi-
cated to St. Mary, and from this religious
fabric the little haven was sometimes called
" Our Lady's Port of Grace." For many

ages, Newhaven continued merely a resi-
dence of fishers in the Firth, with a miserable
rude pier, but in recent times it has increased
greatly in size, and has had erected a very sub-
stantial low water pier, sheltering a commodious
harbour for boats, and accommodating steam
vessels engaged in carrying passengers to Fife
and other places. In and about the village a
very considerable number of new houses have
been erected, chiefly in the villa style, or for
sea-bathing quarters. The village itself, how-
ever, the nucleus of all this aggregation
of families, remains in its pristine unseemly
condition, and is certainly one of the dirtiest
places in Scotland. As a small advance to-
wards civilized usages, the Edinburgh magis-
tracy have lately appointed a constable to
look after the village. On the east, is
the chief bathing place of the people of
Edinburgh, at least of pedestrians from the
metropolis, Portobello having, from its superior
attractions, diverted from Newhaven many of
its wonted summer residents. The communi-
cation with the city is by two great thorough-
fares, the one by Canonmills and the villas of
Trinity, and the other by Claremont Street and
Bonnington. Coaches for the ferry-boats run
to and fro almost every hour. The road be-
tween Leith and Newhaven has long been
in a disgraceful state of disrepair. West from
Newhaven is a chain pier for the use of certain
steam vessels, but neither it nor the low water
pier at the village are of constant utility, many
of the vessels not being able to approach them,
especially during the recess of the tides. Un-
cleanly as the village of Newhaven is, it is the4
seat of a most industrious and thriving sea-
faring population. With the fishermen of the
town of Fisherrow, the male part of the inha-
bitants supply the fresh fish consumed in
Edinburgh and Leith, while the females trans-
port them to market or sell them through the
streets. These Fishwives are of an exceed-
ingly robust frame and constitution, and usually
carry loads of from one to two hundredweight
upon their backs, in creels or willow-baskets,
and evince a masculine degree of strength,
which is not unaccompanied by manners equally
masculine. There is, indeed, a complete re-
versal of the duties of the sexes ; the husband
being often detained at home by bad weather,
and employing himself as nurse, while the wife
is endeavouring at Edinburgh to win the means
of maintaining the family. A woman of New-

NEWLANDS.

813

haven or Fisherrow would have hut little room
for boasting, if she could not by this species of
industry gain money sufficient to maintain a
domestic establishment, independent of the ex-
ertions, whatever they might be, of her hus-
band. These singular Amazons dress them-
selves in a style which, if coarse, must also
not be uncostly. They are unable to wear
any head-dress, excepting a napkin, on account
of the necessity of supporting their back-bur-
dens by a broad belt which crosses the fore-
head, and must be slipped over the head
every time they take off their merchandize.
They usually wear, however, a voluminous and
truly Flemish quantity of petticoats, with a
jerkin of blue cloth, and several fine napkins
enclosing the neck and bosom. Their numer-
ous petticoats are of different qualities and
colours ; and it is customary, while two or
three hang down, to have as many more bundled
up over the haunches, so as to give a singularly
bulky and sturdy appearance to the figure.
Thirty years ago they wore no shoes or stock-
ings, but cannot now be impeached with that
defect, so often imputed to Scottish women
by travellers. In their mercantile capacity
these robust persons are not very distinguished
for conscientious dealings, it being very difficult
to make a proper bargain with them. They
generally ask about three times the real value,
and it becomes the business of the customer to
bate them down to the proper price. Although
this character of the fishwives is notorious,
they exhibit a great degree of honour in all
dealings with each other, and are on the whole
an honest and peaceable class of the community.
The female population of Newhaven enjoy the
exclusive trade in the supplying of the capital
with oysters during two-thirds of the year.

NEWHILLS, a parish in Aberdeenshire,
adjoining the liberties of Aberdeen on the
west, and now to the extent of about two-
thirds included within the extended royalty of
that city. A portion of the district, which
measures five and a half by three and a half
miles, lies on the right bank of the Don. The
parish has been greatly improved, and now
exhibits a pleasing appearance. — Population
in 1821, 2141.

NEW KEITH, a modern town in the par-
ish of Keith, Banffshire. See Keith.

NEWLANDS, a parish in the northern
part of Peebleshire, extending eight miles in

length, by from four to five in breadth, bound-
ed by Linton on the west, Pennycuick on the
north, Eddleston on the east, and Lyne and
Kirkurd on the south. This parish is of an
upland and hilly character, with a large por-
tion on the vale of the small river Lyne and
its tributaries. The hills are pastoral, while
the lower grounds are arable or planted.
Within the date of the last fifty years, the im-
provements have been very numerous and be-
neficial ; and planting, in particular, has been
carried to a great extent, especially on the
estates of Whim, La Mancha, and Romanno.
The mail road from Edinburgh to Dumfries
by Noblehouse, crosses the district. The
parish church is situated on the left bank
of the Lyne water. At the end of the thir-
teenth century, the church of Newlands be-
longed to the monks of Dunfermline ; but it
seems afterwards to have passed from their
hands ; for in Bagimont's Roll it is mentioned
as the " Rectoria de Newlands," in the dean-
ery of Peebles, and is valued at the high sum
of L.16. In this parish and barony the regent
Morton built a huge edifice, called Drochil
Castle, which was not quite finished when he
was put to death on the scaffold (1581) by
the Scottish maiden or guillotine. This deso-
late ruined structure stands on an eminence at
the confluence of the Tarth with the Lyne.
The patronage of Newlands, which had been
confirmed to Morton in 1564, was afterward
acquired by the Douglasses of Queensberry ;
and William, Duke of Queensbeny, transferred
the church, with many others in this shire, to
his second son the Earl of March. The min-
isterial incumbent of the parish since 1790 has
been the Rev. Charles Findlater, author of the
Agricultural Survey of Tweeddale, (which was
among the best of that series of works,) and a
person distinguished in the Scottish church for
his philanthropic and judicious views as regards
the social economy of society. The seat of
Romanno, above noticed, was, at the end of
the seventeenth century, the property and re-
sidence of Dr. Alexander Pennycuick, the
author of a small volume of poems, and of a
poetical Description of Tweeddale, a district
of which he was a native. — Population in
1821, 1041.

NEWMILLS, a considerable burgh of
barony in Ayrshire, situated in the parish of
Loudon, on the right bank of the river Irvine,

814

NEWTON.STE W A R T.

at the distance of about two miles east from
the village of Galston. It received its charter of
erection, under the superiority of the Earls of
Loudon, from James IV. The bailies are com-
petent to hold courts fully as extensive in juris-
diction as those of royal burghs. The town has a
good market, and can hold five annual fairs.
There is a meeting-house of the United Seces-
sion body. Newmills is inhabited principally by
weavers, of which artisans it lately numbered
seven hundred. Near the village, on the road
up the left bank of the Irvine from Galston,
stands Pate's or Patie's Mill, the scene of one
of Ramsay's popular songs. Patie's Mill con-
sists of a range of three cottages on one side
of the road, and a mill on the other. None
of the present buildings, except the west end
of the row of cottages, is so old as Ramsay's
time ; the meadow, however, where the poet
saw the beauteous lass, flourishes of course in
immortal youth. The story of this song is
well known. Ramsay and the Earl of Loudon
were riding along the high road on the other
side of the water, when they saw in a park —
the second west from Patie's Mill — a pretty
girl tedding hay. The earl suggested the sight
as a fine subject for Allan's muse; and the
poet lagging behind his lordship a little, com-
posed the song of the " Lass of Patie's Mill,"

and produced it that afternoon at dinner

In 1821 the population]of Newmilns was 1543.
NEWMILLS, a village in the parish of
Torryburn, in the western boundary of Fife,
lying on the Firth of Forth, at the distance of
half a mile west from Torryburn, and one and
a half east of Culross. It possesses a trade in
the export of coals.

NEWPORT-GLASGOW. See Port-
Glasgow.

NEWSTEAD, a hamlet in the parish of
Melrose, Roxburghshire, one mile east from
the village of Melrose, on the road to Edin-
burgh by Drygrange bridge.

NE W T O N, a parish in the county of Edin-
burgh, having the parish of Liberton on the
west and north, Invereskon the east, and Dal-
keith on the south, extending two and a half
miles in length, by one and a half in breadth.
The district is generally flat, and completely
enclosed and cultivated. It abounds in coal
mines, which are in constant operation, and it
has a number of coal villages. The chief seat
is Edmonston, tie residence of Wauchope of

Edmonston ; adjoining is a village of the same

name on the road to Dalkeith Population in

1821, 2150.

NEWTON, a village in the parish of
Mearns, Renfrewshire.

NEWTON, a village in Fife, at the dis-
tance of a mile east from Falkland.

NEWTON, a small village in the parish of
Forgandenny, Perthshire.

NEWTON-SHAW, a village in Clack-
mannanshire, on the river Devon, built for the
accommodation of the work people employed
by the Devon Iron Company.

NEWTON-STEWART, a town in
Wigtonshire, situated on the right bank of the
river Cree, in the parish of Penningham, with
a small portion on the opposite side of the
stream in the parish of Minniegaff, stewartry
of Kirkcudbright. It lies on the highway from
Dumfries to Portpatrick, at the distance of
98 miles from Edinburgh, about 80 from
Glasgow, 50 from Dumfries, 8 ' from Wig-
ton, 26 from Stranraer, and is a convenient
stage betwixt Ferrytown of Cree and Glenluce.
It owes its origin to a younger branch of the
Stewarts, Earls of Galloway, who possessed
the estate of Castle- Stewart, and founded the
village upon it, to which he gave the name of
Newton- Stewart. About 1778, the superio-
rity of the village and estate fell into the hands
of William Douglas, Esq. the same who was
the proprietor of the village of Castle- Douglas.
Through his encouragement to manufactures,
&c its population has been greatly increased,
it was also created a burgh of barony, un-
der the name of Newton-Douglas, but it has
since resumed its original name. About fifty
years ago, all the houses consisted of one sto-
rey, and were covered with thatch ; but more
than the half of them are now two storeys in
height, and slated. The town consists princi-
pally of one long street, in the centre of which
is the tolbooth, which is the chief ornament of
the town. The bridge across the Cree, erect-
ed of late years by Mr. Mathieson of Stran-
raer, connecting the main with the lesser por-
tion of the town, is also a highly ornamental
structure. At the upper extremity of the
smaller portion, there is a large moat-hill, where
David Graham, brother to Claverhouse, and
superior of this district, used to administer jus-
tice immediately before the Revolution. Be-
sides the established church, there is a Relief

NEWTON. UP 'ON. AYR.

815

and Cameronian meeting-house. There is a
masonic lodge, a reading and coffee-room, a
Sabbath School. An extensive brewery is
established, and also a branch of the British
Linen Company's Bank. The manufacture of
cotton is carried on to a considerable extent,
and there are several tan-works. A weekly
market is held on Wednesday ; and there are
a number of cattle fairs throughout the year. —
Population in 1821, 2000.

NEWTYLE, a parish in the south-west-
ern part of Forfarshire, extending two miles in
length, by one and three quarters in breadth,
including a portion of the Sidlaw hills, from
which the lands decline into the rich flat ex-
posure of Strathmore. The small village of
Newtyle, situated on the road from Dundee to
Meigle, three miles from the latter, is inhabit-
ed chiefly by weavers. Near the village are
the ruins of the old castle of Hatton, built in
1575 by Lawrence, Lord Oliphant, and near
these ruins are some vestiges of a more ancient
castle. — Population in 1821, 796.

NEWTON-UPON-AYR, a small parish
in Ayrshire, lying on the right bank of the
river Ayr at its mouth, extending one and a half
miles in length, by one in breadth. It was de-
tached from Prestwick, and erected into a se-
parate parish in 1779.

1 Newton- upon- Ayr, a town of considerable
antiquity, and a burgh of comprehensive juris-
diction, in the above parish, situated on the
right or north bank of the river Ayr, and the
shore of the firth of Clyde, opposite the town
of Ayr, which lies on the left bank of the
stream. By whom Newton-upon-Ayr was
erected is unknown, as the original charters are
lost ; but tradition says that Robert I. who, in
his old age, was seized with a scrofulous or le-
prous disorder, granted Newton and Prestwick
the privileges they now enjoy, in consideration
of the kindness shown him upon the occasion
of his illness. The oldest paper in the cus-
tody of the community of Newton, is dated in
1574, and contains a short precept, directed
to the two bailies of the burgh, empowering
them to exercise authority in the town ; but
there is no signature affixed to it. All the pri-
vileges formerly given to the burgh were re-
newed by James VI. in 1595, and another
charter five years afterwards. In these char-
ters, no mention is made of the internal regu-
lations of the burgh ; but from ancient and
constant usage, its constitution has acquired

certain peculiarities. The number of freemen
or burgesses, is limited to 48, which composes
the community. Each of these freemen pos-
sesses, what is called, a lot or freedom, con-
taining about four acres of arable land; be-
sides the common, on which the burgesses
have an exclusive right to pasture their cattle.
No houses are annexed to these freedoms ; but
every burgess must reside in the burgh, or pos-
sess a house as his property, which he may
let to any of the inhabitants. The commu-
nity meet every two years to elect their ma-
gistrates ; and, at this election, every freeman
has a vote. They choose two bailies, one
treasurer, and six councillors, who have the
management of every thing belonging to the
burgh ; but on urgent occasions, they call
meetings of the community. The accounts of
the treasurer are open to the inspection of
every freeman, and he is accountable to the
community at large. The right of succession
to their freedom is limited. A son succeeds
to his father ; and a widow, not having a son,
enjoys the property of her husband as long as
she lives. But as the female line is excluded,
the lots or freedoms frequently revert to the
town, and are then disposed of to the most
industrious inhabitants of the place, on
their advancing a certain sum of money to
the public fund. The appearance of the
town has been much improved by the erec-
tion of new edifices, and the trade of the
place is increasing. There is a tolerably good
harbour, chiefly employed for the coal trade.
Newton is connected with Ayr by means of
the Old and New bridges, mentioned under the
head Ayr, and with that town some of its
institutions are associated. — Population of the
town and parish in 1821, 4021.

NIB ON, a small pastoral island of Shet-
land, about a mile north of the mainland.

NIGG, a parish in Kincardineshire, situat-
ed at the extreme north-east corner of the
county, bounded by the Dee on the north,
which separates it from Aberdeen, on the east
by the sea, and on the south and west by
Banchory- Davinick. It extends four miles in
length, by two in breadth at the middle. A
third part is arable, the remainder being pas-
ture, or moor, or moss land. The coast is
bold and rocky ; the north-east point, termed
Girdleness, is a remarkable promontory, form-
ing the south side of the estuary of the Dee.
There is a small bay, called the Bay of Nigg, at

816

N I N 1 A N S. (ST.)

the head of which stands the parish church. The
parish contains the fishing village of Torry.
Granite is quarried and exported to a consider-
able extent. Recently there have been various
improvements in the district. — Population in
1821, 1281.

NIGG, a parish in the eastern part of
Ross-shire, of a peninsular form, having the
Moray Firth on the east, and Cromarty Firth
on the south and west. On the north it is
bounded by Fearn. It measures about five
miles in length, and from two to three in
breadth. The surface is level, or rising to-
wards the north in a considerable eminence
called the Hill of Nigg. The district is pro-
ductive, and of an agreeable appearance. The
small village of Nigg lies on the road north-
ward from the ferry across the Cromarty
Firth.— Population in 1821, 1436.

NINIANS (ST.) a large parish in Stir-
lingshire, lying on the south bank of the Forth,
and surrounding the town and small parochial
division of Stirling. It is bounded on the east
by Airth, on the south by Larbert and Duni-
pace, and Kilsyth ; on the west by Fintry and
Gargunnock ; and the river Forth separates it
from Kincardine, Lecropt, Logie, and Alloa
on the north. In extent, the parish measures
eleven miles in length from east to west, by a
breadth of from five to six. Adjoining the
Forth the land is level, and composes a large
portion of the beautiful and productive Carse
of Stirling. South from thence the district
rises in finely cultivated and enclosed fields ;
and after reaching a certain height, a hilly and
muirland district succeeds. Originally this
part of Stirlingshire partook of the character
of a morass in its lower division, and of a for-
est in its upper parts ; but in modern times all
such appearances have ceased, and altogether
it may be taken as one of the most beautiful
and highly productive agricultural districts in
Scotland. It is also now well sheltered and
ornamented by plantations, and exhibits a
variety of excellent country mansions, gardens,
and pleasure-grounds. Through the centre of
the parish flows the rivulet called Bannock-
burn, which gives its name to a populous and
thriving village on its banks, and to the field
of battle so distinguished in the history of the
country. The road from Falkirk to Stirling
passes diagonally through the parish, and on
this thoroughfare are the villages of Bannock-
burn and St Ninians. On the road from

Glasgow to Stirling, which joins this thorough-
fare, there are also some villages. The parish of
St. Ninians has had the fortune or misfortune
to be the scene of three important battles, it
not many others in very early times. The
first of these was the battle of Stirling, fought
on the 13th of September 1297. The Scots
were commanded by Wallace, the English by
Hugh Cressingham, and John Earl of Surrey
and Sussex. The defeat of the English in-
vading army was effected near the north bank
of the Forth, and completed at the Torwood,
a forest, the only part of which now remaining
is in the parish of Larbert and Dunipace. The
battle of Bannockburn, already noticed under
the head Bannockburn, was fought on the 24th
of June, 1314, near the present village of that
name. The third and last conflict took place
on the 11th of June, 1483, and was called the
battle of Stirling _or Sauchieburn. It was
fought on a tract of ground called Little Car-
glom, on the east side of the small brook of
Sauchieburn, about two miles east from Stir-
ling, and about one mile from the field of
Bannockburn. Beaton's mill, the house where
James III. was put to death, is still standing.
It has been somewhat modernized, being con-
verted from a mill into a dwelling-house ; it
stands about fifty yards east of the road from
Glasgow to Stirling, in the close neighbour-
hood of some newly erected mills, which give
the name of Milltown to a village which has
arisen at the place.

Ninians, (St.) a considerable village, of an
ancient appearance, in the above parish, situat-
ed on the road from Falkirk to Stirling and
from Glasgow to Stirling, being distant from
the latter only one mile and a quarter. It
consists of one long street, not very wide, and
of which most of the houses are curious and
old fashioned. Upon many of these are dates of
considerable antiquity, and some of them have
stones, upon which the implements employed
in the trade of the original proprietor are gro-
tesquely represented. On one are observed a
smith's tools, including a horse-shoe, and a few
nails. Upon another, there were carved, with
great felicity, though with little regard to
grouping, all the articles that could be found
in an old Scottish house of entertainment,—
not forgetting a pint-stoup shaped precisely
like the pewter measures still used in low pub-
lic houses, with " the bowl," which is so
proverbial for its aptitude to the thumb of a

NORTH M AVE N.

817

true toper. Many of the houses of St. Ninians
arc white-washed, which gives a more lively
appearance to the place. The steeple of the
town is a distinguished curiosity. The
church formerly attached to this fabric be-
ing used as a powder-magazine by the High-
landers, in 1746, was accidently blown up,
immediately before their retreat to the north.
Though scarcely a stone of the body of the
church was left upon another, the steeple re-
mained uninjured. Several of the Highland-
ers were killed, along with some of the coun-
try people ; and the noise produced by the ex-
plosion was heard at Linlithgow in one direc-
tion, and at Dumblane in another. St. Nin-
ans derives its name from the patron saint of
the ancient parish church. This personage
was born in Galloway about the year 360, and
died in 432, leaving behind him a greater fame
for sanctity than any other Scottish saint in
the calendar. His Irish name was St- Ring-
an, and under this or the former title, he has
had innumerable churches, chapels, and cells,
or kite, dedicated to him over the whole of
Scotland. The village of St. Ninians has
long beer famed for the extent of its manufac-
ture of nails, which, with those made in the
adjacent villages, are considered to be much
better than the produce of the English manu-
factories. The tanning of leather is also
carried on to a considerable extent. The
other staple trade of the parish is the manufac-
turing of carpets, tartans, and other stuffs.
Besides the Established Church there is a
Relief Chapel. — The population of the village
of St Ninians, in 1821, was 4000 ; including
the parish and all its villages, 8274.

NIORT, an islet of Argyleshire, in the
Sound of Mull, near the island of Kerrera.

NISBET, a small village in the parish of
Pencaitland, Haddingtonshire.

NITH, a considerable river of Dumfries-
shire, partly belonging to Ayrshire. It ori-
ginates in the latter county, in the parish of
Dalmellington ; and by the junction of a variety
of small tributaries, assumes the appearance of
a river at New Cumnock, where it receives
the Afton on its right bank. It then pursues
an easterly course, and at Corsincon — a
hill sung by Burns — enters Dumfries- shire.
Pursuing a more winding course towards the
south-east, it receives in its passage many rivers
and burns, particularly the Euchan, opposite
Sanquhar Castle ; the Minnick, about a mile

below that ; the Canon, a little below Carron
Bridge ; the Cample, at Kirkbog ; the Scarr,
at the church of Keir ; and the Cluden, at Lin-
cluden ; and falls into the Solway Firth about
three miles below the town of Dumfries,
and its estuary forms the harbour of that
town. The length of its course, in a direct
line, is upwards of fifty miles ; but, including
its windings, its course cannot be much less
than a hundred. The vale through which the
Nith flows receives the popular appellation of
Nithsdale, by which this district of Dumfries-
shire is known. The scenery throughout is
pleasing, and often very beautiful. Nithsdale
formerly gave the title of earl to the family of
Maxwell, attainted for their accession to the
insurrection of 1715.

NOCHTIE, a small river in the parish of
Strathdon, Aberdeenshire, falling into the
Don a few miles from its source.

NODESDALE, a river in the parish of
Largs, Ayrshire, falling into the firth of
Clyde, a short way north from the village of
Largs.

NORAN, or NORIN, a clear and rapid
stream in Forfarshire, rising in the parish of
Tannadice, emptying itself into the South
Esk.

NORRIESTOWN, a village in the wes-
tern division of the parish of Kincardine,
Perthshire, now joined to the village of Thorn-
hill, lying at the distance of ten miles west
from Stirling, six south-east of Callander, and
three north of Kippen.

NORTH BERWICK. See Berwick.
(North)

NORTH FERRY, OR NORTH
QUEENSFERRY. See Queensferry.
(North)

NORTHMAVEN, a parish in Shetland,
occupying a peninsulated tract of land on the
north-west of the mainland. It is united to
the parish of Delting by a narrow isthmus, one
hundred yards broad at high water, and so low
that at spring tides it is almost covered by the
sea. On the west side of the isthmus is Isles-
burgh voe — a part of St. Magnus' bay, and on
the east side is Hagraseter voe. From this
narrow neck of land the ground rises, and the
shore around the parish is nearly perpendicular,
but intersected by many voes or inlets of the
sea, which afford safe harbours for the fishing
boats. The district extends about twenty
miles in length, by twelve in breadth at the
5 M

018

OBAN.

fouth end, tapering to a point on the north.
From near the centre of this wild territory
rises Rona's hill, to a height of 3944 feet
ahove the level of the sea. — Population in
1821, 2264.

NOSS, a small island of Shetland, lying on
the east side of the island of Bressay ; it is of a
fertile nature. On its east side is a promon-
tory called Noss-Head.

NOSS-HEAD, a promontory on the east
side of Caithness, four miles north from Wick,
on the south side of Sinclair bay.

NUNGATE, a suburb of Haddington.
See Haddington.

NUNS (ISLE OF), an islet adjacent to
Icolmkill.

OATHLAW, a parish at the centre of
Forfarshire, extending five miles in length,
and about two in breadth, bounded on the
north by Tannadice, Aberlemno on the east,
and with Rescobie on the south, and Kiirie-
muir on the west. The general appearance
of the country is flat, or rising toward the
south to the summit of the hill of Finhaven.
The burn of Lemno runs through the parish
to join the South Esk, which intersects the
district on the east. — Population in 1821, 405.

OBAN, a modern small town in Argyle-
shire, in the parish of Kilmore, enjoying a se-
cluded and beautiful situation on the west
coast of the district of Mid Lorn, at the dis-
tance of thirty-two miles west-north-west of
Inverary, ninety-two from Glasgow, and 1 36
from Edinburgh. It lies at the head of a fine
bay, formed by the island of Kerrera in front,
having an entrance at each end, but it ap-
pears landlocked on the north by the island
of Lismore, lying in this direction about two
leagues from the town. The bay of Oban is
from twelve to twenty-four fathoms deep, is
well sheltered by lofty mountains, and is large
enough to contain upwards of five hundred sail
of merchantmen. The town has risen ra-
pidly from a small beginning. It is mentioned
that the first house of any consequence was
built in the year 1713, by a trading company
belonging to Renfrew, who used it as a store-
house ; Oban, even at that time, being consi-
dered one of the most convenient stations for
trade on the west coast of Argyleshire. Dur-
ing last century it was constituted one of the
ports of the custom-house ; and when, from
the excellent bay, and the vicinity of a popu-
lous country, a little trade began to be carried
on, the attention of the Duke of Argyle, Mr.
Campbell of Dunstaffnage, and other persons
35.

who possessed property around the village,
was aroused, and they granted building leases
to a considerable extent; since which time
the buildings have annually increased. It
was particularly indebted to two brothers of
the name of Stevenson, who settled in it in
1778, and by different branches of traffic, not
only acquired handsome fortunes for them-
selves, but highly promoted the prosperity of
the neighbouring country. Oban is admirably
situated for trade, and is in a particular manner
adapted for a fishing station. But these are
inferior considerations to the great national ad-
vantages that might be derived from its excel-
lent harbour and road. It is formed by nature,
and by the combination of many favourable
circumstances, for being a principal harbour,
a place of trade, and a central market for the
Western Highlands, and middle district of the
Western Isles. It lies in the tract of coasting
vessels passing from north to south through the
Sound of Mull, and being situated near the
entrance of the great Loch Linnhe, has a com-
munication with an extensive range of country.
By the opening of the Caledonian Canal, Oban
has been brought further into notice, and is
now touched by steam vessels plying between
Glasgow or Greenock, and Inverness, Mull,
StafFa, and Skye. The town is divided by a
small river. In the eastern division is a small
handsome church, erected in 1821, as a chapel
of ease to the parish. In the main street is
an extensive and commodious inn. In a com-
manding situation, and pleasantly overlooking
the bay, stands the custom-house, erected in
1763. The imports of Oban consist chiefly
of merchandise from Glasgow and Liverpool ;
the principal exports are pig iron, wool, kelp,
fish, and great quantities of slates from the
district of Easdale. Oban is considereJ as

OBAN.

8 J 3

ranking among the most healthy and most
pleasing summer retreats in the Highlands.
Its situation for bathing is extremely good,
and it possesses every accommodation for the
convenience of strangers. The markets are
well supplied with provisions at a remarkably
low rate. The municipal government of the
town is vested in a provost, two bailies, and
four councillors. Two fairs are held annually.
The surrounding country is rocky and rude,
without beauty ; but the soil is fertile. The
most interesting object near Oban is the castle
of Dunolly, properly Dun Olave, named from
an early descendant of Somerlid ; the chief
residence of the Macdougalls, Lords of Lorn,
and still appertaining to a family which, owing
to a succession of calamities, fell from the high
elevation on which, as the direct descendants
of Somerlid, it had been placed together with
the Lord of the Isles. After the losses, de-
feats, and forfeitures which the Macdougalls
of Dunolly experienced in consequence of the
Bruce and Baliol contests, this castle still re-
mained their property. In 1715, it was, how-
ever, at length forfeited, but was afterwards
restored ; the chief having remained quiet dur-
ing the troubles of 1745. The castle is situ-
ated north-west from the town, and forms a
very interesting object on entering the harbour
from the north. It is rendered picturesque,
more by the form and elevation of the knoll
on which it stands, than by any thing in its
own architecture, which is rude without mag-
nificence of style or dimension. As an an-
cient dwelling, the extent has not been inconsi-
derable. A rivulet and some trees on the land
side, confer on it a degree of beauty that
would, even now, make it a desirable residence,
and the views from it, like those from Ker-
rera and Lismore, are extremely beautiful.
The other objects of modern attraction to
visitors of Oban are the ruined castle of,Dun-
staffnage, and the site of the fabulous city of
Beregonium, both in the neighbourhood, and
both noticed in this work under their appro-
priate heads. — In 1821 the population of Oban
was 1500.

OCHIL HILLS, a range of mountains,
originating in the parish of Dumblane in the
southern part of Perthshire, and stretching for
many miles in a north-easterly direction across
the head of the peninsula of Fife, and bound-
ing it from the lower part of Strathearn. A
continuation of these hills seems to go down

the north side of Fife from Strathearn to the
north-east corner of the county. The whole
are pastoral or very partially cultivated up their
sides, and are of a greener appearance than the
Highland mountains. They rise in general
very abruptly from the valley, and form a fine
defence against the north winds to the culti-
vated district lying between them and the
Forth. The south side of the Ochils, in the
western part of the county, is very steep, and
in some places almost perpendicular. The
most southerly of all the Ochils is one called
Demyat, in the parish of Logie, and Ben-
cleugh, otherwise called the hill of Alva, in
the parish of Tillicoultry. Demyat advances a
little into the plain, and is rocky and almost
perpendicular on its south side. The height
is 1345 feet, and from its summit is obtained
a splendid view of the carses of Stirling and
Falkirk, with the Forth meandering through
them. Bencleugh shoots up into a tall rocky
point, and is 2450 feet in height. The Ochil
mountains abound in valuable mineral ores.

OCHILTREE, a parish at the centre o,
Ayrshire in the district of Kyle; extending
about six miles *rom north to south, and about
five miles from east to west ; bounded by Coyl-
ston on the west, and Cumnock on the east.
The face of the parish is pretty level, undu-
lated by gently rising hillocks, but towards the
south it swells into higher ridges. The dis-
trict is now well cultivated, enclosed and
planted. The Lugar, running to the north-
west, bounds the parish for about two miles,
and a little farther down forms a junction with
the river Ayr. The church and village of
Ochiltree lie about eleven miles eastward from
the town of Ayr, on the south side of the
Lugar. It formerly gave a baron's title to a
branch of the family of Stewart. In the dis-
trict are the ruins of several old castles, the
property of the Earl of Glencairn Popula-
tion in 1821, 1573.

OICH (LOCH), a beautiful lake in In-
verness-shire, in the middle of the chain of
lakes lying in the great valley, and now form-
ing the Caledonian Canal. Loch Oich is
about four miles long ; its banks slope gently to
the water, forming a number of beautiful bays.
It possesses several islets, mostly covered with
wood. It receives the waters of Loch Garry
on its north side.

OICH RIVER, rising from the north-
eastern extremity of the above small hike,

820

OLDHAMSTOCKS.

discharges itself, after a course of five miles,
into Loch Ness. Near its point of junction
the Caledonian Canal and the small river
Tarff also join Loch Ness, and on a pleasing
peninsula at this spot stands Fort- Augustus.

OICKEL, a river in the southern part of
Sutherlandshire, rising partly in Assynt parish,
and partly in Criech, and flowing in a south-
easterly direction a course of forty miles ; it
forms the boundary between Sutherland and
Ross-shire, and falls into the Kyle of Suther-
land, or inner part of the Dornoch Firth. Be-
fore its junction with this firth, it receives
the waters of Loch Shin. The vale through
which it flows is partly wooded, and receives
the name of Strath Oickel.

OLA, (ST.) a parish in Orkney, united to
Kirkwall. See Kirkwall and St. Ola.

OLDERNAY, a small island on the west
coast of Sutherlandshire, belonging to the pa-
rish of Assynt, and lying on the south side of
Loch Assynt. The inlet on the south side of
the island is called Oldernay Bay.

OLDHAMSTOCKS, a parish in Had-
dingtonshire, lying at its eastern extremity, and
having a small portion belonging to Berwick-
shire, extending between seven and eight miles
in length, by a breadth of about two miles.
The large parish of Innerwick bounds it on the
north-west, west, and part of the south.
Cockburnspath lies on the east. The district
rises on its north-east quarter from the Ger-
man Ocean, and is composed of low swelling
elevations, gradually rising above each other as
the distance from the shore increases. In its
inner extremity the parish includes part of the
Lammermoor hills, which are entirely pastoral.
In the lower division the country is well en-
closed, cultivated, and planted. The boundary
with Berwickshire is for some length the
Dean Burn, a rivulet flowing through a roman-
tic woody dale, and crossed by a bridge carry-
ing over the main road from London to Edin-
burgh. A short way above this bridge, and on
the Haddingtonshire side of the burn, stands
Dunglass, the seat of Sir James Hall, Bart.,
which occupies the site of an ancient fortlet of
the same name. Dunglass castle is occasional-
ly noticed in Scottish history. It was origin-
ally one of the many strongholds of the Earls
of Home, and still gives its title to Lord Dun-
glass. After the attainder and execution of
Lord Home in 1516, it appears occasionally to

have been held by the Douglasses ; for, accord-
ing to Patten, it was held by George Douglas
during the expedition of Somerset in 1548.
Sir George Douglas, who was slain at the en-
suing battle of Pinkie, was brother to the
Earl of Angus, who, after his banishment
from the court, had retired to the borders. It
was rendered up peacefully to Somerset, by its
keepers, and was next day undermined and de-
stroyed. It was, however, again built and en-
larged in a manner surpassing its ancient bear-
ing; for, in 1603, it was sufficient to lodge
James VI. and his whole retinue, when on his
journey to London ; and on his return, in
1617, he was again welcomed by the Musoe
Dunglasides. In 1640, the Earl of Hadding-
ton, and several of the neighbouring gentlemen,
who had joined the Covenanters, took posses-
sion of Dunglass Castle, for the purpose of
watching the garrison of Berwick. While
here, his lordship received a letter from Gene-
ral Leslie, and was standing in the court- yard
reading it to the company, when the powder-
magazine blew up, and one of the side walls
falling, overwhelmed his lordship and' his au-
ditors, who all perished in the ruins. Scott of
Scotstarvet states that a report prevailed, that
the deed was effected by a faithless page, who
having thrust a hot iron into a barrel of gun-
powder, perished with the rest. The present
house is an elegant modern edifice. The vil-
lage and church of Oldhamstocks stand about
two miles south from the main thoroughfare
through the parish. The ancient name of the
district was Aldhamstoks, a Saxon compound
signifying " the place of the old residence." —
Population in 1821, 725.

OLRICK, a parish in the county of Caith-
ness, lying on the south side of Dunnet Bay ;
it is of a square form, being about four miles
each way; bounded by Dunnet on the east,
Bower on the south, and Thurso on the west.
The surface is generally level ; a great part of
it is cultivated, and the rest is fit for pasture.
On the west side of the parish are Olrick
and Durran hills. In the low ground east
from the latter is the Lake of Durran, mea-
suring three miles in circumference, its wa-
ters being emitted by a small river to Dun-
net Bay. On the mouth of this stream is a
modern village called Castletown, lying on the
road from Thurso to the inn of Huna. — Po-
pulation in 1821, 1098.

ORKNEY ISLANDS.

821

OP SAY, an islet in the Sound of Harris.
ORANSAY, a small island on the west
coast of Skye, peninsulated at low water.

ORBANSAY, an islet of the Hebrides,
lying between Barra and South Uist.

ORD, an enormous mountain, or rather
range of mountains, at the south-eastern extre-
mity of Caithness, which county it separates
from Sutherlandshire. Over this barrier it
was till lately' almost impossible to pass, either
on horseback or on foot, but this is now
obviated by a capital post-road. The Ord, (a
word in Gaelic signifying a height,) with its
huge ramifications, occupies about nine or ten
miles of the coast ; and till this road was cut,
the reader may easily conceive what a barrier
it formerly was between the two counties, and
how much more secluded Caithness was than
Sutherland. The men of Caithness appeared
in great strength at Flodden, and were cut off
almost to a man : on which account, it has
since been held unlucky to cross the Ord on a
Friday, that having been the day on which the
unfortunate band departed from their country
never to return.

ORD, a river in the Isle of Skye.
ORD IE, (LOCH) a small lake in the
parish of Dunkeld, Perthshire.

ORDIE, a small river in Perthshire, rising
in the parish of Auchtergaven, after running
nearly south-east for some miles, it falls into
the Tay above Luncarty.

ORDIQUHILL, a parish in Banffshire,
extending upwards of four miles in length, by
from one and a half to two and a half in
breadth, bounded by Fordyce on the west, and
along with Boyndie on the north, and Mar-
noch on the south. About two-thirds are
arable, and there are now some fine planta-
tions.— Population in 1821, 506.

ORKNEY ISLANDS, or ORCADES,
a group of islands situated at the northern ex-
tremity of Scotland, from which they are se-
parated by the strait of the sea called the
Pentland Firth, and lying between the parallels
of 58° 44' and 59" 25' north lat., and 0° 19'
east, and 0° 17' west long. Including thirty-
eight uninhabited islets, or holms, they amount
to sixty-seven in number, and are scattered
over a space of about forty-five geographical
miles in length, by twenty-five in breadth.
The following are the twenty-nine inhabited
islands: — Pomona or Mainland, Lambholm,
Barray, South Ronaldshay, Swaney, Pentland

Skerry, Flota, Cava, Fara, Rassa, "Walls, Hoy,
Graemsay, Damsay, Gairsay, Weir, Enhallow,
Rousay, Egilshay, Westray, Papa-Westray,
North Ronaldshay, Sanday, Eday, Fairay,
Stronsay, Papa Stronsay, Shapinshay, and
Copinshay. The general aspect of the Ork-
ney Islands is not very diversified. With the
exception of Hoy and Rousay, none of them
deserve to be called mountainous. The western
division of Pomona, Eday, and a part of West-
ray, and South Ronaldshay, are the only parts
of the group which can be considered hilly.
The general surface of the rest is low and un-
dulating, in some instances green or cultivated
to a considerable extent, especially along the
shores, but in general they present a mono-
tonous surface of heath or coarse pasture, here
and there interspersed with spots of cultivated
land, destitute of trees, or even of tall shrubs,
except in the gardens of a few gentlemen in
the neighbourhood of Kirkwall. The coasts
are often indented by spacious and secure havens,
where the largest ships may anchor ; sometimes
they slope gradually to the water, but often
they are girt with stupendous cliffs, especially
where exposed to the fury of the western
ocean. The mixture of fantastic precipices,
with basins of transparent water, produces a
highly picturesque effect, though in this respect
the Orkneys are far inferior to the Shetland
Islands. The histoiy of the Orkney Islands
is thus condensed from the best authorities, by
the writer of an able article on the subject in
the Edinburgh Encyclopaedia : — " The earliest
inhabitants of these islands appear to have
been Picts, a tribe originally Scandinavian,
who, at an unknown period before the Chris-
tian era, established themselves in the north-
ern and western parts of Scotland. Diodorus
Siculus mentions Cape Orcas as one of the
extremities of Britain ; and the Orcades are
first named in the second century by Pompon-
ius Mela, who states their number at thirty.
Pliny augments them to forty ; but Ptolemy
makes them thirty; differences which are easily
reconciled, by supposing that the Roman na-
turalist included all the considerable islands,
while the other writers attended only to those in-
habited. Tacitus asserts that the Orcades were
discovered and subdued by Agricola, which
implies that they were then inhabited; yet
Solinus, at a subsequent period, says of them,
' vacant homines;' but little reliance on this
subject can be placed on an author who states

8*22

ORKNEY ISLANDS.

their number at three. The origin of the name
is undoubtedly Teutonic, and is probably deriv-
ed from Orkin, a large marine animal which
has been applied both to whales and seals ;
Orkney therefore means, land of whales or of
seals. The Orcades seem to have been es-
teemed of considerable importance in the time
of Constantine, as they are especially men-
tioned, with Gaul and Britain, as the patri-
mony of his youngest son. Little is known
of the Orcades from that time until the con-
vulsions in Norway, which ended in the eleva-
tion of Harold the Fair- Haired to the undi-
vided sovereignty of that country. The dis-
contented chiefs sought for new settlements in
the Orkneys, in the Hebrides, and even in
Iceland, whence they issued in piratical fleets
to harass and plunder the coasts of his king-
dom. Harold pursued them, and added the
Western Isles and Orkney to his dominions ;
and the management of the latter was in-
trusted to Rognovald or Ronald, Count of
Merca, the father of Rolf or Rollo, the suc-
cessful invader of Normandy, and the great-
grandfather of William the Conqueror. From
this distinguished family sprung the ancient
Scandinavian jarls or earls of Orkney, a race
of hardy and intrepid reguli, who affected, and
generally maintained, the character of indepen-
dent princes. The habits of the dark ages
rendered plundering excursions, and the war-
fare of petty chiefs, honourable pursuits. The
earls of Orkney subdued, and for a long period
maintained, possession of Caithness and Suth-
erland, and made their power to be felt in
Ross-shire, Moray, and various parts of the
western coasts of Scotland. There are several
instances of their descents on Ireland ; and the
fall of Sigurd II. in the battle of Clontarf,
near Dublin, is celebrated in a wild ode, which
has been translated by Gray under the title of
The Fatal Sisters. In the Norwegian expedi-
tions against England and Scotland, the earls
occasionally bore a share ; and their followers
formed part of those predatory hosts, who
were confounded under the general name of
Danes, and recognised as the scourges of Britain.
That these earls were potent, is obvious from
their intermarriages, not only with the daughters
of the petty kings of Ireland, but with the royal
families of Norway and Scotland. Their hosts
in all probability were not wholly derived from
their hereditary dominions ; but when a sea king
planned an expedition, he was probably joined

by many independent adventurers, allured by
the prospect of war and plunder. The de-
pendance of Orkney on the crown of Norway
appears in general to have been little more
than nominal, unless when the reigning mon-
arch came to claim the allegiance of the earls ;
but a short time before the cession to Scot-
. land, the Orkney earls had regular investiture
from the king of Norway. The early history
of Orkney is detailed at length in the Orkney-
inga Saga, and in Torfoeus. The Orcades of
the latter were compiled by him from the an-
cient Sagas, and such documents as the Danish
records could furnish. In this, as in other
works, he sustains the character of a faithful
historian ; and the facts which he details are
probably as authentic as the early records of
any portion of the British empire, while he
has enabled us to correct several errors in the
commonly received account of the affairs of
Scotland. We must refer the reader to the
original work, or to the abridgment of it in
Dr. Barry's history, where the succession of
the Scandinavian earls of Orkney is carried
down from a. d. 922 to about 1325, when the
direct line failed, and the earldom passed to a
collateral branch in Malis, earl of Strathearne,
and afterwards into the family of St. Clair,
about 1379. In the year 1468, Orkney and
Shetland were impignorated to James III. of
Scotland, as a portion of the dowry of his
Danish queen. The sum for which Orkney
was pledged was 60,000 florins, and it was re-
deemable on the repayment of that sum. The
islands, however, were formally annexed to
the crown of Scotland by that monarch ; and
the earldom having been purchased from the
St. Clair family by the government, the crown
lands were at first leased by, and afterwards
conferred upon court favourites. This depar-
ture from the wise resolution of James III.
has been the source of many grievances to
Orkney and Shetland. Queen Mary alienated
them in favour of her natural brother, Lord
Robert Stewart; and though the grant was
several times recalled, he was at length invest-
ed with the earldom of Orkney, and all the
crown lands. He exchanged his temporalities
as abbot of Holyrood with the bishop of Ork-
ney ; and having obtained the right of sum-
moning and adjourning the Great Fowde
Court, he became most absolute master of the
country. This more than regal power was
grossly abused. Most of the lands in Orkney

ORKNEY ISLANDS.

823

were held by udal, or allodial tenure. Udal
lands were free of all taxes to the crown, and
the udaller did not acknowledge himself the vas-
sal of any lord superior. Udal possessions
could not be alienated, except by what was
called a shynde bill, obtained with the consent
,f all heirs, in the Fowde Court. They were
equally divided, at the death of the posses-
sor, among all his children, and no fine was
levied on the entry of heirs. It was the
great object of the earls of the Stewart
family to destroy this system, and intro-
duce feudal tenures into Orkney. The courts
of justice were perverted by the introduction
of the earl's creatures ; the refractory Udallers
were overawed and silenced by a licentious
soldiery retained by the earl ; and the posses-
sion of the temporalities of the bishopric af-
forded a pretext for exacting fines from those
landholders who fell under church censure.
By these means much landed property fell in-
to the hands of the earl, and of his son and
successor, Patrick Stewart ; and many of the
proprietors were terrified into acknowledging
themselves the vassals, and taking out charters
of the earls. The rents of the earldom were
chiefly paid in kind ; and, under those two
earls, the weights used in the country were
twice arbitrarily altered in value. The mark
was originally eight ounces, and the lispund
twenty-four marks, or twelve pounds. Robert
raised the mark to twelve ounces, and conse-
quently the lispund to fifteen pounds, and Pa-
trick still further increased them respectively
to twelve ounces and eighteen pounds. Multi-
plied oppressions of the inhabitants produced
such representations to the throne, that earl
Robert was recalled ; and Earl Patrick suffer-
ed a long imprisonment, which only ended in
his death. The crimes of this unfortunate
man were probably exaggerated by his enemies
at court ; and there can now be little doubt,
that, however great his injustice to the people
of Orkney had been, his execution at Edin-
burgh, in 1612, was a foul judicial murder, in-
stigated by those who longed to possess his
inheritance. There seems, however, little
foundation for the surmise that has been drawn
in his favour, from the circumstance of five
hundred persons aiding his son the bastard of
Orkney, to support the claims of his imprison-
ed father. These probably were the military
retainers of the family, who would anxiously
seek every opportunity of regaining lost conse ■

quence. The injustice to the islands, how-
ever, was not confined to the earls. The
lands were not immediately declared to be
forfeited on the attainder of the earl, under the
pretext that it might injure those who had
taken charters from him. This suggestion
alarmed the Orkney proprietors into the
wished-for measure of taking out charters
from the crown in the usual feudal form.
This completed the ruin of the Udal tenures ;
and the country learned with grief and astonish-
ment, that on the annexation of the Orkneys
to the crown " for ever," the rental of the
Earl Patrick was declared to be the rule for
the future ; and no surrender was made 01
lands that had been unlawfully seized by the
last earls. The revenues of the crown were
for some time managed by commissioners who
oppressed the people. In 1643, Charles I.
granted them to Lord Morton ; but they were
redeemable on the liquidation of an alleged
debt of L. 30,000. His son mortgaged them
to assist Charles, and they were confiscated by
Cromwell. Charles II. again granted the
islands to the Morton family, and, under the
arbitraiy control of Lord Morton's chamber-
lain, Douglas of Spynie, the Fowde Court
was totally abolished; but, in 1669, Orkney
and Shetland were again " for ever" annexed
by act of parliament to the domains of the
crown. In 1707, Queen Anne once more
alienated them, with a reserved rent of L.500
a-year, to James, Earl of Morton, who was
created admiral, and hereditaiy steward and
justiciary over them. At that time the
crown revenues were computed at L.3000
sterling per annum ; yet Lord Morton, in
1742, had sufficient interest to get an act of
parliament, declaring them his property irre-
deemably, on the pretext that the rents did
not equal the interest of the alleged mortgage.
Within five years he received L.7500, as a
compensation for his hereditary jurisdiction ;
and, in 1776, he sold the estate to Sir
Lawrence Dundas for L.60,000. Before
this last transaction, the Orkney proprietors
made a judicial attempt to have their griev-
ances redressed, as far as related to the in-
crease of weights ; but, after a long law-suit,
they failed in their object. Soon after the
last sale, Sir Lawrence Dundas, conceiving
himself entitled to powers considerably beyond
those exercised by Lord Morton, instituted an
expensive law-suit, in which he was finally

824

ORKNEY ISLANDS.

defeated. The islands have since remained in
the family of his descendant, Lord Dundas."
The islands of Orkney and Shetland form
one stewartry or county, under the jurisdiction
of one sheriff-depute and two sheriff- substi-
tutes. The Orkneys are divided into eighteen
parochial districts, some so large and discon-
nected as to be too much for single ministerial
charges. The whole islands have been esti-
mated at 150,000 square acres ; of these there
were at no distant date 90,000 in uncultivated
commons, 30,000 in field pastures and mea-
dow, 24,000 land in tillage, 4000 covered with
fresh water lakes, and 2000 occupied by
buildings and gardens. The ancient rude
modes of cultivation are now abandoned, and
the implements of husbandry have been consi-
derably improved, but much of the land under
tillage is not regularly fenced nor divided into
separate fields. The spirit of improvement is
now generally diffused over the islands, and
regular enclosures are becoming more fre-
quent. The example of a few resident pro-
prietors and enterprising farmers has shewn
the advantage of turnip husbandry, of the cul-
tivation of artificial grasses, and of a proper
rotation of crops, and they are slowly followed
by the smaller farmers. The grain almost
exclusively cultivated in Orkney is either
oats and beans, or an inferior sort of bar-
ley. The frequent occurrence of gales in
autumn, the danger of blights from the spray
of the sea, and the general humidity of the
climate, render Orkney less favourable for the
cultivation of grain than for the rearing of
black cattle and sheep, for which the peculiar
mildness of the winter, in a country where
frost is rarely of three or four days continu-
ance, is extremely well adapted. This ad-
vantageous branch of rural economy, it is said,
would probably have become general in Ork-
ney, but for the peculiar tenure in which the
lands are now held. Most of the proprietors
hold their estates, subject to most enormows
feu-duties, payable in kind to the lord superior.
In many cases, these are so extravagantly
high, that the lands would long ago have fallen
into the hands of the superior, but for the for-
tunate discovery of the value of the kelp pro-
duced on the shores. In many places this
has hitherto formed the sole value of an Ork-
ney estate to the proprietor ; the feu-duty
swallowing up all the rest. In all likelihood
the new legislative enactments regarding for-

eign barilla will totally derange this species of
holding, and seriously injure the population of
the islands, who have been bred up to a de-
pendence on the manufacture and sale of kelp.
Besides this staple article, the manufactures of
Orkney have been spun flax and linen cloth.
Straw plaiting was introduced about thirty
years since, and it has been attended with a
great, but fluctuating, degree of success.
Some years it has been known to bring
L. 20,000 into the country; but latterly the
manufacture is understood to have diminished
in amount, and it has been supposed prejudicial
to the morals of young persons, large numbers
of whom it congregates together. There are
about fifty registered vessels belonging to
Orkney, measuring at least 3000 tons. Be-
sides these, the touching of the English and
Scotch whale vessels is productive of consider-
able advantage to the ports. Fishing in the
adjacent seas has been singularly neglected in
Orkney, and is now carried on on a scale not
worth mentioning, except under the auspices of
fishing smacks from London. Orkney derives
some advantage from the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany's trade ; the ships touching at Stromness,
and carrying away a number of seamen annu-
ally. A staple export article from the coun-
try is bear or coarse barley and oatmeal.
From two to three thousand dozens of rab-
bit skins are also exported. The geology
of Orkney is singularly meagre and unin-
teresting ; all the islands, with slight ex-
ception, consisting of horizontal, or slightly
inclined strata of sandstone, flag, and a species
of slaty clay, occasionally intermixed with
thick beds of red and grey sandstone, and in a
few places containing beds of limestone, with
some traces of marine remains. The Orkney
islands abound in the significant remains of the
Picts or other primitive people, in the shape
of rude subterranean and other structures, and
in the emblems of druidic worship. Of the
latter none have acquired such celebrity hi the
estimation of antiquaries, as the Stones of
Stennis, being the remains of an ancient place
of assembly, or temple, second only to the stu-
pendous monuments on Salisbury plain. The
Stones of Stennis or Stenhouse, consist of two
groupes of rude pillars, formed of single stones
placed perpendicularly in the earth. On a
slight elevation on the western side of a lake
in the parish of Firth and Stennis, on the
mainland, stand the largest of these, arranged

ORKNEY ISLANDS.

825

in a circle 300 feet in diameter. When entire,
it appears to have consisted of thirty-five up-
right stones, thirteen only of which now re-
tain their erect position. The distances be-
tween them seem to have been in some places
irregular, and a considerable space on the east
side of the circle appears never to have been
occupied by any ; yet many of them are planted
at regular intervals of seventeen feet. The
tallest of the remaining pillars is sixteen feet
high, and the lowest is ten feet ; their breadth
varies from two and a-half to five feet.
The circle is surrounded by a circular ditch,
which is still twelve feet deep, and twenty
broad. The earth of this excavation seems
to have been carried away, probably to form
four large tumuli at a little distance on the
west and east sides of the circle ; and may also
have contributed to the numerous smaller
mounds which are scattered around. Whe-
ther we are to regard this as a place of assem-
bly, or Ting, or as a temple, it must have been a
work of great labour, and therefore a place of
great consequence in the eyes of the early in-
habitants of Orkney. From the extremity of
the peninsula, a series of large stones forms a
rude sort of bridge, or footpath, across the
narrowest part of the lake. This is also pro-
bably of high antiquity, as it forms the com-
munication between the circle and a semi-
circle of similar construetion, which stands
close to the eastern side of the lake. The
diameter of the latter is ninety-six feet. Only
two of the pillars now remain erect ; but the
circumference is well marked by a surrounding
mound of earth, and the remains of some of
the overthrown stones. The pillars of this
monument are a little larger than those of the
former, measuring seventeen and a-half feet in
height. A third stone, which was lately over-
turned, had two feet only buried in the earth ;
but it had been firmly wedged by several blocks
of stone fixed around its base. This stone
measures eighteen and a half by five feet, and
is twenty-two inches in thickness. In the centre
lies a large horizontal slab, which has been
conjectured to have been an altar for Scandina-
vian sacrifice ; and probably was that which
smoked with the blood of the unhappy Half-
dan, son of Harold, king of Norway, who was
offered up to Odin by the command of earl
Einar I. At a little distance there were two
or three other upright stones, through one of

which was a hole, consecrated from time Im-
memorial by a native superstition, which gave
an inviolable sanctity to every promise made
between those who joined hands through the
magic aperture. The plighted vows of love,
and the rude contracts of the natives, were,
even lately, more firmly sealed by the promise
of Odin, as this ceremony was named. The
awe with which this vow was regarded, its
name, the site, and the worn appearance of the
hole, give colour to the local tradition, that
this was the pillar to which the victims, about
to be offered to the fierce deity of the north,
were bound, preparatory to the horrid sacrifice.
The antiquary will learn with much regret,
that this venerable relic of antiquity, as well as
two of the pillars of the semicircle, were in
1814 wantonly destroyed by the stupid bar-
barity of a neighbouring farmer. The remain-
ing parts of these monuments, especially on
the eastern side of the loch, have a venerable
appearance from their age, and their shaggy
covering of luxuriant tufts of the Lichen
calicaris. There subsists little intercourse
between the islands of Orkney and Shet>
land, notwithstanding their political con-
nexion, and their geographical proximity to each
other. The people of Orkney contemplate
their remote neighbours the Shetlanders, with
nearly the same feeling of strangeness which
we ourselves entertain. Though having a
common origin, from the greater intercourse
with the continent of Britain, the people of
Orkney have less peculiarity of manners than
in Shetland, and of course less to interest the
stranger. The Orcadians speak a dialect more
nearly approaching to English than the Low-
land Scotch, using the phrases thou and thee,
like the English of the seventeenth century.
As in England, moreover, the women attend
funerals. The better classes are noted for
their polished manners. An idea prevails
among themselves, that they are more so than
their neighbours in the south ; and they tell
you that from whatever part of the kingdom a
stranger comes to reside in Orkney, his man-
ners are sure to be improved. It will be com-
prehended that the Orcadians bear no resem-
blance whatever to the Celtic Highlanders, in
language, dress, appearance, or customs.
About a century ago, the chief families in
Orkney and Shetland were the Sinclairs,
Mouats, (originally, de monte alto,) Nivets,
5 N

826

ORWELL.

Chyneys, Stuarts, Grahams, Moodies, Dou-
glases, Honymans, Trails, Baikies, Sutherland^,
Craigies, Youngs, Buchanans, Grottes, &c.
Of some of these chief families, once possessing
large domains, there are now but a few soli-
tary stems. For example, of the Grottes, or
Groats, sprung from a race of proprietors of
that name in Caithness, (and amongwhom John
o' Groat acted so distinguished a part,) only
one now remains. Orkney has given birth to
some individuals who attained to eminence in
science, literature, and the arts. Of these we
may allude to Malcolm Laing, Esq. author of
a well-known history of Scotland, who was
buried in St. Magnus' cathedral, in Kirkwall ;
and Mrs. Brunton, authoress of Self- Control,
Discipline, &c. From very early to recent
times there have been a great variety of tracts,
pamphlets, and volumes written, descriptive of
the Orkney Islands, and illustrative of their
history. Having given a brief description of
the islands and the chief places of note as they
occurred in the present work, we need not
here recapitulate the particulars. The
only two towns in the country are Kirk-
wall, which is the capital, and Stromness, and
betwixt the former and the mainland of Scot-
land, or Houna, near John o' Groat's house, is
a regular ferry for passengers and the mail.
By the census of 1821, Orkney contained
12,469 males, 14,710 females, or 27,179 in-
habitants, which were included in 5746 fami-
lies. Of these there were 3152 families en-
gaged in agriculture, including kelp-making •
1274 families engaged in traffic ; and 1320 fa-
milies which did not fall under any of these
denominations. The population was thus dis-
tributed, 15,062 in Pomona, or the Mainland ;
3995 in the islands on the south, and 8122 in
those on the north.

ORMISTON, a parish in the western
part of Haddingtonshire, extending in an irre-
gular manner about six miles, by a breadth of
from one to three, bounded by Tranent on the
north, Pencaitland on the east, Humbie on
the south, and Cranston in Edinburghshire on
the west. The country is flat, under the best
state of cultivation, and well enclosed and
planted ; possessing altogether an exceedingly
rich and beautiful appearance. The village of
Ormiston lies in the northern part of the
parish, at the distance of three miles south
by east of Tranent, and four east of Pathhead.
It is a neat double row of houses, chiefly oc-
35.

cupied by a population engaged in agricultural
pursuits — Population in 1821, 779.

ORNASAY, an islet on the south side of
the isle of Skye, covering a fine harbour of the
same name, in the parish of Sleat.

ORNAY, an islet of Shetland, lying be-
tween Yell and the Mainland.

ORONSAY, a small island of the He-
brides, connected with Colonsay. — See Co-
lons ay.

ORPHIR, a parish in the Mainland of
Orkney, extending about eight miles along
Scalpa Flow, by a breadth of from two to
three ; bounded by Stennis on the north,
Kirkwall and St. Ola on the east, and the sea
on the south and west. The district partakes
of the usual Orkney character, being wild and
pastoral. The church of Orphir stands on the
shore near the south-west corner of the parish.
The small island of Cava belongs to the pa-
rish.—Population in 1821, 906.

ORR, a small river in Fife, originating in a
rivulet in Dunfermline parish, which, along
with others, once formed a small lake called
Loch Orr, which is now drained and the
space converted into productive land ; the rivulet
pursues its way and is joined by a stream from
Loch Fittie, and farther down, by one from
Loch Gellie. Thus increased, the small river
Orr continues an easterly course for some miles
till it joins the Leven in the parish of Mark-
inch.

ORRIN, a small river in Ross-shire, which
rises in the south-west borders of that county,
and falls into the river Conon at the Kirk of
Urray.

ORWELL, a parish in Kinross- shire, ex-
tending from five to six miles in length, by
five in breadth ; bounded by part of Forgan-
denny and Arngask on the north, Strathmiglo
and Portmoak on the east, Kinross on the
south, and Fossaway oh the west. The greater
part is fine arable land, well enclosed and plant-
ed, rising from the low shore of Loch Leven,
and the vale of Kinross towards the north, in
which direction it is hilly. The only village
in the parish is Milnathort, near which is the
church. On the low ground towards Loch Le-
ven stands the ancient ruined castle of Bur-
leigh, formerly the residence of the lords of
Burleigh Population in 1821, 2529.

OS RIM, an islet on the south coast of the
isle of I slay.

OUDE, a small river in Argyleshire, rising

PAISLEY

827

from Loch Tralig, in the braes of Lorn, and
falling into the head of Loch Melfort, in the
parish of Kilninver.

OXNA, a small island of Shetland, lying
about four miles west from the town of Scal-
loway.

OXNAM, or OXENHAM, a parish
on the east side of Roxburghshire, of a long
irregular figure, extending fifteen miles in a
north-westerly direction from the mountainous
border of Northumberland, with a breadth of
from two to five miles ; bounded by How-
nam on the north-east, Crailing on the north,
and Jedburgh on the west. The general
appearance is rather bleak and hilly, but the
hills are of small elevation, and most of them
are covered with green pasture. The district
is arable in its lower divisions, and is watered
ay several small rivulets, particularly the
Coquet, the Jed, the Oxnam, and the Kaile,
all of which are trouting streams. The chief

villages are Newbigging and Oxnam, both in
the north-western or lower part of the parish.
—Population in 1821, 693.

OXNAM, a small river in Roxburghshire,
rising in the above parish, and after a serpen-
tine course of about twelve miles, falling into
the Tiviot about half a mile below the church
of Crailing.

OYNE, a parish in Aberdeenshire, extend-
ing about six miles in length by from two to
three in breadth ; bounded on the east by the
Chapel-of-Garioch, on the south by Mony-
musk, and on the west by Tough and Keig,
and part of Premnay. It is bounded on its
northern quarter by the Urie, and on its south-
west part by the Don. This parish has been
much improved, and now possesses consider-
able plantations. It is generally of a fertile
and pleasing appearance — Population in 1821,
676.

PABAY, a small inhabited island of the
Hebrides, about eight miles from Barra, mea-
suring one and a half miles in length, by one
in breadth.

PABBA, a small island of the Hebrides,
about two miles from the isle of Skye, measur-
ing a mile in length, by three-fourths of a mile
in breadth.

P ABB AY, a small island of the Hebrides,
lying about two miles from the south-west
corner of Harris. It is of a conical appear-
ance, and rises to a peak considerably higher
than the neighbouring islands. It is nearly
circular, and its diameter may measure from
one and a half to two miles. This island once
supplied the district with corn ; but from the
sand drift which now covers its south-east
side, it has lost its fertility, and exhibits the
pnost desolate appearance ; towards the south-
west, which is sheltered by Bernera, it is very
productive, but on the north-west, where ex-
posed to the spray from the Atlantic, scarcely
any vegetation is found.

PAISLEY, (ABBEY, PARISH OF,)
a parish in Renfrewshire, extending about
nine miles eastward from the Black Cart river,
by a general breadth of four, but at the eastern
extremity is a portion not above a mile in

breadth ; bounded on the north by part of Kil-
barchan, Renfrew and Govan, on the east by
Govan and Eastwood, on the south by Neil-
ston and Lochwinnoch, and on the west by
Kilbarchan. In the centre of it stands the
town of Paisley, over the whole of which till
the year 1736, the parish extended; but an
additional church at that time becoming ne-
cessary, the town was erected into a separate
parish, and the original district has been ever
since distinguished by the name of the Abbey
parish. The country is generally of a gently
waving surface, frequently swelling, especially
in the neighbourhood of Paisley, into beautiful
little eminences. A considerable part of it
north of the town is a perfect level. The
south part of the parish rises into a tract of
hilly ground, known by the name of Paisley
or Stanley Braes, which are of a pastoral cha-
racter. In the level ground and along the
banks of the rivers, the district is fertile and
of a pleasing appearance. Besides the Black
Cart on the western side of the parish, and the
Lavern on the south-east, the parish is water-
ed by the White Cart, which enters it on the
east, and flows in a pretty direct westerly course
towards the town. About a mile below Pais-
ley it enters Renfrew parish, and joins the

828

PAISLEY.

Black Cart at Inchinnan bridge. The district
abounds in coal. The chief villages in the
parish are Johnstone on the Black Cart, Quar-
reltown, in its vicinity, and West Hurlet on the
Lavern, on the eastern boundary.

Paisley, a large manufacturing town, a burgh
of barony, and seat of a presbytery, in Renfrew-
shire, surrounded by the above parish, and situat-
ed on the banks of the White Cart river, at the
distance of eight miles south-west of Glasgow,
seventeen east of Greenock, and three south of
Renfrew. Paisley is a town of great antiquity,
but it has risen into importance only in modem
times, and is now esteemed the third largest
town in Scotland, the two more populous be-
ing Edinburgh and Glasgow. This very
flourishing seat of manufactures, as in the case
of the latter city, is understood to have origi-
nated in the establishment of a wealthy and dis-
tinguished religious house. Walter, the son of
Allan, the first of the Stewarts, founded here, in
the year 1 1 60, a church and monastery, which
were placed under the superintendence of a
prior. The institution was dedicated, in gene-
ral, to God and the Virgin Mary, and, in es-
pecial, to St. James and St. Mirren, a Scottish
confessor. In 1219, by a bull of Pope Ho-
norius, the priory was elevated to the charac-
ter of an abbey — that is, the prior was relieved
from the jurisdiction of the bishop of the dio-
cese. At this period, and for several ages,
the name of the religious establishment was
Passaleth, or Passalet — an appellation since
modified to Paisley, and supposed to be derived
from the British words, Pasgel-hith, which
signify " the moist pasture ground." In the
course of three centuries, the abbey of Paisley
acquired several churches and a prodigious
revenue from lands in different parts of the
kingdom, conferred chiefly by the descendants
of the founder. From the first the monks
of Paisley enjoyed a baronial jurisdiction over
their estates, and after the accession of the
Stewarts to the throne, they obtained the
higher jurisdiction and privilege of a regality.
James II. confirmed these powers, at the same
time enlarging them to the extent of trying on
the four points of the crown, and of holding
their own chamberlain courts. The abbot
had bailies in different parts of the country,
who for some time relieved him of the burden
of these duties ; at last the office of general
bailie became hereditary in the family of Lord
Sempil. The abbey of Paisley was long a

burying place of the Stewarts. The monas-
tery was rendered famous by the shrine of St.
Mirren, to which pilgrims proceeded from all
parts of Scotland to offer up their devotions,
and beseech the sainted confessor's intercession
in their behalf. During the wars of " the suc-
cession" the monastery and its lands suffered
severely, notwithstanding of a bull issued to
protect them by Boniface. The English were
particularly regardless of the pope's decree, and
burnt the university in the year 1307. In more
settled times thereafter, the abbey was rebuilt
with great splendour. The magnificent church
belonging to the abbey, which existed at the
Reformation, was built in the reign of James
I. and II. This stately fabric was built in
the form of a cross, and had a very lofty
steeple. The spacious buildings of the whole
establishment, with the orchards and gardens,
were surrounded by a magnificent wall of cut
stone, upwards of a mile in circumference. At
the Reformation the revenue of the institution
yielded about L.3000. John Hamilton, arch-
bishop of St. Andrews, at this epoch became
its commendator, and he was succeeded by his
nephew, Lord Claud Hamilton, who in virtue
thereof was afterwards created Lord Paisley.
His grandson James, Earl of Abercorn, in-
herited the property, from whom it was pur-
chased by the Earl of Angus, and who again
sold it to the Earl of Dundonald. The Earls
of Dundonald afterwards sold portions to dif-
ferent individuals, and among the rest to the
Marquis of Abercorn. The valuable endow-
ments and revenues of the abbey were not in
greater degree perverted and abused by this
species of spoliation by nobility, than the ab-
bey buildings were misused by the mobs of
reformers. The magnificent church was stript
of its altars and images, and otherwise dis-
figured. The lofty spire and a great part of
the building were utterly destroyed. The
only part wnich was preserved was the cathe-
dral, which has long served as the parish
church, and as such it has not its equal in
Scotland. The abbey buildings were like-
wise much destroyed. What remained entire
formed successively the residence of Lord
Paisley, the Earl of Abercorn, and the Earl
of Dundonald. Being at length deserted, and
falling into decay, the abbey became the habi-
tation of a number of tradesmen's families.
The abbey park, and its orchards and gardens,
are now the site of the New Town of Paisley,

PAISLEY.

829

which has been partly reared from the stones
of the great wall, now altogether removed.
Marjory, toe daughter of Robert Bruce, and
wife of Walter, the founder of the abbey, was
buried in the monastery, from whence her mo-
nument and relics were removed in 1770, and
deposited in a fine Gothic chapel, which the
Earl of Abercorn built near the Abbey church,
for the purpose of a family burying place. This
thapel is devoid of seats, pulpit, or any other
furniture, and possesses one of the very finest
echoes in the world. The growth of Paisley
as a town was slow in comparison with the
similarly originating city of Glasgow. About
the beginning of the eighteenth century it con-
sisted of only one principal street, with a
few lanes and old buildings on the west
bank of the Cart at the base of a sloping emi-
nence. The union of England and Scotland
gave the town a considerable impetus, by open-
ing up the former country to the trading in-
cursions of Scottish merchants. From this
time it gradually increased in size. Streets
were added to streets ; till, about the year 1770,
when the Marquis of Abercorn feued the
ground adjacent to the abbey on the east or
opposite bank of the river. Paisley now con-
sists of two portions, the burgh or Old Town
being on the western side of the river, and the
New Town on its eastern bank. The former
spreads out to a great extent over the summit,
the south-eastern declivity, and the plain that
encircles the base of a fine eminence, which,
forming a natural terrace, runs westward from
the Cart, till, at the distance of about half a
mile, it terminates abruptly. The houses of
Paisley and those of the suburbs connected
with it, although arranged in comparatively
few streets, are spread over a tract of ground,
the length of which, from east to west, is abovt
two miles, while its breadth, from north to
south, is scarcely less than seven furlongs.
The main street of the town holds a sinuous
course, from east to west, receiving from the
former quarter the great Glasgow road, losing
itself on the latter, in the road by Beith to the
north Ayrshire coast towns, and its name, va-
rying, as it proceeds westward, from Gauze
Street, successively, to Old Smith Hills, the
Cross, High, Town-head, Well-meadow, New
Sandholes, and Broomlands Streets, names all
borne by the principal line of street, within
the limits of what may in strictness be de-
nominated the town. Another long street

line commences on the south ; and, under
the names of Causewayside, St. Mirrens, and
Moss Street j St. James' Place, and Love
Street ; and crossing the other line at the
quadrangular area called distinctly the Cross,
merges in the road leading to Inchinnan
Bridges. South of the High Street, and
almost parallel with it, extends to the
length of about six furlongs, *a spacious,
well-built, and now almost completed street,
named George Street; parallel in direction
with which, but yet further south, is Canal
Street, of which much remains to be built.
Much of the space between the main street
and Canal Street, is laid out in streets; as
New Street, Storey Street, Barclay Street,
Barr Street, &c. These all lie west of
Causewayside Street, to the east of which
are also divers streets very compactly built.
North of the main line again there is but little
building, with the exception of a few short
streets, branching from it pretty far towards
the west ; of the buildings upon Oak-shaw-
Brae, and of about a dozen regularly disposed
streets and lanes, built about forty years ago,
on the lands of Snaudoun, whence, as some
think, a baronial title is derived to the heir-
apparent of these realms. Snaudoun (vulgar-
ly Sneddon) Street, is, with its neighbouring
streets and lanes, built on the margin of the
river Cart, which, entering Paisley on the
south-east, forms three bold curves, in the
general direction of north-west, and then flows
northward in an almost perfectly straight line ;
till, on getting ciear of the buildings, it begins to
become devious again. In the town it is crossed
by three stone bridges. The New Town of
Paisley, on the eastern side of the river, con-
sists, besides Gauxe Street and Old Smith
Hill's Street, of about fifteen others, several of
them pretty long, closely built, and populous;
although, as above stated, it is but about sixty
years since this important addition to Paisley
was planned by James, eighth Earl of Abercorn.
Although the term New Town is currently ap-
plied to the streets built on the lands of this fa-
mily, formerly the property of the monastery,
the other part is not so generally called the Old
Town, as " the Burgh." The houses in Paisley
generally, though not ill-built, cannot as yet cope
in elegance of appearance with the other large
towns of Scotland. To this day numerous
rows and single specimens of low thatched
houses give a singular rusticity of aspect to

830

PAISLEY.

some even of the leading streets out of the
main street, especially in the Burgh. But
every year witnesses the replacing of mean by
lofty and substantial tenements, in the trading
streets especially. Much of High Street, and
of Moss Street, the next principal one, has
been renewed in this way. It is also in con-
templation to open up three new streets in the
head of the town ; the chief of them to run
northward from the Cross, in front of the re-
cently erected castle. On the site of the late
town-house, a very handsome pile of building,
comprising shops and an inn, has been recently
completed. In the outskirts of Paisley there
have recently been considerable extensions of
new streets, and there are many houses in the
environs built in an elegant villa style. The
public buildings of Paisley are numerous, but
there are few deserving of particular notice.
The chief and most interesting fabric is the
Abbey Church, whose history has already been
detailed. The portion saved from destruction,
and now used as a parish church, is the nave,
which though internally injured in appearance
by the pews and other furniture necessary in
modern worship, still displays much magnifi-
cence in its general contour and outlines. It
is of a commanding height, and exhibits three
tiers of arches. Those which open into the
side aisles are pointed, as also those of the
clerestory, but the openings of the triform
are semicircular, with two pointed arches,
cinque foiled, formed within them. The se-
micircular arch also occurs on the southern side
of the main building ; the latter affording,
therefore, specimens of the Norman, as well
as of the early pointed and decorated styles of
British ecclesiastical architecture. Above the
great western door, which is pointed and deeply
recessed, are three handsome windows, consi-
derably enriched with tracery. The north
window of the transept, though a ruined one, is
also very fine. From the intersection of this
transept with the body of the fabric the an-
cient lofty steeple of the structure arose, the
fall of which is said to have greatly damaged
the choir. Besides this Abbey Church, there
are four other places of worship in Paisley
belonging to the establishment. These are,
the High Church, which occupies a command-
ing situation towards the eastern extremity of
a long terrace-shaped hill ; it was built in
1755-6, and is adorned with a lofty spire.
.Near it is the Middle Church, built in 1781.

The newest church is St. George's, opened in
1819 : each of these churches has now its re-
spective parochial division of the town. The
remaining place of worship of the establish-
ment is the Gaelic chapel. The town also
contains three meeting-houses of the United
Secession church, two for those of the Relief
persuasion, one for Episcopalians, one for
Roman Catholics, one for Burghers, one
for Congregationalists, one for Reformed
Presbyterians, one for Wesleyan Methodists,
one for Baptists, and one for the Primitive
Methodists. Some congregations also assem-
ble of Methodists of the New Connexion, call-
ed in England, from their founder, Kilhamites ;
Independents of two sorts, Glassites, Par-
ticular Baptists ; Universalists, Unitarians,
Swedenborgians, and, perhaps, some others.
The fast days of the church are the Fridays
before the second Sunday of March and the first
Sunday of August. Of the other public
buildings, the Castle, founded in 1818, is at
once the largest and finest. It stands in an
open space on the western margin of the Cart,
between the Old and Sneddon bridges. The
general form of the edifice is quadrangular;
the material used in its construction is excel-
lent freestone ; the style adopted in its exteri-
or at once imposing and appropriate. It ex-
hibits two " corps de logis," as the French
style them ; the western and front one compre-
hending a court-house, council chambers, and
a number of oifices for different departments of
public business. The eastern one, a prison
for debtors, another for criminals, a bridewell,
and a chapel. The regulations in these pri-
sons are at once humane and judicious.
Round them is a lofty and strong quadrangu-
lar wall, defended, when necessary, by " che-
vaux de frise." Between the prisons and the
front pile are two courts for air and exercise.
The front building has a noble facade, adorned
with projecting hexagonal turrets, which rise
considerably above the prison roof. Over the
great arched entrance, which is formed between
two of these, an exterior gallery or balcony,
supported on corbels, and adorned by a perfor-
ated parapet, has been constructed. The en-
tire fabric is embattled, and the prison sum-
mits display an imitative machicolation. The
building is appropriated to county as well as
burgh uses. The steeple of the former town-
house of Paisley yet remains, and graces the
cross. Opposite to it is a handsome struc-

PAISLEY.

831

ture, the upper part of which, adorned exter-
nally with Ionic pilasters, includes a public
coffee-room, alike distinguished for size, ele-
gance, accommodation, and comfort. On its
tables, newspapers, reviews, and magazines
abound, and the place is liberally thrown open
to the visits of strangers. The markets, conve-
niently situated near the cross, are on a respect-
able scale. They are for butcher's meat and fish.
In the vicinity of the town, at Williamsburg,
there are barracks adequate to the accommo-
dation of half a regiment of foot. The gram-
mar school of Paisley is of royal foundation.
From its charter of institution, it appears to
have been established by James VI., then in
his eleventh year, and by him endowed with
sundry former church revenues, chiefly those
which had been for the support of particular
altars. One of the witnesses to this charter
is described as his Majesty's " Familiar Coun-
sellor, Mr. George Buchanan, Pensioner of
Crossraguel," and " Keeper of the Privy Seal."
There are in the town four other schools un-
der the public authorities ; Hutcheson's Free
School ; four other schools, either with endow-
ments or supported by subscription ; an Infant
School, established in 1 828 ; numbers of Pri-
vate and of Sabbath Schools ; a Mechanics
Institution, with an attached library ; three
Subscription Libraries, one of them theologi-
cal ; a Provident Bank ; and a variety of As-
sociations for Beneficiary and Beligious Pur-
poses. A society, with the honourable object
of propagating a taste for, and consequently
promoting the progress of the fine arts, has re-
cently been established here ; and their first ex-
hibition of the works of living artists was open-
ed in May 1831, and contained, besides some
contributions from a distance, many creditable
productions of native genius, — in all about
200. An anonymous writer judiciously re-
marks, that Paisley, which has been long fa-
mous for the delicate and tasteful fabrics
which it manufactures, may be greatly benefit-
ted, even in a commercial point of view, by
such an institution, tending, as it must do, to
diffuse refined principles of taste among the
community. In the year 1488, James IV.,
by a charter granted in favour of Abbot
George Schaw, constituted Paisley a burgh of
barony. The present municipal body consists
of a provost, (whose oflice, however, has not
been exercised, under this title, more than
twenty years,) three bailies, a treasurer, and

seventeen councillors, with a town- clerk and a
chamberlain. The provost and bailies always
act as justices of peace. The revenue of the
body corporate is about L.3000 a-year. There
is a police establishment for the burgh, and
another for the New Town. Most of the
streets and shops are now lighted with gas,
which is a great improvement on the former
condition of the town. The pavement of
the streets is for the most part of a good
description ; but the flagged causeways are
complained of as being too narrow. Pais-
ley is exceedingly ill supplied with wa-
ter for culinary purposes, which is brought
from a distance in carts, and sold to the inha-
bitants. Besides a weekly market, held on
Thursday, fairs, each of three days' duration,
are held annually, beginning on the third
Thursday of May and February, — the second
Thursday of August and November, — but the
August fair, called the Paisley James' Day
Fair, is the most considerable, being distin-
guished by horse-racing, attended by numerous
shows, and observed as holiday-time by all
ranks of the people. Much attention has of
late years been paid to the improvement of the
race course, and the safety of spectators. The
trade and manufactures of Paisley, by which
the town has acquired its present importance,
now require our notice. Both the trade and
manufactures of the place originated in obscure
and small beginnings, but their progress in
some periods has been astonishingly rapid.
The earliest branch of manufacture for which
Paisley became distinguished was linen
thread, and the person who introduced it had
previously been brought into notice by the su-
perstition of the times. In the year 1697,
Christian Shaw, a girl of eleven years of age,
daughter to the Laird of Bargarran, having had
a quarrel with a maid- servant, pretended to be
bewitched by her. By degrees, a great many
persons were implicated in the guilt of the
servant, and no fewer than twenty were con-
demned, of whom five suffered death by fire on
the Gallow Green of Paisley. The young
lady whose folly or crime occasioned this infa-
mous transaction, afterwards acquired a re-
markable dexterity in spinning fine yarn. The
then Lady Blantyre carried a parcel of her
thread to Bath, and disposed of it advantage-
ously to some manufacturers of lace ; and this
was probably the first thread made in Scot-
land that had passed the Tweed. The busi

832

PAISLEY.

ness was afterwards facilitated and extended
by means of a relative in Holland. After
commencing some of the most extensive
manufactures hitherto known in Scotland,
Miss Shaw became the wife of the minister of
Kilmaurs. Not long after the Union, when a
free trade was opened with England, the spirit
of manufacture began to shew itself in the
construction and sale of other fabrics. The
persons who chiefly settled here as manufac-
turers or dealers, consisted of a set of men
who at one time were very numerous and use-
ful, both in Scotland and England. These
were pedlars or travelling merchants, many of
whom having frequented Paisley as their sta-
ple, and having gained a little money in their
trade, came to settle in that town, and bought
up large quantities of its manufactures, which
they vended among their friends and corres-
pondents in Eagland. Afterwards the mer-
chants in Glasgow found their account in
purchasing these goods, and sending them
both to London and foreign markets. Such
was the mode of trading soon after the Union
till 1760. The different articles of the
trade were at first coarse checked linen
cloth ; afterwards checked linen handkerchiefs,
some of them fine and beautifully variegated.
These were succeeded by fabrics of a lighter
and more fanciful kind, consisting not only of
plain lawns, but likewise of those that were
striped or checked with cotton, and others
ornamented by a great variety of figures.
Towards the end of the above mention-
ed period, the making of linen gauze was a
considerable branch of trade in Paisley; and
before the middle of it, the new species of
manufacture, namely, the linen thread above
noticed had made great progress. About the
year 1760 the making of silk gauze was first
attempted in Paisley in imitation u£ that of
Spitalfields in London. The success >vas be-
yond the most sanguine expectations of those
who engaged in it. The inventive spirit, and the
patient application of the workmen ; the cheap-
ness of labour at the time, and the skill and
taste of the masters, gave it eveiy advantage
for being naturalized there. The consequence
was, that nice and curious fabrics were devis-
ed, and such a vast variety of elegant and
richly ornamented gauze was issued from the
place, as to outdo every thing of the kind that
had formerly appeared. Spitalfields was ob-
liged to relinquish the manufacture, and com-

panies came from London to carry it on in
Paisley, where it prospered and increased to
an inconceivable extent. It not only became
the great distinguished manufacture of that
town, but it filled the country around to the
distance of twenty miles ; and the gentle-
men engaged in it had not only warehouses
in London and Dublin, but correspond-
ents upon the continent, and shops for vend-
ing their commodities in Paris. In 1784,
the manufacture of silk gauze, lawn and
linen gauze, and white sewing thread, amount-
ed to the value of L.579,185, 16s. 6d. and
no fewer than 26,484 persons were employ-
ed. Since that epoch the gauze trade has
declined, and at present it employs few hands.
On its depression rose the manufacture of
cotton thread, cambric, and similar goods.
Shawls of silk and cotton, and also of silk
mixed with merino wool, have for several
years, under the names of scarfs and plaids, as
well as that of shawls, been extensively manu-
factured here ; and sell at prices, varying from
6s. and 7s. to L.15 each. Seven or eight years
ago, chenille shawls, composed wholly of silk,
began to be made. Since that period, Canton
crape shawls and handkerchiefs have been in-
troduced, and form an ingenious and elegant
branch of manufactures. Various kinds of
silk gauze, with Persians, and velvets, are
also now made here ; and for the weaving
of the different fabrics the loom has been sub-
jected to great improvements. In the town
and Abbey parish, exclusive of the large village
of Johnstone, there are three cotton-spinning
mills, and seven or eigh*- inread mills ; two
steam-loom factories ; six flour mills ; a calico
printing work ; many bleaching works and
dye-houses ; three breweries, and two distil-
leries ; several timber yards ; and several iron
and brass foundries ; an alum and copperas
work ; a soap work ; a tan-yard. &c. An
idea of the present extent of manufactures, in
comparison with what it was ninety years since,
may be obtained from the fact, that while
the whole of the manufactures in 1760 amount-
ed to L. 15,000, the annual computed value of
the goods made in and around the town three
years since was a million and a half sterling.
On the Cart river, which has been considerably
improved of late years, especially by a canal, or
cut, to avoid shallows near the mouth, are two
quays. Along the southern edge of the town,
passes the Glasgow and Ardrossan canal,

PAPA-WESTRAY.

833

which, as mentioned elsewhere, has been com-
pleted only to Johnstone. Track-boats ply
on both the river and the canal. Between
Paisley and Glasgow there is a constant com-
munication by stage coaches. It is gratifying
to notice, that the taste, abilities, and general
intelligence of the inhabitants of this large
and deservedly thriving town, contradict the too
commonly received opinion, that an ardent
pursuit of trade and manufacture is inimical to
the cultivation of refined sentiment and lite-
rary habits. The working classes of Paisley,
like those of Glasgow, are distinguished by
their laudable desire to improve their minds
by reading, and support a library and several
reading rooms. The people in general are ex-
ceedingly well-informed in most branches of
useful knowledge, and invariably take a lively
interest in the passing political events of the
day. Paisley may also boast of having been
the residence or birth-place of men of distin-
guished genius and reputation. The celebrat-
ed Dr. Witherspoon before his emigration
was minister of the parish, and here wrote
some of his best works ; and Wilson, the orni-
thologist of America, and Tannahill, the au-
thor of several beautiful Scottish songs, were
both natives of the town. The press of
Paisley, is likewise not without its merits.
For some time a respectable and clever pe-
riodical has been published, entitled the Pais-
ley Magazine. A weekly newspaper, called
the Paisley Advertiser, is published every
Saturday morning; and a variety of minor
publications have, of late years issued from
the press. Of the&e we may specify a work
of a very useful nature, styled " Fowler's
Commercial Directory of the principal towns
and villages in the upper ward of Renfrew-
shire," which is published annually, and of
which we have availed ourselves for many
facts in this and other articles. — The popula-
tion of the Abbey parish of Paisley in 1821,
was 20,575 ; and of the burgh 26,428. In
J831, population of the three town parishes
31,460, Abbey parish 26,006 ; total of town
and Abbey parishes 57,466.

PALDIE, or PALDIEKIRK, a small
village in the parish of Fordoun, Kincardine-
shire, noted for its fair, held on the first Tuesday
after the 1 1 th of July, and lasting three days.
It is said to have received its name from St.
Palladius. See Fordoun.

PANBRIDE, a parish in the south-east

part of Forfarshire, lying on the sea-shore
betwixt Arbirlot and St. Vigeans on the north-
east, and Barrie and Monikie on the south
west. It has Carmylie on the north, and
from its inland boundary to the shore it
measures five miles, by a general breadth
of two. The surface is flat or inclining to-
wards the sea, and is beautifully cultivated,
enclosed and planted. The parish is watered
by a streamlet running through a valley called
Batties' Den, over which is thrown a high
bridge on the turnpike road from Dundee to
Arbroath. On the coast are the villages of
East and West Haven. The village of Pan-
bride lies north from the latter. There is
another village called Muirdrum '. In the nor-
thern part of the parish stands the house of
Panmure, with its extensive enclosures and
plantations, the property of Lord Panmure,
(late the Hon. W. Ramsay Maule). Near
the house are the vaults and foundations of the
old castle of Panmure, long the seat of the
earls of that name. — Population in 1821, 1275.

P ANNANICH, a celebrated watering place
in the parish of Glenmuick, Aberdeenshire,
near the modern village of Ballater, and a
resort of the Aberdonians during the summer
months. — See Glenmuick.

PAPA-STOUR, a small island of Shet-
land, lying about a mile west from the
mainland, on the south side of St. Magnus'
Bay, belonging to the parish of Walls and
Sandness. It measures two miles in length,
by one in breadth, and is of an irregular figure.
The island is low and fertile, and possesses
several excellent natural harbours, which afford
shelter to fishing boats. The beach is ex-
cellently adapted for drying fish, which has
caused it to be resorted to by an English fish-
ing company, who have erected convenient
drying houses upon it.

PAPA-STRONSAY, a small island of

Orkney, lying on the north-east side of Stron-

say, about half a mile distant from that island.

It is about three miles in circumference, flat,

, green, and fertile ; and is occupied by a farmer

and his servants. The island lies at the mouth

of a creek or harbour of Stronsay, to which it

gives the name of Papa- Sound. There are

two ruined chapels on the island, dedicated to

St. Nicholas and St. Bride.

•PAPA-WESTRAY, a small fertile island

of Orkney, lying about three miles from the

northern part of Westray. It is n£ an oblo**

5o

834

PEEI5LES-SHIRE.

form, being four miles in length, by one in
breadth. It possesses a small loch, in an islet
of which are the ruins of a small chapel. At
the distance of two miles from the northern
extremity of the island, there is a most prolific
fishing bank of vast extent, which has only of
late attracted the attention of the British pub-
lic, though long well known to the inhabitants
of this sequestered isle.

PAPS OF JURA. See Jura.

PARKHEAD, a village on the public
road at a short distance from Glasgow.

PARKHOUSE, a village in the parish of
Govan, near Glasgow.

PARTI CK, a suburb of Glasgow on the
banks of the Clyde, below the town.

PART ON, a parish at the centre of the
stewartry of Kirkcudbright, lying betwixt the
Urr water on the east, and Loch Ken on the
west, bounded on the north by Balmaclellan,
and on the south-east by Crossmichael. From
the Ken to the Urr, it measures about seven
miles, by a breadth of from four to five. A
large portion of the parish is hilly, heathy, and
pastoral, especially in the northern quarter.
Towards the Ken the land is flat and arable,
and now under improvements. The parish
church is on the Ken, beside the road up the
vale Population in 1821, 845.

PATH OF CONDIE, a small village in
the parish of Forgandenny, Perthshire.

PATH-HEAD, a large village in the
western part of the parish of Dysart, Fifeshire,
almost contiguous to Kirkaldy on the east. It
consists of three streets of plain substantial
houses, occupying high ground near the sea,
towards which the gardens of the villagers
slope down with a fine southern exposure.
Betwixt the eastern part of the village and the
shore, are the extensive pleasure grounds of the
Earl of Rosslyn, at the western extremity of
which, on a rocky promontory, stands the
romantic and ruined castle of Ravenscraig.
Path-head is divided into two districts, one of
which is under the superiority of Oswald of
Dunikier, and the other of Lord Rosslyn.
The latter portion receives the distinguishing
appellation of Sinclairtown. This large village
is the seat of a most industrious population,
chiefly engaged in the weaving and manufac-
ture of linen goods, especially ticks and checks.
An elegant and commodious school-house has
just been erected in a conspicuous situation,
under the auspices of the trustees of the large
35.

endowment of the late Robert Pliilp, Esq. of
Kirkaldy, — for the free education of 150 chil-
dren. See Kirkaldy.

PATH- HEAD, a large village partly in
the parish of Crichton, and partly in Cranston,
county of Edinburgh, at the distance of eleven
miles south from Edinburgh, and lying along
both sides of the road to Lauder. The houses
are mostly of one storey, and well built.

P ATTACK, a stream in Inverness-shire,
rising from the high grounds between Badenocb.
and Rannoch, and flowing north-eastward till it
approaches the termination of its course, when
it bends to the west, and falls into the head of
Loch Laggan, whose waters pass into the west-
ern sea at Fort- William. At no great distance
from the source of this river, the same elevat-
ed land which gives it birth sends waters in
two other directions, — into Loch Ericht,
which discharges itself by the Tay into the
German Ocean, — and into a tributary of the
Spey, which empties itself into the Moray Firth.

PA XT ON, a village on the banks of the
Tweed, in the parish of Hutton, Berwickshire,
near which the river is crossed by an excellent
suspension bridge. Paxton, formerly an in-
dependent parish, is now united to Hutton.

PEATHS, or PE ASE, a deep ravine in
the parish of Cockbumspath, Berwickshire,
over which a stone-bridge is built, noted for its
height. See Cockburnspath.

PEEBLES-SHIRE, or TWEED
DALE, a county in the southern part of Scot-
land, bounded by Dumfries-shire on the south-
west, Lanarkshire on the west, Edinburghshire
on the north and north-east, and Selkirkshire on
the east. The full length of the shire from north
to south is twenty-eight miles, and the mean
breadth thirteen and a half. Altogether, its
superficies may measure 338 square miles, con-
taining 210,320 English acres. Peebles-shire is
a thinly populated, and for the greater part a hilly
pastoral county. It derives its first title from
the name of the county town, and its more collo-
quial designation of Tweedale, or Tweeddale,
from being strictly the vale or district in which
the river Tweed rises and pursues its course
to the east, — and a name which we find it pos-
sessed of as early as the twelfth century.
There is reason for supposing that this seclud-
ed territory on the Tweed, with its tributary
vales, is peopled by the descendants of a pri-
mitive British race, who have sustained less
intermixture with bands of conquering inva-

PEEBLESoSHIHE.

83.5

ders than is the case with the adjoining pro-
vinces. In consequence of having remained
long unmixed with any other people, the Ga-
deni tribe of Britons, who inhabited the district,
have left innumerable traces of their residence
in the names of places, Druidic and warlike
remains, and sepulchral tumuli. The most
obvious remains of these aborigines are their
hill forts, which are found throughout the
whole shire, and are easily distinguished by
their circular form. The Romans were un-
doubtedly the first people who came in upon the
British aborigines in the district. Neither of
the great roads, however, which these enter-
prising invaders carried northward with their
Caledonian conquests, passes through any part
of Peebles-shire. The Watling-street, which has
its course from Cumberland into Clydesdale,
traverses the country, within half a mile of the
western extremity of Peebles-shire, where
there is a natural passage from the Clyde to
the Tweed ; and it was probably through this
opening that the Romans found their way, and
kept up their connexion between their posts in
Clydesdale, and their camps in Tweeddale.
There is a very strong fort on the eastern
side of the Lyne Water, near to Lyne Kirk,
and about ten miles eastward from the Wat-
ling-street way. This camp has been
successively noticed by Pennycuick, Gordon,
Ray, Armstrong, and Mungo Park ; the latter
in a note to Chalmers' Caledonia, vol. ii. p.
912, describing it in ample terms. It is still
in tolerable preservation, and used to be called
by the country people Randal's Walls. After
the abdication of the Roman government, the
Gadeni naturally associated themselves with
the kindred Britons of Strathclyde, and the
descendants of those early settlers continued
here, though perhaps not without molestation,
throughout the Pictish period. After the
overthrow of the Pictish government in 863,
the posterity of the Gadeni enjoyed their own
government on the Tweed, till the fortune of
the Scottish kings prevailed in 974, and the
peculiar government of the ancient Britons of
Strathclyde was suppressed. Yet, though their
government was undone for ever, the British
people remained long within their fastnesses,
unmixed with their conquering invaders. The
forest of Ettrick, which then consisted of
woody ravines and steep hills, formed a strong
barrier against the intruding Saxons on the
south-east. The dismal mountains which

on the east and north-east send their waters
to the Forth, formed also an impassable bar-
rier against the Saxons of Lothian. On the
migration of the Strathclyde Britons, the de-
scendants of the Damnii, (see Lanarkshire)
it is probable that they drew along with them
a part of the population of the upper part of
Tweeddale, and the regret expressed on de-
parting from the Clyde would in all likeli-
hood not be more acute than that felt on leav-
ing the pastoral glens of the Tweed, in one of
which was interred their prophet Merlin, or
Merthyn, a distinguished bard of the sixth cen-
tury. (See Drummelzier.) From the epoch
of the migration of the Strathclyde Britons
in the ninth century, the Scoto-Irish inter-
mingled with the remaining Britons on the
Upper Tweed, not so much as hostile intru-
ders, as fellow-subjects of the same power.
The Scoto-Irish, like the British, have left
numerous indications of their settlements, many
names of places being of their language.
The next and last class of intruders on the
district was the Anglo-Saxons from Lothian,
who ultimately prevailed, and finally establish-
ed a permanent settlement in the shire.
One of the chiefs of this people called Eadulph,
settled in the vale of Edleston water, to
which, with the village, he communicated his
name. In this manner, those of Saxon lineage
founded the families of rank in Peebles-
shire, and lived perfect specimens of the feu-
dal baronage of a wild territory. The most
solid testimonial of the turbulence of the age
subsequent to Malcolm Canmore, is found in
the great number of old castles or peel-houses,
yet remaining in the shire. In one parish
there are half a dozen, and in all there are two
or three. Though not all built at one period,
or by men equal in power, they all bear a
striking resemblance to each other ; in most
instances occupying commanding situations on
the overhanging banks of the Tweed or its
tributaries, and grimly rising to a height of
four storeys. The lower floor is always vault-
ed, it being into this the horses and cattle used
to be driven in times of danger ; the next floor
is generally the great hall in which the family
lived, and the higher seems to have contained
sleeping or private apartments. On the
tops of these towers there were generally
bartizans, on which fires were kindled as the
warning that an invasion of the district had
taken place. " The smoke gave the signal by

636

PEEBLES-SHI HE.

day, and the flame by night ; and over a tract
of country of seventy miles long from Ber-
wick to the Bield, and fifty miles broad, intel-
ligence was, in this manner, conveyed in a very
few hours. As these are not only antiquities,
but evidences of the ancient situation of the
country, and are now most of them in ruins,
it will not be improper to mention those along
the Tweed for ten miles below Peebles, and
as many above it. Thus Elibank tower looks
to one at Holylee, this to one at Scrogbank,
this to one at Caberstone, this to one at Bold,
this to one at Purvis hill, this to those at In-
nerleithen, Traquair, and Griestone, this last
to one at Ormistone, this to one at Cardrona,
this to one at Nether Horsburgh, this to
Horsburgh castle, this to those at Hayston,
Castlehill of Peebles, and Nidpath, this last
to one at Caverhill, this to one at Barns, and
to another at Lyne, this to those at Easter
Happrew, Easter Dawick, Hillhouse and Wes-
ter Dawick, now New Posso, this last to
one at Dreva, and this to one at Tinnis or
Thanes Castle near Drammelzier." Such is
the vast strength of these aged fortlets, that
though dismantled and untenanted, many of
them withstand the effects of time and wea-
ther, appearing as firm as they were five hun-
dred years since. From its connexion with the
ancient kingdom of Strathclyde, Peebles-shire
became naturally a part of the diocese of Glas-
gow, in which it continued till the dissolution
of episcopacy. The religious houses in the
district were not numerous. When the coun-
try began to be divided into sheriffdoms, about
the twelfth century, Tweeddale was put under
the jurisdiction of two sheriffs, one of whom
was settled at Traquair, the other at Peebles.
The second sheriff of Peebles was Simon
Frazer, one of the Scottish magnates, at the
demise of Alexander III., whose son fought
against Edward in 1302. The family of the
Frazers seem at this period to have been
the most potent in the shire, which now
does not contain one of the name or lineage.
These Frazers were supporters of the interests
of Baliol, who appointed them his nominees
for supporting his pretensions against Robert
Bruce. During the wars of the succession
which ensued, Peebles-shire submitted to
Edward I., in 1296; but Being partly rescued
by the valorous exploits of Sir William Doug-
las, the English had to renew their usurpation,
and regained possession of the district after the

battle of Durham in 1346. In 1357, its inde-
pendence was. finally secured by the restoration
of David II. For seventy years, Tweeddale
had thus suffered many calamities, and nothing
can be more expressive of its wasted condition
than the fact that its whole real rental in 1368
was only L.863, 13s. 4d., about the half of
what it had formerly been. The next event
in history in whi«h the shire comes into notice,
was the battle of Flodden, in which many of
the Peebles-shire gentry fell. At different
times the country suffered in a small degree
from the obscure inroads of marauders from the
English side of the borders, a circumstance which
had the effect of keeping the people long in the
exercise and possession of warlike weapons.
At Philiphaugh, some of the heads of the best
families in the county fell or were taken
prisoners, fighting on the side of royalty ;
but in the insurrection of 1 679 in the west of
Scotland, which was ended in the battle of
Bothwell Bridge, there were not a dozen per-
sons natives of Tweeddale. Since these stir-
ring events, neither the county nor its inhabi-
tants have been any way prominent in the
scenes of history. We now turn to the
natural objects and agricultural peculiarities
of the shire. The county is an uninter-
rupted series of hills and mountain ranges, so
close upon each other that there is scarcely
to be found a plain of moderate dimensions
in the district, and not one of any kind
unless on the margin of the Tweed or its tri-
butaries. The body of the county is the vale
of the Tweed, which gives room for the exer-
cise of agriculture on its banks, and from the
river there diverge different little straths on
both sides, each of which yields its tributary
brook, to the great stream. The entrance to
the county by the east and west is only by
passes near the Tweed, and from the north or
Edinburgh side the only entrance is by the
sinuous vale of Edleston water ; on the south,
the hills are so continuous that they barely af-
ford a pass into Dumfries-shire, and in this
direction there is absolutely no traffic. During
the " old riding times" this portion of the
southern Highlands was almost entirely clothed
with sheltering woods, in continuation of the
forest of Ettrick, which sheltered the lands and
formed a sylvan scene of the most beautiful
description. So productive was the county
at that time, whether from pasturage or cultiva-
tion, that it gave sustenance to a population as

PEEBLES-SHIRE.

837

numerous as that which it now maintains, after
a lapse of from four to six centuries. Amid
these woodlands the king had his royal demes-
nes, the monks had their granges, and the
gentry their manors, with their mills, kilns, and
brew-houses. In the course of time the woods
of Peebles-shire, like the forest of Ettrick,
completely disappeared, leaving masses of brown
hills and stretches of dismal moors, bare of
every shrub but heath and furze, and the land
exposed to cold penetrating winds. With these
attributes came a period of wretchedness to the
peasantry and farmers, which did not terminate
till the beginning of the last century. Sir Alex-
ander Murray of Stanhope, about the years
1 730-40, was the first active improver, and among
the first planters of trees for purposes of uti-
lity. The rotation of cropping and other use-
ful practices in agriculture were first introduced
by James Macdougal, a small farmer at Linton,
originally from the neighbourhood of Kelso.
The same person was also the first to cultivate
turnips for the use of sheep, about the year 1 786,
twenty years after turnip husbandry had been
introduced by George Dalziel, also at Linton.
He was the first likewise who cultivated
potatoes in open fields. Notwithstanding
the attempts made by several individuals to
encourage new and better modes of agriculture,
it is certain that till within the last forty
years, the management of arable farms was in
a deplorably low condition. Many of the
farms were the property of the Duke of Queens-
berry, who took grassums and let the lands at
exceedingly low rents ; but till a recent period
none of his tenants made money from their
farms. Till the period of which we speak it
was the only object of farmers to support
their families in that old plain way pursued
by their fathers. The estate of Hayston,
(Hay, Baronet) near Peebles, was among the
first which was sensibly improved by draining,
planting, and ploughing on a great scale ; other
proprietors followed a similar course, and
within these few years, the East Lothian
mode of husbandry and other beneficial practi-
ces have been carried on throughout the shire.
Twenty years have made a prodigious differ-
ence on the general features of the county.
The hill tops and sides are now here and there
bristling with exuberant plantations. The
great vale of the district, and its minor vallies
from Kirkurd to the Pirn, are now well culti-

vated, enclosed, and divided. Rich arable
fields have taken the place of unproductive
swamps, and are fast spreading up the sides of
the hills. Thus every year there are valuable
additions made to the quantity of arable land ;
and every spring shews a greater abundance of
plantations. Among the county gentlemen who
have been chiefly instrumental in bringingabout
this beneficial change, may be mentioned, Sir
Thomas Gibson Carmichael, Baronet, in the
western part of the shire; the late patriotic
benefactor of the county, Sir John Hay, Ba-
ronet, in the central district ; William Stewart,
Esq. of Glenormiston, in a lower division,
and the late Colin Mackenzie, Esq. of Port-
more, in the Edleston water district ; yet the
merit due to these individuals ought not to
detract from what has been done by others as
regards the improvement of their properties.
The landed proprietors of Peebles-shire are
among the most respectable in the country, but
with all their merit, they do little for the
general prosperity of the shire or the county
town, living, with a few meritorious exceptions,
away from their estates, in Edinburgh, or else-
where, or at least importing most of the articles
of consumpt from the capital. In a few in-
stances, owing to the injurious system of en-
tailing, estates either in whole or in part are
found in a neglected condition, of which a nota-
ble example is found in the case of Nidpath,
the property of the Earl of Wemyss, successor
to the Duke of Queensberry ; and it may be re-
marked, that in examining this county, we inva-
riably find that the properties of those families
of most recent introduction are under the best
processes of improvement. It appears that in
1814, the amount of stock in Peebles-shire
was 1126 horses, 5060 cattle, and 112,800
sheep ; and that in 1821, out of the 312 square
miles in the county, there were 27,000 acres
in cultivation, and of hills, mosses, and moors,
there were 177,160 acr«s. In 1811, the va-
lued rental of the shire was for lands L.57,382,
and for houses L.2568. Little can be said of
the minerals of the county. At the north-east
extremity of the shire, coal is found, but at too
great a distance from the general population,
and to its innermost recesses it has to be sup-
plied with this valuable fossil by an expen-
sive carriage from Lothian. The county is in
the same predicament as to freestone, and
the houses are nearly all built of blue whin-

833

PEEBLES.

stone. At Stobo, there is a valuable quarry of
blue slate, the produce of which is sent to dif-
ferent parts of the country, Edinburghincluded.
Peebles-shire is singularly devoid of manufac-
tures of almost every description. In the pre-
paration of woollen goods, sometimes spiritedly
tried, though always carried on to a very limited
extent, the district has been completely excelled
by Roxburghshire and Selkirkshire, although
they labour under the same disadvantages as to
absence of fuel, land-carriage, &c. and are not
better supplied with the raw material. There
are no miscellaneous manufactures even for
local use, no distillery, not even a candle manu-
factory, and but one brewery. Such a desti-
tution of manufactories, which has no parallel
in any other county in Scotland, is the more
remarkable, when it is considered what a
superiority the district possesses in the purity
and fall of its waters, which make it a most
advantageous site for paper and spinning
mills, as well as general manufactories. The
cause of this anomaly is partly found in the
strictly agricultural and pastoral character
of the people, but is chiefly attributable to
the proximity of the district to the county and
city of Edinburgh, from whence there are large
importations of goods of all sorts of a better
kind than could be at first got from native
factories. The difficulties of land carriage,
and absence of coal, have likewise been given
as a reason ; though, the lack of spirit and of
diffused capital might also have been mention-
ed. * Peebles-shire has but one town, which
is its capital, and only three villages, Linton,
Edleston, and Innerleithen, besides which
there is scarcely a single hamlet. It now, how-
ever, possesses a number of gentlemen's seats
of good architecture, and a great variety of
substantial farm-steadings. The roads through
the shire have been vastly improved by level-
ling, widening, and other alterations, within
the last twenty years, though at a great expense,
and the consequent plantation of a most vexa-
tious number of toll-bars. The population re-
turns at different periods, shew that the in-
crease of inhabitants proceeds at an exeeed-

* About twenty years ago, the vale of Tweed and the
upper part of Clydesdale were examined as to the suit-
ableness of the district for the laying down of a rail-way
betwixt Glasgow and Berwick, but after a considerable
excitement the matter was dropped. Perhaps such a
magnificent undertaking may one day be accomplished,
and it will be of incalculable benefit to the county.

ingly slow rate. In 1755 the population was
8908, or 29 to the square mile ; in 1821 it was
only 4973 males, 5073 females, total 10,046, or
32 to the square mile. The only well-known
cause of so small an increase as 1 138 in a space
of sixty-six years, is its pastoral and agricul-
tural character, which occasions the perpetual
draughting away of its families, and especially
its young men, to Edinburgh, where they
obtain scope for the exercise of their industry,
and seldom return to the secluded territory
which gave them birth.

PEEBLES, a parish in the above county,
lying on both sides of the Tweed, extending
about ten miles from north to south, by five in
breadth on an average ; bounded on the north
by Edleston, on the west by Lyne and Manor,
on the south also by Manor, and part of Yar-
row, on the south-east by Traquair, and on the
east by Innerleithen. The whole is hilly and
uneven, unless on the banks of the Tweed, and
its tributary, Edleston water. On the low
grounds, and on the lower parts of the hills,
the soil is fertile and arable, and is either laid
out in cultivated enclosed fields, or under arti-
ficial grasses. Improvements of every descrip-
tion have been advantageously tried. The hilly
grounds are pastoral. The objects worthy oi
notice are mentioned in the following article.

Peebles, an ancient royal burgh, the capi-
tal of the above county and parish, and the
seat of a presbytery, occupies a pleasant situa-
tion on the north bank of the Tweed, at the
distance of 22 miles directly south from Edin-
burgh, 22 west from Selkirk, 47j east from
Glasgow, and 54 from Dumfries. The spot
on which Peebles is situated has been a seat
of population from a very early period, as is in-
dicated by the name, which in British signifies
shielings, or the temporary encampment of a
rude people. In Wales, there are places with
a similar name, and in the parish of Kirkma-
breck, in Galloway, there is a locality, with a
like designation. The name has been spelt in
several ways, — as Peblys, Peblis, and Peeblis ;
and the present orthography is of no older date
than the last century. The above etymology,
of course, puts to flight the popular notion,
that the town takes its name from the pebbles
found in the channel of the Tweed, a notion
inconsiderately adopted by the reverend statist
of the parish, and which drew from George
Chalmers the sarcastic remark, that thus we
see antiquaries

PEEBLES.

839

collecting toys,

Like children gathering pebbles on the shore."

Peebles, for an indefinite period, has consisted
of two towns, a New and an Old. The former
occupies the ridge of a peninsula projected
westwards, along the northern side of which
flows the Edleston water, which, by a bend
round the head of the peninsula, falls into the
Tweed. The Old Town lies on the face of a
sloping ground on the north side of the Ed-
leston water ; and the whole appears embosom-
ed in the midst of an open amphitheatre of the
low grey hills peculiar to Tweeddale. From
its situation in almost the only open space which
occurs throughout a large tract of mountain land,
it is evident that Peebles must have become the
seat of an accumulated population so soon as
the surrounding country became inhabited.
Of its earliest condition nothing is known ;
but we find on record, that, at the beginning
of the Scoto- Saxon period — that is, the end
of the eleventh century — there were at this
place a village, a church, a mill, and a brew-
house ; and there were probably at as early a
period, a castle and a chapel, with other ac-
commodations. The Inquisition of Earl Da-
vid, in 1116, found that there had belonged to
the bishop of Glasgow, in Peebles, " una ca-
rucata tense et ecclesia." And immediately
after this period the bishopric of Glasgow ob-
tained the whole ecclesiastical rights of the
district, while the king retained the demesne.
We find that Joceline, who was bishop be-
tween the years 1175 and 1199, confirmed to
the monks of Kelso, — " capellam castelli de
Peblis," — the chapel of the castle of Peebles,
with a caiTiicate of land adjacent, and a rent of
ten shillings, — " de firmi burgi de Peblis," —
out of the revenue of Peebles. While thus a
town of the royal demesne, it was frequently
visited by the noble race of kings who lived
during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries,
though probably for no other purpose than to
hunt in the forest, which then extended
through a large portion of the south of Scot-
land. Alexander III. bestowed upon Peebles
a particular mark of his munificent disposition,
in the erection of the Cross-church and mon-
astery, which took place in the year 1260, for
reasons stated as follows by Boece the histo-
rian, and by an extract from records in St.
John's College, Cambridge, in the possession
of the magistrates of Peebles. At that pe-
riod, there had recently been discovered under

ground, near Peebles, at a spot on the level
ground north from the Old Town, a shrine of
stone, containing the remains of a human body,
which had been cut in pieces, together with a
cross bearing the name of St. Nicholaus.
From the latter circumstance, the body was
believed to be that of St. Nicholaus, a Culdee,
who was supposed to have suffered martyrdom
about the end of the third century, during the
persecution of the Christians in Britain by the
Emperors Dioclesian and Maximilian. Such
a circumstance as the exhumation of an apos-
tolical martyr was not to be passed over with-
out improvement in those days of piety and
superstition. Accordingly, the bishop of
Glasgow urged the king, who was then a mere
stripling, to found upon the spot a conventual
church, where, unto all time, the cross and
body of St. Nicholaus might be preserved for
the reverence of the people. This building
stood a few hundred yards from the town,
towards the north, and was of the following
dimensions, as detailed in the Statistical Ac-
count : " The church, forming the south side
of the conventual square, measured 104 by 26
feet within the walls. The front wall was
built with a small arch over the spot where
the cross and the remains of the saint were
deposited ; so that the religious, whether with-
in or without the church, might perform their
devotions at the sacred shrine. The side
walls were twenty-two feet in height, and the
front was adorned with five large Gothic
windows. The other three sides formed the
convent, of which the side walls were fourteen
feet high, and sixteen feet distant from each
other, and the ground floor vaulted. It was
of the order of churches called minsters,"
continues the statist, " and contained seventy
Red or Trinity Friars, an order instituted in
honour of the Holy Trinity, and for the re-
demption of Christians who were made pri-
soners by the Turks, to which a third part of
their yearly income was to be applied. Be-
sides other endowments, its royal founder gave
to the Cross Kirk about fifty acres of excel-
lent land, lying all around it." The founda-
tion of such a religious building at Peebles
could not fail to render the town a place of
some small note, if it were not so already.
Though not a royal burgh, it enjoyed the dis-
tinction, proper to towns within the royal
estates, of being a king's burgh, and as such it
possessedaregularburgalsystem of government,

840

PEEBLES.

When Edward I. demanded the submission of
the Scottish nation in 1296, William de la
Chaumbre, the baylliffor chief civic function-
ary, several burgesses, and " tote la community
de Peblis," with John, the vicar of the church,
appeared at Berwick to render him their ho-
mage. These men of office and privilege held
the town in firm, from the king, paying that
firm or revenue into the royal exchequer. In
1304, Edward L, who was then in possession
of Scotland, granted to Aylmar de Valence,
warden of the kingdom, and to his heirs, his
burgh of Peebles, with the mills and their
pertinents. Edward Baliol, in 1334, conveyed
to Edward III. of England, amidst other pos-
sessions, " villain et castrum, et vicecomitatum
de Pebles." Before the town obtained the pri-
vileges of a royal burgh, it sent two represen-
tatives to the parliament of 1357, which provid-
ed the ransom of David II. This monarch,
on the 20th of September 1337, granted to
Peebles a charter, which made it a royal
burgh, and which was confirmed successively
by charters from James IV. and James VI.
Peebles, though a king's burgh, may be sup-
posed to have been much under the control
and patronage of Simon Frazer, the sheriff of
the county, whose seat was Nidpath Castle,
a mile west from the town, and whose politi-
cal eminence is well known. There is a tra-
dition that one of the co-heiresses of this
magnate was the builder of that ancient bridge
which still crosses the Tweed at Peebles; a
public work of great utility, and, for the time,
very magnificent. A flood of light descends
upon Peebles in the next age, owing to the
very interesting poem, entitled " Peblis to
the Play," which is known with historic cer-
tainty to have been a composition of James I.,
and which refers to a particular festival or fair
that annually took place at Peebles on Beltane
day, or the first of May. James I. is well
known to have been an accomplished pupil of
the poetical school of Gower and Chaucer ;
and he is also noted in history for his custom
of mingling incognito in the sports and pas-
times of his people. As he must have occa-
sionally visited Peebles on his hunting excur-
sions to the south, it is natural to suppose
that, with such tastes, he would take care to
witness the scenes of this joyous festival, and
afterwards commit them, with all their breadth
of humour, to verse. The poem commences
with a description of the gathering of the peo-

ple from all parts of the neighbouring country
to attend the fair. An oath used in the poem
is " By the Haly Rude of Peebles," which
serves to show the veneration in which the
cross of St. Nicholaus was held. It may be
mentioned that Beltane was a festival of the
aboriginal people of this country, who chiefly
celebrated it by lighting fires on the tops of
hills and other places, in honour of their deity
Baal, from whom it takes its name — Beltane,
or Beltein, signifying the fire of Baal. A
fair is still held at Peebles on the second Wed-
nesday of May, and called Beltane Fair. So
lately as the middle of the last century it was
distinguished by a horse-race, when the magis-
trates gave a considerable prize ; but of late
years it has declined away almost to nothing.
As another note upon the poem, we may men-
tion that the remains of the early Celtic worship
of Baal were till lately observable in the wilder
parts of Ayrshire, where it was still customary
to burn what were called bale-fires [Baal-fires]
on the first of May, though noidea of a religious
worship was attached to the practice. They
were burnt within doors. The history of the
town in a somewhat later age is partly indicat-
ed by the preamble of James VI. 's last con-
firmatory charter, which is dated in 1621.
It proceeds upon a narrative of the memorable
services performed by the provost, bailies, and
burgesses, in defending the country against
foreign enemies, and exposing themselves on
the borders of England, and also of the town
being often burnt and laid waste. By the
kindness of the Scottish sovereigns, who so
frequently came to make merry at the town,
and to practise the noble pastimes of hunting
and hawking in its neighbourhood, it obtained
extensive grants of lands all around, and enjoyed
a very considerable revenue. Queen Mary, in
1560, granted it the power of levying a custom
at the bridge over the Tweed. On account of
the sequestered situation of Peebles, it figures
less than almost any other Scottish town in
the page of history. Lying upon no great
thoroughfare, it was generally overlooked or
avoided in all great historical movements.
Even its proximity to the capital was neutral-
ized by its retired situation, and its presenting
so little temptation to the plunderer. Almost
the only military expeditions which ever
touched at it, were those of the Protestant lords
in their advance to put down the Earl of Arran
at Stirling in 1585, and of the Marquis of Mon-

PEEBLES.

841

trose in his retreat from Philiphaugh in 1645.
Buchanan tells, that, in the winter of 1566-7,
Lord Darnley was sent in a kind of disgrace
to spend some time here ; and the zealous
anti-royalist defames at once Queen Mary and
Peebles by saying that he and his attend-
ants were nearly starved for want of provisions
before the ban of the court was removed. It
is not credible, as Keith has remarked, that
there could be any want of provisions at such
a place, even though all communication with
the neighbouring country had been cut off by
a snow storm. Among other incidents in the
annals of Peebles, it may be mentioned that it
was burnt by the English during Somerset's
invasion in 1547, and again suffered much
from accidental fire in 1604. Yet early in the
seventeenth century we find it celebrated for a
number of peculiarities which all tend to in-
dicate its importance as a town. " Celebris est
haec civitas," says the letter-press of Sleau's
Atlas Scotia, [Amsterdam, 1654,] " quinque
ternis ornamentis, nempe tribus templis, tribus
campanilibus, tribus portis, tribus plateis, tri-
bus pontibus ; quorum unus qui nempe Tuedam
trajicit quinque arcus habet — alium pontem
non patitur Tueda, donee Bervicum pertingat."
Or, as Doctor Pennycuik afterwards more
tunefully and more largely represented the
fact:

" Peebles, the metropolis of the shire,

Six times three praises doth from me require;

Three streets, three ports, three bridges it adorn,

And three old steeples, by three churches borne.

Three mills to serve their town in time of need,

On Peebles water and the river Tweed.

Their arms are proper, and point forth their meaning,

Three salmon fishes nimbly counter-swimming."

The circumstance mentioned in the latter part
of the above quotation from Bleau's Atlas,
which, it is well known, was compiled by
Timothy Pont, is a striking memorial of the
little facility given in former times to travel-
ling. Within the sixty-miles space thus for-
merly unprovided with a single bridge over the
Tweed, there are now — one at Innerleithen,
one at Yair near Selkirk, one (in process of
erection) below Selkirk, one above and another
at Melrose, one at Kelso, one at Coldstream,
and one at Paxton — besides two suspension
bridges, at King's -meadows and Dryburgh, for
private convenience, — in all ten. In former
times, however, the circumstance of there being
no bridge between Berwick and Peebles must
have been of great service to the latter town

in inducing intercourse and attracting popula-
tion. The last time Peebles had witnessed the
march of soldiery engaged in active civil war
was in 1745, when a detachment of the troops
of Prince Charles Edward passed through it,
after a day's encampment, on their way to
England by way of Dumfries. On this occa-
sion the town in no way suffered, beyond being
put into a state of alarm. Among the objects
in the town and environs which generally at-
tract attention, one of the most remarkable is
Nidpath castle, a noble ruin looking down upon
the town and the Tweed from a romantic glen
about a mile distant to the west. This was
originally the seat of that race of barons, one
of whom was Simon Frazer, above-mentioned.
While the younger of the daughters of this great
baron married Sir Patrick Fleming, ancestor
of the Wigton family, the elder espoused Sir
Gilbert Hay of Locherworth, or Lochwha-
ret, (now called Borthwick) in Lothian, who
forthwith was established in this property.
The Hays flourished for several centuries in
Nidpath, as hereditary sheriffs of Peebles-
shire, and were first ennobled under the title
of Yester, which was afterwards exchanged
for that of Tweeddale. They sold the pro-
perty, at the end of the seventeenth century,
to the first Duke of Queensbeny, who gave it
to his second son, the Earl of March. The
third possessor of this title, who also bore the
title of Baron Nidpath, and became fourth
Duke of Queensberry by inheritance, trans-
mitted the whole of this branch of his estates,
at his death, without issue, in 1810, to the
Earl of Wemyss, who descends from a daugh-
ter of the Queensberry family. The castle,
which has never been regularly occupied since
the accession of the Earl of March to the
Dukedom of Queensberry in 1778, is now
partly fallen to ruin, and the environs have
been much diminished in beauty by the de-
struction of the wood, which was done at the
command of the late Duke, in order to in-
crease the fortune of his natural daughter.
The building is a massive tower, the walls of
which are thirteen feet thick at bottom, and
there was a range of inferior buildings enclosed
by a court-yard. Its site on an eminence
overhanging the Tweed, in a sort of den at the
head of the vale of Peebles, is the delight of
the draughtsman. Formerly, this was a very
important pass, and the castle was therefore of
some consequence. It surrendered to Oliver
5 F

642

PEEBLES.

Cromwell, but not without making a gallant
defence. The Marquisses of Tweeddale, as
is well known to heralds, still wear the cinque-
foil of the Frasers in their coat armorial ; and
it is curious to find, above the gateway of this
fortlet, the deer's head couped, which formed,
and still forms, the crest of that family. Nid-
path castle is now inhabited only by a servant
of the Earl of Wemyss. Another antiquarian
juriosity is the ruin of the ancient parish
church, which, as already seen, was declared to
belong to the bishop of Glasgow in 1116.
This building, which bore the name of St.
Andrew, was situated at the western extremity
sf the old town, and the inhabitants still use its
precinct as their ordinary burial ground. Grose
has given a drawing of this relic of antiquity,
which, since his time, has become still more
decayed, so that little more than the steeple
can now be seen above ground. In General
Hutton's Ecclesiastical Collections in the Ad-
vocates' Library, there is an indenture entered
into at Peebles on the 4th of February 1444,
by " nobbil and worshipfull men1' the bai-
lies, the burgesses, and " hale community" of
Peebles on one part, and William Adeson
and William Medilmaste, vicar of Linton
in Rothryke, (Roxburghshire,) on the other
part, constituting the former as tutors and
keepers for ever of whatever donations the two
latter personages have bestowed or shall bestow
upon the altar of St. Michael in the kirk of
St. Andrew of Peebles, " for the service of a
chappellane, there perpetually to say mes, efter
the valow of the rents and possessiouns gevin
thereto, in honour of Almighty God, Mary
his modyr. and Saint Michael, for the hele of
the body and the sawl of Jamys, Kyng of
Scotts, for the balyheis, ye burges, and ye
communite of ye burgh of Peebles, and for the
hele of their awn sawn sawlis, their fadyris
sawlis, their modyris sawlis, their kynnis sawlis,
and al Chrystyn sawlis." In terms of this
bargain, the municipality of Peebles is obliged
to " gar kepe, at their gudly power, buke, vest-
ment, chalis, and othyr anouraments (orna-
ments ?) left or to be left to the said altar ;"
also to protect the chaplain in raising his annual
fee ; also to avoid themselves and cause all
other persons to avoid playing at " ye cathe"
on the houses belonging to the said altar, or
to amerce each person so offending in a pound
of wax, to be burnt on St. Andrew's and St.
Michael's altars in God's service ; as also to
36.

see that no chaplain be feed who eannot sirsg
sufficiently " in the pleasans of the parochyn ;"
besides other regulations of like importance.
It is not uninteresting to find that the soul of
the author of " Peblis to the play," was regu-
larly prayed for in the parish kirk of that town
which he had rendered immortal by his genius.
This church, which, in 1503, had nine altar-
ages, ceased to be the paroehial place of wor-
ship at the Reformation, when the conven-
tual church of the Red Friars was adopted for
that purpose. It is recorded by tradition
that the dragoons of Cromwell, when en-
gaged in the siege of Nidpatb, stabled their
horses in the body of the church. The re-
mains of the Cross church are situated a little
way to the east of St. Andrew's kirk. Out
of all the conventual square nothing is now to
be seen but a fragment of. the church. It
would appear that this establishment had be-
come exceedingly rich at the time of the Re-
formation, as is indicated by a list of its pos-
sessions, summed up in a hereditary gift of
them by King James VI. to Lord Hay of
Yester in 1624, which we regret we have
not room to introduce.* Resides these pos-
sessions, there were others directed to the
support of particular altars and priests, in
favour of certain souls, according to General
Hutton's Collections, which contain an im-
mense number of sasines dated throughout the
fifteenth century, whereby the burgesses of
Peebles resign certain annual sums out of the
rents of their houses, and in many cases the
entire houses themselves, for the above purpose.
Amidst those endowments for " sawll-heil,'"
as it was called (meaning soul-welfare), one is
in terms somewhat ludicrous ; as follows. " On
the 12th day of February 1473, Willyam of
Peblis, burges of that ilk," resigns his " fore-
land, under and aboon, by and on the conyhe,
neist the North gate, to Sanct Lenard's hospi-
tal, [which was situated about two miles to the
east of the town] for his sawl, his wyff's sawil,
his bairnis sawlis, and for all the sawlis that the
said Willyam has had ony gud wrangously of, in
bying or selling or any enterchangyng ;" a trait

* In the charter by King James V., dated 1529, giving
to the Cross kirk of Peebles a religious house founded
by Christian Bruce, Countess of Dunbar, at Dunbar, the
following expression is used regarding the said Cross
kirk, " quhair ane part of ye verray croce yat our eal-
vator was crucifyit on, is honorit and kepit."

PEEBLES.

843

of late repentant candour truly laughable.
The cross church continued to be used as the
ordinary place of worship for the parish, from
the time of the Reformation till the year 1784,
when it was deserted for a new one at the head
©f the High Street. The domestic buildings
of the monastery had also been used as a school
and school -master's house till the early part of
the last century, since which period they have
become completely obliterated from the surface
of the ground. Of the church, the most entire
part is now the steeple, which was added at the
expense of the town since the Reformation, and
bears its name on a corner stone. Of this
large monument of the piety of our ancestors,
in which was contained what was supposed to
be a relic of the actual cross of Christ, as also
the remains of an apostolic martyr — by whose
sacred " rude" king James I. swore, and which
was supported by many valuable endowments —
hardly a stone might have now remained togeth-
er, but for the attention of a neighbouring gen-
tleman, who has fenced it in on account of a
family burial vault attached to it ; the rapacity
of the common people, and the indifference of
public authorities having conspired to bring it
to utter ruin in less than thirty years. — Of the
tastle of Peebles, there have been for ages no
remains ; and it is only known from tradition
to have occupied a commanding situation at the
head of the peninsula on which the new town
is built, and on the site of which the present
parish church stands. Within the remembrance
of inhabitants still alive, the chapel of this
ancient fortlet existed in the vicinity, at the
head of the High Street. It is also known
that there were several other chapels in the
town, prior to the Reformation, but the
whole have long since disappeared. At one
period some of the houses of Peebles bore the
names of noblemen, attendants of the court,
who had once inhabited them ; and there are
some other places in the town, which still bear
very remarkable names. A strand which crosses
the High Street, about the middle, is called
the Dean's Gutter, on account, no doubt, of the
minister of Peebles, who was always archdean
of Glasgow. A corner of the street near the
cross is called the Cunyie JYevk, — which must
be reckoned a pleonasm, as cunyie or conyhe,
in old Scotch, signifies " a corner." An ancient
and good-looking house in the old town, now
occupied by a number of poor families, is called
the Virgins Lm, having probably been a nunnery.

There also still exists a large and highly res-
pectable house in the close neighbourhood of
the Dean's Gutter, known to have belonged to
the family of Queensberry, in which the last
duke was born. This edifice has a castel-
lated appearance, one of its corners bearing a
curious turret of the pepper-box order, and
there being no entrance to the mansion except-
ing by an arched passage leading into a court-
yard behind. This is believed to be the scene
of a highly romantic incident, the subject of a
ballad by Sir Walter Scott, called " the Maid
of Nidpath." We may now turn to a descrip-
tion of this ancient town as it at present exists.
The old town, as has been said, lies on the north
side of Edleston water, and consists of little
more than a single street of old houses mostly
thatched, with a few of modern date. It is
connected with the New Town by a stone
bridge of a single arch, and by a wooden bridge
for foot passengers. The New Town con-
sists of a main or High Street, in the direction
of east and west, lying along the peninsula al-
ready mentioned, with the church at its west-
ern extremity ; and on the east there are two
branching thoroughfares, the one leading to-
wards Edinburgh, and the other towards Inner-
leithen and Selkirk. Besides these streets
there are a number of closes and detached
edifices, including some neat villas. The New
Town was originally surrounded by walls, but
these have been altogether removed, except at
the backs of some gardens at the east end of
the town. The chief object of attraction is
the clear-flowing Tweed, on the south side of
the town, and only separated from it by a
beautifid green, which, in former ages was pro-
bably the scene of those pastimes commemo-
rated by the royal poet. Near the church, on
a line with the bridge over Edleston water,
the Tweed is crossed by the bridge, already
alluded to, which consists of four lofty arches,
Avith some additions. On the level ground at
the south extremity of this bridge, and on the
property of Hay of Hayston, baronet, a mo-
dern suburb has been erected. The view from
Tweed Bridge is particularly pleasing, though
inferior to that at Kelso, and whde affording
a view of the desolate castle of Nidpath on
the west, shews in the east a rich landscape,
including the pleasure-grounds of Kingsmea-
dows, the seat of the above baronet. The
High Street of Peebles has been greatly
improved within the date of the present cen-

844

PEEBLES.

tury ; it now possesses many excellent stone
houses, among others, an inn on the south side,
with very extensive accommodations, erected
in 1808, on a tontine proprietory. On the
same side of the street stands a substantial
town-house. The cross of Peebles, an ele-
gant erection similar to that of Edinburgh,
which stood at the east end of the street,
was removed many years ago, on the same in •
sufficient pretence as that given for taking
away the cross of Edinburgh, namely, that it
interrupted the thoroughfare ! The church at
the west end of the street is a large plain
edifice, with a spire more substantial than
elegant. Beside it is a neat modern erection,
used as the town and county jail. The town pos-
sesses mills for grinding flour and meal, moved
by water from the Tweed, also an extensive
wauk-mill. Though placed in a most pictur-
esque and delightful situation, the external
aspect of the town is unfortunately rendered
somewhat harsh and cold in the eye of a stranger,
by the predominance of hard blue and grey whin -
stone in the composition of the houses. We have
had occasion to remark in the present work,
that while some towns, such as Hawick and
Galashiels, have risen into a great degree of
prosperity, by accidentally falling upon, and
spiritedly following up, some particular branch
of manufactures, other places, with equal ad-
vantages and disadvantages, have incomprehen-
sibly continued in a comparatively backward
and spiritless condition. Of the latter de-
scription, Peebles offers a notable example, the
epoch yet being to arrive when it is to start off
in that successful career of lucrative industry,
which may render it distinguished in the list
of Scottish provincial towns. Most topogra-
phical writers, in noticing Peebles, mention
that it carries on " a great manufacture of
woollens and serges," — which is an error now
of some standing, as this pursuit is only carried
on for native consumption. At the beginning
of the present century, the manufacture of fine
cotton cloths was introduced from Glasgow by
the late Mr. James Chambers; but here, as
everywhere else, this branch of trade, which
employed a great number of hands, has been
greatly injured, much to the distress of the
working classes, and at present the town can
hardly be said to have any staple manufacture.
Stockings have been manufactured on a mo-
derate scale for some years, and there is a tan-
nery. At Kerfield, about a mile to the east,

there has long been an ale brewery. Though
the state of trade is thus very low, the town is
nevertheless yearly improving — apparently from
the progressive advancement of all things around
it. A branch of the British Linen Company's
bank, a printing-press, and a reading-room for
newspapers have been established with pros-
pects of success, and there have been other
manifestations of an increase of wealth and in-
telligence. Recently the streets and shops
have been lighted with gas, manufactured by a
joint stock company. The intercourse with
the capital has been greatly augmented in re-
cent times by the celebrity of the mineral well
at Innerleithen, and a stage coach now runs
daily betwixt. Edinburgh and Peebles. The
town possesses several friendly societies and
associations for religious purposes, and has a
mason's lodge. Besides the almost extinct fair
of Beltane, already noticed, there is another
held on the first Tuesday of March, called
Fasten's-e'en Fair, which is still attended;
and a new one has just been instituted (1831)
at the beginning of October, for the sale of
horses, cattle, and cheese. A corn and meal
market has recently been revived on Tuesdays,
after an unaccountable neglect for a series of
years. Peebles is the seat of the courts of the
sheriff of the county, and of justices of peace.
The burgh is. under the government of a pro-
vost, two bailies, a dean of guild, a treasurer,
eleven councillors, and one deacon, of the
weavers, (who alone are incorporated,) the bur-
gal corporation thus consisting of seventeen
members. The burgh was associated at the
Union with Selkirk, Lanark, and Linlithgow,
in electing a member of Parliament. The in-
come of the town, as stated in a report of a
committee of the House of Commons, was
lately L.292, 10s. 9d. sterling. At one period
the town possessed a most extensive range of
landed property, and a right of common in dif-
ferent parts, as may be seen from the charter
of James VI. ; but nearly the whole has perish-
ed through the vicious administration of the
burgal magistracy. A certain number of house
proprietors, however, still retain a joint right
of property in the adjacent farm of Cademuir,
and each draws a share of the rent in propor-
tion to the ancient dimensions of his tenement.
The armorial bearings of the town are three
salmon, one of which is supposed to be swim-
ming against the flood, while two are under-
stood to be going with it ; an allusion to the

PEEBLES.

845

increase which takes place by the spawning of
this fish at their annual migration to the
sources of our streams, and in particular to
the advantage which Peebles derives from that
increase. The motto, descriptive of this phe-
nomenon, is " contra nando incrementum," and
above the shield is placed St. Andrew with his
cross, in consequence of the connexion of that
saint with the parish church. The three
fishes of the coat-armorial is one of the most
notable of all the ternary ideas connected with
Peebles, for it has entered proverbially into
the social language of the inhabitants, and at
length brought matters to such a pass that it
is hardly possible for any party, however small,
to separate without three bottles, or measures,
of whatever liquor they may be drinking. As
much good liquor, we almost believe, has been
shed on this account, as would keep the river
in flood for a week. The ecclesiastical esta-
blishments in Peebles are, besides the church,
two meeting-houses of the united associate
synod, a relief meeting-house, and an episcopal
chapel ; the two latter are of recent institution.
Peebles is the seat of a presbytery in the sy-
nod of Lothian and Tweedale. The town
has for fifty years been celebrated for the ex-
cellence of its schools, which have attracted
boys from all parts of the world. Of semi-
naries under the patronage of the magistrates,
there are two — one for English, writing,
and arithmetic, (which was long under the
charge of the late Mr. James Gray, author of
a popular spelling-book, and works on arith-
metic,) and the other for the learned languages.
Both are most respectable seminaries ; the
latter, which has been conducted for nearly
thirty years by Mr. Sloan, is one of the most
esteemed boarding-schools in the country.
There is also an academy for young ladies,
under the patronage of the Hay family. The
salubrity of the place, and the opportunities
which it affords for recreation, give it a great
additional advantage as a place of instruc-
tion, and also as a scene of retirement for
annuitants. . A circulating # library has
been established for the last thirty years, and
is now an extensive and varied collection. The
town is the appointed place of resort of an an-
nual meeting of the royal company of archers,
who attend to shoot for a silver arrow given
by the burgh. A bowling-green, situated be-
hind the church, is the resort of all classes of
the inhabitants in the summer evenings. Fish-

ing with the rod in the Tweed and its' tribu-
taries, is likewise a never-failing source of
amusement and recreation. Such circum-
stances, we think, are all calculated more or
less to recommend this ancient and seques-
tered town to certain classes of individuals,
who may have occasion to select some quiet
rural scene, wherein to spend the evening of
their days. — Population of the town in 1821,
2000,— including the parish 2701.

PEFFER, a rivulet in Cromartyshire,
parish of Fodderty, which falls into the firth
of Cromarty.

PEFFER, a rivulet which rises in the pa-
rish of Athelstaneford, Haddingtonshire, and
falls into the sea at the low sandy beach of
Aberlady. Another rivulet of the same name
rises near it, and flows eastward to the sea,
into which it falls near Scougal.

PENCAITLAND, a parish in the west-
ern part of Haddingtonshire, of an irregular
square figure ; extending about four miles in
length, by three in breadth ; bounded by Glads-
muir on the north, Salton on the east, and Or-
miston on the south and west. The bound-
ary with Salton is the Tyne river, from which
the land rises in gradual ascents. This dis-
trict has been greatly improved, and now
abounds in beautiful plantations. It forms
nearly the eastmost limit of the great coal
range of the Lothians. There are two small
villages, west and east Pencaitland. North
from these is Winton House, formerly the
residence of the Earls of Winton, previous
to the attainder of the Seton family in
1715. It has since been remodelled in an
elegant style. In the western part of the pa-
rish is Fountainhall, a remarkably fine seat

Population in 1821, 1145.

PENNINGHAM, a parish in the north-
eastern part of Wigtonsbire, extending along
the right bank of the Cree river about fifteen
miles, by a breadth of from three to five ;
bounded by Wigton on the south, and Kirk-
cowan on the west. The district is chiefly
moorish and uncultivated, and fitted princi-
pally for pasture. The large and thriving vil-
lage of Newton- Stewart is within the parish,
on the banks of the Cree, and here the great
road from Dumfries to Portpatrick enters the
parish, by a handsome stone bridge. — Popula-
tion in 1821, 3090.

PENNYCUICK, a parish in the county
of Edinburgh, extending from eleven to twelve

9 IS

PENNYCUICK.

miles in length by from six to seven in breadth ;
bounded by Cunie and Colinton on the north,
by Glencorse and Lasswade on the east, Edles-
ton on the south, and Linton on the west.
The parish includes in its northern quarter, a
portion of the Pentland hills, from whence the
land declines, and is throughout tolerably flat.
The district is intersected by the North Esk,
which has a deep romantic channel, and is of
great use in turning machinery. A large
proportion of the level ground in this parish
is a moorish waste ; but within a few years
back great exertions have been made to drain
and improve the soil ; and under the auspices
of Sir George Clerk, Bart, there has been
much planting. The mansion of this family
is agreeably situated about a mile and a half
south-west from the village of Pennycuick,
amidst some fine pleasure-grounds and woods,
and commanding a view of the valley of
the Esk. The house was erected in 1761,
by the late Sir James Clerk, Bart. It con-
tains an excellent collection of books and
paintings, and the proprietor has been assi-
duous in collecting a number of the Ro-
man antiquities found in Britain. Amongst
many miscellaneous curiosities, there is here
to be seen the buff-coat which the Vis-
count Dundee wore at the battle of Killie-
crankiej the hole through which the fatal
bullet passed is underneath the arm-pit.
The pleasure-grounds are highly ornamented,
and at the back of the house is an exact model
of the celebrated Roman Temple, which for-
merly stood on the banks of the River Car-
ron, popularly denominated Arthur's Oven.
On the opposite side of the river to the north,
stands an obelisk, which Sir James Clerk
raised to the memory of his friend Allan
Ramsay, who often resided at Pennycuick,
and is supposed by some to have there com-
posed the greater part of his matchless pas-
toral. Pennycuick House is a fine specimen
of modern architecture, ornamented with light
and elegant sculpture. The rooms are large,
in just proportion to the magnitude of the edi-
fice, and the furniture is of the most splendid
description. One of the rooms, designated
Ossian's Hall, has a ceiling beautifully decor-
sited by Runciman. This elaborate and pain-
ful work was the cause of the painter's death ;
for, by lying so long upon his back, he con-
tracted a disorder which soon after ended fatal-
ly. On the southern verge of the parish is the

estate of Newhall, on which is found the ro.
mantic locality, known by the name of Hab-
bie's How. On the grounds of Newhall, on
the banks of the Esk, is the gun-powder ma-
nufactory of Marfield, which has been for
some years at a stand.

Pennycuick, a village in the above parish,
agreeably situated on a high bank overhang-
ing the north bank of the North Esk river,
on the road from Edinburgh to Peebles, nine
and a half miles south-west of the former. It
consists of little else than a single street, with
the parish church at its east end. Below
the village, on the verge of the river, is an ex-
tensive suite of paper-mills. The spot on
which these mills are now at work, was,
during the late war, covered with barracks
for the reception of French prisoners. The
number of prisoners here was usually very
great, and immediately before the peace, an
extensive suit of buildings was erected in the
neighbourhood for their reception, which were
used. Weaving is earned on in the village.
The village of Kirkhill stands a short way to
the north-east. The name Pennycuick is of
Celtic etymology, and signifies " the hill of
the cuckoo." — Population of the parish and
village in 1821, 1958.

PENPONT, a parish in Nithsdale, Dum-
fries-shire, extending nine miles in length, by
from two and a half to three and a half in
breadth ; bounded by Sanquhar and Durisdeer
on the north, Morton on the east, and Keir
and Tynron on the south. This parish is of a
mountainous nature, and is divided into three
deep and narrow glens or vales, each watered
by its respective streamlet, and separated from
each other by hilly ridges. The chief of these
rivulets is the Scarr water, on the Nith, which
washes the lower extremity of the parish. The
hills are mostly covered with rich pasture, and
are interspersed with many fertile arable spots.
From the middle of the parish rises Cairn-
kinnow, a lofty mountain, rising higher than
any other hill betwixt the Solway and Clyde.
In the bosom of the north-east ridge in the
district rises the remarkable protuberance call-
ed Glenquhargen Craig, which shoots almost
perpendicularly up to the height of 1000 feet.
It has two faces that strike the eye, and no
other rock is to be seen on either side. It is
a hard brownish whinstone, and from its ro-
mantic and striking appearance is reckoned
one of the greatest curiosities in Dumfries-

PENTLAND FIRTH.

847

shire. The general prospect down the Nith
and Scarr is extensive and beautiful, consist-
ing of level ground highly cultivated, gentle
risings, woods, villas, and mountains. The
manse and church stand in a plain, about
thirty feet above the Scarr, which winds about
it in a serpentine form. The name of the
parish is supposed by the statist to he derived
from pendens pons, an arched bridge, there be-
ing an ancient bridge of one semicircular arch,
supported by two steep rocks over the Scarr.
The small village of Penpont is a presbytery
seat.— Population in 1821, 1082.

PENTLAND FIRTH, the strait or
arm of the sea betwixt the mainland of Scot-
land and the Orkney islands, extending about
twenty miles in length from east to west, by a
breadth varying from five and a half to eight
miles. At the middle, the sea is some miles
broader, by the indentation of Scalpa Bay or
flow, on the Orkney side. On the mainland,
or coast of Caithness, the firth is bounded
by Duncansby head on the east, and Dunnet
head on the western promontory. On the
north or Orkney side, it is bounded by South
Ronaldshay island on the east, and by the
island of Hoy on the western extremity. Near-
ly in the centre of the firth, betwixt Duncansby
head and South Ronaldshay, lie the Pentland
Skerries or islets ; and about half way through,
nearer the south than the north side, lies the
island of Stroma. Nearly opposite this island,
at the entrance of Scalpa Bay, is situated the
small island of Swinna. The Pentland firth
is the most dangerous of the Scottish seas, yet
it is the route necessary to be taken by all ves-
sels of a large size passing to or from the east
coast of Scotland in communication with the
Atlantic, — the Caledonian canal now allowing
the sailing of vessels of moderate burden. The
dangers of this gulf arise from the conflict of
the tides of the Atlantic and German oceans,
or from the impetuosity of currents agitated
by, or sometimes contending with, the winds.
The navigation is rendered more hazardous by
the island of Stroma and the Pentland Skerries,
which help to impede the currents, and to pro-
duce most dangerous whirlpools. Near Stro-
ma is an exceedingly dangerous whirlpool call-
ed the Swalchie of Stroma, by which the sea
is covered with white foam to a considerable
distance. At the south side of the same isle
is another dangerous place, in which the waves

are dreadfully agitated, called the Merry men of
Mey, from the Mey, a gentleman's seat on the
opposite coast of Caithness. Notwithstand-
ing these dangers, the Pentland firth may be
crossed and sailed through without great peril
if mariners be careful to enter it at the pro-
per time ; but at no time is it possible to cast
anchor in any part of it ; and those who have
attempted it have been obliged to cut their
cables, or they would shortly have been over-
whelmed by the fury of the waves. This dan-
gerous strait is the greatest thoroughfare from
the eastern to the western coasts of the king-
dom, and is the terror of the boldest sailors,
and the grave of thousands. When a west or
a south-west wind causes an increase of the
current, scarcely any vessel is able to withstand
the tempestuous surge. The word Pentland
signifies the end of the land.

PENTLAND HILLS, a range of hills
which commence about three miles south-west
from Edinburgh, and extend in a south-west
direction about twelve miles, stretching be-
yond the boundaryof Mid-Lothian into Peebles-
shire. These hills, on looking from Edin-
burgh, present a bold termination, rising to a
height of fourteen hundred and fifty feet above
the level of the sea. They are intersected by
a valley in Glencorse parish, through which a
streamlet flows ; it is dammed up so as to make
a large pond for supplying the mills with water.
The highest hill of the range rises 1700 feet
above the level of the sea. The Pentland hills,
though of a heathy and barren appearance, are
covered with fine pasture, and feed numerous
flocks of sheep. All around their lower parts
they are finely cultivated, and on many places
show thriving plantations.

PENTLAND SKERRIES, two unin-
habited islands, with some contiguous rocks,
situated in the middle of the opening of the
Pentland firth. Lying exposed to the uninter-
rupted force of the waves of the North sea, and
to the rapid tides and currents of the firth, the
Skerries had been long dangerous to mariners,
and formed an eligible site for a lighthouse.
One of these useful establishments was conse-
quently planted on the larger Skerry in 1794.
It is a lighthouse with two towers, and a highei
and lower light, standing in north lat. 58° 43',
and long. 3° 3' west of London. The north-
west or highest light-room is elevated 100 feet,
and the lower light-room 80 feet above the

PERTHSHIRE.

medium level of the sea. The two light-rooms,
relatively to each other, bear S. S. W. and
N. N. E., distant 60 feet. The bearings, as
taken from the highest light-room by compass,
are the western extremity of the Little Pent-
land Skerry S. by W., distant 1J miles; ex-
tremity of the foul ground of that Skerry S. E.
distant 1| miles; Duncansby head in Caith-
ness W. S. W., distant 4| miles ; Noss head
S. W. by W., distant 14 miles ; north-west
point of the island of Stroma, N. W. by W.,
distant 64 miles ; south-eastern extremity of
the Loather rock on the Orkney shore N. by
W., distant 3£ miles.

PERTHSHIRE, one of the largest coun-
ties in Scotland, and one which contains a much
greater variety of territory than any other, is
situated in the centre of the kingdom, whose
great northern and southern divisions it may
be said in some measure to connect. It may
also be considered an inland district, because
although it comes into contact with the estu-
aries of two great rivers, it in no quarter ex-
tends to the shore of the ocean. Extending
from the firth of Forth on one hand, to the
wilds of Inverness-shire on the other, and
from the eastern district of Angus to the
western one of Argyle, it measures from east
to west about seventy-seven miles, while
its extreme breadth is not less than sixty-
eight miles. Altogether it comprehends 5000
square miles, that is 3,200,000 Scottish, or
4,068,640 English acres. It is bounded on
the east by the county of Forfar; on the
south-east by the counties of Fife and Kin-
ross,— the firth of Tay causing a consider-
able separation between it and Fifeshire. It is
further bounded on the south by the Forth
and the county of Stirling, and also by the
small county of Clackmannan, which it em-
braces on two sides. It is bounded on the
south-west by Dumbartonshire ; on the west
by Argyleshire ; and on the north-west and
north by Inverness-shire. In every respect,
situation included, Perthshire may be consi-
dered the Yorkshire of Scotland., Like that
immense county, it is subdivided into dis-
tricts, which were formerly stewartries under
the jurisdiction of different great landed pro-
prietors, but which since the abolition of the
heritable jurisdictions, have only been preserv-
ed in popular parlance. The names of the va-
rious districts are, Monteith, Gowrie, Perth

proper, Strathearn, the Stormont, Breadalbane,
Rannoch, Balquhidder, and A thole: and all
these give, or have given, titles to various noble
families. These districts do not include the
portion which lies on the firth of Forth, and
whose political connexion with Perthshire is
inconvenient and somewhat unaccountable.
This large county, in a general sense, rests
upon a south-eastern exposure, as the whole of
its waters flow in that direction. From its
high western boundary the whole waters of
the shire descend towards the German ocean
on the east, whereas the waters of Argyleshire
flow in an opposite direction to the Atlantic.
Thus the western boundary of Perthshire ap-
pears to have been pointed out by nature as a
line of separation between the eastern and
western sides of the island. With the excep-
tion of the portion on the Forth, the whole of
the county may be described as that vast terri-
tory in Scotland whose waters descend into the
river Tay, and by their confluence form that
mighty stream. The heads of this river, and
of the waters which fall into it, do indeed, in
almost every direction, constitute the boun-
daries of the shire. As regards physical dis-
tinction, Perthshire is divided into two exten-
sive districts of highland and lowland. The
vast range of the Grampian mountains runs
along the northern and north-western part of
the county, and a large portion of the area of
Perthshire is occupied by these mountains.
The territory to the south-east of the Gram-
pians is considered as belonging to the
Lowlands. Eighteen parishes in Perthshire
belong to the Highlands, and fifty-eight to the
Lowlands; but the Highland parishes are of
great extent, and some of them cover a tract
of country equal to eight or ten parishes in
the lower and more fertile districts : Thus
the parish of Blair in Athole is not less than
thirty miles in length and eighteen in breadth,
and the parish of Fortingal is fully thirty-seven
miles in length, by seventeen in breadth, in-
cluding the districts of Glenlyon, Rannoch,
&c. In regard to its natural features, Perth
is esteemed a county of first-rate interest. Ly-
ing, as we have said, partly in the Highlands
and partly in the Lowlands, it comprehends
scenery of every description of excellence,
from the wild and romantic down to the
beautiful and champaign. On account of its
inland situation, it of course does not comprise

PERTHSHIRE.

849

any specimens of that singular combination of
marine and mountain scenery, which forms the
great attraction of the West Highlands. Yet,
as it abounds in inland lakes, and possesses
rising grounds of fully as stern and grand a
character as that district, it is in no respect in-
ferior as the object of " a tour in search of the
picturesque," while its splendid plains may be
said to form an additional attraction. The
soil of Perthshire consists of all the varieties
known in Scotland, the carse and loamy
being prevalent on the banks of the rivers,
and sandy and tilly soil on the sides of the
hills. In many places are extensive mosses,
particularly in Monteith, in which is situated
the moss of Kincardine, or Blair Drummond.
In former times the greater part of Perthshire,
like the adjacent county of Fife, was covered
with woods, which the progress of agriculture
has in many districts removed; but in every moss,
in the flat land, in the valley, or on the tops of
hills, roots and trunks of large trees are found.
Besides the detached woods in the county, there
are extensive forests in Breadalbane and in
Monteith. Within the last sixty years, there has
been avast deal of planting in Perthshire, greatly
to the advantage of the climate and agriculture.
Of the different noblemen and gentlemen who
devoted their attention to this species of im-
provements, none acted so distinguished a part
as the late Duke of Athole. It appears from
an abstract made in 1830, of this nobleman's
woods and forests, that they consist of 13,378
Scottish acres — of which the whole, except
about 1000 acres, were planted by the late Duke
after his accession in 1774. Thus, his Grace
planted the enormous quantity of 1 5,473 English
acres ; and allowing 2000 plants to a Scottish
acre, the number of trees planted will amount
to 24,756,000. But the number in reality is
much more, as ten per cent, may be allowed
for making good — so that the number may be
stated at 27,231,600. Of these plantations,
the principal portion, to the amount of about
8600 acres, are of larch ; about 1000 acres are
of oak ; the remainder are of Scottish fir,
spruce fir, a few acres of birch, &c. The same
patriotic nobleman exerted himself to improve
the roads of Perthshire, and by his means
the road affairs of the county were brought
into an excellent condition. The loftiest
mountains in Perthshire are Ben Lawers, which
is 4015 feet in height; Ben More, 3903;
Schihallion, 3564; Ben Gloa, 3724; Ben

Ledi, 3009; Ben Venue, 3000; and Ben
Chonzie in Strathearn, 2922. The chief
lakes of the county are Loch Katrine, Loch
Achray, Loch Ard, Loch Voil, Loch Lubnaig,
Loch Dochart, and Loch Earn, in the south-
west quarter ; Loch Tay in the centre of the
western mountainous district ; and Loch Ran-
noch, Loch Ericht, and Loch Lydoch, (the two
latter in part only,) in the north-western dis-
trict. In the lower divisions there are some
smaller and less important lakes. The chief
running waters of Perthshire are the Tay, the
Earn, the Dochart, the Almond, the Garry,
the Tummel, the Bran, the Bruar, the Ericht,
the Ardle, the Shee, and the Isla, besides in-
numerable third and fourth-rate rivers, and
streamlets of all sizes. The river Forth, from
rising in Stirlingshire, is not considered a
Perthshire river, though it flows along a large
portion of its south-west quarter. Perthshire
abounds in game of nearly every descrip-
tion, though the larger species is now consider-
ably diminished in numbers. The red deer or
stag may be said to inhabit the forests and
mountain glades in the most perfect state of na-
ture and wildness ; it is cautious in the ex-
treme, and singularly jealous of the human form,
eluding with wonderful effect the wiles of the
sportsman. A variety of other game are also
inhabitants of these wilds. Among the rest the
roe, a much more familiar animal than the
stag, appealing, even in summer, in the wood
lands and plantations of the valleys, down to
the habitable places ; nevertheless, their aver-
sion to restraint is such that they may be said
to be untameable. The subject of the mine-
ralogy of this county affords sufficient materials
to excite and to reward the curiosity of the
scientific student of the works of nature ; but in
a political or economical point of view, its mi-
nerals are of no great importance. At Culross,
upon the Forth, coal has been wrought for ages ;
but as it is situated at a detached corner between
the counties of Fife and Clackmannan, it is of
little importance to Perthshire. The Carse of
Gowiie, and the country around Perth, are
supplied with coal by sea from the southern
coast of Fife, or from England. From the
ports of Dundee and Perth, coal is conveyed
over-land, along Strathearn and Strathmore,
to a great distance. The districts of Monteith
and Strathallan are supplied from the coal-works
in Clackmannanshire. In consequence of this
want of coal, by far the larger p^rt of the eouik-
5 a

850

PERTHSHIRE.

try is exposed to great disadvantages. Peat is
the fuel generally consumed by the common
people in all the inland districts, together with
such sorts of brushwood as can be obtained.
In such a northern climate, the difficulty of pro-
curing fuel operates severely on all sorts of
arts and industry. Even agriculture proceeds
under great disadvantages where it is not
easily obtained ; a great part of the summer
season is consumed in the Highland and all
upland districts in digging, drying, and carry-
ing peats. Neither can that important in-
gredient, lime, be obtained for carrying on im-
provements in agriculture where coal is want-
ing. Limestone rocks are found in a variety
of districts, both in the Highlands and in the
low country ; but the use of lime is greatly
restrained on account of the difficulty of cal-
cination, peat being a weak and ineffectual
agent for this purpose. Limestone is found
in the Highland districts, such as Rannoch,
Glenlyon, and Breadalbane, and the head of
Strathearn. In Monteith is a quarry of beauti-
ful limestone, of the density of marble, of a
blue ground, variegated with streaks of white ;
it is found on the estate of Leny. Marble of a
superior quality is also worked on the property
of the Duke of A thole near Glen tilt. Large
beds of fire clay have been discovered near Cul-
ross ; and in that neighbourhood, on the Devon,
there is abundance of ironstone. Slates are
found in a variety of situations. Of these, the
blue slates have been found at Birnam near
Dunkeld, in Monteith, and along the north side
of the Ochils ; also in Monteith, as well as in
Strathallan and Strathearn : gray slates are
abundantly diffused. Near Drummond Castle,
and more particularly about Callander, that
species of rock called breccia or plum-pudding
stone, is frequent. It is a composition consist-
ing of a great variety of small stones of differ-
ent colours and sizes, so firmly cemented toge-
ther by a brown substance that when used in
buildings it resists the influence of the weather
for ages. This kind of stone, together with
the slate and limestone, run in three parallel
veins, at the distance of a mile from each other,
to a very great length in a north-east direction
from Dumbartonshire. There seems to run
parallel to these on the east, a chain of sand-
stone from Gartree to the vicinity of Crieff. At
the south-east corner of the county, upon the
Tay, is one of the best and most celebrated
stone quarries in this country. This stone,

as.

called the Kingoodie stone, is of a greyish eo-
lour, difficult to work, and hard and durable in
an uncommon degree ; so much so, that the
fine old tower, the steeple of Dundee, built
with it, has, even after the lapse of so many
centuries, scarcely shewn any symptom of
decay. The principal stone of which the
Grampians consist is granite ; and it is re-
markable, that as the coal field of Scotland
terminates to the southward of the Ochils,
the sandstone, or freestone, seems in a great
measure to terminate at the next parallel ridge
northward, that is, at the Grampians. It is
not a little singular, that the same territory
formed in ancient times the boundary between
the forests of fir-trees, which in ancient times
covered the north of Scotland, and the forests
of oak, and other deciduous trees, that cover-
ed the whole of Scotland to the south of the
Grampians. The most remarkable mineral
waters in this county are those of Pitcaithly,
near the Bridge of Earn, which have been
long famed for their efficacy in curing scro-
fulous and stomachic complaints. — The mo-
numents of antiquity which exist in this
county are sufficiently numerous to afford a
field of curious investigation. Lying to the
northward of the Roman wall, Perthshire was
the scene of the last struggle for independence
which the inhabitants of the low country of
Scotland made against the Roman arms. From
a passage in Claudian, we are led to suppose
that the Earn was often dyed with blood :

Scotorum cumulos flevit glacialis Ieme.
The last and most distinguished battle fought
by the Britons was that against Agricola, un-
der a leader to whom the Romans have given
the name of Galgacus. The scene of this
final struggle is, however, much disputed, as
may be seen under the head Grampians. The
Roman road along Strathearn towards Perth
is still to be traced, and also from Perth along
Strathmore to the extremity of the county.
The remains of several camps are still to be
seen, in particular at Ardoch, this being the
chief in Scotland. — (See Muthill). The
county also possesses antiquarian remains of
a later age and history, in the shape of
ruined towers and religious structures, the dis-
trict having once been the residence of a num-
ber of powerful chiefs, and of a large body of
churchmen. Before the Reformation, and while
episcopacy was established, Perthshire formed
the ample diocese of a bishop, whose seat was

PERTH.

851

at Dunkeld, as well as another diocese of a
bishop at Diunblane — Within the last half cen-
tury a prodigious improvement has been effect-
ed in the agriculture of Perthshire, the lower
parts of which, especially in the Carse of Gow-
rie, and in the lower part of the Earn, vie in
rural wealth, cultivation, and beauty, with any
district in Scotland. The upper country is still,
of course, devoted to the pasturing of sheep
and cattle, w are chiefly driven southwards
for sale and consumption. The agricultural
character of the county has in recent times
been enhanced by the active exertions of various
local associations. The principal object of in-
dustry in the villages and towns of Perthshire
is the linen manufacture, of much the same
fabric as that which forms the staple produce
in Forfarshire. In aid of this branch of manu-
facture, there are a number of considerable
bleachfields in the county. Perthshire com-
prehends no more than two royal burghs,
namely Perth and Culross, the latter a small
decayed town on the Firth of Forth ; but it
possesses many considerable towns or large
populous villages, including several burghs of
barony. The following places may be noticed,
among many others : — Auchterarder, Black-
ford, Auchtergaven, Stanley, Blairgowrie, Cal-
lander, Comrie, Crieff, Cupar- Angus, Doune,
Bridge-of-Earn, Dumblane, Dunkeld, Dun-
ning, Errol, Fortingal, Kenmore, Killin, Kin-
cardine, Meigle, Methven, Muthill, Rattray,
Tibbermuir, Scone, Thornhill, Longforgan, &c.
The county is divided into ten districts, each
under the jurisdiction of a justice of peace
court, and of a body of deputy lieutenants.
The county is further divided into two sheriff-
substituteships, the seat of the one being
Perth, the other Dumblane. In the shire is
a large association of landed gentlemen for the
protection of same, woods, and plantations.
The county gentlemen also form a Hunt,
having races at Perth. Besides this, there is the
Stratheam Coursing Club, and the Doune Club.
Of those invaluable associations, already al-
luded to, established for promoting improve-
ments in matters connected with agriculture,
the following may be named, — the Perthshire
Farming Society, which meets at Perth four
times in the year ; the Strathearn Agricultural
Society, which meets once a quarter; the
Athole and Weem Agricultural Club, which
meets annually in October, and has instituted
annual competitions all over the Highlands of

Perthshire ; the Dumblane Farming Society,
which meets in July to receive the report of
the state of farms and crops, and in November
to receive the report of stack-yards, turnips,
&c , and holds a ploughing match in spring,
when six prizes are distributed ; the Carse of
Gowrie Agricultural Society, which meets in
the spring and autumn ; the Strathmore Ag-
ricultural Society, which holds its numerous
and respectable meetings at Cupar- Angus ; and
the Burrel Agricultural Ploughmen Society.
There are two horticultural societies in Perth-
shire, one in Perth and another in Cupar-
Angus, which have three meetings in the year ;
there is likewise a Strathmore Horticultural
Society, which meets in May, July, and Au-
gust. A number of societies, partly connected
with the county, are noticed in the following
account of Perth. On the whole, it may be
remarked that this large and important district
of Scotland exhibits everywhere striking mani-
festations of being in a thriving and prosper-
ous condition, and offers a forcible example of
what has been effected in meliorating and civi-
lizing the country — in the exchange of a life of
almost savage strife, ignorance, and poverty, for
one of intelligence, peace, and all the comforts
to be procured by industry — within the brief
space of little more than a century. In the
present day, the shire possesses, among other ob-
jects worthy of notice, a number of noblemen's
and gentlemen's seats, noted for their extent
and splendour. — In 1821 the population of
Perthshire amounted to 66,033 males, 73,017
females ; total 1 39,050.

PERTH, a parish in the above county, four
miles in length and three in breadth, forming a
beautiful semicircle on the banks of the Tay.
It is bounded on the east and north by the Tay;
on the west by Tippermuir and Aberdalgy, and
on the south by Dumbamy and Forteviot.
The surface is flat on the banks of the Tay,
and the lands are of excellent quality and well
cultivated. In the parish are situated the an-
cient castles of Balhousie and Pittheveless,
and the villages of Craigie, Tulloch, and Muir-
ton of Balhousie. — Population in 1821, 19,068.

PERTH, a large and beautiful town, a
royal burgh, the seat of a synod and presbytery,
the capital of the foregoing county, and of
a large portion of the kingdom, occupies
a low situation on the right bank of the Tay,
about twenty-eight miles above its conflu-
ence with the sea, and at the distance of 43 J

852

PERTH.

miles nortli from Edinburgh, by the Queens-
ferry road, 61 from Glasgow, 21 \ west from
Dundee, and 15 from Dunkeld. It is situated
in the centre of a spacious plain, and is sur-
rounded in every direction by soft and far-
stretching acclivities, whose sides, thickly or-
namented by bower-like villas, hedge it in
with a splendid cincture of picturesque and
beautiful scenery. Boasting of the most re-
mote antiquity, Perth is hallowed by many
delightful recollections ; and it is almost im-
possible to say whether, by a visit to it, sight
or sentiment is most to be gratified. The
origin of Perth is as obscure as the etymology
of its name, both being the subject of contest
by antiquaries and philologists ; and out of the
vast mass of disputatious matter, it is a matter
of great difficulty for the statist to extract any
thing distinct or satisfactory. It has been told
under the head Perthshire, that the Romans
penetrated through, and partially secured the
district by the force of arms and strong encamp-
ments ; and from the notices of ancient histo-
rians, we are left to suppose that that conquer-
ing people had a settlement on or near the
spot where the modern town of Perth is situ-
ated. Adamson, in his Muses Threnodie, —
or Metrical History of Perth, written in the
year 1620, — embodies the current tradition of
the origin of Perth, of which the following is
the purport :— " Cneius Julius Agricola, in
the third year after Vespasian had sent him to
be governor in Britain, namely, about the year
81 of the Christian era, led a numerous army
round by the pass of Stirling into the country on
the north side of the Forth. Penetrating north-
wards, they approached the place on which Perth
is now built, and when they first came in sight
of the Tay and this beautiful plain, they cried
out with one consent, ' Ecce Tiber ! Ecce cam-
pus Martius.' — Behold the Tiber! Behold the
Field of Mars ! comparing what they saw to
their own river, and to the extensive plain in
the neighbourhood of Rome. Agricola pitched
his camp in the middle of that field, on the
spot where Perth stands. lie proposed to
make it a winter camp, and afterwards built
what he intended should be a colonial town.
He fortified it with walls, and with a strong
castle, and supplied the ditches with water by an
aqueduct from the Almond. Also, with much
labour to his soldiers, and probably to the poor
natives, a large wooden bridge was constructed
over the river at Perth." Such is in all like-

lihood the fabulous origin of Perth, which,
whether first a settlement of the Romans, or
a gradual creation of Pictish savages, is well
known to have made no figure as a town till
the Scoto- Saxon period. To render its early
history still more obscure, there is a story
related by Boece, and other venerable ro-
mancers, about a place called Bertha, a Ro-
man town, said to have been situated on
the point of land formed by the confluence
of the Almond and Tay, a few miles above
the present Perth. " This city," we are
informed, " was swept away by a flood
about the year 1210, after which the modern
Bertha or Perth arose under the auspices of
William the Lion." Fordun, with an equal
claim to credit, tells us that the Tay was for
many ages called the Tiber by the Italian wri-
ters, which he proves by saying, that hence
the name Tibber-muir, a place in its vicinity ;
whereas, had he understood Gaelic, he would
have known that Tibber-muir, or Tipper-muir,
simply signifies " the well in the muir." If
we discard Bertha as an etymology, there is
none other left ; the Highlanders, it is true,
always called Perth Peirt, or Peart, which
by some is construed into " finished labour,"
or " a complete piece of work ;" but this hard-
ly clears up the etymon, and we are fain to
leave it to be that object of contest it has
hitherto been. Much of the fable and conjec-
ture of the antiquary connected with Perth,
has been overthrown by the reverend and
learned Mr. Scott, author of the Statistical
Account, who mentions that " it is certain
that the town had the name of Perth, long
before the year 1210. There are many hun-
dreds of charters, from about the year 1106
to the year 1210, still extant. Any person
who will take the trouble of looking into these
charters, will find, that whenever there was
occasion to mention the town, its name was
always written Perth, or Pertht, or by way of
contraction, Pert. There was no noble per-
son who gave his name to Perth ; but there
were some persons who took their surname
from the town. It is also certain, that tene-
ments and streets in Perth are described in
charters prior to the year 1210, the same as
they afterwards were." Until the period of
the murder of James I. at Perth, in 1436-7,
the place enjoyed in many respects the cha-
racter of a capital, or seat of government. It
having then been found that neither Perth nor

PERTH.

853

Stirling, Scone nor Dunfermline, had the power
of protecting royalty against the designs of the
nobility, Edinburgh and its castle were chosen
as the only places of safety for the royal house-
hold and functionaries of the Scottish govern-
ment. Until this event, Perth was deem-
ed the first town in the kingdom, the sove-
reigns residing very frequently in the place,
and being crowned at the neighbouring palace
of Scone. Perth was, on these accounts, the
appropriate place where great national councils
were held, from the time of Malcolm IV.
until the second of the Jameses, and occa-
sionally till the era of James IV. Perth
was likewise the chosen seat of national as-
semblies of the church, some of which were
called or presided over by nuncios of the
Pope. It seems that before and after the con-
tests for the crown, by the demise of Alex-
ander III., the town of Perth possessed the
popular name of St. Johnstoun, an appellation
derived from the saint to whom the principal
church and the bridge over the Tay were de-
dicated ; but though this name appears to have
been common enough, and was even used by
some historians, the place was never so called
in any of the public writs. In allusion to the
patron saint of the church and the bridge, if
not the town also, the common seal of Perth
subsequent to the year 1600, as appears from
impressions appended to charters, represented
the decollation of St. John the Baptist ; Sa-
lome standing bye with a platter in her hand,
to receive the head. On the reverse, it repre-
sented the same saint enshrined, and a num-
ber of priests or other persons kneeling before
him. The legend round both sides — S. cotw-
munitatis viUceSancti Johannis BaptuAade Berth,
" the seal of the community of the town of St.
John Baptist of Berth." This " superstitious
seal" was laid aside after the Reformation, and
that since used refers to the Roman origin of
the town, being a double imperial eagle, charg-
ed with a Holy Lamb passant, carrying the
banner of St. Andrew, and having the "hackni-
ed legend, Pro Rege, Lege, et Grege. Perth was
in early times a place of great trade. Alexan-
der Neckham, an English writer, who was ab-
bot of Exeter in 1215, takes notice of Perth
in the following distich, quoted in Camden's
Britannia :

* Transis ample Tai, per rura, per oppida, pet Perth ;
Regnum sustentant illius urbis opes."

Which has been thus translated by Bishop
Gibson :

Great Tay through Perth, through town, through coun-
tries flies,
Perth the whole kingdom with her wealth supplies.

It seems, an extensive commerce was carried on
during many ages between Perth and the Ne-
therlands. The merchants of Perth visited in
their own ships the Hans towns. And it is
a part of the eulogium conferred on Alexander
III., that he devised successful measures for
securing these and all other Scottish trading
ships from pirates and foreign detention. The
German merchants, or Flemings, as they were
called, very early frequented the port of Perth ;
and not a few of these industrious foreigners
fixed their abode in the town, and introduced
the manufacture of woollen and linen goods.
As may be supposed, the intrusion of these
peaceful artisans alarmed the natives of the
place, and excited the ignorant legislature of the
period. David I. laid restrictions on their traf-
fic, and his grandson "William the Lion, per-
haps to procure the favour of the burgesses,
denied them the privilege of entering them-
selves freemen of the corporations. It will per-
haps be remembered by the readers of British
history, that the Flemings found favour with the
more enlightened monarchs of England, who,
by encouraging their settlement, laid the foun-
dation of the cloth manufactures of that part of
the island. Perth comes prominently into no-
tice in the history of the war of Scottish in-
dependence, or struggle for the crown between
Bruce and the Edwards. After the unfortu-
nate battle of Falkirk, in 1298, Edward I. re-
duced all the fortresses in Scotland, but forti-
fied Perth, and rebuilt the walls in the strong-
est manner. It was often the residence of his
deputies, and his son Edward lived here some
years. On the return of Robert Bruce from
his expedition into England, in 1312, he again
turned himself to the conquest of his castles,
and the expulsion of the English garrisons.
Of these places of strength, Perth was found
to have the most impregnable fortifications
and the largest garrison. Although repeatedly
assailed by the Scottish forces since their first
successes in the north, it had still withstood
all their efforts, unassisted as these were
by the military engines then in use for batter-
ing or scaling the walls, and for discharging
stones and other missiles. In the end,

854

PERT H.

then, of this year of his first expedition into
England, Bruce again invested the town of
Perth with the most powerful force that he
could muster. For a considerable time he
pressed the siege with the utmost vigour,
but still ineffectually, because he wanted the
necessary engines ; and because the garrison,
and the rest of the people within the town,
were too vigilant to be surprised by stratagem.
Again he was reluctantly obliged to withdraw
his troops, and to retire, lest famine, and the
diseases occasioned by long encampment on
low marshy ground, in an inclement season,
should cut off the flower of ..hose brave and
faithful followers, by whose aid he had now
nearly reconquered Scotland. But no supplies
came from England, to relieve or reinforce the
garrison of Perth. Bruce would not desist
from his purpose, or suffer this single-walled
town to baffle him for ever. Providing him-
self with scaling ladders, and such other in-
struments as he could find, he speedily renew-
ed the attack, at a time when those within the
town were pleasing themselves with the per-
suasion, that they were enclosed within im-
pregnable walls, and had no future siege to
fear. He chose a dark night, and, in its
silence, taking a chosen band, conducted
them in person, partly wading, partly swim-
ming across a ditch, deep, broad, and full of
water, that surrounded the walls. The rest
were animated on this, as on many other occa-
sions, by the example of the daring valour
with which the king exposed himself fore-
most to the danger. The contest among
them was, who should fi?st cross the ditch,
and, by the scaling ladders which they carried
with them, mount the walls. This gallant and
perilous enterprise succeeded. The king him-
self was the second to enter the town. The gar-
rison and the townsmen were easily overpower-
ed. In the castle, and in the stores of the mer-
chants, a considerable booty was found of those
things which the captors wanted most, for the
relief of their own necessities. The slaugh-
ter of the vanquished was humanely stayed,
as the resistance ceased. The houses were
burnt, and the walls and fortifications levelled
with the ground. By this happy achieve-
ment, all Perthshire and Strathearn were freed
from servitude to the English, and reduced
under the authority of King Robert. In the
year 1332, Edward Baliol, after his success at
the battle of Dupplin, had taken possession of

Perth, and was crowned at Scone. Imme-
diately after his coronation be returned south-
ward, to open a communication with the Eng-
lish marches, and a party of the loyal adherents
to the interests of David Bruce concerted a
sudden enterprise against the slender garrison
left by the usurper in the town of Perth. Its
temporary fortifications were unfit to resist a
siege ; it was garrisoned by few else besides the
family and vassals of the Earl of Fife, who,
from being -the prisoner had become the parti-
san of Baliol. By stratagem, however, proba-
bly, rather than regular assault, it was quickly
taken by the besiegers. Perth was again the
scene of some stirring events in 1339. In
the beginning of that year, after the death of
the regent, Andrew Murray, the regency was
conferred on Robert, the Lord High Steward,
afterwards king, who was but a youth. He
resolved to distinguish himself by opening the
siege of Perth, which Edward and his en-
gineers had fortified with uncommon skill, and
provided with an excellent garrison. The
defence they made for three months was so
brave, that the High Steward was about to
raise the siege, when Douglas, Lord Liddisdale,
arrived from France, whither he was sent on
an embassy to David Bruce, bringing with him
five (Fordun says two) ships, with a sup-
ply of men and provisions. The siege was
renewed with vigour. Douglas was wounded
in the leg by the shot of a cross-bow, while
he was going to the escalade. When the siege
had lasted four months, and was likely to have
continued longer, the Earl of Ross, by digging
mines, drew away the water, and dried up
the fosses and ditches, so that the soldiers,
approaching the walls on dry ground, beat off
the defenders with arrows and darts shot out
of engines made for that purpose. The go-
vernor, Sir Thomas Ochtred, with his garri-
son, seeing the city untenable, surrendered,
having stipulated for the safety of their lives
and estates. Some marched off by land, and
others were provided with shipping to Eng-
land. Douglas rewarded the French very
liberally, and sent them back to France well
pleased. He caused also to be delivered to
Hugh Hambel, their commander, one of the
best of his ships, which was taken by the Eng-
lish during the siege. Hambel had adventur-
ed to approach the town with his ships, to give
an assault ; one of them was taken, and now re-
stored.

PERTH.

855

A singular combat took place on the North
Inch at Perth in the reign of Robert III.,
which, from the singularity of the circum-
stances attending it, has furnished the author of
Waverley with a theme in the novel styled
" the Fair Maid of Perth." There was a
dreadful feud between the clan Kay and the
clan Chattan, which both parties at length
agreed to decide by a personal combat of thirty
picked men, in the presence of the king, at this
public place. When the combat was about to
Commence, it was discovered that one of the
clan Chattan had absconded through fear ; but
the dilemma thus occasioned was obviated by a
6addler of Perth, by name Harry Wynde, who
offered to take the place of the runaway for
half a French gold dollar ; terms to which
the clan Chattan were obliged to accede, be-
cause no individual of the opposite party would
retire in order to bring the parties upon an
equality. The combat was commenced and
carried on with fearful fury on both sides, un-
til twenty-nine of the clan Kay were slain.
The remaining single combatant, then wisely
judging that he could not resist the impetuosity
of Hany Wynde and the ten of the clan Chat-
tan who were left alive, jumped into the river
Tay, swam to the other side, and escaped.

It appears that the reformed doctrines were
early embraced by many of the citizens of
Perth, and that few places suffered so severely
from the vengeance of the Romish church.
The following extract from the memorabilia of
Perth will fully illustrate the conflict of opinion
on matters of religion in the town, and the se-
verities practised : — " 1544. This was a busie
year. Cardinal Bethune, in the last con-
vention, having obtained an act in favour of
the bishops and clergy, to persecute and punish
heretics to death, came in January this year to
Perth, with the Regent Hamilton, Earl of
Arran, who was a weak man. Friar Spence
accused Robert Lamb and his wife Helen
Stark, William Anderson, James Ronald,
James Hunter, and James Finlayson. Lamb
and his wife were accused of interrupting
Spence in a sermon, in which he taught that
there was no salvation without intercession
and prayers to the saints. They confessed
the charge, declaring that it was the duty of
every one who knows the truth to bear testi-
mony to it, and not suffer people to be abused
with false doctrine, as that was. Anderson,
Finlayson, and Ronald, were indicted for nail-

ing two ram's horns to St. Francis' head, put-
ting a cow's rump to his tail, and eating a
goose on All- Hallow even. Hunter a butcher,
simple and unlearned, was charged with haunt-
ing the company of the heretics. Helen Stark
was further charged with refusing to pray to
the Virgin Mary when in child-birth, and say-
ing that she would only pray to God in the
name of Jesus Christ. They were all im-
prisoned in the Spy Tower, being found guilty
and condemned. Great intercession was made
to the regent for them, who promised that they
should not be hurt. The citizens, who were
in a tumult, relying on a promise of Arran,
dispersed and went peaceably home. The car-
dinal, who had the regent in his power, had
taken his measures. Determined to make an ex-
ample of these heretics, he brought them forth
next day to the gibbet, January 25th, being St.
P aid's day, and feasted his eyes from the win-
dows of the Spy Tower with their execution.
The men were hanged, and Helen Stark was
drowned. Robert Lamb, at the foot of the
ladder, made a pathetic exhortation to the
people, beseeching them to fear God, and
forsake the leaven of popish abominations.
Helen Stark earnestly desired to die with her
husband, but her request was refused ; how-
ever, they permitted her to accompany him to
the place of execution. In the way, she ex-
horted him to constancy in the cause of Christ,
and, as she parted with him, said, ' Husband,
be glad, we have lived together many joyful
days, and this day of our death we ought to
esteem the most joyful of them all, for we
shall have joy for ever; therefore I will
not bid you good-night, for we shall short-
ly meet in the kingdom of heaven.' As
soon as the men were executed, the wo-
man was taken to a pool of water hard
by, where having recommended her children
to the charity of her neighbours, her sucking
child being taken from her breast, and given
to a nurse, she was drowned, and died with
great courage and comfort." This barbarous
execution, instead of quenching the ardour of
Protestantism, increased it, together with a
settled aversion of the priests and their super-
stitious usages. Matters now came to a
crisis. On the 11th of May 1559, John
Knox having arrived in Perth, preached a
zealous and animated sermon against the fol-
lies of the church of Rome. After conclud-
ing his sermon, the congregation quietly dis-

856

PERTH.

persed ; but the people had hardly left the
place, when a priest, most indiscreetly, proposed
to celebrate mass, and began to decorate the
altar for that purpose, whereupon the persons
■who remained were precipitated into action
•with tumultuary and irresistible violence ;
they fell upon the churches, overturned the
altars, defaced the pictures, broke in pieces
the images, and, proceeding next to the mon-
asteries, in a few hours laid these sump-
tuous fabrics almost level with the ground.
This riotous insurrection was not the effect of
concert, or any previous deliberation : censured
by the reformed preachers, and publicly con-
demned by the persons of most power and
credit with the party, it must be regarded as
an accidental eruption of popular rage. The
queen having heard with concern the destruc-
tion of the religious houses at Perth, the
Chartreux monastery especially, as it was a
stately pile of building, and a royal palace, and
the repository of the remains of the first
James, she determined to inflict the severest
vengeance on the whole party. She had al-
ready drawn the troops in French pay to
Stirling ; with these, and what Scottish forces
she could levy of a sudden, she marched di-
rectly to Perth, in hopes of surprising the
Protestant leaders, before they could assemble
their followers, whom, out of confidence in
her disingenuous promises, they had been
rashly induced to dismiss. Intelligence of
these preparations and menaces was soon con-
veyed to Perth. The Protestants, animated
by zeal for religion, and eager to expose
themselves in so good a cause, flocked in such
numbers to Perth, that they not only secured
the town from danger, but, within a few days,
were in a condition to take the field, and
to face the queen, who advanced with an
army seven thousand strong, commanded by
D'Oysel, the French general. Ultimately a
treaty betwixt the belligerants was concluded,
by which it was stipulated that both armies
should be disbanded, and the gates of Perth
set open to Mary, the queen-regent, who en-
tered the town on the 29th of May. It
seems that no sooner were the Protestant
forces dismissed than the queen broke through
every article of the treaty, introduced French
troops into the town, dismissed the magistracy,
and established the old religion. She had,
however, no sooner left it than the inhabitants
again broke out in a ferment, and implored the

assistance of the Lords of the Congregation.
Argyle, Lord Ruthven, and others conse-
quently marched to their relief, and on a refus-
al of the garrison to surrender, prepared to be-
siege the town in the usual form. In this
emergency the queen employed the Earl of
Huntly and Lord Erskine to divert them from
this enterprise ; but her wonted artifices were
now of no avail ; repeated so often, they could
deceive no longer; and, without listening to
her offers, they continued the siege. Lord
Ruthven attacked it on the west, and Provost
Halyburton, with his people from Dundee,
fired with his artillery from the bridge, and
obliged the defenders to capitulate, upon the
26th of June 1559. After the reduction of
Perth, the populace went to Scone, to destroy
the abbey and palace. Patrick Hepburn,
Bishop of Moray, son of the first Earl of
Bothwell of that name, held the abbacy in
perpetual commendam, and resided in the
palace. He had been a severe scourge to
the Reformers, and was obnoxious to them
ever since the death of Walter Mylne, who,
at his instigation, was burnt at St. An-
drews j they, with assistance from Dundee,
attacked the abbey and palace, though guarded
by a hundred horsemen. Halyburton, Provost
of Dundee, with his brother, and John Knox,
hearing of this tumult, went and entreated the
people to spare the edifices, to whom they
hearkened, and separated, after they had de-
stroyed the monuments of idolatry ; but the
next day, a citizen of Dundee was run through
the body with a sword, by one of the bishop's
sons, while he was looking in at the door of
the bishop's granary, which so enraged the
people both of Perth and Dundee, that they
quickly repaired to Scone, and, notwithstand-
ing the entreaties of Argyle, Ruthven, the
Prior, and all the preachers, they pillaged and
set fire to these noble edifices, and burnt
them to the ground, on the 27th of June.
After the loss of Perth, the queen endeavour-
ed to seize on Stirling. On hearing of this
movement, Argyle, and other leaders of the
congregation, marched out of Perth with three
hundred citizens, who, having felt the severe
yoke of the French government, resolved
to prosecute the Reformation, or perish
in the attempt. To shew their zeal and re-
solution, instead of ribands, they put ropes
about their necks, that whoever deserted the
colours should certainly be hanged by these

PERTH.

867

ropes ; from which circumstance arose the or-
dinary allusion to " St Johnston's tippets."
A picture of the march of this resolute band
out of Perth, is still to be seen in the town-
clerk's office. Advancing towards Stirling,
they secured that town, and demolishing every
monument of the popish worship, as they pro-
ceeded, they, in a few days, made themselves
masters of the capital.

The dark tragedy of the Gowrie Conspiracy,
which is connected with the memorabilia of
Perth, need not be here recited, as it is sufficient-
ly known to the readers of history. After this
period, the historical memoirs of Perth are not
fruitful in interest, though the place was visited
by Cromwell, and in more recent times was a
temporary rendezvous for the Highland troops
of Prince Charles Stewart, on his untoward in-
surrection of 1745. Passing, therefore, to a
description of the town :

In ancient times, Perth, as has been seen,
was surrounded by walls for its protection, but
these emblems of a turbulent age have now al-
together disappeared. The internal structure of
the town was also at one time mean, and of
that antique character which we have noticed as
still partly belonging to some of the obscurer
streets of Edinburgh. Numbers of the houses
were faced with wood, and were so close to each
other that the thoroughfares were of the usual
breadth of lanes. At the same period, the
town generally stood at a lower level, so much
so that the streets were continually liable to be
inundated by floods of the river. To guard
against this evil, the streets have been raised
from time to time to their present elevation.
In the present day, Perth is the handsomest
town of its size in Scotland, and in point of
elegance it is only second to Edinburgh. It
chiefly consists of two longitudinal old streets,
called High Street and South Street, pro-
ceeding westward from the Tay, and parallel
with each other. These are intersected from
south to north by certain cross streets, re-
ceiving the names of Watergate, George's
Street, and St. John's Street ; the latter is now
the handsomest street in the town, the old
houses having been pulled down, and elegant
buildings with shops erected in place of them.
St. John's church, the principal one in Perth,
stands in it. In the environs of the town the
I houses are of a Bewer and more elegant, but not
! more substantial description, and are all built of
I excellent freestone, much after the style of the

New Town of Edinburgh, At the north-east
corner of the town and at the termination of
George Street, the Tay is crossed by a noble
bridge of ten arches, extending over a clear
water-way of 590 feet, built in 1771, at an
expense of L.26,477, raised by subscription.
It is a stately and elegant structure of conve-
nient breadth, and has resisted an accumulated
pressure of ice and water, which could not
have been exceeded by any of the inundations
which threw down similar buildings of former
ages at this place. More than one bridge of
Perth has given way to the impetuosity of
the floods. The great inundation in the thir-
teenth century, (which Boece fabled to have
destroyed ancient Bertha), swept away a bridge;
and in 1621, a building of ten spacious arches,
which stood opposite the east end of the High
Street, below the present bridge, was carried
off. After the demolition of the latter many
unsuccessful attempts to rebuild it were made,
— among others James VI. and Charles I. sub-
scribed towards such a scheme, — but during
the following century and a half, the opposite
bank of the river was gained only by ferrying.
At length the present bridge was begun, in a
great measure through the public spirit of the
Earl of Kinnoul. On this nobleman's property,
at the east end of the bridge, and within the pa-
rish of Kinnoul, a large and respectable village
has arisen, called Bridge-end, or more properly
Kinnoul. (See Kinnoul.) The village,
which has been created a burgh of barony, un-
der its noble patron, stands on a confined situa-
tion, and from the nature of the ground, which
rises with a quick ascent from the river, is not
likely to rise to any considerable magnitude.

By far the most pleasing characteristics of
Perth are two large expanses of green parks,
one on the south and one on the north side of
the town. These beautiful pieces of public
ground, which are devoted to the recreation of
the inhabitants, having been formerly insulated
by the waters of the river, on which they now
only border, are respectively called the North
and South Inch. The South Inch is surround-
ed by fine stately trees and some elegant
villas, having Marshall Place on the west,
and King's Place on the north ; the road
from Edinburgh pursues a course through
its centre, by an alley of trees, nowhere
excelled in Scotland for beauty and taste-
ful disposition. The South Inch was in
former times the scene of the various athletic
5 u

858

PERTH.

sports and games of the citizens, as well as
often the active theatre of military movements.
On its northern side near the town, once
stood a fort or citadel, built by Cromwell to
overawe the town. It was a large and strong
work, of a square figure, with a bastion at every
corner, surrounded with strong ramparts of
earth, and a deep ditch full of water. The
North Inch of Perth, which lies on the Tay,
above the town, and is entered from the ter-
mination of George's Street, at the bridge, is
larger and more open than the foregoing, hav-
ing received considerable additions in modern
times. Perhaps the community of no city in
the kingdom are in possession of a finer or more
extensive green, and the inhabitants do not ne-
glect their good fortune. Cows grazing, women
washing and bleaching linens, numbers of the
inhabitants enjoying a walk or some more active
amusement, and perhaps companies of soldiers
exercising, are continually enlivening the scene,
which is in the highest degree delightful. On
the west side of the North Inch stands the an-
cient mansion of Balhousie, environed by
some fine aged trees. Behind the house, se-
cluded from view, is a flour mill ; the water
which drives it, tradition says, was procured
from the the town's lead, or aqueduct, by the
artifice of a former proprietor. This crafty
knight of olden times, begged a boon of his
sovereign, which being granted, bore the mo-
dest request of a boot-full of water from the
canal at a given spot ; but when he produced
the boot, it was deficient of a sole, and thus he
obtained a continual current for the mill of
Balhousie.

The streets of Perth are preserved in a
cleanly condition, and have excellent side pave-
ments. The town is plentifully supplied
with water from the lead or aqueduct noticed
above, but it being often impregnated with
filth from the public works through which it
passes, various schemes have been proposed to
obviate this just cause of complaint, and works
are now in progress, and far advanced towards
completion, for bringing a supply of pure water
from the Tay to all parts of the town. The
water-works is a beautiful building, having a
chimney in the form of a circular column 130
feet in height; it is situated at the eastern
extremity of Marshall Place near the river.
The water is raised by steam, and the building
and machinery were erected at an expense of
L. 1 1 ,000. The town and shops are taste-
36.

fully lighted with gas. Here and there are
public edifices of good and tasteful construc-
tion, calculated to attract the notice of stran-
gers. At the extremity of South Street stands
King James the VI. 's Hospital, on the site of
the Carthusian monastery, a large and hand-
some structure. The principal and most an-
cient public building is undoubtedly St. John's
church, situated in the centre and oldest part of
the town. This edifice, the precise origin of
which is uncertain, but which seems to have
been built at different times, and to have un-
dergone many modifications, now contains three
places of worship. In recent times it has been
subjected to a considerable renovation in appear-
ance. In the east end is to be seen built into the
wall, the tomb-stone of James I. and his queen,
embellished by figures of both personages in
outline, and the east or altar window is of
stained glass, reckoned the most beautiful in
any presbyterian church in Scotland. The
central church is worthy of being inspected,
on account of the four enormous pillars sup-
porting the tower, whose area is its chief
part. It was in this church that the demo-
litions of the Reformation commenced, and
before that period it was the scene of some re-
markable events. In 1336, according to For-
dun, a remarkable accident occurred within it.
Edward III. was standing before the high altar,
when his brother, John Earl of Cornwall, a
minor, came to inform him that he had travel-
led through the west of Scotland, marking his
journey with devastation and flames ; in parti-
cular, that he had burnt the church and priory
of Lesmahago, besides other churches, with
people in them, who had fled thither for refuge.
Edward, indignant at his cruel conduct, re-
proached him bitterly, and the youth replied
with a haughty answer, to which the king
rejoined by a stroke of his dagger, that laid
his younger brother dead at his feet. The
English writers say, that this young prince
died at Perth in October 1336 ; but they take
no notice of his having received his death in
this manner. St. John's church has a con-
spicuous tower, from which springs a pointed
spire, containing some fine bells, — the great
bell being the same which called the people to
prayers before the change of religion at the
Reformation. The spire also contains a set
of fine music-bells, which play every hour at
the half-hours.

Of Gowrie- House, the ancient mansion of

PERTH.

859

the Earls of Gowrie, and the scene of a well-
known mysterious incident in Scottish history,
most unfortunately for the antiquary, not a
vestige now remains ; the whole, which stood
near the entrance to the town from the south,
with its back part to the river, being recently
taken away, to afford room for a splendid suit
of county buildings and jails, in the Grecian
style. The chief of these new erections is
a large handsome building looking to the Tay,
between which and it there is a promenade.
The structure has an elegant portico with
twelve columns in front. Opening from
the portico there is a large entrance hall ;
to the back of which stands a flight of steps
leading to the gallery of the Justiciary Hall.
The Justiciary Hall occupies the back part of
the centre of the building, and is 66 feet by
434 feet in the upper part. Under the gallery
there are jury and witnesses' rooms. Behind
the Judges' bench are the Judges' rooms, also
witnesses' rooms. From the prisoners' box a
flight of steps leads down to a passage commu-
nicating with the prisons. The County Hall,
which occupies all the south wing, is 68 by 40
feet ; in it are portraits of the late Duke of
Athole, and Lord Lynedoch, by Sir Thomas
Lawrence, and one by Wilkie, of Sir George
Murray. To the right of the entrance to the
County Hall is a committee room 30 feet
square, and above, a tea or card room 44 5 by
30 feet. The Sheriff's Court and Clerk's
Office, are contained in the north wing. Above
"the north entrance is an office for the collector
of cess. The building cost L.22,000. Be-
hind these county buildings is the new city and
county jail, enclosed by a high wall. In the
north area is situated the felons' jail, and in
the south that of the debtors. The felons'
jail is in two divisions ; the one for males and
the other for females. The division for the
men contains ten cells, and one large day-room.
The division for the women, three sleeping,
and one day-room. Each division has an en-
closed airing-ground adjoining. The south, or
debtors' jail, is likewise divided into two, — one
part for debtors, and the other for misdemea-
nors. The debtors' department consists of
four large sleeping rooms and a day- room.
The jail buildings, altogether, cost L. 1 0,000,
L.6000 of which was contributed by the town,
and L.4000 by the county. The town pays
two-thirds, and the county one-third of the
current expenses.

The other public buildings are as follows : —
A house with a tastefully built front, of a
peculiar construction, is now reared in George
Street, near the end of the bridge, to comme-
morate the public services of the late Thomas
Hay Marshall, Esq. of Glenalmond, Lord
Provost of the town. This monument con-
tains halls for the Public Library and Museum
of the Perthshire Antiquarian Society. The
classes of the high school of Perth — a
distinguished provincial academy — are pro-
vided with ample accommodation, in a large
building forming the centre of Rose Ter-
race, adjoining the North Inch. On the
ground floor are the English, drawing, and
writing class-rooms, and above are the rooms
for the academy, grammar-school, and French
classes. One of the English classes is taught
in an adjoining building, entering from Barrosa
Street. The teachers in the English depart-
ment are both appointed by the magistrates, on
a perfect equality, but having separate classes
and establishments; These, as well as all the
other classes, have been numerously attended
during the last year, and fully maintain the
well-earned celebrity of the Perth schools. A
neat new theatre has been erected at the junc-
tion of Kinnoul Street and Crescent. It was
reared by subscription among the gentlemen of
the county and town, in one hundred shares,
of twenty-five guineas each. The Lunatic
Asylum of Perth, an establishment which
is one of the most perfect in the kingdom, is
situated in a park of twelve acres, on the accli-
vity of the Kinnoul hill, and has a delightful
view of the Grampian mountains, the Tay, and
surrounding country. The house, which was
built from a plan of Mr. Burn, architect, con-
sists of three floors 256 in length, and was open-
ed for the reception of patients in 1827. The
institution was endowed by the late Mr. Murray
of Tursappie, who left a large proportion of his
fortune, amassed in the East Indies, for this
purpose. On the north-west side of the town is
a spacious suit of barracks for cavalry, a cer-
tain number of whom are generally stationed
here. In the environs on the south, and ad-
jacent to the South Inch, stands a most exten
sive suit of government barracks, or a depot
for prisoners of war, still kept in the best state
of repair, and used as store-houses. In the
High Street, and facing Methven Street,
stands St. Paul's church, which is rather
a modern, and elegant structure of stone,

860

PERTH.

with a steeple surmounted by a spire ; op-
posite to this church is a meeting-house of
the Independents. The Freemason's Hall
is a neat and not inelegant building in the
Parliament close, High Street; it contains
a handsome spacious room, which is prin-
cipally used as an auction mart for respectable
sales. It was built in 1818, on the site
of the Old Parliament house of Perth.
Perth possesses a considerable number of in-
stitutions of a public nature, which have no
edifices connected with them requiring par-
ticular notice. In the town are two native
banks — namely, the Perth Banking Company,
and the Perth Union Bank ; also, branches of
the Bank of Scotland, and the British Linen
Company. A parish or Savings' Bank, has
been established. There are two insurance
companies connected with the town or county,
to wit, the County and City of Perth Insur-
ance Company, and the Forfarshire and Perth-
shire Insurance Company ; no fewer than
twenty-two agencies of other insurance com-
panies are settled. Perth owns two news-
papers, the Perthshire Courier and General
Advertiser for the central counties of Scot-
land, published every Thursday evening ; and
the Perthshire Advertiser and Strathmore
Journal, published every Thursday morning.
The business of printing, and publishing has
been carried on, upon an extensive scale, by the
firm of Morison, father and son, for a number
of years ; and from their press a variety of re-
spectable standard works have been issued, in-
cluding an annual county and city list. An
Encyclopedia has also issued from the press of
this town, entitled the Encyclopedia Perthensis,
which is the largest work ever printed in Scot-
land out of Edinburgh. Perth possesses an
extensive public library, which is kept in the
first floor of Marshall's monument. It is sup-
ported by subscriptions, donations, and be-
quests. The Perth Reading Society, another
institution of a similar nature, has a library of
about 2000 volumes, also supported by sub-
scription. A library was begun in 1824,
among the operative classes in Perth, which
is understood to be well-conducted, and is
flourishing beyond the expectation of those by
whom it was commenced. An institution was
established in 1 784, under the title of the An-
tiquarian Society of Perth. The chief design
of this association was to promote the investi-
gation of the History of Scotland, and to col-

lect and preserve manuscripts, books, coins,
and all other relics illustrative of the antiqui-
ties of Scotland, and all other nations. They
were also to receive geographical maps and
descriptions, whether ancient or modern, and
curious natural productions of the animal, ve-
getable, and mineral kingdoms. In 1787, the
plan was enlarged : the name adopted was,
" The Literary and Antiquarian Society of
Perth" and the communications now extend
to every subject connected with philosophy,
belles-lettres, and the fine arts. The hall of
the society is situated in Marshall's monument.
The following societies are connected with
Perth — the Perthshire Bible Society; the
New Perthshire Bible Society ; the Perthshire
Missionary Society ; the Perthshire Religious
Tract Society ; Perth Seamen's Friend Socie-
ty ; the Perthshire Gaelic Society ; the Athole
Gathering, or Highland Meetings, associated
in 1824, with the object of reviving and en-
couraging a taste for the ancient dress, athle-
tic games, and manly exercises of the High-
landers ; also, to encourage by premiums, the
manufacture, in the district, of tartan and
linens, the fabrics best suited to it ; and like-
wise to create a laudable emulation among the
young peasantry, by rewarding fidelity, general
good conduct, and length of service in one
place. The number of charitable or benefici-
ary institutions in Perth is deserving of no-
tice. The ordinary resident poor are support-
ed by rates, &c, including some mortifications
of the lands of Lethendy. There is a Perth
Provident Friendly Society ; also, a Destitute
Sick Society ; a Female Society, for the relief
of indigent aged women ; the Ladies' Benevo-
lent Society, for clothing deserving indigent
females ; the Perthshire Widows' Fund Socie-
ty, instituted in 1816, and possessing property
to a considerable amount, having for its object
the providing annuities to the widows, and in
the event of the death of both parents, to the
children, until the youngest is fourteen years
of age, the entry money being according to
the age of the applicant, and the half-yearly
payment twenty-five shillings; the Indigent
Old Men's Society ; the Sabbath Evening
School Society ; the Magistrates' Free
School ; Stewart's Free School, chiefly sup-
ported by contributions from the Incorpora-
tions ; the Perth Female Charity School,
where upwards of 100 girls are educated,
which has been established by the ladies of

PERTH.

8G1

Perth ; the Infant School ; and the Auxiliary
Society for the education of the Deaf and
Dumb.

The charters of Perth, creating it a royal
burgh, as has been said, are of great anti-
quity, and the privileges were renewed and
extended by James VI, who was ever a great
patron of the town, in which he frequently
resided, and on one occasion accepted of the
office of provost. The municipal government
of the city is vested in a lord provost, a dean
of guild, three merchant bailies, one trades
bailie, and a treasurer ; there are nine merchant
councillors and three trades councillors. There
are nine incorporated trades. The peace of
the city is more immediately preserved by a
body of police, established by act of parliament.
Under this establishment the town is divided
into nine wards with commissioners. The
executive is under the charge of a superintend-
ant ; and the quiet and good order of the city
is greatly increased by a clause in that act,
authorizing the magistrates to punish summa-
rily, by fine and imprisonment, in the case of
petty offences. The expense of the police
establishment is defrayed solely from the in-
creased rent derived from the public dung, by
the operation of the amended act, without any
additional burden being imposed on the com-
munity. The town has, besides, a body of
high constables. The burgh has hitherto
joined with Dundee, Forfar, Cupar in Fife,
and St. Andrews, in electing a member of
parliament. Before the Reformation there
was a great number of religious houses in
Perth. Among these may be enumerated the
following : The Dominican or Black Friars'
monastery, founded in 1231, by Alexander II. ;
the monastery of the Carmelite or White
Friars, founded in the reign of Alexander III. ;
the charter-house, a monastery of the Carthu-
sians, founded by James I., in 1429 ; the
Franciscans or Grey Friars' monastery, found-
ed by Lord Oliphant in 1460 ; besides a vari-
ety of chapels and nunneries, which shaved the
fate of the monasteries during the heats of the
Reformation. It appears from the old re-
cords, that a company of players were in Perth
in June 1589 ; and they obtained liberty from
the consistory of the church to perform, on
" condition that no swearing, banning, nor
scurrility shall be spoken." In modern times,
Perth possesses the usual variety of places
of worship. There are four Established

Churches, under the patronage of the town-
council, to each of which is now attached a
distinct parochial division ; a Gaelic Chapel,
connected with the establishment ; two con-
gregations of the United Secession Church ;
one of Reformed Presbyterians ; one of Ori-
ginal Seceders ; one of Original Burgher As-
sociate Synod ; two of the Relief Body ; one
of Independents ; one of Methodists ; two of
Glassites ; one of Baptists ; one of the Ro-
man Catholics ; and one of a body using the
forms of worship of the Church of England.

Perth possesses good markets ; the weekly
market-day being Friday. There are weekly
markets for the sale of cattle, and a number of
annual fairs, some of which are well attended.
Something has already been said of the ancient
traffic of Perth. In the present day there are
some tolerably extensive manufactures carried
on; ginghams, muslins, shawls, and other fabrics
of cotton goods, with some linens, are manu-
factured, but a great deal more are purchased
from Fife in a green state. In the vicinity
there are some bleachfields, and a cotton
spinning establishment at Stanley, which em-
ploys nearly 2000 young people. There are
also several breweries, distilleries, and other
works of articles suited for domestic consump-
tion, along with nearly all the various pursuits
in trade incidental to a populous large town
of a superior class. In early times the trade
of glove-making seems to have been a staple
in the town ; but now it engages few arti-
sans, Dundee, in this respect, having engross-
ed its traffic. Altogether, Perth is not what
is styled a manufacturing town; although
many manufacturing establishments in the
country adjacent are connected with it, such
as Luncarty, Stanley, Stormont Field, Tul-
loch, Almond Bank, Huntingtower, Crom-
well Park, Ruthven, Pitcairn Green, &c,
and many of the weavers in the villages of
Fife and Kinross are employed by Perth
houses. The salmon fisheries, the shipping
of grain, potatoes, and other produce, form other
sources of trade ; of one article, potatoes, from
140 to 150 thousand bolls are shipped for
London in a season. The distinguished
loveliness of the city, its situation, and the
excellence of its schools, have conspired to
render Perth the residence of a great num-
ber of affluent people, whose influence upon
the general population, both as regards their
minds and their purses, is, of course, a good

861

PERTH.

one. Like Edinburgh, it is pre-eminently
a genteel town, and like it, it has its more
bustling trading neighbour ; for, if Edinburgh
Las Glasgow, Perth has Dundee, between
which places there is always a sort of rival-
ry, from their opposite manners and char-
acter. Dundee is usually understood to have
greatly injured the trade of Perth, by inter-
cepting its foreign commerce, from being in a
more accessible situation for general trade.
In all this, however, Dundee has but used its
natural advantage ; while it stands on the
margin of the Tay, where the water is deep
and fit for navigation, Perth lies at the head
of the navigable part of that beautiful river,
and for many miles below it, the water is so
shallow that lighters or small vessels can only
approach it. An act of Parliament, however,
has lately been obtained for deepening the
Tay, enlarging the quays, and otherwise im-
proving the navigation of the river, from which
much good is anticipated ; and although Dun-
dee lies nearer the ocean, and of course is better
suited to be a port for large vessels, yet Perth
has a more extensive country to supply, and
is the magazine or storehouse of the centre ot
Scotland, and better adapted for internal com-
merce,— the roads radiating from it in every
direction being both numerous and excellent,
and the neighbourhood being so populous,
that a circuit of little more than four miles
includes about forty thousand souls. The
port, as appears by the shipping list of 1830,
owns between sixty and seventy vessels, varying
in burden from about 55 to 160 tons. Among
the proprietors of the Dundee, Perth, and
London Shipping Company, are a great pro-
portion of„ Perth merchants, the chief part
of that concern depending on Perth ; many
also hold shares in the whale shipping com-
panies of Dundee, and a number of vessels
belonging to other ports are freighted by Perth
and unloaded at Nevvburgh, which is a port
depending on it ; moreover, many of the vessels
coming into Dundee harbour have cargoes partly
belonging to Perth. Betwixt Perth and Dun-
dee steam- vessels ply daily, touching at the
intermediate port of Newburgh on the Fife side
of the Tay. The landing place of vessels is
near the South Inch ; and the shore- dues let for
L.409 a-year. There are a variety of stage-
coaches leaving Perth daily, running to and from
Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, and Aberdeen.

There are likewise daily conveyances to Dun-
dee. By these means, the town is rendered
quite accessible to the merchant and tourist.
In summer, the place is visited by whole flocks
of strangers, who never fail to be delighted, as
the Romans are said to have been, with the per-
fect beauty of the scenery around. Pennant
calls the view from the hill of Moncrieff,
where the first sight is got of Perth, in jour-
neying from Edinburgh, " the glory of Scot-
land ;" and truly, there could hardly be a more
charming prospect. The town is not alone
visited for its own sake. It forms the thresh-
old of a series of scenes in the romantic re-
gions of the surrounding shire, which are now
the objects of attraction to tourists. — Popula-
tion in 1821, 8775 males, females 10,293;
total 19,068. In 1831, by the government
census, the population amounted to 20,016;
but by a special census, ordered by the magis-
tracy, it was found to be upwards of 23,000.

PETERCULTER, a parish in Aber-
deenshire, lying on the north bank of the
Dee, west from Aberdeen, bounded by
Newhills and Skene on the north, Echt on the
west, and Drumoak partly on the south. It
is of an irregular figure, about six miles in
length, and from one and a half to two in
breadth. The surface is rugged, or uneven
with hills and valleys. The arable land,
which is of small extent, lies on the banks of
the Dee* There is a considerable extent of
wood, both natural and planted. Manufac-
tures are carried to some extent in the parish.
—Population in 1821, 1096.

PETERHEAD, a parish in the district
of Buchan, Aberdeenshire, lying on the sea
coast, south from the Ugie river, which sepa-
rates it from St. Fergus on the north. It is
bounded on the west by Longside, and on the
south by Cruden. It extends about five and a
half miles in length, by rather more than three
in breadth. The parish possesses a sea coast
of about four miles, comprehending the two
bays of Peterhead and Invernettie, and the
three promontories of Satie's-Head, Boddam-
Head, and Keith- Inch. The parish in gene-
ral is flat, varied by small eminences, and
interspersed with plantations, which give it a
pleasant appearance. The Ugie also varies
the landscape on the north, with its windings
and fertile haughs. Besides the fishers who
reside in the town of Peterhead, there is a

PETERHEAD.

863

considerable fishing village at Boddam, at
which place the fishing is prosecuted with
great diligence. There are two old castles,
viz. Old Craig, or Raven's Craig, formerly
the seat of a branch of the Marischal family,
and Boddam Castle, situated on a peninsulat-
ed rock, perpendicular to the sea, which
washes its base. There are inexhaustible
quarries of excellent granite, which admits of
a fine polish. A large portion of the parish,
and the superiority of the town of Peterhead,
formerly belonged to the Marischal family,
forfeited in 1715. The greater part of Peter-
head was purchased in 1726 by a fishing com-
pany, which, getting embarrassed, sold it in
1728 to the Merchant Maiden Hospital of
Edinburgh, the governors of which are thus
superiors of the town and proprietors of the
surrounding estates. This institution, at the
sale of the property of the York Buildings
Company in 1783, purchased another portion
of the Marischal estate in the parish. So
much has the value of land increased since
then, that the first purchase, which cost origi-
nally L.3420, will very shortly produce an
annual rental of L.2375; and the second,
costing L.3886, will yield L.475 a year, ex-
clusive of freeholds sold for L.727, and the in-
come from feus and town dues, &c. In 1 752,
the governors sold the estate to Alexander
Keith, Esq. of Ravelston, for L.5,280, being
twenty-four years purchase of the then rental,
but giving Mr. Keith a power of resiling
from his bargain at any time within six weeks ;
he did resile, and now the sum would only be
about two years' rent of the property. In
1766 it v was again exposed to sale by public
roup for L.9800, but no offerer appeared.

Peterhead, a considerable town in the
above parish, a burgh of barony, and sea-
port, situated at the distance of thirty-two
miles north by east of Aberdeen, forty south-
east of Banff, eighteen south-south-east of
Fraserburgh, and one hundred and forty-five
north-east of Edinburgh. It occupies a situ-
ation upon a peninsula, about a mile south
from the mouth of the Ugie, and on the south
side of this peninsula is the bay of Peterhead.
The town was founded and erected into a
burgh of barony in 1593, by George, Earl
Marischal], but has come into notice as a place
of some importance only in modern times.
Little more than a century ago, there was but
a small quay, sufficient for the accommodation

of only the smallest craft ; and in the time of
Cromwell, it appears that no more than twenty
tons of shipping belonged to the port. The
natural advantages of the locality, the singular
activity of the inhabitants, the encouragement
and assistance of the superiors, and the pa-
tronage of government have conspired to
render it, in the present day, one of the
most flourishing sea-ports in the country.
It now possesses, in addition to its old
small harbour, which has become exclusively
devoted to fishing-boats, two spacious harbours,
safe and commodious, and accessible in op-
posite directions ; and being situated on the
most easterly point of Scotland, may be reached
when no other can be approached. The
extensive structures in the shape of quays,
break-waters, &c. connected with this ad-
mirable haven, were erected partly at the
expense of government, which was moved to
the measure by consideration of the great ge-
neral utility of such a place of refuge at this
point — the first that is reached by vessels which
may be distressed in the German ocean, and
which, moreover, possessed singular capabili-
ties for the construction of such a harbour.
The greatest part of the expense has been sus-
tained by the superiors of the burgh, the gover-
nors of the Merchant Maiden Hospital of Edin-
burgh, who have devoted to the enlargement
and improvement of the harbours not only all
the harbour dues, but the whole revenue of
the town arising from commonty lands, petty
customs, &c. In this manner L.50,000 have
been expended during the last half century,
exclusive of grants of L. 15,000 from go-
vernment, and a like sum from the trades of
Peterhead. By all these means the harbour
of Peterhead is reckoned one of the very best
in Scotland ; it is in a flourishing condition,
and lately yielded an annual income of L.2145,
12s. 4d. The entrance to the port is marked
by an excellent light-house, erected by the
commissioners, on the opposite corner of the
bay, which is of great use. Very recently, the
shipping belonging to the port of Peterhead,
were eighty-two in number. It lately owned
twelve vessels in the whale trade alone, with
3629 tons, which is more than belongs to any
other Scottish port, and is second only to Hull.
The fishing trade in general is prosecuted with
great vigour. There are now sixty boats em-
ployed in this pursuit, and the quantity of her-
rings caught in the year 1830-31 was 10,000

864

PETERHEAD.

crans. In no part of the island, indeed, is
there found such a development of public
spirit, commercial enterprise, and genius for
taking advantage of the capabilities of the port
and the adjacent seas. The ardent pursuit of
a profitable traffic, which so peculiarly charac-
terises the east coast, is here carried to its
utmost height, and scarcely any thing can be
more gratifying to an intelligent traveller, than
to observe the wonderful activity and acuteness
which the people of Peterhead carry into eveiy
detail of business. In the beginning of the
present century, the trade of the town was
estimated at about L. 100,000 per annum.
The district of Buchan, of which this may
be denominated the capital, has long been
remarkable for the production of butter,
which is here salted and exported in vast
quantities. " Peterhead Butter" is an article
well and favourably known. Individual mer-
chants in Peterhead have been known to buy
up a hundred tons of butter in Buchan, for
the purpose of exportation. Another article
of export is com, which is brought to the
port from the surrounding arable district,
and shipped to the e?:tent of 2500 bolls per
annum. The weekly market day of the
town is Friday ; and there are two annual
fairs. As a burgh of barony, the place is
governed by two bailies, with a treasurer.
With the increase of trade the town has risen
to a respectable size and appearance. It is
built in the form of a cross, and is divided in-
to four districts, which are united to each other
by a continuation of streets ; these districts are
respectively called the Kirktoun, Ronheads,
Keith- Inch, and Peterhead proper. The
houses, which are built of granite, so abundant
in various parts of the country, are neat and
comfortable, and many of them commodious
and elegant. The streets of recent erection
are well laid out. The public buildings, which
claim more particular attention, are the town-
house, at the head of the principal street ; it is
an elegant building, sixty feet long, and forty
feet wide, with a spire, one hundred and ten feet
high, and a clock ; this edifice cost upwards of
L.2000 Sterling. The established church,
which is of modern erection, situated at the
conjunction of the south and west roads, com-
bines elegance with convenience ; and is capa-
ble of containing 1800 people. The Episcopal
chapel is also a handsome modern erection, of
large dimensions, which cost L.4000. The town

has also congregations of the United Associate
Synod, of the Independents and Methodists.
Peterhead derives some celebrity from certain
mineral wells and baths, which are situated south
from the town. The mineral water has been long
esteemed for cases of general debility, disorders
of the stomach and bowels, nervous affections,
and female complaints. It has also been used
with advantage in leucophlegmatic habits ; and
it has been recommended in cases of scrofula.
Perhaps its principal effect is tonic, produced
by the iron in contains, assisted and increased
by the use of sea-bathing, and the amuse-
ments common to watering places. Great ex-
ertions have been made to accommodate the
company who resort thither for their health ;
and persons of every rank may find convenient
lodgings. We believe, that recently the resort
to those wells and baths has declined. Among
the Lions of Peterhead, may be mentioned a
museum of curiosities, chiefly in natural his-
tory, of late greatly increased, collected by
and belonging to a private individual, Adam
Arbuthnot, Esq. which that gentleman, with
an urbanity which cannot be too highly prais-
ed, is at all times most willing to exhibit
to strangers. Peterhead, like all other places "
in this part of the country, contains a large
proportion of Episcopalians ; and not many
years ago, such was the prevalence of this
persuasion, that few but working people
professed a different mode of worship. At
present, there is a considerable number of
genteel presbyterians. Nearly the same pro-
portion of Episcopalians obtains throughout
the surrounding district, evidently on ac-
count of its remoteness from the southern
provinces of Scotland, where the principles
of the present established church were first
promulgated. The chief Episcopal clergy-
man has for many years been the venerable
Bishop Torry, D. D. The Chevalier St.
George very appropriately landed at Peter-
head on his fruitless expedition to Scotland in
1716. He appeared in the dress of a sailor,
and did not declare his real character till two
days' journey from the town. The house in
which he lodged on the night of his disembark-
ation was taken down some years since, but its
site is still pointed out in a back street. It
seems that the gentlewoman to whom it be-
longed, was so enthusiastic a Jacobite, that
after the unfortunate prince had gone to repose,
she went into the bed-room, and knelt at seve-

PITCAITHLi.

8G5

ral places round about it, like a heathen priest-
ess performing some strange ceremony- Her
daughter too, disguised herself as a sen-ant, and
went with peats in her lap to supply his fire,
merely for the purpose of seeing him. The
old Jacobite and Episcopal character of Peter-
head, have impressed a peculiarity on the man-
ners of the place very observable in the pre-
sent day. The society of the place is con-
sidered to be of a superior stamp ; but, as is
often the case with provincial towns, it is di-
vided into particular circles or classes, having
mutual jealousies. During the summer —
and the place has only three fine months
in the year, June, July, and August — it is
a cheerful gay town, and pleasure and danc-
ing parties are common. A fondness for
whist, the only rational and respectable game
with cards, is likewise a characteristic of the
pleasing society of this agreeable town, and
engages a great number of evening parties in
the winter months — In 1821, the population of
Peterhead was 4500, including the parish 63 13 ;
the number of inhabitants in the town, includ-
ing about 800 seamen, is now computed at
7500.

PET TIN A IX. a parish in Lanarkshire,
lying on the left bank of the Clyde, bounded
by Libberton on the east, Covington on the
south, and Carmichael and Lanark on the
west. It is of a rectangular figure of three
miles long and two broad. The hilly parts are
pastoral. The highest eminences are called
Pettinain and Westraw hills ; the latter of
which is elevated 500 feet above the level of
the Clyde, or 1000 above the level of the sea.
The haughs or meadows on the banks of the
Clyde are very extensive, and, enriched by the
mud and slime deposited from that river by its
frequent inundations, are exceedingly rich and
fertile. The village of Pettinain, which con-
tains about 100 inhabitants, lies on the Gyde
about 5j miles east of Lanark, and 7 from
Biggar. On the confines of the parish, on the
south, the vestiges of a strong military station
are distinctly visible; it contains about six acres,
and some brazen vessels were lately dug up in
its area. The only mansion of note is the
house of "vTesterhall, formerly a seat of the
Johnstones of Westerhall, but now belonging
to the family of Carmichael Anstruther, re-
presentatives of the late noble house of Hynd-
ford.— Population in 1821, 490.

PETTY, a parish in Inverness-shire, lying

with its west side to the Moray Firth, north-
east from Inverness. It has the parish of
Croy on the east. The greater part is level
or rising with a gentle slope towards the south.
The appearance is agreeable, the scene being
diversified with cultivated fields, small rivulets
and clumps of trees. The arable soil, which
is nearly two-thirds of the parish, is in general
light and sandy, but easily improveable ; the
old mode of agriculture is now abandoned, and
the new method of farming adopted, which has
ameliorated the condition of the soil very
greatly- The pasture lands feed only 2500
sheep. There is an ancient castle on the
estate of the earl of Moray, called Castle-
Stuart, which was once designed for the fami-
ly-seat ; but for many years it has fallen into
disrepair — Population in 1821, 1758.

PETTYCUR, a small sea-port in Fife,
on the Firth of Forth, lying about half a mile
west of Kinghorn. It consists of little else
than two or three houses, including a good inn,
with a harbour in front, capable of receiving
vessels of moderate burden at high water; it
is one of the appointed havens for steam vessels
employed in the ferry from the opposite coast.
It is said to have derived its name from a small
body of French (Petit corps J landing here in
the time of Mary of Guise, regent of Scotland.
As the land rises with a quick ascent from
the shore, Pettycur is susceptible of little in-
crease. The coast has here a bleak rocky
aspect, and is very unprepossessing.

PILTANTON BURN, a considerable
rivulet falUng into the sea at the head of Luce
Bay, and originating in the parishes of Port-
Patrick and Leswalt.

PITCAIRN-GREEN, a small village in
the parish of Redgorton, Perthshire, built on
the estate of Mr. Graham of Balgowan.

PIT CAIRN, (NEW) a small village in
the parish of Dunning, Perthshire, half a mile
south of the village of Dunning, built on the
estate of Mr. Graham of OrchUl.

PITCAITHLY, or PITKEATHLY,
a place in the parish of Dumbarny, Perthshire,
noted for its mineral waters. It is situated in
a sequestered corner of the lower part of the
vale of the Earn, at a short distance from the
village of the Bridge-of-Eam. At this vil-
lage the individuals who use the waters mostly
reside, though, for their accommodation, there
is a single large lodging house at the wells.
Visitors from Edinburgh proceed by the Perth

866

PITSLIGO.

eoaches which pass through the village. The
time when these mineral waters were discover-
ed cannot be ascertained ; even tradition says
nothing of their first discovery ; but they have
long been celebrated, and in recent times have
attracted the visits of innumerable valetudina-
rians, real or imaginary. There are five dis-
tinct springs, all of the same quality, but of
different degrees of strength. The water is
considered efficacious in curing or alleviating
the scrofula, scurvy, or gravel, and divers in-

ternal complaints. The mineral is gentle in
its operation, has an agreeable effect in reliev-
ing the stomach of crudities, procuring an ap-
petite and exhilarating the spirits ; and instead
of weakening, tends to strengthen the constitu-
tion. The water is of a cooling quality, and
very efficacious in removing all heat and foul-
ness of the blood. About forty years ago the
different springs were subjected to analysis, and
a table drawn up as follows, shewing the con-
tents in a wine gallon of each of the waters.

East

West

Spout

Dumbarny

South
Park

Atmospheric Air

Well.

Well.

Well.

Well.

WeU.

Cubic Inches.

4

4

4

4

4

Carbonic acid gas

8

8

6

5

5

do.

Carbonate of lime

5

£

5

5a

5

Grains.

Muriate of Soda

100

92

82

57

44

do.

Muriate of Lime

180

168

146

102

84

do.

Specific gravity of "J

a gallon of each, f
more than dis- f

216

198

172

124

98

do.

tilled water. J

The Spout Well is that most in esteem,
and is the only one indeed to which a pump is
attached. The promenades around Pitcaith-
ley are very pleasing, and there is no lack of
the very best accommodation as well as the
choice of society of an agreeable nature, though,
as may be supposed, very mixed in its ingredi-
ents.

PITLESSIE, a small village in the parish
of Cults, Fifeshire, lying on the north side of
the road to Cupar from Kinghorn, at the dis-
tance of four miles west of the former, and
five east of New Inn.

PITLOCHRY, a small village in the pa-
rish of Moulin, Perthshire, situated on the
great military road from Perth to Inverness,
about six miles from the pass of Killicrankie.

PITSLIGO, a parish in the district of
Buchan, Aberdeenshire, lying on the sea-coast
betwixt Aberdeen on the west and Fraser-
burgh on the east, and having Tyrie on the
south. The face of the country is level, none
of the eminences deserving the name of hills ;
neither is it watered by any considerable stream.
The land is generally fertile, though from the
want of wood, it has a bare appearance, and
in some places considerably improved, particu-
larly on the estate of the late Sir William
Forbes, who planted a considerable number of
forest trees, now in a thriving condition, and
37.

promising to be an ornament and shelter to the
district. There are two fishing villages, name-
ly, Pittaly, and Rosehearty. Pitsligo castle,
formerly the seat of the Lords Pitsligo, a title
in the Forbes family attainted in 1745, is an
ancient building, surrounded with extensive
gardens. Several large cairns, which tradition
says are the sepulchral memorials of hostile
invaders from Denmark or Norway, are to be

seen in the parish Population in 1821,

1345.

PITSLIGO, (NEW) a thriving modern
village in the parish of Tyrie, district of Bu-
chan, Aberdeenshire, lying on the road from
Peterhead to Banff.

PITTALY, a small fishing village in the
parish of Pitsligo, Aberdeenshire, lying on the
sea coast, half way betwixt Kinnaird Head and
Rosehearty Point.

PITTENCRIEF, a suburb of Dunferm-
line, now composing part of that populous and
thriving town.

PITTENWEEM, a small parish in Fife,
lying on the shore of the Firth of Forth, be-
twixt the parish of St. Monance on the west
and Anstruther on the east ; on the north it is
bounded partly by Anstruther and partly by
Carnbee. In extent, it measures about a mile
and a quarter long by half a mile to three quar-
ters of a mile in breadth. The land is level

P I T T E N W E E M.

867

or spreads up from the shore of the Firth with
a gentle acclivity, in finely cultivated and well
enclosed fields. The whole lies on a field of
excellent coal.

Pittenweem, a royal burgh and sea-port,
the capital of the above parish, is situated
at the distance of less than a mile west from
Wester Anstruther, a mile east of St. Monance,
and twenty-four miles from Edinburgh It
occupies a slightly elevated situation on ground
overhanging the harbour, which from occupy-
ing a cove or weem, has communicated a
name to the town. Pittenweem is one of
the old Fife burghs. It consists of an irre-
gular main street, with a number of bye
thoroughfares ; the houses being chiefly of an
ancient date. Around the harbour there are
several houses of a respectable appearance ; and
on the brow of the eminence over this part of
the town stand all that remains of the Priory of
Pittenweem. Besidessome fragmentsof the re-
ligious buildings, there is a quadrangular range
of curious antique buildings entire, said to have
been the residence of the Prior, and other su-
perior officers of the establishment. This
fine specimen of the domestic ecclesiastical
architecture of the ages which preceded the
Reformation, is included within the private
property of the Right Rev. Dr. Low, a
bishop of the Episcopal Church of Scotland,
who here superintends a congregation of that
communion, and resides in one of the ancient
edifices. Betwixt the ruins of the priory and
the sea is an enclosed piece of garden ground,
in which is a fine spring well, once belonging
to the convent, and which, till a late date, was
the fountain from whence the water was taken
on all baptismal occasions ; such was the ex-
tent to which inveterate usage had been car-
ried. Of the date of the Priory of Pittenweem
little seems to be known. It was, at any
rate, a house of the canons-regular of St.
Augustine, and had some cells dependent up-
on it. It was dedicated to the Virgin. After
the Reformation, a Colonel Stuart became
commendator in 1567, and his son, Frederick
Stuart, was afterwards, by the favour of
James VI., raised to the dignity of Lord Pit-
tenweem, in 1609 ; but dying without male
issue, the title became extinct. Adjacent to
the monastic remains stands the parish church,
an old ungainly edifice, with a turreted spire.
It was in Pittenweem that the robbery was
committed upon the Collector of Excise, by

Wilson and Robertson, which led to the Por-
teous mob ; the house in which this trans-
action took place is still standing, and is a
thatched one of two storiesj with an outside
stair, immediately west of the town -house, on
the south side of the street. Pittenweem
was constituted a royal burgh in 1537, by a
charter from James V., who, as well as his
successor, paid the town particular marks of
distinction. After its erection into a royal
burgh, it seems to have been a place of consi-
derable note, and to have had a number of ves-
sels belonging to it ; but, between the years
1639 and 1645, the town suffered greatly, and it
appeai-s that not fewer than thirteen sail of large
vessels were either taken by the enemy or
wrecked. It was also a great fishing station ;
but since the decline and failure of that
branch of employment, and the giving up of
the working of the adjacent coal mines, it has
decreased considerably. Like other towns on
this coast, it also suffered by the Union. As
a royal burgh it is governed by four bailies, a
treasurer, and nineteen councillors, and has
hitherto joined with Easter and Wester An-
struther, Kilrenny, and Crail, in sending a
member to Parliament. Besides the Esta-
blished Church, and an Episcopal Chapel,

there is a Relief Meeting-house Population

of the burgh and parish in 1821, 1200.

PLADDA, a small rocky islet at the
southern extremity of Arran, and entrance of
the firth of Clyde, on which a light-house was
erected in 1 790, in Lat. 55° 30' and Long. 5° 4'
west of London. The entrance of Campbel-
ton Loch bears by compass W. N. W. A N.,
distant 18 miles ; Island of Sanda W., dis-
tant 20 miles ; Ailsa Craig S. W. by S., dis-
tant 15 miles ; entrance to Loch Ryan S. S.
W., distant 25 miles ; and the Heads of Ayr
S. S. E., distant 16 miles. The light-room
is elevated above the level of the sea 70 feet,
and the light is seen from N. E. by E. to N.
W. by W., and intermediate points of the
compass south of these points.

POLGAVIE, a small sea-port village in
the parish of Inchture, Carse of Gowrie,
Perthshire. See Inchture.

POLLOCKSHAWS, a considerable ma-
nufacturing town, in the parish of Eastwood,
Renfrewshire, situated at the distance of two
and a half miles from Glasgow, on the road to
Irvine. It stands on the White Cart river,
in a pleasing valley, well sheltered by plan-

P O L W A R T H.

tations, and has been in modem times greatly
improved in appearance. It now consists of
several well built streets, which we are inform-
ed by a local authority, are " well laid off
and kirbed; the houses numbered; and the
names of the streets painted upon the corners."
There is also a town-house, surmounted by
a tower, and embellished by a clock. The
town was erected into a burgh of barony in
1812, in favour of Sir John Maxwell of Pol-
lock. The civic government is now vested in
a provost, bailie, six councillors, and a trea-
surer. Besides the Established Church of
Eastwood, at no great distance, there are
Meeting- Houses of the United Associate and
of the Original Associate Synods. Pollock-
shaws has risen into note as a manufacturing
town within the last fifty years. In 1 782 it
contained 220 houses, 311 silk and linen looms,
engaged in manufacturing for the traders of
Paisley ; there were also six thread mills, ten
stocking frames, four bleachfields, and a large
printfield, which was begun about 1740. In
1818 it was described as one of the largest vil-
lages in Renfrewshire, containing a population
of 3500, chiefly employed in the spinning of
cotton yarn, and steam-loom weaving. At
Auldfield, in the vicinity, there is now an exten-
sive cotton factory, having from 200 to 300
looms driven by one engine alone. There are
still four bleaching establishments, which carry
on this process in a style of excellence that is
not surpassed in any other part of the country.
The art of dyeing Turkey red, and fancy dye-
ing, is also carried on here to a large extent at
the Green Bank Dye- Works ; and great quan-
tities of goods are sent thither from the manu-
facturing districts of Glasgow, Paisley, and
the surrounding country — In 1821, the popu-
lation of Pollockshaws was 3850.

POLMONT, a parish in Stirlingshire,
lying on the Forth, betwixt Bothkennar and
Falkirk on the west, and Borrowstounness and
Muiravonside on the east. It extends about
five miles inland from the Forth, and is about
two broad. This is one of the richest and
most beautiful parochial districts in the coun-
try, nearly the whole being arable, and finely
enclosed and planted. It has the river Avon
on part of its eastern boundary, and is inter-
sected by the main road from Edinburgh to'
Falkirk, and by the Union Canal. The parish
possesses several coal-works, and abounds in
iron and freestone. The village of Polmont

lies on the road to Falkirk, from whence it ts
three and a half miles to the east. The small
village of Nether Polmont lies on the road
from Falkirk to Bo'ness, from which it is four
miles distant. — Population in 1821, 2171.

POLWARTH, a parish in the district of
Merse, Berwickshire, of a triangular form,
each side of which measures between one and
three miles, bounded by Langton on the
north-east, Foggo on the south, and Greenlaw
on the west. The land is all arable, well en-
closed, and beautifully planted. The village
of Polwarth, from its connexion with Scottish
song, is the most interesting object of the dis-
trict, and stands on the road from Greenlaw to
Dunse. " Polwarth," says the author of
the Picture of Scotland, " is rather a field
powdered with cottages than a village, the
houses being literally scattered, without any
view to regularity, over the common called
' the Green,' in the centre of which is a small
enclosed space, with three thorn trees of vari-
ous sizes, the successors of the poetical thorn.
The legend connected with this tree might
furnish materials for a good romance. The
estate of Polwarth formerly belonged to Sin -
clair of Hermandston, whose family, so fat
back as the fifteenth century, terminated itt
co-heiresses. At that early period, there used
to be dreadful rugging and riving at heiresses ;
few were married without having been the oc-
casion of one or more broken heads ; and it
generally happened, that the most powerful,
not the most beloved, wooer obtained the
prize. The renowned case of Tibby Fowler
seems to have been nothing to that of the
Misses Sinclair. Out of all their lovers, they
preferred the sons of their powerful neighbour,
Home of Wedderburn ; and it so happened,
that the youngest sister was beloved by the
eldest Home, ( George) while the eldest plac-
ed her affection on the youngest, whose name
was Patrick. After the death of the father
of the young ladies, they fell into the hands
of an uncle, who, anxious to prevent their
marriages, that he himself might become their
heir, immured them in his castle, somewhere
in Lothian. What obstacle will not love over-
come ! They contrived, in this dilemma, to get
a letter transmitted to their lovers, by means
of an old female beggar, and they were soon
gratified by the sight of the two youths, ac-
companied by a determined band of Merse
men, before the c;atG of their prison. The

POMONA.

P<39

uncle made both remonstrance and resistance,
but in vain. His nieces were forcibly taken
from him, and carried off in triumph to Pol-
warth. Part of the nuptial rejoicings, (for the
marriage ceremony immediately ensued,) con-
sisted in a merry dance round the thorn, which
even at that early period grew , in the centre
of the village. The lands of Polwarth were
then divided between the two Homes, and,
while George carried on the line of the "Wed-
derburn family, Patrick was the founder of the
branch afterwards ennobled by the title of
Marchmont- In commemoration of this re-
markable affair, all future marriage parties danc-
ed round the thorn ; and a tune seems to have
been composed of the name of ' Polwarth on
the Green,' to which several songs have been
successively adapted — in particular, one be-
ginning,

At Polwarth on the green,

If you'll meet me the morn,
Where lasses do convene

To dance around the thorn ;
A kindly welcome you shall meet,

Frae ane that likes to view
A lover and a lad complete,

The lad and lover you.

This custom continued in force for several
centuries, but has been given up, in conse-
quence of the privacy with which all marriages
are now conducted, not to speak of the fall of
the original tree. It is not, however, more
than three years since the party that attended
what is called a paying, or penny-wedding, —
that is, a wedding where every guest pays a
small sum for his entertainment, and for the
benefit of the young couple, — danced round
the little enclosure to the tune of Polwarth on
the Green, having previously pressed into their
service an old woman, almost the last that
had seen weddings thus celebrated, to show
them the manner of the dance. Polwarth was
once a place of some trade, especially in shoe-
making, there having at one time been no
fewer than fourteen professors of this craft in
the village, each of whom tanned his own lea-
ther. There is now scarcely a tradesman of
any kind, the people all living by agriculture
or weaving. The village was formerly much
more extensive, and the houses were all old-
fashioned, having stupendous clay-built chim-
nies, and each provided with a knocking stone
at the cheek of the door, with which the barley
used by the family was wont, in not very re-
mote times, to be cleansed every morning as

required. Of late years, all has been changed
except the knocking-stones, which in general
survive, like old servants retained about a
house long after they have ceased to be of any
use. In the severe winter of 1740, when it is
remembered that all the mills of the Merse
were stopped by the frost except two, these
primitive engines were used by the country
people for grinding corn into meal. The peo-
ple of Polwarth drive a sort of trade as musi-
cians, almost all of them being expert violin-
players, and willing to be employed as such at
rustic balls, dancing schools, &c. This is pro-
bably owing to the celebrity of their town in
popular song, and the custom of dancing round
the thorn."— Population in 1821, 298.

POMONA, or MAINLAND, the largest
and chief of the Orkney islands, measuring in
extreme length nineteen geographic miles, and
in breadth fourteen ; but its coasts are so deeply
cut by extensive bays, that its area does not
probably exceed 150 square miles. It is di-
vided into fourteen parishes, but these are re-
duced by grouping in pairs to nine in number.
Kirkwall, the capital of the Orkneys, is situ-
ated on the island, and is elsewhere described.
Two extensive bays divide Pomona into two
unequal parts, connected by an isthmus about
two miles in width. The western part com-
prehends the united parishes of Firth and Sten-
nis, Evie and Rendall, Birsay and Hanay,
Sandwick and Stromness, and the single pa-
rish of Orphir. This division is more hilly
than the eastern. The hills enclose some
pretty extensive and fertile valleys, possessing
a rich loamy soil ; but the principal cultivation
here, as in the smaller islands, is along the
coast, where an abundant supply of sea- weed
thrown up by the waves, affords, at little ex-
pense, a valuable manure. Much of this dis-
trict remains in a state of nature, and regular
enclosures are scarcely known. It contains
several fresh water lakes, or lochs, as those of
Orphir, Stennis, Skaill, Birsay, and Aiker-
ness, giving rise to considerable streams,
abounding with various species of trout ; but
Orkney, as might be expected, has no river,
and the true salmon is rarely caught. The ex-
tensive heaths in the western parishes afford
shelter to immense numbers of red grouse, plo-
vers, and snipes. Neither partridges, nor
hares, nor foxes, are found in Orkney; though
the white hare was once indigenous in Hoy.
That the stag once browsed on these hills is

870

POMONA.

manifest, from the numerous instances of their
horns found in the peat bogs. These wastes
also bear evidence of their having once been
covered by woods of the smaller kinds of
trees ; and this has been confirmed by the dis-
covery of an ancient submerged wood, of some
extent, exposed by a heavy surf at Skaill, on
the western side of Pomona. The hills feed
a vast number of sheep; a branch of rural
economy, till lately extremely ill managed in
Orkney. Formerly the sheep of a parish
were permitted to run wild among the hilly
districts, which are separated from the culti-
vated land by an insecure wall of turf, forming
a general fence to the whole parish. Once a-
year they were collected to be shorn, and to
receive certain marks on their ears or on their
nose, a barbarous mode of ascertaining the pro-
perty of each individual owner in the general
flock. Latterly, a better system has been in-
troduced. Merino rams have been imported,
and care has been taken to improve the breed
of sheep. The commons feed also large herds
of swine, of a diminutive and ill-favoured
breed, which are very destructive when acci-
dent permits them to enter the cultivated
townships. The western coasts of Pomona
are, in general, very bold, presenting mural
cliffs, covered by innumerable sea fowl, and
often hollowed out into caverns, or perforated
by natural arches. A magnificent instance of
the latter occurs near Skaill, not far from
the pavement of figured stones, as it has been
named, which is conspicuous in the early de-
scriptions, but which modern inquiry has re-
duced to a very common instance of partial
disintegration in a ferruginous sandstone. In
fine weather, this lofty arch, which perforates
a little promontory, may be safely entered ;
but when the storm rages, the waves burst
through it with surprising fury. Along this
western coast, the approach of a storm is
usually indicated, several hours before it hap-
pens, by a sudden rolling of vast waves from
the ocean. Enormous stones are hurled against
the rocks ; and the raging of the waves against
the caverned precipices may be distinctly
heard, on such occasions, at the distance of
eighteen miles. The western parts of Pomona
contain the seanty remains of the once inde-
pendent Udallers, or allodial proprietors of
Orkney. The usurpations of the Scottish
earls, who laboured to introduce feudal tenures,
and the injustice of the Scottish government,
which transferred to itself the spoliations

committed on the people by the earls, and
altered the laws which it had solemnly pro-
mised to retain inviolate, have reduced the
Udallers to a very small number of little pro-
prietors, who chiefly reside in Rendal and
Harray. The names of many of these men
proclaim their pure Scandinavian descent,
though they have now totally lost the Norse
language, which about eighty years ago, was
the common tongue in Harray. — In 1821, the
population of Pomona was 15,062.

PONICLE, a small river in Lanarkshire,
which falls into the Douglas water, a few
miles above its junction with the Clyde.

PORT-ALLAN, a small village and har-
bour in the parish of Sorbie, Wigtonshire.

PORT-DUNDAS, a modem village in
Lanarkshire, situated about a mile to the north-
east of Glasgow ; it originated in being the
spot where a branch from the Forth and Clyde
canal terminates. Its name is in honour of
Lord Dundas, to whose exertions the canal,
in a great measure, owes its completion. There
is a spacious basin, and large warehouses for
the accommodation of the traders on the canal.
The Monkland canal also terminates here, and
adds greatly to the bustle and traffic which pre-
vails. Track boats in communication with
the firth of Forth at Grangemouth, and with
Edinburgh, by means of the Union canal, ar-
rive and depart daily.

PORTEASY, a small fishing village in
Banffshire, in the parish of Rathven, about
two miles east from Buckie.

PORT- FLO AT, a small port on the west
coast of Wigtonshire, parish of Stoneykirk.

PORT-GLASGOW, originally named
New Pout- Glasgow, a parish and sea-port
town in Renfrewshire, lying on the banks of
the Clyde. The parish, which extends about
a mile each way, is bounded by Greenock on
the west, and Kilmalcolm on the south and
east. It was formerly a small barony, called
Newark, belonging to the parish of Kilmal-
colm ; but the magistrates of Glasgow, having ,
in the year 1668, feued a piece of ground to
form a harbour for the accommodation of
their shipping, and foreseeing that it would
soon be a thriving place, got it erected into a se-
parate parish in 169.5. The town of Port- Glas-
gow, which originated in this manner, is situated
on a flat piece of ground partly peninsular,
close on the margin of the Clyde, at the dis-
tance of two miles east from Greenock, and
nineteen from Glasgow. The harbour, at

PORT-GLASGOW.

871

spring-tides, admits of vessels of very large
tonnage ; and on the quays and streets adja-
cent, bonded warehouses are erected for fo-
reign produce ; and also excellent sheds to
protect the property of the merchant from
rain. The town stands immediately contigu-
ous to the old barony and village of Newark,
at the eastern extremity of which is situated
the old castle, formerly occupied by the barons
of the name of Maxwell, now the property of
the Right Hon. Lord Belhaven. It is a fine
old ruin, in good preservation, and its situa-
tion is much admired for its commanding view
of the Clyde, and adjacent picturesque scenery
— particularly that wild and singularly formed
rocky eminence, on which stands Dumbarton
Castle. The town of Port- Glasgow is pro-
tected to the south by a range of high hills ;
and an extensive view of corresponding hills
presents itself to the north. The lower
grounds in the vicinity of the town, are em-
bellished with handsome villas, adorned by
excellent gardens. Port- Glasgow is neatly
built, the streets running at right angles. It
possesses a town-house, which was erected in
1815, by the magistrates, at a cost of nearly
L. 1 2,000. It possesses a public coffee-house,
council-chamber, court-hall, prison and bride-
well ; together with accommodation for the
town-clerk, fiscal, and other public officers.
This building, which is of the finest Grecian
architecture, is surmounted with an elegant
spire, 150 feet high, and adorned with a good
clock. The custom-house is a neat building,
containing rooms for the different officers in
that branch of the revenue. There has been
^erected by the public generosity of the inhabi-
tants, a new parish church, upon the site of
the old one, which is, in external and internal
appearance, both chaste and elegant. There is
also a chapel of ease, and meeting-houses of
the united secession and methodist bodies.
Besides these establishments, there are public
schools, a theatre, and a good flesh and fish mar-
ket. The trade of Port- Glasgow has been for
these number of years gradually improving. The
tonnage employed in the West India and
American trade, is very considerable. Ship-
building, sugar-refining, and rope and sail
making, are carried on here extensively ; added
to which, a new company has lately com-
menced in the steam weaving business, which
gives employment to near two hundred persons,
and promises to be of great importance. Here
was built the first dry or graving dock in

Scotland ; which is yet in good preservation.
Port- Glasgow was erected into a parish, as
has been said, in 1695, and in the year 1775
the town was instituted a burgh of barony,
with two magistrates and eleven councillors.
A fair is held in the town on the third Tues-
day in July ; the weekly market day is Friday.
Steam vessels, in passing to and from Glasgow,
touch at Port- Glasgow, for the convenience
of passengers. — Population of the town and
parish in 1821, 5262.

PORT-HOPETOUN, a modern suburb
of Edinburgh, on its south-west quarter, at
which is the basin of the Union Canal at its
eastern termination. See Edinburgh.

PORT-KESSOCK, a small port on the
coast of Wigtonshire, in the parish of Kirk-
maiden.

PORT-LEITHEN, a small fishing village
in Kincardineshire, near the promontory of
Girdleness.

PORT-LOGAN, a small port on the west
coast of Wigtonshire, parish of Kirkmaiden.

PORT-MA-HALMACK, a small har-
bour in Ross-shire, in the parish of Tar-
bat.

PORT-MOAK, a parish in Kinross-shire,
lying on the east side of Loch Leven, and ex-
tending seven miles in length, by from three
to five in breadth. It is bounded on the
north-west by Orwell, on the north-east by
Strathmiglo, on the east by Leslie, and on the
south by Ballingrey. The parish includes the
west Lomond hill, which, with its descending
braes, most of which are arable, occupies a
large portion of the district. The low grounds
have been vastly improved by draining and
other judicious measures. That part of the carse
east from Loch Leven, and on the north side
of the new cut of the Leven river, belongs to
Portmoak ; the improvements here have been
on a great scale, as has been noticed under the
heads Kinross and Leven. The parish
comprehends two villages ; — Scotland Wells,
and Kinnesswood, both situated a short way
from the eastern shore of Loch Leven. Scot-
land Wells may be styled the capital of the
district, as there the parish church is situated.
Portmoak itself lies on the margin of the lake,
and consists of nothing more than a farm-
steading and half-deserted burying-ground, en-
vironed by a few trees. Here once stood a
religious house of very ancient origin, accord-
ing to Keith, taking its name from St. Moack,
and having the adjunct of Port, from the spot

872

PORTOBELLO.

being the landing place from tlic Isle of St.
Serf.— Population in 1821, 1354.

PORT-NA-HAVEN, a fishing village
in the island of Islay,in the parish of Kilcho-
man, from whence there is a regular commu-
nication with Ireland.

PORT-NOCKIE, a fishing village in
Banffshire, in the parish of Rathven, about
four miles east from Porteasy.

PORTOBELLO, a modern town in the
parish of Duddingston, county of Edinburgh,
lying on the shore of the Firth of Forth, at
the distance of two miles east from the
metropolis, two miles from Leith, by the
coast road, and about the same distance west
from Fisherrow and Musselburgh. The ra-
pidity with which this seat of population has
risen into importance and magnitude in recent
times is quite unprecedented in Scotland, and
resembles more the manner in which towns in
the United States of America spring into con-
sequence than any thing in European countries.
Less than a century ago, as has been noticed
under the head Duddingston, this part of
Mid- Lothian appeared an unproductive waste,
covered with tall furze or whins, or a scanty
herbage, and offering to the eye a wide expanse
of low sandy shore, unbroken or cheered
by a single habitation. In the course of the
subsequent years the land was gradually re-
claimed and enclosed, and in time there arose
a single house, which is still preserved and
pointed out as a curiosity in the centre of the
present town. This edifice is a humble
cottage on the south side of the main street ;
and it is reported by tradition that it was built
and inhabited by a retired sailor, who had been
with Admiral Vernon in his celebrated South
American expedition of 1 739, and who there-
fore entitled it Portobello, in commemoration
of the capture of that town, an action at
which he had been present. On other houses
being gradually erected in the neighbour-
hood, the name of Portobello was naturally
extended to them ; and thus the village acquir-
ed its designation. The rise of the town was
very much accelerated by manufactories of
tiles and bricks being established at the place ;
afterwards an earthenware manufactory began,
and that was followed by other works, all of
which are now in a flourishing condition. The
different public factories were planted chiefly
on the banks of a rivulet called the Figget
burn, which divides the parish of Dudding-

ston from South Leith, and is here poured
into the sea ; on its east side the town
has almost altogether been built. Besides
becoming the residence of workmen at the
various establishments, Portobello became
soon known as an excellent place for sea-
bathing quarters for the accommodation of fa-
milies from Edinburgh, and, therefore, annually
grew in size. Each house was, however, built to
suit the taste or fortune of its proprietor, with
little regard to uniformity or regularity, and the
consequence is, that we now find it a town of
villas, large and small, sometimes secluded
within umbrageous gardens, and at other times
skirting the thoroughfares. Within the last
fifteen years, much greater regularity in laying
out streets has been used, principally in conse-
quence of the houses being reared on specula-
tion by builders, and in a short time, by the
exertion of a little taste, the town will be one
of the most handsome of its size in Great Bri-
tain. At present, it consists of a long main
street, lining the London and Edinburgh road,
with a number of short streets diverging from
thence towards the sea, or leading towards the
interior. The most of the houses are built of
freestone in the style of those of the New
Town of Edinburgh ; a few are of brick, which
is a rare custom in Scotland. Within the last
two or three years there has been a neat and
commodious suite of markets erected at the
centre of the town. In 1814, a chapel of ease
was erected for the convenience of the inhabi-
tants ; and since that period there have been
built two episcopal chapels, and a meeting-
house in connexion with the united secession
church. These are all plain and not very con-
spicuous edifices, none of them having spires.
Portobello is entirely destitute of any species
of burgal jurisdiction, Jhe only resident civil
functionary being a constable ; but this does not
appear to be attended with any loss ; indeed,
it is more than probable that were there a po-
lice establishment, it would tend to injure
the prosperity of the town, for a very great
number of the inhabitants prefer the place to
Edinburgh, chiefly from the total absence of
local taxation. Besides the aforesaid brick, tile
and earthenware manufactories, there are a very
extensive manufactory of crystal and glass, and
several miscellaneous manufactories, among
which are some of a chemical nature. Near
the shore there is an excellent suite of hot and
cold baths. The general accommodations for

PORT-PATRICK.

87«

sea bathing are very extensive, there being
every variety of lodgings, and the beach, which
is a noble flat expanse of pure sand, affording
at all times ready access to the sea. Be-
twixt Edinburgh and Portobello, there is a per-
petual thoroughfare by coaches. Adjacent to
Portobello on the east, is the village of Joppa,
which is now almost a part of the (own ; it
possesses a mineral spring, used by the valetu-
dinarian residents of the place. From the flat-
ness of the beach at Portobello there has hi-
therto been no harbour for vessels, but it is
now proposed to apply for an act of parliament
authorizing the erection of one at the estuary
of the Figget Burn, which would render the
town a sea-port, and perhaps injure the trade
of Leith and Fisherrow. — In 1821, the settled
population of Portobello and Joppa amounted
to about 2000.

PORT-PATRICK, a parish on the west
coast of Wigtonshire, measuring about four and
a half miles each way, bounded by Leswalt on
the north, Inch on the east, and Stoneykirk on
the south. On the west is the Irish sea. The
surface is uneven, hilly, and moorish.

Port- Patrick, a town in the above parish,
situated on the sea- coast at the distance of one
hundred and thirty-three miles from Edin-
burgh, eighty-nine from Glasgow, six and a
quarter from Stranraer, seventy-five from
Dumfries, and thirty-four and a quarter from
Wigton. This remote town has long been the
great thoroughfare from the north of Ireland, be-
ing the nearest point of Great Britain to that
country, and the best place for crossing from
one kingdom to another, the distance being on-
ly twenty-one miles from Donaghadee. The
town is small, but delightfully situated, with
a fine southern exposure, and surrounded on the
other side by a ridge of small hills in the form
of an amphitheatre. It is an excellent bathing
quarter, and is much frequented during the
summer months. Formerly the harbour was
small and incommodious, being a mere inlet
between the two ridges of rocks that projected
into the sea, and the vessels were so much ex-
posed, that to shelter them from the waves, it
was necessary to draw them by great exertions
upon the beach. There is now one of the finest
quays in Britain, with a reflecting light-house.
Several steam-packets and sailing vessels regu-
larly sail between this port and Donaghadee on
the Irish side, with the mail and passengers; and
mail-coaches are now established from Edin-
burgh and London to Port-Patrick, and from

Dublin to Donaghadee. Since the erection of
the harbour, and the establishment of the re-
gular passage-boats, the town and its commerce
have greatly increased. Not more than eighty
years ago, the number of inhabitants was only
about a hundred, but in 1760 there were 512 ;
and, instead of a few small sloops and fishing-
boats, a number of considerable trading vessels
belong to the town. The principal trade car-
ried on is the importation of black cattle and
horses from Ireland. The great improve-
ments of the town and harbour are chiefly to
be attributed to the exertions of the late Sir
James Hunter Blair, whose ancient castle of
Dunskey stands in the neighbourhood, on the
brink of a tremendous precipice overhanging
the sea. Of late years, there have been most
extensive improvements carrying on at the har-
bour, under the auspices of government, in
order that at all times of the tide shipments of
troops may be made for Ireland. In the erec-
tion of the quays, the diving bell has been much
used. Improvements on a similar plan, and also
at an enormous expense, have been made at the

opposite port of Donaghadee Population of

the townahd parish in 1821, 1818.

PORTREE, a parish in Inverness-shire,
in the island of Skye, including the islands of
Raasay and Ronay. It extends about nine
miles in length, and three in breadth, contain-
ing an area of about 41 ,900 square acres. The
surface is agreeably diversified with hills, val-
leys, and plains. The coast on the sound,
which separates Skye from the mainland, is
very rugged, and nearly perpendicular, rising,
particularly towards the north, to a stupendous
height. The principal hill is called Ait suidhe
Fain, " Fingal's sitting-place ;" it rises in
a conical shape to a great elevation. There
are several fresh water lakes, particularly Loch
Fadd and Loch Leathan, giving rise to small
rivulets, which abound with salmon ; the water
of Loch Leathan forms a beautiful cascade
where it issues from the lake. In the rocks
there are many caves of great extent, some of
which are covered with stalactical incrusta-
tions. The greater part of this parish is better
adapted for pasture than tillage ; but a consi-
derable extent might be rendered fertile,
were it not for the slovenly mode of agri-
culture which still prevails in the Highlands.
On the east coast the land is indented by
Portree Loch, on the north side of which
stands the small town of Portree, — a word
signifying the " port of the king." There is
5 T

874

PORTSETON.

here a tolerably good harbour, and, as signifi-
cant of the civilization of the islands, Maccul-
loch remarks, that the place now possesses a

jail Population of the town and parish in

1821, 3174.

PORTSBURGH, (EASTER AND
WESTER,) two suburbs of Edinburgh.—
See Edinburgh, page 405.

PORTSETON, or PORTSEATON,
a small sea-port village in Haddingtonshire, in
the parish of Tranent, situated on the Firth of
Forth, at the distance of about a mile east
from Prestonpans. It has a small rude har-
bour for the admission of boats. The village,
which is known as having been long the
seat of some extensive salt works, derives its
name from its proximity to Seton House, the
ancient residence of the once noble family
of the Setons, Earls of Winton. A large mo-
dern chateau, lately used as a boarding-
school, occupies the site of Seton House ; but
the old fortified rampart-wall still exists, as
well as the collegiate church connected with
the original mansion. Seton lies upon the
face of a gentle declivity, within a mile of the
sea, and immediate vicinity of the ground
whereon was fought the battle of Prestonpans.
Seton House was one of those noble mansions
erected in the reign of King James VI., which
Hume remarks to have been so much superior
in taste and elegance of architecture to any
thing of the kind built during the next three
or four reigns. It was for the time considered
by far the most magnificent and elegantly fur-
nished house in Scotland. From drawings of
it taken by Grose, for his Antiquities of Scot-
land in 1789, immediately before its demoli-
tion, it appears, like Pinkie, Kenmure, and
other large houses of its own era of architec-
ture, to have consisted of two sides of a quad-
rangle, the rest of which was formed by a
rampart. The state apartments were on the
second floor, very spacious, nearly forty feet
high, superbly furnished, and covered with
crimson velvet, laced with gold. When James
VI. revisited his native dominions in 1617, he
spent his second night in Scotland at Seton,
having lodged the first at Dunglass, on the
south-eastern confines of the county. Charles
I. and court also reposed here, when on a pro-
gress through Scotland. The last Earl of
Winton was attainted on account of his con-
cern in the civil war of 1715 ; on which occa-
sion, it is a remarkable illustration of the de-
cay which had by that time taken place in the
37.

system of vassalage, that the great lord of the
soil was only attended by twelve retainers.
After his attainder, the furniture of the palace
was sold by the commissioners of inquiiy ; in-
cluding the pictures, which filled two large
galleries, and some of which are yet to be seen
at Pinkie and Dunse Castle. The collegiate
church of Seton was built and furnished in a
style of splendour suitable to the palace. It
is a handsome small Gothic edifice, with a
steeple. The rich vestments of the provost
and inferior priests, the gold and silver ves-
sels, &c. with which this church was adorned,
form an astonishing catalogue in the accounts
of its despoliation by the army of the Earl of
Hereford in 1544. It is now, though entire,
perfectly desolate. A door of coarse deals
gives admission at the western extremity ; the
windows are also dealt with in the same man-
ner. The walls and monuments are crusted
over with damp and dirt ; the floor is broken
up ; the tombs with all their contents exposed ;
and a more complete picture of overthrown
grandeur does not anywhere exist.

PORT-SKERRY, a small village and har-
bour on the north coast of Sutherland, parish
of Reay.

PORTSOY, a considerable sea-port town
in the parish of Fordyce, Banffshire, lying eight
miles west by north of Banff, eighteen from
Fochabers, eighty from Inverness, and 178
from Edinburgh. It is situated on a point of
land at the head of one of those little bays, by
which this part of the coast is in many places
indented. The town is small and irregularly
built, but as a port it is in a thriving condition.
It was erected into a burgh of barony about
the sixteenth century, by the baron of Boyne,
whose descendants following the standard of
Prince Charles Stewart in 1745, their lands
became forfeited to the crown ; they were after-
wards given to the Earl of Findlater and Sea-
field, and are still in the possession of that
family. The tongue of land on which Port-
soy is built, forms a small but safe harbour,
capable of admitting vessels of 150 tons. It
carries on some trade in linen, thread, &c. and
registers a few coasting vessels ; but it is chiefly
noticed on account of the marble, and some
other mineralogical wonders found in its vi-
cinity. The marble, which receives the name
of Portsoy marble, is a beautiful mixture of
red, green, and white, and is wrought into tea-
cups, vases, and small ornaments, but is too
brittle and hard to be wrought into chimney-

PRESTON.

875

pieces. There are also in the neighbourhood
singular specimens of micaceous schistus, and
a species of asbestos, of a greenish colour,
which has been wrought into incombustible
cloth. But the most remarkable mineral pro-
duction is a granite of a flesh colour, which, ex-
cept here and in Arabia, has been found nowhere
else in the world. The export of these various
stones is considerable, and is a main source of
weiil tb. to the district. Grain is also exported,
and there is a considerable trade in the herring-
fishing. The town, which is under the juris-
diction of a baron bailie, possesses an Episco-
pal and Roman Catholic chapel. There is a
grammar and a ladies' boarding school — In
1821 the population amounted to 1700.

PORT-WILLIAM, a small but thriving
village in the parish of Mochrum, Wigtonshire,
founded during the last century by Sir William
Maxwell of Monreath.

PORT-YARROCK, a harbour in the
parish of Whithorn, Wigtonshire, near Burgh-
head.

POTTECH, (LOCH) an arm of the sea
on the west coast of the isle of Skye.

PREMNAY, a parish at the centre of
Aberdeenshire, extending about four miles in
length, by from one to two in breadth ; bounded
by Insch on the north, Oyne on the east, and
Tough and Keig on the south. The district
lies on the north side of the hill of Bennochie,
and is chiefly arable, and under enclosures. —
Population in 1821, 567.

PRESS, an inn and stage on the old east
road from Edinburgh to London, fifteen miles
south-east of Dunbar, and twelve north-west of "'
Berwick.

PRE ST WICK, an ancient small town and
burgh of barony, in Ayrshire, parish of Monk-
ton, to which the parish of Prestwick has been
annexed. It stands on the road from Ayr to
Monkton, at the distance of a mile south from
the latter. The charter erecting it into a burgh
of barony, was renewed and confirmed by James
VI. at Holyroodhouse, June 19, 1600. The
narrative of this charter expressly says, that it
was known as a free burgh of -barony beyond
the memory of man, for the space of 617 years
before its renewal. By the charter of James,
it is privileged to elect annually a provost, two
bailies, with several councillors, and to grant
franchises for several trades, and to hold a
weekly market, as also a fair on the 6th of
November. The town has a certain extent of

lands attached to it, divided in lots among
freemen. Many of the ancient usages of the
place, established by charter, have fallen into
disuse in modern times. The town has a
market cross, which appears to be of great an-
tiquity. It has also a jail and a council house.
— The population may be estimated at about
300.

PRESTON. See Bonkle.

PRESTON, a decayed village in the parish
of Kirkbean, stewartry of Kirkcudbright, near
the mouth of the Nith, formerly a burgh of
regality, under the superiority of the Regent
Morton. The cross, and certain annual mar-
kets, are the only remains of its ancient privi-
leges.

PRESTON, or PRESTONKIRK, a
parish at the centre of Haddingtonshire, which,
exclusive of a portion protruded north wards*
measures about four miles each way ; bounded
on the north by North- Berwick and White-
kirk, on the east also by Whitekirk, part of
Dunbar, and part of Stenton, on the south by
Whittingham, and on the west by Haddington
and Athelstaneford. The surface is agree-
ably varied, and under the finest processes of
agriculture. From the southern part of the
parish rises Traprane Law, a conspicuous hill,
seen at a great distance. The district contains
some fine mansions and plantations ; there are
two villages, Prestonkirk and Linton — Popu-
lation in 1821, 1812.

PRESTON, a decayed village in the parish
of Prestonpans, half a mile south of that place,
and eight east of Edinburgh. Preston was
anciently a barony, long the property of the
Hamiltons of Preston, and sold by Sir Wil-
liam Hamilton in 1704. A tower, which was
for ages the residence of the Hamiltons, stands
near the village in a ruined condition, having
been accidentally burnt in 1663. Some years
after this event, Preston house was erected at
the east end of the village, and in 17?4 it
was converted into an hospital for the main-
tenance and education of twenty-four boys ;
those of the name of Schaw, M'Neil, Cun-
ningham, and Stewart having a preference of
entry. Preston was formerly noted for a fair
held on the second Thursday of October, call-
ed St. Jerome's fair, at which there was an
annual general meeting of the travelling chap-
men or pedlars of the three Lothians. The
ground on which the battle of Prestonpans
was fought in 1 745, lies a short way to the

876

PRFSTONPANS.

east. Preston derives its name from having
been the town of the priests, or monks of New-
botle, who had considerable property in this
quarter.

PRESTONPANS, a parish in Hadding-
tonshire, extending along the shore of the Firth
of Forth a distance of about two miles and
three quarters, by the average breadth of a
mile inward ; bounded by Tranent on the east
and south, and by Musselburgh or Inveresk on
the west. This parish was erected in 1606
by the parliament of Perth, by dismembering
the parish of Tranent, and endowing a church
in Prestonpans, which had some time before
been built at the expense of the minister, Mr.
John Davidson. The land rises with a gentle
acclivity from the shore of the Firth, and is un-
der the best processes of enclosure and agri-
culture. The chief 'town is Prestonpans ; be-
sides which, there is the above village of Pres-
ton, from which the name of the parish and
town has been derived. The parish contains
several gentlemen's seats, among which are
Drummore, on the western boundary ; Pres-
ton-Grange, west from the town ; and North-
field. At Dolphingston, a hamlet on the road
from Edinburgh to Tranent, is a ruined castle,
once of considerable note.

Prestonpans, a considerable town, and
burgh of barony, in the above parish, lying on
the shore of the Firth of Forth, at the distance
of eight miles from Edinburgh, two and a half
from Musselburgh, and fourteen from North-
Berwick. Prestonpans is understood to have
originated as far back as the twelfth century,
when the monks of Newbotle, who were large
proprietors in the district, established pans for
the manufacture of salt ; and it is more than
probable that since that period such a manu-
facture has been constantly carried on at the
spot. Thus growing up in early times, and
receiving additions in successive centuries,
Prestonpans exhibits an air of antiquity in its
appearance, and has been drawn out in a most
irregular manner to a considerable length.
Though improved in modern times, it is still
a straggling dingy town, chiefly consisting of a
single street parallel with the Firth, and studded
here and there with salt or other manufactories,
which keep the place almost continually enve-
loped in smoke. Prestonpans received its char-
ter of erection as a burgh of barony in 1617, in
favour of Sir John Hamilton of Preston, which
village is also included in the charter. There

are two baron-bailies. The town is divided
by a rivulet, falling into the sea, and that portion
to the west is a suburb having the local appel-
lation of the Kuittle, or more properly speaking,
Cuthil. Besides the salt works, there is a
large manufactory of fine earthenware, of soap,
&c. There is also a brewery, the produce of
which is much celebrated, and a large distillery.
At a place called Morison's Haven, on the
west, there is a manufactory of brown earthen-
ware. Morison's Haven has a good harbour,
and answers as the sea-port of Prestonpans ; see
Morison's Haven. Betwixt this place and the
town are the enclosed pleasure grounds and
mansion of Preston- Grange, a seat of Sir J.
Grant Suttie. The battle to which Preston-
pans has given its name, was fought on the 21st
of September 1745, on a field lying south-east
from the town, now enclosed and quite un-
distinguished from the arable grounds in the
vicinity. A small hamlet called Meadow-mill
stands nearly on the spot where the conflict
took place. At a short distance west from
thence, Bankton-house, the house inhabited
by Colonel Gardiner, and in which he expired

after the battle, is still shown Population

of the town in 1821, 1500 ; including the pa-
rish, 2055.

PRIMROSE. See Carrington.

PROSEN, or PROSSIN, a river in For-
farshire, rising in the north-west extremity of
the parish of Kirriemuir, and joining the Carity
about half a mile below the castle of Invercari-
ty, where the Carity falls into the Esk. The
Prosen gives the name of Glenprosen to the
district through which it passes.

PULTENEY-TOWN, a modern thriving
village in the parish of Wick, county of Caith-
ness, lying on the south side of the bay of
Wick, at the distance of half a mile from the
town of that name. Pulteney-town originated
in this manner : About twenty-five years ago,
the Society in London for extending the Bri-
tish Fisheries, having purchased a large space
of ground on the north side of the river and
bay of Wick, part of the entailed estate of
Hempriggs, feued it out for building according
to a plan whereby a certain number of build-
ings were to be erected for purposes connected
with the herring fishery, and the others for
dwelling-houses of a substantial and neat ap-
pearance. The whole feus included in the
plan have been given out by the Society, and
are almost all built upon. Two harbours have

QUEENSFERRY.

877

been erected by the Society, the one communi-
cating with the other, and various other mea-
sures have been adopted by them for the ad-
vantage of the place. In consequence of these
measures, there is now a bustling village of
2000 inhabitants, where there was not many
years ago a barren heath, and all the sur-
rounding lands are enclosed and cultivated, as

well as ornamented by a number of neat villas.
The feu and harbour duties, it is understood,
more than repay the Society for the interest
of the capital sunk upon this beneficial un-
dertaking. The exertions of the Society have,
moreover, been exceedingly useful as an ex-
ample, and have given an impetus to im-
provement in this remote quarter of Scotland.

QUAIR, a stream in the county of Peebles,
which, rising and having its whole course in
the parish of Traquair, falls into the Tweed
below Traquair House, the seat of the Earl of
Traquair, and opposite the village of Inner-
leithen. The word Quair signifies " winding,"
and implies that the water is sinuous in its
course.

QUARFF, a parish on the mainland of
Shetland, united to Bressay. See Bressay.

QUARRELTOWN, a village in the Ab-
bey parish of Paisley, Renfrewshire, four miles
west from Paisley, and in the neighbourhood
of Johnstone. Quarreltown is celebrated for
its coal mines. The coal is found in a most
extraordinary mass, and consists of five conti-
guous strata, the thickness of the whole of
which is upwards of fifty feet. In consequence
of the great depth, it is wrought in floors or
storeys.

QUARRY-HEAD, a promontory on the
north-east coast of Aberdeenshire.

QUEENISH, a small modern village in
the island of Mull, Argyleshire.

QUEENSBERRY HILL, an eminence
in the parish of Closeburn, Dumfries-shire, 2000
feet above the level of the sea. It gives the
titles of Duke and Marquis of Queensberry.

QUEENSFERRY. There are two places
with this name, lying opposite each other on the
Firth of Forth, called respectively the South
and North Ferries. The former, which is most
important, may be first described.

QUEENSFERRY, (SOUTH) a royal
burgh, and parochial district, in Linlithgow-
shire, lying betwixt the shore of the Firth of
Forth and the ridge which there rises from the
coast, at the distance of nine miles west from
Edinburgh, nine east from Borrowstownness,
and nine north-east from Linlithgow. It is a
place of considerable antiquity, but is of mode-
rate extent, and of a mean appearance. It de-
rives its name from Margaret, Queen of Mal-

colm Canmore, a princess celebrated for her
charitable and beneficent virtues, who frequent-
ed the passage of the Forth here on her nume-
rous excursions to and from Edinburgh and
Dunfermline. The parish is of small extent,
consisting only of the burgh, (the royalty not
extending to the two ends of the town) ; it
was disjoined from the parish of Dalmeny in
the year 1636. The town has long possessed a
soap manufactory, besides which there is a
brewery. The great thoroughfare across the
Firth, which has given the town a celebrity, is
a short distance to the east, at a place called
Newhall. Here there is a small harbour and
low-water pier ; and, as in some cases the
boats cannot conveniently make to this point,
there are other piers made at a short distance
to the west. At this place the Firth of Forth
is contracted to a gut of two miles in breadth ;
and in the middle of the strait lies a small
rocky island called Inch Garvie. The passage
is placed under the direction of trustees, who,
according to parliamentary enactment, regulate
the sailing of vessels, fares, &c, the whole be-
ing on the most efficient footing. Between the
1st of April and 1st October a large boat
leaves each side of the ferry every hour, from
six a. m. till sunset ; and during the remainder
of the year from eight a. m. till sunset. A
pinnace sails from each side half an hour after
the large boat. A steam-boat is on the station ;
in calm, baffling, or contrary winds, it plies in-
stead of the boat or pinnace. Passengers by
the large boat pay a fare of 3d., and by the
steam-boat or pinnace 6d. In this manner the
intercourse is here almost incessant. Besides
the ordinary traffic, at all times of the tide, the
boats take across the mail and passengers. As
a royal burgh, Queensferry is governed by a
provost, a land bailie, two sea bailies, a dean of
guild, and a town council. The burgh joins
with Stirling, Dunfermline, Inverkeithing, and
Culross, in sending a member to parliament.

873

RAASA7.

There are three incorporated trades. The Earl
of Roseberry having given a piece of ground
for a bleaching green to the inhabitants, and
also conveyed water into the town for their
use, the magistrates and council, to perpetuate
these favours, and also to evince their grati-
tude, have erected a tablet, with a suitable in-
scription, over the fount A fair is held on
the 5th of August, except it happen on a Sa-
turday or Monday, when, according to the
charter, it is held upon the Friday or Tuesday.
— In 1821, the population of the town and pa-
rish was 700.

QUEENSFERRY, (NORTH) a vil-
lage and harbour in the parish of Dunfermline,
county of Fife, situated on a promontory of
land jutting into the Firth of Forth, directly
opposite the South Ferry station, at the dis-
tance of six miles from Dunfermline, and two
from Inverkeithing. There is a good low-wa-
ter pier for the use of the ferry-boats. The
village is small, and possesses an inn for tra-
vellers.

QUEENSIDE LOCH, a small lake in
the parish of Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire.

QUIECH, (NORTH) a small river in
Kinross-shire, which rises among the Ochils,

and falls into Loch Leven, a short way west
from Milnathort.

QUIECH, (SOUTH) a small river in
Kinross-shire, which rises in the parish of Fos-
saway, and falls into Loch Leven, at the south
end of the town of Kinross.

QUIECH, (LOCH) a small lake in In-
verness-shire, which discharges itself by a river
of the same name into Loch Garry.

QUENDAL BAY, an inlet of the sea
near the south extremity of the maiidand of
Shetland, esteemed a good natural harbour. At
its head is a gentleman's residence, called
Quendal House.

QUINZIE, a rivulet in Stirlingshire, which
falls into the Kelvin, in the parish of Kilsyth.

QUIVOX, (ST.) a parish in the district
of Kyle, Ayrshire, lying on the banks of the
river Ayr, bounded on the east by Tarbolton,
and on the west by Newton of Ayr and Monk-
ton. It contains altogether 3500 acres, nearly
all of which are arable. The district is finely
enclosed and beautified by plantations, — Popu-
lation in 1821, 5392.

QUOTHQUHAN, a parish in Lanark-
shire, united in 1660 to the parish of Libber-
ton. See Libberton.

RAASAY, an island of the Hebrides, ly-
ing between the mainland of Scotland and the
Isle of Skye, and, with the latter, belonging to
Inverness-shire. It extends about sixteen miles
in length, and is, on an average, two broad,
containing 32 square miles, or 16,000 acres.
At its north end lie the smaller islands of Rona
and Fladda, the latter separated from it by a
narrow sound, which is dry at half tide. From
the western shore, which is low, but skirted by
rocks, the land rises everywhere, brown, rocky,
and dreary, towards the east, where it is bound-
ed, for a great part, by high abrupt cliffs.
Duncan hill, the highest point, is about 1500
feet in height ; and although that elevation is
not a very considerable one in such a country
as this, it presents, from its insulated and un-
obstructed position, a magnificent and extensive
view. Nearly all the green and cultivated land
of Raasay lies on the top of the high eastern
cliffs, which are everywhere covered with scat-
tered farms, forming a striking contrast to the
solitary brown waste of the western coast.
" As we rowed along beneath this lofty land,"

says Macculloch, " they appeared perched
above our heads ; often seeming to hang over
the deep below, like birds' nests, and in some
places, so high as to be scarcely visible from
the water. These cliffs reach from five to six
hundred feet in height, being formed of beau-
tiful white sandstones, and the precipices being
intermixed with grassy slopes and patches, and
skirted at the foot by huge masses that have
slid down from above, or by piles of enormous
fragments, heaped in all the disorder of ruin.
Here are quarries of freestone, out of which
cities might be built, without making a sensi-
ble impression on the bulk of the cliffs. Where
these cliffs terminate, the land slopes down to
the sea on the east coast ; intricate, irregular,
and interspersed with rocks, trees, and farm
houses ; the seat of that singular structure
Broichin castle. This is indeed the garden of
Raasay. The castle stands on the summit of
an insidated rock, which rises up like a tower
above the green slope ; and the structure is so
contrived, that the walls and the rock form
one continuous precipice ; the outline and dis«

RATH O.

S79

position of the whole being in themselves high-
ly picturesque. The castle, which might easily
be made habitable, was anciently the seat of
the lairds of Raasay. The island belongs to
the parish of Portree in Skye, and with the
adjacent island of Rona may contain 1000 in-
habitants."

RAFFORD, a parish in the county of
Moray, extending about eight miles in length,
by from three to five in breadth, lying on the
east back of the Findhorn, which separates it
from Dyke and Moy ; bounded on the north
by Birnie, on the east by Elgin, and on the
south by Edenkeillie. The district is much
diversified in appearance, part of it lying low,
flat, and fertile, and part of it elevated, moorish,
and rocky. The hills are heathy and pastoral.
The parish has some good mansions, and has
been subjected to a variety of improvements. —
Population in 1821, 970.

RAIT, a small village in the parish of Kil-
spindie, Perthshire, half way on the old road
from Perth to Dundee.

RAM AS A, an islet in Loch Linnhe, Ar-
gyleshire, near Lismore-

RANKLEBURN, a rivulet flowing
through a small vale of the same name, in Et-
trick, Selkirkshire, receding southwards into
the dense mass of hills opposite Tushielaw.

RANNOCH, a Highland district in Perth-
shire, situated in the north-west quarter of the
county, in the extensive parish of Fortinga],
having Breadalbane on the south. In its centre
lies Loch Rannoch, a beautiful sheet of water,
extending about ten miles in length from west
to east, by a general breadth of one mile. It
receives the water of Gauir at its western ex-
tremity, and discharges itself by the Tummel,
which passes through the district of Athole,
*and falls into the Tay at Logierait. The
banks of the loch are finely wooded in many
places, and are quite accessible to the tourist
by a road on each side towards George Town at
the western extremity. At the distance of a few
miles west from thence, on the borders of the
shire, is the black wilderness called the moor
of Rannoch. This is a level tract of country
sixteen or twenty miles long, and nearly as many
broad: it is bounded by distant mountains, and
is an open, silent, and solitary scene of deso-
lation ; an ocean of blackness and bogs, with a
few pools of water, and a long dreary lake
styled Loch Lyd'och.

RANZA, (LOCH) a small bay or natural

harbour on the north-east coast of the isle of
Arran.

RASAY, a small river in Ross-shire fall-
into the Conan, in the parish of Contin, about
eight miles above where that river discharges
itself into the firth of Cromarty.

RATHEN, a parish in Aberdeenshire, ly-
ing on the sea-coast of Buchan, betwixt Fras-
erburgh on the north, and Lonmay on the
south ; extending seven miles long ; and at a
medium two in breadth. The high ground, in
which is a part of the Mormond hill, is bleak
and barren ; but the low grounds, chiefly on
the rivulet of Rathen or Philorth, are in general
tolerably productive. The sea coast is partly
flat and sandy, and partly low rocks. The parish
possesses two creeks, on which are built two
fishing villages, each of which contains about
200 inhabitants. There are two old castles,
both in ruins, at Cairnbulg and Inverallochie,
which seem to have been places of consider-
able strength. There is no natural wood, but
large trunks of oak trees are dug up in all the
mosses — Population in 1821, 1926.

RATHO, a parish in Edinburghshire, of
an irregular figure, extending about five miles
each way ; bounded by Kirkliston and Cor-
storphine on the north, Currie on the east and
south, and Kirknewton on the west. It com-
prehends a large portion of the level grounds
west from Corstorphine, and on the west and
south rises into a hilly tract of country. The
most conspicuous heights are the crags of
Dalmahoy, which are striking land-marks in
looking westwards from Edinburgh. The dis-
trict is chiefly arable, and is now highly im-
proved and well enclosed, as well as ornament-
ed by plantations. It possesses a number of
gentlemen's seats, in particular, Addiston, Ra-
tho, Dalmahoy, Hatton, Bonnington, Gogar
Bank, and Mill Burn Tower. All these are
elegant residences, but Dalmahoy, the seat of
the Earl of Morton, holds a pre-eminent rank.
The parish is intersected by the Union Canal,
which has been of great advantage to the dis-
trict. The village of Ratho is situated in
the centre of the parish, at the distance of
eight miles west by south from Edinburgh,
four east from Mid-Calder, and two and a
half south of Kirkliston. — Population in 1821,
1444.

RATHVEN, a parish in Banffshire, lying
on the coast of the Moray Firth, betwixt Bel-
lie on the west, and Deskford on the east. It

880

REDGORTON.

has about ten miles of the sea-coast, and is
from three to five miles in breadth. The
greater proportion of the land is hill, moss, and
moor. In the lower parts near the sea it is
arable, and in some places exhibits thriving
plantations. The parish includes the fishing vil-
lages of Buckie, Porteasy, Findochtie, andPort-
nockie. The church of Rathven stands near
the sea, a short way east from Buckie. The
district abounds in limestone, sandstone, and
slate. The remains of antiquity are numerous,
particularly cairns Population in 1821, 5364.

RATTRAY, a parish in the eastern part of
Perthshire, lying on the left bank of the river
Ericht; bounded on the east by Bendochy,
and on the opposite side of the Ericht by Blair-
gowrie ; it extends four miles in length, by two
in breadth. The surface is much diversified,
the land on the river being arable and fertile,
and the higher grounds being fit only for pas-
ture. The village of Rattray is small, and lies
four miles west of Alyth, and one east of
Blairgowrie. It is situated on the southern
declivity of a hill, and built in a straggling man-
ner : the principal trade of the inhabitants is
the weaving of coarse linens. To the south-
east of the village, on a rising ground called the
Castle-hill, are the vestiges of the ancient cas-
tle of Rattray, the residence of the family of
that name,— Population in 1821, 1057.

RATTRAY. HEAD, a dangerous low
promontory in Aberdeenshire, in the parish of
Crimond, stretching a considerable way into
the sea, and lying about seven miles east from
Kinnaird's-head.

RA YNE, a parish near the centre of Aber-
deenshire, lying on the left bank of the Urie,
betwixt Culsalmond on the north-west, and
Daviot and Chapel of Garioch on the south-
east. It extends about four and a half miles
from the Urie, by a breadth of from two to
four miles. Except a small eminence covered
with heath on the north side of the parish, the
surface is flat, with a few rising spots. On the
banks of the Urie the district is of a pleasing
appearance, and ornamented by plantations.
In the central part of the parish stands the vil-
lage of Rayne, and on the public road along
the Urie is the small post town, called Old
Rayne, which is at the distance of twenty-four
miles north-west from Aberdeen, and nine from
Inverury. The town has a large annual fair
on the second Tuesday of August, and a week-
ly market Population in 1821, 1374.

RE AY, a parish partly in the county of
Caithness and partly in Sutherlandshire, but
chiefly in the former, lying on the coast of the
Northern Ocean, and extending about sixteen
miles inland, by a general breadth of eight or
nine ; bounded on the east by Thurso and Hal-
kirk, by the latter with Kildonan on the south,
and Fair on the west. The general appear-
ance is bleak and hilly, with a few arable spots
in the glens and near the sea. The coast is
bold and rocky, and contains the bays and har-
bours of Sandside, Bighouse, Portskerry and
Haladale. The highest hill is Benin- Reay,
the elevation of which is computed to be near-
ly a mile perpendicular. The hills pasture an
immense number of sheep and cattle. This is
the country of the Mackays, and gives the title
of Lord Reay to their chief. The property
possessed by this nobleman has lately been sold
to the family of Stafford, who are now pro-
prietors of nearly the whole of Sutherlandshire.
In popular language, the north-west quarter of
this wild county, from having been the proper-
ty of Lord Reay, is called Lord Reay's coun-
try— Population in 1821, 3815.

REDDING, a district abounding in coal,
with a populous village on the high grounds in
the parish of Polmont, Stirlingshire. The
Union Canal passes through the district, and
the village is inhabited by the colliers who
work at the neighbouring mines.

REDGORTON, a parish in Perthshire,
lying at the termination of the peninsula form-
ed by the confluence of the Almond and Tay,
and extending northwards along the latter river.
It extends about six miles in length, by on an
average two in breadth ; bounded on the north
by Auchtergaven and Kinclaven, on the east
by Scone, on the south and south-west by Tib-
bermuir and Methven, and on the west by
Moriedie. The surface is rather hilly; but the
high grounds are neither steep nor of great
elevation, but undulate gently towards the
rivers, on the banks of which the surface is flat
and fertile. Besides the Almond and Tay,
there is a small stream called the Shochie,
and several rivulets, which are employed in
driving the extensive machinery erected in the
parish. This is a considerable manufacturing
district, several branches being carried on to a
great extent. Cromwell- Park is a cotton- work
and print-field ; Pitcairn- Green and Battleby,
two villages employed in the weaving of cotton.
Luncarty, an extensive bleachfield, and part of

RENFREWSHIRE.

681

the village of Stanley, noted for its cotton- mill,
are also in this parish. — Population in 1821,
1589.

RED-HEAD, a lofty and conspicuous pro-
montory in Forfarshire, parish of Inverkeilor,
which rises on the west side of Lunan Bay to
the height of 250 feet above the sea.

RENFREWSHIRE, a county in the west
of Scotland, bounded by Ayrshire on the
south ; Lanarkshire on the east and north-east :
the river and firth of Clyde divide it from
Dumbartonshire on the north ; and the firth of
Clyde separates it from Argyle on the west.
The shire lies between 55° 40' 40" and 55»
58' 10" north latitude; and between 4° 15'
and 4° 52' 30" longitude west of Greenwich.
The extreme length, from east-south-east to
west-north-west, is about thirty-one miles, or
154,240 English acres. It lies wholly on the
southern side of the Clyde, excepting a part of
the parish of Renfrew, which lies on the north
side. Altogether, the shire contains 241 square
miles. Before proceeding to detail its natural
statistics, it may be useful to glance at the an-
cient character of the shire. At the epoch of
the Roman invasion, the district was inhabited
by the Damnii, a British tribe, who also cover-
ed the adjacent district of Strathclyde. The
Romans having conquered the territory, fixed
themselves at a spot near the present site of
Paisley, which they called Vanduaria. In after
times, the Romanized inhabitants were subject-
ed to the sway of the Scots, and in 1097 sub-
mitted to the silent revolution which took place
under Edgar, when the Celtic customs were
changed for the municipal laws, which the
Scoto- Saxon government gradually introduced.
During the reign of David L, Walter, the son
of Alan, fled from Shropshire, during the
troublous conflicts of Maud and Stephen, in
their competition for the crown of England,
and settled in the district, where, by the influ-
ence, probably, of the Earl of Gloucester,
David I. made him his steward, and gave him
lands to support the dignity of his office. By
the charter, we learn that these lands were
those of " Passaleth, (Paisley,) Polloc, Tala-
hec, Ketkert, le Drop, le Mutrene, Egelsham,
Louchwinnoch, and Inverwick." These es-
tates were confirmed by Malcolm IV. in 1157,
when he made the office of steward hereditary,
and granted, in addition, " part of the lands of
Perthic, the whole lands of Inchinan, Stein-
town, Halestanesdene, Legardswode, and

Birchinside," &c. Besides these possessions,
Walter acquired the whole district of Strath-
gryfe in Renfrewshire ; and the western half
of Kyle in Ayrshire — which hence was called
Kyle- Stewart. Such was the manner in which
the first of the royal family of Stewart settled
in Scotland. At this period the countiy in
this quarter was in a semi-barbarous state, but
Walter the Stewart introduced new and civi-
lized usages. He settled many of his military
followers on his lands, and by the founding of
the Abbey of Paisley, introduced a body of
instructed men, who taught the ancient people
domestic arts and foreign manners. In the
midst of those settlements, Somerled, a rela-
tion of the northern sea-kings, came into the
Clyde in 1164, and landing with his forces and
followers at Renfrew, was attacked by a peo-
ple as brave as himself, and with his son was
slain. At this period a portion of the inhabi-
tants of Renfrewshire were styled the Laver-
nani, and these formed a powerful band in the
numerous army of David I. at the cele-
brated battle of the Standard, in 1138. With
regard to who were these Lavernani, there
have been various disputes, but it is now
established, that they were the men who
lived on the banks of the Lavern, one
of the streams of the county. By their inti-
mate connexion with the house of Stewart, the
inhabitants of the district of Renfrew partook
of the reiterated struggles for the crown, and
felt the sad effects of this warfare. It was,
however, a small consolation, after a variety of
sufferings, that they at length gave a Stewart
king to the Scottish nation. Hitherto, it seems,
the district had formed a portion of Lanarkshire,
but a circumstance occurred which tended to
change its political character. In order to make
a provision for his son James, and to prevent the
dilapidation of the estates of the family in this
quarter, Robert III. in 1404, erected a. princi-
pality, consisting of the barony of Renfrew and
the whole estates of the Stewarts, with the Earl-
dom of Carrick, and the barony of King's Kyle,
all of which he granted in a free regality during
the life of the prince. This principality continu-
ed, in after times, the appropriate appanage of
the eldest sons of the Scottish monarchs. See
Rothesay. In consequence of these arrange-
ments, the barony of Renfrew was dissolved
from the shire of Lanark, and put under the
jurisdiction of a separate sheriff. To turn now
to the physical peculiarities of the county.
5 v

882

RENFREWSHIRE.

Considerably more than one half of Renfrew-
shire, comprehending the west and south-east
portion, is hilly and devoted to pasture. The
cultivated part occupies the north, the north-
east, and the centre of the county, and consists
partly of low detached hills, and partly of a
level tract of rich loam, between Paisley and
the river Clyde. The hilly part of the county
varies in elevation from 500 to 600 feet.
Misty Law, the highest hill in the county,
is about 1240 feet high. The soil of Ren-
frewshire is very various. In those parts
of the high grounds which are not cover-
ed by heath or moss, a fine light soil on
a gravelly bottom is most common. In the
part formed of detached hills, the soil is a thin
earth, on a gravelly or till bottom, and in the
level district it is a deep rich brown loam.
Owing to the great demand in this county
for the products of the dairy, the garden,
and the fold, arising from the vicinity of large
and populous towns, nearly two-thirds of the
arable land in the county is kept in grass,
and hence Renfrewshire enjoys no celebrity
as an agricultural district. — " The waters of
Renfrewshire," says the author of the Beauties
of Scotland, " are of no great magnitude in
themselves ; but by the industry and enterprise
of the inhabitants of the adjacent territory,
they are rendered of considerable importance
to society. Unlike the romantic waters of
Ayrshire, the Doon, the Lugar, the Gir-
van, the Ayr, which flow between woody
banks in pleasing solitude, or are adorned by
the vestiges of past, or the buildings and works
reared by present magnificence, the streams of
this district are everywhere rendered instru-
ments of human industry, and made to toil for
man. If they descend suddenly from a height,
it is not to form a pleasing cataract, to give
variety to the beauties of a park, or to please the
eye or the ear with the wild or beautiful sce-
nery which nature sometimes delights to exhi-
bit, but to turn some vast water-wheel, which
gives motion to extensive machinery in im-
mense buildings, where hundreds of human
beings toil in the service of luxury, or form the
materials which are to furnish clothing to dis-
tant nations. Here, if a stream spread abroad
its waters, it is not to form a crystal pool, but
to be subservient to the more vulgar, but more
useful purpose of affording convenience to a
bleachfield, or a reservoir for machinery in case
of a want of rain. In proportion as we ap-
37.

proach towards Glasgow, the great theatre and
centre of Scottish manufactures and commerce,
every thing assumes an aspect of activity, of
enterprise, of arts, and industry. The princi-
pal streams here found are the White Cart, the
Black Cart, and the Gryfe ; all of which ulti-
mately unite together, and fall into the Clyde
below Inchinnan bridge ; that is, about half-
way down the river between Glasgow and
Port- Glasgow. The White Cart, which ge-
nerally, by way of eminence, receives the name of
Cart, runs in a direction from south-east to
north-west, somewhat parallel to Clyde ; it
takes its rise in the high grounds or moors of
East Kilbride in the county of Lanark, and of
Eaglesham in Renfrewshire. It passes the
town of'Paisley, and thereafter joins the Gryfe
at Inchinnan bridge. In the Cart are found
perch, trout, flounders, and braises or gilt
heads, but none of them in any considerable
quantities ; owing no doubt, in a great degree,
to the bleachfields, printfields, and a copperas
work upon the banks of the river." The Black
Cart takes its rise in the loch of Castle Sem-
ple in Lochwinnoch parish, and descending
northward from that beautiful lake, it meets
the Gryfe at Walkinshaw, about two miles above
the confluence of their united streams with the
White Cart. The Gryfe rises in thehigh grounds
above Largs, and flows eastward tilllit meets
the black Cart. The Gryfe conveys the name of
Strathgryfe to the vale through which it flows,
and in an early age the appellation, like that of
Clydesdale in the case of Lanarkshire, was
applied to a large district of country in the vi-
cinity of the river. The principal lakes in
Renfrewshire are that of Castle Semple, in the
southern boundary of the county, and Queenside
Loch, in the parish of Lochwinnoch, besides
two lochs in Neilston parish, and several

smaller ones of no interest The minerals of

Renfrewshire are of very considerable value.
Coal, limestone, and sandstone abound in various
parts of the country. There were some years
ago no fewer than twelve coal-works in actual
operation. The most extensive of these are
at Quarreltown, near the centre of the county ;
Polmadie on its north-east boundary ; and at
Hurlet and Househill to the south-east of
Paisley. The coal-field at Quarreltown is of
a very extraordinary structure. It is upwards
of fifty feet thick, and consists of five different
strata. From its great depth, it is wrought in
different floors, in the manner practised in great

RENFREW.

883

open quarries. The Hurlet Coal, which be-
longs to the Earl of Glasgow, is five feet
three inches thick, and is said to have been
wrought for nearly two centuries. The coal
mines of Hurlet afford materials for a small
manufactory of sulphate of iron, and the most
extensive alum manufactory in Great Britain
is carried on at the same place. Limestone
was lately wrought at about eight different
quarries. Ironstone accompanies all the coal
strata, occurring in beds and balls ; it is very
common in the middle division of the county ;
but is particularly abundant on the shores of
the Clyde. — In point of commercial and manu-
facturing importance, Renfrewshire is second
only to the county of Lanark, and with it unites
in constituting the great manufacturing district
of Scotland. The manufactures are chiefly
cotton and silk goods; and while Paisley is the
head quarters of the trade in these articles, the
business of weaving is carried on to a greater
or less extent in almost every town, village, and
hamlet. There is also a number of steam-
loom establishments. The free export of the
manufactured goods is promoted by the differ-
ent sea-ports on the Clyde, especially by Green-
ock, and by which also foreign produce is
imported. The trade is further promoted by
the Forth and Clyde Canal, which connects the
county with many parts of Scotland. A canal
was projected from Glasgow to Ardrossan, but
it has been carried no farther than Johnstone,
and passes the town of Paisley. Renfrew-
shire contains one royal burgh, namely, Ren-
frew, the county town ; several large towns, as
Paisley, Greenock, and Port- Glasgow ; and a
number of villages, of which the largest are
Johnstone, Gourock, Eaglesham, Kilbarchan,
Lochwinnoch, Pollockshaws. It contains, also,
a number of residences of nobility and gentry ;
amongst others, the Earl of Glasgow and Lord
Blantyre possess elegant seats. The county is
divided into twenty-one parochial divisions.
The valuation of Renfrewshire is L.69,172, Is.
Scots ; the real rent of land in ] 795 was only
L.67,000; but in 1811 ithadrisen to L. 127,068,
and that of the houses to L. 1 06,238. The largest
portion of the valued rent belongs to the entail-
ed estates, or those belonging to corporations.
The increase in the value of property in Ren-
frewshire has not been more rapid or remark-
able than the increase of population ; the inhabi-
tant's having quadrupled in sixty years. In 1574
there were 26,041 ; in 1801, there were 79,891 ;

in 1811 there were 92,769; and in 1821 there
were 51,178 males and 60,997 females; total
112,175; being an increase of 20 per cent, in
ten years.

RENFREW, a parish in the above county,
the greater part of which lies on the left bank
of the Clyde along with the rest of the shire, and
a portion lies on the opposite bank contiguous
to Lanark and Dumbartonshires. From the
north-east to the south-west extremity, the
length is nearly six miles, by a breadth of from
one and a half to two and a half miles. The
parish is bounded by Govan on the east, the
Abbey parish of Paisley on the south, and
chiefly Inchinnan on the west. The lands are
all well enclosed, and of a fertile nature. There
are some fine estates, having pleasure grounds
and plantations highly ornamental to the dis-
trict.

Renfrew, an ancient town and royal burgh,
the capital of the above county and parish, is
pleasantly situated at the distance of three miles
north from Paisley, six miles west from Glas-
gow, one mile east from the river Cart, and
half a mile south from the Clyde. This seat
of population deduces its origin from a remote
and unknown antiquity. As its name imports,
it must have been a settlement of the early
British people. The term Renfrew is variously
written Ranfrew, Rainfrew, and Renfrew in
the old charters, and is composed of the two
British words Ren, or Rht/n, a point, or pro-
montory, and frew, a flux or flow ; implying
that the place is a point of land liable to be
overflowed by the tide, which applies to the
local character and figure of a part of the parish.
Whatever was the original extent of the town,
it was of little importance, and does not come
into notice in history, till it was created a burgh
by David I. According to the researches of
the patient George Chalmers, this munificent
prince also endeavoured to increase its build-
ings and its trade, by granting to some of the
monasteries tofts for building, with certain
rights of fishing and trading. Renfrew, and
the adjacent territory, formed part of the estates
that were granted by David I. to WaJ ter, the
first Stewart ; and it thus became the burgh
of a baron, in place of being a royal burgh.
Walter continued the policy of this sove-
reign by granting tofts, or pieces of ground
for building, with certain rights of fishing in
the adjacent waters ; in particular, he granted
to the monks of Paisley a full tenement in

RENFREW.

his burgh of Renfrew; and one net's fishing for
salmon, and six nets, and one boat's fishing
for herrings. Walter built a castle at Renfrew,
which constituted the principal mansion of the
extensive barony. This castle stood on a small
height, called the castle-hill, on the margin of
that bank of the Clyde, which formerly ap-
proached to the burgh, and it was surrounded
by a large fosse. After the accession of the
Stewarts to the crown, the castle of Renfrew
was committed to the charge of a constable,
and in the reign of James IV. this office be-
came hereditary in the family of Lord Ross of
Halkhead. Among other historical incidents
connected with Renfrew, we are told that
during the wars of Bruce and Baliol, the latter
celebrated his yule or Christmas in its castle in
royal state, distributing lands and offices among
his guests. But the chief historical incident
connected with the place, was the misfortune
which here befel Marjory Bruce, the daughter
of Robert Bruce, and the wife of Walter the
Stewart. It happened while this lady was
hunting near her residence, she fell from her
horse and was killed ; but being pregnant at
the time, the ceesarian operation was resorted
to, and executed with all but complete suc-
cess, as the life of the child was saved, but the
operator being unskillful, his instrument by
accident injured its eye, which ever after bore
a mark, and induced the nickname of King
Blearie when he came to be Robert II. This
melancholy occurrence took place in 1317, and
the royal lady was buried in the monastery of
Paisley. A rude stone cross, it seems, was
afterwards erected on the spot where the acci-
dent befel, commemorative of the event. Ren-
frew continued the baronial burgh of the Stew-
arts, till the accession of Robert II., or King
Blearie, to the throne, through his mother's
connexion with the royal family of Bruce,
when it came more directly into the favour
of the court, and in 1396 Robert III. elevated
it to the condition of a royal burgh. The old
castle of Renfrew continued in existence till
past the middle of last century, when along
with the lands of the King's Inch, it was bought
by Mr. Spiers, a merchant in Glasgow, the fa-
ther of the present proprietor of Elderslie, and
here he built an elegant house, about 1 776 ;
and razing the castle to its foundation, planted
a clump of trees on its site. The modern town
of Renfrew consists of a single street, from
which several lanes issue. At the west end

of the main street stands the jail, and at the
east end there is a considerable bleachfield.
The parish church, which stands a short way
east from the cross, is of a cruciform shape,
and can accommodate about 700 sitters. It has
been repeatedly a subject of remark, that though
the situation of Renfrew is favourable both
for trade and manufactures, it has made but
little progress in either, while all the other
towns in the shire have been running such a
rapid course of improvement. This singula-
rity of character has invariably been attributed
to the evil effects of burgh politics ; for as this
is the only royal burgh in the shire, and as
it has hitherto had the privilege of voting
for a member of parliament, too much atten-
tion has been paid to this immunity, having,
like many antiquated burghs, lived either on
its reminiscences or anticipations of elections.
Bishop Leslie, who lived in the sixteenth cen-
tury, says, speaking of Renfrew, that it had
sixty ships plying in fishing during the whole
year round. Crawfurd reports, that the burgh
once had a little foreign trade, but that a
traffic with Ireland only occupied the burgesses
in 1710. A few years ago, a local statist
related the melancholy fact, that the town then
mustered but half a dozen boats, with one or
two sand punts. The manufacturing estab-
lishments are an extensive distillery at Yoker,
on the north side of the Clyde, a bleachfield,
a pottery, and a starch manufactury. In the town
there are about 200 looms employed. The river
Clyde at one period, by one of its branches,
came close to the town, but having receded
from this channel, and in more recent times been
hemmed in to its present direct course, the
intermediate land, once inches or islands, has
been greatly improved and converted into
fine arable land, while a portion of the old
channel has been employed as an artificial
canal betwixt the town and the river. This
canal was instituted about the year 1786, when
vessels of seventy tons or thereabouts were en-
abled to proceed from the Clyde to the town,
but as the canal has been filling up and going
into disrepair, it is now unable to bear vessels
of a greater burden than forty tons. There is
a considerable quantity of grain and other
goods landed here annually, chiefly for the
Paisley merchants ; but this trade is put to
much inconvenience from the want of a pro-
per harbour. As a royal burgh, Renfrew is
go.erned by a provost, two bailies, and six-

R E R R I C K.

885

teen councillors. The burgh joins with
Glasgow, Dumbarton, and Rutherglen in send-
ing a member to parliament. The community
have a right to fish for salmon from Scotstown
to the Kelly Bridge, near the borders of Cun-
ningham. The burgh, we are informed, has a
much greater revenue than what has been usu-
ally represented. It amounts altogether to
about L.1400, nearly L.220 for the ferry
across the Clyde, L.280 for salmon fishings,
and about L.900 from rents of lands, property
in the town, and feu-duties. The market day
of Renfrew is Saturday ; fairs are held on the
third Tuesday of May and the second Friday
of June. Although Renfrew is the county-
town, meetings of the freeholders and the head
courts are only held in it ; the seat of the
sheriff being at Paisley. The vicinity of Ren-
frew is adorned by some gentlemen's residences.
The mansions most worthy of the stranger's
attention are Elderslie and Rlytheswood, both
situated amidst beautiful grounds on the banks
of the Clyde. — Population of the town in
1821, 2000 ; including the parish, 2646.

RENINGAY, an islet near the west coast
of the Isle of Mull.

RENTON INN, a stage on the great Lon-
don road, forty-three miles from Edinburgh,
and twelve from Berwick.

RE NT OWN, a large village in the parish
of Cardross, Dumbartonshire, situated near the
river Leven, on the road from Dumbarton to
Luss, at the distance of three miles from the
former.

RERRICK, or RERWICK, a parish in
the stewartry of Kirkcudbright, lying on the
shore of the Solway Firth. It is of a triangu-
lar figure, with the base towards the sea, from
whence the distance inland is about seven
miles, bounded by Kelton on the north and
Kirkcudbright on the west ; on the east it is
separated in a great measure from Buittle by
Auchencairn bay. The surface is rugged and
uneven. On the north stands Bencairn, a
lofty mountain, surrounded by smaller ones,
which are covered with heath ; the rest of the
parish is chiefly arable. In the mouth of
Auchencairn bay lies the small island of Hes-
ton, which stands high out of the water, and
affords excellent sheep pasture. The great
object of attraction in the parish, or in this
part of the country, is the ruined Abbey of
Dundrennan, standing about a mile and a half
from the sea. This monastery was founded by
Fergus, lord of Galloway, in the year 1142;

the monks, who were of the Cistertian order,
being brought from Rievall in England. The
last abbot was Edward Maxwell, son to John,
Lord Herries ; after whose death, King James
VI. annexed the property to the chapel-royal
of Stirling. It is generally understood that
the chronicle of Melrose was written by one
of the abbots, in continuation of the history of
Bede. Alan, lord of Galloway, surnamed
the Great, constable of Scotland, was buried
in this place in the year 1233. The tomb of
this distinguished petty prince, according to
Grose, could lately be seen in a niche in the
cross aisle of the church, on the east side of
the north door. It is now demolished, but
the mutilated trunk of the effigy is still shown.
The church was built, as usual, in the form of
a cross, with the spire rising 200 feet in height
from the centre. The body was 120 feet
in length, and divided into three aisles by seven
clustered columns supporting arches on each
side. On the south side of the church were
the cloisters, containing a square area 94 feet,
with a grass-plot in the centre. From what
remains of the edifices, the whole must have
been built in a style of great taste and archi-
tectural beauty. The buildings are now great-
ly dilapidated ; and are almost entirely cover-
ed by a pale gray-coloured moss, which gives
a character of peculiar and almost airy light-
ness to the lofty columns and Gothic arches,
many of which are entire. Placed upon a
gentle eminence, on the bank of a rocky and
sparkling burn, and surrounded on all sides ex-
cept the south by an amphitheatre of hills,
Dundrennan forms an exception to the usual
aspect of Abbey scenery. There is little old
wood near it, save in the deep and devious
glens which intersect the adjacent grounds be-
longing to Mr. Maitland of Dundrennan ; but
the neighbouring braes are generally clothed
with copse, and afford from many points some
magnificent views of the Solway, and of the
mountains of Cumberland. From Newlaw-hill,
an eminence adjoining the house of Dundrennan,
the prospect is still more extensive, command-
ing, in addition to the almost boundless range
of ocean, a view of the Isle of Man, and of
the mountains of Morne in Ireland. But,
sentiment no doubt gives to Dundrennan its
principal charm. Those broken arches and
tottering columns — these deserted cells and
weed-grown aisles — these neglected monu-
ments of ancient barons and belted knights —
and this wide scene of ruin and desolation,

886

RICCARTON.

melancholy and silent though they be, are all
invested with an inexpressible charm, as far
superior to that imparted by mere tine scenery
as the pleasures of the mind are to those of
sense. It is impossible to tread this classic
spot without carrying back our recollections to
the period when the Abbey of Drundennan af-
forded a temporary shelter to the unfortunate
Mary Stuart during the last hours she spent
in Scotland. Tradition has traced with ac-
curacy her course from Langside to the scene
of her embarkation for England. She arriv-
ed at this spot in the evening, and spent her
last night within the walls of the monastery,
then a magnificent and extensive building.
The spot where she took boat next morning
for the English side of the Solway is at the
nearest point of the coast. The road from
the religious establishment thither runs through
a secluded valley of surpassing beauty, and
leads directly to the shore, where the rock is
still pointed out by the peasantry, from which
the hapless queen embarked on her ill-starred
voyage. It is situated in a little creek, sur-
rounded by vast and precipitous rocks, and
called Port- Mary, in commemoration of the
queen. The scene is appropriately wild and
sublime, and besides being productive of asso-
ciations to the poet or romantic tourist, the
coast here and m the neighbourhood merits
the attention of the mineralogist and the
painter — Population of the parish in 1821,
1378.

RESCOBIE, a parish in Forfarshire of a
very irregular and long figure, comprehending
about sixteen or eighteen square miles, bound-
ed by Oathlaw and Aberlemno on the north,
Kirkden on the east, and Dunnichen and For-
far on the south. The district has been vast-
ly improved by draining, enclosing, and plant-
ing, and is now generally in a productive ar-
able condition. Near the centre of the parish
is the lake of Rescobie, formed by the river
Lunan in its course towards the sea — Popu-
lation in 1821, 874.

RESORT, (LOCH) an arm of the sea,
on the west coast of Lewis, partly forming
the division betwixt Lewis and Harris.

RESTALRIG, an ancient village near
Edinburgh. See Edinburgh, page 404.

RESTENNET, (LOCH). This was a
small lake in the county and parish of Forfar,
which has been drained at a great expense,
though not greater than what is warranted
by the extent of excellent land procured. On

a picturesque eminence, once an island in the
lake, stand the ruins of the ancient Priory of
Restennet. This religious establishment was
one of the three churches founded in Scot-
land by Boniface at the beginning of the se-
venth century. It was latterly a cell of the
Abbey of Jedburgh, and the depository of all
the valuable moveables and records belonging
to that magnificent foundation.

RE ST ON, (WEST) an agricultural vil
lage in the parish of Coldingham, Berwick-
shire.

RHOE, (MICKLE) an island of Shet-
land situated in Yell sound, north from the
Mainland, belonging to the parish of Delt-
ing. It measures about 24 miles in circum-
ference, is of a pastoral character, and posses-
ses a limited population.

RHOE, (LITTLE) a small island of
Shetland north from the mainland, near the
latter island, and having a few inhabitants.

RHONHOUSE, or RONEHOUSE, a
small village in the parish of Kelton, stewart-
ry of Kirkcudbright, near which at Keltonhill,
a large annual horse market used to be held,
which now takes place at Castle Douglas.

RHYNIE and ESSIE, a united parish in
Aberdeenshire, district of Strathbogie; com-
prehending a superficies of thirty square miles ;
bounded by the barony of Gartly on the north,
by Fearn and Auchindoir on the south, and
Cabrach on the west. It is partly watered by
the Bogie river. The land is both pastoral
and arable. The surface is irregular, but there
is only one eminence, the hill of Noth, which
deserves the name of a mountain. — Population
in 1821, 766.

RHYNS or RINNS of GALLOWAY,
the two peninsulated or projecting points of
Wigtonshire, between which is Luce Bay. By
some, the term is applied only to the most
westerly peninsula, comprising the parish of
Kirkmaiden, &c. The word Rynn in British, or
Rinn in Gaelic, signifies a point, a cape, or a
peninsula.

RICCARTON, a small village in Linlith-
gowshire, lying about two miles south-east of
Linlithgow.

RICCARTON, a parish in the district of
Kyle, Ayrshire, lying on the left or south
bank of the L'vine river, which separates it
from Kilmarnock ; bounded by Galston on
the east, Symington on the south, and Dun-
donald on the west. The parish extends
about six miles in length, and two in breadth,

ROOART.

887

tlie whole being arable, well enclosed, and
planted. It is intersected by the Cessnock,
\u stream tributary to the Irvine. The village
of Riccarton stands on an eminence, a mile to
the south of Kilmarnock, on the opposite
bank of the Irvine, but is almost connected
Avith it by a long street. The church of Ric-
carton, a new structure, with a fine steeple,
placed on a tall moat-hill, has an ornamental
effect upon the whole country round. The
village itself, which is inhabited chiefly by
weavers, is a curious old-fashioned place, but
is principally remarkable for having been the
residence of the maternal uncle of Wallace,
the venerable Sir Ronald Crawford, with
whom, according to Blind Harry, the hero
sometimes lived. Sir Ronald's house is said
to have been a tower which stood upon the
site of a little farm-house, called Yardsides, a
hundred yards west from the village. The
barn which belonged to the tower is the only
building of the old place now existing. It is
in a very ruinous condition, and forms the
western extremity of a small line of cottages,
composing the farm onstead. In the adjacent
garden, there is a pear-tree, said to have been
planted by Wallace's own hand ; and at the
side of the gate which leads into the field
surrounding the houses, there is another and
very aged tree, in which the people point out
an iron staple, said to have been used by Wal-
lace to tie up his horse when he visited his
uncle. The scene of an incident recorded at
full length by Blind Harry, is pointed out
about half a mile to the westward. Wallace
was one day fishing in the Irvine, which runs
past Riccarton ; when three English soldiers
left a troop that happened to ride past, and
insolently commanded him to give them the
fish that he had caught. Wallace refused, and
they were proceeding to use violence ; but he
struck one down with his fishing-staff, and,
seizing his sword, killed the next that came
tip outright ; on which the survivor rode ofF.
The spot where this happened was commemo-
rated by a thorn, bearing the hero's name,
which was only cut down in the year 1825.
It grew on the south bank of the Irvine, about
fifty yards from the debovche of the Fenwick
Water. It was to Riccarton that Wallace
always used to retire after performing any very
daring exploit. On revenging the treacherous
murder of his uncle and other barons by burn-
ing the barns of Ayr, he took his way by night
to Riccarton, accompanied by a few followers.

When he reached a certain eminence about
six miles from Ayr, and three from Riccarton,
where it was last possible to see the former
place, he turned round, and, seeing the flames
still ascending, said, with a stern satisfaction,
" The barns burn weil." From this laconic
expression, the place, it is said, got the name
of Burn-iveil, which it still retains. — Popula-
tion of the parish in 1821, 2122.

RIGG BAY, a small bay on the coast of
Wigtonshire, parish of Sorbie.

RINARY, an islet on the south coast of
the isle of Islay.

ROAG, (LOCH) an extensive arm of the
sea, on the west coast of Lewis, reaching
about ten miles inland, and of a varying
breadth. It possesses a number of islands,
and abounds in safe places of anchorage.

ROAN, (LOCH) a small lake, covering
about forty acr»«s in the parish of Crossmichael,
stewartry of Kirkcudbright.

ROBERTON, a parish partly in Selkirk
and partly in Roxburghshire, lying across the
south-east boundary of the former, and extend-
ing in a most irregular manner thirteen miles
in length, and six in breadth. It is watered
by the Borthwick and Ale waters ; the latter
rising from a lake in the centre of the district,
called Alemoor lech. The general appear-
ance is hilly ; but none of the eminences are
of extraordinary elevation. From the banks
of the streams, the surface rises by a gentle
ascent, and the low grounds, except where
beautified by plantations, interspersed with
considerable patches of moss. The greater
part of the parish is pastoral, and forms most
extensive sheep walks. Roberton church and
manse stand near the left bank of Borthwick
water. — Population in 1821, 674.

ROBERTOUN, a parish in Lanarkshire,
united to Wistoun in 1792. See Wistoto.

ROBERTOUN, a small village in the
above abrogated parish, situated on the west
bank of the Clyde.

ROGART, a parish in the south-east part
of Sutherlandshire, separated from the sea by
the parishes of Dornoch and Golspie ; bound-
ed by Clyne on the east, and Lairg on the
west. It extends about seventeen miles in
length, by from seven to three in breadth.
This is a hilly pastoral district ; a large part
of it is the vale of the water of Brora, and a
smaller part is the vale of the Fleet. The
parish church stands at the south extremity, on
a road crossing the country. In many parts of

ess

R O N A.

the district there arc traces of encampments,
tumuli, and the remains of Pictish buildings.
—Population in 1821, 1986-

RONA, or NORTH RONA, a small
island in the northern ocean, supposed to be
the farthest land to the north-west of any part
of Europe ; being situated sixteen leagues
north-west from the Butt of Lewis. Eccle-
siastically, it belongs to the parish of Barvas
in the isle of Lewis. This island, which is
about a mile in length, and half a mile in
breadth, where widest, has been rarely visited
either by ships or by travellers, and has been
the subject of a variety of fanciful descriptions.
From the accurate account of Macculloch,
who took the pains to make it the object of
one of his Hebridian voyages, we pick out the
following particulars : — " By mid-day we were
abreast of Rona ; and making an observation
for the latitude, I found that it was thirteen
miles to the north of the assigned place. We
found considerable difficulty in landing ; the
only landing-place being the face of a rocky
cliff, fifty or sixty feet high. The southern
cliffs range from thirty to sixty feet in height,
running out into fiat ledges at the western
extremity ; but on the north side they reach
to five hundred, and present a formidable
aspect, whitened by the tremendous breach of
the sea as it rolls on from the northward.
Here, among other openings, there is an im-
mense cave, with a wide aperture, into which the
waves break with the noise of thunder. Over
a large space, the whole ground, at an elevation
of two hundred feet, is washed away to the bare
foundation ; large masses of rock being fre-
quently thrown up, and carried high along the
level land, as if they were mere pebbles on a
sea-beach. Rona can be no peaceful solitude,
when the half of it is thus under water, and the
solid dash then made against it, must cover the
whole, in gales of wind, with a continual show-
er of spray. From the lower western angle,
the land rises with a gentle and even swell
towards the north and east ; but having no in-
equality of ground to afford the least shelter,
it is necessarily swept by every blast. The
surface is, nevertheless, green, and everywhere
covered with a beautiful compact turf ; except
where broken up for cultivation, for the space
of a few acres in the middle and elevated part.
The highest point is near the north-eastern
end ; and hence, in clear weather, the lofty
hills of Sutherland are visible in the horizon.

It is the total seclusion of Rona from all the
concerns of the world, which confers on it that
intense character of solitude with which it
seemed to impress us all. No ship approaches
in sight, and seldom is land seen from it. A
feeling of hope never leaves the vessel while
she can float, and while there is a possibility of
return to society ; but Rona is forgotten, un-
known, for ever fixed, .immoveable in the
dreary and waste ocean. There was at one
period, according to a doubtful tradition, a
chape] in the island dedicated to St. Ronan,
the patron saint of seals, which was fenced by
a stone wall, but of this there are now no re-
mains. Whatever was the number of families
once resident, and it is said there were always
five, there is now but one. The tenant is a
cottar, as he cultivates the farm on his em-
ployer's account. There seems to have been
six or seven acres cultivated, in barley, oats
and potatoes ; but the grain was now housed.
The soil is good, and the produce appeared to
have been abundant. The family is permitted
to consume as much as they please ; and it was
stated that the average surplus, paid to th«
tacksman, amounted to eight bolls of barley.
In addition to that he is bound to find an an-
nual supply of eight stones of feathers, the
produce of the gannets. Besides all this, the
island maintains fifty small sheep. The wool
of these is, of course, reserved for the tacks-
man ; but as far as we could discover, the ten-
ant was as unrestricted in the use of mutton
as in that of grain and potatoes. Twice in the
year, that part of the produce which is reserv-
ed, is thus taken away ; and in this manner is
maintained all the communication which North
Rona has with the external world. The re-
turn for all these services, in addition to his
food and that of his family, is the large sum
of two pounds a year. But this is paid in
clothes, not in money ; and as there were six
individuals to clothe, it is easy to apprehend,
they did not abound in covering. I must add
to this, however, the use of a cow, which was
brought from Lewis, when in milk, and ex-
changed when unserviceable. From the milk
of his ewes, the tenant contrives to make
cheeses, resembling those for which St. Kilda
is so celebrated. There is no peat in the
island, but its place is well enough supplied
by turf. During the long discussions whence
all this knowledge was procured, I had . not
observed that our conference was held on the

R O N A.

889

top uf the house ; roof it could not be called
It being impossible for walls to resist the
winds of this boisterous region, the house is
excavated in the earth, as if it were the work
of the Greenlanders. What there is of wall,
rises for a foot or two above the surrounding
irregular surface, and the adjacent stacks of
turf help to ward off the violence of the gales.
The flat roof is a solid mass of turf and straw,
the smoke issuing out of an aperture near the
side of the habitation. The very entrance
seemed to have been contrived for a conceal-
ment or defence, and it could not be perceived
till pointed out. This is an irregular hole,
about four feet high, surrounded by turf; and
on entering it, with some precaution, we found
a long tortuous passage, somewhat resembling
the gallery of a mine, but without a door,
which conducted us into the penetralia of the
cavern. The interior resembled the prints
which we have seen of a Kamschatkan hut.
Over the embers of a turf fire sat the ancient
grandmother nursing an infant, which was
nearly naked. From the rafters hung festoons
of dried fish j but scarcely an article -of furni-
ture was to be seen, and there was no fight
but that which came through the smoke-hole.
There was a sort of platform, or dais, on
which the fire was raised, where the old wo-
man and her charge sat ; and one or two niches,
excavated laterally in the ground, and laid
with ashes, seemed to be the only bed places.
Why these were not furnished with straw, I
know not ; and of blankets, the provision was
as scanty as that of the clothes ; possibly,
ashes may make a better and softer bed than
straw ; but it is far more likely, that this in-
sular family could not be forced to make them-
selves more comfortable. This was certainly
a variety in human life worth studying. Every
thing appeared wretched enough ; a smoky
subterranean cavern ; rain and storm ; a deaf
octogenarian grandmother ; the wife and
children half naked ; and to add to all this,
Solitude, and a prison, from which there was
no escape. Yet the family were well fed,
seemed contented, and expressed little concern
as to what the rest of the world was doing.
To tend the sheep, and house the winter firing ;
to dig the ground, and reap the harvest in their
seasons ; to hunt wild fowl and catch fish ; to
fetch water from the pools, keep up the fire,
and rock the child to sleep on their knees,
seemed occupation enough, and the society of

the family itself, society enough. The wo-
men and children, indeed, had probably never
extended their notions of a world much beyond
the precincts of North Rona ; the chief him-
self seemed to have few cares or wishes that
did not centre in it ; his only desire being, to
go to Lewis to christen his infant — a wish in
another year he could have gratified." Such is
an abridgment of the interesting account given
by Macculloch of this distant and solitary isle,
and the human beings who inhabited it a few
years ago. Our readers have here presented
to their view the picture of a family, which
many may consider as at the lowest and most
hapless condition of any in Great Britain or
its adjacent islands ; yet the moralist will be
delighted to discover, that with all the disad-
vantages of solitude and desertion, there is even
a large amount of actual happiness, comfort,
and virtue, in this remote and limited terri-
tory.

RONA, an islet of the Hebrides, lying
between Benbecula and North Uist.

RONA, or RONAY, an island of the
Hebrides, lying at the northern extremity of
Raasay, from which it is separated by a strait
just passable for vessels, in which are situated
the small island of Maltey and some islets of
less note. In extent it measures about four
miles in length, by one in breadth, and appears
a sort of high irregular ridge, or a continued
succession of projecting grey rocks, inter-
spersed with heath and pasture. It is difficult
to imagine any thing more cheerless than the
aspect of this island, at a little distance ; yet,
among the rifts and intervals, scarcely worthy
the name of valleys, there are found patches of
beautiful green pasture, greener from the con-
trast, and now and then, the black hut of some
small tenant. The little arable ground which
occurs in Rona, surrounds the scattered village
that lies at the bottom of a bay, which contains
all the population of the island. Rona, like
Raasay, belongs to the parish of Portree.

RONALDSHAY, (NORTH,) a small
island of the Orkneys, the most northerly
of the group, except Fair Isle. It is separat-
ed on the south from Sandey by the Firth of
North Ronaldshay, which is from two to six
miles broad. The island, which is a low and
fertile spot, and produces good crops of oats
and bear, is about two miles long and one
broad. The shores are high and rocky. It
belongs to the parish of Cross and Burness is
5x

890

ROSE NEATH.

Sanday. The island contains several tumuli
of ancient date, one of which was opened a few
years ago, and a small building discovered, ex-
ternally circular, but square within, containing
a human skeleton in an upright posture. It
is remarkable, that the number of males exceeds
that of females in the island ; the population
return of 1821 being 213 of the former to 207
of the latter, in all 420 persons. On the
southern promontory of North Ronaldshay a
tall beacon of stone work has been erected, by
the Northern Light-house Board. On the
top is a circular ball of masonry, measuring
eight feet in diameter. It is situated in lat.
59°. 40', long. 2° 15', west of London, and
bears, from the revolving light on the Start
Point of Sanday, N. N. E., one half E. by
compass, distant eight miles.

RONALDSHAY, (SOUTH) an island
of Orkney, the most southerly of the group,
lying opposite Duncansby Head, at the eastern
entrance of the Pentland Firth. It extends
about seven miles in length, with an average
breadth of from two to three, and at one place
it is five miles in breadth. Its surface is esti-
mated at eighteen square miles, and its inhabi-
tants in 1821 numbered 1949, being a greater
proportion than that enjoyed by any other Ork-
ney island. The land is pretty level, and the
soil, though various, is in general fertile. A
considerable quantity of grain, beyond the
consumption of the island, is raised ; and the
system of farming is better than usual in Ork-
ney. This island owes much to the excellence
of its havens, and its situation near the en-
trance of the Pentland Firth. St. Margaret's
Hope on the north, and Widewall on the west,
are harbours well known to the northern na-
vigator. The furious currents which wash its
southern extremity abound with the finest cod
fish. The people engage themselves in fish-
ing, and an opulent English company carry on,
in this neighbourhood, an extensive fishery, for
the purpose of supplying London with cod and
lobsters, which are carried alive to the metro-
polis in welled smacks, of about seventy tons
burden. South Ronaldshay possesses some
antiquities. The How of Hoxa appears to
have been a stronghold of some consequence,
and is of high antiquity. There are some
remains of Pictish houses. On the summit
of a hill are three monumental stones, only one
of which is now erect j and a single one, six-
teen feet high, occurs in another part of the
38.

island. It was in this island that St. Olave
of Norway compelled the Pagan Earl of Ork-
ney and his followers to embrace Christianity,
by threats of instant death in case of refusal.
Among other improvements in modern times
there is a road which traverses the island from
south to north, and by which the mail is
conveyed from Caithness to Kirkwall. The
island has a well-endowed school, a mu-
nificent donation from governor Tomason, of
the Hudson's Bay Company's establishment.

Ronaldbhay, (South) and Barray, a
united parish in Orkney, composed of the
above island, and the islands of Barray and
Swina, with some smaller islets — Population
of the whole in 1821, 2231.

ROSE HEARTY, a fishing village in the
parish of Pitsligo, Aberdeenshire, lying eigh-
teen miles east of Banff, and four west of
Fraserburgh. It possesses a tolerable harbour.

ROSEMARKIE, a parish and town in
Ross-shire; the parish extends six miles in
length and three in breadth, lying on the north
shore of the Firth of Cromarty, north-east
from Avoch. The situation of the parish is
fine and pleasant, as it rises gradually from the
sea ; the hills, both on the south and north,
are for the most part arable, being in summer
covered with verdure, and producing rich early
crops. As the country lies dry, and has the
benefit of fine sea-breezes, the air is pure and
salubrious. The coast all along, between
Rosemarkie and Cromarty, is bold and rocky.
It abounds with romantic views and frightful
precipices. The town of Rosemarkie, which
is small and of considerable antiquity, lies near
the coast of the Firth, almost opposite Fort
George, and about a mile north-east of Cha-
nonry, with which it is joined in burgal juris-
diction, under the joint appellation of For-
trose. See Fortrose. Rosemarkie is still
reckoned the capital of the parish, the church
being situated within its bounds. — Population
of the parish in 1821, 1571.

ROSENEATH, a parish at the south-
west corner of Dumbartonshire, being a
peninsular tract of land, formed by Loch
Long on the west, and Gare Loch on the
east, and extending about eight miles in length,
by from one and a half to two and a half in
breadth. On the opposite side of the Gare
Loch lies the parish of Row. The surface of
the parish of Roseneath exhibits a continued
ridge of high ground, which, though originally

ROSLIN.

861

heathy and rocky, has been vastly improved,
and exhibits a pleasing scene of plantations, en-
closures, and arable lands. The low point of
the promontory is protruded into the Clyde,
and has a richly wooded aspect from the op-
posite coast at Greenock. Amidst these plan-
tations stands Roseneath House, a seat of the
Duke of Argyle. It has been recently erect-
ed, and has succeeded another edifice, in a
castellated style, burnt down in 1802. The
offices, a lengthened range of buildings in the
pointed style, with a central tower of two
stages, crowned by a small spire, rise above
the circumjacent woods, and greatly enliven
the aspect of this part of Roseneath. The
Gaelic name of the peninsula, from whence
the English is a corruption, is Ros-na-choich,
which signifies the " Virgin's promontory," a
name it may have received from a Nunnery
which once stood upon it. We are informed
by the reverend statist of the parish, that in
this particular territory " rats cannot exist.
Many of them," he says, " have at different
times been accidentally imported from vessels
lying upon the shore ; but were never known
to live twelve months in the place. From a
prevailing opinion that the soil of this parish
is hostile to that animal, some years ago, a
West India planter actually carried out to Ja-
maica several casks of Roseneath earth, with
a view to kill the rats that were destroying
his sugar canes. It is said, however, that this
had not the desired effect ; so we lost a very
valuable export. Had the experiment suc-
ceeded, this could have been a new and pro-
fitable trade for the proprietors ; but perhaps
by this time the parish of Roseneath might
have been no more." — Population in 1821,
754.

ROSLIN, a small village with an ancient
castle and chapel adjacent, in the county of
Mid- Lothian, parish of Lasswade, at the dis-
tance of seven miles south-west of Edinburgh,
and two and a half west of Lasswade. It is
reached by a cross-road leading southwards
from the road betwixt Edinburgh and Peebles.
The village is inhabited only by families en-
gaged in agricultural pursuits, and for their
accommodation, as well as that of the po-
pulous neighbourhood, a chapel of ease has
recently been erected. Roslin is much visited
by tourists and parties from the metropolis, both
on account of the beauties of the scenery and
of the ancient chapel and castle. These stand

south from the village, the latter on a much lower
level, on the bank of the North Esk, whoss
waters, as has been described under the head
Lasswade, here pursue a most romantic course
through a deep dell, thickly wooded, and in
some places inaccessible. The chapel is situ-
ated nearest the village on the prominent brow
of an eminence, in the midst of an enclosed
ground, attached, in the present day, to the
village inn, whose landlord is the cicerone of
visitors, and shows the wonders of (he place.
From the ground on which it stands, a path
winds down to the castle, which occupies a
rocky site projected from the sloping bank.
Originally, this structure had been separated
from the bank by a deep cut in the rock, which
is now filled up. The castle itself must have
been, in early times, massive and extensive,
but its antique appearance is now nearly gone,
there being only some huge fragments of walls
and battlements remaining, on the outer side
of which a comparatively modern mansion has
been reared on the old foundation or under-
vaulted stories, and is all that can be shown
for the long since destroyed Roslin Castle.
Most of the lower apartments of the house
are small and ill-lighted, presenting altogether,
in their dungeon-like coldness and incon-
venience, a striking contrast to the comfortable
accommodations of a modern edifice. It is
uncertain when and by whom this castle was
first erected, although it was for many ages the
baronial seat of the St. Clairs, lords of Ros-
lin, and in all likelihood was built by the first
of these potent chiefs who settled in Scotland.
The St. Clairs, or Sinclairs, are of Norman
extraction, being descended from William de
St. Clair, second son of Waldenie Compte de
St. Clair, and Margaret, daughter to Richard,
Duke of Normandy. He was called for his
fair deportment, the Seemly St. Clair, and
settling in Scotland during the reign of Mal-
colm Canmore, obtained large grants of land
in Mid-Lothian. These domains were in-
creased by the liberality of succeeding monarchs
to the descendants of the family, and compre-
hended the baronies of Roslin, Pentland,
Cousland, Cardaine, and several others. It
is recorded by tradition, that a considerable
accession to the property took place on the
following occasion : — King Robert Bruce, in
following the chase upon Pentland Hills, had
often started a " white faunch deer," which
had always escaped from his hounds ; and ha

892

R O S L I N.

asked the nobles, who were assembled around
him, whether any of them had dogs, which
they thought might be more successful. No
courtier would affirm that his hounds were
fleeter than those of the king, until Sir William
St. Clair of Roslin unceremoniously said, he
would wager his head that his two favourite
dogs, " Help and Hold," would kill the deer
before she could cross the March-burn. The
king instantly caught at his unwary offer, and
betted the forest of Pentlandmoor against the
life of Sir William St. Clair. All the hounds
were tied up, except a few ratches, or slow-
hounds, to put up the deer; while Sir William
St. Clair, posting himself in the best situation
for slipping his dogs, prayed devoutly to
the blessed Virgin, and St. Katherine. The
deer was shortly after roused, and the hounds
slipped ; Sir William following on a gallant
steed, to cheer his dogs. The hind, however,
reached the middle of the brook, upon which
the hunter threw himself from his horse in
despair. At this critical moment, however,
Hold stopped her in the brook ; aiid Help
coming up, turned her back, and killed her on
Sir William's side. The king descended from
the hill, embraced Sir William, and bestowed
on him the land of Kirkton, Logan-house,
Camcraig, &c. in free forestrie. Sir William,
in acknowledgment of Saint Katherine's in-
tercession, built the chapel of St. Katherine
in the Hopes, the churchyard of which is now
covered by an artificial lake in Glencorse
parish. The hill from which Robert Bruce
beheld this memorable chace, is still called the
King's Hill, and the place where Sir William
hunted is called the Knight's Field. The
tomb of Sir William St. Clair, on which he
appears sculptured in armour, with a grey-
hound at his feet, is still to be seen in Roslin
chapel. The person who shows it always
tells the story of his hunting-match, with
some additions to the former account ; as
that the Knight of Roslin 's fright made him
poetical, and that in the last emergency, he
shouted,

Help, Iiaud, an' ye may,

Or Roslin will lose his head this day.

It appears that the first barons of Roslin lived
at the castle in all the splendour of a rude and
sumptuous age. Father Hay informs us, that
in the fifteenth century " the town of Roslin,
being next to Edinburgh and Haddington, be-
came very populous- bv the great concourse of

all ranks and degrees of visitors, that resorted
to this prince [William St. Clair,] at his palace
of the castle of Roslin ; for he kept a great
court, and was royally served at his own table
in vessels of gold and silver : Lord Dirleton
being his master-household, Lord Borthwick
his cup-bearer, and Lord Fleming his carver;
in whose absence they had deputies to attend,
viz. Stewart, laird of Drumlanrig, Tweedie,
laird of Hrumferline, and Sandilands, laird of
Calder. He had his halls and other apart-
ments richly adorned with embroidered hang-
ings. He flourished in the reigns of James
I. and II. His princess, Elizabeth Douglas,
was served by seventy-five gentlewomen,
whereof fifty-three were daughters of noble-
men, all clothed in velvet and silks, with their
chains of gold, and other ornaments ; and was
attended by two hundred riding gentlemen in
all journies; and, if it happened to be dark
when she went to Edinburgh, where her lodg-
ings were at the foot of Black Fryar's Wynd,
eighty lighted torches were carried before her."
As the writer of this account was a member
of the Roslin family, perhaps some allowance
ought to be made for a desire of exaggerating
the splendour of his house. In the year 1554,
Roslin Castle, with that of Craigmiller, and
other places, were burnt by the English, and
most of the present buildings seem to have
been erected since that time. Little more
than a hundred years later, in 1650, the castla
was besieged and taken by General Monk.
In the present day it is rented as a private
dwelling house. " Roslin castle" has been
rendered classical by a beautiful Scottish song,
and an air bearing its name. It was in the
neighbourhood, on the flat ground near the
village, that, in 1302, the English army, under
Sir John de Segrave, sustained no fewer than
three defeats in one day, from the Scots, who
were commanded by Cumin and Fraser.
With regard to the chapel or church of Roslin,
it was founded in the year 1446, by the above
mentioned William St. Clair, who lived here in
such state. It was founded as a collegiate church,
for a provost, six prebendaries, and two singing
boys ; and being endowed with various lands and
revenues, it was consecrated to Saint Matthew
the apostle. After all his efforts, and a vast
expense, the nobie founder left the building in
that unfinished condition in which it still ap-
pears. Some additions were made to the en-
dowment, by the succeeding barons of Roslin,

R O S L I N.

893

In 1523, Sir William St. Clair granted some
lands, in the vicinity of the chapel, for dwell-
ing houses and gardens, and other accommoda-
tions, to the provost and prebendaries. In his
charter he mentions four altars in the cha-
pel, or rather church, one dedicated to
St. Matthew, another to the Virgin, a third
to St. Andrew, and a fourth to St. Pe-
ter. The establishment was violated and
spoiled, at the Reformation of 1560, and
its officers, in 1572, were obliged to relin-
quish their whole property, which, according
to all accounts, had been withheld from
them during many revolutionary years. The
chapel was further injured at the Revo-
lution of 1688, by a mob raised partly in
Edinburgh and partly from among the tenantry
on the barony. They attacked the chapel at
10 o'clock at night on the 11th of December,
and after spoiling it, fell upon the castle, which
they plundered of its valuable furniture. Ros-
lin chapel, or church, is but a small building,
the nave alone having been finished ; but
it is so elegantly designed, so exquisitely
and elaborately decorated, and, what is still
better, so singularly entire, as a specimen of
the Gothic ecclesiastical architecture in Scot-
land, that there is perhaps no object of the
kind in the whole country that receives or de-
serves so much of the admiration of strangers.
Outside and inside it is a truly beautiful object,
and is not the less interesting from the outer
mouldings being rounded and worn by the
weather. In the interior, two rows of aisles
extend along the sides, having their ceilings
thrown into the form of Saxo- Gothic arches.
The pillars forming these aisles are only eight
feet high, but the workmanship is very rich,
and the capitals are adorned with foliage and
a variety of figures, generally of a scriptural
character. Like other churches, among which
may be reckoned those of Rouen and Melrose,
Roslin has a 'prentice's pillar, with the common
legendary story of the sculptor having had his
brains beat out by his master for presuming to
execute the work in his absence. In addition
to a figure of the said 'prentice, at the top of
another pillar, Roslin possesses a bust like that
of a woman, said to be his weeping mother, who
is looking at the representation of her slain
son. The 'prentice's pillar is a piece of
exquisite workmanship, having a wreath of
minutely elegant tracery twisted spirally around
it. Amidst a concert of angela near this, is

to be seen a cherub playing on a Highland
bagpipe ! At the south-west corner of the in-
terior there is a descent by a flight of twenty
steps into a crypt or chapel, partly subterrane-
ous, which is supposed to have served for a
sacristy and vestry ; the south end of this now
dungeon-like apartment protrudes from the
main structure on the outside, and is lighted
by a single window. The chapel itself is
lighted by small Gothic windows along the
sides and at the finished south end. The west
end of the edifice is closed up by a plain wall.
The whole was subjected to repair during last
century, when the present slated roof was ad-
ded. Of Roslin chapel, the ingenious Rritton
gives the following opinion in his Architectural
Antiquities of Great Britain. " This building,
I believe, may be pronounced unique, and I am
confident it will be found curious, elaborate,
and singularly interesting. The chapels of
King's College, St. George, and Henry the
Seventh, are all conformable to the styles of
the respective ages when they were erected ;
and these styles display a gradual advancement
in lightness and profusion of ornament ; but
the chapel at Rosslyn combines the solidity of
the Norman with the minute decoration of the
latest species of the Tudor age. It is impossi-
ble to designate the architecture of this build-
ing by any given or familiar term ; for the va-
riety and eccentricity of its parts are not to be
defined by any words of common acceptation. I
ask some of our obstinate antiquaries, how
they would apply either the term Roman, Sax-
on, Norman, Gothic, Sarasenic, English, or
Grecian, to this building." Beneath the pave-
ment of the chapel lie the barons of Roslin,
all of whom were, till the period of the Revo-
lution, buried in armour, a circumstance not
unnoticed by Sir Walter Scott in the ballad
of " Rosabelle," in " the Lay of the Last
Minstrel:"

Seemed all on fire that chapel proud,
Where Roslin's chiefs uncof lined lie ;

Each baron, for a sable shroud,
Sheathed in his iron panoply.

There are twenty of Roslin's barons bold
Lie buried beneath that proud chapelle;

Each one the holy vault doth hold,—
But the sea holds lovely Rosabelle.

And each St. Clair was buried there,
With candle, with book, and with knell,

But the sea-caves rung, and the wild waves sung,
The dirge of lovely Rosabelle.

The manner of the interment of the barons of

894

ROSS-SHIRE.

Roslin is thus described by Father Hay in his
MS. history. " Sir William died during the
troubles, and was interred in the chapel of Ros-
lin the very same day that the battle of Dun-
bar was fought. When my goodfather was
buried, his (i. e. Sir William's) corpse seemed
to be entire at the opening of the cave ;
but when they came to touch his body, it fell
to dust. He was laying in his armour with a
red velvet cap on his head, on a flat stone ;
nothing was spoiled except apiece of the white
furring, that went round the cap, and answered
to the hinder part of the head. All his pre-
decessors were buried after the same manner in
their armour ; the late Rosline, my good-father,
was the first that was buried in a coffin, against
the sentiments of King James VII., who was
then in Scotland, and several other persons well
versed in antiquity, to whom my mother would
not hearken, thinking it beggarly to be buried
after that manner. The great expenses she was
at in burying her husband, occasioned the
sumptuary acts which were made in the fol-
lowing parliaments." The St. Clairs of Ros-
lin, whom we thus have had occasion to notice
in the present article, and who at one time
stood at the head of the baronage of Mid-Lo-
thian, received a great accession of power and
wealth about the middle of the fourteenth cen-
tury by the inheritance of the earldom of Ork-
ney. Sir William St- Clair of Roslin, the
eighth chief in the family genealogical tree,
having married Isabel, one of the daughters and
co-heiresses of Malise, earl of Strathearn,
Caithness, and Orkney, by her had a son
Henry, who became earl of Orkney, and had
his title admitted by Haco VI- king of
Norway, in 1379. The title, however, lasted
only three generations. William, the third
earl, resigned it to the Scottish crown in 1 470,
receiving in recompense the castle of Ravens-
craig in Fife, with the lands of Wilstown,
Dubbo and Carbarry, and was shortly after-
wards endowed with the title of the earl of
Caithness. (See Caithness, p. 1 22. ) His Lord-
ship married, first, lady Margaret Douglas, eld-
est daughter of Archibald, fourth earl of
Douglas, by whom he had a son, William, who
was ancestor of the Lords Sinclair ; and mar-
ried, second, Marjory, daughter of Alexander
Sutherland of Dunbeath, by whom he had a
son also called William, who continued the
line of the earls of Caithness, and another son
Oliver, from whom descended the respect-

able house of Roslin. the direct male line of
which terminated in William Sinclair, "■ vir
priscae virtutis," who died in 1778. Roslin
was created a British earldom in 1801.

ROSS-SHIRE, a large county in the north
of Scotland, extending across the country from
the German Ocean to the Atlantic ; bounded
by Sutherlandshire on the north, and Inver-
ness-shire on the south. It has the main
part of Cromarty-shire on the east, and is
throughout interspersed with minute portions
of that county. On the west coast it compre-
hends the island of Lewis, and some smaller
islands. On the east coast, the county termi-
nates in an obtuse point, but on the western
shores, which are much indented by arms of
the sea, the land extends sixty miles from north
to south. The most northerly point of the
county in the mainland is in latitude 58° 30'
north, and the most southerly 57°. The shire
contains a superficies of 24274 square geogra-
phical miles, of which the interspersed parts of
Cromartyshire form 260. Lewis contains 431
square miles. The number of acres in the
mainland is about 2,071,466, and in Lewis
359,093. Of the first number, 220,466 be-
long to Cromartyshire, and 5973 to the district
of Ferintosh, which is part of the county of
Nairn. The whole of this extensive territory,
except a portion on the east side, called Easter
Ross, is mountainous, wild, and pastoral ; there
being numerous glens and straths, but scarcely
any thing that can be called a valley. The
mountains are for the most part in groups, and
some are detached, many of them reaching a
considerable elevation, although their heights
have not been ascertained. Ben Wyvis is es-
teemed the highest, and rises about 3720 feet
above the level of the sea. Almost the whole
of the west coast abounds in magnificent
mountain scenery, and the interior is in gene-
ral picturesque. The eastern part of the coun-
ty is pleasing in its aspect, and possesses all
the attributes of a rich champaign country.
The contrast betwixt the mountainous district
of Wester Ross, and the soft woodland and
agricultural division of Easter Ross, is exceed-
ingly striking. In going towards Dingwall,
the stranger obtains some delightful glimpses
of the grand scenery of the west, and is im-
pressed with an idea that he is wandering
round a stupendous and inaccessible citadel.
The principal rivers on the east side of
Ross-shire are the Conan, which flows into the

ROSS-SHIRE.

805

Cromarty Firth, and the Oikeland the Carron,
flowing into the Dornoch firth. The largest
river on the west coast is the Ewe, which has
a short course from Loch Maree. The Conan,
and its principal branch the Raney or Black-
Water, form some falls of considerable height
and beauty. The indentations of the sea on
the west coast, or salt water lakes, proceeding
from north to south, are Loch Enard, Loch
Broom, Little Loch Broom, Loch Greinord,
Loch Ewe, Gairloch, Loch Torridon, Loch
Keeshom, Loch Carron, and Loch Alsh, with
its inner southerly arm, Loch Duich. The
county has a great number of lakes of fresh
water in the interior, but none of them are
large or worthy of notice, except Loch Maree,
near the west coast. The natural forests,
which were once extensive, have disappeared
almost entirely, excepting the birch and some
oaks in different parts of the county. The re-
mains of fir woods are extensive, and the
trunks of oaks of an immense size are still
seen. Plantations are very extensive, and ad-
ditions have long been making annually. The
climate of Ross-shire, which has been gener-
ally overrated, is unsteady, and exhibits the ex-
treme of long dreary cold winters, and some
very hot summer weather. The west coast is
subject to heavy rains. The mineralogy of the
shire is i nteresting to the geologist, but of lit-
tle interest in a directly useful point of view.
Limestone occurs on the west coast; but there
is a general destitution of coal. The portion
of this large county capable of cultivation is
very small. The arable lands, as has been said,
extend along the eastern coast, and are found
in patches of small extent here and there on
the western. A great proportion of the low
land of Easter Ross, and a small proportion of
the lands near Dingwall is loamy clay — which
is not so heavy as the carse lands of the
south, but is equally productive. The rest is
light soil of various quality. Ross-shire may
now compete with any part of Scotland as to
its fanning. Such have been the improve,
ments within the space of thirty years, that
the face of the country in Easter Ross has
been altogether changed. To such per-
fection have the agriculturists of Ross-shire
brought the system that they now grow wheat
to the amount of twenty thousand quarters,
and export grain in quantities of not less than
ten thousand quarters. On the great majority
of arable farms there is now seen a degree of

neatness in the style of dressing the land and
enclosing it, superior to most districts of Eng-
land and Scotland, and inferior to none. The
crops are uniformly clean, and for the most part
rich, and the quality of wheat such as frequent-
ly to have topped the London markets. A
spirit of improvement in horticulture (which is
rare in the Highlands) has likewise arisen,
and there are formed many excellent gardens
attached to the mansions of the proprietor, and
though those attached to farm houses be small,
they yield abundantly both in the useful and
pleasing. Some proprietors are noted for their
love of horticultural pursuits, and for introduc-
ing new fruits, as well as ornamental plants
heretofore unknown in the north. The cot-
tagers are also now observed everywhere to
form little gardens whenever they have a patch
of ground adapted for it. The salmon-fishery
is carried on to a considerable extent in the
rivers and estuaries ; herring fishery is also
prosecuted with great success on the east coast,
particularly at Cromarty. The fisheries on the
west coast have generally declined in favour of
those on the eastern shores of Ross, Sutherland,
and Caithness. The valued rent of Ross-shire,
including the scattered portions of Cromarty, is
L.85,709, 15s. 3d. Scots ; and the real ren-
tal is supposed now to exceed L.80,000 ster-
ling. Many of the proprietors of Ross-shire
inhabit mansion houses of considerable ele-
gance ; but there is little, if any thing, to praise
in their architecture. Some of these seats are
well placed, and the grounds about them orna-
mented by plantations and shrubberies. Around
many of them are found noble trees of every
variety. The houses of the principal farmers
are also neat and commodious ; and of late years
a very great improvement has been visible
in the cottages of the peasantry. The im-
provement of the roads in this county has
advanced with rapid strides, since govern-
ment saw the importance of easy communica-
tions being afforded to the Highlands, and
since parliament gave its liberal assistance.
The proprietors defrayed one half of
the expense of the roads. The bridges are
neat and well-built. — There are three royal
burghs in this county, Dingwall, Tain, and
Fortrose ; and perhaps it had been better
had these towns been destitute of such
privileges, for they nourish a spirit of local po-
litical partizanship detrimental to their prospe-
rity, aa is the case in mostly all old Scottish

89G

ROTHESAY.

burghs with close bodies of magistracy. There
are no manufactories in any of them ; and
their chief support is the litigious spirit of the
people giving employment to a host of practi-
tioners before the courts. " There are nume-
rous villages in Ross and Cromarty," says the
author of an article on Ross-shire in the Edin-
burgh Encyclopedia, " but almost every pro-
prietor who has ftmed land for building has re-
pented. When there is no regular employment
for it, it is baneful to accumulate population
into villages. Idleness, vice, distress, and crime,
give too frequent evidence that, when there is
no fixed employment, population should not be
too rashly encouraged. No improvement can
be forced, but must depend on an extensive
combination of circumstances, which it requires
talent and meditation to discover. At this
moment a great revolution is taking place, ow-
ing to the liberal view which the government
has taken of the distillery. The effects of this
revolution will be the emigration of the re-
maining Highlanders, who have hitherto sub-
sisted solely on the profits of illicit distilla-
tion, scanty as they were ; or they will seek
subsistence from honest labour, wherever they
can find employment at home ; or attend more
closely to the produce of such land as they
may possess on lease. It is probable that all
these effects may take place, and that point of
civilization and improvement, to which we
have been tending since the rebellion of 1745,
will ere long be fully attained. In many vil-
lages we see shops opened for the accommoda-
tion of the inhabitants, and butchers and bakers
are establishing themselves. The consumption
of meat and wheaten bread is very rapidly in-
creasing, and the assimilation of the north of
Scotland to the land of the Sassenach is almost
complete. New wants are arising — the dress
of the Gael has disappeared — the language is
wearing away, and, in half a century, will be
as rare as the dress is now." Ross-shire with
Cromarty, contains thirty-one complete pa-
rishes, and part of two other parochial divisions.
— In 1801, the population of Ross and Cromar-
ty shires was 53,525 ; in 1811 it was 60,853 ;
and in 1821 it was 32,324 males, and 36,504
females,— total, 68,828.

ROSSIE. See Inchture.

ROSSKEEN, a parish in the district of
Easter Ross, Ross-shire, lying on the north
shore of the Firth of Cromarty, from which it
extends ten miles inland, by a breadth of six

miles. The parish of Alness lies on the west,
and Logie- Easter on the east. The lower
part of the parish, which extends along the
Firth of Cromarty, and for two miles back,
lies in a gentle and easy ascent to the bottom
of the first hills, A hill called Knock- Navie,
or the Cold Hill, divides the lower from the
Highland part of the parish. Beyond the
higher arable ground and inhabited glens, there
is a very considerable tract of mountains, fit
for no other purpose than the summer pasture
of black cattle or sheep. Like the adjacent
parts of the shire, the parish has been greatly
improved in agricultural capabilities, and now
possesses some fine plantations. The chief
of these is at Invergordon castle, near which is
the ferry across the Cromarty Firth. There
is a small harbour at this place. — Population
in 1821,2581.

ROTHES, a parish in Morayshire, lying
on the left or west bank of the Spey, which
separates it from Boharm on the east. On the
west is the parish of Dallas. The parish of
Rothes is in a great measure surrounded by
hills, covered with heath. Adjacent to the
Spey, in the lower division of the district, the
land is arable, and a good deal improved. The
village of Rothes stands near the Spey, and in
its vicinity is the ruined castle of Rothes, once
the residence pf the earls to whom it has given
a title. The estate of Rothes came, by mar-
riage, into the ancient, and distinguished house
of Leslie, at the beginning of the fourteenth
century ; and about the middle of the fifteenth,
the chief of the family, George de Leslie, was
created Earl of Rothes, At some distance
north from Rothes is the seat of Orton, the
residence of the Hon. Arthur Duff. — Popula-
tion in 1821, 1642.

ROTHESAY, a parish in the county and
Isje of Bute, occupying the northern part, and
about two thirds of the island. The parish on
the south is called Kingarth. The surface is
hilly, but there are some small valleys which
are exceedingly fertile and pleasing in appear-
ance. The only object worthy of notice is the
town of Rothesay, now to be described.

Rothesay, a royal burgh, a town of consi-
derable antiquity, and the capital of the above
parish, as well as of the county of Bute, occu-
pies a most agreeable situation, at the head of
a bay called Rothesay Bay, on the east side of
the island of Bute, at the distance of fifty-two
miles from Glasgow, nineteen from Greenock,

ROTHESAY.

897

nine from Largs, twenty-two from Arran, and
twelve from the Cumbrays. Rothesay traces
its origin to that obscure but troublesome
period, when the Western Isles were the objects
of warlike strife, and Bute the scene of en-
counters betwixt the Scots and invaders from
the north of Europe. The edifice first reared
at the place was a castle, whose ruins yet re-
main, but when or by whom this structure was
founded no one can tell. Before the time of
Alexander III. it is supposed to have belonged
to a family called MacRoderick ; and in Haco's
first expedition it was attacked by the Norwe-
gians, with eighty ships. Rothesay castle was
then besieged and taken, by a sap and assault,
with the loss of 300 men. It was again taken
by the Scots, soon after the battle of Largs.
It was taken possession of by the English, dur-
ing the reign of John Baliol; but, in 1311,
it was surrendered to Robert Bruce. In 1334
Edward Baliol took the castle and fortified it ;
but it was again, shortly afterwards, taken by
Bruce, the Steward of Scotland. King Robert
II. visited this castle in 1376, and again in 1381.
Robert III. acceded to the throne in 1390,
and in 1398 his eldest son, David, Earl of
Carrick, prince and Steward of Scotland, was
created Duke of Rothesay, in a solemn council
held at Scone, being the first introduction of
the ducal dignity into Scotland. David having
fallen a victim to the ambitious views of his
uncle, the Duke of Albany, in 1402, he was
succeeded in the title by his brother James,
afterwards James I. In the reign of James
III., by act of parliament, 1409, it was de-
clared, " that the lordship of Bute, with the
castle of Rothesay, the lordship of Cowal,
with the castle of Dunoon, the earldom of
Carrick, the lands of Dundonald, with the
castle of the same, the barony of Renfrew,
with the lands and tenandries of the same, the
lordship of Stewarton, the lordship of Kilmar-
nock, with the castle of the same, the lordship
of Dairy ; the lands of Nodisdale, Kilbryde,
Narristoun, and Cairtoun ; also the lands of
Frarynzan, Drumcall, Trebrauch, with the
fortalice of the same, * principibus primogenitis
Regum Scotia? successorum nostrorum, perpe-
tuis futuris temporibus, uniantur, incorporentur,
et annexantur.' " It is understood, that from
this period, the principality and stewartry of
Scotland, the dukedom of Rothesay, the earl-
dom of Carrick, the lordship of the Isles, and
the barony of Renfrew, have been vested in

the first-born and heir-apparent of the sove-
reign, who, from the moment of his birth, or
of his father's accession to the throne, becomes
Prince and Steward of Scotland, Duke of
Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Lord of the Isles,
and Baron of Renfrew, with all the privileges
of a peer of Scotland. That, in the event of
the death of such first-born son without issue,
the eldest son in existence of the king becomes
entitled to these dignities. And that, when
there is no son and heir-apparent of the sove-
reign in existence, the right vests in his majes-
ty, not, however, as king, but as prince, or as
supplying the place till the birth of a prince.
Such is the history of the dukedom of Rothesay,
given by Sir Robert Douglas. The last event
in the military memoirs of the castle of Rothe-
say, was its seizure by the Marquis of Argyle,
in 1685, when it was burnt and destroyed.
The tall ruin of this royal residence stands close
upon the town; but though the only object of
antiquity of note in the island, it will disappoint
him who expects to find it a picturesque or a
beautiful object, as it is lamentably deficient in
both these qualities. The red colour of the
stone is no less inimical to beauty than its
round heavy shape ; and though some fine ash
trees, rising out of the ruins, give it all the
aid they can, they are insufficient to redeem its
ponderous dull form. There has been a ditch,
and it has been a strong place, as far as high
thick walls can make it so ; but as a piece of
fortification, even on the ancient principles,
it is wretchedly deficient, and argues very little
in favour of the military knowledge that erect-
ed it. Even the gate is neither flanked nor
machicolated ; and it might have been mined
or assaulted at almost any point. Apparently
the edifice has been the work of different ages.
— Originally a village in connexion with this
seat of royalty, the town of Rothesay was
created a royal burgh by Robert III. in 1401.
It has since risen to a considerable size, and
besides being populous and busy, forms a con-
venient head quarter for those who may choose
to visit Bute itself, and the surrounding scenery.
Above a century ago, Rothesay fell greatly in-
to decay, and continued in that state till about
the year 1 780, when a herring fishery was estab-
lished, which was carried on for many years with
success, and is still a staple trade at the place.
The town remained without farther extension
till a recent date, when it became a fashionable
watering place, since which it has rapidly in-
5 Y

898

R O T II I E M A Y.

creased, and been greatly beautified in appear-
ance. A considerable cotton factory was es-
tablished about the year 1780 ; and there is
now also a manufactory for weaving by power
looms. The cotton mills of Rothesay are moved
by water collected in reservoirs from the rains
falling in the adjacent country, applied in a
most ingenious manner by Mr. Thorn, engi-
neer. Sixty years since the town possessed no
more than one or two half-decked vessels of
fifteen tons burden, and some open boats ; but
so much had the traffic of the port increased in
1 79 1 , that there were then, in addition to boats,
from eighty to a hundred vessels between fif-
teen and a hundred tons burden belonging to
it. Since that period there has been a pro-
portionate increase. In 1760, so much had
Rothesay fallen off from a previous state of
comparative consequence, that numbers of its
houses had been permitted to sink into decay,
and were scattered through the town in a
state of ruin. In 1791, all these ruined
houses had been removed, and many new
ones built. There are now in Rothesay,
King, Princes, High, .Argyle, Bishop, Mon-
tague, Mill, Bridge, Bridge-end, Castle, Cas-
tle-hill, Guildford, and Tarbet streets ; be-
sides some lanes. The increase and prosperi-
ty of the town have been facilitated by the
erection of piers, with an excellent harbour,
which opens on a safe and extensive bay ; and
from this circumstance alone, Rothesay may be
expected to rise still more in the scale of com-
mercial importance. The distillation of spirits,
a tan-work, net-making, buss and boat-build-
ing, in addition to fishing and fish-curing, give
employment to a considerable number of hands.
Besides the parish church there is a chapel of
ease, and a meeting house of the reformed Pres-
byterian Synod; a parochial school, several other
schools, a subscription library, a news-room, a
post and stamp-office ; agencies for the Green-
ock and Renfrewshire banks ; a savings' bank ;
several friendly societies, and two or three good
inns. In Rothesay are held the sheriff and
commissary, bailie and justice of peace courts.
A market is held weekly on Wednesday ; and
there are annual fairs on the first Wednesdays
of4May, July, and November. As a bathing
place, or resort during the summer months,
Rothesay possesses many charms, and is de-
servedly popular. Being sheltered by rising
grounds, forming behind it a screen from
south-western storms and winds, the elimate is
considered mild and pleasing, while the air is
3 8.

of a salubrious character from sweeping over
the sea. The old part of the town is situated
at the inner part of the bay ; it has extended
itself on both sides, near its head, by the ad-
dition of villas and lodging houses, the sum-
mer resort of Glasgow fashionables ; these
houses command a remarkably fine view
of the entrance from the Clyde. The town
has been greatly benefited by the sailing
to and fro of steam-vessels, in communication
with Glasgow, Greenock, Campbelton, Inver-
ary, and all other places in this quarter, where-
by the town can be visited at all times by
tourists, as well as supplied with every species
of luxury. As a royal burgh, the town is un-
der the government of a provost, two bailies,
a dean of guild, a treasurer, and twelve coun-
cillors. It has hitherto joined with Ayr, Ir-
vine, Campbelton, and Inverary, in electing a
member of parliament. — In 1821, the popula-
tion of the landward part of the parish was
1602, and within the bounds of the burgh 4107 ;
total 5709.

ROTHESHOLM, or ROUSHOLM, a
promontory on the south-west coast of Stron-
say Island.

ROTHIEMAY, a parish in Banffshire,
lying on both sides of the Deveron river, ex-
tending from seven to eight miles in length, by
at most from five to six in breadth ; bounded on
the east and north-east by Marnoch, on the
south and south-east by Inverkeithny, Forgue,
and Huntly, on the west and south-west by
Cairny, and on the north and north-west by
Grange. The northern part of the parish is
inferior to the rest, both in fertility and beauty.
Besides some hilly ground, it consists of a large
plain containing partly arable and partly pasto-
ral land. From this plain is a gentle deelivity
of more than half a mile on the west and
south-west to the Isla, and on the south to the
Deveron, a river adorned with plantations and
natural woods on its banks. About a mile
below its confluence with the Isla, the Deveron,
running eastward, divides the parish into two
parts, of which the northern follows the course
of the river more than two miles, the southern
near two miles farther. The parish altogether
has been subjected to a variety of improve-
ments, and shows some pleasing scenery. A
short way below the junction of the rivers,
stands the village of Rothiemay on the left
or north bank of the Deveron, and beside it is
Rothiemay House, a seat of the Earl of Fife.
The parish of Rothiemay is distinguished as

ROXBURGHSHIRE.

Deing uie birth-place of Fergusson, the cele-
brated astronomer — Population in 1821, 1154.
ROTHIEMURCHUS, a parish in In-
verness-shire, now united with the parish of
Duthil in Morayshire. See Duthil and

ROTHIEMURCHUS-

ROUCAN, a small village in the parish
of Torthorwald, Dumfries-shire.

ROUS AY, an island of Orkney, lying
north of the mainland, from which it is se-
parated by a narrow firth. It measures about
four miles in length from east to west, by a
general breadth of three miles. Rousay,
(which signifies Rolf's or Rollo's island,) con-
sists principally of lofty but not rugged hills.
Some of the valleys are picturesque, and would
be fertile, but the principal population is
near the shores, and much good land in the
interior is left in a state of nature. The island
supports horses and black cattle, with immense
herds of swine, and many sheep. Its western
shores are precipitous, but its eastern, northern,
and southern sides are green and easy of ac-
cess. Monumental stones, Picts' houses, and
tumuli, are not rare. Near the house of West-
ness are considerable ruins, which probably
belonged to the castle of Earl Sigard II., the
hero of Clontarf. Not far off are graves that
have been found to contain human bones, arms,
and trinkets, which, with the name of Swein-
drow, preserve the memory of Earl Paul's
faithful attendants, "when that unfortunate
prince was treacherously seized by Swein, the
son of Aslief. — The island contained, in 1821,
834 inhabitants.

ROUSAY and E GILS HAY, a united
parish in Orkney, comprehending the islands
of Rousay, Egilshay, Weir, and Enhallow,with
two small holms or uninhabited islets. The
whole are situated north of, and at no great dis-
tance from, the mainland. — Population in 1821,
1151.

ROW, a parish in Dumbartonshire, lying
with its south end to the firth of Clyde, and its
western side to Gareloch and Loch Long. It
is bounded by Luss on the east, and Cardross
on the south-east. Exclusive of a narrow
stripe on Loch Long, the bulk of the parish
measures about ten miles in length, by four in
breadth. The parish is chiefly of a hilly and
pastoral character ; the low grounds are adjacent
to the Clyde, and are fertile and beautiful.
The parish church stands near the ferry across
Gareloch to the peninsula of Roseneath ; op-
posite it is a point projected into the loch, and

it is supposed that from this circumstance the
name of the parish is derived ; the word Row
signifying a point. On the Clyde, to the east,
is the modem thriving town of Helensburgh,
which has been described under its appropriate
head.— Population in 1821, 1759.

ROXBURGHSHIRE, a county in the
south of Scotland, bounded by Northumberland
on the east, Northumberland and part of Cum-
berland on the south, Dumfries-shire on the
south-west, Selkirkshire on the west, and Ber-
wickshire, with a small portion of Edinburgh-
shire, on the north. It lies between 55° 6 ' 40",
and 55° 42' 52," north latitude, and extends
from south-west to north-east thirty-eight
miles, and from south-east to north-west twen-
ty-seven. The breadth indeed about the mid-
dle of it, is carried out to a larger extent, by a
projection of the shire northward of the Tweed,
between the streams of Gala and Leader. The
county, according to Arrowsmith, contains a
superficies of 696 square miles, or 445,440
statute acres. By another calculation it is said
to contain about 672 square miles, and 430,000
statute acres. The county is divided by its
waters into several districts, the chief of which
is Tiviotdale, being that division drained by
the river Tiviot and its tributary streams.
Tiviotdale comprehends 521 square miles.
Liddisdale, which forms the south-west corner
of the county, on the borders of Northumber-
land and Cumberland, comprehends the Alpine
territory, which is drained by the Liddle, and
its tributaries, and contains 120 square miles.
The third division is that portion between the
Gala and Leader, measuring twenty-eight
square miles. And the fourth district is that
part of the shire lying north of the Tweed,
included in the Merse, which comprehends
twenty-seven miles. — At the epoch of the
Christian era, the western and greater part of
Roxburghshire was inhabited by the Gadeni,
while the eastern and lesser districts were oc-
cupied by the Ottadini ; and the language of
those British tribes, who were the descendants
of the pristine people may still be traced in
the topography of the country. They have
also left significant traces of their presence
in sepulchral tumuli, and monuments of a
barbarous worship. The whole extent of
the shire, strong by nature, from its heights
and recesses, appears, says George Chalm-
ers, to have been in the earliest times the
bioody scene of many conflicts. The Ot-
tadini and Gadeni seem to have secured

900

ROXBURGHSHIRE.

many hills by artificial aids. The great
peninsula, which is formed by the Tiviot
and the Tweed, was once full of military
works. The Eildon hills are finely form-
ed for strengths of this description. The
most northerly, which is also the loftiest
of these hills, was fortified by two fosses
and ramparts of earth, enclosing a circum-
ference of more than a mile. This great
fort of the Gadeni was the commodious
centre of other British forts, on the sum-
mits of the smaller eminences of the sin-
rounding country. In after times, the Ro-
mans are supposed to have converted this great
native fortress into a commanding post, near
their military road. About two miles west
from the Eildons, rises Caldshiels hill, whereon
the Gadeni had a considerable strength. It
may be noticed that betwixt these two eminent
British hill forts there was a fosse or ditch,
and its accompanying rampart of earth. This
immense work has much the appearance of the
Catrail, and was doubtless erected with the
similar view of defending the country from an
invasion by the east. But the most stupen-
dous work of the Britons is the Catrail, just
alluded to. This is probably the vast remain
of the Romanized Britons, the descendants of
the Gadeni and Ottadini after the abdication
of the Roman power ; and it seems to have
been constructed during the fifth century, as a
strong line of defence against the invading
Saxons. After traversing Selkirkshire, this
rude barrier enters Roxburghshire, where it
crosses the Borthwick water, near Broadlee :
Here its remains are very visible ; and it con-
tinues to be equally distinct till it reaches
Slatehill moss ; whence it runs in a south-east
direction, across the Tiviot, through the farm
of Northhouse, to Dogcleugh-hill, where it ap-
pears very obvious to the eye. From this
position, it proceeds south-east, in a slanting
direction, across Allan water to Dod ; pass-
ing, in its course, two hill forts on the left.
From Dod, the Catrail courses eastward,
near another British fort, on Whitehill brae;
and it now ascends the Carriagehill, where-
on it appears very prominent. From this
height, it descends across Longside burn,
where it becomes the known boundary of
several estates. From this burn it tra-
verses the northern base of the Maidenpaps
to the Leapsteel ; and thence holding its
forward course by Robertslin, and Cock-

spart, it crosses the dividing hills into Lid-
disdale ; and again appears on the Daw-
stane burn, where the Scottish Adian was
defeated in 603 A. D. by the Saxon powers.
Its vestiges may thence be traced nearly to the
Peelfell, on the confines of Liddisdak, where
this district bounds with Northumberland.
From its remains, the Catrail appears to have
been a vast fosse, at least twenty-six feet broad;
having a rampart on either side of it, from eight
to ten feet high, which was formed of the
earth that was thrown from the ditch. The
whole course of the Catrail, from the vicinity
of Galashiels, in Selkirkshire, to Peelfell, on
the borders of Northumberland, is upwards of
forty-five miles, whereof eighteen of its course
are within Roxburghshire. Catrail means, in
the language of the constructors of it, the di-
viding fence, or the partition of defence ; Cad, in
the British speech, signifying a striving to
keep, a conflict, a battle ; and Rhail mean-
ing, in the same language, a division. From
this singular remain of the Britons, within the
shire, which has engaged nearly as much at-
tention from the antiquary as the wall of An-
toninus, it is natural to advert to the Roman
road which traversed Roxburghshire, from the
south to the north. George Chalmers de-
scribes its course with his usual accuracy.
This Roman way is a continuation of the Wat-
ling Street, or the Middle Roman road into
North Britain. The Watling Street, after
crossing the walls of Hadrian, and of Severus,
at Port-gate, and passing the stations of
Risingham, and Rochester, arrives at Chew-
green, the nearest station to the borders.
It now touches Roxburghshire, at Brown-
hart-law ; whence passing along the moun-
tains, it forms the boundary of the two
kingdoms, for a mile and a half, till it arrives
at BJackhall, where it enters Scotland ; and,
descending the hills, it crosses the Kail water,
at Twoford ; where, passing a hamlet, which
is named from it Street house, the road runs
several miles between Hownam parish on tha
east, and Oxnam parish on the west, till it
arrives at the south-eastern corner of Jedburgh
parish. From this position, the road pushes]
forward north-westward, in a straight line 5
passing the Oxnam water a little below Cope-
hope, and the Jed, below Bonjedworth. Hav-v
ing now traversed the neck of land betweertj
the Jed and the Tiviot, where some vestiges*
of a station have been observed, it crosses

ROXBURGHSHIRE.

901

the Tiviot, and runs through the enclosures of
Mount Tiviot ; the road now courses north-
north-east, in a straight line, for upwards of
three miles, between the parish of Ancrum, on
the west, and the parish of Maxton, on the
east. Entering now the parish of Lessudden,
it crosses Leiret burn ; and traversing St. Bos-
well's green, it passes Bowden burn, above
Newton. From this passage, the road pro-
ceeds, in a north-north-west direction, along
the eastern base of the Eildon hills, to the
Tweed. Having crossed this river, at the
ford, which was opposite to Melrose, the
road went northward along the western side of
the Leader water, nearly in the track of the
present highway to Lauder, to a Roman sta-
tion, called Chester-lee, which was placed on
the north side of a rivulet, which falls into the
Leader, above Clackmae. The Roman road,
having passed the station of Chester-lee, about
three quarters of a mile, may still be easily
traced, for a considerable distance ; crossing
the turnpike, and a small brook, which mingles
its waters with the Leader, below Chapel.
From hence, the Roman road, proceeding
northward to a small station, called the Waas
or Walls, near to New Blainslee, again ap-
pears, distinctly, for almost a mile and a
half, when it again crosses the turnpike
road, and immediately afterwards a rivulet,
about half a mile east-north-east from
Cheildhells' chapel ; whence it pushes up
Lauderdale, through Berwickshire. There
was another Roman road, which is called the
Maidenway ; and which came down from the
Maiden castle on Stanmore, in Westmoreland,
and through Severus's wall, at Caervaran, into
Liddisdale, at a place called Deadwater :
Whence, under the name of the Wheel Cause-
way, it traverses the north-east corner of Lid-
disdale ; and along the eastern side of Needs-
law into Tiviotdale. This way cannot now
be traced throughout that vale ; neither is it
certain, whether it ever joined the Watling
Street, within the limits of Roxburghshire.
But a chain of Roman posts, as we know
from remains, was certainly established through-
out this county. The abdication of the Ro-
man government, during the fifth century, and
their retreat from the soft margin of the Ti-
viot, and the pleasant banks of the Tweed, are
memorable eras in the history of Roxburgh-
shire. It was soon invaded by a very different
race of conquerors. The Romanized Ottadini

and Gadeni, the real possessors of the country,
from ancient descent, struggled for a while
against their invaders. They tried to repaii
their hill-forts, after the Roman manner. They
erected military lines, for defending their na-
tive land, which emulate, in their construc-
tion and magnitude, the Roman ramparts.
But though they struggled bravely, it was with-
out ultimate success. The Saxons gained upon
them. And, before the conclusion of the sixth
century, the new people appear to have oc-
cupied Tiviotdale, and the eastern district of
Roxburghshire. Included in the kingdom of
Northumberland, it partook with it of its pros-
perity and of its decline. It was relin-
quished by the Earl of Northumberland, as
part of Lothian, to the Scottish King, in 1020.
There is another class of antiquities in Rox-
burghshire worthy of notice. These are
towers or castles built of " lyme and stane,"
after the accession of Robert Bruce, during
the ages of civil anarchy and wastefid wars.
Like those of Peebles-shire, they were all
built with a view to security. The castle
of Jedburgh was a strong edifice, erected as
early as the accession of David I. ; and is
indeed the earliest castle in this shire,
of which any distinct account can be given.
The castle of Roxburgh, indeed, may vie
with it in its antiquity, and claim a pre-
eminence as a strength, and a decided su-
periority as a royal burgh. Hermitage castle,
in Liddisdale, the next greatest strength,
was built during the able reign of Alexander
III. by Comyn, Earl of Monteith. The other
castles are of lesser note. The district of
Roxburghshire was, in ancient times, still more
distinguished for its religious structures, and
few places in Scotland yield such interesting
monastic annals. The abbeys of Jedburgh
and Melrose, which we have amply described
in their appropriate places, stood at the head
of their class, both for the architectural gran-
deur of the edifices and the eminence and
wealth of their establishments. The abbey of
Kelso was likewise an institution of almost
equal importance, and, including the abbey of
Dryburgh, which happens to be in a parish at-
tached to Berwickshire, there was a formed
cluster of monastic institutions unrivalled in
Scotland, at least within so small a compass ;
and it may be supposed that, when in full ope-
ration, the whole of this beautiful district would
be a complete halidome, teeming with ecclesi-

902

ROXBURGHSHIRE.

astics, the only learned men of the times, a
great part of whom were foreigners, and that
this would form a society of a comparatively
refined description. Roxburghshire belonged
first to the bishopric of Lindisfern, and was
afterwards transferred to the diocese of Glas-
gow, whose bishops had a country residence at
Ancrum, within the sphere of the monastic
institutions of Tiviotdale. Religious founda-
tions of a charitable nature were also numerous
in the district. From its situation on the con-
fines of the two kingdoms, Roxburghshire suf-
fered severely throughout the various border
wars, a circumstance naturally tending to pro-
duce warlike habits in the population, and we
find that few were so distinguished in the wars
of the middle ages as the " men of p easant
Tiviotdale," many of whom followed David
in 1 1 28 to the battle of the Standard, in which
they fought by his side and shared his misfor-
tune. By the different wars on the borders,
the marches of the kingdom were at various
times limited and extended ; Roxburghshire, in
whole or part, being occasionally under English
domination, till the year 1357, when the bor-
ders were finally settled, as they happened to
be at the time, and by this arrangement, the
district of Roxburghshire was for ever at-
tached to Scotland. The succeeding article
Roxburgh, will mention a variety of his-
torical incidents connected wi*h the ancient
royal residence of Roxburgh and its vici-
nity We now turn to the physical pecu-
liarities of the shire. The southern parts
of Roxburghshire are very mountainous, and
throughout the whole territory there is little
land absolutely flat. The district possesses
many hills, comparatively lofty, though in in-
numerable instances the hill grounds are not
conspicuous in height, and rise generally in
beautiful swells from the rich vallies at their
base. The aspect of the country is thus
finely variegated in respect of surface and ele-
vation, while the beauty of the district is great-
ly enhanced by the clear rivers and brooks
poured through the different vales. The
Tweed's " fair flood" enters the county near
the influx of the Ettrick ; and after winding
through the fertile plains of Melrose and
Kelso, it leaves Roxburghshire, at the con-
fluence of Carham Burn, having in this course
of thirty miles received in its " gently-gliding
flow," the Gala, the Allan, the Leader, the Ti-
viot, and the Eden. The Tiviot, which falls into

the Tweed nearly opposite Kelso, is a most
beautiful river, and passing through a dale to
whiclrit gives its name, receives in a course of
from thirty to forty miles, the Borthwick, the
Ale, the Slitterick, the Rule, the Jed, the Ox-
nam, and the Kail waters, with the tributary
streamlets. The Tiviot or Teviot, obtained its
British name from its quality of flooding its fer-
tile haughs. The waters of Roxburghshire, while
advantageous and ornamental to the country,
possess, in the estimation of the antiquary and
poet, more than ordinary interest from the asso-
ciations connected with them ; for, besides be-
ing frequently mentioned in the pages of his-
tory, they have excited the encomiastic strains
of the Scottish lyrists, among the rest, those
of the author of the Seasons, who speaks of
the " parent stream whose banks first heard
his Doric reed." — With regard to the prime-
val character of Roxburghshire, we learn
that at the era of the fifth century, when the
Saxons came in upon the Romanized Britons,
the district was still covered by natural
woods and forests, and disfigured by wastes.
That these woods were almost universal, may
be understood from the very great number of
localities with the appellation of ivood, shaw,
birk, or aik, as well as the word kail, which, in
the British, signifies woods. Of the forests,
that of Jed was the chief, and remained long-
est in existence. The Saxons began to cut
down the trees of Roxburghshire, yet we find
that at the beginning of the Scoto- Saxon pe-
riod, in 1097, the whole extent of the shire
continued covered by them. The settlement
of barons and monks, however, now made a
sensible impression on the ancient character of
the country. The woods were gradually clear-
ed, the wastes improved, and cultivation intro-
duced. The mode practised of reclaiming the
cOuntry, as we learn from records, was almost
invariably this : A chief obtained a grant of
lands from the king ; and having fixed his fol-
lowers upon them, he built upon the manor a
church, a mill, a malt-kiln, and a brew-house.
At the places where these were pitched, most
likely a village sprung up ; and while the manor
was but partially subjected to the operations of
husbandry, the monks of the nearest abbey
came in for a share of the property, by free
gift of the proprietor. Such, it appears, was
an ordinary usage not only here, but in most
parts of the country. Under the rude polity
of the feudal barons, we generally find that

ROXBURGHSHIRE.

nor.

their followers or retainers lived in villages,
and that the arahle lands were possessed and
laboured in separate portions by individu-
als ; but that the pastures, the woodlands, the
peateries, and mosses were held in common.
The most common divisions of cultivated
lands in those times, were carucates or
plough-lands ; bovates, or oxgangs ; and hus-
band lands ; the more definite divisions by
acres being of a subsequent arrangement. The
earliest notice of a dairy in Scotland, of which
there is any record, was one settled at Cumber-
ley, upon Allan water, within the forest be-
tween the Gala and Leader, by the monks of
Melrose, under the authority of Malcolm IV.
(1 153-65.) The grant conveying this remark-
able gift, bestows the place " ad edificandum
unam vaccariam, centum vacarum et unam fal-
dam." Cliart. Mel. No. 56. It is discovered
from the chartularies of the Roxburghshire
monasteries, that in the twelfth century the
district produced great quantities of corn, and
the amount of barley which was then ground
at the mills, evinces the progress in the manu-
facture of grain. The vast number of brew-
ing-houses shows almost to a certainty that ale
must have been the beverage of nearly the
whole population. Every hamlet had its brac-
cina or brewhouse, and every village had two,
three or four, according to its population. Every
monastery had its own braccina, and its own
bakehouse. Under the intelligent monks, the
agriculture of Roxburghshire is known to have
arrived at considerable perfection ; and it is
generally understood that they introduced a
knowledge of horticulture. Whatever was
the degree of improvement in husbandry
through these and other means, the deso-
lating wars which ensued on the demise
of Alexander III. again ruined agriculture,
and produced an age of wretchedness, which
was scarcely dispelled after a space of three
hundred years. The era of the resuscitation of
agriculture in Roxburghshire, as in the adja-
cent counties, was about the end of the first
quarter of the eighteenth century. Before the
year 1743, the practice of draining, enclosing,
and summer fallowing, sowing flax, hemp,
rape, and grass-seeds, planting cabbages after,
and potatoes with the plough, in fields of great
extent, was generally introduced. Dr. John
Rutherford was the first who adopted, in 1747,
the sowing of turnips, yet a regular system of
cropping was not generally adopted here till

1753, when Mr. Dawson, a farmer, to whom
Roxburghshire owes much, for showing several
useful examples, began the practice of the tur-
nip husbandry. Sir Gilbert Elliot and Mr.
Dawson introduced marie as a manure in
1755, and in the same year lime was first laid
upon the land. In 1737, Mr. Rogers at
Cavers, introduced the fanners for winnowing
corn. In later times, Roxburghshire has kept
pace with the other counties in those extraor-
dinary improvements in the management of the
soil, and in the rearing of stock, for which
Scotland in general is now distinguished. In
a county so extensive and elevated, the propor-
tion of heath and moss is inconsiderable, and
these are gradually yielding, where circum-
stances admit, to the efforts of agricultural
skill and capital. In Liddisdale, indeed, there
is much mossy ground ; and a large track of
stubborn clay stretches from the south-west
skirt of Ruberslaw to the confines of that dis-
trict. But even in these districts dry and
sound soil greatly predominates. In the arable
land, the soil is of various quality and compo-
sition, consisting sometimes of a rich loam,
sometimes of sand and loam mixed, and some-
times of sand, gravel, and clay in various pro-
portions. The loam and rich soil is general-
ly found on low and level lands near the beds
of rivers and rivulets. The heavy clayey soil
chiefly occupies the higher ground ; the largest
part of it is immediately south of Eildon hills,
including the parishes of Minto, Lilliesleaf,
Bowden, Melrose, and a part of Ancrum,
Maxton, and Roxburgh. The extent of the
district of clay is supposed to be about 10,000
acres, of which about one-eighth part may
have been planted. About one-half of
the remaining part of this heavy soil
bears luxuriant crops of wheat and other
produce. In the parishes north of Tweed,
near Kelso, heavy soil is rather most preva-
lent, and is, in general, of good quality. An-
other portion of it runs along the higher grounds
south of Tweed, near Kelso. It appears from
Dr. Douglas' agricultural survey, that between
1760 and 1770, coal was discovered in the hill
called Carter Fell, in this county, near the
border of Northumberland ; but though wrought
for some time, it was abandoned as of little va-
lue. Another seam was subsequently found
near the south-eastern point of Liddisdale,
from which little benefit has been derived be-
yond that detached district. Various attempts

904

ROXBURGHSHIRE.

have been made to discover coal in different
places in the county ; but not one of them was
conducted on a scale adequate to the import-
ance of the object. The inhabitants are still
supplied with this valuable article from Dum-
fries-shire, Lothian, or Northumberland. The
manufactures of the shire are limited on account
of the absence of coal, and except in the fabrica-
tion of small woollen articles, such as lamb's wool
stockings at Hawick, and other places, there
is no staple article Of manufacture. Weekly
markets for the sale of grain, are regularly held
in Kelso, Jedburgh, and Hawick, in which
places corn is sold by sample on short credit.
The Kelso market is by far the most numer-
ously frequented, and is generally attended by
corn dealers from the port of Berwick, who
purchase for exportation to London, &c. Most
of the grain produced in this fruitful district is
delivered at Berwick, though a considerable
proportion is conveyed to Dalkeith by land
carriage, where it is always sold in bulk,' and
paid in ready money. One advantage of this
distant conveyance is, that the superior coal
and lime of Mid-Lothian are brought home in
the carts. In particular seasons, some portion
of the grain sold in Kelso market, which in-
cludes a considerable part of the produce of
Berwickshire and Northumberland, is sent to
the interior of the county westward for con-
sumption. There are various fairs held pe-
riodically in the county, the greatest of which
is that of St. Boswells, on the 18th of July,
on an extensive plain near the Tweed, for
lambs, sheep, black cattle, horses, linen, and
woollen cloth. The price of wool, with the
staplers who come from Yorkshire, and other
parts in the south, is generally fixed here, as
well as at Yetholm, and the Rink fair near
Jedburgh. St. James's fair is held on the
5th of August, on the green of ancient Rox-
burgh, now a part of the farm of Friars, op-
posite to Kelso. A great quantity of linen and
woollen cloth is here disposed of ; numbers of
horses and cattle are exposed to sale ; and bar-
gains are made between farmers and labour-
ers, either from the neighbourhood, or from
the Highlands and Ireland, for harvest
work. — Roxburghshire contains twenty-nine
complete parishes, and a part of four others.
The county possesses only one royal burgh,
namely, Jedburgh ; and two other towns,
Kelso and Hawick ; besides some villages, as
Melrose, Castletown, &c. The old valued

rent of Roxburghshire is believed to be greater
in proportion to its extent than that of any
other in Scotland. It amounts to L.314,633,
6s. 4d. Scots. The principal proprietors are
the Dukes of Roxburghe and Buccleugh, the
Marquises of Lothian and Tweeddale, Lord
Minto, and thefamilies of Scot, Ker,Elliot, Dou-
glas, Pringle, Rutherford, Don, &c. The coun-
ty contains many excellent mansions, the princi-
pal of which are Fleurs, the seat of the Duke of
Roxburghe; Mount- Tiviot, the seat of the
Marquis of Lothian ; Minto House, the seat of
the Earl of Minto ; the Pavilion, the seat of
Lord Somerville ; Springwood Park, the seat
of Sir John Scott Douglas ; Ancrum, the seat
of Sir William Scott ; Makerston, the seat of
Sir Thomas Brisbane Macdougal ; Abbots-
ford, the seat of Sir Walter Scott ; Stitchel,
the seat of Sir John Pringle ; Stobs and Wells,
the seats of Sir William F. Eliott ; Edgerston,
the seat of Mr. Rutherford ; Drygrange, the
seat of Mr. Tod ; Chesters, the seat of Mr.
Ogilvie ; Eildon Hall, the seat of Mr. Hen-
derson ; and Riddell House, the seat of Mr.
Sprott. The most interesting of these man-
sions is Abbotsford, a fine Gothic Castle, the
internal and external decorations of which cha-
racterise it as the 'residence of the poet and an-
tiquary of Scotland. But it is not merely in
his residence that Sir Walter has evinced his
taste and judgment. He has covered his ex-
tensive property with the most thriving and
judiciously laid out plantations ; and in im-
proving and planting his estate, he has set an
example which has greatly contributed to orna-
ment that beautiful portion of the valley of
the Tweed. — Population of Roxburghshire in
1831, males 19,408, females 21,484, total
40,892, being an increase since 1811 of 3662.

ROXBURGH, a parish in the above
county, lying on the south side of the river
Tweed opposite Kelso, and intersected from
south to north by the Tiviot. The pa-
rishes of Eckford and Crailing bound it on
the south, and it has Maxton and Makerston
on the west. It extends on an average
three miles southward from the Tweed, and
is about eight miles in length, but this includes
a projecting stripe at the south-west corner.
The country is here rather flat or sloping,
and being under the best processes of hus-
bandry, it is rich and pleasing in appearance.
The village of Roxburgh is situated near the
centre of the parish, not far from the left bank

ROXBURGH.

905

of the Tiviot. There is another village in
the district called High-town, on the road from
Kelso to Crailing.

Roxburgh, an ancient town and castle now
extinct in the parish of Kelso, county of Rox-
burgh, to which they have conveyed a name.
The old town, or city of Roxburgh, was situat-
ed over against Kelso, on a rising ground at the
west end of a fertile plain, which was formed in-
to a peninsula by the confluence of the rivers
Tweed and Tiviot. The new town was built a
little to the eastward of the old, and hence in
history is called the Easter Roxburgh. In the
time of David I. (1124-53), the town was
fortified by a wall and ditch, and was even then
famous for its schools, which were under the
superintendence of the abbot of Kelso. It
was also one of the first royal burghs created
by that monarch, and was governed by a pro-
vost or alderman and bailies. Here was like-
wise a mint ; for coins are still to be seen of
William the Lion, struck there ; and also some
of James II. Near old Roxburgh, on the
Tiviot side, there was a convent for monks of
the Franciscan order, of which no remains are
now to be seen ; but on its site stands a ham-
let called Friars. Roxburgh had the privilege
of an annual fair, called St. James's Fair,
which till this day is held on the place where
the town stood. The ancient castle of Rox-
burgh, or Rokesburgh, stood in the vicinity of
the town on an eminence near the termination
of the peninsula, and rising in an oblong figure
to a height of forty feet. At the south base
of the eminence flows the Tiviot, which by a
bend joins the Tweed, a short way below. A few
fragments of the wall, which seems to have
formed the exterior defence, are all that re-
main of this celebrated fortress. The extent
of the interior, from the number of tall trees
with which the site is overgrown, cannotnow be
ascertained with precision. History affords no
data by which to ascertain the period when this
fortress was first erected, but it is conjectured
that it was built by the Saxons while they held
the sovereignty of the Northumbrian kingdom,
of which the shire of Roxburgh was then a
province. The castle, during the reign of
Alexander I. was the residence of his brother
David, then Earl of Northumberland, who, up-
on his accession to the throne, constituted it a
royal palace, which it continued to be during
the reigns of several successive monarchs. Its
situation on the borders of the two kingdoms,

rendered the possession of it during the conti-
nued warfare, which for so many centuries de-
vastated both countries, of the first importance
to each of the contending parties. It there-
fore in general formed the first place of attack
on the breaking out of hostilities, and thereby
often changed masters. The limits of our work
prevent us from entering into a regular account
of the moving scenes of history in which Rox-
burgh castle formed so prominent an object,
and we therefore give merely a brief, though
not uninteresting, summary of events connected
with it. It appear to have figured as a state pri-
son as well as a palace. In 1134, Malcolm
M'Heth or M'Beth, a pretended son of
Angus, Earl of Moray, was confined in the cas-
tle as a rebel. In 1154 or 1156, Donald,
the son of this Malcolm, was imprisoned in the
same dungeon; and in 1 197, Harold, the Earl of
Caithness, with his son Torfin, were likewise
confined here. It seems the castle had been sur-
rendered by William the Lion to Henry II. as a
part of the high price of his freedom, but it was
restored by Richard in 1 189. Much of the town
of Roxburgh was burnt by accident in 1207, and
it was fired by King John during his retreat in
1216. In the year 1209, the bishop of Roches-
ter, who fled from England on account of the in-
terdict under which the kingdom had been laid
by the Pope, sought refuge in Roxburgh, where
he was munificently treated by King William,
On the 15th of May 1239, Alexander II.,
married Mary, the daughter of Ingelram de
Coucy, at Roxburgh, and on the 4th of Sep-
tember 1241, Alexander III. was born there.
Alexander III. resided at Roxburgh in Sep-
tember 1255, with Margaret, his queen, the
daughter of Henry III., whom he had espoused
in 1251 ; they were received with great
joy, after a grand procession to the church
of Kelso. In the course of the same year,
King Henry, father to the queen, paid them a
visit, which lasted fifteen or sixteen days, dur-
ing which he was treated with princely magni-
ficence. In 1266, Prince Edward, the bro-
ther of the queen, also visited Roxburgh, and
was magnificently entertained. In 1268, Ed-
ward returned to Roxburgh, bringing with him
Edmond his brother. The marriage contract
of the princess Margaret, with Eric, king ot
Norway, was settled at Roxburgh. In 1283,
the nuptials of Alexander, prince of Scotland
with Margaret, the daughter of the Earl of
Flanders, was solemnized here. The death of
5 z

906

ROXBURGH.

Alexander III., and the succeeding wars, entail-
ed on Roxburgh innumerable changes. The
castle was seized by Edward I., and in 1292
the court of King's Bench sat in it for some
time, — a fact in the history of Scotland well
worthy of remark. In 1296, the burgesses
and whole community of Roxburgh swore
fealty to Edward. While in the keeping of
the English monarch, the castle was besieged
by Sir William Wallace, who was forced to
abandon the siege by the approach of a su-
perior force. After the female relatives of
Bruce fell into the hands of the English, Ed-
ward treated them in a cruel manner, and
shut up Mary Bruce, his sister, in an iron cage,
erected in a turret of Roxburgh castle. In
1307, on Edward II. ascending the throne of
England, he came to Dumfries and Roxburgh to
receive the fealty of the Scottish chiefs. In
1310, Mary Bruce was released in exchange for
Walter Comyn, then a prisoner in Scotland.
In March 1312-13, Roxburgh castle was sur-
prised by the enterprise of Douglas, who soon
after, by his vigour, expelled the English from
Tiviotdale, except Jedburgh and some places
of smaller consequence. In thus seizing Rox-
burgh, Douglas used the most consummate ad-
dress. Having selected sixty of his most
resolute followers, he disguised them with
black frocks, that the glitter of their armour
might not betray them, and desired them cau-
tiously to draw near to the castle, approaching
on their hands and knees. Being at first mis-
taken for cattle by the sentinel, they reached
the top of the walls in safety by means of
ladders, and killing all before them, soon were
masters of the place. The castle was shortly
afterwards demolished by the order of Robert
Bruce. Though by the treaty of 1328, Ed-
ward III. relinquished all title to any part of
Scotland, yet in 1334, Edward Baliol, by an
insidious treaty, ceded the county of Rox-
burgh, with almost all the southern shires of
Scotland, to him. This rapacious sove-
reign now repaired all the fortifications of
the town and castle of Roxburgh, and in
1335 we find him spending his Christ-
mas in the castle. In 1341, Edward kept
his Christmas at Melrose Abbey, while the
Earl of Derby, his lieutenant, celebrated the
same festival at the castle of Roxburgh. Dur-
ing the truce which then existed, Sir William
Douglas and three other Scottish knights
visited Lord Derby, and there amused them-
3S.

selves with jousting, after having often met,
in hostile conflicts, during a long course of
warfare. In 1342, Sir Alexander Ramsay
of Dalhousie, one of the bravest and most
successful soldiers of the age, took the castle
from the English by escalade, for which great
service he was rewarded with the office ot
keeper of the fortress, and the sheriffdom of
Tiviotdale, but the envy of William Douglass
the knight of Liddisdale for this preferment, cost
him his life. (See Hawick.) The English re-
gained the castle of Roxburgh on the capture
of David II. in 1346, and they seemed to have
retained it till 1460, when James II. lost his
life in besieging it. It was then captured by
his widowed queen, Mary of Gueldres, and
delivered to the arms of the infant King,
James III., on condition of the garrison being
allowed to depart with arms and baggage. To
prevent its future occupancy by the English,
it was entirely demolished, being levelled with
the rock, and the adjacent town of Roxburgh
afterwards fell into ruins. From the demolition
of the castle and town of Roxburgh in 1460,
notwithstanding the frequent wars between
Scotland and England, there does not appear on
record any attempt, on the part of either king-
dom, to restore or rebuild this fortress, till
in the year 1547, during the reign of Edward
VI., when the Duke of Somerset, in invading
Scotland, being struck with the defensible cha-
racter of the site of the castle, partly restor-
ed the fortress, and lodged a garrison within
it ; but on the treaty of peace in 1550, it was
rendered up, and again completely demolished.
This incident closes the history of this remark-
able fortress, which had been the object of
contention for centuries. In the course of
years, every vestige of its former extent and
magnificence was obliterated, and in the pre-
sent day, as already mentioned, its site is
scarcely distinguishable from the surrounding
country. The name of Roxburgh has, how-
ever, been handed down to modern times as
the title of a Scottish dukedom of some note,
in the family of the Kers or Kerrs of Cess-
ford.* In the year 1499, James IV. confer-
red the site of the town and castle of Rox-

• The surname of Ker, Kerr, or Car, is very common
in the south of Scotland, especially on the eastern border,
and is derived from the British word Car, a castle or
strength. The Kers of Ferniehurst and Cessford, who
are sprung from the same root, are esteemed the heads of
the sept.

R U M.

907

burgh on Walter Ker of Cessford, a power-
ful border baron of Anglo-Norman lineage,
whose progenitors had settled in Scotland
in the thirteenth century. The house of'
Cessford was ennobled about the year 1600,
in the person of Sir Robert Ker, who was
created Lord Roxburgh, and in 1616 his lord-
ship was elevated to the condition of Earl
of Roxburgh, or Roxburghe, as the family
spell it. From this personage, the title
passed to his daughter Jean, who married the
Hon. Sir William Drummond, fourth son of
John, second Earl of Perth. Although this
marriage introduced a new line, the surname
of Ker was still retained. John, the third
Earl, was raised to a dukedom in the year
1707. The grandson of this nobleman was
John, -the third Duke of Roxburghe, who
appears to have been the most remarkable
of his race. His Grace was a most extra-
ordinary collector of old books, and originated
a club in London, called from him, the Rox-
burghe club, whose chief object is the collection
of rare works and articles of vertA. This no-
bleman died unmarried, and possessed of im-
mense wealth. It has been told, as a cause
for his celibacy, that, while on his travels, he
had formed an attachment to Christiana, eldest
daughter of the Duke of Mecklenburg Strelitz,
and that their nuptials would have taken place,
had not her sister Charlotte just at the time
been espoused to George III., when etiquette
interfered, it being not proper that the elder
should be subject to the younger sister, and so
the match was given up, though so strong was
their mutual attachment, that both afterwards
devoted themselves to celibacy. His Grace's
entailed estates and title of dvike devolved on
William, seventh Lord Bellenden, who was
sprung from the second Earl of Roxburghe, and
thus became fourth Duke of Roxburghe. This
nobleman, however, enjoyed his new honours
only for about a year, when he died without
heirs, and there then arose a well-remembered
competition for the titles and estates. After a
lengthened contest, the honours of the duke-
dom were conferred, in 1812, on Sir James
Lines Ker, as heir male of Margaret, daughter
of Harry, Lord Ker, — which Harry died in
1 643, after figuring in the troubles of the reign
of Charles I. The present, and sixth Duke of
Roxburghe, is the son of the fortunate claimant.
Besides the seat of Fleurs, the family has a

residence at Broxmouth in Haddingtonshire,
near Dunbar.

ROY, a river of Lochaber, in Inverness-
shire, tributary to the Spean, rising on the bor-
ders of Badenoch, near the source of the Spey,
and flowing along the bottom of the glen so
celebrated for the triple line of levels, termed
the parallel roads of Glenroy ; it falls into the
Spean, near the house of Keppoch. On an
eminence near its embouchure, called Mulroy,
was fought, towards the end of the seventeenth
century, the last feudal battle recorded in Scot-
tish history. The Macdonells of Keppoch,
who were tenants of the laird of Mackintosh
in Glenroy and Glenspean, having neglected
or refused to pay their rent, Mackintosh, at
the head of his vassals, attempted to enforce
payment, but, after a stubborn engagement,
was defeated by Keppoch and taken prisoner.

RUAIL, a small river in the district of
Cowal, Argyleshire.

RUBERSLAW, a hill in Roxburghshire,
in the parish of Bedrule, elevated 1419 feet
above the level of the sea.

RUDANAY, a small rocky islet on the
west coast of Mull.

RULE, a small river in Roxburghshire,
which rises on the borders of the parish of
Southdean, and after a course of about twenty
miles, falls into the Tiviot. It is reckoned a
good trouting stream.

RUM, an island of the Hebrides, belonging
to Argyleshire and the parish of Small Isles,
lying betwixt Eigg and Canna, at the distance
of fourteen miles direct north-west from Ard-
namurchan, which is the nearest port of the
mainland of Argyle. Rum measures about
seven and a half miles in length and breadth,
and is indented on the east side by an inlet of
the sea, called Loch Scresort. Its name is of
Scandinavian etymology, and signifies " spaci-
ous." The shores of the island are generally
precipitous, the cliffs being in most places so
abrupt as to be inaccessible from the sea.
The interior is one heap of rude mountains,
scarcely possessing an acre of level ground.
It is the wildest and most repulsive of all the
Western islands, but this unpromising appear-
ance, as we are told by travellers, is forgotten
by the stranger in the exceeding hospitality and
kindness of the inhabitants. In some places,
extensive surfaces of bare rock are divided into
polygonal compartments, so as to resemble the

908

RUTHVEN.

grand natural pavements of Staffa, but with an
effect infinitely more striking. Loch Scresort
is without interesting features or character ; the
acclivities ascending gently from a flat and
straight shore. The island is said to have a
stormy and rainy atmosphere, " the bitter
wreathing winds with boisterous blasts," as
Macculloch mentions, seeming here to have
set up their throne, and the place appearing to
possess aprivate winter of its own, even in what
the islanders call summer. From the hilly na-
ture of the island, it is much better fitted for
pasture than tillage, and feeds a great quantity
of sheep Population in 1821, 394.

RU-STOIR, a promontory in Assynt,
Sutherlandshire.

RUTHERGLEN, a parish in Lanarkshire,
lying on the left or south bank of the Clyde,
opposite the barony parish of Glasgow. On
the south it has the parish of Cambuslang. It
extends about three miles in length, by one
and a half in breadth. The whole is of a level
nature, and well cultivated and enclosed. It
possesses a number of fine villas or country
residences. Coal and freestone abound.

RUTHERGLEN, or RUGLEN, as it
is commonly called, a royal burgh, and ancient
small town, in the above parish, situated at
the distance of two and a half miles south-east
from Glasgow, and nine west from Hamilton.
It has been said that the town was first built
by Reuther, one of the early kings of Scotland,
although it would, we think, be difficult to
prove that there was ever such a personage.
The name is with more likelihood derived from
the British Ruth-ir-glan. signifying " the red-
dish coloured land on the bank of the river. " The
town was erected into a royal burgh by David
I., about the year 1126. Its privileges and
immunities, as appears from the charters yet
extant, were very great. These, however, were
gradually diminished, as the neighbouring towns
rose into consequence, and the town itself seems
to have been unable to make head against the
commercial prosperity of the city of Glasgow,
which intercepted the navigation of the Clyde,
and otherwise ruinei2 its trade. At one period it
possessed a castle which was of some note from
the sieges it endured during the troublesome
age of Robert Bruce, but the structure was
wholly demolished by the Regent's party, after
the battle of Langside. Whatever was the
original size or character of this ancient burgh,

the town now consists of only one principal
street and a few lanes, and is undistinguished
by any staple manufacture. No burgh in
Britain enjoys a more free and unembarrassed
election of magistrates and council, which, how-
ever, was not procured without considerable
trouble to the community. Like all other
Scottish royal burghs, Rutherglen was ancient-
ly under the direction of a self-elected magis-
tracy, many of whom lived at a distance, and
continued in office without interruption. Ne-
gligence and undue influence had brought
the affairs of the burgh into a state of dis-
order, so that the inhabitants were excited
to apply a remedy to the evil. The commun-
ity, by the charters, were empowered to elect
their magistracy, but through lapse of time, this
right, which it was the object of the burgesses
to restore, had become obsolete. Great op-
position was made to the plan adopted by the
burgesses, but they prosecuted it with unremit-
ting assiduity, and at length were crowned with
success. They formed a new set of the burgh
upon liberal principles, which, in 1671, was
approved of by all the inhabitants of the town,
and by the convention of royal burghs. The
burgh is governed by a provost, two bailies, a
treasurer, and fifteen councillors. It contains
a prison, where a monthly court is held, and
unites with Glasgow, Renfrew, and Dumbar-
ton in electing a member of parliament Ru-
therglen gives the title of Earl to the mar-
quis of Queen sberry. The fairs of this town
have long been noted for a great shew of horses,
particularly the Lanarkshire breed, which are
esteemed the best draught horses in Scotland ;
they are held on the last Friday in April, the
first Tuesday in May after Trinity Sunday,
the third Friday] in \ July and August, the
third Monday in October, and the third Fri-
day in November, all old style. Some other
horse markets throughout Scotland are regulat-
ed by those fairs. — In 1821, the populaton of
Rutherglen was about 1800, including the pa-
rish, 4640.

RUTHVEN, a parish in the western boun-
dary of Forfarshire, situated on the north side
of the vale of Strathmore, bounded on the east
and chiefly on the north by Airly ; it extends
about two and a half miles in length, by about
two in general breadth. The river Isla, af-
ter running along part of its northern boun-
dary, intersects it from north to south, and at

R Y ' N D.

009

its south-western extremity enters Perthshire.
The greater part of the district is arable, and is
well enclosed and ornamented with plantations.
Anciently there was a castle called Ruthven
in that part of the parish east of the Isla,
which was at one period the seat of the Earls
of Crawford, who were large proprietors in
Angus. Having become completely ruinous, the
castle was taken down in the last century, and
near its site has been built a modern mansion,
styled Isla Bank— Population in 1821, 313.

RUTHVEN, a small river in Perthshire,
which rises in the parish of Blackford, near the
house of Gleneagles, and falls into the
Earn, nearly a mile east of the village of Auch-
terarder.

RUTHWELL, a parish in the southern
part of Dumfries-shire, lying on the Solway
Firth, separated by the Lochar water from
Caerlaverock on the west ; bounded by Mous-
wald and Dalton on the north, and Cummer-
trees on the east. It measures about two and
a half miles in breadth inland, by five miles in
length. The ground enjoys a fine southerly
exposure, and the soil is in general fertile. It
is now in some places ornamented by planta-
tions. The inhabitants of this parish are cele-
brated for having once made salt in a pecu~
liar way. They used to collect the surface
of the sand upon the beach, which was
strongly impregnated with salt, and, pour-
ing water upon it, caused the saline matter
to filter through a pit. They then boiled
the water, thus doubly impregnated, and pro-
duced a coarse article fit for salting meat or
fish. King James II., on his way back to
England in 1617, saw them working at their
pits, and was so pleased with the ingenuity and
originality of the practice, that he granted them
an immunity from taxation ; and they were
regularly exempted from all acts relative to
salt-duties till the Union. It is remembered,
that, notwithstanding the king's kindness, none
of the individuals who devoted themselves to
the manufacture, prospered so much as those
who applied to a more steady though less pro-
mising employment. So true it is, that there
is no mode of acquiring wealth successful in
the long-run, but that which, besides being
urged by strenuous activity, is supported by
monotonous perseverance. The shore is here
graced by the little sea-bathing village of Brow,
where, it will be remembered, Burns spent se-

veral of the last weeks of his existence. The
garden of the manse contains an object of no
small curiosity. It consists of the fragments of
a Runic monument, which is said to have been
brought from heaven, and planted here, before
a church existed upon the spot. The church
was built over it some time after, in conse-
quence of the worship which the people paid
to it, or upon the principle of the Santa Casa
of Loretto, to prevent the venerated object
from taking another flight. It was broken
down from its place in the church, by order of
the General Assembly of 1644, who were
scandalized at the respect then still paid to
it by the inveterate prejudice of the people.
The village of Ruthwell, formerly a long
straggling place on both sides of the road
from Portpatrick to England, has been in
recent times rebuilt by the Earl of Mansfield,
who is the proprietor of the greater part of the
parish. The town is a barony, and is privi-
leged to hold markets and fairs. — Population
in 1821, 1285.

RYAN, (LOCH)an inlet of the sea on the
west coast of Wigtonshire, which is projected
inland, in a south-easterly direction, a distance
of about ten miles. For several miles inland
it is no more than one and a half miles in
breath, but it afterwards expands to nearly
three miles across. At low water long sandy
reaches are left dry, especially at the upper
extremity. The whole bay affords excellent
anchorage, particularly opposite to the village
of Cairn, at Portmore, the Wig, the bay of
Soleburn, the bay of Dalmennock, and the
harbour of Stranraer. There is now a public
road round nearly the whole loch.

RYE, a small river in the northern part of
the district of Cunningham, Ayrshire, which,
after a southerly direction of a few miles, falls
into the Garnock, half a mile above the village
of Dairy.

RYND, or RHYND, a parish in the lower
part of Strathearn, Perthshire, lying betwixt
the Tay and the Earn at the confluence of these
rivers. The Tay separates it from Kinnoul
and Kinfauns on the north, while the Earn
divides it from Abernethy. On the west it
has Dumbarny and Perth. The parish mea-
sures four miles in length, by one in breadth.
The surface is flat and fertile, and is well en-
closed. Near the Tay stands the old castle of
Elcho — Population in 1821, 426.

910

SALINE.

SAARTAY, an islet of the Hebrides in
the Sound of Harris.

SADDEL and SKIPNESS, a united pa-
rish in Argyleshire, situated at the inner extre-
mity of the peninsula of Cantire, and lying on
the coast of Loch Fyne. It extends about twen-
ty-five miles in length, by an average of two
in breadth. The surface is in general rough
and hilly, and better adapted for pasture than
tillage ; but on the sea-coast and in the glens,
there are considerable fields of arable land.
Near the coast, at the distance of about eight
miles north from Cambellton Loch, stands
the house or castle of Saddel, and near it the
ruins of an abbey once of considerable note.
We are informed by Keith that the abbey of
Sadael, or Sadagal, was founded by Reginal-
ds, son of Somerled, lord of the Isles, who
was defeated and slain at Renfrew in the year
1164. The founder mortified thereunto the
lands of Glensaddil and Baltebun, together
with the lands of Casken in the isle of Arran.
Sir Duncan Campbell of Loci ; we, who was
created Lord Campbell in 1 445, mortified also
to the abbey the lands of Blairantibert in the
shire of Argyle, " pro salute animae suae," &c.
James IV. annexed the abbacy to the bishopric
of Argyle in 1507. At the mouth of Loch
Fyne, on the west side, is Skipness point, where
stands Skipness castle, a building of great size
and antiquity. — Population in 1821, 2191.

ST. ANDREWS, an ancient university
town in Fife. See Andrews. (St.)

ST. ANDREWS, a parish in Orkney,
united to Deerness. See Deerness and St.
Andrews.

ST. ANDREWS LHANBRYD, a parish
in the county of Moray ; it is composed of
two ancient divisions, that of St. Andrews and
Lhanbryd — the latter word signifying the
church of St. Bridget. It lies on the shore of
the Moray Firth, and is bounded on the east
by Uiquhart, on the south by Elgin, and on
the west by the Lossie, which divides it from
Drainie. It measures about three miles from
west to east, and from north to south upwards
of four. The general appearance of the coun-
try is a plain, in which several low hills rise,
of an arable and productive nature. — Popula-
tion in 1821, 934.

ST. CUTHBERTS, a parish adjoining
*nd partly included in the city of Edinburgh.
i?ee Edinburgh, page 865.

ST. CYRUS, otherwise called Eccles-
craig, a parish in the southern part of Kin-
cardineshire, lying partly on the sea shore;
bounded partly on the west by the North
Esk river, on the north-west by Marykirk,
on the north by Garvock, and on the east
by Benholm. It measures about five miles in
length, by three in breadth. The surface is
tolerably level, but it is intersected by several
dens and rivulets, and is elevated in some places
into little hills. More than three-fourths of
the whole is arable. The ruins of the Kame
of Mathers, an ancient residence, stands on a
peninsulated perpendicular rock, the base of
which is washed by the sea. The castles of
Morphy and Laurieston are also ancient build-
ings. There are two villages, Millton and St
Cyrus, the former of which is situated on the
coast, St. Cyrus, with the church, stands betwixt
the coast and the road from Montrose, which
passes through the district. — Population in
1821, 1641.

ST. FERGUS, a parish in Aberdeenshire
See Fergus (St.)

ST. KILDA, a remote Hebridean isle. See
Kilda (St.)

ST. MADGES, a small parish in Perth-
shire. See Madoes (St.)

ST. MARTINS, a parish in Perthshire.
See Martins (St.)

ST. MONANCE, a parish and town in
Fife. See Monance (St.)

ST. M UN GO, a parish in Dumfries-shire.
See Mungo (St.)

ST. NINIANS, a parish and town in Stir-
lingshire. See Ninians (St.)

ST. QUI VOX, a parish in Ayrshire. See
Qui vox (St.)

ST. VIGEANS, a parish in Forfarshire.
See Vigeans (St.)

SAGAY, an islet of the Hebrides, near ]
Harris.

SALINE, a parish in the western extre-
mity of Fife, bounded on the south by Carnock
and Dunfermline, and by the latter with Cleish
on the east. It extends about seven miles in
length, and is nearly six broad at the middle.
The eastern half of the parish is rather ele-
vated, and contains some conspicuous hills,
called the Saline hills. The western division
is level or sloping, and in a few places is plant-
ed. The parish is partly arable and partly
pastoral. In the low grounds west from the

S A L T O N.

911

Saline hills stands the parish church, and a small
village, at the distance of six miles north-west
of Dunfermline. — Population in 1821, 1123.

SALISBURY CRAGS, a remarkable
lull, the west side of which is precipitous, over-
hanging the south part of the city of Edin-
burgh. See Edinburgh.

SALTCOATS, a sea-port town in Ayr-
shire, situated partly in the parish of Steven-
ston and partly in that of Ardrossan, at the
distance of seventy-four miles from Edinburgh,
fourteen from Kilmarnock, thirteen from
Largs, seven from Irvine, twenty-eight from
Greenock, thirteen from Troon, and one from
Ardrossan. About a hundred and seventy
years ago, Salt-cots, or Saltcoats, consisted of
only four little cottages or cots, inhabited by as
many families, who gained a livelihood by mak-
ing salt in kettles ; but at the beginning of the
last century, a harbour being erected for ship-
ping coal from the great coal tract which per-
vades the neighbourhood, the little hamlet be-
gan to assume the appearance of a village, but
it is only in recent years that it has risen to
any note. About the year 1700, the place be-
coming the property of Sir Robert Cunning-
ham, he erected the harbour to facilitate the
export of coal ; and he further built several
large pans for the manufacture of salt, of which
a very great quantity has been made here. The
trade of ship-building was carried on also with
success ; and in the twenty-six years, ending in
1790, there were built no fewer than sixty- four
vessels of the aggregate tonnage of 7095, value
upwards of L. 70,000 sterling. Since that period
the trade of the port has considerably increased.
The exportation of coals to Ireland forms a
chief branch of commerce ; and there are some
hundreds of looms in the town employed in
weaving for the Paisley and Glasgow manufac-
turers. The general appearance of the town
is far from prepossessing ; but its situation and
proximity to Ardrossan, the arrival and depar-
ture of the trading vessels, and the passing and
repassing of the different steam-boats, all con-
tribute to give life to the place. In the town
are a number of benefit and religious so-
cieties, schools, and libraries. There are like-
wise two congregations of the United Asso-
ciate, and one of the Relief Synod. The
town continues in a thriving condition, and the
more so probably from the absence of those
burgal magistracies, and their taxations on com-
merce, which usually afflict Scottish towns of

,an old standing. — In 1821, the population of
Saltcoats was 3413.

SALTERNESS, a small seaport village
in the parish of Kirkbean, stewartry of Kirk-
cudbright, which is resorted to for sea-bathing
quarters in the summer months. At the head-
land of Salterness a light-house is erected, the
light of which is stationary and of the natural
appearance. It is chiefly useful as a direction
to the harbour of Dumfries.

SAL TON, a parish in Haddingtonshire,
bounded by Pencaitland on the west, Glads-
muir on the north, Bolton on the east, and
Humbie on the south ; extending three and a
half miles in extreme length from north to
south, by three in breadth at the widest part.
The parish lies chiefly in a fine fertile vnlley on
the north side of the Lammermoor hills, and
besides being well enclosed and cultivated,
possesses extensive and beautiful planta-
tions. The small river Tyne partly bounds it
on the west and south. There are two small
villages, named, from their relative situation.
East and West Salton. Salton-hall, the seat
of the family of Fletcher in the parish, was
formerly a place of considerable strength, being
regularly fortified. It has been highly improv-
ed and modernized in recent times. Near
it is Hermandston, the property of Lord
Sinclair, also an ancient building. Jt is wor-
thy of remark, that the celebrated Bishop
Burnet had Salton for his first benefice, and it
is still more worthy of notice, that he here used
the only copy of the book of common prayer
known to have existed in the Episcopal church
of Scotland during the reign of Charles II.
This eminent churchman and historian of his
own times, bequeathed a valuable library
to the parish, besides a considerable sum for
the education of a certain number of children.
This parish gave birth to a person as eminent,
Andrew Fletcher, the patriotic statesman who
was so resolute in his opposition to the Union,
Going over to Holland in 1700, this person
took with him James Meikle, (a man of con-
siderable skill in mechanics at that period, and
father of Andrew Meikle, inventor of the
threshing machine, who were both natives of
this parish,) and brought back models of a
barley-mill, fanners for cleaning corn, and the
art of weaving and bleaching Holland cloth.
Strange to tell, the barley mill was the only
one in Britain for forty years, and the fanners
for nearly the same period About the year

912

SANDAY.

1 750, the first bleachfield of the British Linen
Company was formed under the patronage of
another Andrew Fletcher, then distinguished
as the Justice- Clerk Milton. Of all these
manufactories, there are now no remains, ex-
cept a small bleachfield, the barley mill, a
starch work, and a paper mill. — Population in
1821,834.

SAND A, a small island of the Hebrides
belonging to Argyleshire, situated near the
outer extremity of the peninsula of Cantire,
and ecclesiastically attached to the parish of
Southend. It measures about a mile and a
half in length, and half a mile in breadth. It
possesses a small but good natural harbour,
useful for the launching or landing of boats.
In former days, this anchorage was of far more
importance than it is now ; Sanda having been
a common station for the Scandinavian fleets
during the contests so long carried on for the
possession of Cantire and the neighbouring
islands. The name Avona, by which it was
known, is a corruption of the Danish Hqfn, a
haven. Its more modern name, Sanda, is
also of Scandinavian origin, and signifies the
sand island. In subsequent ages, when the
spirit of monachism spread over the Western
Islands, it contained a religious establishment,
dedicated, like most of those in this part of
Scotland, to St. Cohimba; and the remains
of the chapel, named after St Annian, are still
visible, together with two crosses of rude
design, and sundry ancient grave stones, sculp-
tured, as was usual in early ages, with the
different achievements of their long peaceful
tenants. " Of the very few superstitions
which it was my fortune to meet in my High-
land peregrinations," says Macculloch, " I
found one here, but I knew not that those who
wanted to persuade me of its truth believed it
themselves. Whoever shall step across the
prostrate trunk of an old elder tree which lies
in this burying ground, will die before the year
expires ! The burying ground of Sanda is still
used for its original purpose ; but like all those
I have seen in the Highlands, it presents the
usual marks of neglect ; being unenclosed and
covered with weeds and rubbish, and the grave
stones being broken, neglected, and defaced by
the tread of cattle." The island is partly cul-
tivated, but it is chiefly of a pastoral nature.
It possesses an excellent house for the pro-
prietor, and abounds in game and every other
thing which can be useful to a family, if we ex-

cept foreign luxuries. Its shores and rivulets
abound in the most exquisite fish. Between
this and the main land the sea is extremely tur-
bulent and dangeious; and for two or three
months in the year the island cannot be ap-
proached by a small boat. There are two small
islets on the east side, which feed a few sheep.

SANDA, an islet of the Hebrides, in the
district of Small Isles, lying about half a mile
from Canna.

SANDAY, or SANDEY, an island of
Orkney, being among the most northerly of the
group, lying north-east from Eday, north from
Stronsay, and south from North Ronaldshay. It
is of a very irregular form, and by the deep in-
dentations of the sea, it has three distinct limbs
or peninsulae. Its length is about twelve miles ;
but its mean breadth is not more than a mile
and a half. With the exception of a ridge of
about 250 or 300 feet high, at its western side,
the isle is extremely flat. It has a light sandy
soil, which is remarkably fertile ; and it is much
better cultivated than any other Orkney island.
The crops are not so subject to blight from sea-
spray, as in those islands with precipitous shores;
and its flat coasts afford a plentiful supply of
sea-weed for manure. The farmers are of a
superior class ; and it is not only the granary of
Orkney, but produces about one-fifth of all the
kelp made in this country ; it is however totally
destitute of fuel, and the expense of transporting
peats from other islands, reduces many of the
poorer inhabitants to use dried cow dung and
sea-weed as fuel. The flatness of the land,
and the extensive shoals which line its coasts,
have made Sanday the terror of sailors ; but the
recent erection of a light-house on the Start
Point, has diminished the number of ship-
wrecks of late years. The sea appears here to
have encroached on the land, and high tides
threaten to sever it between Otterswick and
Kettletoft. The former bay, a corruption of
Odinswick, is traditionally believed to have
been a wooded plain overwhelmed by the sea.
A remarkable isolated mass of granite or gneiss,
about fourteen tons in weight, lies on the sand-
stone flag formation, near the church of Bur-
ness. It probably was transported by some
such accident as removed the ancient land-
mark near Castle Stewart in Inverness-shire.
The antiquities of Sanday consist of one oi two
ruined chapels, and some considerable Picts'
houses. The island is divided into two paro-
chial divisions. The first includes the ancient

SANQUHAR.

913

parishes of Cross, Burness, and North Ro-
naldshay, and the second is that of Ladykirk.
— In 1821, the population of these parishes,
exclusive of North Ronaldshay, was 1860 ; the
population of North Ronaldshay was 480.

SANDEND, a small sea port village in the
parish of Fordyce, Banffshire, situated about
four miles from the town of Portsoy.

SANDER A, a small island of the He-
brides, in the district of Barra, belonging to
Inverness-shire. It lies about five miles dis-
tant from Barra, and measures about two
miles in length and breadth.

SANDNESS, a parish in the western part
of the Mainland of Shetland, now united with
Walls, Papastour and Fowla in forming a
parochial district. See Walls and Sand-

NESS.

SAND STING, a parish- in the western
part of the Mainland of Shetland now incorpo-
rated with Aithsting, from which it is partially
divided on the east by Bigseter Voe. See
Aithsting.

SANDWICK, a parish in Shetland, being
the middle division of the peninsula projected
southward from the Mainland, on the out-
er extremity of which is the parish of Dun-
rossness. Sandwick is now incorporated with
Dunrossness and Cunningsburgh. See Dun-

ROSSNESS.

SANDWICK, a parish of Orkney now
united with Stromness. See Stromness.

SANDYHILLS, a small village in the
barony parish of Glasgow, situated about three
miles east from that city.

SANQUHAR, a parish near the head of
Nithsdale, Dumfries- shire, bounded by Kirk-
connel on the north-west, and Penpont and
Durisdeer on the south and south-east. It
lies across Nithsdale from one side of the
county to the other, in which direction it mea-
sures fifteen miles, by a breadth varying from
two and a half to six. While the central part
is the vale of the Nith, the sides are composed
, of hilly grounds intersected with minor vales,
through which pour small tributary streamlets
to the main river. The chief of these tribu-
taries on the west is the Euchan water, and that
on the east is the Minnick water. The low-
er parts of the parish adjoining these waters are
arable, and in some places finely planted ; the
hilly territory is pastoral. A road leads up
Nithsdale along the left bank of the Nith, and
on this thoroughfare, near the head of the pa-

rish, stands the town of Sanquhar. The pa-
rish contains also the village of Wanlockhead,
at which are certain lead mines. See Wan-
lockhead.

Sanquhar, a royal burgh, and an an-
cient town in the above parish, situated, as just
mentioned, on the line of road up the left bank
of the Nith, betwixt the county of Dumfries
and Ayr, at the distance of twenty-seven miles
from Dumfries, fifty-six from Glasgow, thirty-
two from Ayr, and fifty-six from Edinburgh.
The town of Sanquhar, owes its origin, most
probably, to a castle of considerable note and
importance, whose ruins are now extant at a
short distance to the south-east, on a high
bank overlooking the river Nith. This castle
was the chief residence of the Queensberry
family before William, the first Duke, built the
noble mansion of Drumlanrig, in which he
slept only one night ; for being taken ill, and
unable to make any of his attendants hear him
or come to his assistance, he retired in disgust
from it, to his castle 'of Sanquhar, where he
continued to reside during the remainder of his
life. His son not having the same predilec-
tion for this castle, it was neglected, and suf-
fered to be stript of its leaden roof, while its
materials were taken for other buildings ;
so that, in the course of time, not a trace of
its former magnificence, save in its gaunt ruins,
remained. Grose, who visited it in the course
of his antiquarian tour, remarks that its stone
has thus been " extremely convenient for
erecting houses in the town of Sanquhar." It
seems that Sanquhar castle was originally an
erection and the property of the Lords ot
Sanquhar, from whom it went by purchase
into the Queensberry family. The first lords
of Sanquhar that we meet with on record were
the Ross, or Roos family, cadets of the ancient
and powerful Earls of Ross, and Lords of the
Isles. Robert de Ross was the last of this
ancient line, and his daughter and co-heiress
Isobel de Ross, married William, son of Tho-
mas, Lord of Creighton, who flourished in the
reign of Robert Bruce. This William, Lord
Creighton, died about the year 1360, and left
a son and successor by Isobel de Ross, who
was Lord of Sanquhar. Sir William Douglas
purchased this estate and castle from the
Creighton family, and in 1630 obtained a
charter under the great seal of Scotland for the
same. The town of Sanquhar, which consists
chiefly of one main street, has been indebted
6a

914

SANQUHAR.

to the family of Queensberry for a variety of
improvements. The great road from Dumfries
to Ayr, which runs through the town, was in a
great measure the work, during the last cen-
tury, of the late Duke of Queensberry, who
first cut this line of road through his estate, for
atleast the space of twenty-two miles, at an ex-
pense of L.1500 ; his Grace also cut the cross
road from this along the Minnick to the utmost
boundary of the county, leading to Edinburgh,
which cost L.600 ; he likewise made the road
leading to a lime-work at Corsincon, which cost
him L.300. Sanquhar has been known as a
seat of the woollen manufacture, but has been
principally indebted to the trade in coal, of
which the district abounds. It lately possessed
two breweries, a tan work, and a carpet manu-
factory. About a mile from it stands the
house of Elliock, the residence of the fa-
mily of Veitch, which gave a senator to the
College of Justice last century. The town
possesses a subscription library and a free
mason's lodge. The old church being taken
down, the present one was erected on its site
in 1823; it is a very handsome building with
a square tower, and stands on a rising ground
at the west end of the town. There are also
two meeting-houses of the United Secession
church and a Baptist chapel. Sanquhar pos-
sesses a town-hall, which was built at the sole
expense of the late Duke of Queensberry, just
noticed ; it stands at the end of the High
Street, and has a tower and clock. The town
was created, or rather re-created, a burgh of
barony in 1484, and in 1596 was erected a
royal burgh by James VI. It is governed by
a provost, three bailies, a dean of guild, trea-
surer, and eleven councillors. It joins with
the burghs of Dumfries, Annan, Kirkcudbright,
and Lochmaben, in electing a member of par-
liament. The town may hold five fairs, four of
which are quarterly, and are held on the first
Fridays in February, May, August, and Nov-
ember, old style; the fifth, which is of the
greatest note, is held on the second Friday in
July, and is called the wool fair. — In 1821, the
population of Sanquhar was about 1250, in-
cluding the parish, 2320, but this excludes
Wanlockhead, which had a population of 706.

SARK, a small river on the borders of
Scotland and England, which rises in the par-
ish of Cannoby and district of Half- Morton,
Dumfries-shire, between which it forms a line
of division, continuing to flow in a southerly
39.

direction ; it next bounds the parish of Gretna
from Cumberland, and is altogether the border
boundary for a distance of six or seven miles.
It falls into the Solway at a village called Sark-
foot, about a mile eastward from the mouth of
the small river Kirtle. During the heats of
summer the Sark is sometimes nearly dried up.

SARK, (BLACK) a rivulet in the district
of Half- Morton, tributary to the Sark.

SARKFOOT, a small village and sea-port
in the parish of Gretna, Dumfries-shire, at
the mouth of the Sark, above mentioned, and
lying on the Solway near its inner extremity.
There is here a tolerably good harbour for
vessels of moderate burden.

SATIE'S-HEAD, a promontory in Aber-
deenshire, near Peterhead.

SAUCHIE, (New and Old) populous
villages, almost conjoined, in the parish of
Alloa, county of Clackmannan, lying about
two miles north of Alloa — they are prin-
cipally inhabited by colliers, employed in
Lord Mar's coal mines. A handsome school
house was built by the late benevolent Mr.
Erskine of Mar.

SAUCHIE-BURN, a place in the parish
of St. Ninians, Stirlingshire, at which a battle
was fought in the year 1488, which occasioned
the death of James III., and the accession of
his son, James IV.

SCALLOWAY, a sea-port village in the
parish of Tingwall, Shetland, lying on the
west coast, nearly opposite Lerwick on the
east. It possesses a good harbour. Near the
village, stands the ruin of Scalloway castle,
which has obtained an evil celebrity from be-
ing an erection and residence of Patrick Stew-
art, the tyrannical Earl of Orkney and Shetland.
The castle was begun to be built about the
year 1600, in consequence of the house which
the previous earl had reared having given
way from its sandy and insecure foundation.
The erection of this baronial residence in its
stead, was accomplished only through the most
oppressive measures. A tax was laid upon
each parish in the country, obliging the Shet-
landers to find as many men as were requisite
for the building, as well as provisions for the
workmen. The penalty for not fulfilling this
requisition was forfeiture of property. Mr.
Pitcairn, the minister of the parish of North-
maven at the time, came to pay his respects
to the lord of the new mansion, and the
earl desired him to suggest a motto for this

SCAREA.

9li

gateway. This was an occasion of which the
minister availed himself to lay before the foun-
der of the castle the sinful enormity of that
oppression which had enforced its completion.
The earl's wrath was kindled, and in his rage
he threatened the derout pastor with imprison-
ment ; but afterwards, Mr. Pitcairn said to
him, " Well, if you will have a verse, here is
one from Holy Scripture, — " That house which
is built upon a rock shall stand, — but built upon
the sand it will fall !" Earl Patrick would not
receive the motto in its moral sense, but ap-
plied it to the cause which first led to the
building of the new castle. " My father's
house was built upon the sandy shores of
Sumburgh ; its foundations have given way,
and it will fall ; but Scalloway Castle is con-
structed upon a rock, and will stand." Ac-
cordingly, upon the lintel stone of the gate ap-
pears the following inscription ; " Patricius
Steuardus, Orcadise et Zetlandiae Comes,
I. V. R. S. Cujus fundamen saxum est, Dom.
ilia manebit, Labilis e contra, si sit arena perit.
A.D. 1600." Scalloway Castle is a square
formal structure, composed of freestone brought
from Orkney, and of the fashion of many
houses of a similar date in Scotland ; it is three
stories high, the windows being of a very am-
ple size ; on the summit of each angle of the
building is a small handsome round turret.
Entering the mansion by an insignificant door-
way, over which are the remains of the Latin
inscription, we pass by an excellent kitchen
and vaulted cellars, while a broad flight of steps
leads above to a spacious hall ; the other cham-
bers however are not large. The oastle is now
a mere shell.

SCARS OCK, a ridge of moun tains, forming
part of the Grampian range, in the parish of
Crathy, in Marr ; they separate the counties
of Aberdeen and Perth, and rise to a height
of 3500 feet above the level of the sea.

SCALPA, a small island of the Hebrides,
lying on the east side of the isle of Skye, from
which it is separated by a strait called Scalpa
Sound. The island of Raasay lies about two
and a half miles to the north. Scalpa is of an
oval figure, measuring about five miles long, and
from two to three broad. The surface is hilly,
rocky, and generally of a barren nature. The
Sound of Scalpa abounds in oysters, which have
the peculiarity of being black in colour, as is
the shell ; sometimes they are of a paler co-
lour, so as to resemble diluted ink. They ap-

pear to be only a variety of the common kind,
deriving that appearance from the dark mud
in which they are bred. The word Scalpa
signifies a cave.

SCALPA FLOW, or BAY, a large bay
or expanse of water at Orkney, on the south of
the Mainland, and having the islands of Ear-
ray and South Ronaldshay on the east, and
the island of Hoy on the west. The chief
entrance is from the Pentland firth on the
south, by Holme Sound. Being land-locked
by the various islands around it, and measuring
about fifty miles in circumference, it forms a
large inland sea, capable of sheltering any num-
ber of ships. It abounds in excellent road-
steads for vessels.

SCALP AY, a small island of the Hebrides,
lying in East Loch Tarbet, on the east side of
Harris. It is low and covered with heath.

SCARBA, a small island of the Hebrides,
belonging to Argyleshire, and the district of
Jura and Colonsay, lying at the north end of
the island of Jura, from which it is divided by
the gulf of Coryvreckan. Scarba, which is
about three miles long, is little else than a sin-
gle mountain, of an elegant form, rising
suddenly out of the sea, to the height of
fifteen hundred feet or more ; conspicuous
from afar, and from all quarters, no less from
its altitude than its figure. The surface is
rude and rocky, and towards the west in par-
ticular, it is cut down perpendicularly, by rug-
ged precipices of many hundred feet in height.
The east side forms one of the most striking
and romantic objects on this coast. The sea-
line, receding in a beautifully regular curve,
produces a bay from which the land rises
with a rapid and uniform acclivity, diversified by
projecting rocks, and covered with alight scat-
tered forest of birch and alder, which, in the
landscape, has all the effect of the finest wood.
The island supports a few families.

SCARPA, a small island of the Hebrides,
lying on the west side of Harris, from which
it is separated by a Strait called Scarpa Sound.
The island is rocky and conical in appearance.

SCARR, a small river in Nithsdale, Dum-
ffies-shire, rising on the borders of Ayrshire,
and, after a course of about twenty-five miles
through the parishes of Penpont, Tynron, and
Keir, falling into the Nith about a mile below
the church of Keir.

SCARVAY, an islet of the Hebrides near
Harris.

91-6

SCONE.

SCATAVAGH BAY, an indentation of
the sea on the east coast of Harris, being the
next inlet south of East Loch Tarbert.

SCAVIG,(LOCH) a remarkable inlet of
the sea, on the south-west coast of the Isle of
Skye. It is narrow, but deep, and surrounded
by lofty and steep mountains, which exclude
half of the light of day ; scarcely a mark of
vegetation being perceptible on the bare and
brown acclivities which rise from its margin.
Numerous projecting points and rocky islets
vary the scenery ; and the extremity is a deep
basin, enclosed seawards by promontories and
islands, all equally rugged and bare, and on the
land side by a solid wall rising to the height of
some hundred feet ; while above, the high peaks
of the mountains tower over the whole. A
cascade, foaming down a lofty precipice, is the
only object that enlivens this scene of stillness
and gloom ; the solitude and fixed repose of
which are rendered more impressive by this
contrast, and by the white wings of the sea-
fowl silently wheeling above the dark green sea,
which, sheltered from the surge, seems like all
the surrounding objects, for ever at rest. This
singular basin affords an anchorage, the most
extraordinary perhaps in the world. Embo-
somed in the midst of high mountains, exclud-
ed from the sight of the sea, surrounded with
lofty precipices far overtopping the mast, and
floating upon the glassy surface, on which not
a billow heaves to betray its nature, we seem
suddenly transferred to some mountain lake,
or anchored among the ridges of the Alps. The
cascade above mentioned proceeds from a small
lake lying in a secluded and romantic vale call-
ed Coruisk, which, with Loch Scavig, is sel-
dom visited by tourists, and until now has
never been noticed by topographers.

SCONE, or SCOON, a parish in Perth-
shire lying on the left bank of the Tay, oppo-
site the parishes of Redgorton and Perth ;
bounded by St. Martins on the north, by the
same with Kilspindie, and part of Kinnoul on
the east, and the main part of Kinnoul on the
south. It is of an irregular figure, approaching
to a square of three miles. This is one of the
most beautiful districts ol Perthshire. The
land rises from the banks of the Tay, and
composes part of that splendid amphitheatre
of Bill and dale in the centre of which stands
the city of Perth. The surface, where not
planted and disposed as gardens and pleasure
grounds, is mtstly under cultivation. The ob-

jects most worthy of notice are the palace
and village of Scone. These occupy a hol-
low or retiring part of the grounds which
rise from the Tay, commanding an outlook
upon the river and the vale of Perth, and are
reached by a road from Perth, leading across
the bridge at that town and through the village
of Kinnoul or Bridge-end ; the distance from
Perth is little more than a mile. During
the middle ages of the Scottish monarchy,
Scone was the residence of the kings, in which
respect it divided their favour with Dunferm-
line and other places. Independently of being
thus to Perth, what Windsor in the present
day is to London, it was from an early age
to a comparatively recent date, the appro-
priate place of the royal coronations. The
crowning of the Scottish sovereigns at Scone
was for a long period intimately connected with
the famous stone, already sufficiently described
under the head Dunstaffnage, from whence
it was transported thither by Kenneth II. in
the year 834. At Scone, all the Scottish
kings were crowned upon it, till the time of
John Baliol, when Edward I. seized upon it
and carried it to Westminster, where it now re-
mains. The last monarch crowned at Sconewas
Charles II., January 1, 1651, when on his expe-
dition into Scotland. We are informed by dif-
ferent chroniclers, that on the occasion of crown-
ing kings at Scone, the barons who assisted
performed the strange ceremonial, of cast-
ing together a portion of the earth of their
respective estates, as a species of offering or
corporal pledge of their fealty. Hume, in his
history of the Douglasses, mentions, " that
when Robert Bruce was crowned in 1306, Sir
James, the eighth Lord Douglas, assisted and
cast into a heap, as did the other barons, a
quantity of earth of his lands of Douglas, which,
making a little hill, is called omnis terris." We
are further informed, that the barons of Scot-
land could receive investiture of their lands as
lawfully, by delivering earth and stone from
this spot, as from their own lands. It is ex-
ceedingly difficult in the present day to certify
the truth of these circumstances, though, from
the absurdities of corporal seizure of lands
and houses having been ever prescribed by
the Scottish law, they may probably be cor-
rect. The hillock of earth, which is reported
to have been formed in the manner described,
is still observable near the north side of the
palace. In ordinary language, it has been

SCOTLAND WELL.

917

usually called the moot hill of Scone. It would
seem that Scone was also for many ages
the seat of a distinguished religious establish-
ment, at which councils of the Scotican church
were held. Whatever was the character of the
first religious house, which we are told by Bu-
chanan, belonged to the Culdees, it was super-
seded in the year 1114 by Alexander I. who
founded here an abbey which was dedicated to
the Holy Trinity and St. Michael the archangel,
and furnished with monks or canons-regular of
the order of St. Augustine. After the confis-
cations consequent on the Reformation, the
abbacy was erected into a temporal barony by
James VI. in the year 1604, in favour of Sir
David Murray, a cadet of the family of
Tullibardine. The abbey itself was demo-
lished, along with the palace, by a mob from
Perth and Dundee at the Reformation. On
the site of the ancient palace, a splendid
new edifice, though of heavy architecture,
has been reared, as a seat of the Earl of Mans-
field, who represents the old family of Stormont.
In this modem structure, much of the old fur-
niture has fortunately been preserved ; in par-
ticular, a bed that had belonged to James VI.
and another of which the hangings were wrought
by the fair hands of Queen Mary when a pri-
soner at Lochleven. The music-gallery occu-
pies the same site as the noble old hall in
Jvhich the coronations were performed. The
view from the windows of the drawing-room
is the most splendid imaginable. About fifty
yards from the house, there is an old aisle,
the last remaining portion of the Abbey of
Scone ; containing a magnificent marble mo-
nument to a Viscount Stormont, who died
two centuries ago. At a little distance far-
ther, stands the old market-cross of Scone,
surrounded by a wilderness of pleasure-grounds,
which has come in place of the ancient village.
There are many instances of towns losing
their market-crosses ; but we believe this is
the only cross which has lost its town. The
modern village of Scone is of a neat appearance,
being regularly built in streets with bye-lanes.
It has increased considerably in population in
recent times, and in 1821 contained about
1400 inhabitants — The population of the
whole parish, village included, was 2155.

SCONSER, a small village in the isle of
Skye, situated eight miles south from Portree.

SCOONIE, a parish in Fife, lying on the
Firth of Forth, betwixt Largo on the east, and

Wemyss and Kennoway on the west. It is
bounded also by Kennoway on the north, along
with a portion of Kettle. It extends inland a
distance of four and a half miles, by a breadth
varying from one and a half to three
miles. The land slopes gently towards the
Firth, and is well enclosed, cultivated, and
planted. The chief country seat is that of
Durie. Within the parish on the sea shore
stands the town of Leven, which has already
been described, and beside it is the church of

Scoonie Population of the parish in 1821,

2042.

SCOTLAND WELL, a village in the
parish of Portmoak, Kinross-shire, situated at
the south base of the West Lomond or Bishop's
hill, within a short distance of Loch Leven,
and one mile east from Kinneswood. The
origin of the name of the village is obscure,
though it seems to have been connected with a
religious house once settled at the place. We
find that an hospital, entitled Fons Scotias, was
founded here by William Malvoisine, bishop of
St. Andrews, who died about the year 1 238 ;
and that his successor in the episcopate, 1 )avid
de Benham, bestowed the same upon a body
of Red Friars. The charter of this church-
man is dated " in crastino circumcisionis do-
mini, anno 1250." The house was endowed
with the parish churches of Monzie and Car-
nock. This gift of property and foundation of
a monastery, it seems, gave considerable of-
fence to the regular canons of St. Andrews,
who complained to the Pope that the bishop
had introduced the Red Friars into a parish
belonging to them " eorundem prioris et capi-
tuli neglecto consensci ;" whereupon we have
a bull of Pope Innocent IV. about the year
1250, for preventing such enterprises, to the
prejudice of the chapter of St. Andrews. Such
is a specimen of the heats and animosities of
the ancient monastic establishments. Of this
religious house there are now no remains ; the
small deserted burying ground where it once
stood, is, however, still pointed out amidst the
gardens of the villagers. The modern plain
parish kirk of Portmoak stands on the face of
the brae, north-west from the village. Scot-
land Well is the residence of an agricultural
popidation, many of whom are crofters of the
adjacent carse ground stretching eastward horn
Loch Leven, which, by their industry, they
have greatly improved.

SCRAPE, a high hill in Peebles shire, on

918

SELKIRKSHIRE.

the boundary of Manor and Drummelzier par-
ishes, elevated 2800 feet above the level of the
sea. " The tap o' Scrape" is the object of ob-
jurgatory proverb in Tweeddale.

SEAFORTH, (LOCH) an arm of the
sea on the east side of Lewis, projected inland
in a north-easterly direction a distance of about
twelve miles, and of a breadth varying from half
a mile to three miles. At its middle, where
broadest, is an island called Seaforth island,
which is little more than a mile in length. The
outer part of Loch Seaforth divides the dis-
trict of Lewis from Harris.

SEAMMADALE, (LOCH) a small lake
in the parish of Kilninver, Mid- Lorn, Argyle-
shire, giving rise to the small river Euchar,
which falls into an arm of the sea called Loch
Feochan, on the east coast of the Sound of
Mull;

SEAT ON. See Portseton.

SEA TON, a small fishing village in Ross-
shire, on the coast of the Moray Firth,

SEIL, an island of the Hebrides, belonging
to Argyleshire, lying on the Sound of Mull,
near the west coast of Nether Lorn, and mea-
suring about three miles in length by two in
breadth. On the south lie the islands of
Luing and Torsay. Seil is the most varied
and interesting of the different islands on this
coast. On the north side it presents a rude
hilly ridge, terminating in the sea by perpendi-
cular cliffs of bare rock, but the remainder is
an undulating and fertile green land, descend-
ing gently to the water, and deeply indented on
the east side by sinuosities. The shores on
this side, in particular, are beautifully varied
by cultivation, green meadows, rocks, and
trees ; while the narrowness of the strait which
separates it from the mainland, allows it to
partake of all the beauties of the opposite
coast, which is high and wooded, varied by
cliffs embosomed in fine oak trees, by deep
bays and creeks, and by cultivation ; displaying,
besides, at Ardnaddy, all those marks of orna-
mental attention, which make the whole look
as if it was the favoured seat of opulence and
taste. The strait betwixt Seil and the main-
land resembles the famed Kyles of Bute, being
equally narrow and romantic. The whole
length of this interesting strait is not less
than three miles ; it is alike diversified,
through the whole of this course, by the variety
of the coast on each side, and by four or five
small jsii.^'ids. which lie in it, as well as by the

flexures which often seem to stop all further
passage, and to close the land of the opposed
shores. For a space of two miles, the distance
between these never exceeds two hundred
yards ; while, the land on each side being ge-
nerally high, it assumes the appearance of an
Alpine river. During the last half mile, they
approach within fifty or sixty yards ; and here,
a bridge of one high arch is thrown over, uniting
the island to the mainland, and presenting the
only instance in Britain of such a junction, if
we except the Menai bridge, connecting Wales
with the island of Anglesea, and two similar
conjunctions in Shetland. The strait at this
part is rocky where the water runs, and only
admits the passage of boats for about two hours
before and after high water. When full,itwould
scarcely be suspected to be sea ; but, at low
water, the weeds betray its nature. It is na-
vigated by the country boats, as it much short-
ens the passage along the shore.

SELKIRKSHIRE, a county in the south
of Scotland, bounded by Peebles-shire on the
west, Dumfries-shire on the south, Roxburgh-
shire on the east, and on the north it has Edin-
burghshire, and a portion of Roxburghshire. It
is twenty-seven miles long from south-west to
north-east, and sixteen miles broad, exclusive
of a small detached part on the east. It
comprises a superficies of 263 square miles, or
168,320 statute acres. This border territory
was at one period entitled Ettrick Forest, from
being in a great measure the vale of the Et-
trick and its tributary streams, and its ancient
covering of wood, which long maintained its
place in the country, and formed a favourite
hunting scene of the Scottish monarchs. It is
entitled The Forest in many of the royal char-
ters, and before regular sheriffs were appoint-
ed, it was placed under a keeper, who was ge-
nerally, at the same time, Constable of the
King's Castle at Selkirk. The early history
of Selkirkshire is most intimately associated with
that of Roxburghshire, which has been already
sufficiently detailed, and offers few incidents
worthy of special remark. Unlike Roxburgh-
shire, this county contains few or no remains
of ancient ecclesiastical establishments, though
it possesses a number of ruined keeps, the seats
of feudal strength, and, among other objects
worthy of the inspection of the antiquary, ex-
hibits a large portion of the celebrated Catrail,
a remarkable remain of early times, which has
been fully described, as to its extent and pro-

SELKIRKSHIRE.

919

pcrties, under the head Roxburghshire. With
the exception of a very narrow portion, on its
eastern side, the county may be said to be a
continued alternation of hill and dale, and
many of the eminences rise to a considerable
height. Its chief vales are those of the Et-
trick and Yarrow, besides a portion of the vale
of the Tweed and the Gala, and from these vales
there shoot out many cleughs and hopes, that
run up a considerable distance between the
heights. The principal vales are sufficiently
described under their appropriate heads. The
Ettrick, Yarrow, and Gala rivers take their
names, which are of British origin, from the
peculiar characters of their waters. The word
Ettrick is composed of Ed or Et, signifying
"a current," and terig, " mud," from the water
being of a muddy nature during floods. Yar-
row is merely a variation of Garu or Garbh,
signifying " rough," and is from the same root
as Garone, in France, and the Girvan in Ayr-
shire. The Gala, like the Gwala in Pem-
brokeshire, signifies " a full stream." The
strath of Gala was in early times called Wae-
dale, (under which title it is alluded to in the
article Melrose), a term meaning the wae or
woful vale, from some bloody scenes on its
contested banks. We need hardly remind our
readers that these different vales, as well as the
waters which are poured through them, have
been repeatedly the theme of the Scottish and
even English lyrists. The Tweed, after drain-
ing Peebles-shire, intersects the northern ex-
tremity of Selkirkshire, from west to east,
during a placid course in a deep channel of nine
miles, when it is joined by the Ettrick, and re-
ceiving also the Gala, it passes onward to Rox-
burghshire. Selkirkshire has some small lakes,
the chief being St. Maiy's Loch and the Loch of
the Lowes, lying at the head of Yarrow. Of
minerals, none of the more useful have yet
been found in this pastoral county ; coal, lime,
and sandstone being equally wanting. It has,
however, abundance of whinstone, and a good
■ deal of granite. Those who do not use peat,
import coal from the Lothians by a land car-
riage of from twenty to thirty miles. From
the hilly nature of the county it is chiefly pas-
toral. The mountain ranges of Ettrick and
Yarrow afford the most extensive and excel-
lent sheep walks. About thirty years since,
the amount of English acres occupied as pas-
ture grounds, including moors, mosses, rivers,
lakes, and roads, was computed at 169,650 ;

of cultivated lands 9300 j woods and planta-
tions 2200 ; and gardens and pleasure grounds
1250. But these proportions have been great-
ly altered in subsequent times, the amount of
cultivated and planted land being much en-
creased. In the reigns of Alexander II. and
III., the valued rent of Selkirkshire was
L.99, 9s. lOd. Scots, yearly, and according to
a new extent in the reign of David II. it
was L.80, 18s. 6d. Scots. By the esta-
blished valuation, the rental is L,80,807,
15s. 6d. Scots, and in 1811, the real rental
was, for lands, L.39,775, and for houses,
L.834, both sterling money. Around Sel-
kirk and Galashiels the hills are now sub-
jected to the plough. Here wheat is raised
even as a considerable part of the rotation ;
and such has been the improvement in the cul-
tivation of this grain, and so well is every pro-
cess of its management now understood, that
it has often been raised 60 lbs. per Winches-
ter bushel, 700 feet above sea level. Mildew
is of rare occurrence, and smut is seldom to be
seen. In the upper valleys of Ettrick and
Yarrow, tillage is confined to the haughs and
low grounds contiguous. Although the atten-
tion is chiefly devoted to sheep and cattle, yet
as most of the farmers must keep a pair of
horses to drive fuel, and secure their crops of
hay, they find it profitable and convenient
to have between twenty and thirty acres in a
rotation of tumips, barley, hay, and oats, which
otherwise might perhaps be more economically
kept in pasture, for which the moisture and
lateness of the climate renders it better adapt-
ed. Yet, in favourable seasons, more luxuriant
crops are nowhere to be met with ; and, in-
deed, throughout the county generally, agricul-
ture is as well understood and practised as in
any district of the kingdom. Great attention
is now likewise paid to sheep farming, and the
improving of the breed of sheep ; and this has
been stimulated and kept up greatly through
the benevolent and patriotic exertions of Lord
Napier, who, at the end of the war, returning
to the vale of Ettrick, betook himself to sheep
farming, as a rational amusement. By his
lordship's influence, a pastoral society was
formed, which is very numerous, including
many from the adjoining districts. It has an
annual meeting, and distributes premiums for
the best cattle and horses, as well as sheep.
It may now be safely averred, that in no dis-
trict of Scotland is so much skill and care

920

SELKIRK.

directed to sheep farming. The shire is wholly
stocked with white-faced sheep, except a high
tract of country towards the sources of its
rivers, of which Hindhope, on the Ettrick,
and Lawdhope, on the Yarrow, are the lowest
points. In consequence of the whole county
being anciently the property of the king or of
the abbey of Melrose, the proprietors hold
their lands by charter from the crown. Two-
thirds belong to the Duke of Buccleugh ; the
rest is divided among twenty-seven other free-
holders. There are many agreeable seats be-
longing to the families of Ker, Scott, and
Pringle. The county of Selkirk contains on-
ly two complete parishes, namely, Ettrick and
Yarrow, but has portions of seven other pa-
rochial divisions. The only towns are those
of Selkirk and Galashiels, but part of the
latter is in Roxburghshire. Selkirk is the
only royal burgh. There are several hamlets
in the county, but no villages worthy of no-
tice.— In 1755, the population of Selkirkshire
was 4622; in 1793, it was 4646 ; in 1811, it
was 6143; and in 1821, it was 3205 males,
and 3432 females, total 6637.

SELKIRK, a parish situated chiefly in the
above county but partly in Roxburghshire, form-
ing a square of about ten miles ; bounded by
Galashiels on the north, Bowden and Lillies-
leaf on the east, Yarrow on the west, and Ro-
berton on the south. It consists in a great
measure of the lower part of the vale of the
Ettrick, which river is poured through it. In
recent times, it has been greatly improved and
beautified, especially on the estate of Haining,
near Selkirk, where there is an elegant man-
sion, the seat of Mr. Pringle.

Selkirk, a royal burgh, the capital of
the above county and parish, and the seat of a
presbytery, is situated on the face of a rising
ground with a western exposure, at the foot of
which flows the river Ettrick, at the distance
of thirty-six miles south from Edinburgh,
eleven north from Hawick, seven west from
Melrose, and about twenty-two east from
Peebles. Selkirk is a town of considerable
antiquity, but has never made a distinguished
figure in history, being, like Peebles, out of the
ordinary thoroughfare, either in the warlike
expeditions of ancient times or the commerce
of a recent date. The place derives its name
from a kirk which was here planted at an. early
date, when the locality became distinguished
as a hunting seat of the king. In the oldest

charter it is called Sekschirchc, Sek-chyrc, or
Sel-chirc, which signify " the great or the good
church." When a second church wa3 built
in the vicinity, after the establishment of a
monastery in 1113, by David I., the prior place
was distinguished by the name of Selkirk-Re-
gis, while the village of the monks was called
Selkirk- Abbatis. The two towns it seems
soon run into each other, as the abbot possess-
ed much property within and around both.
How long the two churches remained separate
is not known; even tradition has forgotten
that there ever were two, though the unerring
record has preserved the curious fact. The
abbot probably conjoined them to save the ex-
pense of a curate. The monks of Selkirk did
not remain long settled in the town, they
were removed to a more pleasing locality at
Kelso, by their royal patron. Of the castle of
Selkirk, at which David I. occasionally resided,
little is known, and its site, in all probability,
could not now be pointed out. David had
some mills at Selkirk, which implies that there
must in his time have been some tillage in the
adjacent forest. These mills remained in the
king's demesne, till the era of Robert Bruce,
who granted one of them for two marks of sil-
ver of yearly rental. The abbots of Kelso had
likewise a mill at Selkirk for several ages,
which afforded them not a small profit. Sel-
kirk has been celebrated by the devoted bravery
of its citizens at the battle of Flodden. Of
one hundred who followed James IV. to the
field, only a few survived. A standard taken
from the English on the occasion, by a mem-
ber of the corporation of weavers, is still in their
possession ; and the sword of William Bry-
done, the town clerk, who led the citizens to
the battle, and who was knighted for his va-
lour, is still in the possession of his descend-
ant, an inhabitant of Selkirk. The English
were so exasperated at the bravery of that band
of citizens, that they laid Selkirk in ashes.
James V. however, in reward of their eminent
services, granted them a thousand acres of Sel-
kirk Forest, which are now worth about L.1500
per annum ; they are divided into a great number
of small properties. In the annual survey of
this tract, the English standard is carried be-
fore the corporation of weavers. It is record-
ed by tradition, that on the return of the few
survivors from Flodden, they found, by the
side of Lady- Wood- Edge, the corpse of a fe-
male, wife to one of their fallen comrades,

SELKIRK.

D£l

witb a child sucking at her breast. In me-
mory of this latter event, continues the tradi-
tion, the present arms of the burgh bear a fe-
male, holding a child in her arms, and seated
on a sarcophagus, decorated with the Scottish
lion ; in the back ground a wood. In con-
nexion with the story of the bravery of the
men of Selkirk at Flodden, tradition has hand-
ed down the following rhyme, which has been
the subject of much serious literary contest-
Up wi' the Sutors of Selkirk,

And down wi' the Earl of Hume ;
And up wi' a' the bra' lads
That sew the single-soled shoon.

Whether this rhyme be as old as the battle of
Flodden — whether it refer to the conduct of
Lord Hume on that occasion, in comparison
with the bravery of the burgesses of Selkirk —
or whether it applies to a more modern inci-
dent, a match at football betwixt the men of
the Merse, or Earl of Hume's country, and
those of Selkirk, it seems now difficult to de-
cide. Although the words of the song, of
which the above is the first verse, be not very
ancient, and although there was no Earl of
Home till the year 1604, antiquaries have
generally found reason to believe that they al-
lude to the conflict at Flodden. It is related
that the principal trade carried on at the time
of the battle, and for centuries afterwards, was
that of manufacturing thin or single- soled shoes.
Hence the glory of the above enterprise is
wholly appropriated by what are called " the
Sutors of. Selkirk ;" though the great trophy
of the day was won by a person of a very dif-
ferent profession. It seems evident that the
shoemakers have only become conspicuous in
the story by their numbers, and by the predo-
minance of the craft over all others, in remote,
as well as in recent times. This has proceed-
ed to such a length, that to be made a Sutor of
Selkirk, is the ordinary phrase for being created
a burgess ; and the ceremony gone through on
such occasions seems to set the matter at rest.
The candidate for burgal honours, at the fes-
tivity which always attends these ceremonies,
is compelled to lick or pass through his mouth
a small bunch of bristles, such as are used by
shoemakers, which has previously been licked
or mouthed by all the members of the town-
council who may be present. This is called
licking the birse, and is said to imply allegiance
or respect to the craft who rule the roast in
Selkirk. The present distinguished sheriff-

depute of the county, Sir Walter Scott, Bart,
who supplies part of this information, on being
made a Sutor, used the precaution of washing
the beslabbered birse in his wine, but was
compelled nolens volens, to atone for that act of
disrespect by drinking off the polluted liquor.
Nor was the custom ever dispensed with in
any case on record, except that of Prince
Leopold of Saxe Cobourg, who visited Selkirk
in 1819. It should be mentioned, that the
birse is always attached to the seal of the ticket.
As a further proof of the importance of the
shoemakers of Selkirk, it appears, from the
town records, that when the Highland army in
1 745 commanded the magistrates of Edinburgh
to produce 6000 pairs of shoes, a call was made
by these officials upon the burgh of Selkirk
for no less than a third of the quantity, and
soon after for a few hundreds more ; for which
they agreed to pay a certain price. This tran-
saction could not have happened, had not the
profusion of shoemakers at Selkirk been noto-
rious, as the large quantity of shoes specified
could not have been produced in the short time
allowed, unless the number of the artificers
had been very great- At the present day there
are more of this than any other trade in the
burgh ; and not long ago one whole street was
filled with them, — whence the popular rhyme,

Sutors ane, sutors twa,

Sutors in the Back Raw !

which, being cried at the top of one's voice in
the said street, was sufficient to bring sutors,
and sutors' wives, and sutors' bairns, and all
that ever lay in sutors' arms, out like a nest of
hornets ; and the offender would alone have to
thank his heels, if he escaped as comfortable a
lapidation as any man could desire to have
his bones blessed withal on a summer's -day.
The town of Selkirk comes into notice in
Scottish history in the annals of Montrose's
wars ; in consequence of its situation close to
Philiphaugh, where the last stand was made
by that general for Charles I. in opposition to
the parliamentary forces under Lesly. Having
marched southward from Edinburgh, with the
view of pouring his victorious army into Eng-
land, Montrose encamped his army in the field
of Philiphaugh. The river Ettrick, imme-
diately after its junction with the Yarrow, and
previous to its falling into the Tweed, makes
a large sweep to the southward, and winds al-
most beneath the lofty bank on which the town
of Selkirk stands, leaving upon the northern
6 b

922

L K I U K.

side a large and level plain, extending in an
easterly direction, from a hill, covered with
natural copsewood, called the Harehead-wood,
to the high ground which forms the banks of
the Tweed, near Sunderland Hall. This plain
is called Philiphaugh ; it is about a mile and a
half in length, and a quarter of a mile broad ;
and being defended to the northward by the
high hills which separate Tweed from Yarrow,
by the river in front, and by the high grounds al-
ready mentioned on each flank, it forms at once
a convenient and secure field of encampment.
On each flank Montrose threw up some
trenches, and here he posted his infantry,
amounting to about twelve or fifteen hundred
men. He himself took up his quarters in Sel-
kirk, along with the cavalry. The readers of
history will remember, that while resting in
this fancied security, Montrose was suddenly
and unexpectedly cut off by Lesly, who came in
upon the vale from the south, and that a dis-
graceful rout and scene of slaughter ensued.
Montrose, after attempting to make a bold
stand, fled up Yarrow and over Minchmoor,
nor did he stop till he arrived at Traquair, six-
teen miles from the field of battle. This de-
feat occurred on the 15th of September, 1645.
In the present day the field of battle is enclosed
and subjected to tillage, but is still an object
of curiosity to the tourist. The situation of
the town of Selkirk is not that which would
now be pitched upon for the site of a town.
Standing exposed on the face of the brae above
mentioned, it is only reached from the low grounds
by a bridge across the Ettrick, and a fatiguing
road up the ascent. Labouring under this
ai;d the additional disadvantage of being off any
great thoroughfare, except the road from Edin-
burgh to Carlisle, by Hawick, it has not increas-
ed in magnitude, to an extent worth mentioning,
through a period of seven hundred years. It
is, however, much improved in modern times,
and now contains many good houses. It
consists chiefly of one main street, which,
at the market place, expands into a tri-
angular open space, with a very conspicuous
public well in the centre, on which appears
the town arms. In former times this open
area was ornamented by a curious build-
ing, which served the purposes of a cross.
This was many years ago removed by the ma-
gistrates, in conformity with a taste which has
of late proved as destructive to these fine old
ornamental structures throughout the burghs
^9

of Scotland, as the order of die General
Assembly of 1648 proved to their name-
sakes the crosses that had been almost every-
where preserved on their churches at the Re-
formation. The market-place of Selkirk also
contained an ancient tolbooth, and the stalls
of the flesh-market. A story is told in connexion,
with the latter. When the middle detach-
ment of the Highland army in 1745 approach-
ed the town in their march towards England,
four men were sent forward to provide food
for the rest. These foragers went into the
market-place, and began, in the good old High-
land fashion, to make free with what they
found lying ready to their hands. Some of
the butchers remonstrating, high words arose,
and a plea, dirks versus cleavers, seemed on the
point of commencing, when a stout young
butcher, enraged beyond bounds at the inso-
lence of the Highlanders, seized a hand-bar-
row, with one effort parted its shafts, and be-
gan, with one of those deadly weapons, to be-
labour the intruders. A combat ensued
which exhibited all the formidable symptoms
that usually attend such brawls, and terminated
with all their ordinary bloodlessness. In a few
minutes, the young butcher, armed only with
a stick, and scarcely assisted by any of his
companions, actually drove the four mountain-
eers out of the market-place ; he, of course,
found it necessary to conceal himself till the
army had fairly passed the town. Besides
a great number of excellent private houses
which have been erected in Selkirk, a new
town-house has been built, containing apart-
ments for the burgh and sheriff courts, and'
public meetings, &c. ; it is adorned with a
handsome spire. A new prison has also been
erected on the north side of the town. The
places of public worship are an established
church and a meeting house of the United As-
sociate Synod. As a county town, the courts
of the sheriff and lieutenancy are held here ;
there is likewise a small debt court. The
town possesses a savings' bank, one or two
fi-ie ndly societies, a public library, and there
is now a small printing press in the place. A
branch of the British Linen Company's
bank is established. A survey of Selkirk-
shire made in 1829, states, that there are
six schools in the burgh and parish : two of
these are unendowed, and four of them have
salaries for the teachers to the amount of
L. 127. The first school is a grammar school,

SELKIRK.

923

for which the master receives a salary of L.50
from the town, and teaches the ordinary branch-
es of education, and the learned languages, at
moderate fees. The second is the burgh
school, for which the master has a salary from
the town of L.32, and teaches English, &c.
The third is a ladies' school, established in
1813, for which the mistress receives a salary
from the town of L-30. The fourth is the
Duke of Buccltugh's school, established in
1810, at the distance of four miles from the
town, and taught by a lady, who has an allow-
ance from the founder of L. 15 a year, with
house, coals, &c. The fifth and sixth are pri-
vate schools in the town ; the total number of
scholars, in 1829, was 329. As a royal burgh,
Selkirk is governed by two bailies, a dean of
guild, a treasurer, and twenty-nine councillors,
amounting in all to thirty-three. The town
had once a provost, but it ceased to elect such
a dignitary soon after the Revolution, when
the last official, a country gentleman imposed
upon them by the government of James VII.,
by his extravagant proceedings, disgusted every
body with the office. When the town-council
gave an account of their set in 1 709, they said
very )iaively that their last provost had involved
the people in so much debt, that they had since
contended themselves with bailies. Selkirk has
two good inns, the chief being on the south
side of the main street near the entrance from
Hawick and Melrose. This house contains
an excellent ball-room, and is under the pa-
tronage of the county gentlemen. The town
contains all the ordinary trades, including
a brewery, a tannery, a dye-work, and a num-
ber of manufactories of stockings and woollen
and linen goods. A communication with Edin-
burgh is daily obtained by means of the Car-
lisle royal mail and stage coaches. Before
quitting Selkirk, it ought to be mentioned,
that it is famous for the manufacture of a
peculiarly light and agreeable species of bread,
called " Selkirk bannocks." The loaves were
originally made of barley- meal, but are now
composed of the finest rlower, and are used

chiefly as tea-bread Selkirk gives the title of

Earl to a branch of the house of Douglas, a
family which, prior to its attainture in 1455,
had extensive possessions in the Forest. The
first of the title of Earl of Selkirk was Lord
William Douglas, eldest son of the first Mar-
quis of Douglas, by his second wife. He was
raised to the earldom in 1046, though the title [

seems to have been sunk tor a time in conse-
quence of his lordship's marriage with Anne,
Duchess of Hamilton, whereby he became
first Duke of Hamilton of the Douglas line,
and the third of the title. The title of Earl
of Selkirk descended to his Grace's third son,
Lord Charles Douglas, and he was succeeded
by his brother Lord John Hamilton, Earl of
Rutherglen, who again was succeeded by his
grand-nephew Dunbar Hamilton of Baldoon,
in 1744. This latter nobleman was succeeded
by Thomas, his seventh son, in 1799, who thus
became fifth Earl of Selkirk. This nobleman,
who died in 1820, was the most distinguished
of his race, and is well remembered for his
liberal views regarding emigration to the nor-
thern part of America, and his exertions in
establishing a British settlement in Prince
Edward's island. The chief seat of the family
is at St. Mary's Isle, Kirkcudbright.— In 1821,
the population of the burgh was about 1500,
including the parish, 2728.

SELLA Y, a small island of the Hebrides,
in the district of Harris, about two miles north
from Pabbay. It is about a mile in circum-
ference, and feeds a few sheep.

SELLER-HEAD, a promontory on the
east coast of Lewis, near Stornoway.

SERF'S (ST) ISLE, a small island near

the east end of Loch Leven, Kinross-shire.

SH AGGIE, a small river in Perthshire,

which rises in the parish of Monzie, and joins

the Turret near Crieff.

SHAPINSHAY, SKIPENSY, for Ship
Idandj, an island of Orkney, lying from
two to three miles north from the Mainland,
nearly opposite the bay of Kirkwall. It is
about seven miles long and five in breadth ;
but its coasts are indented by bays and creeks,
so as to give it a very irregular figure. Around
the whole island, the shores are low, and to a
considerable distance inland, pretty level- A
large portion of the land is in a state of nature,
and much of it is ill cultivated ; but the south-
ern part of it, under a judicious proprietor, has
assumed an appearance of cultivation and or-
der, that surpasses any thing in Orkney A
better husbandry, rotation of crops, a superior
breed of cattle, and regular enclosures, mark
improvements introduced by the late Colonel
Balfour, and continued under his son The sti-
mulus given to the industry of the island by
their residence, created a village on the excel-
lent haven of Ellwick, which is sheltered by

924

SHETLAND.

the green islet, Ellerholm, from the east wind.
The Rev. Dr. Barry, historian of Orkney, was
clergyman of this parish. The shores of
Shapinshay abound with Picts' houses, which
appear to have been exploratory edifices.
There is one upright monumental stone in the
island, numerous tumuli, and a mass of stone,
lying on shore opposite to Stronsay, which still
is named the black stone of Odin, and is said
to mark the place of his descent on Shapinshay.
A bed of limestone occurs near How, which
has long been worked with advantage. — The
population of Shapinshay, in 1821, was 779.

SHECHALLION, a conical mountain in
Rannoch, Perthshire, rising to a height of 3564
feet.

SHEE, or BLACK WATER, a river in
the parish of Kirkmichael, in the north-east
quarter of Perthshire, which rises from the
union of three small streams, at Spittal of
Glenshee, the Lochty, Patnuk, and Beg, from
the mountains on the borders of Aberdeenshire,
and, after a southerly course of several miles,
unites with the Ardle at Rochalzie, in form-
ing the Ericht.

SHERIFF-MUIR. In several of the
counties in Scotland, there are localities with
this title, which seems generally to have been
bestowed on moors or plains, on which the
weapon-shaws (exhibition of arms) of the dis-
tricts usually took place, under the inspection
and by the orders of the sheriffs. The place
most commonly known by the name Sheriff-
muir, is in the parish of Dumblane, Perth-
shire, lying at the north base of the Ochil hills-
Here a bloody but undecisive battle was fought
in 1715, between the government forces under
the Duke of Argyle, and the insurgent Jaco-
bite army under the Earl of Mar. The con-
flict has indifferently been called the battle of
Sheriff-muir and the battle of Dumblane.

SHETLAND, or ZETLAND ISLES,
a group of islands, islets, and rocks, situated in
the Northern Ocean, at the distance of about
15 leagues north-east of the Orkneys, and 44
leagues west of Bergen in Norway, which is
the nearest point of continental Europe. They
form the northern barrier of the British islands,
and belong to the sheriffdom of Orkney. With
the exception of two, the Shetland islands are
contiguous to each other, and lie between 59°
48' 30", and 60° 52' north latitude, and be-
tween 52 and 1° 57' of west longitude from
London. The two remote islands are named

Fair Isle and Foula, or Fowla ; the former
lying about twenty-four miles south from the
mainland of Shetland, and the latter about twenty
miles west. There are three principal islands
in the group, namely Mainland, next, on the
north, Yell, and still farther north-east, Unst.
On the east of Yell lies Fetlar, which is the
largest of the inferior islands. The next in
point of size is Bressay, which is situated on
the east coast of the Mainland. The smaller
islands are Whalsay, Out Skerries, Samphray,
Big Island, Mickle Roe, Papa-stour, House,
Barray, Trondray, besides a great number of
islets, holms, and skerries. In this remote and
singular group of islands, nature appears in her
wildest dress. Everywhere are seen barren
and leafless mountains, rocks piled upon rocks,
affording in their hollow deeps lodgments for
water ; woodless tracts, the haunt of wild
mountain sheep, and the prospect being closed
around by a tempestuous ocean. By the ac-
tion of the sea upon the coast, scenery is form-
ed of the most sublime description. In the
island of Papa-stour, there are numerous ro-
mantic caverns produced by this cause. On
the east of this island a high insulated rock is
perforated through and through, and as we en-
deavour with a boat to trace through a fright-
ful gloom its various sinuosities, a break of day-
light suddenly rushes through an . irregular
opening made from the summit of the crag,
which serves to light up the entrance to a dark
and vaulted den, through which the ripples of
the swelling tide, in their passage through it,
are converted, by an echo, into low and distant
murmurs. On the north-west of the. island,
Lyra Skerry, Fulgse Skerry, and other insulat-
ed rocks and stacks, rise boldly out of the sea,
richly clothed on their summits with stripes of
green turf, but presenting perpendicular sides,
and entrances into dark caverns that resemble
the vaulted arches of some Gothic crypt. In
Lyra Skerry, so named from the number of
lyres or puffins by which it is frequented, there
is a perforation throughout its whole breadth ;
yet so violent are the currents that force their
way through it, that a passage is forbidden to
the explorer except when the ocean shows no
sterner wrinkles than are to be found on the
surface of some sheltered lake. On the west
of Northmaven a large cavernous aperture,
ninety feet wide, is the avenue to two immense
perforations, named the Holes of Scraada,
where, in one of them running 250 feet into

S PI E T L A N D.

925

the land, the sea flows to its utmost extremity.
Each has an opening at a distance from the
ocean, by which the light of the sun is partial-
ly admitted. Not far distant, Doreholm rises
from the surface of the sea, hollowed out on
the west by the incessant action of the waves
into an immense arch seventy feet high. Again,
at Burrafirth, in the island of Unst, a large
cavern communicating with the water, exhibits
a grand natural arch, which is the entrance to
a passage that admits of the sailing of a boat
to a distance of 300 feet. In the vicinity of
Magnussetter Voe appears the small holm of
Eagleshav, where a perpendicular vein of
greenstone, softer than the included mass of
the same kind within which it is contained,
has yielded to a progress of disintegration, so
as to convey the idea of a deep rent, dividing
the island into two unequal parts. Nearly the
whole of the west coast of the island of Miekle-
Roe is shaped into winding caves, some
of which are of singular beauty and grandeur.
The isle of Eshaness or Northmaven, which
is exposed to the uncontrolled fury of the
western ocean, presents a scene of unequalled
desolation. In stormy winters, huge blocks of
stones are overturned, or are removed far from
their native beds, and hurried up a slight accli-
vity to a distance almost incredible. In the
winter of 1802, a mass, eight feet two inches
by seven feet, and five feet one inch thick, was
dislodged from its bed, and removed to a dis-
tance of from eighty to ninety feet. The bed
from which a block had been carried away in
the year 1818, was seventeen and a half
by seven feet, and the depth two feet eight
inches ; the removed mass had been borne to a
distance of thirty feet, when it was shivered
into thirteen or more lesser fragments, some
of which were carried still farther, from 30
to 120 feet. A block, nine feet two inches by
six and a half feet, and four feet thick, was
hurried up an acclivity to a distance of 1 50
feet. A mass of rock, the average dimensions
of which may perhaps be rated at twelve or
thirteen feet square, and four and a half or five
feet in thickness, was, about fifty years ago,
first moved from its bed, to a distance of thirty
feet, and has since been twice turned over.
But the most sublime scene is where a mural
pile of porphyry, escaping the process of dis-
integration that is devastating the coast, appears
to have been left as a sort of rampart against
he inroads of the ocean ; — the Atlantic, when

provoked by wintry ga»;s, battei'6 against it
with all the force of real artillery, the waves
having in their repeated assaults, forced for
themselves an entrance. This breach, named the
Grind of the Navir, is widened every winter by
the overwhelming surge, which, finding a passage
through it, separates large stones from its side,
and forces them to a distance of no less than
180 feet. In two or three spots, the fragments
which have been detached are accumulated in
immense heaps like the produce of some quarry.
In Lunna, several large detached rocks, named
the Stones of Stephouse, appear at some little
distance from the sea ; they are the transported
or removed stones of geologists. The largest
of them is about twenty-three feet in height,
and ninety-six in circumference. Near Quen.
dal bay, the phenomenon of blowing sand is in
a remarkable manner exhibited : here may be
detected the ruins of scattered bmildings which
have long since yielded to the removal of the
light sand that laid bare their foundations.
The highest hill in Shetland is Roeness bill,
which attains an elevation of 1447 feet. The
hill of Fowla is next in height, being about
1300 feet. — The history of Shetland is much
involved in that of Orkney, of which we have
already given a brief but succinct detail. Near
the close of the first century, when Agricola
sailed round Britain, and touching at the fur-
ther coasts of Orkney, saw from them the
shores of Shetland, or perhaps the intermediate
island of Fowla, to which he gave the name of
Thide, (Dispecta est et Thule,) an appellation
that was applied to other northern countries,
of which the Romans had little information.
Orkney and Shetland were, at a subsequent era,
the lurking places of Saxon rovers, who were
routed in the year 368 by Theodosius. That
the Romans actually visited the coasts of
Shetland, is highly probable, from the coins
of this people which have been discovered.
Those are of Galba, Vespasian, Trajan,
and iElius Caesar. The remains of a small
Roman camp are to be detected in the
island of Fetlar. The Northmen, whose pira-
cies were for several centuries formidable to
Europe, were the next people who succeeded
to the possession of Shetland ; its numerous
bays or voes affording secret refuge for their
vessels. Indeed, from the latter circumstance
they acquired the name of Vikingr, that is Voe
or Bay-kings. From this place, as well as
Orkney and the north and west of Scotland,

926

SHE.TLA N D.

tlie Northmen made descents on the rich coasts
of Europe, and devastated them with fire and
sword. By these pirates Shetland was said to
have been first named Hialtlandia or Hiatlan-
dia, and hence arose Yealtaland, the name which
the natives gave to their country a century ago
or more. Another name was Hetland, signi-
fying the high or lofty land, and from this word,
according to Norwegian writers, the name
Shetland or Zetland is derived. The remains
of the forts of Vikingr erected in Shetland
are very numerous, and form some of the
most remarkable remains of antiquity to be
found in Europe. Besides the remains of
burghs or rude strengths, and watch towers;
there are some remarkable indications of the
presence of the Vikingr, in the Stcinbartes or
stone axes, which were in use by all the Gothic
tribes of Europe even so late as the eighth cen-
tury. In the tenth century, the Scandinavian
pirates of Orkney and Shetland, began to turn
their arms against the mother country of Nor-
way ; but Harold (see Orkney, p. 822,) visited
these haunts, and annexed the whole of the
Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland to his
continental dominions. The inhabitants of
Shetland were at this time Udallers, who were
so named from the conditions under which they
held their lands, the word udal being com-
pounded from cede and dale, signifying a waste
or uninhabited dale. Originally, any Norwe-
gian might occupy such land as was uninhabit-
ed or waste : an Udaller was at first nothing
more than the proprietor of land previously ac-
counted waste, which he had enclosed for his
own use. But as land became more valuable,
the expression gradually lost its primary signi-
fication ; and when military tenures were in-
troduced, it was merely used as a term in con-
tradistinction to that of feudal ; the word udal,
in its application to land, meaning absolute pro-
perty, that of feudal, stipendiary property. The
udal rights were likewise protected by definite
laws. The law of inheritance was in Shet-
land the same as in Norway ; by the latter
Scottish settlers, it was thus explained, " It
was a law in all times by-gone, that, when any
landed man departed this mortal life, his whole
ands and heritage, immediately after his de-
cease, were equally divided among his whole chil-
dren, as well sons and daughters, counting always
two sisters' parts for one brother's part ; and be-
ing so divided, the eldest brother had no further
prerogative above the rest of his brothers, ex-

cept the first choice of the parts and parcels of
the lands divided." It appears, however, that
Harold Harfager had placed some limitations
in Orkney and Shetland to the free manner in
which enclosed land was held. From the num-
bers of sheep which grazed on the unenclosed
heaths and moors, the monarch levied a tax or
scat ; hence the name given to the land of
Scathold ; but the land which was actually en-
closed for cultivation became free from scat,
and retained for itself the true character of
udal land. During the time that Shetland was
under the influence of successive earls of Ork-
ney, few events are recorded, except insurrec-
tions against the yoke of Norway, intestine fac-
tions mixed with bloodshed, or descents upon
Scottish shores. Shetland being separated from
Orkney by a wide and stormy channel, had a
distinct prefect or governor appointed over it,
who acquired the name of Foude, an office
which likewise included in it the guardianship
of the revenues of the country. The country
at the same time acquired the name of a Fou-
drie. In the lake of Strom in Shetland, is
shown a small holm, on which are the remains
of an ancient burgh, where, according to tradi-
tion, a son of one of the Earls of Orkney fled,
in order to evude the wrath of his father ; but,
meeting with pursuers, was slain in a contest
with thern on the Strath of Tingvvell. When
tidings of the event were brought to the Earl,
he ordered the perpetrators of the deed to be
instantly put to death, and erected a large stone
where the slaughter had been committed. The
stone is still remaining. — The relics of antiqui-
ty connected with the Norwegian government
of Shetland are various. Courts of judicature,
or tings, were held in the open air, the erection
being for the most part constructed of loose
stones, which are piled together in a circidar
form. Of these tings, the sites of many of
which are still visible, there were three kinds.
The lowest was a Herad, or parish ting, over
which the Foude of the parish presided ; an
officer, who, in the Scottish period of the
history of these islands, afterwards assumed the
name of bailiff. The foude was assisted in
his magistracy by a law-right man, whose par-
ticular duty it was to regulate the weights and
measures, and by a number of men named
Rancelmen. The ting, to which these men
gave their service, could only doom or give
judgment in small matters, namely, in those
which related to the preservation of good neigh-

SHETLAND.

927

bourhood, as in questions of minor trespasses
on land, &c. &c. A higher court was a cir-
cuit ting, over which the Earl of Orkney pre-
sided, or, hi his absence, the great foude, so
named in contradistinction to the subordinate
or parish foudes. In his judicial capacity, the
great foude was the lawman of Shetland, and
gave doom according to the Norwegian Book
of the Law. The lawman made his circuit
round the whole of the more comprehensive
juridical districts of the country, ting sokens :
each ting soken including several minor dis-
tricts, which were severally under the subordi-
nate jurisdiction of parish foudes. He here
heard appeals against the decrees of parish
tings, and tried weightier offences, such as were
visited with heavy fines, or confiscations, or
capital punishments. A third ting was named
the lawting, because it was a legislative assem-
bly. This was held once a-year, and here also
the lawman presided. All the udallers owed
to it suit and service. The lawting was held
within a small holme or islet, situated in a
fresh water lake, the communication with the
shore being by stepping-stones. The valley
in which the lawting was situated, bore the
name of Thingv&llr, now corrupted into Ting-
wall. Here the udallers exercised the power
of reversing the decrees of inferior courts, of
trying important causes, and of legislating, or
making bye-laws for the good of the whole
community. The highest appeal was to the
king at Bergen. Having already, under the
head Orkney, presented a sketch of the his-
tory of this country after it passed under the
feudal dominion of the rapacious Stewarts, Earl
of Orkney, we may pass on to state, that, since
it submitted to the superiority of the crown in
the seventeenth century, it has paid a third of
the cess or land tax imposed on the islands of
Orkney and Shetland ; but the latter having
no valued rent, by which the right of individu-
als to vote can be ascertained, it is denied any
share in the election of a member of parlia-
ment. Orkney and Shetland form one stew-
artry or county, under the jurisdiction of one
sheriff-depute and two sheriff-substitutes. The
system of husbandry has till recent times been
in a backward condition ; the causes of which
are independent of the inclemency of the wea-
ther. Far removed from the seat of improve-
ment, and little actuated by the ordinary reasons
for a persevering industry, the Shetlanders have
hitherto been careless about those alterations

necessary to bring the country into cultivation.
They also labour under the disadvantage
of a want of roads, of which there are ab-
solutely none, except where one has been at-
tempted to no greater distance than five or
six miles west of Lerwick, The want of
roads by land is nevertheless partly supplied
by the use of boats, on the numerous fine voes
which penetrate far into the interior. In tra-
velling from place to place, the small ponies of
the country pursue their way across the wastes
without much difficulty and at no expense ;
but in sailing to and fro in boats, strangers are
often much at a loss, and the expense is consi-
derable. There is generally a piece of green
pasturage, never dug up, attached to each
house, which in the ancient language of
the country was named a setter or scater ; the
Shetlander now names it his town mails. On
this spot horses are always tethered, when
wanted for immediate use, or upon the close of
a summer day ; the small horned cattle of the
country are in like manner secured, previous
to their being lodged for the night without the
byre. The black cattle of Shetland are of a
very diminutive breed ; a cow is said to weigh
from two to three hundred weight upon an
average ; an ox from three to four, but not ex-
ceeding five hundred weight. These animals
have long small horns, and are of a brindled
white, brown, or black colour. There is ge-
nerally so little food for the cows, that during
severe winters, numbers have been known to
perish from want. A very grt-at abundance of
poultry is kept on almost every farm. The
most common tenants, however, of the enclo-
sures are the small swine peculiar to the coun-
try, which are of a dunnish white, brown, or
black colour, with a nose remarkably strong,
sharp-pointed ears, and back greatly arched,
from which long stiff bristles stand erect.
The hog is said to weigh from sixty to one
hundred lbs., and his flesh is generally lean.
The small Shetland ponies, which are barrel-
bellied, broad backed, and of a brown or black
colour, are well known throughout Scotland
by the name of shelties. The shelty is left to
feed on the hills during the whole year ; and
in the most inclement weather of winter, is
never admitted within the warm wails of a
stable, being frequently compelled to subsist on
the drift ware that is left by the ebb of the
tides. In spring, these animals are often in
such a half-starved state, owing to their scanty

928

SHETLAND.

supply of winter food, that the growth of the
summer herbage becomes necessary before
they can so far recover their strength as to bear
a rider over the moors of the country. These
hardy creatures are seldom more than nine or
eleven hands high, and can soon be made
ready for travelling. When a journey is medi-
tated, the Shetlander goes to the Scathold,
ensnares the unshod shelty, occasionally
equips him with a modern saddle and bridle,
and hangs on his neck a hair cord several yards
in length, well bundled up, from the extremity
of which dangles a wooden sharp-pointed stake.
The traveller then mounts his tiny courser,
his feet being often lifted up to escape the
boulders strewed in his way, and when arrived
at his destination, he carefully unravels the
tether attached to the neck of the animal, seeks
for a verdant piece of soil, and fixes the stake
into the ground. The steed is then considered
as comfortably disposed of, until his master
shall return. When manure is to be carried
to the fields, a klibbar, or wooden saddle, of a
peculiar form, is fixed on the back of each
shelty, to which cassies or straw baskets are
appended. The arable land generally preferred
for culture is described as sandy, or composed
of a mixture of clay and gravel that approaches
to a soft loam ; but often it consists of a
black mould resting on clay alone, or clay and
sand. Many of the enclosures near the
houses, or infield, have been dunged many
years, and have been sown in the end of April
with bear and oats for more than half a
century, without ever lying fallow, or having
produced a different kind of grain. The out-
field, or less productive parts, which are often
mossy and seldom drained, has also long re-
ceived each year a portion of dung, mixed with
duff-mould, earth, or sea-weed. The ground
is slightly harrowed ; it is then sown in the
end of March or beginning of April with black
oats. During the next season the outfield lies
fallow. The Shetland plough is rude, being
constructed with a single stilt only, and pulled
by four oxen abreast ; but for turning up the
land, the plough has been often laid aside, and
the ancient, slender, and long-shafted spade of
Shetland, which has a blade a quarter of the
breadth of the common garden spade of Scot-
land, and a convenient projecting piece of wood
for the application of the foot, is in much
greater requisition, being indeed well enough
adapted for the rugged and stony ground of the

country. The corn harvest of Shetland is
rarely finished till the end of October or even
November. The work of the husbandman is
frequently injured to a considerable extent by
the swine of the country, which appear to be
wild boars in miniature, or a race of little,
ugly, brindled rangers, not much larger than
terriers, too often suffered to roam abroad,
and destroy the fruits of the earth. The im-
perfect dikes, constructed of turf or stones,
easily yield to these animals, their efforts being
supported by wild shelties and sheep. In the
south of the mainland, rabbits have continued
to increase the desolation of the sand flood,
which there prevails. Instead of the growth
of plants, (which have a tendency to resist the
escape of the levigated particles of the subsoil,)
being encouraged, the reeds which grow among
the sand are still dug up by the roots, for the
laudable purpose of making besoms. The an-
cient quern, or hand corn mill, is still used in
Shetland. A machine of this description con-
sists of two staves about twenty-one inches in
diameter, resting on a kind of table. Near
the edge of the upper stave, there is a handle
which the grinder (generally a female of the
house) seizes and turns round with a sort of
centrifugal movement, whilst the left hand is
employed in supplying a hole in the centre
with corn. The meal then flies outwards, and
drops from between the staves on the table,
where it is every now and then scraped together
and taken away. Water-mills, probably as old
as the time of Harold Harfager, likewise ex-
ist. The grinding apparatus is of a very di-
minutive description, and is protected by a
low shed of unhewn stones, stretching across
one or other of the innumerable slender
rills which pour into the different voes.
The wild sheep of the country, of true native
breed, resemble in their form, their nimbleness
and fleetness, the argali, or wild sheep of Sibe-
ria. They are celebrated for their small size,
and known by naturalists under the name of
oves cauda brevi, which at the present day range
among the mountains of modern Scandinavia
and Russia ; in very few places are the Shet-
land sheep mixed with a Northumberland
breed. Their colour is exceedingly various,
being grey, black, dunnish brown, white, or
streaked and speckled in the most curious
manner with a combination of various tints and
shades. Besides the distinctive character which
they possess, from the shortness of their tails,

S II E T L A N D.

929

their horns are also very smalL As in the
case of the shelties, during the severer months
of the year, they are prompted by hunger to
proceed to the shores, where they feed on the
marine plants left by the tides. They are
allowed to run wild among the hills during the
whole of the year, herding and housing being
almost wholly unknown, and no food of any
kind is provided for them during deep falls of
snow. Whenever it is requisite to catch any
of them, they are hunted down with dogs train-
ed for the purpose. The carcass of these
Shetland sheep is very small, seldom weighing
more than thirty pounds ; but the flesh is pe-
culiarly sweet, and rivals in flavour the best
Welsh mutton. The chief use to which the
Shetland wool is applied is in knitting stock-
ings, and mits, or gloves. The fleece, which is
remarkably soft, has been wrought into stock-
ings so fine that they have been known to sell as
high as forty shillings a pair. The pre-
sent writers have seen them also so re-
markably fine that a pair could be made
to pass through an ordinaiy gold ring. The
price of the most common quality, however,
is about three or four shillings, whilst they
are manufactured so as to be worth no more
than fivepence or sixpence. The institu-
ion of the Shetland Agricultural Society a few
years ago, may be expected to lead to some
beneficial improvements. The attention of the
gentlemen of the country is now laudably di-
rected to a division of commons, as the ground-
work of all agricultural improvements ; but in
the meantime, the premiums that are given for
the growth of turnips, which are found to suc-
ceed remarkably well, — for the breaking of waste
ground, — for the improvement of live stock, —
and for the cultivation of artificial grasses, —
already promise the most beneficial results.
Not long ago leases were unknown ; and al-
though annual tenants still continue to be the
greatest portion of the cultivators, yet much
longer terms may in many parts of the country
be easily procured. By a statistical table of
Scotland, it appears that of the 855 square
miles of land in Shetland, there were, about
twenty years since, 21,888 acres cultivated,
525,312 acres of hills, mosses, &c. or a propor-
tion of four acres in the hundred under tillage.
By returns from the tax-office, it appears that
in 1811, the real rental of lands in sterling
money, was L.6741, or at the rate of three-
pence an acre, and that the rental of houses

was L.1408. Under the same authority, it i9
seen, that, in 1814, there were in Orkney and
Shetland 19,300 horses, and 44,500 cattle, and
in Orkney alone 50,000 sheep, and in Shetland
75,000. Of land under wood, natural or
planted, the statistical returns present a total
blank. In this respect Shetland is still more
bare than Orkney, there being hardly such a
thing as a shrub over the whole islands. This
utter destitution of trees gives Shetland a truly
cheerless and dismal aspect. With the simple
native of the country the idea of a tree is quite
imaginative, or taken from written accounts.*
The fuel in general use is peat, the cutting and
drying of which occupies considerable attention.
Having presented a sketch of the husbandry of
Shetland, we shall next introduce the Shetland-
ers to our readers as fishermen, which is the true
character of this remarkable people. The oc-
currence of a fine Shetland evening is always
shewn by numerous boats covering the surface
of each bay, the crews of which are engaged in
angling for the small fry of the coal- fish, or gadus
carbonarius, known in Shetland by the name of
sethe. These swarm in myriads within the nu-
merous creeks aud sounds of the Northern Ar-
chipelago. They first appear in May, scarcely
more than an inch long, and in comparatively
small quantities, but gradually increase as the
summer season advances, when about August
they become very abundant, measuring at that
time from six to eight inches in length. During
this time the fry are distinguished by the name of
sillocks. About the month of March ensuing,
they are found to have grown to the length of
about fifteen inches, when they acquire the name
of piltocks. After this period they thrive very
fast, attaining the ordinary size of the cod-fish ;
a profitable fishery then takes place of them in
deep tideways, under the name of Sethes. Al-
though the fry of sethe frequent all parts of
the bays, yet the fishermen assert that their
favourite resort is among the constant floods
and eddies which occur near sunken rocks and
bars, that are alternately covered and laid bare
by the waves. There is probably no sight
more impressive to the stranger who first visits

* We have been told by Shetlanders, resident in Edin-
burgh, that they never saw a tree till they beheld such a
strange object on Leith Walk., after first landing from
their native country at Leith ; but that their surprise on
this occasion was hardly so great as when they, for
the first time, saw wheeled earriages rolling about the
streets.

6 c

S30

SHETLAND.

the shores of Shetland, than to observe on a
serene day, when the waters are perfectly trans-
parent and undisturbed, the multitudes of busy
shoals, wholly consisting of the fry of the sethe,
which Nature's full and unsparing hand has di-
rected to every harbour and inlet. As the even-
ing advances, innumerable boats are launched,
crowding the surface of the bays, and filled
with hardy natives. The fisherman is seated
in his light skiff, with a rod in his hand and a
supply of boiled limpets near him, intended for
bait, or he occasionally angles from the ledge
of a rock. A few of these limpets are care-
fully stored in his mouth for immediate use.
The baited line is thrown into the water, and
a fish is almost instantaneously brought up.
The finny captive is then secured, and while
one hand is devoted to wielding the rod, ano-
ther is used for carrying the hook to the mouth,
where a fresh bait is ready for it, in the ap-
plication of which the fingers are assisted by
the lips. The same manual and labial routine
goes on with remarkable adroitness and cele-
rity, until a sufficient number of sillocks are
secured for the fisherman's repast. But in
any season of the year, the limpet bait may
be suspended by the more alluring temptation
of an artificial fly. The rod and line are then
handled with a dexterity not unworthy the fresh
water talents of a Walton or Cotton. It may also
be of some interest to " brothers of the angle,"
as Isaac Walton calls his companions, to learn
that the Shetland fly, to which sillocks rise, is
rarely intended to represent any particular spe-
cies observed in nature. The Shetlander assures
us confidently, that two wings are alone neces-
sary for the insect, the fish distinguishing no-
thing more. The inference is, that there is an
intellectual gradation among the finny tribe,
and that the fry of the sethe are not so clear-
sighted as the more wary and knowing inhabi-
tants of pellucid trout-streams. For the con-
struction of the bait, the white feather of the
common gull, or of the goose, is sometimes
used. But the fibres of the tail or back-fin
of the dog-fish, which, when cleaned, shines
like silver, are preferred to any other kind of
material, being considered by the fishermen
as particularly enticing. The fly is attached
to a white hair line, and when this cannot be
procured, to a brass wire. There are from
three to six hooks made of pins attached to
each line, and a dexterous fisherman sitting in
a boat can manage three or even four rods
39.

when the boat is pulled gently over the
water. So easily are captures made of
the small fry, that while active manhood
is left at liberty to follow the more labori-
ous occupations of the deep-water fishery,
or to navigate the Greenland seas, it is to the
sinewless arm of youth, or to the relaxed fibres
of old age, that the light task is consigned of
wielding the sillock-rod. The lavish abund-
ance in which the fry of the sethe visit the in-
lets of Shetland, affords sufficient matter for
contemplation to the reflecting mind. Among
islands, the severe climate of which is too
often fatal to the labours of husbandry, — where
the reduced state of labour, resulting from
the debased political state of the country, pre-
cludes the purchase of meal at a cost much
above the usual price in commercial districts, —
under such circumstances, what is there that
can possibly render a few insulated rocks ca-
pable of supporting a population of more than
28,000 souls ? The reply is not difficult— That
kind providence,

who pours his bounties forth

With such a full and unwithdrawing hand,
Thronging the seas with spawn innumerable,

has not neglected the obscure shores of Hialt-
land. Amidst the occasional visitations of fa-
mine, the seventy of which overwhelms with
despair the population of the south, prompt-
ing to every act of civil insubordination,
the Shetland peasant has only to launch his
skiff on the waters which glide past his own
dwelling, and he finds that a bounteous supply
awaits him at his very door. The fry of the
sethe, in a scarce winter, has constituted the
breakfast, the dinner, and the supper of the
Shetland peasant. The fivers are also con-
verted to an important use ; being collected
in a tub, they are boiled for oil, and the over-
plus is sold. " Thus," says a female writer
of Thule, (Miss Campbell) with much elo-
quence, " the tvo articles most required in a
climate like tha' of Shetland, have been abun-
dantly provided, — these are fire and light. The
natives have, for their labour, as much fuel as
they can consume. Whatever wants may be
in a Zetland hut, there is seldom or never a
good fire wanting. The fish which they catch,
almost at their doors, supply them with the
means of light. The cold and darkness of their
long winters are thus mercifully robbed of their
terror ; and in the mud-walled cottage of the
Zetlanders, the providence of God is as con-

SHETLAND.

931

spicuous, and as surely felt, as in those favour-
ed lauds which flow with milk and honey, and
where the sun shines in all its glory." The
ling fishery of Shetland is reckoned the chief
in this branch of employment. This fishery
commences in the middle of May, and ends on
the 12th of August. It is well known that
the ling frequent the deep vallies of the sea ;
the cod resort to the high banks. Another
fish caught along with the ling, and resembling
it, is the gadus brosure, or Torsk, commonly
named Tusk; but it does not attain the same
length. In this fishery, cod is also taken,
though sparingly. For the prosecution of the
ling fishery, convenient sites on the coast are
selected ; the fishermen being allowed by law
to build huts for themselves on any site which
may be unenclosed, uncultivated, and at a dis-
tance of not more than one hundred yards from
the high water-mark. The Haaf is a name
applied to any fishing ground, for ling, cod, or
tusk, on the outside of the coast. The curing
and drying of the fish, when landed from the
Haaf, is conducted with great regularity. In
recent times, the cod fishery in the deep seas
has been also attended to, and been veryproduc-
tive. The herring fishery has also of late been
tried with spirit, and has now become a favour-
ite pursuit of the Shetlanders. The coasts
swarm with the smaller seals, or Tang-fish,
and with the larger seals, or Haaf-fish. Each
year the vessels proceeding to the Green-
Jand and Davis' Straits sea fishery touch
at Shetland, and procure great numbers of
active seamen, who, as boatmen, are held
in the highest estimation. As regards the
commerce of Shetland, it may be observed,
that, with the exception of Lerwick, where
there is a manufactory for straw-plaiting, few
or no distinct trades are to be found in the
thinly inhabited districts of the country ;
almost every peasant being the fabricator of
his own rivlins and shoes, as well as his
own tailor and carpenter. Shetland receives
from Scotland and England the materials
which are required for the use of the fisheries,
for clothing, &c. The exports consist chiefly
of dried lish and herrings, which are sent to
Scotland and Ireland, and from thence find their
way to the foreign markets, also shelties, cattle,
beef, and a little kelp. The recent discovery
of a cod-bank has been the most considerable
source of wealth. The country enjoyed a great
revenue during the last war, from the number

of men employed in the royal navy and the
whale fishery, their wages being transmitted to
their native homes in money. At present, the
amount of wages of seamen sent to the country
is likewise considerable. Should the herring
fishery continue in the flourishing condition in
which it has commenced, it may safely be
prognosticated, that, with this and other sources
of wealth from fishing, Shetland will ere long
be among the richest districts within the Bri-
tish dominions ; already, the balance of trade
— that is export over import — is greatly in
its favour. — We have said, under the head
Orkney, that little intercourse subsists be-
tween the inhabitants of that country and
those of Shetland, and both are more inti-
mately acquainted with the mainland of Bri-
tain or continental Europe, than they are with
the islands of each other. The Shetlanders
have all the appearance of being descendants
of Scandinavian settlers. The men are rarely
very tall, but remarkably well-proportioned,
light, and nimble. Their features are rather
small, and have nothing of the harshness that
so peculiarly distinguishes many of the Anglo-
Saxon provincials in the north of England, or
in some of the lowland districts of Scotland.
The constitutional temperament of the Scan-
dinavians is generally conceived to be sanguine ;
and since its characteristics are supposed to
consist in a florid complexion, a smooth skin,
and hair brown, white, or slightly auburn, the
natives of Shetland give satisfactory tokens
of their national descent. When Orkney and
Shetland were transferred from the government
of Norway to that of Scotland, the Scandina-
vian natives of these islands gradually aban-
doned the Norse language ; but they still re-
tain many Norwegian terms, and, along with
these, their own national accent, which is dis-
tinguished by an acuteness of tone and an
elevation of voice, that has much of the spirit
of the English mode of utterance, while their
pronunciation partakes of the still more mo-
dulated and impassioned tones of the Irish.
But among none of the natives is to be found
the Scotch peculiarity of expression, which is
less diversified by alternations of grave and acute
accents. The only unfavourable trait of cha-
racter in the Shetlanders is their predilection
for seizing on the wrecks of vessels, driven
on their shores, in which plundering habits
they have been said to differ little from Cor-
nishmen or Welshmen. This, however, is

932

SHIANT ISLES.

more a subject of tradition than an actually
existing characteristic. Of a similar character
are their gross impositions practised upon
strangers in their charges for boat-fare. But,
if these form the shades in the character of the
Shetlander, they are amply relieved by many
of the most amiable traits of feeling. One of
the most striking peculiarities of the inhabi-
tants generally, is their great hospitality. This
they possess in a pre-eminent degree, and in
connexion with their kindliness of heart, such a
sincerity of purpose, that would make up for a
thousand deficiencies. If the Shetlander lives
in a country exposed to the rage of stormy
seas, or the action of a dismal atmospliere, and
unornamented by the usual attributes of trees
and living fences, or spread out a trackless
wilderness, are not all these and every other
want supplied by an unfailing buoyancy of
spirits, contentment under difficulties, and a
sociality of sentiment rarely excelled in more
fortunate climes ? Their hospitality has been
celebrated in the Northern Sagas, and there
still remains all the practice of it recommended
in the Havamaal of Odin. " To the guest
who enters your dwelling with frozen knees,
give the warmth of your fire ; and he who
hath travelled over the mountains hath need of
rood and well dried garments." These traits
of character, as well as the delight which all
classes feel in dancing, music, and parties of
pleasure, have been well described in the ro-
mance of " the Pirate," by the Author of Wa-
verley, and need not here be dwelt on at length.
The strange superstitions of the country for a
similar reason need not be detailed. Orkney and
Shetland were late in embracing the tenets of
Christianity ; the first missionary worth nam-
ing being Magnus, in the thirteenth century,
till which time Pagan usages prevailed. Dur-
ing the time of episcopacy, Shetland formed
part of the diocess of Orkney, the cathedral
being at Kirkwall. These countries were
also late in receiving the reformed doctrines,
and, at a much later date, were slow in con-
forming to presbyterianism, which it seems was
not fully established till 1700, in consequence
of a commission being then despatched by the
General Assembly. The Shetland Isles now
form twelve parochial divisions, forming two
presbyteries and a synod. Little more than
a century ago, there was not even a school for
the wealthier classes, but shortly afterwards
the poor were taught by a master sent over by

the Society for Propagating Christian Know-
ledge. In the year 1724, the landholders of
the county met and established a school in
each parish, obliging parents, under a heavy
penalty, to send their children thither. After-
wards, for a long period, the education of the
poor was again neglected. At the present
day, many schools are established in different
parts of the country, although some of them
appear to be ill attended. The only town in
the country is Lerwick, which is situated on
the east side of the Mainland, and for a de-
scription of it we refer to the article Lerwick.
Besides it, there are only a few villages or
hamlets on the shores j in different parts
of the country there are now some good resi
dences of landed proprietors. — In 1755, the po-
pulation of Shetland was estimated at 15,210 ;
in the year 1793 at 20,186 ; in 1810 at 28,000;
and in 1821 at 11,801 males, and 14,344
females, total 26,145. The population in 1831,
was about 29,000.

SHETTLESTON, a considerable vil-
lage in Lanarkshire, in the barony parish of
Glasgow, lying on the road betwixt Edinburgh
and that city, and inhabited chiefly by weav-
ers. A chapel of Ease has been recently es-
tablished.

SHEVOCK, a small rivulet in Aberdeen-
shire, which joins the Gadie, near its confluence
with the Urie.

SHIANT ISLES, several small islands of
the Hebrides, lying off the east side of Lewis,
nearly opposite Loch Seaforth. The term
Shiant is of wide application, and though mean-
ing the holy place, or the place of spirits, or of
fairies, seems to have been conferred on these
islands merely from having once possessed a
religious monastic establishment. " There
are three islands in the group," says Macculloch,
" besides some detached rocks, disposed in
the form of a triangle ; two of them, Eilan-na-
Kily and Garveilan, being connected by a rock
of pebbles that is seldom covered, unless in a
high tide and stormy sea. Eilen Wirrey lies
detached, at the distance of about half a mile.
The two former appear to be, each, about two
miles circuit, the latter about one ; and the
whole form a single sheep farm, tended by a
solitary family which resides on Eilan-na-Kily.
They are verdant, being entirely covered withi
rich grass ; offering a delicious solitude, if suns
would always shine, and seas be always calm.
The Shiant Isles are objects of research to the

SHIANT ISLES.

933

geological tourist, as they contain natural colum-
nar structures similar to those of Staffa and the
Giant's Causeway. Garveilan, which is the most
conspicuous of the group, is 530 feet high.
To the eastward it runs out into a long narrow
ridge, which is bounded on each side by per-
pendicular but rude cliffs, fifty or sixty feet in
height. The main part of the island is a
round hill, very difficult of access, terminating
on all sides in columnar rocks of various alti-
tude, and intermixed, on the east, with grassy
slopes, and fragments of fallen columns. To
the north, it presents a long extended line of
columnar cliffs ; reaching in a gentle curve to
1000 yards, or more, and impending, with its
perpendicular face and broad mass of shadow,
over the dark deep sea that washes its base.
The height of this range varies from 300 to
400 feet ; and it thus forms one of the most
magnificent colonnades to be found among the
Western Islands. But these islands are no-
where more striking than when viewed at a
sufficient distance from the northward ; the
whole of this lofty range of pillars, being dis-
tinctly seen rising like a wall out of the sea ;
varied by the ruder forms of the others which
tower above or project beyond them, and con-
trasted by the wild rocks which skirt the whole
group. If this scene has not the variety of
Staffa, it exceeds it, at least in simplicity and
grandeur of effect, as much as it does in magni-
tude ; but, lying beyond the boundary of ordi-
nary travels, it is still unknown. Yet these
columns, though scarcely less regular than those
of Staffa, do not produce the same architectur-
al effect, in consequence of their great height.
Being six times as long, and not of much larger
dimensions, they do not resemble artificial pil-
lars in their proportions ; while the distance
required for viewing the whole cliff to advan-
tage, also renders them necessarily indistinct.
I might add to this, that they want the con-
trast which is produced at Staffa by the rude
mass of superincumbent rock ; and that, from
their great length, they are rarely continuous
throughout, so that their approach to the artifi-
cial character is further diminished by fractures
and interruptions. But these are not defects :
they are rather sources of variety. The pro-
jecting point already mentioned, aids the ge-
neral effect, and is productive of much variety
by combining with the surrounding scenery,
and as serving, by its rudeness, to contrast with
the regularity of the columnar cliffs. It is

perforated by an arch of considerable dimen-
sions, which affords a very striking object.
This opening seems to be about forty or fifty
feet broad, and as much in height ; the length
appearing to exceed an hundred feet. At one
end, the entrance is supported by two detached
columns of rock ; producing a piece of rude
natural architecture, no less elegant in disposi-
tion than remarkable in its effect, whether
viewed from without or within. We hesitated
at the entrance ; but the tide was rushing
through with such violence, that before we
could resolve whether we should attempt to
pass it or not, the current seized on the boat
and carried us before it like an arrow. The
velocity with which we entered this dark and
narrow passage, the shadowy uncertainty of
forms half lost in its obscurity, the roar of the
sea as it boiled and broke along like a moun-
tain torrent, and the momentary uneasiness
wheih every such hazardous attempt never fails
to produce, rendered the whole scene poetically
teriffic. As we emerged from the darkness of
this cavern, we shot far away beyond the cliffs,
whirled in the foaming eddies of the contend-
ing streams of tide. As I turned to look back
through the surge, at the dark opening of what
might well have been supposed the northern Nas-
tranda, never probably before passed, I could
not help thinking of the great poet who ' si
volse indietro a rimirar lo passo che non lascia,
giammai persona viva.' Eilan Wirrey is, by it-
self, scarcely a picturesque object, the columnar
faces being here diminished in length by some
rude rocks that skirt their feet; nor is there
any thing very striking in the forms of its cliffs.
On the western side of Eilan-na-Kily, the
shore is low and rocky ; but on the opposite
quarter it is bounded by columnar cliffs. These,
however grand, are eclipsed by the superior
beauties of Garveilan ; yet they afford some
fine scenes, enlivened by the myriads of sea
fowl, which in these islands, as at Ailsa, al-
most deafen the spectator with their ceaseless
clamour, and darken the air with their flight.
It was impossible here not to think of Virgil's
lively description of the flight of sea birds ; so
exactly do they resemble a cloud of leaves
scattered by an autumnal storm. A ruinous
square enclosure, the remains of a house, lies
on the western side of this island, whence its
name — the Island of the Cell. The smallness
of this building renders it probable that it was
really the cell of some ascetic monk, or hermit ;

9M

S H O T T S.

personages which are known to have existed in
several parts of the Western Islands."

SHIEL, (LOCH) a lake in the south-west
corner of Inverness-shire, dividing the district
of Moidart from Ardgower. It extends about
ten miles in length, by from one to two in
breadth, in the direction of north-east and
south-west, and discharges itself into the wes-
tern sea at Castle- Tirim, by the river Shiel.
The lake contains a small beautiful island,
called Inch Finan, on which are the ruins of a
church, dedicated to St. Finan.

SHIN, (LOCH) a lake in Sutherlandshire,
in the parish of Lairg, extending about fourteen
miles in length, in a direction of north-west and
south-east, and from one to two broad. It dis-
charges itself at the south-eastern extremity
by the river Shin, which flows through a vale
to the Dornoch firth. " In point of size," says
Maculloch, " Loch Shin is a remarkable piece
of water, yet it is little better than a huge
ditch ; without bays, without promontories,
without rocks, without trees, without houses,
without cultivation ; as if Nature and Man had
equally despised and forgotten it. At the
western extremity, however, it acquires a por-
tion of that character which belongs to the next
lakes* Loch Geam, and Loch Merkland ; the
lower hills, which had before bounded it, being
now replaced by the skirts of the mountains of
the west ; among which Ben More Assynt is
pre-eminent. The height and rudeness of the
mountain boundary, compared with their limit-
ed size, render these lakes striking ; and would
place them in no mean rank, were there any
wood to give them some portion of ornament."
This chain of lakes affords an extensive tract
of water for communication between the east
and west seas, in some measure like the chain
composing the Caledonian canal, but it has
never been used for purposes of this nature.

SHINNEL, a small stream in Nithsdale,
Dumfries- shire, in the parish of Tynron, rising
from the heights which bound Dumfries- shire
on the west, from the Stewartry of Kirkcud-
bright, and flowing in a south-easterly course
till it joins the Scarr water, nearly opposite the
church at Penpont. The Shinnel has a some-
what picturesque appearance, and in one place
makes a deep fall called the Aird Linn, which
is occasionally visited by those who delight in
striking natural objects.

SHIRA, a small river in Argyleshire, which
rises in the mountains behind Inverary, and

after forming a small deep lake, called Loch
Dubh, falls into Loch Fyne, near the town of
Inverary. It gives the name of Glenshira to
the district through which it passes.

SH O CHIE, a small river in Perthshire, ris-
ing in the parish of Monedie, and falling into the
Tay at Loncarty, in the parish of Redgorton.

SHOTTS, a parish in the north-east quar-
ter of Lanarkshire, bounded by New Monk-
land on the north, Bothwell on the west, and
Cambusnethan on the south. On the east is
the county of Linlithgow. It is nearly of a
rectangular form, extending about ten miles
each way. The surface is in general level,
but has several hills of considerable elevation
on its eastern border, from the summits of
which the prospect is most extensive. It is
watered by the North and South Calders, and
several streamlets. Till of late, the appear-
ance was bleak and barren ; but, by the exer-
tions of the proprietors, the greater part is
enclosed, and beginning to assume a more fer-
tile and pleasing aspect. Coal and ironstone
are abundant, the latter being wrought and
manufactured into cast-iron goods to a very
considerable extent. The Shotts Iron Com-
pany is the chief rival in Scotland to the manu-
factory at Carron. The parish village, called
Kirk-of- Shotts, stands on the south road be-
twixt Edinburgh and Glasgow, in a bare and
elevated part of the district. At an early
period the parish was entitled Bertram- Shotts,
which signified the portion of some proprietor
of the name of Bertram, and it was compre-
hended in the parish of Bothwell. At the
place now named Kirk-of- Shotts, a chapel was
built, dedicated to St. Catherine, which at the
Reformation was constituted a parish church,
on the detachment of the district from Both-
well. The word Bertram was about the same
period dropped. — Population in 1821, 3297.

SHUN A, a small island of Argyleshire,
lying off the coast of Nether Lorn, and sepa-
rated on the west from Luing by a strait called
the Sound of Shuna. This is one of the slate
isles, and sends out large quantities of that
article. It is about three miles long, and has
a very different aspect from the other islands ;
being rocky, rude, and uneven, and covered
with scattered brushwood and low trees, which,
at a distance, have all the effect of fine wood,
and give it a very ornamented aspect. So
peculiar is the disposition of these wooded
portions, that the whole island looks like an

SKENE. (LOCH)

935

ornamental park. It is altogether a beautiful
and romantic spot, no less in itself, than from
its situation.

SHURIRY, (LOCH) a small lake in the
county of Caithness, which gives rise to the
river Forse.

SIDLAW, or SIDLA, or SUDLAW
HILLS, a continuous range of hills extending
from west to east through Perth and Forfar-
shires, beginning at Kinnoul, and terminating
near Brechin. The Sidlaws, which are sup-
posed to signify the south hills, form the south-
ern boundary to Strathmore, which they sepa-
rate from the district on the frith of Tay. The
highest is about 1400 feet above the level of
the sea. In viewing them from Fife, they
appear a lofty brown barrier of mountains,
secluding the interior of Perthshire and
Angus.

SIGRAMMA, two small islands on the
west coast of Lewis, near Loch Roag.

SIMPRIN, a parish in Berwickshire, united
to Swinton in 1G71 ; also a small village in
that parish. See Swinton.

SINCL AIRTO WN, a village in the parish
of Dysart, Fifeshire, immediately adjoining
Pathhead, in which it is usually included in
i opular speech. It is chiefly inhabited by a
body of industrious weavers. The houses are
so blended with those of Gallatown, that their
res;)fctive boundaries can with difficulty be
« bserved.

SKARR WATER, a small river in the
upper part of Nithsdale, Dumfries-shire, rising
from the heights which bound the western
part of Dumfries-shire from the stewartry of
Kirkcudbright, and flowing in a south-easterly
course through the parish of Penpont. It
receives the Shinnel and some other small
streams, and falls into the Nith in the parish
of Keir.

SKEILAY, an islet of the Hebrides, near
Harris.

SKENE, (LOCH) a small lake in the
northern extremity of Dumfries-shire, parish
of Moffat, extending to about 1100 yards long
and 400 broad, and possessing a small islet.
The water which issues from this mountain
tarn is tributary to Moffat water, and just
before joining it forms a lofty and romantic
cascade, called the Grey Mare's Tail. This
cascade is nearly ten miles north-east from the
town of Moffat, and is approached by a pass
from the head of Yarrow into Moffatdale.

This chief wonder of the south of Scotland,
in the department of the terrible, is situated
almost in the very centre of the southern high-
lands, and is surrounded on every side by ob-
jects of a similarly wild and dread-inspiring
character. The gully, in which the fall takes
place, recedes from the north side of the great
glen, or pass, at a point about a mile and a half
below the little inn of Birk-hill. The mouth
of the gully is flanked by a strange, crescent-
like rampart, called " the Giant's Grave," but
which has evidently been a battery for defence
of the pass. The stranger is obliged to creep
over the hill to the left of the gully, in order
to obtain a station for observing the fall. The
water is precipitated over a rock three hundred
feet high ; a dark rugged precipice, with slight
projecting ledges, which, by interrupting the
descent of the tiny stream, occasions the ap-
pearance described so graphically by the name.
A more terrible — more horrible scene than this
can scarcely be imagined ; the precipice and
fall are in themselves so terrible, and such is
the depression of mind that takes place in these
awful solitudes. A dreadful accident happened
at the Grey Mare's Tail, about the year 1811.
A young man who had recently come to serve
as a shepherd in that part of the country, feel-
ing a great curiosity respecting the fall, at-
tempted one Sunday, when all the country
people (except one boy who accompanied him)
were at church, to climb up the face of the
precipice, close by the cascade. When he and
his companion were near the top, the boy, who
was foremost, heard a great scream, and, look-
ing back, beheld the unfortunate youth flying
down the profound abyss, (as he expressed it),
just Me a craw. At this dreadful sight, " Ms
een looldt a gates at ance," and he had nearly
lost all muscular energy ; yet he got unskathed
to the top, and immediately hastened to alarm
the neighbouring shepherds in behalf of their
lost comrade. After a considerable lapse of
time, a few men were got together, who, pro-
viding themselves with ropes, hastened to the
spot. The body was found lying on a ledge
of the precipice a good way up, so that it was
only reached with great difficulty. The head
of the unhappy youth was dashed close to his
body, which was otherwise dreadfully mangled ;
life had long been extinct. His bonnet and
plaid lay among the precipices for many years
afterwards, till they rotted away ; no one ven-
turing up to get them, and few caring to touch

930

S K Y E.

the relics of one against whom heaven seemed
to have directed so fearful & judgment.

SKENE, a parish in Aberdeenshire, near
Aberdeen, bounded on the east by Newhills,
on the north by Kinnellar and Kintore, on the
west by Cluny and Echt, and on the south by
Echt and Peterculter. It extends nearly se-
ven miles in length, by a breadth varying from
two and a half to four miles. The general
appearance is hilly and moorish, the quantity
of arable and pasture land being about a half
of the whole superficies. The chief boundary
on the south is the Luchar Burn, a tributary of
the Dee, which is the water discharged from
Loch Skene, a small lake measuring about a
mile in length and three quarters of a mile in
breadth. In a north-west direction from
thence is Skene House, an elegant country re-
sidence, surrounded by some thriving planta-
tions.— Population in 1821, 1440.

SKEOTISVAY, an island of the He-
brides, about a mile in length, lying in East
Loch Tarbert, in Harris.

SKERRIES, or OUT SKERRIES,
three small islands and some detached rocks of
Shetland, lying fifteen miles north-east from
the isle of Whalsay, and nearly twenty from
the Mainland. They belong to the united pa-
rish of Lunasting, Nesting, Skerries, and
Whalsay, and are inhabited by a few families.

SKIACH, (LOCH) a small river in the
parish of Kiltearn, Ross-shire, which takes its
rise from a number of small streams in the
mountains, and falls into the sea close by the
church of Kiltearn.

SKIPNESS, aparish in Argyleshire, united
to that of Saddel. See Saddel and Skip-

NESS.

SKIPORT, (LOCH) an arm of the sea
on the east coast of South Uist, projected a
considerable length inland, of a various breadth,
and containing several islands.

SKIRLING, a small parish in the western
side of Peebles-shire, bounded on the north-
east by Kirkurd, on the east by Broughton, on
the south by Kilbucho, and on the west by
Biggar. It extends about four miles in length
from north to south, and its general breadth is
one and a half. This district is hilly, but green,
fertile, and greatly improved for purposes of
agriculture. The village of Skirling, or Sker-
ling, as it is called in Peebles-shire, is situated
on the road from Edinburgh to Leadhills, two
miles east of Biggar, twenty-five from Edin-

burgh, and two and a half north-west of
Broughton. It is noted for three great annual
fairs, on the first Tuesday after the 26th of
May, new style ; the first Wednesday of June,
old style ; and the 4th of September, old style.
—Population in 1821, 345.

SKY, or SKYE, the largest of the western
isles, with the exception of Lewis, belonging
to the county of Inverness. On the west it
is bounded by a gulf called the Minch, which
is nearly twenty-miles in breadth, and divides
it from Harris, North Uist, and other islands
in the outer range of the Hebrides. The
nearest islands on the south are Eigg, Rum,
and Canna. On the south-east extremity it is
separated from the mainland of Inverness-shire
by a strait, varying from a gun-shot to three
miles in breadth. On the north it has Scalpa
and Raasay. The island of Skye, whose
name, in the Scandinavian tongue, signifies
" mist," extends about forty-five miles in
length, with a mean breadth of fifteen, but it
is so indented by sea lochs as to have less
superficial area than those dimensions would
give. There is scarcely, indeed, a point
in it that is five miles from the shore, on
some quarter or other. Altogether it is
said to contain a superficies of nearly 350,000
acres. By the indentation of the sea, it pos-
sesses a number of peninsulated tracts ; that
on the south, opposite Eigg, is called Sleat.
The chief sea lochs are Lochs Eishart, Slapin,
Scavaig, Brittil, Bracadale, and Harport, on
the south ; Follart and Snizort on the west ;
and Portree, Sligachan and Ainort on the east.
On the southern extremity is the point of Sleat;
on the north-west Unish Point; and on the
north Aird Point. The first impression which
a stranger feels on landing in this island, is that
of a savage, bare, brown, hideous land ; cold,
cheerless, and deserted ; without even the at-
traction of grand or picturesque features.
First impressions of this kind are seldom but
false ; as it contains great variety of beauty,
and, in scenes of romantic grandeur, yields to
no land. Though a mountainous country, it
presents a considerable diversity, both of ele -
vation and character ; yet it possesses no level
ground, except the plain of Kilmuir, in the
north, and a small tract at Bracadale. Gla-
mich, near Sconser, and Ben-na-Cailich, near
Broadford, are among the most conspicuous
of the central mountains, which all rise to
between 2000 or 3000 feet. The forms are,

5 K iT E-

937

in general, conical, or tamely rounded, and dis-
agreeably distinct, as if so many independent
hills had been planted together ; nor is there
any ruggedness of outline, or depth of preci-
pice, to vary the general insipidity. The pe-
culiar shape of these mountains arises from
the same cause as their cheerless aspect of
barrenness ; the mouldering rocks of the sum-
mit descending along their sides in streams,
and often covering the whole declivities with
one continuous coat of stones and gravel. Of
a few, the colour of this rubbish is grey ; but,
throughout the greater part, it is of a reddish-
brown, adding much to the desolate and dis-
agreeable effect of the whole. Another group
ranging to 2000 feet in height, varied by ra-
vines and precipices, covered with scattered
woods, and of a very picturesque character,
occupies the division nearest to the mainland.
But the highest group, as well as the most
rugged, is that to the south, including the
Cuchullin hills, and Blaven ; distinguished
from the preceding by its dark, leaden, and
strong colour; a hue which it retains even in
sunshine and a clear sky. The ridge from
Portree northward, is also mountainous ; but
although as high as the hills of the Kyle, it does
not produce the same effect, on account of its
nearly unbroken continuity. The remainder
of the island, with little exception, is a hilly
moorland, generally of an elevation ranging
from 500 to 1000 feet, barren, brown, and
rugged. The promontory of Sleat possesses
the most of this rude character. It is a
natural consequence of this that the far
greater portion of Skye should be allotted
to pasture; nor is there, perhaps, anywhere
in Scotland, in the same space, so large
a proportion of land utterly without value.
Cattle form the main object of pasturage ; and
those of this island are noted for their good
qualities. The usual system of highland agri-
culture is pursued in the lands that admit
of it ; these are found only along the sea-
shores ; the largest arable districts being the
shores of Sleat and Bracadale, and that of
Loch Snizort ; in which lies the plain of Kil-
rnuir, emphatically called the granary of Skye.
Elevation, exposure, drainage, and the like
collateral circumstances, influence the rural
economy of this island, much more than
the sub-soil, which is almost everywhere of
the finest quality. Many districts are calca-
reous ; but the far greater portion, nine-tenths

perhaps of the island, are of a trap sub-soil, equal
to the best parts of Fife. The greater part of
this, however, is suffocated either by peat or
by stones, or else is swampy and rocky, or is
exposed in such a manner to the winds and
rains of this most stormy climate, as to have
all its fundamental good qualities defeated.
There is an excellent new road from Armi-
dale to Dunvegan, and to the Kyle- Rich,
which lays open the chief part of Skye ; and
there are other good country roads, which ren-
der all the most important communications
sufficiently easy. Before the opening up of
the island by these roads, which were chiefly
constructed by the parliamentary commission-
ers, carts, ploughs, &c. were in the possession of
only a few principal tenants ; but there are now
numerous carts in every quarter, ploughs, iron-
teethed harrows and other instruments of an
improved husbandry. Thus far this island pos-
sesses great advantages over Mull. Kelp is,
or lately was, manufactured to a considerable
extent ; but chiefly on the east coast, and in
the lochs ; as the western and northern sides
are formed of high cliffs, and exposed to heavy
seas. As is the case elsewhere on the west-
ern coast, the population itself is g-enerally
maritime ; and there are few houses more than
a quarter of a mile from the sea. It is thus
that the country appears, on a superficial view,
to be a desert ; though peopled as highly as it
will bear. Of the only four proprietors, Lord
Macdonald possesses nearly three-fourths of
the island; and, with the exception of Strath-
aird, belonging to Macalister, and an estate
belonging to Raasay, the remainder is the pro-
perty of Macleod. It is mentioned that the
late Lord Macdonald expended no less a
sum than L. 100,000 in the improvement of
the island. The coast-line of Skye is al-
most everywhere rocky, and, very general-
ly, rude and wild. From Strathaird, all the
way round by the west to Portree, it is, with
a few exceptions in the lochs, a continued range
of cliffs, often rising to three, four, or even to
six hundred feet ; in a few cases, exceeding
even this height. The remainder is rarely
very high; but it is everywhere rocky, and
interspersed with bold headlands, and small
bays or sinuosities. The rivers, though
abounding in salmon and trout, are of no note ;
and, excepting Coruisk, Loch Creich, and
Loch Colmkill, there are no lakes that deserve
a much higher name than pools. Loch-na-
G n

9C8

S K Y E.

Caplicb is the only one of those that is wor-
thy of notice ; and it is rendered so by con-
taining that rare plant the Eriocaulon. The
district north-east from Portree is a perfect
storehouse of geology. A huge mountain
ridge in the parish of Snizort, called the Storr,
is the highest point in the northern district.
Towards the east, it presents a range of lofty
inland cliffs, broken into irregular shapes, and
many hundred feet in height. While the faces
of these are marked by projections and reces-
ses, the outline of the sky is equally irregular
and picturesque. Often when the clouds sail
along and rest on the high point of the Storr,
the forms of walls, turrets, and spires may be
seen emerging from the driving mists. The
whole of these cliffs produce abundant and
brilliant specimens of minerals highly esteemed
by mineralogists. To the north of Ru-na-
Braddan, the cliffs are frequently columnar,
and often extend in long ranges for many miles,
with an air of architectural regularity as perfect
in its general effect, if not actually as complete
in the details, as the cliffs of Staffa. A cas-
cade, which falls over these cliffs between Ru-
na-Braddan and Fladda, forms an extraordi-
nary spectacle, and the only one of the kind
in this country. It is more striking than
picturesque ; as the river which produces it
starts immediately from the top of the colum-
nar cliff, which is about 300 feet high ; being
projected in a single spout into the sea, far
from the base of the rocks. As it boils and
foams below, a boat can pass behind it, and
permit the tourist, untouched, to admire the
noise and fury of the torrent. The climate of
Skye is very wet and misty, as its name im-
ports ; scarcely three days out of the twelve
being free of rain. The clouds, attracted
by the hills, sometimes break in useful and
refreshing showers, and at other times burst in
water-spouts, which deluge the plains and de-
stroy the crops. Stormy winds, too, set in
about the end of August and the beginning of
September, and often greatly injure the stand-
ing corn. The climate is cold and sharp about
the end of winter and beginning of spring.
The crops usually cultivated are beans, oats,
potatoes, and some flax. Artificial grasses and
hemp have been lately introduced. The grain
raised in good years is estimated at 10,000
bolls. The live stock of Skye is reckoned to
be 4000 horses of a small but hardy breed, and
18,000 head of cattle of an excellent breed, of
40.

which about 3800 are exported annually. The
sheep are estimated at about 40,000, consist-
ing chiefly of the Cheviots and black-faced
Lintons. Hogs, goats, and rabbits abound,
and game of all kinds is plentiful. The island
possesses many ancient forts, and monuments
of a Druidic character, as well as the remains
of some strong castles, seats of the ancient
feudal chiefs. Skye is divided into seven pa-
rishes, which, with the parish of Small Isles,
form the presbytery of Skye. The crown is
the patron of all these livings. The principal
towns or villages are Portree — the capital of
the island, Stein, Kyle-Haken, and Broadford.
The old ferry from Skye to the mainland is
at a narrow part of the strait, at Kyle-Righ,
near Glenelg kirk. There is now an admir-
able ferry at Kyle-Haken, farther to the north,
which conducts the Inverness road by Loch
Alsh to Skye, and nearly supersedes that of
Kyle-Rigb. A road also communicates with
Broadford. The air of life given by the ferry
houses at Kyle-Haken, and by the boats and
vessels perpetually navigating the strait, adds
much to the natural beauty of the scenery ;
which is also further enhanced by the ruins of
Kyle-Haken, or Moil Castle, an ancient tower,
of which no tradition exists. The town of
Kyle-Haken, though recently founded by
Lord Macdonald, is a very interesting object ;
its crowded and commodious anchorage com-
pensating, in life and bustle, for the deficien-
cies of the embryo town. Unfortunately,
it wants a good tract of ground behind, a cir-
cumstance which may limit its extension or
prosperity. The emigration of the inhabi-
tants of Skye has been very considerable for
a series of years, — so much so, that it is
customary to say, that there are, in all like-
lihood, as many Skyemen in America as in
the island itself. — In 1821 the population
was 20,627.

SLAINS, a parish in Aberdeenshire, lying
on the sea-coast, and the north or left bank of
the Ythan river, bounded by Foveran on the
south, Logie-Buchan on the west and north-
west, and Cruden on the north. It extends
about five miles in length, by three in breadth.
The extent of sea-coast is about six miles, two
thirds of which are rocky and the other sandy.
The rocks are in general high and indented
with immense chasms or caves, excavated in
many places to a great extent. The surface
of the parish is in general level, and the soil

S N 1 Z O R T.

939

fertile ; agricultural improvements have been
carried on with great diligence and activity,
chiefly owing to the great abundance of marie,
limestone, gravel, and shell sand, with which
the district abounds. Near the centre of the
parish is the small loch of Slains, whose water
is tributary to the Ythan. The chief planta-
tions are around Gordon Lodge, the residence
of the Gordons of Pitlurg. The kirk and its
village stand on the road near the sea-coast.
Slains, or Slaines castle, the seat of the Earl of
Enol, is situated in the adjacent parish of Cru-
den on a precipice overhanging the sea. — Po-
pulation in 1821, 1152.

SLAM ANNAN, a parish in the south-east
corner of Stirlingshire, lying on the south or
right bank of the Avon, which separates it from
Falkirk and Muiravonside. It has Bathgate
on the south, and Cumbernauld on the west. It
is of a triangular figure with the broadest side,
which is about six miles in length along the
Avon, by a breadth of three and a half at the
middle. Near the river the soil is fertile, and
the land is under the best processes of hus-
bandry ; but as it recedes southward it becomes
bleak and mossy. On the southern boundary
there is a small lake called Black Loch, which
is tributary to the great reservoir for the Clyde
canal ; besides it, there is another still smaller
lake in the district. At one period the parish
received the name of St. Lawrence, as well as
that of Slamannan, but the former is now dis-
used.— Population in 1821, 981.

SLE AT, a parish in Inverness-shire, in the
Isle of Skye, occupying the south-eastern ex-
tremity of the island opposite the mainland,
extending twenty miles in length, by a breadth
of from two to five. The greater part, as is
usual in Skye, is hilly and pastoral. The in-
terior is a rude moorland, but the eastern coast
displays a continued succession of tolerably
good Highland farming, with occasional ash
trees skirting the shores, on the sheltered sides
of the rivulets and ravines, while it affords fine
views of the noble and picturesque screen of
hills that forms the opposite mainland. On
this side is Loch Oronsay, which is an excellent
harbour. The western coast of the peninsula
of Sleat is much more beautiful than the east-
ern, presenting a succession of bays and of
finely undulating land. Here, on the coast,
stands the ruin of Dunscaich Castle, a feudal
strength of unknown date.— Population in
1821, 2608.

SLERTAL, (LOCH) a email lake in
Sutherlandshire.

SLITTERICK, or SLETRIG, a small
river in Roxburghshire, rising from the heights
which separate Tiviotdale from Liddesdale, in
the parish of Hobkirk, and after a northerly
course of about ten miles, falling into the Ti-
viot at Hawick, which it divides into nearly
two equal parts. It is subject to rapid floods
or speats after rains among the hills. How-
ever uncouth its name may appear, it has been
embodied oftener than once in verses, where
it has even supplied a rhyme. Dr. Leyden,
in his fine poem, entitled " Scenes of Infancy,"
where he reduces to glowing verse the poeti-
cal associations connected with all the streams
of his native dale, has, it must be confessed,
found himself necessitated to modify consider-
ably the harder tones of its consonants, and
render the word into the more classical-like
and mellifluous epithet of Slata.

SMAILHOLM, a parish in the northern
part of Roxburghshire, lying on the right or
south bank of the Eden, bounded by Earlstoun
and Nenthorn on the north, Nenthorn and
Kelso on the east, Makerston and Mertoun
on the south, and Mertoun on the west. It
extends about four and a half miles from west
to east, by a breadth of two at the middle.
The surface exhibits an agreeable variety of
high and low grounds ; and the whole has
been much improved. The village of Smail-
holm is situated on the road from Edinburgh
to Kelso, about four miles west from the lat-
ter. At the south-west corner of the parish,
upon a considerable eminence, stands Smail-
holm Tower, a deserted border strength, now
classical from its being the scene of Sir Wal-
ter Scott's admirable ballad, " The Eve of St.
John." The poet passed much of his child-
hood at the neighbouring farm house of Sandy-
knows, then inhabited by his paternal uncle

Population in 1821, 520.

SNIZORT, a parish in the northern part
of the Isle of Skye, Inverness-shire, extending
about eighteen miles in length, and nine in
breadth ; the west part being intersected by a
capacious inlet of the sea, called Loch Snizort.
The district is generally hilly and mountainous,
and affords some of the most .picturesque sce-
nery in Skye. The rearing of horses and cat-
tle is chiefly attended to. The parish abounds
with Druidic and other remains. Under the
head Skye there is a notice of some of the

940

SOLWAY.

chief objects of attraction to the tourist. — Po-
pulation in 1821,2789.

SO A, a small island of the Hebrides, about
a mile in circumference, lying near the remote
island of St. Kilda. The word Soa signifies
" Swine."

SOA, a small island on the south-west
coast of Skye, from which it is separated by
the Sound of Soa.

SOAY, (LITTLE and MICKLE) two
small islands of the Hebrides, lying on the
coast of Harris, in the mouth of West Loch
Tarbert.

SOAY, a small pasture island on the coast
of Sutherlandshire, near the entrance of Loch
Inver, in the parish of Assynt.

SOL WAY FIRTH, a navigable arm of
the sea, projected inland from the Irish Chan-
nel in a north-easterly direction for a length of
fifty miles, and separating the county of Wig-
ton, the stewartry of Kirkcudbright, and the
county of Dumfries in Scotland, from the
county of Cumberland in England. At its
mouth, from Burrowhead, one of the points of
Wigtonshire, to St. Bee's head, near White-
haven in Cumberland, it is about thirty- seven
miles across, and from this it gradually tapers
to a narrow estuary at its inland extremity. In
calculating the breadth of the Solway, it is to
be held in view that the tide recedes to a great
distance from high-water-mark, leaving sandy
beaches of vast extent. The Firth is navigable
for vessels of a hundred and twenty tons to the
issue of the small river Sark, and though flat
on the shores, affords safe landing places for
small vessels. On the Scottish side it is open-
ed upon by the Bay of Wigton, Kirkcudbright
Bayy and the Nith. It also receives a number
of rivers and streamlets. The Solway is of
much greater benefit to the districts on its
Scottish than its English side, and is indispen-
sable to the welfare of Dumfries-shire and
Galloway, so far as regards the export and
import coasting trade. It is likewise a source
of much profit from its abounding with salmon
and other fish. This extensive arm of the sea
has been long gradually receding from the
land, the green ground extending now al-
most a mile further than it did some years ago.
The Solway rises twenty- feet during spring
tides, and at ordinary tides ten or twelve ; but
this rise is not so remarkable as the exceeding
rapidity of the ebbs and flows, particularly dur-
ing the prevalence of gales from the south-west.

For further particulars, see Dumfkies-shirK,
page 211.

[SOLWAY MOSS. Though not in
Scotland, a notice of this extensive swamp,
from its contiguity to the border and its con-
nexion with Scottish history, may here
be given. Solway-moss, the scene of the
defeat of the Scottish army under Oliver
Sinclair, in the year 1513, which occasioned
the premature death of James V., lies on the
Cumberland side of the small river Sark, in
the tract of country once known by the name
of the Debateable Ground. It consists of six-
teen hundred acres, lies some height above the
cultivated tract, and seems to be a subsidence of
peaty mud. This moss made a strange shift in
its position little more than a centuiy ago. It
appears that the shell or crust which kept the
morass within bounds on the low side, was at
first of sufficient strength, but by the impru-
dence of the peat-diggers, who were constantly
working on that side, at length became so
weakened as no longer to be capable of resist-
ing the weight pressing on it. To this may be
added, that the fluidity of the moss was greatly
increased before the catastrophe by three days
incessant rain. Late in the evening of the
17th of November 1771, the farmer who lived
nearest the moss was alarmed by an unusual
noise. The crust had at once given way, and
when he went out with a lantern to discover
the cause of fright, he saw the black deluge
rolling towards his house. His first impression
was, that he saw his own dunghill moving to-
wards him ; but speedily ascertaining the real
nature of the flood, he hastened to warn his
neighbours of their danger. Many received no
advertisement of their perilous circumstances
till they heard the noise, or saw the dark mass
burst into their houses. Some were surprised
in their beds, where they passed a horrible
night, remaining totally ignorant of their fate,
and the cause of the calamity, till morning,
when their neighbours, with difficulty, got them
out through the roof. About three hundred
acres of moss were thus discharged, and above
four hundred acres of land covered. The houses
were either overthrown or filled to the roofs,
and all the hedges buried beneath the flood.
Providentially no human lives were lost ; but
several cattle were suffocated j and those which
were housed had great difficulty in escaping.
The case of a cow is so singular as to deserve
particular notice. She was the only one out

SOUTHEND.

941

of eight in the same cow-house that was saved,
after having stood sixty hours up to the neck
in mud and water. When she was relieved,
she did not refuse to eat, but would not taste
water ; nor would she ever look at that element
without showing manifest signs of horror ! The
eruption had burst from the place of its dis-
charge like a cataract of thick ink, and conti-
nued in a stream of the same appearance, in-
termixed with great fragments of peat, with
their heathy surface ; then flowed like a tide
charged with pieces of wreck, filling the whole
of the cultivated valley, and leaving upon the
shore tremendous masses of turf, memorials of
its progress into the sea and the river. ]

SORB IE, a parish in Wigtonshire, lying
on Wigton Bay, betwixt Kirkinner on the
north, and Whithorn on the south. It is of
an irregular figure, extending along the shore
about twelve miles, including the bays, by a
depth inland in one place of nearly six ; but
its average breadth is not more than two miles.
The headlands are Crugleton and Eagerness,
and the chief bays are Garlieston and Rigg,
with the ports of Allan, Whaple, and Inner-
well. These bays and ports are very conve-
nient for shipping, and well adapted for the
prosecution of the fisheries. The face of the
country is beautiful, being varied by little
hills and plains, which are exceedingly fertile,
and covered with verdure, affording excellent
pasture for flocks of sheep and herds of cattle.
The soil is not deep, but exceedingly fine. The
greater part is enclosed, and well sheltered by
belts and clumps of planting. There are two
villages, viz. Garliestown and Sorbie, in which
the church is situated, containing about one
hundred inhabitants. Galloway-house, the
residence of the Earl of Galloway, is a large
and elegant building, commanding a delightful
prospect, and surrounded by extensive plea-
sure grounds and plantations. There are the
remains of two strong castles on the headlands
of Crugleton and Eagerness. — Population in
1821, 1319.

SORN, a parish in the upper part of Ayr-
shire, district of Kyle, bounded on the east
by Muirkirk, on the south by Auchinleck, on
the west by Mauchline, and on the north by
Galston and Strathaven. The form of the
parish is nearly square, measuring about six
and a half miles each way. The river Ayr,
running from east to west, divides this square
into two parts ; the one on the north side

being somewhat larger than that on the south.
The land, observing the same course as the
river, is highest on the east side, and descends
gradually towards the west ; diversified, how-
ever, by various inequalities in the surface.
The only considerable hill is Blackside-end,
situated in the north-east corner of the parish ;
its height above the level of the sea is
from 1500 to 1600 feet. It is the begin-
ning of a ridge, which, with occasional inter-
ruptions, sweeps a great way towards the east
and south. A great part of the district was
originally moorish, but in the lower division it
is now much improved, well enclosed, and
cultivated. Near the river there are various
fine plantations and grounds. On the north
bank of the Ayr, about three miles distant from
Mauchline, stands the parish church. The
proper name of the parish seems to have been
Dalgain, but the castle of Soni, an ancient
seat of the family of Loudon, happening to
stand contiguous to the church, has insensibly
communicated its own name to the whole
parish. The word Sorn is, with probability,
derived from the British term, Sarn, signify-
ing a causeway, or stepping stones, and sig-
nificant of a local characteristic of the castle.
The parish formed a part of the extensive
parish of Mauchline till the year 1656. It
will be recollected by those familiar with the
biography of " the Scottish worthies," that
Sorn was the native parish of the pious Peden,
whose " prophecies" are still held in esteem
through certain districts of Scotland. Sorn
parish includes the modern and thriving manu-
facturing village of Catrine, situated on the
river Ayr. See Catrine. — Population in
1821, 3865.

SOUTHDEAN, a parish in Roxburgh-
shire, lying on the Scottish borders, having
Northumberland on the south-east, part of
Jedburgh on the east, Jedburgh also on the
north, and Abbotrule and Hobkirk on the
west. The parish is very extensive and irre-
gular in its figure, extending in a general sense
twelve miles in length from north to south, by
seven in breadth. The greater proportion is
hilly and pastoral. The Jed water rises within
it, and partly bounds it on the east. Like the
rest of the border districts, this parish affords
many monuments of warlike antiquity Po-
pulation in 1821, 837.

SOUTHEND, a parish in Argyllshire,
occupying the outer extremity, or south end,

942

S P E Y.

of the peninsula of Cantire ; bounded by
Campbelltown on the north and east. It mea-
sures about ten miles in length and five in
breadth. The surface exhibits a series of bleak
low hills, pastoral dales, and a quantity of
arable land, characteristic of this district of
Argyle. There is now a tolerable road through
the peninsula, and on the side of this stands
the plain church of the parish. The island of
Sanda, and two adjoining islets, belong to the
parish. A short way west from Sanda, on
the coast, is seen the site of the ancient castle
of Dunaverty, which stood on a rocky pro-
tuberance overhanging the beach. The castle
itself is entirely gone, and its name has been
consigned to infamy in the history of the
country. It became a place of some small
importance during the troubles, in the reign of
Charles I. Having been possessed by Alex-
ander Macdonald, who had raised some High-
landers to assist the Marquis of Montrose, it
was invested by General Leslie ; and after the
besieged had surrendered on the faith of re-
ceiving quarter, they were all inhumanly mas-
sacred. The graves of these unfortunate vic-
tims of civil war are pointed out in a grassy

plain beside the site of the castle Population

in 1821, 2004.

SOUTH WICK, a parish in the stewartry
of Kirkcudbright, united to that of Colvend.
See Colvend.

SOUTHWICK, a small river in the stew-
artry of Kirkcudbright, and which rises in the
parish of Colvend, and falls into the Solway
Firth two miles east of the estuary of the river
Urr.

SOUTRA, a parish in Haddingtonshire,
united to that of Fala : see Fala and Southa :
it however still conveys a name to a hill, the
westmost of the Lammermoor range, which
rises to a height of 1100 feet above the level
of the sea. Over this huge bleak hill, which
commands a prospect to the north of Mid and
East- Lothian, as well as of the Firth of Forth
and the coast of Fife, the road from Edinburgh
to Lauder and Kelso passes. At the centre
of the dismal moor on its summit, by the way-
side, is situated the hamlet of Lourie's Den.

SPEAN, a river issuing from the west
end of Loch Laggan, Inverness-shire, after
flowing in a westerly direction through a vale,
to which it gives the name of Glenspean, for a
distance of twenty miles, it falls into the river
Lochy.

SPE Y, one cf the principal rivers of Scot-
land, but celebrated not so much for its mag-
nitude as the rapidity of its course. It rises
from a small lake of the same name in the
western district of Badenoch, Inverness-shire,
and soon assuming the form of a river, it pro-
ceeds with great rapidity eastward, joined by
the Markie and Calder on the north, and by
the Mashie, Truim, and Tromie on the south.
It is next joined by the Feshie at Inyereshie,
by the Linnie Water at Rothiemurchus, by
the Nethy near Abernethy, by the Dulnan
from the north, opposite Abernethy, by the
Avon at Inveravon, by the Dullan water be-
tween Aberlour and Rothes ; and by a great
number of lesser streams, through the whole
of its course, till, reaching the village of Rothes,
it directs its course northward, and falls into
the Moray Firth at Garmouth . From the source
to its mouth the distance is about ninety miles,
but following all its windings, its course cannot
be less than 120 miles. " As soon as we ap-
proach Aviemore," says Macciuloch, " we be-
come sensible that we have entered on a new
country • a wide and open space now inter-
vening between the hills that we have quitted
and the distant and blue ridge of Cairngorm.
Through this lies the course of the Spey ; and
here, principally, are concentrated such beau-
ties as that river has to show. I have traced
it from its mountain-well to the sea ; and,
whatever the Strathspey men may boast, it
would be a profanation to compare it, in point
of beauty, with almost any one of the great
branches of the Tay, as it would equally be
to name it as a rival to the Forth, and, I must
add, to the Dee, and to the Isla, and to the
Earn. In point of magnitude I believe it
must follow the Tay ; and in beauty it may be
allowed to follow the Earn ; preceding alike
the Tweed, and the Clyde, and the Don, but
being still inferior to many of our larger rivers,
in the important particular of not being navi-
gable, and in being therefore nearly useless.
The small lake, or rather pool, whence it
originates, is its unquestionable head ; since,
unlike the Tay, none of its subsidiary
streams, not even the Truim, can pretend to
compete with this primary one. It is one
decided Spey from its very spring; receiv-
ing numerous accessions, but no rival. Its
course is almost everywhere rapid ; nor does
it show any still water till near the very sea.
It is also the wildest and most capricious of

S P Y N I E.

943

our large rivers ; its alternations of emptiness
and flood being more complete and more sud-
den than those of any of the streams which I
have named. The causes of this are obvious,
in considering the origin and courses of its tri-
butary waters ; while the elevation of its
source, amounting to more than 1200 feet, ac-
counts for the rapidity of its flow. Though
inferior both to the Tweed and the Tay, in its
produce of salmon, it must be allowed the third
rank in this respect ; and the single fishery at
its mouth, belonging to the Duke of Gordon,
is rented for more than L.6000 a-year. From
the spring, its course displays little beauty till
it reaches Clunie and Spey bridge. Hence,
it increases in interest as it approaches
Kinrara, whence, for a few miles, it is attend-
ed by a series of landscapes, alike various, sin-
gular, and magnificent. If, after this, there
are some efforts at beauty, these are rare, and
offer little that is new or striking ; while near
its exit from the mountainous country, it loses
all character, and continues from Fochabers to
the sea, a wide and insipid sheet of water."
The Spey affords a water-carriage for the pro-
duce of the extensive woods of Glenmore and
Strathspey, rafts of which are floated down to
the sea-port of Garmouth. The river gives
the name of Strathspey to the extensive vale
through which it flows.

SPEYMOUTH, a parish in the north-
western part of Morayshire, deriving its name
from its situation on the estuary of the Spey ;
having the Moray firth on the north, the Spey
on the east, which divides it from Bellie ( Foch-
abers), Rothes on the south, and Urquhart on
the west. It measures about six and a half
miles in length, by on an average one and a
half in breadth. The surface is flat on the
coast, but at the distance of about half a mile
from the sea, the ground rises suddenly to a
small hill. Beyond this, there is almost a
continued plain for three and a half miles in
length, and about one and a quarter in breadth,
bounded on the side towards the river by a
steep bank from forty to fifty feet in height.
The district has been greatly improved, and is
generally subject to cultivation or planted. At
the mouth of the Spey is situated the thriving
village of Garmouth, which is within the pa-
rish. The village of Speymouth is nearly op-
posite Fochabers on the Spey. — Population in
1821, 1401.

SPOTT, a parish in Haddingtonshire, hav-

ing Dunbar on the north and part of the east,
Innerwick also on the east, Dunbar common
on the south, and Stenton on the west. It i3
of a most irregular figure, measuring about five
miles in length and two in breadth. It has
also a portion of two and a half miles in length,
by one in breadth, lying considerably to the
south, beyond Dunbar common. This de-
tached portion is hilly and pastoral. The body
of the parish is in a great measure a hill which
rises on the south of the vale of Dunbar-, but
this elevated ground is now chiefly arable, and
beautifully enclosed and planted. On the road,
which winds by a toilsome ascent from the
plain beneath towards the Brunt and the in-
terior of the Lammermoors, stands the small
village and exceedingly plain parish church of
Spott. Near this, is the mansion of Spott,
the seat of a family of the name of Hay. Spott
Hill, or Law, was the scene of an incremation
of poor old women, charged with the crime Oi
witchcraft, so late as the year 1704. — Popu-
lation in 1821,582.

SPRINGFIELD, a modern and neat vil-
lage in the parish of Gretna, Dumfries-shire.
See Gretna.

SPRINGFIELD,a village connected with
paper-mills, on the south bank of the North
Esk, parish of Lasswade, Edinburghshire.

SPROUSTON.aparish in Roxburghshire,
on the Scottish border, situated on the south
bank of the Tweed, opposite the parish of
Ednam, having Linton on the south, and Kelso
on the west. On the east is the parish of
Carham, in the county of Northumberland,
from which it is divided by Carham burn, a
small tributary of the Tweed. The parish is
almost square in its figure, measuring four and
a half miles in length, by about three and a
half in breadth. Towards the Tweed, it is a
level and fertile district, well enclosed and cul-
tivated. On the south, the ground becomes
elevated. The village and church of Sprouston
stand on the plain near the Tweed, and here
there is a regular ferry by means of a boat. A
road leads from Sprouston to the equally mean
English village of Carham, which is distant
about three and a half miles. — Population in
1821, 1371.

SPYNIE, or NEW SPYNIE, a parish

in Morayshire, extending four miles in length

and two in breadth, along the banks of th«

Lossie ; bounded on the north by Duffus and

J Drainy, on the east by the Lossie, which di-

944

S T A F F A.

vides it from St. Andrews Lhanbryd, on the
south by Elgin, and on the west by Alves. A
ridge of moor extends the whole length of the
parish, separating the cultivated land from an
extensive natural oak wood, the property of the
Earl of Fife. The arable land possesses almost
every variety of soil, from the heaviest clay to
the lightest sand; the whole is enclosed and well
cultivated. At Spynie stood originally the cathe-
dral of the diocess of Moray, founded by Mal-
colm Canmore in 1054 ; the seat of the diocess
was removed to Elgin, in 1224, by Alexander II.
On the banks of the loch of Spynie, near its
western extremity, is the palace of Spynie, for-
merly the residence of the bishops. It has been
a magnificent and spacious building, round a
square court, fortified at the corners, having a
gate and drawbridge on the east side, and sur-
rounded by a dry ditch. Some of the rooms
are still pretty entire ; and the remains of the
paintings on the walls were so distinct a few
years ago, as to show that several representa-
tions of scripture history had been the design.
Adjoining to the palace, were the gardens, now
only distinguishable by the ruinous walls.
Spynie is a dormant barony in the family of
Lindsay. The loch of Spynie, above noticed,
is a fresh water lake of three miles in length
and one in breadth, and appears to have been
formerly a firth of the sea, though it is now
shut up at the east and west by a long extent
of valuable land ; accordingly, the land between
the lake and the sea still retains the name of
Ross isle, and many beds of sea shells, parti-
cularly oyster shells, are found on the banks of
the lake, several feet below the surface of the
earth. It abounds with pike and perch. It
has lately been drained to a considerable extent.
—Population in 1821, 996.

STAIR, a parish in the district of Kyle,
Ayrshire, lying on the south or right bank of
the river Ayr, extending six miles in length, by
two in breadth, though in one place it is com-
pletely intersected by the parish of Ochiltree.
Tarbolton lies on the north, and Ayr on the
west. Stair was first erected into an inde-
pendent parish in 1653, when it was disjoined
from Ochiltree, for the accommodation of the
noble family of Dalrymple of Stair. The dis-
trict is under a fine system of enclosure and
planting near the river Ayr, and is well sup-
plied with coal. The village of Stair consists
only of a few cottages and a public-house, but
its situation is most romantic. The parish

church is neat, and adjoins the village. Stair
gives the title of earl to the family of Dal-
rymple. Population in 1821, 746.

STALK, or STACK, (LOCH) a lake
in the parish of Edderachylis, Sutherlandshire,
from whence the river Laxford flows to the sea
on the west coast. On the south side of the
lake rises the lofty hill of Stack.

STANLEY, a village in Perthshire, lying
partly in the parish of Auchtergaven, and
partly in that of Redgorton, where an extensive
spinning establishment has been formed, which
gives employment to a large body of industri-
ous artisans.

STAFF A, an island of the Hebrides, re-
markable for its columnar stone formations,
and having its Scandinavian name from the
resemblance of these columns to staffs or staves.
It belongs to Argyleshire, being situated at the
distance of from four to five miles from the
west coast of Mull, and about seven north from
Icolmkill. Its form is oblong and irregular,
about one mile in length, and half a mile
in breadth. " The beauties of Staffa," says
Macculloch, " are all comprised in its coast :
yet it is only for a small space toward the south
and south-east that these are remarkable ; as it
is here that the columns occur westward, the
cliffs are generally low, rude, and without
beauty ; but in the north-east quarter, there are
five small caves, remarkable for the loud re-
ports which they give when the sea breaks
into them, resembling the distant discharges of
heavy ordnance. The northermost point is
columnar, but it is nearly even with the water.
The highest point of the great face is 112 feet
from high water-mark. It becomes lower in
proceeding towards the west : the greatest
height above M'Kinnan's cave being 84 feet.
The same takes place at the Clamshell cave,
where the vertical cliffs disappear, and are re-
placed by an irregular declivity of a columnar
structure, beneath which the landing place is
situated. The columns in this quarter are
placed in the most irregular directions, being
oblique, erect, horizontal, and sometimes curv-
ed : while they are also far less decided in their
forms than the larger vertical ones which con-
stitute the great face. When they reach the
grassy surface of the island, they gradually dis-
appear ; but are sometimes laid bare, so as to
present the appearance of a geometrical pave-
ment, where their ends are seen ; in other
places displaying portions of their parallel side.

STAFFA.

945

The difficulty of drawing these columns is such,
that no mere artist, be his general practice
what it may, is capable of justly representing
any point upon the island. It is absolutely
necessary that he should have an intimate mi-
neral ogical acquaintance, not only with the
rock in general, but with all the details and
forms of basaltic columns ; since no hand is
able to copy them by mere inspection; so
dazzling and difficult to develop are all those
parts in which the general as well as the par-
ticular character consists. This is especially
the case in attempting to draw the curved and
implicated columns, and those which form the
causeway ; where a mere artist loses sight of
the essential part of the character, and falls into
a mechanical or architectural regularity. That
fault pervades every representation of Staffa,
except one, yet published ; nor are there any of
them which might not have been produced in
the artist's workshop at home. At the Scal-
lop, or Clamshell cave, the columns on one
side are bent, so as to form a series of ribs not
unlike an inside view of the timbers of a ship.
The opposite wall is formed by the ends of
columns, bearing a general resemblance to the
surface of a honey-comb. This cave is thirty
feet in height, and sixteen or eighteen in breadth
at the entrance : its length being 130 feet, and
the lateral dimensions gradually contracting to
its termination. The inside is uninteresting.
The noted rock Buachaille, the herdsman, is a
conoidal pile of columns, about thirty feet high,
lying on a bed of curved horizontal ones, visi-
ble only at low-water. The causeway here
presents an extensive surface, which ter-
minates in a long projecting point at the east-
ern side of the great cave. It is formed of the
broken ends of columns, once continuous to the
height of the cliffs. This alone exceeds the
noted Giant's Causeway, as well in dimensions
as in the picturesque diversity of its surface :
but it is almost neglected, among the more
striking and splendid objects by which it is ac-
companied. The great face is formed of three
distinct beds of rock, of unequal thickness, in-
clined towards the east in an angle of about
nine degrees. The lowest is a rude trap tufo,
the middle one is divided into columns placed
vertically to the planes of the bed, and the up-
permost is an irregular mixture of small co-
lumns and shapeless rock. The thickness of
the lowest bed at the western side is about fifty
feet ; but, in consequence of the inclination, it

disappears under the sea, not far westward of
the Great Cave. The columnar bed is of un-
equal depth ; being only thirty- six feet at the
western side, and fifty-four where the water
first prevents its foundation from being further
seen. To the eastward, its thickness is con-
cealed by the causeway. Thus, at the entrance
of the Great Cave on this side, the columns
are only eighteen feet high, becoming gradu-
ally reduced to two or three, till they disap-
pear. The inequality of the upper bed, pro-
duces the irregular outline of the island. The
inclination of the columns to the horizon, in
consequence of their vertical position towards
the inclined plane of the bed, produces a very
unpleasing effect whenever it is seen, as it is
from the south-west : the inclination of nine
degrees, conveying the impression of a fabric
tottering, and about to fall. Fortunately, the
most numerous and interesting views are found
in positions into which this defect does not in-
trude ; and many persons have doubtless visited
Staffa without discovering it. Although the
columns have a general air of straightness and
parallelism, no one is perfectly straight or re-
gular. They never present that geometrical
air, which I just now condemned in the pub-
lished views. In this respect they fall far
short of the regularity of the Giant's Causeway.
Very often they have no joints ; sometimes one
or more may be seen in a long column : while,
in other places, they are not only divided into
numerous parts, but the angles of the contact
are notched. They are sometimes also split
by oblique fissures, which detract much from
the regularity of their aspect. These joints
are very abundant in the columns that form the
interior sides of the Great Cave, to which, in-
deed, they are chiefly limited ; and it is evident,
that the action of the sea, by undermining
these jointed columns, has thus produced the
excavation ; as a continuation of the same pro-
cess may hereafter increase its dimensions.
The average diameter is about two feet ; but
they sometimes attain to four. Hexagonal and
pentagonal forms are predominant ; but they
are intermixed with figures of three, four, and
more sides, extending even as far as to eight or
nine, but rarely reaching ten. It is with the
morning sun only that the great face of Staffa
can be seen in perfection. As the general sur-
face is undulating and uneven, great masses of
light or shadow are thus produced, so as to
relieve that which, in a direct light, appears s
6l

91G

S T A F F A.

flat insipid mass of straight wall. These
breadths are further varied by secondary sha-
dows and reflections arising from smaller irre-
gularities ; while the partial clustering of the
columns produce a number of subsidiary
groups, which are not only highly beautiful,
both in themselves and as they combine with
and melt into the larger masses, but which en-
tirely remove that dryness and formality which
is produced by the incessant repetition of ver-
tical lines and equal members. The Cormo-
rant's or M'Kinnon's Cave, though little visit-
ed, in consequence of the frauds and indolence
of the boatmen, is easy of access, and termin-
ates in a gravelly beach, where a boat may be
drawn up. The broad black shadow produced
by the great size of the aperture, gives a very
powerful effect to all those views of the point
of the island into which it enters ; and is no
less effective at land, by relieving the minute
ornaments of the columns which cover it.
The height of the entrance is fifty feet,
and the breadth forty- eight ; the interior di-
mensions being nearly the same to the end,
and the length 224 feet. As it is excavated
in the lowest stratum, the walls and the ceiling
are without ornament ; yet it is striking from
the regularity and simplicity of its form. But
the superior part of the front consists of a com-
plicated range of columns, hollowed into a con-
cave recess above the opening ; the upper part
of this colonnade overhanging the concavity,
and forming a sort of geometric ceiling; while
the inferior part is thrown into a secondary
mass of broad but ornamental shadow, which
conduces much to the general effect of the
whole. The Boat Cave is accessible only by
sea. It is a long opening, resembling the
gallery of a mine, excavated in the lowest rude
stratum ; its height being about sixteen feet,
its breadth twelve, and its depth about 150.
Upwards the columns overhang it, so as to
prodrce a shadow, which adds much to the
effect ; while they retire in a concave sweep,
which is also overhung by the upper mass of
cliff, thus producing a breadth of shade, finely,
softening into a full light by a succession of
smaller shadows and reflections, arising from
the irregular groupings of the columns. The
upper part of this recess, catching a stronger
shadow, adds much to the composition ; while
the eye of the picture is found in the intense
darkness of the aperture beneath, which gives
the tone to the whole. The Great Cave is
40.

deficient in that symmetry of position with re-
spect to the face of the island, which conduces
so much to the effect of the Boat Cave. The
outline of the aperture, perpendicular at the,
sides, and terminating in a contrasted arch, is
pleasing and elegant. The height, from the
top of the arch to that of the cliff above, is 30
feet ; and from the former to the surface of the
water, at mean tide, 66. The pillars by which
it is bounded on the western side, are 36 feet
high ; while, at the eastern, they are only 1 8*
though their upper ends are nearly in the same
horizontal line. This difference arises from
the height of the broken columns which here
form the causeway ; a feature which conducesi
so much to the picturesque effect of the whole,
by affording a solid mass of dark foreground.
Towards the west the height of the columns
gradually increases as they recede from the
cave, but their extreme altitude is only 54 feet,
even at low water. The breadth of this cave
at the entrance is 42 feet, as nearly as that can
be ascertained, where there is no very precise
point to measure from. This continues to
within a small distance of the inner extremity,
when it is reduced to twenty-two ; and the
total length is 227 feet. These measures were
all made with great care, however they may
differ from those of Sir Joseph Banks. The
finest views here are obtained from the end of
the causeway, at low water. When the tide
is full, it is impossible to comprehend the whole
conveniently by the eye. From this position
also, the front forms a solid mass of a very
symmetrical form ; supporting, by the breadth
of its surface, the vacant shadow of the cave
itself. Here also, that intricate play of light,
shadow, and reflection, which is produced by
the broken columns retiring in ranges gradually
diminishing, is distinctly seen ; while the
causeway itself forms a foreground no less im-
portant than it is rendered beautiful by the
inequalities and the groupings of the broken
columns. Other views of the opening of this
cave, scarcely less picturesque, may be pro-
cured from the western smaller causeway ; not
indeed without bestowing much time and study
on this spot, is it possible to acquire or convey
any notion of the grandeur and variety which
it contains. The sides of the cave within are
columnar throughout; the columns being broken
and grouped in many different ways, so as to
catch a variety of direct and reflected tints,
mixed with secondary shadows and deep invi-

S T E N T O N.

947

sible recesses, which produce a picturesque
effect, only to be imitated by careful study of
every part. It requires a seaman's steadiness
of head to make drawings here. As I sat on
one of the columns, the long swell raised the
water at intervals up to my feet, and then, sub-
siding again, left me suspended high above it ;
while the silence of these movements, and the
apparently undisturbed surface of the sea,
caused the whole of the cave to feel like a ship
heaving in a sea-way. The ceiling is divided
by a fissure, and varies in different places.
Towards the outer part of the cave, it is form-
ed of the irregular rock ; in the middle, it is
composed of the broken ends of columns, pro-
ducing a geometrical and ornamental effect, and
at the end, a portion of each rock enters into
its composition. Inattention has caused the
various tourists to describe it as if it were all
columnar, or all rude. As the sea never ebbs
entirely out, the only floor of this cave is the
beautiful green water ; reflecting from its white
bottom those tints which vary and harmonize
the darker tones of the rock, and often throw-
ing on the columns the flickering lights which
its undulations catch from the rays of the sun
without." The island of Staffa, which has been
idsited by all the chief scientific travellers of
Europe, as well as the most distinguished li-
terary characters of Britain, is grassy on its
upper surface, and affords pasture to a number
of sheep, which are under the care of a keeper,
whose hut is the only human habitation within
its bounds.

START POINT, a narrow projecting
headland on the north-east end of the island
of Sanday, one of the northerly islands of
the Orkney group, separated from North
Ronaldshay by the P'irth of that name. On
the outer extremity of the headland, a lofty
stone beacon was erected in 1802 for the guid-
ance of seamen, which not being found of avail
in preventing shipwrecks in its neighbourhood,
was altered to a light-house in 1806. This
light-house has since been of incalculable be-
nefit. It is situated in lat. 59° 20', and long.
2° 34' west of London, from which North
Ronaldshay light-house tower bears by com-
pass N. N. E. ^ E. distant eight miles, and
the Sand Head of StronsayjS. W., distant fifteen
miles. The light of the Start Point is from
pure oil, with reflectors, elevated one hundred
feet above the medium level of the sea, and
is visible from all points of the compass, at

the distance of fifteen miles, in a favourable
state of the weather.

STAXIGO, a small sea port village in the
county of Caithness, situated about a mile
north from "Wick. There is a small bay oi
harbour, and a considerable fishery carried on
by the inhabitants, who amount to about
200.

STENHOUSE,or STENNESS, a small
village in the parish of Liberton, Edinburgh-
shire, lying in a secluded hollow, north from
Gilmerton.

STENNESS, a small island of Shetland
on the north coast of the mainland.

STENNIS, a parish on the mainland of
Orkney, now united to Firth. See Firth and
Stennis.

STENTON, a parish in Haddingtonshire,
bounded on the north by Dunbar, on the west
by Whittingham, on the south by Dunbar Com •
mon, and on the east by Spott. In figure it is
most irregular, extending about three and a half
miles in length, by two and a half in breadth.
A detached portion lies considerably to the
south, contiguous to a detached portion of
Spott ; this part is hilly and pastoral. The
body of the parish is among the most beautiful
and productive of this highly agricultural
county. The surface, in general, rises from
the rich plain of East Lothian, and is finely
planted. Amidst some thriving plantations
lies Presmennan lake, a beautiful piece of
water, collected by artificial means, on the
property of Mrs. Hamilton Nisbet of BieL
which, as an object of local wonder, occasion-
ally attracts the attention of strangers. It
was formed some years ago by drawing an ar-
tificial mound across the mouth of one of those
vales which run down from the Lammermoor
hills into the low country, and thereby collect-
ing the waters of a small rivulet. By the
kindness of theproprietrix, its beautiful scenery
is open to the inspection of the numerous
summer parties who visit it, who also allows
them the use of boats, and permits them to
walk through the surrounding plantations.
Presmennan lake is about two miles in length,
and averages about four hundred yards in
breadth, though in some places it is double that
breadth, and inothersmuch narrower ; its course,
however, is so serpentine, that the stranger may
conceive it any length ; the banks rise to a great
height on either side, being, in fact, part of
the mountainous range of the Lammermoors,

©48

STIRLINGSHIRE.

They are thickly planted with wood, which
seems to tower up on one side to a great
height ; on the other the wood is less elevated,
but fuller grown. From the lake, an easy and
delightful ride conveys the traveller to Had-
dington on the west, or Dunbar on the east. —
Population in 1821, 687.

STEVENSTON, a parish in the district
of Cunningham, Ayrshire, lying on the sea-
coast ; bounded by Ardrossan on the north,
Kilwinning on the east, and Irvine on the
south. Its form is a kind of irregular square,
two miles and a half in length, and nearly
the same in breadth. The surface of the
parish is naturally divided into two districts
of nearly equal extent, namely, the upper
enclosed farms in the inland quarter, and
the level grounds on the shore. A ridge
of rocky ground separates these divisions,
and on the west end of this ridge, where it
dips into the sea, stands the town of Salt-
coats, partly within this parish, and partly
within that of Ardrossan. Stevenston parish
abounds in immense quantities of coal, and
there is also limestone. The village of Ste-
venston is situated one mile north-east from
Saltcoats, and two south-west of Kilwinning.
It consists chiefly of one street half a mile long.
The place derives its name from Stephen, or
Steven, the son of Richard, who obtained a
grant of lands from Richard Morville, the
constable of Scotland, who died in 1189 ; under
that grant, Steven settled here, and gave his
name to the place. The church belonged, of
old, to the monks of Kilwinning. The in-
habitants of the village are mostly employed
in the neighbouring coal works, and in wear-
ing Population of the village in 1821, about

1777, including tli0 pa. v 3558.

STEWARTON,- <i parish in the district
of Cunningham, Ayrshire ; bounded on the
north by Dunlop, on the north-east by Neil-
ston, on the east by Meams, on the south by
Fenwick, and on the west by Irvine and Kil-
winning. The parish is above ten miles in
length, and in some places about four in breadth.
The appearance of the country is flat, though
there is a gradual ascent towards the west, and
from many places nothing interrupts the view
of the sea, with the isle of Arran, and Ailsa
Craig. This district, like that of Dunlop, is
celebrated for the excellence of its cheese, and
other dairy produce.

Stewarton, a town in the above pa-

rish, situated in a pleasant part of the coun-
try on the banks of the water of Annock, at
the distance of five miles north of Kilmarnock,
eighteen from Glasgow, nine from Irvine, two
from Dunlop, and three from Fenwick. The
locality, as we learn from record, bore the
name of Stewarton before the end of the
twelfth century, while the surname of Stewart
was still unknown ; and it is probable that the
settler who conveyed to it its name, held the
office of steward to the Morvilles, who were
the superior lords of Cunningham. For many
centuries Stewarton remained a village of little
note, and it is only in recent times that it has
increased to its present extent, owing to the
improved state of trade and manufactures. It
has, however, been long distinguished for the
making of Highland, or tartan, and other bon-
nets ; and is the chief seat of that manufac-
ture, especially of regimental bonnets and caps.
The business has not been carried on in fac-
tories, but domestically. In aid of that branch
of industry there are mills for carding and spin-
ning wool ; the manufacture of carpets is also
carried on, for which wool- spinning is required.
Within the last ten years a great increase of
population has taken place, and the weaving of
silks, muslins, linens, and damasks now engage
the attention of the inhabitants. This thriving
small town has no board of magistracy to injure
its traffic by absurd regulations ; its judicial
business being under the management of jus-
tices of the peace, who hold courts at regular
intervals. Fairs are held on the last Thursday
in April, the last Tuesday in May, the last
Thursday in June, the last Tuesday in July,
the last Thursday in October, and the Friday
week following for cattle and amusement ; all
old style. The weekly market is held on
Thursday. Besides the established church,
there are meeting-houses of the United Asso-
ciate, and the original Burgher Associate Syn-
od Population of the town in 1821, 2267,

including the parish 3656.

STIRLINGSHIRE, a county partly in
the Highlands and partly in the Lowlands of
Scotland ; bounded on the north by the shires
of Perth and Clackmannan, on the east by
Linlithgowshire, on the south-east by a portion
of Lanarkshire, and on the south and west by
Dumbartonshire. Its boundaries are in many
places distinctly marked by water courses or
lakes ; the principal boundary line on the north
, being the Forth, on the east the Avon, on the

S T I R L I N G S II I R E.

south the Kelvin river, on the south-west the
Endrick water, and on the west Loch Lomond,
one half of which it includes ; as regards the
Forth, a small portion of the county lies on the
opposite side of that river. Stirlingshire ex-
tends about 36 miles in length, and from 1-2 to
1 7 in breadth ; and contains a superficies of
489 square miles, or 312,960 statute acres.
In consequence of its situation upon the isth-
mus between the firths of Forth and Clyde,
and in the direct passage from the northern
to the southern parts of the island, this county
has been the scene of many memorable transac-
tions. There are few shires in Scotland where
monuments of antiquity are so frequently to be
met with ; neither does it yield to any in point
of modern improvements, or in the beauties of
scenery. The wall of Antoninus, built for
the purpose of protecting the Roman conquests
on the south, traversed the lower division of
the county, and has left some slender remains
for the investigation of the antiquary. The
remains of Roman forts are also distinguisha-
ble, and the weapons and coins of that remark-
able people have likewise frequently been dug
out of the soil. In a subsequent age, the
tract of country now called Stirlingshire was
situated upon the confines of no fewer than
four kingdoms ; and it is probable that it be-
longed sometimes to the one, and sometimes to
the other : It had the Northumbrian kingdom
on the east and south-east, while Lothian was
included in the latter : The Cumbrian kingdom,
or the dominions of the Strathelyde Britons,
included part of the district, and bounded it on
the south-west : The Scots or the Highland
territory, bounded it on the west ; and the
Picts were on the north. After the overthrow
of the Pictish empire, the shire of Stirling,
with all the country upon the south side of the
Forth, was for some years under the dominion
of the Northumbrian Saxons. The district,
at a later date, passed quietly under the domi-
nion of the Scottish sovereigns. Stirlingshire
derived considerable importance after this
period from the Castle of Stirling, which
commanded a most important pass betwixt the
northern and southern part of the kingdom.
In the twelfth century it was much benefited
by the munificent David I.) who erected reli-
gious houses, particularly that of Cambusken-
neth, within its bounds ; and the inmates of
these places, being generally learned men, they
tended to civilize the rude manners of the

country. Various other incidents connected
with the history of the shire, being noticed in
the following article, Stirling, we pass on to a
more useful detail of its appearance and mo-
dern character. Stirlingshire, as has been said,
is partly Highland and partly Lowland. The
Highland district is in the western quarter ad-
jacent to Loch Lomond, in the parishes of
Buchanan and Drymen ; and here, in the midst
of a mountain territory, rises the lofty Ben-
Lomond to a height of 3262 feet. East from
this Highland part of the county, the land be-
comes flattish or gently inclining towards the
Forth and the Endrick. Next, on the east, or
in the centre of the county, within the parishes
of Killearn, Fintry, Gargunnock, Campsie,
Kilsyth, and the western part of St. Ninians,
the ground again rises into a series of hills.
The Lennox Hills, Campsie Fells, and Gar-
gunnock Hills are the local appellations of
these eminences, which are from thirteen to
fifteen hundred feet in height. From the
highest of the hills in Kilsyth parish, there is
obtained one of the finest views in Scotland,
and which has been computed to embrace an
extent of 12,000 square miles. Many of these
hills in the central and especially in the south-
ern division, partake more of the Lowland than
the Highland appearance, as their summits,
and many parts of their sides, are covered by
green sward, which affords excellent pasturage
for sheep. The eastern division of the county
consists of beautiful carse land, in many places
quite flat, and inclined planes gradually rising
towards the south, from the rich vale of the
Forth. In this quarter, the country has under-
gone prodigious improvements, and now exhi-
bits everywhere the pleasing spectacle of fertile
drained meadows, fir' d ■iri he highest state of
tillage, with plantations, pleasure grounds, gar-
dens, and orchards, all in the most exuberant
vegetation. Almost every variety of soil to be
met with in Scotland, occurs in Stirlingshire ;
but the most common and the most fertile in the
county, is the alluvial or carse land, which occu-
pies an extent of about 40,000 acres on the banks
of the Forth. In this soil there are beds
of shells, clay, marie, and moss. Small patches
of rich loam occur in many parts of the county.
The soil on the bank of the rivers, in the
western and central districts, is chiefly of a
light and gravelly description. The agriculture
of the county is subject to considerable varia-
tion, owing to the great variety of soil and

93(1

STIRLINGSHIRE.

situation. The carse-larids, which are arable,
are portioned out into small farms of from 15
to 100 acres, which sometimes afford a rent of
L.4 an acre. But the hill farms frequently
extend to nearly 4000 acres. Large crops of
wheat, barley, beans, peas, turnips, potatoes,
&c. are raised ; the use of artificial grasses has
also been very generally adopted in this county.
The extensive ranges of moorland, in the
upland districts, are exclusively devoted to
the feeding of numerous flocks of sheep.
There are few cattle raised in Stirlingshire,
as the county is very generally supplied by
the Highland drovers. The sheep are of
the black- faced or Highland breed. — Stir-
lingshire is inferior to few districts of Scot-
land, in the quantity and variety of its min-
eral productions ; the most abundant of which
are coal, ironstone, limestone, and sandstone.
The principal coal pits are situated in the
southern base of the Lennox hills, and extend
from Baldernock on the west, to Denny and
St. Ninians on the east. Coal is also found
in the eastern district, in the vicinity of the
Forth and Clyde Canal. Stirlingshire yields
this mineral in such abundance, as not only to
be sufficient for home consumption, but, by
means of the Union Canal, to supply the in-
habitants of the metropolis at a much cheaper
rate than they were formerly accustomed to
pay. The ironstone, limestone, and sandstone,
is found in the same district with the coal, one
stratum of limestone being found above, and
another below a stratum of coal. Veins of
silver were discovered, and wrought about sixty
years ago, but the working of them was soon
discontinued. Copper, lead, and cobalt, have
also been raised at different periods, but not
in any considerable quantities. — The Forth is
the principal river in Stirlingshire, and though
not the largest, has always held a first rank
among the rivers of Scotland. It has its origin
in a spring near the summit of Benlomond, and
after running eight or ten miles under the name
of the water of Duchray, and flowing through
part of Perthshire, where it is called Avon-
dow, or the Black River, it again enters Stir-
lingshire, under the denomination of the
Forth, and after receiving the Teith and
Allan, it enters the carse of Stirling about
6ix miles to the west of that town ; a few
miles further on, it becomes navigable for ves-
sels of seventy tons. Below Stirling the sin-
uosity of this river is very remarkable ; the
distance from the above town to Alloa, which

is only seven miles in a direct line, is more
than twenty by the course of the river, owing
to its numerous windings, which are called
the Links of the Forth. A little below Alloa
it is joined by the Devon from the north-east,
and shortly after expands into thatnoble estuary
called the Firth of Forth, leaving Stirlingshire
a little to the south of Grangemouth. The
Carron, which is the next river in size to the
Forth, rises in the central district, and after
flowing on in an easterly direction, joins the
Forth at Grangemouth. This river is navigable
for vessels of 200 tons, for about two miles
from where it joins the Forth. The other
streams are the Avon, the Endrick, the Blane,
and the Kelvin, none of which are worthy
of particular notice. Besides these waters,
the county possesses a large portion of the
Forth and Clyde and the Union Canal,
which sends a current of eommerce through
the district and enriches its vicinity. — The
manufactures of Stirlingshire are various. At
Stirling and in the town and parish of St.
Ninians, there are manufactories of carpets,
coarse woollens of divers kinds, tartans, and
cottons, while there are several large establish-
ments in different places for cotton, paper,
copperas, alum, Prussian blue, soda, &c. There
are many large distilleries in various parts of
the country, in which an immense quantity of
spirits is made. At one period, the county
obtained a celebrity for its whisky, which
it still maintains, but the extent of the
manufacture of this article has been limited
since certain alterations took place in legisla-
tive enactments, mentioned under the head
Kippen. The grand staple manufacture of
Stirlingshire is iron goods, cast and malleable,
at Carron, on the banks of the river of that
name : this establishment, which is celebrated
all over Europe, has already been described
under our article Carron. The manufacture
of nails for carpenter work is likewise carried
on in the wayside villages to a very considerable
extent, and the article so produced has long
had the command of the Scottish market.
By these various means, this central county of
Scotland has risen greatly in wealth, civiliza-
tion, and amount of population, and its future
prospects are equally cheering. Stirlingshire
comprises twenty-two parishes, besides por-
tions of other four. The county contains
only one royal burgh, Stirling, and the po-
pulous and thriving town of Falkirk ; like-
wise the villages of St. Ninians, Airth, Bal-

Is

qS

Kn:

STIRLING.

931

fron, Bannockburn, Caitielon, Carron, Denny,
Drymen, Fintry, Grangemouth, Gargunnock,
Killearn, Kilsyth, Kippen, Larbert, Lennox-
toun of C'anipsie, Laurieston, Polmont, Strath-
blane, &c. all seats of an industrious popula-
tion. The county possesses a very considera-
ble number of elegant country mansions, the
residences of landed proprietors and the wealthy
classes generally ; of these may be mentioned
Buchanan House, Dunmore Park, Callender
House, Craigforth, Airthrie, Bannockburn,
Alva, Kerse House, Gargunnock House,
Fintry, Gartmore House, Kinnaird House,
Westquarter, &c. The valued rent of the
county is L.108,518, 8s. 9d. Scots, and in
1811 the real rent for lands was L.177,498;
and for houses, L.25,370. In 1821, the popula-
tion of Stirlingshire was 31,718 males, and
females 33,656, total 65,374. The number
of families employed in agriculture was 2600 ;
those employed in trade and manufactures,
6641 ; and of those in neither of the above
classes, 4492.

STIRLING, an ancient town, the capital
of the above county, a royal burgh, and the seat
of a presbytery, occupies a most romantic and
beautiful situation on an eminence, near the
south or right bank of the river Forth, at the
distance of thirty-five miles north-west of
Edinburgh, twenty-eight north-east of Glas-
gow, eleven north-west from Falkirk, six south
from Dumblane, seven west from Alloa, and
thirty-three and a half from Perth. In exter-
nal appearance, Stirling bears a striking re-
semblance, though a miniature one, to the old
town of Edinburgh ; each being built on the
ridge and sides of a hill which rises gradually
from the east, and presents an abrupt crag to-
wards the west ; and each having a principal
street on the surface of the ridge, the upper
end of which opens upon a castle. While
the situation of Stirling is thus one of the most
pleasing and picturesque in the country, it is a
place noted for its antiquities and the historical
associations connected with them. As early
as the period of the Roman invasion in the first
century, Stirling seems to have been a place of
military occupation, and it enjoys the distinc-
tion of having been a station of the Roman
generals. Whether the name of Stirling be of
a still more remote date, little is known with
certainty. In all the old records it is entitled
Stryveline, or Stryveling, a word of obscure
etymology, which has been modified into Ster-

ling, and Stirling. Buchanan, and other writers,
in Latin uniformly call it Starlineum. From
its situation one the confines of the territory of
the savage native tribes on the north, and the
Romanized Britons on the south, it was fre-
quently, with its bridge across the Forth, the
scene of hostile conflicts. This fact seems to
be alluded to by the insignia which the figure
on the obverse of the ancient seal of the cor-
poration of Stirling bears — abridge with a cruci-
fix in the centre of it ; men armed with bows on
the one side of the bridge, and men armed
with spears on the other ; and the legend, Hie
armis Bruti, Scoti stant hac cruce tuti ; on the
reverse a fortalice, surrounded with trees, with
the inscription, Continet hoc nemus et castrum
Strivilense. The town has another seal, which
shews a wolf upon a rock, inscribed with
the motto, oppidum Sterlini. As was the case
at Edinburgh, the town of Stirling arose as
a suburb in contiguity with the castle ; but this
strength seems for several centuries to have
been little else than a single tower. After the
settlement of the Scottish government under
Malcolm Canmore at the end of the eleventh
century, it rose into consequence, and in the
course of the twelfth century, the castle had
reached the distinction of being one of the four
principal fortresses in the kingdom. Such it
continued to be during the celebrated wars
which Edward I. of England carried on for the
subjection of Scotland, when it was frequently
taken and retaken, after protracted sieges, and
under circumstances which prove its great
strength at that period. During these struggles
for the independence of Scotland, Stirling and
its vicinity were the scene of some of the most
gallant achievements of Sir AVilliam Wallace.
Of these none was so remarkable as the battle
of Stirling, fought on the 13th of September
1 297. The English having raised an army of
fifty thousand foot, besides a thousand horse,
advanced towards Stirling in quest of Wallace,
then in the north, and engaged in reducing
various fortresses. Obtaining timely warning
of the formidable armament advancing against
him, he quickly collected an army of forty thou-
sand men, and with great celerity, marched
southward to dispute the passage of the Forth.
When the English had come in sight of Stir-
ling, they beheld the Scottish army posted
near Cambuskenneth, on a hill now called the
Abbey- Craig. Wallace allowed only a small
part of his army to be seen, and skilfully

952

S T I R L I N

concealed the main body behind the height.
The English generals sent two Dominican
friars to offer peace to Wallace and his follow-
ers, upon their submission. Wallace replied,
that the Scots had come thither to fight, not
to treat ; and that their country's freedom was
the great object they had in view, and what
they were prepared to defend. He concluded
by challenging the English to advance. His
answer so provoked the hostile commanders,
that they immediately prepared to cross the
river and attack the Scots. The bridge across
the Forth was then of timber, and stood at
Kildean, half a mile above the present bridge.
Though this bridge was so narrow that only
two persons abreast could pass it, the English
generals proposed to transport along it their
numerous army. Sir Richard Lundin, however,
strenuously opposed the measure ; and offered to
point out a neighbouring ford, where they could
easily pass sixty abreast. He had suspected a
snare from Wallace, whose genius he knew to be
very fertile in stratagems, and his sagacity too
great to risk a battle with so small a handful of
men, without having made some unseen prepara-
tions to compensate the apparent inequality of
numbers. No regard, however, was paid to Lun-
din's opinion. The event soon showed how just
it was. The English army continued to cross
by the bridge, from the dawn till eleven o'clock,
without any impediment. Now, indeed, the
Scots had advanced to attack those who had
got across ; and they had also sent a strong
detachment to stop the passage. This they
effected ; and caused so great a confusion
amongst the English, that many upon the
bridge, in attempting to return, were precipi-
tated into the water and drowned. Some
writers affirm, that the wooden fabric suddenly
gave way by the weight, or rather by a strata-
gem of Wallace, who, guessing that the ene-
my would pass that way, had ordered the main
beam to be sawn so artfully, that the removal
of a single wedge would cause the downfall of
the whole machine ; and had stationed a man
beneath it in a basket, in such a manner, as
that, unhurt himself, he might execute the de-
sign upon a signal, viz. the blowing of a horn
by the Scottish army. By this means, num-
bers fell into the river ; and those who had
passed were vigorously attacked by Wallace.
They fought for a while with great bravery,
under the conduct of Sir Marmaduke Twenge,
an officer of noted courage and experience.

The Scots at first made a feint of retreating *
but, soon facing about, gave the enemy a vi-
gorous onset, whilst a party, who had taken a
compass round the Abbey- Craig, fell upon the
rear. The English were at last entirely
routed, and five thousand of them slain ;
amongst whom was a nephew of Sir Marma-
duke Twenge, a youth of great hope, whose
death was generally lamented. Sir Marma-
duke, with the rest, falling back to the river,
crossed it with much difficulty. Some, finding
fords, plunged through with great precipitation,
and others escaped by swimming. Cressing-
ham was amongst the slain, having early passed
the bridge in full confidence of victory. He
was an ecclesiastic ; but, as in those times, it
was common for such to possess civil offices, he
had been advanced by Edward to that of high
treasurer in Scotland. His rapine and oppres-
sion had rendered him very detestable. The
Scots, however, disgraced their victory, by
their treatment of his corpse. They flayed off
his skin, and cut it in pieces, to make girths
and other furniture for their horses. Stirling
Castle first became a favourite royal residence
about the reign of James I., whose son, James
II. was born in it, and also kept for some time
during his minority. James III. was extreme-
ly partial to Stirling Castle ; parliaments were
called to sit in it ; and he increased the build-
ings by a palace, part of which is supposed to
be still extant, and by founding a chapel-royal
within its walls. James IV. gave Stirling and
Edinburgh castles to his queen, Margaret of
England, (daughter of Henry VII.) as her
jointure houses ; on which occasion she was
infefted in her property by the ceremony of
the Scottish and English soldiers marching
in and out of the two castles alternately —
perhaps as a token of that mutual wish of
peace between the two countries, from which
the marriage had sprung. James IV. fre-
quently resided here during lent, in attendance
upon the neighbouring church of the Francis-
cans, where he was in the habit of fasting and
doing penance on his bare knees, for his con-
cern in the death of his father. The poet
Dunbar writes a poem in allusion to this cir-
cumstance, which is entitled, " his dirge to the
king bydand [abiding] oure lang in Stirling,"
and is to be found in Sibbald's Chronicle of
Scottish Poetry. James V., who was born
and crowned in Stirling Castle, further adorned
it by the erection of the present palace. It

STIRLING.

*53

was also occupied by the widow of the prince,
Mary of Guise, queen regent, who erected the
battery towards the east, called the French
Battery, from having been built by her French
auxiliaries. While James V. resided in the
Castle of Stirling, he frequently went forth in
disguise, and his adventures on these occasions
have furnished a theme for many amusing
anecdotes. James was a monarch whose
good and benevolent intentions often rendered
his romantic freaks venial, if not respectable,
since, from his anxious attentions to the lower
and most oppressed class of his subjects, he
was, as we are told, popularly termed the king
of the commons. For the purpose of seeing
that justice was regularly administered, and
frequently from the less justifiable motive of
gallantry, he used to traverse the adjacent coun-
try privately. The two excellent comic songs,
entitled, " The Gaberlunzie Man," and " "We'll
gang nae mair a roving," are said to have been
founded upon the success of his amorous ad-
ventures when travelling in the disguise of a
beggar. It seems that on such occasions James
used to take the name of " Gudeman o' Bal-
langeigh," from the name of the hill at Stirling.
It is related, that once upon a time when he
was feasting at Stirling, he sent for some
venison from the neighbouring hills. The deer
being killed, they were put on horses' backs
to be transported to Stirling ; but unfortunately
they had to pass the castle-gates of Arnpryor,
belonging to a chief of the Buchanans, who
had a considerable number of guests with him.
It was late, and the company rather short of
victuals, though they had more than enough of
liquor. The chief, seeing so much fat venison
passing his very door, seized on it ; and to the
expostulations of the keepers, who told him it
belonged to King James, he answered inso-
lently, that if James was king in Scotland, he,
Buchanan, was king in Kippen, this being the
name of the district in which the castle of Arn-
pryor lay. On hearing what had happened, the
king got on horseback, and rode instantly from
Stirling to Buchanan's house, where he found
a fierce-looking Highlander, with an axe on his
shoulder, standing centinel at the door. This
grim warden refused the king admittance, say-
ing that the Laird of Arnpryor was at dinner,
and would not be disturbed. " Yet go up to
the company, my good friend," said the king,
" and tell him that the Gudeman of Ballan-
geigh is come to feast with, the King of Kip-

pen." The porter went grumbling into the
house, and told his master that there was a
fellow with a red beard, who called himself the
Gudeman of Ballangeigh, at the gate, who
said he was come to dine with the King of
Kippen. As soon as Buchanan heard these
words, he knew that the king was there in
person, and hastened down to kneel at James'
feet, and ask forgiveness for his insolent be-
haviour. The king, who only meant to give
him a fright, forgave him freely, and, go-
ing into the castle, feasted on his own venison,
which Buchanan had intercepted. Buchanan
of Arnpryor was ever after called the king of
Kippen. It is melancholy to add to this story,
that the last king of Kippen was hanged at
Carlisle, in 1 746, for fighting in behalf of the
ill-fated descendant of the Gudeman of Bal-
langeigh, Prince Charles Stewart. Other
adventures of James V., while on these excur-
sions, are still related traditionally in the coun-
try ; in particular, one which had nearly cost
him his life at the village of Cramond, and
which has recently been dramatized, but our
limits preclude the possibility of their intro-
duction. Mary, daughter of this prince, here
celebrated the baptism of her son, afterwards
James VI. ; on which occasion there was a
prodigious display of courtly hospitality.
James, whose baptism took place in December
1566, was removed in February 1566-7 to
Edinburgh, but was soon after sent back to
Stirling, where he spent the years of his child-
hood till he was thirteen years of age. The
apartments which he occupied, with his pre-
ceptor, George Buchanan, and where that learn-
ed man, in 1 577-8, wrote his History of Scotland,
are still shewn in the palace, though now de-
graded into the condition of a joiner's work-shop.
James did not make Stirling the jointure-house
of his queen; that honour was reserved for
Dunfermline. Here, however, he baptized his
eldest son, Prince Henry, for which purpose he
builtanew chapel on the site of the old one. The
fortress continued afterwards in considerable
strength. In 1651, when employed by the
Scottish Estates, in the honourable service of
keeping the national registers, it was besieged
and taken by General Monk. In 1681, James,
Duke of York, afterwards James II. or VII.,
visited Stirling, with his family, including the
princess, afterwards Queen Anne. A scheme
was formed in 1689, by Viscount Dundee,
( Claverhouse) and other friends of this m<m-
6f

S34

STIRLING.

arch, for rescuing the castle for his service
from the revolutionists, but in vain. In the
reign of Queen Anne, its fortifications were
considerably extended, and it was declared to
be one of the four fortresses in Scotland, which
were to be ever after kept in repair, in terms
of the treaty of union with England. Since
that period, it has experienced little change in
external aspect, except its being gradually
rendered more and more a barrack, for the ac-
commodation of modern soldiers. It formed an
excellent point d' appui for the Duke of Ar-
gyle and the government forces in 1715, when
that nobleman encamped his little army in the
park, and resolutely defended the passage of
the Forth against the insurgent forces under
the Earl of Mar. In 1745, Prince Charles
led his highland army across the Forth by the
fords of Frew, about six miles above Stirling ;
but he made no attempt on the castle till the
succeeding year, when, in returning from Eng-
land, he laid siege to it in regular form, but
was obliged to retire to the highlands, without
having made any impression upon it. The
history of the town of Stirling can hardly be
separated from that of the castle, under the pro-
tection of which it rose to its present extent, and
in whose fortunes and misfortunes it usually
shared. It seems to have been made a royal
burgh, some time after the Scottish sovereign,
Malcolm II. (era 1004-34) pushed his empire
across the P'orth. In 1 1 1 9, less than a hundred
years after this extension of the kingdom, Alex-
ander I. granted the town its earliest known
charter as a burgh, which, however, is only a
confirmation of some one which had been
conferred before. Stirling thus ranks with
Edinburgh, Berwick, and Roxburgh, as one of
the four burghs which formed a judicatory for
the regulation of commercial affairs, (the ear-
lier form of the present convention of royal
burghs.) It is a circumstance strongly cha-
racteristic of the time when Stirling procured
its first known charter, that the four royal
burghs of Scotland which enjoyed this distinc-
tion were appendages of the four principal for-
tresses. By an act of the Scottish parliament,
in 1*437, various burghs in the Lowlands were
appointed to keep the various standard measures
for liquid and dry goods, from which all others
were to be taken. To Edinburgh was appoint-
ed the honour of keeping the standard ell — to
Perth the reel — to Lanark the pound — to Lin-
lithgow the fidot — and to Stirling the pint.
40.

This was a judicious arrangement, both as it
was calculated to prevent any attempt at an ex-
tensive or general scheme of fraud, and as the
commodities to which the different standards
referred were supplied in the greatest abund-
ance by the districts and towns to whose care
they were committed ; Edinburgh being then
the principal market for cloth, Perth for yarn,
Lanark for wool, Linlithgow for grain, and
Stirling for distilled and fermented liquors.
The pint measure, popularly called the Stirling
jug, is still kept with great care in the town
where it was first deposited four hundred years
ago. It is made of brass, in the shape of a
hollow cone truncated, and it weighs 141b.
10 oz. ldr. 18grs. Scottish Troy. The mean
diameter of the mouth is 4.17 inches English,
of the bottom 5.25 inches, and the mean depth
6 inches. On the front, near the mouth, in
relief, there is a shield bearing a lion rampant,
the Scottish national aims ; and near the bot-
tom is another shield, bearing an ape passant
gardant, with the letter S. below, supposed te
be the armorial bearing of the foreign artist
who probably was employed to fabricate the
vessel. The handle is fixed with two brass
nails ; and the whole has an appearance of
rudeness, quite proper to the early age when
it was first instituted by the Scottish estates,
as the standard of liquid measure for this an-
cient bacchanalian kingdom. It will be inte-
resting to all votaries of antiquity to know,
that this vessel, which may, in some measure,
be esteemed a national palladium, was, about
eighty years ago, rescued from the fate of being
utterly lost, to which all circumstances for
some time seemed to destine it. The person
whom we have to thank for this good service
was the Rev. Alexander Bryce, minister of
Kirknewton, near Edinburgh, a man of scien-
tific and literary accomplishment much supe-
rior to what was displayed by the generality of
the clergy of his day. Mr. Bryce (who had
taught the mathematical class in the college of
Edinburgh, during the winter of 1745-6, in-
stead of the eminent Maclaurin, who was then
on his death-bed) happened to visit Stirling in
the year 1750, when, recollecting the standard
pint jug was appointed to remain in that town,
he requested permission from the magistrates
to see it. The magistrates conducted him ta
their council house, where a pewter pint jug
was taken down from the roof, whence it was
suspended, and presented to him. After a

STIRLING.

955

careful examination, he was convinced that this
could not be the legal standard. He commu-
nicated his opinion to the magistrates ; but
they were equally ignorant of the loss which
the town had sustained, and indisposed to take
any trouble for the purpose of retrieving it.
It excited very different feelings in the acute
and inquiring mind of Dr. Bryce; and, re-
solved, if possible, to recover the valuable an-
tique, he immediately instituted a search, which,
though conducted with much patient industry
for about a twelvemonth, proved, to his great
regret, unavailing. In 1752, it occurred to
him that the standard jug might have been bor-
rowed by some of the coppersmiths or braziers,
for the purpose of making legal measures for
the citizens, and, by some chance, not returned.
Having been informed that a person of this
trade, named Urquhart, had joined the in-
surgent forces in 1745, — that, on his not re-
turning, his furniture and shop utensils had
been brought to sale, — and that various ar-
ticles, which had not been sold, were thrown
into a garret as useless, a gleam of hope darted
into his mind, and he eagerly went to make
the proper investigation. Accordingly, in that
obscure garret, groaning underneath a mass of
lumber, he discovered the precious object of
his research. Thus was discovered the only
standard, by special statute, of all liquid and
dry measure in Scotland, after it had been of-
fered for sale at perhaps the cheap and easy
price of one penny, rejected as unworthy of
that little sum, and subsequently thrown by as
altogether useless, and many years after it had
been considered by its constitutional guardians
as irretrievably lost. We need scarcely men-
tion, that the recent generalization of weights
and measures throughout Great Britain has
rendered the Stirling jug no longer an object
of usefulness. We have no data for ascer-
taining the progress which the town of Stir-
ling made from age to age in size, property, or
population ; but we are warranted in believing
that it was greatly raised in importance by its
connexion with various religious houses, some
of which it will be proper to notice. The chief
religious house connected with Stirling, or in
this district of Scotland, was the Abbey of
Cambuskenneth, which, though situated within
the county of Clackmannan, and parish of Lo-
gie, stood so near Stirling, that its abbots were
occasionally styled abbots of Stirling. This
abbey stood on a flat and limited peninsular

track of land on the north side of the river
Forth, at the distance of a mile north-east
from the town. The spot, it is supposed, had
been the scene of some transaction in which
one of those Scottish monarchs who bore the
name of Kenneth had been concerned ; and
hence the place received the name of Camus-
Kenneth, which signified the field or crook of
Kenneth, from the river making a bend round
the place. The situation was both, pleasant
and convenient, in the midst of a fertile coun-
try, where the community could be supplied
with all sorts of provisions, including fish from
the neighbouring river. The founder of the
abbey, in the year 1147, was David I., who
furnished it with a company of canons-regular
of the order of St. Augustine, brought from
Aroise, near Arras, in France. The church
attached to it was dedicated to St Mary.
From an impression still preserved, it appears
that the seal of the abbey was of an oval fi-
gure, with a point at each end, showing, at the
foot, six monks kneeling in a devotional atti-
tude ; above, the Virgin and infant Saviour ;
and these figures surmounted with Gothic pin-
nacles ; the legend round the sides, " Seal of
the Convent of St. Mary of Kambuskinnel,"
in Latin. David endowed the abbey with ex-
tensive possessions, and succeeding monarchs
gave additional lands and privileges. Large
donations were also made by private persons in
puram eleemosynam, or pro salute animoe. Bulls
also were obtained from sundry Popes, pro-
tecting the churches, lands, and other privileges
belonging to the monastery, and prohibiting,
under pain of excommunication, all persons
whatsoever from withholding from the canons
any of their just rights, or disturbing them in
the possession of them. The most curious of
those bulls is that of Pope Celestine III., dated
May 1195, as it enumerates the possessions
and immunities of the monastery at that time.
It protects the farm of Cambuskenneth ; the
lands of Colling ; the lands of Carsie and Ban-
death, with the wood thereof ; Tillibotheny ;
the island called Redinche, situated between
Tillibotheny and Polmaise ; the farm of Ket-
tleston, with its mills ; the lands upon the bank
of the Forth, between Pulmille and the road
leading down to the ships ; a full toft in the
burgh of Stirling, and another in Linlithgow ;
one net in the water of Forth ; twenty cudemi
of cheeses out of the king's revenue at Stir-
ling ; forty shillings of the king's revenue of

95G

STIRLING.

the same place ; one salt-pan, and as much
knd as belongs to one of the king's salt-pans ;
the church of Clackmannan, with forty acres of
land, and its chapels and toft ; the fishings of
Carsie and Tillibotheny ; the fishing between
Cambuskenneth and Polmaise ; and the half of
the skins and tallow of all the beasts slain for
the king's use at Stirling. The bull likewise
protects to the monastery the tithes of all the
lands which the monks should cultivate with
their own hands, or which should be cultivated
at the expense of the community ; as also, the
tithes of all the beasts reared upon the pastures
of the community ; and inhibits all persons
from exacting these tithes. It likewise em-
powers the fraternity to nominate priests or
vicars to the several parish-churches belonging
to them, whom they were to present to the
bishop of the diocess, within whose jurisdic-
tion these churches lay, that, upon finding
them qualified, he might ordain them to the
charge of the souls. These priests were
to be answerable to the Bishop for the dis-
charge of their spiritual functions, but to the
Abbot for the temporalities of their respective
churches. It, morever, grants to the commu-
nity the privilege of performing divine service,
with a low voice, and shut doors, without ring-
ing bells, lest they incur a national interdict.
Another bull of protection was granted by In-
nocent III. in 1201, in which sundry parcels of
lands at Innerkeithing, Duneglin, and Ayr, are
mentioned, which had been conferred upon the
monastery since the date of Celestine's bull.
During the space of two hundred years after
its erection, the monastery was almost every
year acquiring fresh additions of wealth and
power, by donations of land, tithes, patronages
of churches, and annuities, proceeding from the
liberality of kings, earls, bishops, and barons,
besides many rich oblations, which were daily
made by persons of inferior rank. From the
middle of the fifteenth century, there appears a
visible decline of that liberality to religious
establishments, which, in preceding ages, had
been so vigorously exerted by all ranks.
Donations became less frequent ; and the im-
mense possessions acquired by cathedrals and
monasteries had begun to be considered as
public burthens ; and not without cause, for
near one half of Scotland was in the posses-
sion of ecclesiastics. Several proprietors of
land withheld payment of the tithes due from
their estates, until they had been prosecuted,

and decreets obtained against them in the civil
courts. The abbacy of Cambuskenneth also did
not escape the evils of civil commotion. Dur-
ing the wars with England, the monastery was
pillaged of its most valuable furniture, but this
it soon got the better of by a new donation ;
but the time having arrived at which the zeal
of the reformers broke loose, it was entirely
spoiled in the year 1559, when a great part of
the fabric was cast down. Several of the monks
embraced the doctrines of the reformation,
though at the expense of their livings, as their
portions were stopped by the queen regent.
Mr. David Panther was the last ecclesiastic
who possessed this lucrative abbacy. The
temporalities, it seems, were either in whole or
in part seized by John Earl of Mar, Regent,
who also carried off the very stones of the
monastery to build his own house in Stirling.
After the Reformation, we find Adam Erskine,
one of his nephews, commendator of Cambus,
kenneth. After the accession of James VI.
to the crown of England, the temporality of
Cambuskenneth, together with that of Dry-
burgh, and the priory of Inchmahome were
conferred on John Lord Erskine, son of the
Regent, that, to use the terms of the grant, he
might be in a better condition to provide for
his youngest sons, whom he had by Mary
Stewart. The barony of Cambuskenneth, in
which the monastery was situated, was settled
on Alexander Erskine, one of his sons, who
dying without issue, it came to Charles Erskine
of Alloa, his brother, whose posterity continu-
ed in possession of it till about the year 1737,
when it was purchased by the town council of
Stirling for the benefit of Cowan's hospital.
Of the once extensive fabric of the abbey
nothing now exists, except a few broken walls,
and a tower, which was the belfry. Some re-
mains of the garden are to be seen, and the bu-
rial place where James III. and his queen were
interred. There is no vestige of the church.
In or near Stirling there was at one period also
a monastery of Dominican or Black Friars,
which was founded by. Alexander II. in the
year 1233; and there was likewise a monastery
of Franciscan Friars, founded by James IV.
in the year 1494, being that in which this
monarch gave himself so much up to devotion,
masses, and penance. It is natural to suppose
that the establishment of these various houses
added not a little to the consequence of Stir-
ling, and a good deal to its wealth. Thus

STIRLING.

957

aided, as well as dignified and enriched by its
castle being the residence of royalty, after the
accession of the house of Stewart, its pros-
perity received a great impulse. There is a
tradition, that at one time Stirling had a keen
struggle with Edinburgh, for the honour of
being pronounced the capital of the king-
dom, and only lost the object of contention by
a sort of neck-heat, the provost having unluckily
ceded the head seat, at a grand public banquet,
to the provost of Edinburgh, which was held
decisive of the matter at issue. Of course,
the tradition cannot meet with any respect, as
it is well known (see Edinburgh, page 286,)
that the present metropolis gained that distinc-
tion about the era of the murder of James I.
at Perth, (1436-7,) when it was found that
neither Perth nor Scone, Stirling nor Dun-
fermline, were able to afford permanent secu-
rity to royalty against the designs of the no-
bility ; yet such an impression as to the truth
of the tradition, could only have been made
upon the popular mind in consequence of a
strong conviction, long entertained, of the emi-
nence of Stirling in the list of Scottish burghs.
Throughout the successive reigns of the
Jameses, the town must have increased con-
siderably in wealth and trade. We perceive
from the books of the Register- House at Edin-
burgh, that Stirling then possessed tradesmen
and artists of a high order. Yet it is probable
that the trade it enjoyed in those reigns was
chiefly in consequence of being the residence of
the courtiers, and of the noblemen and gentle-
men of the country around. Spottiswood the
historian characterises it, in 1585, as a town
" little remarkable for merchandise." It had
then a number of booths or shops, formed of
the vaults in which all houses were built |in
those days ; and what is a remarkable enough
feature, all the shop windows were defended
by stauncheons. The border thieves, who
accompanied the expedition of the banished
Protestant lords in the year just quoted, made
but little, Spottiswood says, of the " booths ;"
it being in the stables of the nobility that they
got their best prey. It was easy to conceive,
however, that at the time when the houses of
the courtiers in Broad Street were compara-
tively new ; when the houses of the Earls of
Mar and Stirling were occupied by their re-
spective proprietors in the splendid style of
those days j and when the buildings of the

castle and the adjacent royal gardens were in
their first and best style, Stirling must have
been a very handsome town, without the assist-
ance of shops ; but, in all probability, the town
never possessed throughout the times of its
greatest splendour, above three thousand inha-
bitants. After the town was abandoned as a
place of residence by royalty, it was frequently
visited by royal personages, on which occasions
the magistracy exerted themselves to receive
with befitting honour the descendants of the
former patrons of the burgh. Stirling was
thus visited by James VI. and in 1633, by his
son Charles I. ; though it is, perhaps, a more
interesting fact, that it gave a welcome to
Charles II. when he visited it in the course of
his unhappy expedition into Scotland in 1650-1,
for the recovery of the kingdom lost by his
father. There are many things in the council
records to denote, that the magistracy, at that
trying period, and even during the dominancy
of the commonwealth, retained a strong feeling
of loyalty for the descendant of their ancient
kings. Stirling, also, was one of those Scot-
tish burghs which Cromwell disfranchised, for
not consenting to the union he desired to effect
betwixt England and Scotland. On the re-
storation of Charles II., this monarch retained
a grateful sense of the kindness of the citizens
of Stirling, and extended and conferred their
former privileges. In 1681, the town was
again honoured by the residence of a branch of
the royal family, in the visit of James, Duke
of York, who then resided in Scotland in a sort
of honourable banishment. No other royal
personage visited Stirling till Prince Charles
Stewart, grandson to the ill-starred duke, who
forced his entrance into the town, with his
army of Highlanders, on the 8th of January
1746. The town was, on that occasion, held
out with considerable spirit for two days, but
was forced at last to capitulate. The letter
which Charles sent to summon the magistrates
to surrender, is yet extant in the town- clerk's
office. From these memorabilia of Stirling,
we may now direct our attention to the parti-
cular objects worthy of notice. The castle
being the chief attraction of the visitor, may be
first noticed. Emerging from the town at its
western or upper extremity, and after passing
along a spacious parade-ground in front of the
fortress, the stranger first passes under the
archways, which give access through two seve-

958

STIRLING.

ral walls of defence, the external fortification
of the castle. These were erected at the ex-
pense of Queen Anne, who, at the same time,
caused a deep fosse to be dug in front of each.
The outer fosse is passed by a draw-bridge.
Immediately after passing the last gateway,
which was formerly defended by a portcullis,
a battery, called the Over or Upper Port Bat-
tery, is found to extend to the right hand, over-
looking the beautiful plain through which the
river takes its winding course, as also the dis-
tant Highlands, and a multiplicity of other ob-
jects. The ground on this side of the castle is
not precipitous, but gradually descends, in a
series of rocky eminences called the Gowlan
or Gowan-hill, towards the bridge. On the
ridge of the nearest hillock, the remains of a
low rampart are still to be seen, extending in
a line exactly parallel to the battery. These
are the vestigia of the works which Prince
Charles caused to be erected against the castle
in 1746. The situation, as may be easily con-
ceived by the spectator, was very unfortunate.
The castle, as we are informed in a print of the
time, overlooked the besiegers so completely,
that the garrison could see them down to the
very buckles of their shoes. Accordingly, they
were able to kill a great number of their Celtic
assailants. The prince made no impression
whatever on the fortress. Between the castle
walls and the Highland battery, a road may be
seen leading down the hill towards the village
of Raploeh. This is called the Ballangeigh
road, from two words signifying the windy
pass. At the same time, alow-browed archway,
passing out of the court-yard, near the parlia-
ment house, and which formerly was connected
with a large gateway through the exterior wall,
is called the Ballangeigh "Entry. The palace
of James V. has its eastern aspect towards this
court-yard. It is a quadrangular building,
having three ornamented sides presented to the
view Of the spectator, and a small square in the
centre. On each of the ornamented sides of
this building, there are five or six slight recess-
es, in each of which a pillar rises close to the
wall, having a statue on the top. These ima-
ges are now much defaced, but enough yet re-
mains to shew that they had been originally,
like every other part of the palace, in a very
extraordinary taste. Most of those on the
eastern side are mythological figures — appa-
rently Omphale, Queen of Lydia, Perseus,

Diana, Venus, and so forth. On the northern
side of the palace, opposite to the chapel-
royal, they are more of a this-world order.
The first from the eastern angle is unquestion-
ably one of the royal founder, whom it repre-
sents as a short man, dressed in a hat and frock-
coat, with a bushy beard. Above the head of
this figure, an allegorical being extends a crown
with a scroll, on which are the letter I. and
figure 5, for James V., (which are also seen
above various windows of the building,) and
the Scottish lion crouches beneath his feet.
Next to the king is the statue of a young
beardless man, holding a cup in his hand, who
is supposed to be the king's cup-bearer. Be-
sides the principal figures, there are others
springing from the wall near them ; one of
which is evidently Cleopatra, with the asp on
her breast. The small square within the
palace is called the Lion's Den, from its having
been the place, according to tradition, where
the king kept his lions. It presents nothing
remarkable in appearance. The apartments
of the palace were formerly noble alike in their
dimensions and decorations. Part of the lower
flat of the northern side was occupied by a hall
or chamber of presence, the walls and ceiling
of which, previously to 1777, were adorned by
a multitude of figures, carved in oak, in low
relief, and supposed with much probability to
represent the persons of the king, his family,
and his courtiers. The walls were stripped
of these most beautiful and most interesting
ornaments in 1777, in consequence of one
having fallen down and struck a castle soldier,
who was passing at the time. Fortunately, at
the very juncture when they were about to be
condemned for firewood, an individual of taste
observed a little girl going along the castle-hill
with one in her hand, which she was carrying
towards the town. Having secured possession
of it for a trifle, the individual mentioned im-
mediately busied himself to collect and pre-
serve as many of the rest as yet remained.
Strange to say, this person was no other than
the keeper of the jail of Stirling ; and it was
to that house of care that he carried the beau-
tiful carvings which he had rescued. They
were kept there for upwards of forty years,
when, having attracted the attention of the
lady of General Graham, deputy-governor of
the castle, drawings, not only of these, but of
others, which had found their way into the

STIRLING.

959

possession of Henry Cockburn, Esq., advo-
cate, and other individuals, were made by her
and an artist of the name of Blore, and then
given to the world, in a series of masterly en-
gravings, published by Mr. Blackwood of
Edinburgh, in an elegant volume, entitled,
Lacunar Strevilinense. Those which were in
the jail of Stirling have now been transferred
to the justiciary court-room adjacent to it ; but
they have been much disfigured by the paint
with which the civic taste has covered them.
The lofty hall which they formerly adorned
is now, alas ! a mere barrack for private sol-
diers ; but it is yet designated by the title of
The King's Room. The buildings on the
western side of the square, adjoining to the
palace of James V., are of a much plainer and
more antique character. It is supposed that
they are of a date antecedent to the reign of
James II. ; a room being still shown, where
that monarch is said to have stabbed the Earl
of Douglas. James II. was so exceedingly an-
noyed through the whole of his reign, by this
too powerful family of nobles, which at one
time had so nearly unsettled him from his
throne, that, in a fit of disgust, he formed the
resolution of retiring to the continent. Wil-
liam, Earl of Douglas, having entered into a
league with the Earls of Crawford and Ross
against their sovereign, James invited him to
Stirling Castle, and endeavoured to prevail
upon him to break the treasonable compact.
The king led him out of his audience-chamber
(now the drawing-room of the deputy-governor
of the castle,) into a small closet close beside it,
(now thrown into the drawing-room,) and there
proceeded to entreat that he would break the
league. Douglas peremptorily refusing, James
at last exclaimed in rage, " Then if you will
not, I shall," and instantly plunged his dag-
ger into the body of the obstinate noble.
According to tradition, his body was thrown
over the window of the closet into a retired
court-yard behind, and there buried ; in con-
firmation of which, the skeleton of an armed
man was found in the ground, at that place,
some years ago. The chronicles of these early
events affirm, that Douglas came to Stirling
upon a safe-conduct under the king's hand, and
that his followers nailed the paper upon a large
board, which they dragged at a horse's tail
through the streets of Stirling, threatening at
the same time to burn the town. The king's
closet, or Douglas' room — for it is known by

both names — is a small apartment very elabor-
ately decorated in an old taste. In the centre
of the ceiling is a large star having radii of
iron, and around the cornices are two inscrip-
tions. The upper one is as follows, " J. H.S.
Maria salvet rem pie pia" — which may be thus
extended, constructed, and translated, " Pie
Jesus hominum salvator pia Maria, salvete
regem" — Holy Jesus, the saviour of men, and
holy Mary, save the king. The lower inscrip-
tion is " Jacobus Scotor. Rex." — James, King
of Scots. The eastern side of the square, op-
posite to this range of ancient buildings, is the
parliament house, a structure erected by James
III. in the Saxon style of architecture, and
which formerly had a noble appearance,
though now rendered plain by the altera-
tions necessary for converting it into a bar-
rack. The hall within this building was a
hundred and twenty feet long, and had a mag-
nificent oaken roof. Parliaments were fre-
quently assembled in it. It is a somewhat re-
markable circumstance, that Linlithgow and
Stirling, two of the Scottish king's private
palaces, had each a parliament-hall connected
with it. James III. also erected within the
castle a chapel-royal or college of secular priests,
consisting of a dean or provost, an archdean, a
treasurer and subdean, a chanter, a subchanter,
and various other officers. This chapel he en-
dowed most liberally. The original register
of it is still preserved in the Advocates' Lib-
rary, along with the chartulary of the Abbey
of Cambuskenneth. The northern side of the
square is occupied by the new chapel, which
James VI., as already mentioned, erected, in
1594, for the scene of the baptism of his son
Prince Henry. The ceremonial which distin-
guished this affair, was one of extraordinary
magnificence and cost, being such as to be suit-
able in the eyes of his father for the heir-pre-
sumptive of three great monarchies. A very
full account of it is yet extant ; and a more
splendid piece of pageantry was never seen in
Scotland, till the visit of his late majesty in
1822. There existed, till lately, in the chapel,
the hull of a boat, eighteen feet in length, and
eight across the deck, which had been drawn
on four wheels into the banquet-hall, with con-
fections and other dainties for the company
assembled. The chapel is now converted
into an armoury ; but less damage has been
done to its exterior than to that of the other
buildings in the castle. Previously to its

960

STIRLING.

being made an armoury, the roof was a
species of panelling without much ornament :
but from the centre there hung, carved in
one piece of wood, which is still preserved in
the building, figures of the castles of Edin-
burgh, Stirling, Dumbarton, and Blackness,
surmounted by a crown. Such are the ob-
jects usually pointed out to strangers as most
worthy of notice in Stirling Castle. It is now
necessary to attend to those objects of interest
in the neighbourhood, which are historically or
locally connected with it. The King's Gardens
merit the first notice. They lie immediately
to the south-west of the Castle-hill, and to the
south of the castle. Their present condition
is that of a marshy piece of ground, complete-
ly desolated. It is yet possible, however, to
trace on this desolate spot the peculiar form
into which the ground had been thrown by its
royal proprietors. In the centre a series of
concentric mounds, of a polygonal, but perfect-
ly regular shape, and rising above one another
towards the middle, is yet most distinctly visi-
ble. An octagonal mound in the centre, is
called the Kings Knote, and is said, by tradi-
tion, to have been the scene of some forgotten
play or recreation, which the king used to en-
joy on that spot with his court. The King's
Park lies beyond the gardens, towards the south
and south-west. It is about three miles in
circumference, is surrounded by a wall of great
antiquity, but is now almost divested of wood,
being chiefly pasture and cultivated ground.
Other principal objects of curiosity within
the ancient royal domain, are the Valley, and
the Ladies' Hill. The Valley is an enclosed
and somewhat hollow piece of waste ground,
now belonging to the burgh, lying a little be-
low the south side of the esplanade formed in
front of the castle. It is about a hundred
yards in extent, either way ; but it is said to
have been much larger before the erection of
the Earl of Mar's house in 1750, when the
garden attached to that edifice was taken off
its length. The use of the Valley in former
times was that of a tournament ground ; while
the Ladies' Hill was a sort of theatre for the
female spectators. The scenery, in general,
round the castle of Stirling, is exceedingly fine.
In the immediate neighbourhood the ground is
quite flat, either showing the foregoing re-
mains or disposed in rich arable fields, while
the scene is closed by the blue peaks of the
Highland hills. The nearest rising ground is

60uth from the Castle, and in this quarter the
view is uninteresting and interrupted. But on
the north, looking towards Airthrie, and the
winding line of the Forth, it is of surpassing
loveliness. The south bank of the castle is
also clad with trees, and the whole is laid out
in walks which could not easily be paralleled.
After examining the castle, and viewing this
splendid panorama of hill and dale, wood and
water, the visitor returns to the town to ex-
plore the objects it offers for his inspection.
The town of Stirling consists of a main or
High Street, called Broad Street, of a spacious
and imposing appearance, lying along the in-
clined plane, like the High Street of Edin-
burgh, with one or two other thoroughfares
leading towards the castle, and several diverg-
ing streets. The interior and more ancient
streets of Stirling present rather a mean ap-
pearance, being generally long, narrow, and
containing many old-fashioned and decayed
houses. Since the commencement of the pre-
sent century, several of the streets, besides
Broad Street, such as Baker Street, King
Street, and Port Street, have been much im-
proved, and filled with good shops. Every
road, too, which leads out of the town, is now
lined with neat modern villas, which betoken
the wealth and comfort of the inhabitants ;
many of these are occupied by gentlemen
of fortune or annuitants, who have returned,
after an adventurous life, to spend the conclu-
sion of their days in their native town. The
streets are in many places ill paved, but at the
more open parts of the town there is a flag
pavement for foot passengers. The town has
been lighted of late years with very brilliant
gas. The public building most worthy of no-
tice is the Old Church of the town, which
stands near the castle. Though anciently
one place of worship, this venerable structure
now forms two, respectively called the East
and West Churches. The division took
place in 1656. The West Church was ori-
ginally the place of worship connected with
the Franciscan or Grey Friars' Monastery,
founded by James IV. in 1494. It can-
not therefore be of an older date. It ap-
pears to have had a projecting square build-
ing at each corner. One of these at the north-
west corner was, according to tradition, the
chapel of Margaret, daughter of Henry the
Seventh, James the Fourth's queen. The
interior was of beautiful architecture j and on

STIRLING.

901

the arch (now converted into a window) which
formed the entrance to it, may still be seen on
the outside of the church, the rose of England
and thistle of Scotland. Another of these
projections is now an aisle. The West Church
is now fitted up as tastefully as presbyterianism
will allow, and contains some fine monuments
on the walls. The East Church, at least
the chancel, was built by Cardinal Beatoun ;
but, though a later, and in external appearance
a more magnificent structure, it is not, in re-
ality, of such elegant architecture as its more
aged neighbour. A square turret rises from
the western part of the whole edifice. The
church of Stirling is remarkable in Scottish
history, as the place where the Regent Earl of
Arran, in 1543, abjured the Catholic faith,
and avowed the Protestant doctrines, which,
however, he afterwards renounced. Here also,
on the 29th of July 1567, James VI. was
crowned, at the age of thirteen months and ten
days, John Knox preaching the coronation
sermon. In 1651, Monk took possession of
the tower or steeple, from which he proceeded
to batter the castle. The Highlanders in 1746,
occupied the same station, for the purpose of
celebrating their victory at Falkirk, which they
did by ringing of bells, and discharging of fire-
arms from the battlements. On both of these
occasions, the steeple suffered from the shot of
the castle. A large building on the south of
the church is Cowan's Hospital, built in 1639.
The front of this house exhibits a full length
statue of the founder. At the head of Broad
Street stand the remains of the house of the
Earl of Mar, or Mar's Work, as it has been
called. It was originally a quadrangular
building with a small court in the centre, but
the ruins of the front of the square alone remain.
In the centre of this part are the royal arms of
Scotland, and, on the two projecting towers
on each side, those of the regent and his coun-
tess. In an alley, called the Castle Wynd,
leading off from the upper end of Broad Street,
is shown Argyle's Lodgings, a large quadran-
gular house, built in the lordly style which
prevailed during the reigns of James and the
first Charles. By far the most noted struc-
ture in or about Stirling, is the Bridge over the
Forth. It is reached by a road leading from
the south or town side, and stands nearly op-
posite the castle. Being the first convenience
of the sort, which occurs on the Forth for fifty
miles upwards from themouth of its estuary,and

having been, till lately, almost the only access
into the northern department of Scotland for
wheeled carriages (which now generally pro-
ceed by boats at Queensferry), there can be
little wonder that it is so. Stirling Bridge is
also conspicuous in the history of the country,
and is altogether one of the most notable pub-
lic objects in the kingdom. At a very early pe-
riod, there was a wooden bridge across the Forth,
about half a mile above the present stone struc-
ture, which was the scene of that exploit of
Wallace with the English army already notic-
ed. The remains of this bridge are visible at
low water, and the place is still a ford. Mon-
trose led his army through the water at this
point, when on his march to Kilsyth, in 1645.
The age of the stone bridge is unknown ; but
it must be at least as old as 1571, when Arch-
bishop Hamilton was hanged upon it, by the
king's faction under the Regent Lennox. It
is of very antique structure, being narrow,
and high in the centre. Formerly, it had
a gate leading through two small flank-
ing towers, near the south end, and another
gate leading through two similar towers, near
the north end : there were also two low towers
in the centre. A painting over the door
of one of the rooms in the Town House, re-
presents the bridge in this state. General
Blakeney, the governor of the castle, in 1745,
caused the south arch to be destroyed, in order
to intercept the Highlanders, both in their march
south, in parties, to reinforce Prince Charles,
and in their retreat northwards on desertion.
On this account, when the royal army came to
follow Charles to the north in February 1 746,
the Duke of Cumberland was obliged to supply
the place of the deficient arch, by logs and
boards of wood ; which was one of the reasons
why he never overtook, or came near his ene-
my, till the battle of Culloden. The old
bridge of Stirling being found inconvenient for
modern traflic, a new structure, at a short
distance below, in a more commodious place,
has been some time in preparation. Another
public structure which may be noticed, is the
Town House, an old edifice with a spire, stand-
ing in Broad Street. Behind it is the com-
mon jail. At the top of King Street stands
the Athenaeum, a handsome building, with
a fine lofty spire, and a good clock ; the
ground storeys are converted into shops ;
in the upper is a reading-room and a very
extensive library, consisting of an excellent
C G

W32

STITCHEL.

collection of books ; the front of the building
is circular, which gives a much greater facility
to the entrance of the two streets,, which branch
out here. Near to this structure is a large and
commodious corn market, which is well attend-
ed. There is also an extensive butcher mar-
ket, and a good weekly market is held every
Friday. The chief manufacture of Stirling is
carpets and tartans, for which the place has
been noted, and this branch of business engages
a considerable number of weavers. Brewing is
also carried on. There are several booksellers
and printers, and a number of other tradesmen
only found in the better class of towns. There is
a branch of the Bank.pf Scotland established ;
and there is a Savings' Bank, as well as some
otherybeneficiary institutions. Being the coun-
ty-town, the courts of the sheriff are held here,
and are attended by a number of procurators,
resident in the place. On account of the
shallowness of the Forth, no trade can be carri-
ed on by shipping, unless by incurring a vast ex-
pense in deepening and otherwise improving
the river. At certain times of the tide, how-
ever, steam vessels from Newhaven reach the
quay, and afford a cheap and agreeable com-
munication with Edinburgh. (See Forth,
p. 449-) A mail and stage coaches sustain
a regular daily communication by land with the
capital and other places. Stirling has been
long celebrated for its schools, chiefly on ac-
count of one of them having for a long course
of years been successfully taught by Dr. Doig,
a person remarkable for his attainments as a
scholar. There is a burgh school for languages,
mathematics, &c. and several parochial teachers
of English. The town is perhaps still more ce-
lebrated for its hospitals or places of residence
for decayed persons. Cowan's hospital, already
alluded to, was founded in 1639, by John Cow-
an, a merchant in Stirling, between the years
1633 and 1639; forty-thousand merks being left
by him to endow an alms-house for twelve de-
cayed brethren of theguild or mercantile corpor-
ation of Stirling. The money was investedin the
purchase of lands, which now yield a revenue
of upwards of L.3600 sterling per annum, by
which about a hundred and fifty persons at pre-
sent receive relief. Spittal's Hospital for relief
of decayed burgesses was founded in 1 530, and
Allan's for the education of children of trades-
men in 1724, and Cunningham's mortification
for a similar puipose in 1808. These institu-
tions, however well-meant, do not seem to
41.

lessen the number of poor persons, of whom
more may be seen in Stirling than in any other
town of its size in Scotland. The parish
of Stirling, which, as has been seen, posses-
ses two established churches, is confined to
the town and a small territory around it, the
whole land not exceeding 200 acres. The
castle, with the constabulary, by which is meant
a small portion of land, are not reckoned in
the parish ; and as little are the royal domains
or king's park. They are exempted from all
parochial assessment, and are in the parish on-
ly quoad sacra. A small portion of the parish
lies on the north side of the Forth, in the
county of Clackmannan. Stirling is remarked
by the inhabitants of neighbouring towns, to be a
place-of extraordinary piety. The principal sect
which has parted from the church of Scotland,
since its establishment, began here about the
year 1 738, under the auspices of the Rev. Ebe-
nezer Erskine, who was originally minister of
what was called the third charge of the parish
of Stirling. The place of worship occupied by
this divine, after his secession from the church,
continued in use till lately, when a new one
was erected behind it. There are also con-
gregations of the Reformed Presbyterian, a
second of the United Associate, and one of the
original Burgher Associate Synods, one of In-
dependents, and two of Baptists, and an Epis-
copal chapel. The fast days of the church
are generally the Thursdays before the first
Sunday of May, and the last Sunday of
October. As a royal burgh, the town is
governed by a provost, with the powers of a
sheriff, four bailies and sheriffs, a dean of guild,
and treasurer. The council altogether consists ot
fourteen merchants or guild brethren, and seven
trades councillors or deacons. The present
set was granted by George III. in 1781, and
is said to be liberal, but in practice is not
found more beneficial than the constitutions of
ordinary burghs. — In 1821 the population of
the burgh was about 6000, including the parish,
7214.

STITCHEL and H UME, a united parish,
the former in Roxburghshire, and the latter in
Berwickshire ; bounded on the north by Gordon
and Greenlaw, on the west by Earlstoun and
Nenthorn, on the south also by Nenthorn, and
on the east by Ednam ; extending from five to
six miles in length, and from three to four in.
breadth. The surface presents a gentle decli-
vity towards the south, and the lands are al-

STONEHAVEN.

9e:

most all enclosed and under tillage. The dis-
trict contains seme fine mansions with their
plantations and pleasure grounds, among which
are Stitchel house and Newton-Don, near the
village of Stitchel. Hume castle, in the northern
division of the parish, is noticed under the head
Hume. The village of Stitchel lies about four
miles north from Kelso, and three south from
Hume. — Population in 1821, Hume, 401, and
Stitchel, 451.

S TO BBS, a village and extensive gunpow-
der manufactory, in the county of Edinburgh,
situated in the parishes of Temple and Borth-
wick, in a secluded vale through which flows
a rivulet tributary to the South-Esk, and use-
ful in turning the mills of the manufactory.
The distance from Edinburgh is about ten miles.

STOBO, a parish in the western part of
Peebles-shire, lying nearly altogether on the
left bank of the Tweed, opposite the parishes
of Peebles and Drummelzier ; bounded on the
north by Lyne Water, which separates it from
Lyne and Newlands, and on the west by Kirk-
nrd and Broughton. It extends about six
miles in length, by four and a-half in breadth.
The greater part of the parish is hilly and of
a pastoral character. Adjacent to the Tweed
and its tributary, the Lyne, the land is cultivat-
ed, and in many places finely planted. The
plantations and other improvements in Stobo
parish, are chiefly contiguous to the road along
the bank of the Tweed, on the property of
Montgomery, baronet, of Stobo Castle. This
is a modern and splendid edifice, situated a
ihort distance from the parish church, within
view of the Tweed. Farther up the vale of
this river on the opposite bank, within the
parish of Drummelzier, is New-Posso, the
seat of Nasmyth, baronet, surrounded also by
extensive pleasure grounds and plantations.
Stobo parish is celebrated for its extensive
slate quarries. The slate is of a fine dark blue
colour, and has been used all over the south-
ern district, as well as to a considerable extent
ill Edinburgh in the roofing of houses. — Po-
pulation in 1821, 413.

STONEHAVEN, or STONEHIVE,
» sea-port town, in Kincardineshire, of which
it is the capital, chiefly in the parish of Dun-
notar, and partly in the parish of Fetteresso,
situated at the distance of fifteen miles south-
by-west of Aberdeen, sixty one from Banff,
thirty- four from Arbroath, fifty-one from Dun-
dee, and twenty-three from Montrose. Stone-

haven is a considerable town, though not a
royal burgh, situated at the mouth of the stream
called Carron, in the bottom of a bay, and
flanked on both sides by lofty hills. The old
part of the town lies on the south side of the
estuary of the Carron, and is irregularly and not
very well built ; on the north side, on an angle
formed by the Carron and the Cowie, a new
town has been erected, composed of neat and
regular streets, with a square in the centre,
founded and patronised by Mr. Barclay of
Urie, who has feued the ground from his estate.
The two towns are connected by a bridge,
carrying across the road from the south to
Aberdeen. The harbour south from the mouth
of the united streams of the Cowie and Carron,
is a natural basin, forming a safe refuge for
vessels during storms, being sheltered on the
south-east by a high rock which runs into the
sea, and on the north-east by a quay, very
convenient for the unloading of goods. In re-
cent times the port has been considerably im-
proved by the erection of a strong jetty or
quay. The town has also undergone great
improvement in point of cleanliness and com-
fort, the streets being widened and newly
paved and lighted. The shipping is incon-
siderable, and is generally employed in the coal
and lime trade, and sometimes in exporting
grain to Leith. During the season a herring
fishery is carried on, to the great advantage of
the place. Formerly a considerable manufac-
ture of linen and cotton goods gave employ-
ment to a number of weavers, but of late
years this trade has almost disappeared. Stone-
haven derives its principal support from the
sheriff court of the county ; there is also a
justice of peace court. Stonehaven is a burgh
of barony, of which the judicature is by the
charter vested in the magistrates, chosen by the
superior and feuars. The population is in a great
measure of that moderately genteel sort which
is almost invariably found in small county towns.
A market is held every Thursday, and from
Martinmas to Candlemas (on Thursday) for
cattle and grain. There are five fairs held
here, namely, on Thursday before Christmas,
old style, Thursday before Candlemas, old
style, second Thursday in June, second Thurs-
day in August, and first Thursday in No-
vember. The established churches of Dun-
notar and Fetteresso are situated near the
town. There is also an Episcopal ckggel,
and a meeting-house of the United A-.ffi&

964

S T R A C II U R.

date Synod. — In 1821 the population was
about 2150.

STONEHOUSE,aparish in Lanarkshire,
bounded by Glassford and Strathaven on the
west, Hamilton on the north, Dalserf on the
east, and Lesmahago on the south. It extends
. bout five miles in length, and on an average
two in breadth. The surface is chiefly flat
and arable, and well enclosed. The parish is
intersected by the Avon. South from its bank,
on the public road, stands the village of Stone-
house, at the distance of eighteen miles from
Glasgow, and about seven from Hamilton.
It is inhabited principally by weavers. — Po-
pulation in 1821, 2038.

STONEYKIRK, (more properly STE-
VEN'S-KIRK,) a parish in the western part
of Wigtonshire, lying on the Irish Channel,
betwixt Portpatrick and Inch on the north,
and Kirkmaiden on the south. On the east it
has Luce Bay, and the parish of Old Luce.
The parish, which extends seven miles in
length, by from three to five in breadth, com-
prehends the three old parishes of Stoney-
kirk, Clachshant, and Toskerton. The sur-
face is generally hilly, moorish, and of a
pastoral nature. The low grounds are arable,
and in some places planted. — Population in
1821, 3133.

STORMONT, a district in Perthshire,
lying on the north-east bank of the Tay, and
extending from Blairgowrie to Dunkeld.

STORNOWAY, a parish and town in
Ross shire, in the island of Lewis. The parish
lies on the north-east part of the island on the
eastern shore, bounded on the inland side
by Barvas. It extends nineteen miles in
length, by from seven to four in breadth.
The surface is generally flat and moorish. The
shores are partly sandy and partly rocky, and
are indented by a number of bays, the chief of
which are Broad Bay and the harbour of
Stornoway. On a point of land at the latter
stands the town of Stornoway, which was
created a burgh by James VI., with the
design of improving the civilization of the
Western Isles. From a small origin, it has
risen to a considerable size, by the exertions
and patronage of the noble family of Seaforth.
Here the white and herring fisheries have long
been successfully carried on, giving employ-
ment to a number of vessels and men. The
houses in the town are, in general, well built ;
and besides a neat and commodious custom-

house, there is a town-house, an assembly
room, an elegant church, and two commodious
school-houses. — In 1821, the population was
about 1500, including the parish, 4119.

STOURHOLM, a small island of Shet-
land, lying on the south side of the mainland,
in the parish of Northmaven.

STOW, a parish in the southern part of
Edinburghshire, in the district of Gala- Water,
with a portion at the southern comer belonging
to Selkirkshire. It has the parish of Heriot
on the north-west, and Galashiels on the south-
east, and extends about fifteen miles in length,
by an average of five in breadth. The parish
is hilly, and for the greater part pastoral. It
composes a large proportion of the vale of the
Gala, which stream is poured through it in a
south-easterly direction. The village of Stow
is situated on the public road up the vale, at
the distance of twenty-four miles south of
Edinburgh, and seven north of Galashiels.
Besides the church, it has a meeting-house of
the United Associate Synod. At the northern
extremity of the parish, on the east side of th.
vale, stands Crookston, the seat of BorthwHc
Esq. At a short distance from Stow on th
south, and also on the east side of the vale,
stands Torsonce, another country residence,
and near it Torsonce Inn, a stage on the
Carlisle road. — Population in 1821, 1313.

STRACHAN, a parish in the western
part of Kincardineshire, bounded on the north
by Birse and Banchory Ternan, on the east by
Durris, Glenbervie and Fordoun, on the south
also by Fordoun and Fettercairn, and on the
west by Edzell. It extends eleven miles in
length, by from five to seven in breadth, and
is for the greater proportion a mass of hills,
some of which are very lofty, and belonging to
a range of the Grampians. The land is low
towards the north, on which quarter it is
bounded by the Dee and its tributaries. Here
the ground is cultivated, and in some places
planted. — Population in 1821, 955.

STRACHUR and STRALACHAN,
or STRATH-LACHLAN, a united parish
in the district of Cowal, Argyleshire, lying on
the eastern shore of Loch-Fyne, extending
about eighteen miles in length, and from three
to six in breadth. The general appearance is
hilly and pastoral ; but there are considerable
fields of arable lands on the banks of Loch-
Fyne. The parish is watered b/ the small
river Chur, which falls into Loch-Eck. The

STRANRAER.

965

church of Strath- Lachlan stands near Loch-
Fyne, and at no great distance stands Castle
Lacblan, an elegant building near the site of
an ancient castle of the same name. Strachur
House is situated farther to the north Popu-
lation in 1821, 702.

STRAITON, a small village in the parish
of Liberton, Edinburghshire, on the road from
Edinburgh to Peebles.

STRAITON, a parish in the district of
Carrick, Ayrshire, lying in the upper or eastern
part of the county, adjacent to the sources of
the Doon and the Girvan, which encompass it.
It is bounded by Dalmellington on the north,
and extends about fifteen miles in length, by
five in breadth, comprehending a superficies of
seventy-five square miles. The greater part
of the parish is only fit for pasture. In the
south-east the surface is extremely wild and
rocky, interspersed with a number of small
lakes. There is a good deal of natural wood,
and several extensive plantations, especially
round the mansion of Whiteford. The vil-
lage of Straiton is pleasantly situated on the
banks of the Girvan, at the distance of forty-
eight miles from Glasgow, fourteen from Ayr,
and six from Maybole. It contains a neat pa-
rish church. Many of the inhabitants are oc-
cupied in woollen weaving. — Population in
1821, 1292.

STRANRAER, or STRANRAWER,
a royal burgh, and seat of a presbytery, as well
as a parish within its bounds, situated at the
inner extremity of Loch- Ryan, Wigtonshire,
at the distance of 68 1 miles west of Dumfries,
9^ north-east of Port-Patrick, and 9| west of
Glenluce. Stranraer is a town of consider-
able antiquity, and is now in a thriving con-
dition. It was a burgh of barony in the reign
of James VI., and was created a royal burgh
by a charter of that king, in 1617. It was not,
however, enrolled as a royal burgh till the
latter end of the reign of Charles II. The
burgh appears to have been formed into a
parish, in the early part of the reign of Charles
I. before the year 1638, when it was made the
seat of the presbytery of Stranraer. The new
parish was confined, in its extent, to the limits
of the royal burgh and its port, which before
this creation were partly in the parish of Inch
and Leswalt. The prosperity of the town, and
its consequent increase, have. rendered these
limits too narrow ; it has grown to be the most
populous one in Wigtonshire, and its suburbs

have encroached on the parishes of Inch and
Leswalt. The principal street is of great
length, and the houses have not been built on
any very regular plan. The harbour affords
excellent anchorage, and a pier of considerable
length, of modern erection, has proved a great
convenience to the shipping. The exportation
trade consists of grain, cheese, and other native
produce, leather, and a considerable quantity of
shoes. Some weaving is also carried on in
the place. Being considered a healthy situa-
tion, it has become the retreat of a consider-
able number of respectable annuitants. In
the centre of the town stands a building,
originally a castle, but now used as the jail.
There are several seats in the neighbourhood,
adorned with all the charms of nature and art,
as Castle Kennedy and Culhorn. A commo-
dious parish church was built for Stranraer in
1785. There are also meeting-houses of the
United Associate, the Relief, and the Re-
formed Presbyterian Synod, and a Roman Ca-
tholic chapel. It is mentioned that the people
are remarkable for extraordinary attention
to the duties of religion. Stranraer has a
mason lodge, news-rooms, subscription lib-
raries, a dispensary, and several other bene-
ficiary institutions. As a royal burgh, the
town is governed by a provost, two bailies, a
dean of guild, and fifteen councillors, and joins
with Wigton, New Galloway and Whithorn,
in sending a member to parliament. The
town-hall is a neat building in George Street.
A justice of peace court is held here, at regu-
lar intervals ; also, a burgh court. The weekly
market-day of the town is Friday. The fairs
of Stranraer are the January, horse, on the
Thursday before the New- Year's Ayr fair;
May, the Friday before Whitsunday ; the last
Friday in July, at Sandmill ; the third and
last Fridays in September at Sandmill ; Oc-
tober horse fair, Thursday before Michael-
mas Ayr fair, and last Friday in Novem-
ber at Sandmill. — In 1821 the population of
the parish was 2463, including environs about
3000.

STRATH, a parish in Inverness-shire, in
the island of Skye, occupying the southern and
narrower part of the island, next to Sleat, and
bounded on the north by Portree. On the
east coast it has the islands of Pabbay and
Scalpa, and on the west Soa. The greater
part of the parish is hilly and pastoral. Strath
abounds in mineralogical wonders. The ferry

?66

STRATH DON

of Kyleakin is within it. — Population in 1821,
2619.

STRATHALLAN, a vale in Perthshire,
through which flows the river Allan. It gives
the title of Viscount to a branch of the family
of Drummond.

STRATHAVEN, a vale in Banffshire,
through which flows" the river Aven.

STRATHAVEN, a town and burgh of
barony in Lanarkshire, in the parish of Aven-
dale, of which it is the capital, situated on the
river Aven, at the distance of seven and a half
miles from Hamilton, and sixteen from Glas-
gow. Strathaven is an irregular old town, full
of long lanes and short streets, all of which
run into each other in a peculiarly perplexing
manner. It seems, like many other towns, to
have been indebted for its origin to a castle.
Strathaven castle, from an early period one of
the seats of the Hamilton family, overhangs
the town with its shattered and haggard walls,
like the spirit of Fingal represented by Ossian
as looking down from the clouds upon his living
descendants. The breed of excellent horses, for
which Lanarkshire is so much distinguished,
took its rise at Strathaven. A Duke of
Hamilton, upwards of a century ago, brought
six fine horses from abroad, which he estab-
lished in the parks attached to the castle, and
from them a breed has been extended over the
whole county. Strathaven is also remarkable
for calves. The herbage around the town is
supposed to be of a peculiarly fine quality, and
excellently adapted for improving the flesh and
milk of cattle. In consequence of this, Stri-
ven veal has been for many ages an article in
high estimation ; and a StrcCven calf is some-
times known to sell almost as high as a cow
reared upon some less favoured district. Strath-
aven has always been known as a public spirit-
ed and industrious little town, and now weaves
a considerable quantity of cotton goods. It
was created a burgh of barony in 1450, and is
governed by a baron bailie, nominated by the
Duke of Hamilton. Besides the established
church, there are Relief and United Associ-
ate Synod meeting-houses. The weekly
market day is Thursday, which is well attend-
ed, and fairs are held on the first Thurs-
day in March, the Thursday in Whitsun week,
the last Thursday in June, the second Thurs-
day in August, and one called the Old
Fair, en the second of November. There
are also one day's races in July. — In 1821

the population of the town was about
2000.

STRATHBEG, (LOCH) a small lake
in the parishes of Crimondand Lonmay, Aber-
deenshire. See Lonmay.

STRATHBLANE, a parish in the south
west corner of Stirlingshire, bounded by Kil-
learn on the north, Campsie on the east, Bal-
dernock and New Kilpatrick on the south,
and part of New Kilpatrick with Killearn on
the west. It is nearly square in its figure,
being five miles in length, and about four in
breadth. It composes the vale of the river
Blane, which pursues a north-westerly course
through it. The land in the valley is exceed-
ingly fertile, and it is beautified by several neat
villas, while the sides of the hills are clothed
with natural woods. Beyond these there is a
considerable extent of moor, affording good
pasture for sheep. There are two old castles,
Mugdock and Duntreath, which have been
strongly fortified. The village of Strathblane
is situated at the distance of three and a half
miles west of the clachan of Campsie, and four
south of Killearn. There is a considerable
printfield at the 'dace. — Population in 1821,
748.

STRATHBOGIE, the vale of the river
Bogie, in the northern part of Aberdeenshire.
The district was formerly a lordship, but now
unconnected with any civil or political juris-
diction.

STRATHBRAN, the vale of the Bran
river, in the parish of Little Dunkeld, Perth-
shire.

STRATHCLYDE, an ancient British
nation, once occupying the vale of Clyde and
adjacent districts. See articles Lanarkshire
and Dumbartonshire.

STRATHCRUNACHAN, a small glen
in Badenoch, commencing about a mile east of
Garvamore, and stretching from the Spey
southward to the head of Loch Laggan.
The old drove road to Dalwhinnie passes
through it.

STRATHDON, a parish in the western
part of Aberdeenshire, bounded by Invera-
ven in Banffshire on the north, Logie- Cold-
stone, and part of Migvie on the east, and
Glenmuick on the south. It is intersected by
a part of Tarland parish. The parish of
Stralhdon extends twenty miles in length, and
is from seven to eight in breadth. It consists
in a great measure of the upper part of the

STRATHMIGLO.

967

vale of tne river Don, which is chiefly with-
in it, and pursues a course tending eastward.
It was formerly named Invernochtie, from the
situation of the church, which stands at the
confluence of the Nochtie with the Don. Ad-
jacent to these waters the land is arable, but
behind it is chiefly hilly and pastoral. — Popu-
lation in 1821, 1698.

STRATHEARN,orSTRATHERNE,
the vale of the Earn, Perthshire, and by a
wider interpretation, a large district adjacent to
this beautiful river and its tributaries. It
is bounded by Perth on the north, Mon-
teith on the west and south-west, Fife on the
south, and the Tay on the east. Altogether
it extends from about Comrie on the west to
Abernethy on the east. It includes much
Highland and Lowland territory. At its east-
ern extremity it is flat and richly planted and
well enclosed; and is adorned by a great
number of villages and gentlemen's seats.

STRATHFILLAN, a vale in Perthshire,
in the parish of Killin.

STRATHGRYFE, the ancient name of
Renfrewshire, in whole or part ; so named
from the river Gryfe, the principal river of the
district.

STRATHMARTIN, a parish in the
southern part of Forfarshire, bounded by
Tealing on the north, Auchterhouse on the
west, LifF and Mains on the south, and Mains
also on the east. This parish is small, ex-
tending ordy about two and a quarter miles
each way, and composes a part of the beautiful
arable vale of the Dichty. — Population in 1821,
695.

STRATHMASHIE, aglen in Badenoch,
watered by the Mashie, a stream tributary to
the Spey, which it joins on the right about a
mile above the new bridge of Laggan. Through
this strath passes the lately formed excellent
road to Fort- William, commonly known by
the name of the Loch Laggan road.

STRATHMIGLO, a parish in the north-
west part of Fifeshire, lying directly north from
the Lomonds. It is bounded on the north by
the main body of the parish of Abernethy,
situated in Perthshire ; on the east it has a
small portion of Abernethy which lies in
Fifeshire, and the parishes of Auchtermuchty
and Falkland ; on the south it is bounded by
Falkland and by Portmoak in Kinross -shire,
and on the west by Portmoak, Orwell, and
that portion of Arngask parish which is situ-

ated in Fifeshire. Its greatest length is rather
more than seven miles, and its greatest breadth
about four. The water of Eden, (or Miglo,
the name it receives while in the parish,) in-
tersects its whole length, dividing it into
two nearly equal parts ; it has its source from
two branches, one rising at the north-west,
and another at the south-west corner of the
parish. On the water there are in the parish
four corn mills, a flour mill, a lint mill, a
spinning mill, and a bleachfield near the vil-
lage. The whole of the parish is either arable
or planted, except those parts of the Lomonds
which were set apart at the division in 1815,
to certain heritors of this parish ; and ever since
that period, there have been considerable por-
tions of the hill broken in, as well as a large
space lately planted by General Balfour of
Balbimie, the proprietor of the ancient estate
of Corstoun. On this estate also, there are
considerable remains of natural wood, consist-
ing chiefly of oak and hazel, which seems an-
ciently to have been connected with the wood
of Falkland, as tradition asserts that it lay all
along the north side of the Lomonds. It is
well kept and enclosed, and occasionally cut
for the sake of the bark.

STRATHMIGLO, a village or burgh of
barony in the above parish, situated in a plea-
sant plain on the north bank of the Miglo or
Eden, at the distance of nearly two miles west
from Auchtermuchty. It consists principally
of one irregular street with lanes diverging
at right angles. It is a place of some anti-
quity, and in old records is called Eccles-Martin,
probably from the church being dedicated to
the saint of that name. Sibbald says, " it
belongs to the Lord Burghly since 1600, an-
ciently to the Scotts of Balweirie, who, about
1251, got it from the Earl of Fife for their
good services. Duncan, Earl of Fife, got it from
Malcolm IV. with his niece." The feus which
held of Scott consist of five or six detached por-
tions interspersed through the village, and were,
by his charter in 1600, erected into a burgh of
barony, with privilege of holding courts, of
gallows and tolbooth, and the usual powers of
such erections. This charter was confirmed
under the great seal in the reign of James VI.
1605 ; but, as the nomination of the bailies
and admission of burgesses was vested in the
person of the superior, their powers, of course,
fell under the sweep of the act 20 Geo. II.
abolishing the heritable jurisdictions. An-

STRATHMORE.

other part of the village was formerly part of
the abbey lands of Balmerino ; and after Lord
Balmerino's attainder in 1745, it was acquired
by the estate of Pitlour, and, together with
the burgh, now holds of P. G. Skene, Esq.,
whose elegant seat of Pitlour House is about
a mile to the north, overlooking the town. A
third portion belonged anciently to the knights
templars ; and after the suppression of that
order, appears to have fallen into the hands of
the knights of St. John of Jerusalem, as one
of the feuars is still held by his title to
maintain the cross of St. John on a con-
spicuous part of his house. Another part is
called the Kirklands, and holds of the Earl
of Mansfield, as proprietor of Balvaird ; he
is also patron of the church. The parish
church is a plain modern structure, built about
sixty years ago. There is a town-house in
the middle of the village, with a neat tower and
spire, 70 feet high, built in 1734; principally
from the ruins of the castle of Cairnyflappet,
granted to the feuars of Margaret Balfour of
Burleigh, the then superior; in return for which
they erected a fine relief of the Burleigh arms
on the front of the spire, which is almost as
perfect now as when first executed. The site
of the castle of Cairnyflappet is easily discern-
ed about a quarter of a mile east from the
town, by the remains of a square ditch or fosse
which had completely surrounded it. A vil-
lage has been built within these fifty years on
the opposite side of the Miglo, called The
Feus of Wester-cash ; it holds of George Tod,
Esq. W. S. Between the old and new
villages is a beautiful square and level mea-
dow, called the Town-green, intersected by the
Miglo, and belonging to the burgh, which, to-
gether with some loans, is all that remains of
a common extending to 170 acres, before it
was divided, about the middle of last century.
In an " agreement amongst the feuars of Strath-
miglo relative to the division of the Lomond
Hill, Nov. 7, 1815," it is stated, " That that
part of Strathmiglo which is the burgh, or
Strathmiglo proper, contains in their old char-
ter 18 feus ; and that it is now divided into
46 feus, upon which are 123 houses, and 387
inhabitants. The population of the whole
town and feus will now exceed 1000- Besides
the parish church, there is a meeting-house of
the Reformed Presbyterian Synod. There
are two annual fairs here, one in June, and the
other in November, although the last has been

long in desuetude. There are two societies
in the village, namely, the Strathmiglo Friend-
ly Society, and the Stratheden Operative
Mason Lodge.— In 1821, the population of
the village was about 800, including the parish,
1842.

STRATHMORE, (or the GREAT
STRATH,) a large valley or strath, stretch-
ing across Scotland from Stonehaven in Kin-
cardineshire on the east, to the district of Cow-
al in Argyleshire on the west. Its northern
boundary is the Grampian mountains, and its
southern the Sidlaw, Ochil, and Lennox hills.
Strathmore is spacious and fertile, partaking
of the soft and rich nature of the lowland vales
to which it adjoins, and is interspersed with
numerous town, villages, and elegant seats.
The name of Strathmore is as frequently ap-
plied in a restricted sense, to that part of the
vale which is bounded by the Sidlaws, extending
from Methven in Perthshire to Laurencekirk
in Mearns. This noble piece of country
gives a title to the ancient family of Lyon.
The seat of this noble family, the celebrated
Glammis castle, is situated in one of the
most beautiful spots throughout the whole
territory, about six miles to the south-west of
Forfar.

STRATHMORE, a Highland vale in the
parish of Durness, Sutherlandshire, through
which a stream flows in a northerly direction
to Loch Hope, whose waters are emptied in-
to Loch Eribole on the north coast.

STRATHNAVER, an extensive High-
land vale in the parish of Farr, Sutherlandshire,
through which flows the river Naver from the
loch of the same name.

STRATHPEFFER, a beautiful vale
in Ross-shire, near the town of Dingwall. In
this vale there is a mineral spring, now a
place of resort as a watering place, and as such
it has obtained a considerable celebrity in the
north of Scotland.

STRATHSPEY, the vale of the river
Spey, in the counties of Inverness and Moray.
See Spey.

STRATHY, a river in the parish of Farr,
Sutherlandshire, flowing through a Highland
vale in a northerly direction to the north coast,
where it is disembogued at an inlet called
Strathy bay. At its junction with the sea stands
a small village named Strathy ; and the head-
land, west of the bay, is entitled Strathy
head.

STROMNESS.

•J69

STRELITZ.a small modern village in the
parish of Cargill, Perthshire, at the distance
of eight miles north of Perth, so named in ho-
nour of the late Queen Charlotte. It was built,
in 1763, by the commissioners for managing the
annexed estates as a place of residence for the
discharged soldiers at the conclusion of the
German war. It consists of a series of neat
dwellings with gardens.

STRICHEN, a parish in the district of
Buchan, Aberdeenshire, bounded by part of
Aberdour, part of Fraserburgh, and Rathen on
the north, Lonmay on the east, and New Deer
on the south. It is of an irregular figure, ex-
tending six miles in length from east to west.
It is intersected by the river Ugie, to which
the land inclines, and though generally hilly,
is much improved, and beautified by planta-
tions, especially west from the river. Here
stands Strichen House ; and on the east, or
opposite bank of the Ugie, is situated the vil-
lage of Strichen, at the distance of fifteen
miles north-west of Peterhead. — Population in
1821, 1968.

STRICKATHROW, a parish in For-
farshire, bounded by Brechin on the south,
and Menmuir on the south-west. On the
north, it is separated from the parish of Ed-
zel and Kincardineshire, by the West Water
and the North Esk, to which it is tributaiy. I
It extends about seven miles in length, by from
one and a half to two miles in breadth. This
is a pleasing district, now considerably im-
proved by planting, and otherwise. In its
north-western part rises the conspicuous hill
of Lundie. In the parish church-yard of
Strickathrow, July 2, 1296, the unfortunate
John Baliol resigned his sovereignty into the
hands of King Edward. — .Population in 1821,
580.

STROMA, a small island in the Pentland
Firth, about two miles from the shore of the
parish of Canisbay, Caithness, to which it be-
longs. It measures two miles in length, and
one in breadth, and is partly arable and inha-
bited. See Pentland Firth.

STROMAY, an islet of the Hebrides,
in the Sound of Harris.

STROMNESS, a parish and town in the
mainland of Orkney. The parish of Strom-
ness at present includes the parochial division
of Sandwick, and lies on the western side of
the island. Stromness is bounded on three
sides by the sea, and on the north by the pa-

rishes of Stennis and Sandwick. Stromness
has recently increased so much in population,
that it has been resolved upon, at the death of
the present incumbent, to disjoin from it the
parish of Sandwick, and again to form the lat-
ter into an independent parish. In the parishes
are several natural curiosities, especially the
" hole o' Row" in Sandwick : there are also
veins of lead throughout both parishes. Al-
together, the united parish, which is of the
usual hilly and pastoral character of Orkney,
extends about nine miles along the western
coast. The capital of the united parish,
Stromness, is situated at its southern extre-
mity, adjoining the Sound of Hoy, opposite
Graemsay island, at the distance of fourteen
miles west from Kirkwall, and thirty from
Huna. On the east side of the town
there is a small bay of the sea, which forms
the harbour of the port ; it is well sheltered
from all winds, and affords safe anchorage for
vessels of upwards of 1000 tons burden. The
bay is not above a mile long, and half a mile
broad ; but it is one of the safest harbours in the
northern parts of the kingdom. On the east
side of the bay at its entrance it is defended
by two small islands or holms. The harbour
of Stromness is visited by the ships of
the Hudsons bay company, and it is no
uncommon thing, in the spring months,
to see fifty large vessels on the way
to the whale fishery, exclusive of casual
visitors. The town of Stromness, at the
beginning of last century, was very incon-
siderable, consisting only of half a dozen houses
with slated roofs, and a few scattered huts ;
the first inhabited by two gentlemen of landed
property, and two or three small traders, the
last by a few fishermen and mechanics. Two
small vessels of thirty tons each were all that
belonged to it, and these were employed in
catching cod and ling at Barra, and usually
made a voyage once a year to Leith or Norway.
The naturally excellent situation of the har-
bour for the admission of vessels proceeding
to or from North America, however, gra-
dually brought the village into notice and in-
creased its trade. The prosperity of the port
it seems immediately attracted the attention of
the burgh of Kirkwall, which, like all corpora-
tions under like circumstances, endeavoured to
crush the rising importance of the village, and to
strip it of its trade. Founding on an obscure
act of William and Mary, 1690, which declared
6h

970

S T R O N T I A N.

" that the exporting and importing of foreign
commodities belonged only to freemen, inha-
bitants of royal burghs," and another act which
ordained that such right might be granted by
royal burghs provided the places so favoured
contributed a portion of the cess, the burgh of
Kirkwall endeavoured to exact from the vil-
lage of Stromness a certain amount of taxa-
tion. A long litigation ensued in the Court
of Session, which at last, in 1 754, declared
that " the burgh of Kirkwall had no right to
assess the village of Stromness, but that the
said village should be quit thereof and free
therefrom in all time coming." From this de-
cision the magistrates of Kirkwall appealed to
the House of Lords, which in 1758 affirmed
the judgment. By this important decision,
the village of Stromness and all the villages
throughout Scotland, became free and inde-
pendent of royal burghs. Before this process
was settled, the trade of Stromness had been
almost ruined by the dependence on Kirkwall,
but ever since its independence was secured,
the traffic has increased, and now it is one of
the chief resorts of shipping in the northern
isles, besides owning a considerable number
of trading vessels. Stromness is an exceed-
ingly irregularly built town, its houses being
erected quite close to the water, some being
within flood-mark, and protected by bulwarks,
quays, and jetties, which every individual has
built as suited his own convenience and taste.
This range of irregular building forms a narrow
street seldom exceeding twelve feet in width.
A very extensive warehouse has been erected at
the north end of the town, and there is an ex-
cellent pier with eighteen feet water at spring
tides. A very great source of wealth to the
place is the touching of the vessels in the
Greenland trade, who annually make up their
crew here ; these ships are also provided here
with some necessaries for their voyage. The
manufacture of straw-plait is carried on exten-
sively, employing great numbers of females.
Boat and shipbuilding is also carried on to
a considerable extent. There is an annual fair
on the first Tuesday in September, which con-
tinues for more than a week, and is attended
by tradesmen with goods from Glasgow, Edin-
burgh, and other places. There are also two
cattle markets or fairs in May and October.
The town has been erected a burgh of barony,
and is under the jurisdiction of two bailies and
nine councillors. — In 1821 the population of
41.

the parish of Sandwick was 930, of the parish
of Stromness 708, and of the burgh and pa-
rish of Stromness, 2236.

STRONSAY, (or Deceitful Island), an
island of Orkney, lying from six to eight miles
north-east from the mainland. It is of a most
irregular figure, being indented with deep arms
of the sea on all sides so as to form the land
into a series of peninsulae. It measures about
six miles each way at the broadest parts. This
island is generally flat, and though much re-
mains in a state of nature, agriculture has
made considerable improvement, which will
probably be aided by the discovery of a bed of
limestone, a substance rarely found in Orkney.
There are two safe harbours, namely Ling
Bay on the west, sheltered by the holm of
Ling, and Papa Sound, lying between Stron-
say and Papa-Stronsay. The antiquities of
this island are some Picts' houses, and a build-
ing at Lamb Head has very massy circular
walls, containing small chambers within the
thickness of the rude masonry. Tumuli occur
here as elsewhere. Two promontories, Od-
ness and Torness, are certainly named in ho-
nour of the northern deities, Odin and Thor.
A small creek also bears the name of Gio-
Odin, where the Fucus palmatus is supposed
to be sanative.

STRONSAY and EDAY, a parish in
Orkney, comprehending the islands of Stron-
say, Eday, Papa-Stronsay, Faray, and nine
holms or pasture islands. — Population in 1821,
1686.

STRONTIAN, a district in the West
Highlands, in the parish of Ardnamurchan,
Argyleshire, possessing a village of the same
name, with a lead mine in its neighbourhood.
The village is situated on the north bank of
Loch Sunart, near its inner extremity, at the
distance of thirty miles south west of Fort-
William. " Of Strontian," says Macculloch,
" I have little to say ; the country is wild and
uninteresting, though there is grandeur in one
scene, in a deep valley which is terminated by
the fine form of Scuir-Donald. The lead mine
is the cause of a considerable population, and
has caused much improvement of small lots of
land that would otherwise have remained in
pasture. On the mineralogy of this mine I
may only say, that it has produced a great va-
riety of the most rare calcareous spars, with
splendid specimens of the staurolite, and that
it was the first place where the carbonate of

STRONTIAN.

97!

Strontian, and indeed the peculiar earth which
has been named from this village, was found.
To the proprietors the value of this mine has
been vacillating, and I believe that it never
produced much profit, while for a long series
of years past it was quite dormant. We
must not, however, measure its value to the
country by the profit which it has yielded.
As a manufactory finding work and wages for
a people which is but too often in want of
both, it has been valuable, even when it mere-
ly paid its expenses. The village now pos-
sesses an excellent inn. In more recent years,
Strontian has come into notice as a place for
the manufacture of straw hats of different de-
scriptions, an account of which, as follows, is
given in the Inverness Courier, Oct. 22,
1828. " About twelve months ago, Sir James
Riddel, proprietor of the district of Strontian,
established a manufactory of straw hats as a
means of improving the condition of the pea-
santry on his estate. Similar establishments
have for years flourished in Orkney, where
there are at present no less than 2000 persons
engaged in this employment, the produce of
which finds a ready market in Edinburgh and
Glasgow. Following their example, the
worthy baronet hoped, that with a little out-
lay and perseverance, aided by the assistance
of experienced persons from the south, he
would not only open up a source of profitable
occupation for the young people, but introduce
amongst them habits of cleanliness, order, and
industry, which might be attended with the
most beneficial results on their happiness and
future prospects. The scheme has already far
surpassed the expectations of its benevolent
projector. Managers were provided, the vil-
lagers set to work, and orders keep pouring in
on the little colony faster than they can be
executed. Above fifty females are now hap-
pily engaged in preparing the substratum of gen-
tlemens' silk hats, and plaiting the more am-
bitious structures of ladies' bonnets. Men are
employed to dress and finish the hats, but their
number is, of course, comparatively small,
though there is every prospect of the establish-
ment being speedily doubled. Each of the
girls earns from five to six pounds per annum,
and where there are two or three in a family,
or even where there is but one, we need scarce-
ly say how much these earnings tell upon the
scanty income of the peasant. A complete
moral change has also been introduced into the

village. Sir James and his lady insisted
mainly on the article of cleanliness, both in and
out of doors, and as the hand readily obeys
what the heart dictates, the girls soon caught
the spirit of the lesson, and were not only neat
and tidy themselves, but carried the same
principle into their fathers' homes. Dunghills
were speedily displaced from their ancient pre-
scriptive station in front of the door, dubs were
filled up, light and air were not wholly exclud-
ed, besoms were in constant requisition, and in
short the huts of Strontian, from being almost
literally what Johnson called ' murky dens,'
have become neat habitable abodes, almost
rivalling the cottages of Goldsmith's beloved
Auburn. The male population of Strontian
are chiefly employed in cultivating some lead
mines which abound in the country, and the
introduction of such habits into the families of
these men must be an incalculable blessing.
Mr. Southey reckons that Wesley did more
good among the colliers of Newcastle than in
any other scene of his spiritual exertions ; and
perhaps philanthropy could not find a more
favourable location than amidst the homes and
families of miners. But the attention of the
proprietor of Strontian has not been confined
to the temporal wants and comforts of his de-
pendents. Through his exertions, two churches
from the Parliamentary grant have been erect-
ed in the district, and three of the Assembly's
Schools, which are now raised, will in a few
weeks be filled with the noisy ' younkers' of the
glen. These are solid substantial blessings, —
facts which speak for themselves. Nor is
there in the above sketch the slightest tinge
of exaggeration. Intelligent strangers passing
through this lonely and rugged district, describe
the scene as one infinitely more pleasing and
gratifying than even the lakes and mountains
they had travelled so far to visit."

STROWAN, a parish in Perthshire united
to Blair- Athole. See Blair- Athole.

STROWAN, a parish in Perthshire, united
to Monivaird. See Monivaird.

SUDDY, a parish in Ross-shire, united to
Kilmuir- Wester. See Knockbain.

SULISKER, a small insulated rock in the
northern district of the Hebrides, about a quar-
ter of a mile in circuit, lying four leagues east
of the island of Rona, and thirteen leagues
north-west of the Butt of Lewis. It ii rated
for its great abundance and variety '•/ rjrt*
fowl.

972

SUTHERLANDSHIRE.

SUMBURGH-HEAD, the southern pro-
montory of the mainland of Shetland.

SUMMER ISLANDS, a group of islands
on the north side of Loch Broom, on the west
coast of the shire of Ross and Cromarty. The
chief islands are Tanera More and Tanera
Beg, under which head they are noticed.
" Why they are called the Summer Islands,"
says Macculloch, " I know not, as they have a
most wintry aspect, as much from their bar-
renness and rocky outlines, as from the ugly
red colour and the forms of their cliffs."

SUNART, (LOCH) an extensive inlet of
the sea on the west coast of Argyleshire. It
has one common entrance from the west with
the Sound of Mull, the latter proceeding in a
south-easterly direction, dividing Mull from
Morven, and the former taking a north-easterly
course, dividing Morven from Ardnamurchan.
Loch Sunart is wide at its entrance, but it af-
terwards becomes irregular both in its breadth
and in the direction which it takes. In gene-
ral it varies from half a mile to two miles in
breadth. It possesses a number of islands, and
its banks are in many places picturesque.
Near its inner extremity, on its north side, is
the modern village of Strontian. From the
head of Loch Sunart there is a vale called
Glen Tarbert, which reaches almost betwixt it
and Loch Linnhe.

SUTHERLANDSHIRE, a Highland
county in the northern part of Scotland, si-
tuated between 57° 53' and 58° 33 north lati-
tude, and between 3° 40' and 5° 13' west lon-
gitude from London. In figure it is a com-
pact territory of five sides, that on the west
and north being presented to the Atlantic and
North sea ; that on the east for a distance of
thirty-seven miles and a half being bounded by
Caithness ; that on the south-east for a dis-
tance of thirty-two and a half miles by the
Moray Firth ; and that on the south and south-
west by the Dornoch Firth, the Oickel and
some lesser streams which separate it from the
county of Ross. Altogether, Sutherlandshire
is computed to contain 1,840,000 statute acres,
deducting 32,000 for salt water lochs. This
vast territory consists almost entirely of one un-
interrupted succession of wild mountains, val-
lies, and morasses. The northern and western
coasts are throughout deeply indented by
inlets of the sea, variegated with bold pro-
montories, among which Cape Wrath is pre-
eminent, and numerous rocky islets. The in-

terior may be divided into three districts. The
eastern is a level piece of land on the east coast,
about a quarter of a mile broad, and is shelter-
ed from the north by a ridge of mountains
from 300 to 800 feet high. The middle dis-
trict is occupied by the four straths of the
rivers Helmsdale, Brora, Fleet, and Oickel.
The western district, which borders on the
Atlantic, is still more wild and mountainous,
abounding in salt and fresh water lochs. The
large extent of Sutherlandshire was the last
district in Scotland which was subjected to
the improvements of modern times. Till
about the beginning of the present century, it
was a country lying in nearly the same condi-
tion as it must have exhibited centuries before,
and in many respects shut out from the pro-
gress of that civilization which had been so
beneficially spread over the rest of Bri-
tain. The great barrier which lay in the way
of improvement was the dangerous narrow
firths to be crossed, and the total destitution
of roads either along the shore or into the in-
terior. The intercourse with other districts
was hence exceedingly limited, while the in-
tercourse between one part of the country and
another was confined exclusively, or nearly so,
to the exertions of those who could travel
on foot ; even this mode of communication,
except to the natives who were brought up to
such toil and exertion, was almost impracti-
cable. Besides the fatigue of such an exer-
tion, it was accompanied by considerable diffi-
culty and danger to a person unaccustomed to
this exercise, from the precipices to be pass-
ed, and the swamps to be struggled through.
Being moreover, like all mountainous coun-
tries, intersected by deep and rapid rivers
and numberless lesser streams, which al-
though at one time nearly dry and easily for-
dable, are apt, in the course of a few hours, to
be so swollen as to remain for days impass-
able ; the adventurous traveller was also ex-
posed to the chance of being cut off from all
shelter, or subjected to the cold accommoda-
tion of a Highland hut. Such was the state of
the local, as well as of the external means of
communication enjoyed by the county of Su-
therland. Subjected to such deluges and ex-
posed to such risks, it is almost unnecessary
to add, that few strangers were tempted to visit
it, either for the purposes of curiosity or com-
merce. The intercourse of the natives them-
selves being limited to the narrowest bounds,

SUTHERLANDSHIRE.

973

the most serious obstacles were opposed to
every improvement, or rather, this district was
deprived of every chance of melioration, so
long as this state of things continued to exist.
But it was not alone from these physical causes
that Sutherlandshire remained so long in a
backward condition. Certain moral causes
concurred connected with the state of society
in the district. The same arrangement of
society, which distinguished the rest of the
Highlands of Scotland, prevailed in this coun-
ty, perhaps, however, to a greater degree than
it ever did further south. In proportion as
the seat of government was more remote, the
power of the crown diminished, while that of
the chief was augmented. This natural ten-
dency of things was vastly increased, with
respect to Sutherland, in consequence of the
local situation of the district, cut off and se-
parated, as it was, from the rest of the king-
dom. For a very considerable part of the
earlier period of the Scottish history, we per-
ceive the Earls of Sutherland and Caithness
taking but little concern in the general tur-
bulence of the kingdom ; though we find them
engaged in their own particular contests, with
all the fierceness and animosity which are the
consequences of a near vicinage, and character-
istic of rude times. They seem, accordingly,
to have felt but slightly the effects of those
disasters and revolutions which deluged the
rest of the country with its best blood, and
swept away many of its distinguished families.
The increase of manufactures and fisheries,
the abolition of heritable jurisdictions, the
spread of the English language, emigration to
the low countries, and other circumstances
which tended to civilize the Highlands and
introduce new systems of management, did
not affect the county of Sutherland so rapidly
or so effectually as other districts. Bound
down by circumstances, from which they could
not relieve themselves, the Earls of Suther-
land continued to find, that the principal means
by which they had to maintain that station in
the country which their rank and descent en-
titled them to hold, was, by raising for the
service of government, one of those corps, well
known by the designation of a " family regi-
ment." The consequence was, that the un-
happy system of encouraging and fostering a
superabundant population was persevered in.
And the greater security of the times, and the
absence of domestic feuds, with an accession

of people from the southern highlands, as they
were from time to time converted into sheep,
walks, promoted the increase, while it cut off
the check to such an over-abundant population.
The effect of this last circumstance was very
important, and one which was, at the same
time, very detrimental to the estate, as it not
only increased the number of people in an
unnatural manner, but did so with a popula-
tion the least desirable in point of industry
and exertion. The numbers of the people of
Sutherland received also an occasional addition
in a way still less likely to improve their ha.
bits. The county formed a receptacle for
many of those tenants of Ross-shire and the
adjoining counties, who escaped into it in order
to avoid paying the rent they owed their land-
lord, as well as to many of those who were
ejected from these counties for irregular con-
duct. Thus was the county of Sutherland
kept in the same state it had been for ages,
or rather, the evils of the system were in-
finitely increased at the very time that the
rest of the country was rapidly advancing in
the contrary direction. Such being, until very
lately, the condition of the estate of Suther-
land, the effect was to scatter thickly a hardy
but not an industrious race of people up the
glens and over the sides of the various moun-
tains ; who, taking advantage of every spot
which could be cultivated, and which could
with any chance of success be applied to raising
a precarious crop of inferior oats, of which
they baked their cakes, and of bear, from
which they distilled their whisky, added but
little to the industry, and contributed nothing
to the wealth of the empire. Impatient of
regular and constant work, all the heavy labour
was abandoned to the women, who were em-
ployed occasionally even in dragging the har-
row to cover in the seed. To build their hut,
or get in their peats for fuel, or to perform any
other occasional labour of the kind, the men
were ever ready to assist ; but the great pro-
portion of their time, when not in the pursuit
of game, or employed in illegal distillation, was
spent in indolence and sloth. The introduction
of the potato, in the first instance, proved no
blessing to Sutherland, but only increased this
state of wretchedness, inasmuch as its cul-
tivation required less labour, and it was the
means of supporting a denser population. The
cultivation of this root was eagerly adopted ;
but being planted in places where man never

974

SUTHERLANDSHIRE.

would have fixed his habitation but for the
adventitious circumstances already mentioned,
this delicate vegetable was, of course, exposed
to the inclemency of a climate for which it
was not suited, and fell a more ready and
frequent victim than the oats and bear, to
the mildews and early frosts of the mountains,
which frequently occur in August. This was
particularly the case along the course of the
rivers, near which it was generally planted, on
account of the superior depth of soil. The
failure of this crop brought accumulated evils
upon the poor people in a year of scarcity,
and also made such calamities more frequent.
For in the same proportion as it gave suste-
nance to a larger number of inhabitants, when
the crop was good, so did it dash into misery,
in years when it failed, a larger number of
helpless and suffering objects. As often as
this melancholy state of matters arose, and
upon an average it occurred every third or
fourth year to a greater or lesser degree, the
starving population of the estate became
necessarily dependant for their support on the
bounty of their landlord ; an appeal which
was never made in vais. So long as the
system just described remained in full force,
no attempt could be made to improve or me-
liorate the situation of these poor people ; and
it would have been useless to dispossess the
humble inhabitants of the soil, till there was a
prospect of advantageously introducing better
arrangements. Nothing but a great and well
arranged effort could remove the obstacles,
which thus on every side, and in every shape,
presented themselves, arising as well from the
moral as the physical circumstances in which
the country was placed. Two powerfully
moving circumstances at length brought about
the introduction of efficient measures of reform.
The first was the extraordinary and patriotic
exertion made by the noble family of Suther-
land and Stafford; and the second was the
well-judged liberality of parliament, which
agreed to advance a moiety of the expense to
be incurred for certain roads and bridges in the
Highlands. It may, perhaps, be serviceable,
in this brief sketch, here to present the reader
with a few particidars illustrative of the annals
of the above noble family. We are informed
by the best authorities, that the earldom of
Sutherland is the most ancient subsisting title
in Britain. "While almost all the other titles
of an old date have been changed in their des-

tinations by resignations and new patents, this
has remained unaltered, and been transmitted
through twenty generations, in the legal order
of descent, to the present estimable possessor.
The first who appears at the head of the fa-
mily genealogy was Freskin, a personage of
Flemish extraction, who came into Scotland
during the reign of David I. (1124-53,) and
obtained from that munificent prince the land
of Strathbrock, in the county of Linlithgow.
Soon after the insurrection of the men of Mo-
ray, in 1130, Freskin, who probably contribut-
ed, by his skill and bravery, to subdue these
ancient people, acquired from the bounty of
the same sovereign some of the most fertile dis-
tricts in the lowlands of Moray. William . the
eldest son and heir of Freskin, received addi-
tional grants of land ; and his eldest son, Hugh,
greatly raised the family dignity by acquiring
the territory of Sutherland, forfeited by the
Earl of Caithness on his rebellion in 1197.
William, the eldest son and heir of Hugh, still
further raised the dignity of the house by being
created Earl of Sutherland about the year 1228,
by Alexander II., for assisting in crushing the
rebellion of one Gillespie, a potent barbarian in
the north. From this period there was a re-
gular succession of earls, either by immediate
descent, consanguinity, or marriage with fe-
male heirs, until William, the seventeenth earl,
who died in the year 1766. This nobleman
left a daughter, Elizabeth, who became Coun-
tess of Sutherland; and in 1785 was married
to the Right Hon. George Granville Leveson
Gower, eldest son of Earl Govver ; which earl
being created Marquis of Stafford, on his death,
in 1803, that title devolved on his lordship.
Since George, the second Marquis of Stafford,
thus acquired a right by matrimony to the vast
estates of the Sutherland family, he and his
lady, the Marchioness, have been unsparing in
their endeavours to improve and civilize this
long-neglected portion of the Highlands, and
have effected wonderful alterations in its con-
dition. In our article on the Highlands,
pages 548, 549, 550, we have presented a cor-
rect account, from official documents, of those
improvements by roads and bridges effected in
Sutherlandshire by the commissioners of par-
liament, and we need not here repeat the de-
scription. It may only be stated, that it took
about twenty years to effect the proposed
changes in the county as to the system of te-
nantry which had long obtained. The removals

S W I N N A.

975

of the old possessors of the soil were complet-
ed about the year 1820, the greater part of the
people settling on lots of land on the sea shores,
and a number emigrating to America or the
Lowlands. A similar process has taken place
on the large estates of Lord Reay and others,
as well as on those of the Marquis of Stafford.
The latter nobleman, at Whitsunday 1829,
acquired by purchase the large estates of Lord
Reay ; and having also bought the lands of
some other proprietors, his lordship is now
nearly the sole possessor of the shire. Instead
of small cottars, the country is now under the
tenantry of farmers, some of whom pay from
two to three thousand pounds of rent, and have
partly emigrated hither from the south of Scot-
land. These enterprising men took with them
Lowland shepherds. We are told by Mr. James
Loch, in his work descriptive of the improve-
ments on the Marquis of Stafford's estates, pub-
lished in 1820, that Sutherlandshire has not
been indebted solely to the farmers of the
Lowlands for its improved modes, as has been
ordinarily supposed, " for," says he, " the bulk
of the most active improvers of Sutherland are
natives, who, both as sheep farmers and as
skilful and enterprising agriculturalists, are
equal to any to be met with in the kingdom.
They have, with an intelligence and liberality
of feeling which reflects upon them the highest
honour, embraced with alacrity the new scene
of active exertion presented for their adoption ;
seconding the views of the landlord with the
utmost zeal, marked with much foresight and
prudence. Out of the twenty-nine principal
tacksmen on the estate, seventeen are natives
of Sutherland, four are Northumbrians, two
are from the county of Moray, two from Rox-
burghshire, two from Caithness, one from Mid-
Lothian, and one from the Merse." Suther-
landshire may boast of one accommodation not
generally enjoyed : on all its excellent roads
there is not one toll-bar. When it was pro-
posed to place turnpike-gates on the principal
line, the noble proprietor said, " It will shut
out the thoroughfare of passengers, of which
we have too few ; and regarding the tenantry,
I see no benefit in lowering rents with one
hand, while with the other I impose tolls upon
them." Under the various improvements in
store-farming, the country rears 200,000 Che-
viot sheep, of which 20,000 are annually ex-
ported, besides 80,000 fleeces of wool. From
the fishing stations on the coast the county an-

nually exports from SO.OOO to 40,000 barrels
of herrings, besides cod, ling, &c While the
breeding of sheep is the great staple business
of Sutherlandshire, — and for which its shelter-
ed straths, and finely swelling green hills, as
well as its climate, which is superior to that of
Caithness, eminently adapt it, — the business
of tillage is not neglected. The agriculture of
the shire is now equal to that of the Lothkns ;
and the soil being of a sandy open-bottomed
nature, it bears excellent crops of grain. The
exports of farm produce, &c. have been much
assisted by the erection of piers at Helmsdale,
and other places on the coast, chiefly, if not
altogether, at the cost of the Marquis of Staf-
ford. Sufficient praise cannot be given to
the Marchioness, who has encouraged the
building of neat cottages in the English style,
and introduced a taste for cleanliness and pro-
priety of appearance, by premiums in money
and a most becoming patronage in different
ways. The building of houses, bridges, and
other edifices, has been greatly assisted by an
abundance of sandstone, limestone, and slate in
the county. — Sutherlandshire contains only one
town, which is a royal burgh, and the county
town, namely, Dornoch ; besides which it has
the thriving modern villages of Golspie, Brora,
and Helmsdale on the east coast, and some
small villages on the north and west coast.
Each of the modern villages have good inns.
The shire has thirteen and a half parochial di-
visions. The old valuation of the shire is
L. 26, 1 93, 9s. 9d. Scots — In the year 1 755, the
population was 20,774 ; in 1821, it amounted
to 11,088 males, and 12,752 females; total
23,840.

SUTORS of CROMARTY, two rocky
promontories, one on each side of the opening
of the Firth of Cromarty. See Cromarty
Firth.

SUURSAY, an islet of the Hebrides, in
the sound of Harris.

S WINN A, or SWANEY, or SWINA,
(signifying Swine Island,") a small is-
land of Orkney, lying on the north side of
the Pentland Firth, betwixt South Ronalds-
hay and Hoy, opposite the entrance to Scalpa
Bay. Near it are certain dangerous whirl-
pools, caused by the impetuous and conflicting
tides of the Firth, and called the Wells of
Swina. It is inhabited by a few families,
and belongs to the parish of South Ronald-
shay and Burray.

076

SYKINGT'O N.

SWINTON, a parish in the district of
Merse, Berwickshire, to which that of Simp-
rin was united in the year 1761 ; bounded on
the north-west by Foggo, on the north by Ed-
rom and Whitsome, on the east by Ladykirk,
on the south by Coldstream, and on the west
by Eccles. It extends about four miles in
length from west to east, by nearly three in
breadth. The general appearance is a surface
varied by gently sloping ridges with alternate
flats, and for the most part of that fertile
nature characteristic of the Merse. The
lands have been much beautified by planta-
tions. The parish is intersected by the small
river Leet, the course of which has of late been
much improved, and which also partly bounds it
on the west. Near this streamlet on a road across
the country, stands the neat village of Swinton,
and at about a mile distant Swinton House, a
modern edifice, the substitute of one of great
antiquity. The family of Swinton is very an-
cient, having, it is said, first acquired their
lands for their bravery in clearing the country
of swine. They made a conspicuous figure in
the reign of Malcolm Canmore, who con-
firmed to them the property of the whole pa-
rish, by one of the first charters granted in
Scotland, and still preserved in the archives of
Durham. Since that time, it appears that
the Swintons have occupied the estate dur-
ing a period of nearly 800 years. One of
these barons sustained the original warlike
character of the family by his strikingly brave
conduct at the battle of Homildon Hill in
1402, an incident which has been dramatized
by Sir Walter Scott, whose grandmother was
the daughter of Sir John Swinton of Swinton.
The small village of Simprin is situated near
the south-east corner of the parish — Popula-
tion in 1821, 919.

SYMINGTON, a parish in the district of
Kyle, Ayrshire, bounded by Dundonald on the
north and Monkton on the south, extending
about four miles long and one and a quarter

broad. The surface presents an agreeably
diversified landscape of gently rising grounds
and sloping fields, with numerous enclosures,
clumps of planting, and gentlemen's seats. The
village of Symington is situated on the public
road which proceeds north-westward by Dun-
donald. The lands in this district were held
under Walter, the first Stewart, by Symon
Loccard, from whom the place obtained its
name. This Symon was the progenitor of the
Lockharts of Lee, and of other families of that
name — Population in 1821, 744.

SYMINGTON, a parish in the upper part
of Lanarkshire, lying on the left bank of the
Clyde ; which river separates it from Lamington
on the south, Culter on the south-east, and
Libberton on the east. On the north the
parish is bounded by Covington, and on the
west by Wiston. It extends about three and
a half miles from west to east, by an average
breadth of nearly two miles. On the nort to-
west quarter, adjacent to Tinto, the land is
elevated, and declines from thence towards the
enclosed and fertile banks of the Clyde. Th j
parish received its appellation from the same
Symon Loccard who gave a title to the pre-
ceding parish, and who obtained a grant ot te r-
ritory here during the reign of Malcolm IV.
and William the Lion. The barony was held
by the Lockharts, in the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries ; and by the family of Symington of
Symington from the reign of Robert I. till the
seventeenth century, when it passed through
several hands, and was purchased by Lockhart
of Lee, a descendant of the original proprietor.
About half way down the eastern ridge of
Tinto on the south side, and within this parish,
are the ruins of an ancient place of strength,
called Fat-lips Castle. This tower, of which
only the remains of two vaults can be seen, is
said to have been built by one of the ancient
lairds of Symington. The village of Symington
is situated near the Clyde. — Population in
1821, 472.

TAASKER, a small island of the Heb-
rides, on the south coast of Islay.

TAIN, a parish in Ross-shire, extending
along the south shore of the Dornoch Firth,
a length of eight miles, by a breadth of two
miles. The ground, in general, is flat, but

towards the west rather hilly. The sea shore
is flat and sandy. The country is wooded,
various, and pleasing.

Tain, a royal burgh in the above parish,
and the county town of Ross-shire, situated
upon a declivity declining gently towards the

TANNADICE.

977

Firth of Dornoch, at the distance of about
twenty-six miles north-east of Dingwall. Being
in the very neighbourhood of a well cultivated
and productive country, this is a prosperous and
pleasant little town, though somewhat con-
fined and ill-paved. In recent times it has
been considerably improved, and extended to-
wards the east. Being about a mile from the
sea, it is not a sea-port. The ancient Gaelic
name of the town is Balduic, signifying the
town of St. Duthac, to whom the old church
and a chapel in the parish had been dedicated.
The church, we are told by Keith, was found-
ed by Thomas, Bishop of Ross, " cum con-
sensu capitali sui, ad instantiam Jacobi III.
Regis, in honorem Sancti Duthaci Pontificis,"
for a provost, eleven prebendaries, and three
singing boys, the 12th of September 1481, " ad
instar ecclesise collegiata? Beati Johannis
Baptistee de Corstorphin, Sancti Andreas dio-
cesis," — that is to say, in the likeness of the

collegiate church of Corstorphine See Cok-

storphine. St. Duthac seems to have been a
saint who enjoyed a considerable reputation in
Scotlandin the fifteenth century, as it is recorded
by tradition that James IV. once made a pil-
grimage on foot from Falkland in Fife to his
shrine at the church of Tain, for the expiation
of some offence ; he travelled with unusual
expedition, resting only a short time at the mo-
nastery of Pluscardine by the way. The church
of St. Duthac is now in a ruinous condition,
but the parish and town have been supplied
with a place of worship, by the erection of a
new church at the entrance to the town from
Dingwall. Tain possesses a good jail, a good
jnn, and a good academy. It has likewise
an excellent modern erection for assemblies and
public meetings. Two bank agencies are set-
tled j there is a reading room, and a bookseller
and letter-press printer. There is no particu-
lar manufacture carried on in the town, and the
trade is chiefly confined to domestic purposes.
The markets on Tuesday and Friday are well
supplied with abundance of fish and butcher's
meat. There are six yearly fairs, namely, on the
first Tuesday in January, the third Tuesday in
March, the second Wednesday in July, the third
Wednesday in August, the third Tuesday in
October, and the Tuesday before Christmas.
As a royal burgh, Tain is governed by a provost,
three bailies, a dean of guild, treasurer and
nine councillors. The burgh joins with Ding-
wall, Dornoch, Kirkwall, and Wick, in electing

a member of Parliament. The Firth of
Dornoch, which is about four and a half
miles broad opposite Tain, at the distance
of three miles farther west, becomes narrow
and straggling, and assumes the name of the
Firth of Tain. There are several ferries
across this arm of the sea, and near its head
it is crossed by an iron bridge, along which the
mail runs. — In 1821 the population of Tain
was about 1500, including the parish, 2861.

TALL A, an islet in the lake of Menteith,
Perthshire.

TALLA WATER, a small dull stream in
the parish of Tweedsmuir, Peebles-shire, rising
from a small lake called Gameshope Loch, on
the confines of Dumfries-shire, and after a north-
erly course for a few miles, falling into the
Tweed below Tweedsmuir kirk.

TAMINTOUL. See Tomintoul.

TANAR, a river in Aberdeenshire, which
rises at the foot of Mount Battock, and falls
into the river Dee, near the church of Aboyne.
It gives the name of Glentanar to the district
through which it flows — now united to the
parish of Aboyne.

TANERA-MORE and TANERA-
BEG, two of the Summer Islands, one
larger than the other, as the names import,
lying on the north side of Loch Broom, ori
the west coast of the shires of Ross and Cro-
marty. Tanera-More is the largest of the
group of islands, being about two miles in
length and one in breadth, and it is the only
one which is inhabited. It is bare and bleak,
and above four hundred feet high ; but like all
the others, it is without picturesque beauty.
Tanera-more, besides a farm, contains an ex-
tensive establishment, provided with a range
of smoking houses, for the use of the herring
fishery, but long since rendered useless by the
desertion of the herring shoals. The pier is,
however, still an occasional rendezvous for the
herring vessels which visit this coast.

TANNADICE, a parish in the centre
of Forfarshire, extending about twelve miles
in length, and from four to eight in breadth,
bounded by Cortachy on the west, Fern on the
east, and Oathlaw and Kirriemuir on the south.
Along parts of its western boundary, and in-
tersecting its southern border, flows the South
Esk river. The Noran Water runs along a
portion of its eastern side. On the Danks of
these streams the land is finely enclosed, culti-
vated and planted, and exhibits a variety of
6 l

978

TARBERT.

romantic scenes. The parish is othenvise
chiefly hilly and pastoral. The village of Tan-
nadice is pleasantly situated on the north bank
of the South Esk.— Population in 1821, 1.372.

TARANSAY, an island of the Hebrides,
lying on the west coast of Harris, at the en-
trance to West Loch Tarbert. It is a high,
rocky, and conspicuous island, measuring about
four miles long and one broad. There is little
or no soil on the whole island, and the occu-
pation of the inhabitants is fishing and kelp
burning. The island is said to exhibit the re-
mains of two religious houses.

TARBAT, a parish partly in Ross-shire
and partly in Cromartyshire, occupying the
extremity of the peninsula formed by the
Firths of Cromarty and Dornoch. On the
south-west it is bounded by the parish of
Fearn. It extends about seven and a-half •
miles in length andfour and a-half atits greatest
breadth. It has fifteen miles of sea coast,
which for the most part is bold and rocky. At
one place the coast is sandy, and affords a safe
harbour at Port-ma-halmoch, on the north
coast ; and here there was formerly a pier. At
the northermost part of the coast also is a
small creek called Castlehaven, from the ruins
of a castle near it. The surface of the parish
is irregular, but not hilly ; and the soil is in ge-
neral fertile. The only seat is that of Mr.
Macleod of Geanies. There are several ruins
of old castles, and remains of religious houses.
—Population in 1821, 1625.

TARBATNESS, the north-eastern ex-
tremity of the above parish, being the point
of land formed by the Friths of Cromarty and
Dornoch.

TARBERT, or TARBET. There are
a number of places in Scotland, chiefly in the
West Highlands, with this name, which is ap-
plied to necks of land so narrow in their di-
mensions that boats may easily be carried
across them from sea to sea. The following
are the chief:

TARBERT, (EAST and WEST
LOCHS) two inlets of the sea in Argyle-
shire, which approximate on the east and west
sides of the peninsula of Cantire, leaving a
narrow neck of land between them. East
Loch Tarbert is but a small islet off Loch
Fyne, but West Loch Tarbert is an indenta-
tion from the west coast, projected in a
north-easterly direction about ten miles.
There is a good road between them, and it
41

is not unusual to carry boats between the
two seas in carts, when circumstances, in
the state of the herring fishery, render it
convenient. The ground is too high to
admit of a canal, except at an expense that
would not be justified by the results ; and
indeed its advantages are superseded by the
Crinan communication. From West Loch
Tarbert there is a weekly packet to Isla.
The navigation of the loch is exceedingly
beautiful, without being strictly picturesque.
The ground is neither high nor bold ; but the
shores are varied in form and character, often
beautifully wooded, and in many places highly
cultivated, while a considerable rural popula-
tion, and some houses of more show and note,
give it that dressed and civilized air which i9
by no means a usual feature on the shores of
the Highlands.

TARBET, a place on the west side of
Loch Lomond, about fourteen miles from its
southern extremity, at which tourists disem-
bark from the steam boats, and proceed by
coaches across an isthmus to the head of Loch
Long.

TARBET, (EAST and WEST) two
arms of the sea respectively on the east and
west sides of Harris, which approximate so
near each other as to leave a neck of land of
only about half a mile in breadth. At the
head of West Loch Tarbet is situated the soli-
tary village of Tarbet.

TARBET, (EAST and WEST) places
respectively on the east and west sides of the
western peninsula of Wigtonshire, near its
outer extremity or Mull of Galloway, where
the land is considerably narrowed.

TARBOLTON, a parish in the district
of Kyle, Ayrshire, bounded by Monkton and
St. Qui vox on the west, and Mauchline on the
east. It lies on the right bank of the river Ayr,
and is computed to measure about seven or
eight miles in length, and six in breadth. It
is about five miles from the sea-coast ; and its
elevation above the level of the sea seems to
exceed the middle height between the highest
and lowest parts of the country. Its surface
is varied by frequent inequalities, and was
originally bare and heathy or marshy ; but the
land is now greatly improved, and is particu-
larly pleasing and fertile adjacent to the Ayr
river. The village of Tarbolton is distant from
Ayr seven miles, from Kilmarnock eight, from
Irvine twelve, and from Mauchline four.

T A Y. (LOC H)

979

It covers a considerable space of ground, and
contains some very handsome houses. The
church is a neat modem erection, with an ele-
gant spire and clock. There is also a Burghers'
chapel. Several benefit societies are carried
on with success ; and a subscription library-
affords instruction and recreation to its sup-
porters. Burns at one time resided in the
parish of Tarbolton, and his poetic farewell to
its masons' lodge will here recur to the re-
membrance of his admirers. A fair is held
on the first Tuesday in June, old style, and
another in October ; there is also a horse

race in August Population of the village in

1821, 1350, including the parish, 2175.

TARF, a river in the stewartry of Kirk-
cudbright, which rises from a small lake called
Loch Whinyeon, in the parish of Twynholm,
and after a course of twenty- one miles through
the centre of the parish of Tongland, at the
southern extremity of that parish, unites with
the Dee. Its banks are in many places adorn-
ed with natural wood and fertile meadows,
and its waters abound with trout and salmon.

TARF, a small river in Athole, Perthshire,
which rises at Carneilar, runs an easterly
course of a few miles, and falls into the Tilt
below the falls of Piltarf.

TARFF, (LOCH) a small lake in Inver-
ness-shire, about three miles in circumference,
in which are several beautiful wooded islets.

TARFF, a river in Inverness-shire, which
issues from Loch Tarff, and, after a course of
seven or eight miles, falls into Loch Ness, at
a small distance from the estuary of the Oich,
between which, on the point of land, is Fort
Augustus.

TARLAND, a parish in the western part
of Aberdeenshire, to which that of Migvie is
united. This united parish is disjoined in its
parts to a most inconvenient extent. It con-
sists of four distinct portions ; the two smaller.
which are in the middle, being Migvie, and the
two outermost being Tarland. The most
western part of Tarland is enclosed by the
parish of Strathdon ; next is a part of Migvie,
between Strathdon and Towie ; the next part
of Migvie is enclosed by Logie Coldstone ;
and the next portion of Tarland is east from
Logie Coldstone, and north from Coul. These
districts are chiefly hilly and pastoral. The
last mentioned division contains the parish
church and village. The latter is a burgh of
barony, and has a weekly market. — Popula-
tion of the united parish in 1821, 964.

TARRAS, a small river in Dumfries- shire,
which rises in the parish of Ewes, and falls
into the Esk three miles below the town of
Langholm. It is remarkable for its rugged
channel and romantic scenery ; it is impe-
tuous, and so much broken by falls, that any
person whom it might sweep away would be
dashed to pieces against its rocks before he
could be drowned by its waters. The follow-
ing old rhyme, celebrating the places in Lid-
disdale remarkable for game, may be noticed :
Bilhope braes for bucks and raes,

Carit haughs for swine,
And Tarras for a gude bull-trout,
If it be ta'en in time.
The bucks and roes, as well as the swine,
are now extinct, says Sir Walter Scott, in a
note to the Lay of the Last Minstrel ; but the
good bull-trout is still famous.

TARTH, or TERTH, a small sluggish
river in Peebles-shire, which rises in the parish
of Kirkurd; and joins the Lyne a little below
Drochil castle. It abounds with -fine trout.

TARVES, a parish in Aberdeenshire,
bounded by Methlick on the north, Old Mel-
drum on the west, and watered in its eastern
part by the Ythan river. It extends about
nine miles long and six broad. The general
appearance is flat, interspersed with some hills
of small size. The soil is various, but gener-
ally fertile, and there are some fine plantations
on the Ythan.— Population in 1821, 2093.

TAY, (LOCH) an extensive and beautiful
lake in the Highlands of Perthshire, district
of Breadalbane. It extends fifteen miles in
length, by from one to two miles, though more
generally one mile, in breadth, lying in the
direction of north-east to south-west, it pos-
sesses a slight serpentine bend sufficient to take
from it the appearance of a straight sheet of
water. At its western extremity it receives
the united streams of the Dochart and Lochy,
and at its eastern end its waters are emitted by
the river Tay. Its depth is from fifteen to a
hundred fathoms, and it abounds with salmon,
trout, pike, and other fish. Though Loch Tay
is a spacious and splendid piece of water, and
though the surrounding hills are loft}', and its
margins are wooded and cultivated and enlivened
by houses, it does not afford those fascinating
landscapes which characterise Loch Lomond
and some other large Scottish lakes. Though
pleasing, it palls by the want of variety ; leav-
ing, after a transit of its whole length, along
the north and beaten track of tourists, no re-
collection on which the traveller can dwell,

980

T A Y. (R I V E R)

and affording no one picture which can be
readily distinguished from another. This re-
mark, however, must be confined to the nor-
thern bank, the ordinary route of travellers. It
would have been far otherwise had the road
been conducted at a lower level ; at the level
which the man of taste would have chosen,
along the margin of the lake, and among the
intricate and beautiful promontories and bays
by which it is bounded. But Marshal Wade,
who constructed the present line of road, hav-
ing here, as elsewhere, adhered to a direct
course, has produced a dull up and down road,
with little to satisfy the tourist in search of the
picturesque. It is far otherwise on the south-
ern shore ; since few roads offer greater temp-
tations, or are more productive of a succession
of picturesque landscapes. Nor is the cause
of this difference difficult to be seen. While
the northern road is continued on a nearly uni-
form, though undulating, level, high above the
margin of the water, the southern frequently
runs near the shore, and follows all the ine-
qualities of the ground. It happens also that
the declivity of the northern hills is not marked
by much variety ; while that of the southern is
very intricate. Besides this, the bold outlines
of the northern hills, including Ben Lawers.
form the extreme distance of the views from
the south side ; while, to those from the nor-
thern bank, the southern hills present an unin-
teresting distance. It is the character of the
.andscapes on the southern side of Loch Tay,
to be rich, and full, and various in the middle
grounds, and to present also a great variety of
foreground. The lake thus becomes rather a
portion of the picture than the picture itself; and
thus these views escape the appearance of va-
cuity, which forms the leading fault of our lake
scenery. As these middle and foregrounds are
produced, partly by the irregularity of the shore
line, broken into bays and promontories of va-
rious character, and partly by the undulations of
hills containing much irregular wood, and many
fine and independent trees, there is a frequent
change of scene, and as much variety as could
well be, where the distance undergoes no very
conspicuous alterations. Of the few objects
on the northern side, a wooded island contain-
ing the remains of a priory, naturally attracts
the first attention. This was an establishment
dependent on Scone, founded in 1122 by
Alexander I., whose queen Sybilla, the daugh-
ter of Henry I. is buried in it. It possesses

another kind of celebrity from having afforded
a retreat to the Campbells in Montrose's wars.
It was taken by General Monk in 1654. Be-
ing a picturesque object, it adds much to the
beauty of this part of the lake. On the west.
Loch Tay is bounded by the rich vale of Kil-
lin, and on the east it has the wooded valley
of Kenmore or Strath Tay.

TAY, the largest of all the Scottish waters,
and which pours into the ocean a greater quan-
tity of fresh water than any other river in
Britain, has its source in the western extremi-
ty of Perthshire, in the district of Breadalbane,
on the frontiers of Lorn in Argyleshire. At
first its waters are entitled the Fillan ; they
descend in a winding course of eight or nine
miles through a valley, to which it gives the
name of Strathfillan, and fall into Loch Do-
chart ; that is, the tract of the stream becom-
ing level, its waters spread themselves abroad,
so as to assume the form of a lake. Loch
Dochart is about three miles in length. Is-
suing from its eastern extremity, the river re-
tains the name of Dochart ; and under that ap-
pellation flows in an easterly direction through
the vale of Glendochart, a distance of about
eight miles ; when, again spreading out, but in
a much more spacious scale, it forms Loch
Tay, described in the foregoing article. Before
entering this extensive lake, the Dochart re-
ceives the waters of Lochy, a small river
which descends from the north-west. The
river issuing from Loch Tay at the village of
Kenmore assumes the name of its parent lake,
which name it retains till it mingles with the
waters of the ocean. The valley around it in
this quarter may be considered as the paradise
of the Highlands. On Loch Tay, and the
river for some miles below it, the adjoining
valley is richly cultivated, or covered with
beautiful plantations, the whole overlooked and
sheltered by mountains towering to the clouds ;
among which rises the lofty Ben Lawers,
Here, near the village of Kenmore, is the beau-
tiful and magnificent seat of the Earl of Bread-
albane, called Taymouth. After leaving the
lake, the Tay speedily receives a great aug-
mentation by the river Lyon, which descends
from Glen Lyon, .and runs a course not a great
deal shorter than the Tay itself. Its next great
accessary is the Tummel, which falls into it on
its left bank, joining it at the south-eastern
corner of the parish of Logierait, about eight
miles above Dunkeld. The Tummel bring

T E I T H.

981

down the whole of the waters drained from a
most extensive district, or series of vales, in
the north and north-west part of the county,
from the confines of Mar in Aberdeenshire,
round to the borders of Appin in Argyleshire.
Before reaching the Tay it receives these
waters chiefly by the rivers Gany, Tilt,
Bruar, and Tarff,- from the north, and in its
own course from the west it draws off the
waters of Loch Lyddoch, Ericht, and Rannoch.
Thus increased, the Tay becomes a river of
uncommon size and beauty, and it now takes
a direction more towards the south. Its wa-
ters frequently separate and unite again, form-
ing several beautiful islands, and its banks are
in general nobly wooded. Near Dunkeld the
woods around it are deep and majestic, and at
this place it receives an accession on its right
bank by the beautiful river Bran. On leaving
Dunkeld, the Tay flows through a territory
more lowland in its character, and pursuing a
direction towards the east, receives the waters
of the Isla on its left bank. The Isla forms a
considerable accession to its magnitude, as it is
a stream which, besides draining the north-
western part of Forfarshire, draws off the wa-
ters from the north-eastern division of Perth-
shire, by the rivers Ardle, Shee, and Ericht.
The Tay now takes a south-westerly course
betwixt the parishes of Kinclaven and Cargill,
and afterwards resuming a direction more to-
wards the south, it receives on its left bank
at Loncarty, the small river Shochie. About
two miles farther south, on the same side, it
receives the Almond, which adds considerably
to the volume of its waters. Flowing onward
towards the south, a noble stream of first rate
proportions, the Tay passes through the beau-
tiful vale and past the town of Perth, and now
decreasing in speed it becomes fit for the navi-
gation of small vessels. After passing be-
tween the woods and romantic hills of Kinnoul
and Moncrieff, a short way below Perth, the
Tay begins to assume the appearance of an
estuary or firth ; and at the foot of the rich fiat
vale of Strathearn it receives on its right bank
its last great tributary, the Earn river, which
brings down the waters of a most extensive
Highland and Lowland district, including those
of Loch Earn, whose sources are very near
those of the Tay itself. Having now received
the whole of the streams of Perthshire, great
and small, with the exception of those falling
into the Forth from the south west corner of

the county, the Tay gradually expands into an
arm of the sea from a mile to three miles in
breadth, though generally shallow ; sepa-
rating the carse of Gowrie and part of Forfar-
shire on the north, from Fife on the south.
At Dundee the firth is contracted to about
two miles in breadth, but it again widens, and
about eight miles below that thriving sea-port,
it expands into the bay of St. Andrews and
the German ocean.

TEALING, a parish in Forfarshire, on
the south side of the Sidlaw hills, bounded by
Glammis on the north-west, Inverarity on the
north-east, Murroes on the east, Mains on the
south, and part of Caputh and Auchterhouse
on the west. It extends nearly four miles in
length and breadth at the broadest and widest
parts. But this does not include a small patch
lying west from the above part of Caputh, and
enclosed by Auchterhouse. The surface
slopes gradually from the mountains towards
the south, where the district is bounded and
watered by the small river Fithie, and is chief-
ly arable, and in some places well-planted. —
PopiOation in 1821, 725.

TEITH, or TEATH, a river in the
south-west quarter of Perthshire, and om of
the few rivers in that county which does E3t
contribute its waters to the Tay. It origi-
nates in two distinct branches which unite at
Callander. The northern branch rises at the
western extremity of the parish of Balquhidder,
and running eastward some miles, it forms the
small Loch Doine, and shortly after falls into
Loch Voil, from which it issues near the
Kirktoun of Balquhidder ; then running east-
ward for a mile or two, it takes a southerly di-
rection,, and runs into Loch Lubnaig, from
whence it issues at the south end, and taking
a course south-east, joins the other branch at
Callander. The southern branch takes its
rise from Loch Katrine, from whence it runs
in an easterly course through the small lochs
of Achray and Vennachar, until it meets with
the north branch. Both drain two extensive
and contiguous vales or straths, lying betwixt
Strathfillan on the north and the vale of the
Forth on the south. The Teith, formed by
the junction of these Highland streams, mean-
ders beautifully round the meadows and
arbours of Callander, as if unwilling to leave
this delightful spot. Being at length forced
to depart, it holds a rapid course for several
miles, taki g its course by the church of

982

THORNHILL.

Kilmadoek, and passing the town and ancient
castle of Doune, where it receives the waters
of the Ardoch. After this it moves gently
along the ornamented walks of Blair Drum-
mond, and the grotesque pleasure grounds of
Ochtertyre, and joins the Forth at the Bridge
of Drip. The river Teith is a clear and rapid
stream, and is the most considerable tri-
butary to the Forth. It abounds in sal-
mon and trout, and at one period it yielded
a valuable pearl fishery at Callander, from the
quantity of muscles of a peculiar description
which it contained. It is also useful in moving
a variety of mills.

TEMPLE, a parish in the southern part
of the county of Edinburgh, bounded on the
north-west by Carrington, on the north-east
by Borthwick, on the south-east by Heriot, on
the south by Innerleithen, and on the west by
Edleston and Pennycuick. Its greatest
length is nine miles, and its greatest breadth
five ; but this does not include a small detached
portion lying between the parishes of New-
battle and Borthwick. The parish of Temple
is chiefly of a hilly nature, and contains much
moorish and pasture land. The village of
Temple occupies a secluded situation in a
hollow on the banks of the Gladhouse water,
which falls into the south Esk a short way
below. This place was the seat of a body of
Bed Friars or Templars, established here by
David I. and endowed with large possessions.
At Ballantradoch, now called Arniston, the
seat of the family of Dundas, in the near
neighbourhood, these churchmen also had an
establishment of a similar description. The
old church of Temple is part of the ancient
religious structure. The village lies ten miles
south from Edinburgh — Population in 182i,
1156.

TE ONA, a small island of Inverness-shire,
in the opening of the arm of the sea called
Loch Moidart.

TERREGLES, a parish in the Stewartry
of Kirkcudbright, stretching westward from
the Nith, opposite the parish of Dumfries ;
bounded on the north-west by Irongray, and
on the south by Troqueer. It measures five
miles in length and three in breadth. The
surface is level, and the soil is in general fer-
tile. Here stands the old castle of Terregles,
formerly the seat of the Earls of Nithsdale ;
and on the. banks of the Nith, near where the

Cluden joins that river, are the ruins of the
collegiate church of Lincluden. This esta-
blishment was originally a convent of Black or
Benedictine nuns, founded in the reign of Mal-
colm IV. by Uthred, father to Roland, lord of
Galloway. It was afterwards changed by
Archibald the Grim, Earl of Douglas and lord
of Gailoway, into a college or provostry,
because of the lewd and scandalous lives of
the nuns. This alteration took place some
time betwixt the years 1390 and 1406. At
the Reformation, the religious body, consisting
of a provost and twelve bedesmen, were turned
adrift, the endowments confiscated, and the
institution converted into a temporal barony, in
favour of the Nithsdale family. Within these
few years, the original buildings have been
greatly dilapidated. See Cluden. A number
of places in this part of the country have the
the name of College, as College Mains, &c.
from this one important religious establish-
ment;— Population in 1821, 651.

TEVIOT, or TIVIOT. See Tiviot.

THANKERTON, a village in the parish
of Covington, Lanarkshire, once the capi-
tal of the abrogated parish of Thankerton.
It has its name from a Flemish settler named
Tankard, who obtained a grant of land from
Malcolm IV.

THORNHILL, a village in the parish of
Morton, Dumfries-shire, situated in a most
delightful part of Nithsdale, on the great road
from Carlisle to Glasgow, by way of Dum-
fries, at the distance of fourteen miles from
Dumfries, twelve from Sanquhar, and fifty-
seven from Glasgow. Thornhill is a large mo-
dem village of a cruciform shape, with a cross
in the centre, erected by the late Duke of
Queensberry. Its trade is chiefly for domes-
tic purposes. There are three places of wor-
ship, namely, the parish church, and a Relief
and United Secession meeting-house. Fairs
are held on the second Tuesday in May, the
last Friday in June, the second Tuesday in
August, the second Tuesday in November,
and the first Tuesday in December, all old
style. The country around Thornhill is ex-
tremely beautiful, the hills bounding in the
scene as with an insurmountable wall. The
vale of the Nith is here very spacious, and the
hills rise up suddenly from the plain, at such
a distance as to suggest no idea of sterility.
From the rising ground, a little way up the

THURSO.

988

hills to the west of the village, the enormous
square mass of Drumlanrig castle looks down
upon the plain. — In 1821 the population of
Thornhill was 750.

THORNHILL, a village in the parish of
Kincardine, Perthshire, joined to the village
of Norriestown, and situated ten miles west of
Stirling, five south-east of Callander, and three
north of Kippen. — In 1821 the population
was about 750.

THORNLIE-BANK, a flourishing vil-
lage in the parish of Eastwood, Renfrewshire,
about five miles south from Glasgow. Here
a large cotton manufactory in all its branches,
including calico printing, is established — It
has a population of 12 or 1500 inhabitants.

THRAVE, or THREAVE, an islet in
the river Dee, Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, at
the north-west corner of the parish of Kelton,
and at the distance of eight miles from Kirkcud-
bright. This small island, which is surround-
ed by a desolate and moorish tract of country,
contains the ruins of Thrave castle, once a
most distinguished fortress belonging to the
warlike Douglases.

THULE, in ancient geography, one of the
northern islands, the most remote that was
known to the Romans. See articles Orkney
and Shetland.

THURSO, a parish in the north-western
part of Caithness, bounded by the Pentland
Firth on the north, by Olrick and Bower on
the east, Halkirk and Reay on the south, and
Reay on the west. From the sea-coast it
measures six and a half miles inland, by a
general breadth of almost five. The land is
for the greater part well cultivated, though of
that bare character so common in this northern
county. The sea-coast is rocky, but that of
the bay of Thurso is a fine hard sand, shelter-
ed on the west by Holburn-head, and on the
east by Dunnet-head. The rocks to the west
of Holburn-head exhibit astonishing scenes of
natural grandeur.

Thurso, a town and burgh of barony in
the above parish, situated at the head of a spa-
cious bay, in a secure valley traversed by Thurso
river, at the distance of 290 miles from Edin-
burgh, twenty north-west of Wick, and the same
distance west from John O' Groat's house, to
each of which there is an excellent road.
Thurso is an irregularly built town, and looks
dull and dirty. A new town, on a regular
plan, has been feued out on the banks of the

river, towards the south-west, in a pleasant ele-
vated situation. Here some handsome new
houses have been erected, but no great pr»gres3
of late years has been made in completing the
plan. An elegant new church, from a plan by
Burn of Edinburgh, and of sufficient dimen-
sions to contain from 1600 to 1800 sitters, is
at present in the course of erection. This mo-
dern structure will supply the place of an old
Gothic edifice. A mason's lodge was erected
some years ago, and a building in Sinclair
Street, in which are public rooms for balls.
The bay or harbour of Thurso, otherwise
Scrabster roads, at spring tides, admits vessels
drawing ten feet water, and after passing a bar,
they are in perfect safety ; but for want of a
pier, they cannot load or unload, except at low
water, — a circumstance which must discourage
regular traffic. A good deal of grain is an-
nually exported, as also fish to a considerable
amount. For the convenience of trade, there
is a branch of the Commercial Bank, and an-
other of the Caithness Bank, which are of
material advantage not only to the county, but
also to the Orkney Islands. The town was
created a burgh of barony by Charles I. in
1633, when it was endowed with the usual pri-
vileges of such institutions, including a right to
hold a weekly market and five annual fairs, of
which only two are kept. It is governed by a
magistracy of two bailies and twelve councillors,
elected by the superior, the Right Hon. Sir
John Sinclair of Ulbster, and retained in office
during his pleasure. The family seat of this
venerable and patriotic baronet stands a short
way east from the town, and is called Thurso
East. This is an excellent aged building in
good repair, and near it is a highly ornamental
structure, which Sir John has built to the me-
mory of Harold, Earl of Caithness, who was
slain and buried on the spot upwards of six
centuries ago. Thurso possesses some benefi-
ciary institutions, among which is a public dis-
pensary. The Quarter Sessions of the Jus-
tices are adjourned from Wick to Thurso, and
vice versa, as occasion may require. The
weekly market of the town is held on Friday.
Besides the Established Church, there is a
meeting-house of Independents. — In 1821 the
population of the town was 2500, including the
parish, 4045.

THURSO, a small river in the county o.
Caithness, which rises from some small lakes
in the parishes of Halkirk and Latheron, and,

9S4

T I N T O.

after a rapid northerly course through a fertile
country in the parishes of Halkirk and Thurso,
falls into the Pentland Frith at the above town
of Thurso. There is a valuable salmon fishery
on the river.

TIBBERMUIR, or TIPPERMUIR, a
parish in Perthshire, bounded on the north
partly by the river Almond, which separates it
from Redgorton, and by Methven, on the west
by Gask, on the south by Forteviot, Aberdal-
gie and Perth, and on the east by Perth, which
separates it from the Tay. It extends about
six miles from west to east, by nearly two in
breadth. The surface, without being hilly, is
considerably diversified. Towards the west it
exhibits a gentle slope from north to south,
and on the east it descends to the level plain
on the banks of the Almond. The district is
generally fertile, and is in some places finely
planted The parish is noted for the extensive
print fields and bleach-fields which are estab-
lished upon it, particularly those of Ruthven
and Huntingtower. These are well supplied
with water by an artificial canal from the Al-
mond to the town of Perth, which is of great
antiquity, having been formed previous to the
year 1244, it being distinctly mentioned in
charters of that date. This parish possesses
an ancient castle, Huntingtower, which is en-
titled to attention, as being the ancient seat of
the Gowrie family, and the place where James
VI. was some time confined by the Earl Gow-
rie, and others, who had entered into a combin-
tion for taking the young king out of the
hands of his two early favourites, the lately
created Duke of Lennox and' Earl of Arran.
This enterprise has usually been called by our
historians the Raid of Ruthven. After the
forfeiture of the last Earl of Gowrie, this castle
and the adjoining manor were bestowed by
King James VI. upon the family of Tullibar-
dine, now united by marriage to the family of
Athole, in whose possession they still remain.
Such has been the change of circumstances of
the places, concurring with the genius of the
times, that the same castle, in which the
haughty Ruthven once confined his king as a
prisoner, has been turned into a house for the
reception of a colony of calico-printers. Tib-
bermuir has given its name to the first battle
tliat was fought between the Marquis of Mon-
trose and the Covenanters, though the field of
battle is perhaps as much, if not more, within
the parLh of Aberdalgie. It will be remem-

bered, that in this sanguinary engagement, the
covenanting forces were completely vanquish .
ed.— Population in 1821, 1634.

TIFTALA, a small barren island belong
ing to Orkney, in the Pentland Firth, neai
which are several dangerous whirlpools.

TILLICOULTRY, a parish in Clack-
mannanshire, extending six miles in length by
about two in breadth ; bounded on the north by
Blackford, on the west by Alva, on the south
by Clackmannan, and on the east by Glende-
von and Dollar. The Devon, near its source,
bounds the parish on the north, and again in-
tersects it in the lower or southern part. The
northern division of the district lies high, and
is chiefly pastoral, but near the Devon the land
is beautifully enclosed, cultivated, and planted.
The minerals found are valuable, there being
abundance of iron ore and coal. There are four
villages in the parish, namely, Earlstoun,
Coalsnaughton, Westertown, and Tillicoultry,
The latter lies three miles east of Alva, and
four west of Dollar, on the road from Stirling
to Kinross. It carries on some woollen ma-
nufactories, for which it is well adapted, being
seated at the foot of the Ochil hills, and well
supplied with water. Besides' the parish
church, there is a meeting-house of the United
Associate Synod. The chief mansions in the
parish are Tillicoultry-house and Harvieston.
—Population in 1821, 1163.

TILT, a small rapid stream in Atlux.es
Perthshire, which rises on the borders of
Marr, and falls into the Garry near Blair-
castle. In its course it forms se eral romantic
falls.

TING WALL, WEISDALE, and
WHITENESS, a united parish on the main-
land of Shetland, lying immediately north from
Lerwick, and extending ten miles in length by
five in breadth, though so much indented by
voes or arms of the sea, that no part of the dis-
trict is upwards of two miles from the coast.
The principal harbours are the bays of Laxford
and Scalloway, at the latter of which, on the
western shore, is the ancient village of that
name. Several small islands belong to the pa-
rish, particularly Oxna, Havera, Trondray, &c.
—Population in 1821, 2309.

T1NNIS, a small river in Roxburghshire,
which joins its waters to the Liddel.

TINTO, a lofty mountain at the head of
Clydesdale, lying on the boundaries of the par.
ishes of Carmichael, Wiston, and Symington.

T1REE.

985

The word Tinto signifies " the hill of fire,"
and derives this appellation from its sum-
mit having, in an early age, been a place
whereon the Druids lighted up their fires in
heathen worship. From its isolated character
and great height, Tinto may be seen from al-
most every part of Clydesdale and even Dum-
bartonshire. Its highest part rises like a great
dome above the other eternal edifices of na-
ture. Strangers often ascend to the top, in
order to survey the surrounding country ; and
the authors of this work can testify that the
labour of ascending is amply repaid by the
pleasure of the survey- In clear days the Bass
may be seen on one side of the island, and the
firth of Solway on the other. There is a cairn
of stones upon the summit, the top of which
is elevated 2351 § feet above the level of the
sea.

TINWALD, a parish in Nithsdale, Dum-
fries-shire, to which that of Trailfiat was
united in 1650 ; bounded on the north by
Kirkmichael, on the east by Lochmaben, on
the south by Torthorwald and Dumfries, and
on the west by Kirkmahoe. The parish is of
a triangular figure, each side of which is about
four and a half miles in length. On the
northern boundary is the small and pleasant
river Ae. The greater part of the parish is
arable. During the last century the district
possessed some fine woods, but these have
been almost entirely removed. Tinwald church
and Tinwald house stand in the southern part
of the parish, near the road from Edinburgh
to Dumfries. Amisfield castle, which has
been noticed under its own head, stands within
the parish. The small village of Tinwald was
the birth-place of Paterson, the projector of
the Bank of England, and the planner of the
disastrous Darien expedition — Population in
1821, 1248.

TIPPERLIN, a hamlet situated about a
quarter of a mile west of the modern suburban
villas of Morrdngside, on the south-west of
Edinburgh. It was formerly resorted to as a
residence by the families of citizens during the
summer months, but it is now comparatively
unvisited and unknown.

TIREE, an island of the Hebrides, belong-
ing to Argyleshire, lying from fifteen to seven-
teen miles west from Mull, and with the ad-
jacent islands of Gunna and Coll forming a
parochial division. Tiree extends about thir-
teen miles in length and from three to six and

a half in breadth. Its name is derived from
the words Tir-I, signifying " the land of I, or
Iona," having formerly belonged to the reli-
gions establishment of that celebrated island.
Tiree is not entirely flat, as the northern ex-
tremity is interspersed with low rocks ; and
there are three hills at the southern end of the
island, which attain an elevation of three or
four hundred feet. But the main part is com-
pletely flat ; so low, indeed, and so level that
travellers have been inclined to wonder why
the sea does not drown it in gales of wind ; as
it is not much more than twelve feet above
the high water mark. The island has un-
questionably been produced, chiefly, from
the gradual accumulation of sand banks,
originally detained by a reef of low rocks.
Thus the soil is almost everywhere a loose
sand ; consolidated, in some places, by the
progress of vegetation and agriculture, and by
the growth of peat ; in other places protected
with great difficulty, by a thin covering of turf,
from the actions of those winds, which, once
admitted, would soon again sweep the island
to its original birth-place. So properly dread-
ed is this event, that it is not permitted to
turn a turf in that large plain which forms its
most striking feature. This is called the
Reef, and it contains about 1600 acres ; being
as flat as the sea, and uninterrupted by any
eminence, scarcely even by a plant or a stone
higher than the general level ; offering, thus, a
specimen of verdure, alike singular and beau-
tiful. Tiree is remarkable for its fertility;
the soil, though sandy and light, being a mix-
ture of calcareous or shell sand, chiefly, with
vegetable and peat earth. Such a soil, which
would in any dry climate be barren or poor, is
here maintained in a state of constant fertility,
by the equable moisture received in conse-
quence of its position in this rainy sea. This
is everywhere proved by the presence of
the yellow Iris, Polygonum, water mint, and
other aquatic plants, which are found flourish-
ing in every com field. Tiree can have no
streams ; but there are some pools of various
sizes in different places, besides two small
lakes ; one of which affords water to turn a
mill. Those parts of the island which are
preserved for pasture, are surprisingly rich;
producing, in particular, white clover, in such
abundance as almost to exclude the grasses.
Unfortunately it contains little peat ; and this
forms a considerable deduction from its value,
6 K

986

TOBERMORY.

as the inhabitants are obliged not only to fetch
this indispensable article from Mull in their
boats, but to proceed thither at different times
to cut and prepare the peat before it can be
removed. There are no trees in the island,
and it is almost as destitute of enclosures;
hence, the gales sweep over it as freely as they
do over the wide expanse of sea. At the
northern extremity, it suffers considerably from
the inundations of sand, as does the southern
extremity of Coll ; but elsewhere both islands
are free from that plague. Although the want
of enclosures might be lamented in a tract of
such loose land and in so stormy a climate, it
is pleasing to observe that the want of these
as well as other inequalities is a chief cause of
the fertility of this island, and the means of its
very existence. In consequence of the level
and unobstructed surface of the land, the sand
is distributed over the flat parts in so equable
a manner, as not only to raise it beyond the
power of the sea, but to improve the whole by
perpetually renewing its natural calcareous
manure, and seldom accumulating in such a man-
ner as to repel or suffocate vegetation. The re-
verse effect is very apparent at its northern
extremity, as it is in Coll ; where the rocky
eminences scattered over the surface, by
affording shelter, cause the sand to collect
in such a way as to produce a barren desert.
The beautiful marble of Tiree is well known.
The quarry is still open, but the produce not
being in fashion, it is little wrought. Tiree
exports annually a considerable quantity of
black cattle, the rearing of these animals and
cows being a principal employment of the
farmers. The feeding of poultry is also car-
ried on to a great extent, and of the single
article eggs it is calculated that there is an export
of fifty tons annually. The island belongs to
the Duke of Argyle. Tiree, and the small isles of
Gunna and Coll, form a sort of chain of is-
lands ; being separated by a rocky sound, not
much more than half a mile in breadth. Coll
is the most northerly of the range. — In 1821,
the population of the three islands, or parish
of Tiree, was 5445, of which Coll had 1264,
Tiree being thus the most populous island of
the Hebrides, in proportion to its size.

TOBERMORY, a modern sea-port town
in the island of Mull, situated near the
northern extremity of the Sound of Mull,
where it opens on Loch Sunart, at the head

42.

of a sheltered bay, and opposite Calve island.
This is the only town in Mull, or in the
large district of the West Highlands and
islands, and as such is a place of some interest.
It was founded about forty years since, by the
British Society for the encouragement of the
fisheries, but though at times in a thriving
condition, its success has not been any way
remarkable, — proving once more that it is
almost hopeless to coerce trade or manufac-
tures. Tobermory, whose name implies " the
well of Mary," from a celebrated spring at
the spot, comprises an upper and a lower town ;
the former being of a dingy appearance, and
consisting of thirty or forty huts. The lower
town, built near the water's edge, is backed by
a cliff which supports the upper town ; and is
disposed in the form of a crescent, containing
some public buildings, and twenty or more
slated houses. The public buildings include
a custom-house, an inn, a post office, and a
pier ; and some of the houses used for coopers'
stores and other purposes, are of a larger size.
A few boats are built here ; but all the other
business of Tobermory, which is very trifling,
depends on its custom-house ; as it is the place
where the legal forms connected with the her-
ring fishery must be complied with. It hav-
ing been acknowledged that Tobermory has
not fulfilled the anticipations of its projectors,
the cause of its failure has been sought in the
arrangement made for the new population that
was enticed to it- The establishment included
2000 acres of land, and an allotment of it was
made to each house, at a very low price, as an in-
ducement to the settlers. Hence, the idle
rather than the industrious, flocked to it ; while
the want of ambition and industry, too cha-
racteristic of the Highlanders, combined with
their agricultural habits, made them bestow on
their lots of land the little labour which they
were inclined to exert ; neglecting the fisheries
and manufactures which were the objects in
the contemplation of the Society. But there
were other faults, consisting in the inconveni-
ence of its position and its distance from the
fishing grounds, which need not be minutely
detailed. There is some coppice wood near
Tobermory, which adds much to the beairty of
the situation — In 1821, the population of the
town amounted to 1400.

TOFTINGALL(LOCH), a small lake
in the parish of Wattin, Caithness.

TORPHICHEN.

S87

TOMANTOUL, a village in the parish
of Kirkmichael, Banffshire. See Kirkmi-

CHAEL.

TONGLAND, or TONGUELAND, a
parish in the stewartry of Kirkcudbright, of a
triangular figure, eight miles long, and four
broad at its northern extremity, gradually de-
creasing in breadth to its southern extremity,
where the rivers Tarff and Dee unite, the lat-
ter dividing it from Kelton on the east, and the
Tarff from Twyneholm on the west, Balma-
ghie being its boundary at the north. The
middle of the parish is occupied by a ridge of
mountains running north and south. On the
banks of the rivers the surface is level, and
the soil a fertile loam ; in the north end the
surface is rocky, interspersed with many ara-
ble fields. Near the church are the ruins of
tne priory of Tongland, founded for monks of
the Praemonstratensian order, by Fergus Lord
of Galloway, in the 12th century. The reve-
nues of this priory are included in those of the
bishoprick of Galloway. Cairns and the re-
mains of ancient encampments are frequently
to be seen in this parish. A fine new bridge
has been lately built across the Dee, two miles
above Kirkcudbright, of one arch 110 feet
span, and three small Gothic arches on each
side — Population in 1821, 890.

TONGUE, a parish in the northern part
of Sutherlandshire, bounded on the north by
the ocean, on the west by Durness, and on the
east and south by Farr. It consists chiefly of
a strath, having on the east the water of Tor-
risdale or Borgie, and a series of small lakes,
and in the centre the extensive inlet of the sea
called Kyle Tongue ; altogether the parish
measures seventeen or eighteen miles inland,
by a breadth near the sea coast of eight miles,
tapering to a point on the south. The district
is hilly, but greatly improved of late years.
Kyle Tongue is a fine expanse of water, which
at its middle is narrowed to a small strait.
Near the east side of this strait, sheltered by an
eminence behind, and by some fine woods,
stands Tongue house, and at a short distance
the church of Tongue. There is now an excel-
lent road round the north coast. — Population
in 1821, 1736.

TOROGAY, one of the smaller Hebrides
in the sound of Harris.

TOROSAY, a parish in the island of
Mull, Argyleshire, lying on the east side of
the island, and extending twelve miles in length,

in every direction. The sea-coast is indented
by several bays, which afford good anchorage,
and at the south side of one of these, Loch
Dow, is a place called Auchnacraig, from
whence there is a regular ferry to Oban in
Lome, by the island of Kerrera. The parish
is generally moimtainous, heathy, and pastoral.
On a lofty promontory, overhanging the Sound
of Mull, at the south-east corner of the island
and parish, stands Castle Duart, formerly the
residence of the chief of the Macleans. — Po-
pulation in 1821, 2288.

TORPHICHEN, a parish in the south-
west part of Linlithgowshire, extending in a
direction from north-east to south-west, a
length of ten miles by an average breadth of
two and a half miles ; bounded on the north
by Muiravonside and Liiilithgow, and on the
south-east by Bathgate. The Avon water
bounds it partly on the side next Stirlingshire,
and on the opposite side it has Barbauchlaw
burn a part of its length. The general ap-
pearance is hilly, particularly on the south
but the parish has been greatly improved and
beautified by plantations and enclosures, and
is generally fertile. The village of Torphichen,
which is small and straggling, lies in a shel-
tered plain, about five miles directly south from
Linlithgow. Though now consisting of only
a few cottages, and lying remote from all pub-
lic roads, it was once a place of great distinc-
tion. Here the knights of St. John, a pow-
erful body of military ecclesiastics arising out
of the crusades, who finally possessed vast
wealth as well as landed property in all the
countries of Europe, had their chief Scottish
preceptory. Fragments of old buildings of a
massive and castellated appearance, scattered
throughout the village, remain to attest the
splendour of this settlement. The very stone
fences in the neighbourhood have an air of an-
tique dignity, having probably been erected by
the former tenants of the place, or else con-
structed out of the ruins of their houses. The
church of the preceptory, which was built in
the reign of the first David, has suffered so
much from time, or from more ruthless de-
stroyers, that the choir and transepts now alone
remain. The chancel and nave are entirely
gone. Instead of the latter, which is said by
the common people to have stretched to a
great length, a plain modern building, of the
size and appearance of an ordinary barr*, tow
runs out from the choir, serving for the &tf!>^

TORTHORWALD.

of the parish of Torphichen. What remains
of the old building does not indicate either a
very large or a very beautiful structure, though
the four pillars which support the choir or
central tower are rather fine, and the Gothic
window of the southern transept still exhibits
a sort of haggard grace. In the interior of the
choir is shown the monument of Walter Lind-
say, the second last preceptor, who died in
1538. The last of the preceptors, who
held the office at the Reformation, was one of
the Sandilands family, in whose favour the
lands were erected into a temporal lordship,
with the title of Torphichen. The baptismal
font is also still shown within the walls of the
choir, as also a strangely ornamented recess
underneath the window already mentioned,
said to have been the place where the bodies
of the dead were deposited during the perfor-
mance of the funeral service. The steeple,
or belfry, to which there is an ascent by a nar-
row spiral stair, is now used in the respectable
capacity of a dovecot. The preceptory of
Torphichen, like some other religious build-
ings, not only could give protection to fugitive
criminals within its sacred walls, but had a
precinct possessed of the same privilege. The
sanctuary of Torphichen extended a mile in
every direction around the church. There
still exists in the churchyard, near the west
end of the present place of worship, a stone,
like an ordinary mile-stone, with a cross carved
upon its top, which marked the centre of the
sanctuary ; and a similar mark is said to have
been placed at each of the four extremities
corresponding with the cardinal points. Debtors
flying from their creditors, or criminals seek-
ing refuge from private resentment or from
justice, were alike safe when they got within
the circle described by these four stones. —
Population of the village and parish in 1821,
1197.

TORRISDALE, a river in Sutherland-
shire, which rises from Loch Laoghal, betwixt
the parishes of Tongue and Farr, and after
running in a northerly course, falls into the sea
at the village of Torrisdale, where there is an
indentation of the sea called Torrisdale Bay.
The river is otherwise named the water of
Borgie.

TORRY,a small fishing village with a small
harbour and pier, in the county of Kincardine,
near Girdleness.

TORRYBURN, a parish at the south-

west corner of Fife, formed by the union of
the baronies of Torry and Oombie, at the be-
ginning, as is supposed, of the seventeenth cen-
tury. It extends along the shore of the Firth
of Forth, betwixt the parish of Dunfermline
on the east, and that of Culross on the west,
and measures from four to five miles in length,
by about two in breadth. The land is gene-
rally cultivated and fertile. West from Crom-
bie-point, a promontory on the Firth, stands
the village of Torryburn, at the distance of
nine miles west from North Queensferry, and
two east of Culross. Betwixt it and Culross,
within the boundary of the parish, is the vil-
lage of Newmills Population in 1821, 1443.

TORTHORWALD, a parish near the
foot of Nithsdale, Dumfries- shire, bounded by
Tinwald on the north, by Lochmaben and
Mousewald on the east, and separated on the
west from Dumfries by the Lochar water. It
extends six miles in length from north to south,
by a breadth at the northern extremity of about
two and a-half miles, tapering to a point on the
south. The southern part of the district com-
poses part of the extensive swampy and mea-
dow land, called Lochar Moss. On the north
the land is arable ; and here is situated the vil-
lage of Torthorwald, with the ruins of the an-
cient castle of Torthorwald in its vicinity,
which is supposed to have existed since the
thirteenth century : it was at one period the resi-
dence of a natural son of the Earl of Morton,
created Lord Torthorwald by James VI., about
the year 1590. On the road from Torthorwald
to Dumfries stands the village of Roucan —
Population in 1821, 1205.

TORWOOD, a forest in Stirlingshire, in
the parishes of Larbert and Dunipace, noted
for having afforded shelter to Sir William Wal-
lace after his defeat in the north, and for being
the scene of some military exploits during the
war of independence. The forest is now great-
ly limited and decayed.

TOUGH, a parish in Aberdeenshire, hav-
ing Keig on the north, Monymusk and Cluny
on the east, Lumphanau on the south, and
Leochel and iUl'ord on the west, extending five
miles in length, and three in breadth. The
surface is irregular, but the rising grounds are
mostly arable — Population in 1821, 698.

TOWIE, a parish in Aberdeenshire, bound-
ed by Kildrummy on the north, Glenbucket,
part of Migvie, and Logie-Coldstone on the
west, by the latter on the t,outh, and Cushnieand

T R A Q U A I R.

989

Leochel on the east, extending eight miles in
length, by four and a-half in breadth, except a
stripe at the north-west. The general appear-
ance is hilly. The central division is part of
the vale of the Don, which river flows through
it from west to east. On the south bank of
the stream stands the church of the palish. —
Population in 1821, 578.

TRAILFLAT, a parish in Dumfries-
shire, united to Tinwald in 1650. See Tin-
wald.

TRALIG, (LOCH), a small lake in Ar-
gyleshire, in the parish of Kilninver, which
discharges its waters by the Oude into the
Sound of Mull.

TRANENT, a parish in the western
part of Haddingtonshire, lying with its
northern extremity on the Firth of Forth,
from which it extends inland nearly five miles,
by a general breadth of two and a-half, bound-
ed by Prestonpans on the north-west, Inveresk
(or Musselburgh) on the west, Ormiston on
the south, and Gladsmuir on the east. The
hind inclines with gentle slopes towards the
sea-coast, and is generally flat and sandy. On
the shore stand the villages of Cockenzie and
Port-Seton, long the seats of the salt manu-
facture. The parish also contains the small
village of Seton, at which stood the house of
Seton, or chief baronial residence of the Earls
ofWinton. (See Port-Seton.) Within the
western range of the parish, and partly in the
parish of Prestonpans, is the field on which the
battle of Prestonpans was fought in 1745. At
the south-western part of the parish is the ex-
tensive distillery of St. Clement's Wells. Near
the southern boundary is the small village of
Elphingston, and near it Elphingston tower,
once a baronial residence. The lands in this
parish are finely cultivated and enclosed.

TRANENT, an ancient town or village in
the above parish, situated on the main road
from Edinburgh to Haddington, at the distance
of ten miles east from the former, and seven
west from the latter. It stands at the head of
an elevated ground, and derives its name, which
was originally Travement, from Trev, or Treva,
and Nent, British words, signifying a hamlet on
the ravine or valley. The town consists of a street
pursuing the line of the public road from west
to east, with a cross street ; the houses are ge-
nerally tiled, and the greater part have a de-
cayed appearance. Tranent is one of the
poorest looking towns in the three Lothians,

though in recent times it has shewn some signs
of renovation ; and its present spirited inhabi-
tants, or chief managers, have just instituted a
new weekly market for the sale of grain and
other native produce, to which sellers and buy-
ers have been invited, by all exemptions from
customs. As the town occupies an exceed-
ingly advantageous situation, half-way betwixt
the agricultural district of East Lothian and
the metropolis, there is a likelihood of this
market being well supported. The inha-
bitants of Tranent are chiefly connected
with the adjacent collieries, which have been
wrought in this quarter from the very first dis-
covery of coal in Scotland. The discovery of
coal here, as we are informed by record, was
made by the Monks of Newbattle, who owned
possessions in this part of the country. The
church of Tranent stands at the foot of the
town, and is a modern erection. Besides it,
there is a meeting-house of the United Seces-
sion Church. — Population of the town in 1821,
1600, including the parish, 3366.

TRAPRAINLA W, a conical conspicuous
hill in the parish of Prestonkirk, Haddington-
shire. See Haddingtonshire.

TRAQUAIR, a parish in the eastern part
of Peebles-shire, lying on the south bank of
the Tweed, opposite Innerleithen, bounded by
Yarrow on the east and south, and Peebles on
the west. It is of a very irregular figure, con-
sisting of four districts, parted by intervening
portions of Yarrow, or Selkirkshire, projected
from the south, to or near the Tweed. The
chief division is the vale of the Quair, which
small river winds through it to the Tweed.
Altogether, the parish comprehends 17,290
acres. It is almost wholly mountainous, the
hills being devoted to sheep pastures, with
arable fields on the Tweed and its tributaries.
In recent times, those plains susceptible of im-
provement have been greatly improved by cul-
tivation, planting, draining, and otherwise.
The small hamlet of Traquair, with the mill,
stands at the opening of the vale of the Quair,
upon the plain of the Tweed. At a short dis-
tance south-west from thence, at the base of a
hill, with an eastern exposure, is seen all that
remains of the famed " Bush aboon Traquair,"
consisting of a few meagre birch trees, the me-
lancholy remnant of a considerable thicket,
once the seat of pastoral love, and as such
consecrated in the strains of one of our best
national melodies. It is likely that in a short

990

TROON.

time even these memorials will be entirely gone.
At the head of a lawn fronting the Tweed,
and surrounded by some trees, and ornamented
grounds, stands the ancient house of Traquair,
the seat of the earls of that title. It consists
of a tower of a remote antiquity, to which con-
siderable additions were made in the reign of
Charles I. by John, Earl of Traquair, Lord
High Treasurer of Scotland under that mo-
narch. The interior is partly in an old fa-
shioned, and partly in a refined modem taste,
with a small chapel (the family being Roman
Catholic,) in the upper flat. At the back, or
south front, there is an old avenue leading to
the house, exhibiting at its outer extremity a
gateway ornamented with figures in stone of
the bear, the cognizance of the family. The
first of the house of Traquair was James
Stewart, the illegitimate son of James, Earl
of Buchan, who obtained a legitimation under
the great seal, and in 1491 a grant of the
lands of Traquair from his father. The fifth
in the line of descent from this James, was Sir
John Stewart, the above renovator of Traquair
house, who was made treasurer by Charles I.
and raised to the peerage by the title of
Lord Traquair in 1628. In the year 1631,
his Lordship was elevated to the title of Earl
of Traquair, Lord Linton and Caberstoun.
This nobleman, who was a distinguished states-
man in his time, died in extreme poverty in
1 659, having suffered greatly by his adherence
to the cause of fallen royalty. Luckily his
Lordship was not attainted, and he bequeath-
ed the Earldom and estates to his descendants,
who still enjoy them. Recently, the south
bank of the Tweed at this spot has been ren-
dered accessible from its northern side, by a
wooden bridge reared on strong timber piers,
which gives an easy communication with the
thriving watering place, Innerleithen. The
word Traquair is obviously derived from Trev,
or Tra, signifying a homestead or hamlet, and
Quair, a winding stream. In old writings we
perceive that the district was occasionally call-
ed Strathquair, and that it had been a seat of
population of some importance is denoted
by its having had a distinct sheriff from
that of the rest of Peebles-shire. The
present parish includes the greater part of the
suppressed parish of Kailzie, which was on its
western quarter. In this part are the pleasant
grounds and mansions of Cardrona and Kailzie-
—Population in 1821, 643.

TREISHNISH ISLES, a group of small
islands of the Hebrides, belonging to Argyle-
shire, lying about two miles west of the
island of Mull. They consist of Fladda, Lin-
ga, Bach, Cairnbulg, and the Little Cairn-
bulg, and form a sort of chain tothe northward
of Staffa. Excepting to a geologist, they are
uninteresting. Cairnbulg is supposed to have
been fortified by some strong works in the
Norwegian times, but there are no traces of
such erections now on it, except the re-
mains of a wall with embrasures, skirting
the cliff, which it is likely is of a much more
modern date. In 1715 it was garrisoned by
the Macleans, and was taken and retaken more
than once during the civil war of that year. It
had been attacked before by Cromwell's troops;
and here, it is fancied, were the rescued books
of Iona burnt.

TRINITY-GASK, a parish in Perth-
shire, in the lower part of Strathearn, com-
posed of the ancient parishes of Kinkell and
Wester Gask ; bounded on the north by Mad-
derty, on the east by Gask, on the south by
Auchterarder and Blackford, and on the west
bv Muthill. It stretches for several miles
along the river Earn, chiefly on its northern
bank, the land rising principally to the north,
and the rest of the parish being level and fer-
tile. The whole is arable, and beautifully en-
closed and planted — Population in 1821, 679.

TRONDA, or TRONDRAY, a small
island of Shetland, lying opposite the village
of Scalloway, on the west coast of the main-
land- It is about three and a half miles long,
and from one to two broad.

TROON, an improving sea-port in Ayr-
hire, in the parish of Dundonald, is situated
seventy-five miles west of Edinburgh, six from
Ayr, six from Kilmarnock, thirty-one from
Glasgow, and six from Irvine. Under the
patronage of the Duke of Portland, this
place is rapidly becoming one of some
consequence; and, as it naturally possesses
uncommon advantages in having a fine har-
bour in which shipping of considerable burden
can safely enter, it will no doubt arrive, in
the course of time, at considerable magni-
tude. His Grace has, within the last two or
three years, built a fine wet dock with flood-
gates, a dry dock for the repair of vessels,
large storehouses, and a lighthouse at the
entrance of the harbour ; in short, nothing has
been omitted which could be expected from

I

TROSACHS.

901

the generous exertions of an opulent nobleman.
A railway from the extremity of the harbour
goes direct to Kilmarnock, on which immense
quantities of coals are brought to be shipped
for Ireland, &c. A large salt manufactory is
also carried on here, with a rope work of some
extent. Moreover, Troon, in the summer
season, is visited by numerous families to en-
joy the benefit of sea bathing. The place of
established worship is a chapel of ease to the
parish church at Dundoaald, a small village
about four miles distant. There is also a
chapel of the Associate Synod. — In 1821, the
population of Troon was 760.

TROQUEER, a parish in the stewartry of
Kirkcudbright, lying on the river Nith near
its mouth, opposite the parish of Dumfries ;
bounded by Terregles on the north, Loch-
rutton on the west, and. Nevrabbey on the
south, extending seven and a half miles in
length, and four and a half broad. The parish
is partly flat and partly hilly, and comprises
5625 acres, of which the greater proportion is
under tillage. Of late, there have been a va-
riety of improvements, and none so prominentas
those near the Nith opposite the town of Dum-
fries. Here, a small village called Bridge-end,
from being situated at the western extremity
of the bridge of Dumfries, has risen into some
importance as a town and burgh of barony,
under the modern appellation of Maxwelltown.
It is now connected with Dumfries by two
bridges. At one period this was the most dis-
orderly and ill-regulated village in the kingdom,
and some idea may be formed of its character
from a saying of Sir John Fielding, the London
magistrate ; that whenever a delinquent got
over the bridge of Dumfries into Maxwelltown,
he was lost to all search or pursuit. In no in-
stance have the good effects of creating a vil-
lage into a burgh of barony been more conspi-
cuous than in this case. The charter was ob-
tained from the crown in 1810, and since that
time it has been greatly improved in the value
and extent of its houses and its trade. It is go-
verned by a provost, two bailies, and council-
lors.— Population of the parish in 1824, 4301.
TROSACHS, a romantic vale, surround-
ed by stupendous masses of bills, and rocks,
and woody eminences, in the parish of Callan-
der, Perthshire, at the distance of about ten
miles west from Callander. The word Tro-
sachs signifies a bristled region, which is
very descriptive of the scenery. The road

towards the Trosachs leaves Callander in a
direction inclining to the south-west, and con-
ducts the traveller along the banks of the two
beautiful lakes, Loch Vennachar, and Loch
Achray. Soon after passing Loch Achray,
the traveller approaches the Trosachs ; in the
first place stopping and quitting his vehicle at
the inn of Ardencrockran, which is situated at
the eastern extremity of this celebrated dis-
trict. To describe the Trosachs with a re-
gard only to its materiel, it is simply a portion
of the vale along which the traveller has hi-
therto been described as passing, but a peculiar
portion of that vale, about a mile in extent, and
adjoining the bottom of Loch Katrine, where,
on account of a tumultuous confusion of little
rocky eminences, all of the most fantastic and
extraordinary forms, everywhere shagged with
trees and shrubs, nature wears an aspect of rough-
ness and wildness, of tangled and inextricable
boskiness, totally unexampled, it is supposed, in
the world. The valley being here contracted,
hills rise on each side to a great height, and
these being entirely covered with birches, ha-
zels, oaks, hawthorns, and mountain ashes,
contribute greatly to the general effect. The
author of the Lady of the Lake has described
it as "awildering scene of mountains, rocks, and
woods thrown together in disorderly groups."
After walking through this highly romantic
district, which seldom fails to astonish the
tourists who flock thither, the eastern extre-
mity of Loch Katrine is gained ; for a descrip-
tion of which we refer to that head.

TROSTRIE, (LOCH), a small lake in
the parish of Twynholm, stewartry of Kirk-
cudbright.

TROUP, a village in Banffshire on the
sea-coast.

TRUTM, (implying noisy in the Celtic
tongue,) a river in Badenoch, rising in the fo-
rest of Drumuachter, on the borders of Athole,
and flowing in a northerly direction to the
Spey, which it joins, after a course of about
fifteen miles, four miles west of Pitmain. 1 1
gives a name to the glen through which it
passes.

TROTTERNISH POINT, a headland
on the north-west coast of the Isle of Skye.

TULLIALLAN, a parish in the southern
detached part of Perthshire, lying on the Firth
of Forth, betwixt Culross on the east, and
Clackmannan on the west and north. It ex-
tends inland a length of four miles, by a breadth

TURRIFF.

of two. The land declines in gentle slopes to-
wards the Forth, and is in a high state of cul-
tivation and improvement. The district abounds
in excellent sandstone. On the shore stands
the town of Kincardine, already noticed un-
der its proper head — Population of the pa-
rish in 1821, 3558, of which Kincardine had

2500.

TULLIBODY, a village in the parish of
Alloa, Clackmannanshire, and the capital of the
parish of Tullibody, which was united to that
of Alloa about the period of the Reformation,
See Alloa. The ancient kirk of Tullibody,
which was unroofed on a remarkable occasion,
noticed under the head Alloa, has been again
covered, and recently fitted up as a place of
worship for the use of this populous district.

TULLIEBOLE,aparish in Kinross- shire,
united to Fossaway. See Fossaway and Tul-

LIEBOLE.

TULLOCH, a parish in Aberdeenshire,
united to Glenmuick and Glengairn. See
Glenmuick.

TULLOCH-ARD, a lofty mountain in the
district of Kintail, Ross-shire. See Kintail.

TULLYNESSLE, a parish in Aberdeen-
shire, united to Forbes. See Forbes and

TuLLYNESSLE.

TULM, a small island of the Hebrides, on
the north coast of the Isle of Skye.

TUMMEL, a large river in the northern
part of Perthshire, whose waters issue from
Loch Rannoch, taking an easterly course
through the district of Athole; they pass through
Loch Tummel, a lake of little more than two
miles in length, and proceeding in a direction
tending southwards, fall into the Tay on its
left bank, at the south extremity of the parish
of Logierait. Its chief tributary is the Garry.
The course of the Tummel is rapid and furious,
forming everywhere the most romantic and
picturesque cascades. One of its falls, near its
junction with the Garry, though not so high
as those of Foyers and Bruar, is particularly
grand, on account of the greater quantity of
water which is precipitated. The accompanying
scenery is also remarkably fine ; rugged rocks,
wooded almost to the summit, but rearing their
bald heads to the clouds, with distant moun-
tains of the most picturesque forms, compose a
view in which every thing that a painter can
desire is contained. A little below the falls of
the Tummel, the stream mixes its waters with
the Garry. Near this junction is Faskally, the

seat of Mr. A. Butter, delightfully situated.
After the Tummel unites with the Garry, its
character seems entirely changed ; before this
it was a furious and impetuous torrent, tearing
up every thing in its way, and precipitating
itself headlong from rock to rock, as if regard-
less of the consequences ; it now becomes a
sober and stately stream, rolling along its
banks with majesty. The banks of the Tum-
mel below the junction are extremely rich, and
the river meanders through a fine valley ; now
dividing its stream, and forming little islands ;
and now running in a fine broad sheet.

TUNDERGARTH,a parishin Dumfries-
shire, in the district of Annandale, extending
about nine miles in length, by a breadth of from
one and a-half to two miles ; bounded on the
north and west by the Milk water, which
separates it from St. Mungo's on the west,
and Dryfesdale, and Hutton and Corrie on
the north ; on the south it has Middlebie and
Hoddam. The surface is in general level, or
inclining towards the Milk, but possessing va-
rious eminences sufficient to constitute pic-
turesque beauty. It is both arable and pastoral.
Along the banks of the pleasant river Milk,
there are several gentlemen's seats. The
conspicuous hill called Brunswark, overlooks
the district from the south. — Population in
1821, 518.

TURRIFF, a parish in Aberdeenshire,
lying on the right or east bank of the river
Deveron, which separates it from Forglen. It
has King-Edward on the north, Montquhitter
on the east, Auchterless on the south, and In-
verkeithnie on the west. It extends six miles
in length, by from four to five in breadth.
The district has been much improved and
reclaimed from its original heathy condition,
and is generally fertile. There are now also
several considerable plantations.

Turriff, a town in the above parish, &
free burgh of barony, and the seat of a presby-
tery, situated on a tributary of the Deveron,
near that river, at the distance of thirty-four
and a half miles north north-west of Aberdeen,
and eleven south of Banff. Here was found-
ed a religious hospital, in the reign of Alex-
ander III., (1249-93,) for twelve poor men,
by Alexander, Earl of Buchan, Lord Justice
General of Scotland; and further endowed by
Robert Bruce. The town was erected a burgh
of barony by James IV., in the year 151 1, in
favour of Mr. Thomas Dickson, prebend of

TWEED.

093

Turriff. By this charter the inhabitants
were formally entitled to hold a weekly
market on the Sabbath-day, and three pub-
lic fairs in the course of the year. Turriff
is now a thriving industrious town, carrying on
the manufacture of linen yarn, thread, and
brown linens. There is also an extensive
bleachfield. The town now holds five annual
fairs. There is a venerable old church, a
handsome new one, an episcopal chapel, and
a school endowed by the Earl of Errol. — Po-
pulation of the burgh in 1821, 750 ; including
the parish, 2406.

TURRET, (LOCH) a small lake in the
parish of Monivaird and Strovvan, Perthshire ;
about a mile long, and one fourth of a mile
broad. It discharges itself into the Earn, half
a mile above Crieff, by a small river, which
gives the name of Glenturret to a wild and ro-
mantic valley.

TWEED, a river in the south of Scotland,
(deriving its name from the British word Tuedd,
signifying " that which is on the border
or limit of a country,") distinguished as the
fourth of Scottish streams ; ranking after the
Tay, Forth, and Clyde, though far inferior to
these in point of commercial utility. The up-
per sources of the Tweed are found in the
parish of Tweedsmuir, Peebles-shire, and in
the lofty range of hilly territory, from the op-
posite side of which flow the slender rivulets
which form the commencement of the rivers
Annan and Clyde. A small fountain, usually
considered " the head of Tweed," at the base
of a hill called Tweed's Cross, and named
Tweed's Well, gives forth a small rivulet, which
flows in a north-easterly direction, through
the parish of Tweedsmuir, receiving on each side
various tributary burns. Leaving this parish,
the Tweed proceeds as a boundary betwixt the
parish of Glenholm and Drummelzier, and af-
ter intersecting Stobo parish, at its north-eas-
tern corner, joins its waters with the Lyne ;
a stream, by the way, equally entitled to be
considered " the head of Tweed," which rises
on the borders of Edinburghshire. From
a north-easterly direction, the river, now
greatly enlarged, bends to an easterly course,
which it ever afterwards, with few exceptions,
maintains. Two miles below its junction
with the Lyne, it receives the Manor Water,
and proceeding a mile farther down, or thirty
miles from its source, arrives at Peebles, hav-
ing in that distance fallen a thousand feet, or

two-thirds of its total descent in a length of
ninety miles. At Peebles, it receives the
Edleston water ; after which, proceeding on-
wards through the parish of Peebles, and se-
parating the parishes of Innerleithen and Tra-
quair, it next receives the Quair and Leith-
en waters. The Tweed soon after enters
Selkirkshire, and, for some miles, is lost
amidst a wild hilly district, from which it
emerges at the Yair, or the opening of the
vale of Melrose. It is next joined, on the
right, by the Ettrick, (previously augment-
ed by the Yarrow,) and next by Gala Water,
on the left, when it enters Roxburghshire,
Before leaving the rich vale of Melrose, it
receives the Leader on its left bank, which is
the only tributary of any note till it is increased
by the Tiviot on the right, near Kelso. The
Tiviot is the largest tributary of the Tweed
in its whole course, and almost doubles it
in size. Passing Kelso on the left, and flow-
ing majestically onwards, it receives the Eden
water, and soon after enters the beautiful dis-
trict of the Merse, which it separates from
Northumberland on the south. At Coldstream
it receives the Leet on the Scottish side ; and
from two to three miles further down, on the
English side, it is increased by the sluggish
waters of the Till. Some miles further on, it
receives the Whitadder, a large stream, previ-
ously augmented by the Blackadder; and
shortly afterwards, passing the ancient town
of Berwick on its left, its waters are emit-
ted into the German Ocean. From head to
foot it is computed to drain a superficies of
1870 square miles. The Tweed, owing to
the quick flow of its current, is navigable in
no part of its course. Though falling only
five hundred feet betwixt Peebles and Berwick,
a distance of sixty miles, and though occasion-
ally flowing placidly through flat verdant
haughs, it would be almost an impossibility
to make it serve the purposes of navigation to
any great distance inland, even by flat-bottomed
boats, for it frequently runs in a rapid manner,
over broad banks of sand or gravel, over which
no boat could proceed. It is, however, ferried
in many places by boats, and affords, for consi-
derable distances, a sufficiency of water for the
sailing of trows, or small flat vessels, used in
salmon fishing. Being thus undisturbed by
traffic on its surface, and unadulterated by the
liquid refuse of manufactories, as well as pos-
sessing, in general, a clean gravelly bottom, its
6 L

994

TYNNIN6F H A M £.

waters are remarkabl) uear and sparkling in
nppearance. Far a long period of time the
Tweed was crossed by only two bridges, the
one at Berwick and the other at Peebles ; but
it has now several stone bridges, besides one
of wood, and three of the chain construction.
The lengthened district through which the
river passes is usually styled the Vale of
Tweed ; in general, it is of a pleasing syl-
van character, the hills being never far from
its banks, and the eminences and lower lands
frequently clothed by woods and plantations.
As the ground recedes from the stream, ex-
cept in the lower part of the river, the
country becomes wild and pastoral, and rises
into such elevations as equally to shut out
the district of Lothian on the north, and
Cumberland and Dumfries-shire on the south.
TWEEDALE, the popular name of Pee-
bles-shire. See Peebles-shire.

T WE EDEN, a small rivulet in Roxburgh-
shire, which joins the Liddel a little below
New Castletown.

TWEEDSMUIR, a parish in the south-
western corner of Peebles-shire, formerly a
part of the parish of Drummelzier, but erected
into a separate parish in 1643. It is about
nine miles long, and, in some places, of the
same breadth ; bounded by Drummelzier on
the north, Megget on the east, Moffat in Dum-
fries-shire on the south, and Crawford in La-
narkshire on the west. The district is hilly
and pastoral, and, in its central part, consists
of the upper part of the Vale of Tweed, which
river rises from the heights in the south-western
extremity. Within its bounds the Tweed re-
ceives an accession from the waters of Fruid
and Talla. There are several ancient castles,
or rude strengths, in the parish. — Population
in 1821, 265.

TWYNHOLME, a parish in the stew-
artry of Kirkcudbright, united with that of
Kirkchrist in forming a parochial charge. It
extends nine miles in length, and two in
breadth, along the west side of the Dee and
Tarf, which separate it from Kirkcudbright
and Tongland on the east. On the west it
l>as Borgue and Girthon, and on the north
Malmaghiellan The surface is mostly elevated,
rising into many small hills, partly arable,
and having many small and fertile vallyes
interspersed. The soil is fertile. There are
some small lakes in the district. The great
road from Edinburgh to Portpatrick passes
42.

through the parish.. The land is much im
proved, and, near the Dee and Tarf, beauti
fied by gentlemen's seats. Of the exten-
sive woods with which this part of Gallo-
way formerly was covered, the only remains
are around the old castle of Cumstone, a
building pleasantly situated on an eminence
nigh the junction of the Dee and Tarf.—
Population in 1821, 783.

TYNUILT, a small village in Argyle-
shire, on the south coast of Loch Etive, about
two miles from Bunawe.

T YNDRUM, a small village in Breadalbanej
in Perthshire, upon the western military road,
about twelve miles from Dalmally, and nearly
twenty from Killin. At Tyndrum a road
branches off to Glenco, noted for the dreari-
ness of its appearance. Pennant mentions
that it is the highest inhabited land in Scot-
land ; but in this has been completely mis-
led, as there are many inhabited places mucb
higher.

TYNE, a small river in Haddingtonshire,
which rises within the south-eastern boundary
of Edinburghshire, and after a north-easterly
course of nearly thirty miles, passing the town
of Haddington on its north side, falls into the
Firth of Forth at Tynningham. It flows pla-
cidly through a rich agricultural district, and is
affected by the tides for the distance of about
a mile from its mouth. It is liable to sudden
overflows of its banks, but these occur only
during high floods, and are partly averted by
the improvement of the sides. One of the
greatest inundations is noticed under the head
Haddington. What appears at the mouth
of the Tyne to be a considerable estuary, dur
ing the height of the tides, is left at their
recess a vast plain of quicksands. Tyne
Sands, as they are called, have proved the
grave of many a brave vessel, as well as of
those unwary passengers who attempt to cross
them without a knowledge of the localities.

TYNNINGHAM, a parish in Hadding-
tonshire, united in 1761 to that of Whitekirk,
under which title the district is now known.
(See Whitekirk.) The name Tynningham
has, however, been perpetuated as the title of
a magnificent domain, belonging to the Earl
of Haddington, and comprising the chief part of
the abrogated parochial division. The estate of
Tynningham is celebrated in this part of
Scotland for the extent and beauty of its
woods, which were principally planted up-

U G 1 E.

995

vtatas of a century ago by one of the earls
of Haddington ; (see Haddingtonshire,) and
are nearly all of the hard timber species. The
trees have been tastefully planted in radiated
figures or in avenues, thus affording most ex-
tensive walks and rides beneath their exuber-
ant and lofty branches. Besides these delight-
ful shady groves, there is a series of stupendous
holly hedges, planted also in avenues or double
rows, and offering pleasant sequestered walks,
with the advantage, in fine weather, of being
open abeve. One of these hedges is no less
than twenty-five feet high, and thirteen feet
broad, and has a most massive appearance.
Tynningham house, the seat of the noble
proprietor, is delightfully situated amidst these
woods and walks, at the head of a park or
lawn sloping gently southward to the Tyne,
near its mouth. Tynningham house was, till
lately, an antique edifice, to which each of the
ten Earls of Haddington had made a point of
adding a piece; the present Earl, however, has
gone far beyond his predecessors in the extent
of his alterations, having taken down the old
walls and rebuilt them in the Old English
manor-house style, but leaving the interior
nearly in its original form. The building
has thus been renovated in an excellent man-
ner, at a considerable expense ; but being built
with the dull red freestone of the district,
the appearance will always be unpleasant.
On the bank in front of the house there is a
clump of planting shrouding the burial ground
of the family, now all that remains to mark
the site of the former parish church, and
the earliest seat of Christian worship in this
part of the country. The small village of\
Tynningham, which is inhabited by a limited
agricultural population, and possesses a saw-

mill, is situated at a short distance to the west
of the enclosed grounds. Here stands the
neat mansion of the very respectable factor,
Mr. Buist, to whose active and judicious ma-
nagement this beautiful estate has been much
indebted.

TYNRON, a parish in the western part
of Dumfries-shire, lying betwixt Penpont on
the north and north-east, and Glencairn on
the south, extending nine miles in length by
a breadth of from two to three. It consists
chiefly of the vale of the Shinnel, a tributary
rivulet of the Scarr, whose waters fall after-
wards into the Nith. The district is hilly
and chiefly pastoral. Along the banks of the
Shinnel, there is some pleasing and romantic
scenery. Near the eastern extremity of the
parish rises the Doon of Tynron, a conspicuous
pyramidal hill, on the top of which is an an-
cient castle. The church of Tynron stands far-
ther up the vale on the left bank of the stream.
—Population in 1821, 518.

TYRIE, a parish in Aberdeenshire, bound-
ed on the north-west by Aberdour, on the
north by Pitsligo, on the east by parts of
Fraserburgh, Aberdour and Strichen, and
on the south by New Deer. It extends about
ten miles in length by four and a half in
breadth. The surface is agreeably diversified
with hill and dale, heath, moss, meadow, corn
and grass parks. A considerable extent of
land on the estates of Pitsligo and Strichen
has been much improved. The late Sir "Wil-
liam Forbes founded, in the southern part of the
district, a village, called New Pitsligo, at which
there is a bleachfield. On the northern verge
of the parish stands the small village and the
church of Tyrie — Population in 1821, 1584.

UDDINGSTONE, a small village in the
parish of Bothwell, Lanarkshire, situated
6even miles south-east of Glasgow, and four
north-west of Hamilton. The road from
Glasgow to Carlisle passes through it.

UDNEY, a parish in Aberdeenshire, ex-
tending about five miles each way ; bounded
on the north and north-west by Tarves, on the
west by Bourtie, on the south-west by Keith-
hall, on the south by New-Machar, on the
south-east by Belhelvie, on the east by Fove-

| ran, and on the north-east by Logie-Buchan

I and Ellon. The general appearance is pretty

| flat, with small eminences or hills covered

with grass. The soil is generally fertile, and

the land enclosed and cultivated. — Population

in 1821, 1328.

UDRIGILL-HEAD, a promontory on
the west coast of Ross-shire.

UGIE, a river in Aberdeenshire, which
rises about twenty miles from the sea, in two
different streams, called the waters of Strichen

996

U I S T.

and Deer, from passing the villages named;
the former has its rise in the parish of Tyrie ;
the latter in that of New Deer. The two
branches unite about five miles from the
sea, and then take the name of Ugie ; from
thence it continues a smooth and level course
till it falls into the ocean at Peterhead. It is
navigable for a mile and a half from its mouth.

UIG, a parish in Ross-shire, situated in the
isle of Lewis, on its west coast, and rendered
partly peninsular by two arms of the sea, to
wit, Loch Roag on thenortb and Loch Resort
on the south. It is otherwise much indented
by inlets, one of which is called Uig bay.
The parish extends fifteen miles in length j
but following the windings of the coast, it is
sixty miles. The coasts only are level and
cultivated ; the interior is bleak and hilly, and
interspersed with small lakes. Near the small
village of Calarnish on Loch Roag, there is
an entire place of Druidic worship, consisting
of a circle and a great number of stones or
obelisks, in an upright posture.— Population
in 1821, 2875.

UIST, (NORTH; an island of the He-
brides, belonging to Invemess-sbire, lying be-
tween the district of Harris on the north, and
Benbecula on the south, from which latter it
is separated by a strand dry at low water. It
is of a triangular shape, about twenty miles
long, and from twelve to fifteen broad, contain-
ing, along with its dependencies, 60,000 acres.
Like Benbecula and South Uist, it is greatly
cut up by indentations of the sea, especially on
the east coast, and in the interior there is an
endless series of fresh water lakes scattered
about in all directions. The inlets on the east,
especially Loch Maddie, form good natural
harbours. Along the east coast, around these
harbours, the ground is barren, hilly, and al-
most uninhabited, presenting a scene of savage
wildness. The west and north parts of the
island are low and level for about a mile and a
half from the sea, where the surface also be-
comes moorish, with hills of small height, co-
vered with heath. The cultivated part is plea-
sant and agreeable in summer, yielding in fa-
vourable seasons luxuriant crops of oats and
barley, and the richest pasture ; but, as there
are no trees to afford shelter during the incle-
mency of winter, the appearance is then greatly
changed, and verdure is scarcely to be seen.
Agriculture is still in an unimproved condi-
tion, Kelp is or was lately manufactured to a

considerable extent. The whole island is the
property of Lord Macdonald. The island
forms a parochial division, including the adja-
cent isles of Borera, Oronsa, Valay, Hyae-
ker, Kirbost, Heray, Grimsay, and several small
holms — Population in 1821, 4971.

UIST, (SOUTH) an island of the He-
brides, belonging to Inverness-shire, lying south
of Benbecula, which intervenes betwixt it
and North Uist. It extends twenty-one miles,
by a breadth of from eight to nine. This
island is an epitome of all the rest of the range
of islands, being a strange collection of sands,
bogs, lakes, mountains, and sea-lochs, or inlets.
The western shore is flat, sandy, and arable,
and nothing can exceed the dreariness of its
appearance after the crops have been removed.
It is followed by a boggy brown tract of flats
and low hills, interspersed with lakes, which is
again succeeded by high mountains ; and these
descending to the sea on the east side, are in-
tersected by inlets so studded with islands,
that a person is often at a loss to know whe-
ther land or water predominates. The prin-
cipal harbours of the island are Loch Skiport
Loch Eynort, and Loch Boisdale. The rear-
ing and export of cattle, and the manufacture
of kelp, form the chief means of subsistence.
South Uist forms a parish, including the ad-
jacent islands of Benbecula, Rona, Gris-
kay, and several islets.— Population in 1821,
6038.

ULLAPOOL, a sea-port village on the
west coast of Ross-shire, (within a district be-
longing to Cromartyshire,) situated on the
north side of an extensive islet of the sea call-
ed Loch Broom, at the distance of sixty-one
miles west by north of Inverness. It was be-
gun to be built under the auspices of the Bri-
tish Fishery Society in 1788, and has been
gradually increasing since that period. It pos-
sesses a spacious and excellent harbour, and
there is a good quay for the use of vessels.
Ullapool has neither the trade nor the fishery
that was once hoped, but it is not dormant ;
and were the herrings again to return to the
coast, or the Scottish cod and lobster fishery
more actively pursued than they have been, it
might become a place of more importance. A
small river rising in the alpine region behind,
also called Ullapool, here falls into Loch
Broom. One of the Parliamentary churches
has been erected in the village.

ULVA, a small island of the Hebrides,

U P H A L L.

997

lying on the west coast of Mull, from which it
is separated by Loch Tua on the north, and
Loch-na-keal on the south. On the west it
is separated from Gometra by a very narrow
strait. The island extends about two miles
in length, and is inhabited. It exhibits the
same kind of basaltic columns as Staffa ; but
they are inferior in size and regularity. The
island has been greatly improved in recent
times, and forms an agreeable place of summer
residence to its proprietor.

UNST, the most northerly of the Shetland
islands, extending twelve miles in length by
from three to four in breadth, and being con-
sidered the most fertile and pleasing of the
whole group of islands. Unst may be consi-
dered level ; but its surface is diversified by
several extensive ridges of hills, some of con-
siderable height. The most remarkable of
these are Vallafield, extending along its west-
ern border for the whole length of the island ;
Laxaforth, towards the north, elevated 700
feet above the sea level ; Crossfield rises near
the middle, and Vord hill runs parallel to the
east coast. Amongst these hills there are
many level tracts interspersed, and several
fresh water lakes of considerable extent, of
which Loch Cliff, the largest, is about two
and a half miles long and one broad. The
shores of Unst are remarkably indented by
bays and creeks, having many small islands
and pasture holms scattered around. The two
principal harbours are Uya Sound on the
south, sheltered by the small island of Uya,
and Balta Sound on the east, sheltered by the
holm of Balta. Around the coast are a va-
riety of natural caves, some of which penetrate
at least 300 feet under ground. The soil is,
upon the whole, tolerably fertile, even under
the worst mode of culture ; and the pasture
grounds are mostly covered by a short tender
heath, affording excellent feeding for sheep.
Hogs are fed in considerable numbers, and
rabbits are exceedingly abundant, particularly
on the two holms of Balta and Hunie. Seals
and otters also inhabit the shores in great
numbers. The fishery is an important blanch
of the industry of the inhabitants. A con-
siderable quantity of fine woollen stockings
are manufactured here. Unst abounds in
ironstone, and possesses many large veins of
serpentine, some specimens of which are beau-
tifully variegated with black and green shades
and spots. Rock crystals of great beauty have

sometimes been found. Sandstone of various
kinds is abundant, and a vein of limestone
was some time ago discovered. Marie of an
inferior quality is found in several of the lochs ;
and in one or two places there are found small
pieces of petriolic schistus, and other bitu-
minous substances, indicative of coal. Unst
forms a parochial division, which in 1821
contained 2598 inhabitants.

UPHALL, a parish in Linlithgowshire,
bounded by Kirkliston on the north-east and
east, Mid-Calder on the south, Livingston on
the west, and Linlithgow and Ecclesmachan
on the north. It is of an irregular figure, ex-
tending, when broadest, about three and a half
miles each way. Though the district is chiefly
of an upland character, it is under the best
processes of agriculture and enclosure, and
possesses some large plantations. It is inter-
sected from west to east by the road from
Glasgow to Edinburgh, on which stands an
inn or stage called Uphall. It is watered by
a rivulet called Broxburn, on which and the
public road stands the village of Broxburn. At
this spot the road and the district generally is
intersected by the Union Canal from Edin-
burgh. The parish abounds in coal, sandstone,
limestone, and ironstone. — Population of the
parish in 1821, 1016.

UPLAMOOR, a small village in Ren-
frewshire, in the parish of Neilston.

URCHAY, or URQUHAY, a river
which rises on the borders of Perthshire, near
the source of the Tay, and after a course of
ten or twelve miles through the beautiful vale
of Glenorchay, falls into Loch Awe.

URIE, or URY, a considerable river in
Aberdeenshire, which rises in the district of
Strathbogie, and after a course of twenty- four
miles, being joined by the Gadie, the Shevock,
and the Lochter, falls into the Don at the
royal burgh of Inveruiy.

URQUHART, a parish in the county of
Moray, extending about four miles long and
three broad, lying on the coast of the Moray
Firth, between the rivers Spey and Lossie;
bounded on the east by Speymouth, on the
south by Birnie, and on the west by St. An-
drews-Lhanbryd. That part of the parish
which lies to the north-west is flat and low,
rising a few feet only above the level of
the sea ; the rest is a much more elevated,
and of an unequal waving surface. The sea
coast is low and sandy. There is a small hike

998

URRAY.

in the parish called the Loch of Cotts, and
another lake forming the boundary betwixt
the parish and that of St. Andrews-Lhan-
bryd. The district has undergone great im-
provements, and sends out a considerable quan-
tity of grain. The Earl of Fife is chief pro-
prietor ; and the house of Innes, situated near
the Loch of Cotts, is one of his seats. Here
was formerly situated the Benedictine monas-
tery of Urquhart, founded by David I. in ho-
nour of the Blessed Trinity, in the year 1124.
While it remained it was a cell or dependency
of Dunfermline. Its site is now converted
into a corn field, and the abbey well is the only
memorial of it which now remains. — Popula-
tion in J 821, 1003.

URQUHART and GLENMOR1S-
TON, a parish in Inverness- shire, extending
about thirty miles in length, from eight to
twelve in breadth j bounded on the north by
Kiltarlity, on the south-east by Loch Ness,
which separates it from Boleskine, and on the
west by Kilmanivaig. The surface is very
mountainous, comprehending the two valleys
of Urquhart and Glenmoriston, which extend
in a westerly direction from Loch Ness, paral-
lel to, and separated from each other by a ridge
of lofty mountains, the highest of which is
Mealfourvhonie. The scenery of the two
valleys is uncommonly grand, beautiful and
picturesque, presenting at once a fine variety
of landscape, of hill and dale, bare rocks and
wooded precipices, lofty crags, and level and
fertile plains. The soil of Urquhart is in
general a rich, though not a deep loam, and
uncommonly fertile ; that of Glenmoriston is
sandy, and rather inferior in fertility. The
rivers are the Moriston, Enneric, and Coiltie,
all of which fall into Loch Ness. — Population
in 1821, 2786.

URQUHARTand LOGIE WESTER,
a united parish, partly in Ross-shire, and partly
in Nairnshire, extending nine or ten miles in
length, and from three to four in breadth,
lying along the head of the Frith of Cromarty,
where the river Conon discharges itself into
that arm of the sea. The surface is pretty
level, and the appearance pleasant, being diver-
sified by fertile fields and verdant pasture lands,
and sheltered by plantations. In this parish
lies the barony of Ferintosh : see Ferintosh.
—Population in 1821, 3822.

URR, a parish in the stewartry of Kirk-
cudbright, lying chiefly on the left or east

bank of the river Urr, extending thirteen
miles in length and six in breadth ; bounded
on the north by Kirkpatrick Durham, on the
north-east by Lochrutton, on the east by
Kirkgunzeon, by Colvend on the south, and
by Buittle and Crossmichael on the west.
The surface is pretty level, few of the hills
being of great height. The soil is in general
light and productive. Within the parish, and
situated on the banks of the river, about a mile
below Urr church, is the celebrated Moat of
Urr, an artificial mount rising from the centre
of elevated circles, and used in primitive times
as a seat for courts of judicature by the petty
chiefs of this district of Galloway. The village
of Dalbeattie stands on the eastern boundary

of the parish, on a tributary of the Urr

Population in 1821, 2862.

URR, (LOCH) a small lake within the
northern boundary of the stewartry of Kirk-
cudbright, bordering on the parishes of Glen-
cairn, Dunscore, and Balmaclellan.

URR, a river in the stewartry of Kirkcud-
bright, issuing from the above lake, and after
a course of nearly thirty miles, falling into the
Solway Frith, at the creek opposite Hestan
Island, midway on the coast, betwixt the Nith
and Dee. It is navigable for a short distance
inland. It flows through an interesting and well
wooded strath, having a number of elegant
country residences on its banks.

URRAY, a parish composed of the united
parishes of Urray and Kilchrist, lying for the
most part in the county of Ross, with a small
portion in Inverness shire- It extends about
seven miles in length, from the Beauly to the
Conon, and its breadth varies from three to
six miles. A small portion is insulated in the
parish of Contin, and lies in the bosom of the
mountains, at the distance of eighteen or twenty
miles. The face of the main district in general
presents a picturesque landscape, in which are
seen corn fields, barren moors, rapid streams,
natural woods, and gentlemen's seats. Be-
sides the two rivers which form its north and
south boundaries, it is intersected by the Orrin,
the Garv, and the Lichart, all of which con-
tain abundance of trout and salmon — Popula-
tion in 1821, 2731.

USABREST, an islet of the Hebrides,
on the north-west coast of Islay.

US AN, a small village on the sea- shore of
Forfarshire, three miles south-east of Mon-
trose.

V A T E R S A.

999

UYA, a small pasture island of Shetland,
which covers a safe harbour of the same name
on the north coast of the Mainland.

UYA, a small island of Shetland, about a
mile square in extent, lying on the south coast
of the island of Unst-

VAAKSAY, one of the smaller Hebrides
in the sound of Harris.

VAIL A, a small island of Shetland, lying
at the entrance of a creek on the west coast of
the mainland, called from it Vaila Sound.

VALAY, an island of the Hebrides, ly-
ing to the north of North- Uist, from which
it is separated by a narrow sound, dry at low
water.

VATERNISH, a promontory on the
north-west coast of the isle of Skye.

VATERSA, or WATERSA, an island
of the Hebrides, lying to the south of the
island of Barra, and north from Sanderay.
" This island," says Macculloch, " consists
chiefly of two green hills, united by a low
sandy bar, where the opposite seas nearly meet.
Indeed if the water did not perpetually supply
fresh sand to replace what the wind carries
off, it would very soon form two islands ; nor
would the tenant have much cause for sur-
prise, if, on getting up some morning, he should
find that he required a boat to milk his cows.
The whole island is in a state of perpetual
revolution, from the alternate accumulation
and dispersion of sand-hills ; which at least
affords the pleasure of variety, in a territory
where there is none else but what depends on
the winds and weather. I had here an oppor-
tunity of imagining how life is passed in a
remote island, without society or neighbours,
and where people are born and die without
ever troubling themselves to inquire whether
the world contains any other countries than
Vatersa and Barra. The amusement of the
evening consisted in catching scallops for sup-
per, milking the cows, and chasing rabbits ;
and this, I presume, is pretty nearly the round
of occupation. The whole group of the south-
ern islands is here seen from the southern part
of the island, forming a maritime landscape
which is sufficiently picturesque. They are
all high, and some of them are single hills ris-
ing abruptly out of the water. They are in-
habited by small tenants and fishermen ; and,
except a small quantity of grain cultivated by
the people for their own use, are appropriated '

to the pasture of black cattle." Vatersa be-
longs to the parish of Barra.

VENNACHOIR, or VENNACHAR,
(LOCH) a lake in the south-west part of
Perthshire, between the parishes of Port-
Menteith and Callander, about four miles long,
and in general about one broad. The banks
are very pleasant, covered with wood, and
sloping gently to the water. It is one of the
chain of lakes formed by the southern branch
of the river Teith.

VENNY, or FINNY, a rivulet in For
farshire, which rises in the neighbourhood 01
Forfar, and joins the Lunan near the Kirk of
Kinnell. It is a fine trouting stream.

VIGEANS, (ST.) a parish in Forfarshire
lying on the sea- coast, and surrounding Ar-
broath on the east, north, and south-west,
bounded by Inverkeilor on the north. That
portion lying on the south-west of Arbroath
is small and quite detached from the great body
of the parish, which, independent of it, mea-
sures seven miles in length by from three to
four in breadth. The surface is pretty level,
rising on both sides from the small river Broth-
ock, which divides it into two sections. The
district has been greatly improved, and is now
beautifully planted, cultivated, and enclosed.
The coast for about a mile east from Arbroath
is flat and sandy ; at the end of this plain it
rises abruptly, and becomes high, bold, and
rocky, excavated into numerous caverns of
great extent. On the shore near the eastern
boundary of the parish is the small fishing
village of Auchmithie. The parish possesses
a number of excellent country residences, and
includes a considerable portion of Arbroath
on the north-eastern side of the town. — Popu-
tion in 1821, 5583.

VOIL,( LOCH) a lake in the south western
part of Perthshire, parish of Balquhidder,
about three miles long and one broad, the source
of the river Balvag, one of the principal
branches of the Teith.

VOTERSAY, a small island of the He-
brides, in the sound of Harris.

VRINE, (LOCH) a small lake in Ross-

1000

W A T T E N.

shire, about three miles long and one broad,
which discharges its waters by a rivulet of the
same name into the head of Loch Broom.

VINAY a small islet on the south-west
coast of Skye.

WALLACETOWN, a thriving and po-
pulous village in the parish of St. Quivox,
Ayrshire, adjoining the town of Newton-upon-
Ayr. It originated last century by the feuing
of grounds belonging to the late Sir Thomas
Walker of Craigie.

WALLS and FLOTA, a parish in
Orkney, comprehending a part of the island
of Hoy called Walls or Waas, the island of
Flota, and the small islands of Fara, Cava,
&c. — Population of the parish in 1821, Walls
949— Flotta and Faray 297.

WALLS and SANDNESS, a parish in
Shetland, composed of the districts of Walls
and Sandness, lying in the western part of the
Mainland, with the adjacent islands of Papa-
stour and the distant island of Fowla. The
district on the Mainland extends eleven miles
long and nine broad, and partakes of the usual
Shetland character, sufficiently described in
that article. — Population in 1821, 1991.

WALSTON, a parish on the eastern
bound of Lanarkshire, bounded by Dol-
phin ton on the east, Dunsyre on the north,
Libberton on the west, and Biggar on the
south. In figure it is a square of about three
miles each way. On the northern side it is
watered by the small river South Medwin.
The surface is uneven, and in the higher parts
heathy. About two- thirds are arable, and the
remainder kept as pasture for sheep and cat-
tle. In the northern part of the parish is the
small village of Walston, and on the southern,
on the road from Glasgow to Peebles, is the
village of Elsridgehill, or Elsrickel Popula-
tion in 1821, 392.

WAMPHRAY, a parish in Dumfries-
shire, extending five miles in length, and three
in breadth ; bounded by Moffat on the north,
Hutton and Corrie on the east, Applegarth on
the south, and on the west by the Annan river,
which separates it from Johnstone and Kirk-
patrick-Juxta. The banks of the river, for
about a mile, are level and fertile ; but towards
the north, the surface becomes hilly and
mountainous, affording excellent sheep pasture.
The church and small village are romantically

situated in a deep and woody recess on the
banks of the small river Wamphray, which
winds through the parish, falling into the An-
nan after forming a variety of cascades. There
are considerable tracts of wood, chiefly around
the old castles of Wamphray and Lochwood,
the latter the old family seat of the Lords of
Annandale. The name of the parish is de-
rived from the Scoto-Irish, Wamp-fri, signify-
ing the den or deep glen in the forest. — Po-
pulation in 1821, 554.

WANLOCK, a small river on the borders
of Dumfries-shire and Lanarkshire, which has
its rise at the lead mines in that elevated dis-
trict, and after running a few miles, joins the
Crawick at the same place as the Spango on
the west.

WANLOCKHEAD, a considerable vil-
lage in the upper part of the parish of San-
quhar, Dumfries-shire, about a mile south-
west from Leadhills, and situated on the above
mentioned stream. It stands on the road up
the Minnick water from Sanquhar towards
Edinburgh. Like their neighbours of the
village of Leadhills, the industrious inhabi-
tants of Wanlockhead have established a sub-
scription library for their edification and
amusement. The mines here yield lead ore
of divers kinds, on a profitable scale. —
In 1821, the population of the place was
706.

WARD, a small fishing village in Aber-
deenshire, near the Bullers of Buchan.

WARTHOLM, a small island of Orkney,
near South Ronaldshay.

WATERS A. See Vatersa.

WATTEN, a central parish in the county
of Caithness, bounded on the north by Bower,
on the east by Wick, on the south by Lath-
eron, and on the west by Halkirk. It is of a
square figure, measuring from seven to eight
miles each way. The surface is flat, like the
greater part of the same county, and is gener-
ally arable- In the north-west part of the
parish there is a fine sheet of water, about
three miles in length, called Loch Wattin,
from which issues a branch of the river of

W E M Y S S.

1001

Wick. The road from Wick to Thurso pas-
ses through the parish, which has now a num-
ber of substantial farm houses, and is yearly
improving and rising in value. — Population in
1821, 1158.

WAUCHOPE, a small river in Dumfries-
shire, in the parish of Langholm ; it is aug-
mented by the Laggan burn, and after a course
of some miles in a north-easterly direction, falls
into the Esk at the town of Langholm. It
gives the name of Wauchopedale to the vale
through which it flows.

WE EM, an extensive Highland parish in
Perthshire, in the district of Breadalbane, con-
sisting of various detached portions adjacent
to Loch Tay, and so mixed up with the
neighbouring districts that no accurate idea can
be given of its extent or boundaries. The
surface is mountainous and rugged, watered by
the rivers Tay, Lyon, Lochay, and Dochart.
Near the church of Weem is Castle Menzies,
a handsome edifice surrounded by fine plan-
tations, gardens, and orchards. — Population in
1821, 1354.

WEMYSS, a parish in Fife, lying on the
shore of the Firth of Forth, bounded by Dysart
on the west, by Markinch on the north, and by
Scoonie and Markinch on the east. Its great-
est length from south-west to north-east is
about six miles, and its breadth about one and a
half. The district takes its name from the
various Weems (Uamh, Gaelic,) or caves on
the sea shore ; it abounds in valuable seams
of coal, which are wrought to a great extent.
The land has a quick descent to the shore, and
is generally precipitous, with a bold rocky
beach, but from the head of the acclivities it
spreads away to the northward in fine arable
and pasture fields, interspersed with planta-
tions, all in the best order ; there is, however,
much diversity of soil and surface. There are
four considerable villages on the coast, viz.
Wester Wemyss, Easter Wemyss, Buckhaven,
and Methill, and in the eastern part of the
parish on the Water of Leven, is situated the
extensive manufacturing establishment of Kirk-
land. A short way to the eastward of West
Wemyss, on a cliff about 40 feet above the level
of the sea, and surrounded on the land side by
beautiful plantations and pleasure grounds, is
Wemyss Castle, an old and magnificent edifice,
celebrated as the place where Queen Mary had
her first interview with Darnley- At a little
distance to the eastward of East Wemyss, on

an eminence close to the shore, stands the
ancient castle of Macduff, supposed to have
been built in the year 1057 by Macduff, who
was created Earl of Fife by Malcolm Can-
more. Two square towers, and part of the
outer defences alone remain of this large and
massive structure. The lady of Macduff is
said to have held out the castle until she saw
the Thane safely in the boat by which he made
his escape from Macbeth. Near this spot are
several natural caves — one of these of large
dimensions runs below the castle ; there is an-
other called the Court Cave, from king James
the 4th having once in a frolic joined a band of
gipsies, who were making merry in it, and
through which, it is said, the king was brought
into a serious affray. Another extensive cave
to the east of Wemyss Castle was occupied
about 100 years ago by a Glass Company from
England, but it was soon given up in conse-
quence of the bankruptcy of the tacksmen.
The family of Wemyss is amongst the most
ancient in the country, having sprung from
Hugo, second son of Gillmichel, fourth Earl
of Fife ; and great-grandson of Macduff the
first Earl ; the elder branches of the family of
Macduff having become extinct, the Earl of
Wemyss is now the representative of the il-
lustrious Thane. The family was raised to
the peerage in 1628, in the person of Sir John
Wemyss, by the title of Lord Elcho ; he was
elevated to an earldom in 1633. Lord Elcho,
son of James, the 4th Earl, having been attaint-
ed for 'lis concern in the insurrection in 1745,
the Earl conveyed his paternal estate of Elcho
in Perthshire, to his second son, whose grand-
son, Francis Earl of Wemyss, is now in pos-
session of it, and bequeathed his estates
in Fifeshire, including the whole parish of
Wemyss, to his third son, whose grandson,
Captain Wemyss, R.N. now enjoys them —
Population in 1821, 4157.

WEMYSS, (EASTER.) A small neat
village in the above parish, about one mile east
from West Wemyss, and about the same dis-
tance west from Buckhaven. It is situated on
the coast, but has no harbour. The inhabit-
ants are principally employed in weaving, and
there is an extensive brewery. A Sabbath
School has recently been erected by Lady
Emma Wemyss ; the boys are taught by a re-
gular teacher appointed by her Ladyship, and
the gills by four young ladies belonging to
the village and neighbourhood, superintended
6 M

1002

WHALSAY.

occasionally by the amiable foundress herself.
The parish church is situated at the village.

WEMYSS, (WESTER.) A sea-port
town and burgh of barony, in the above parish,
one mile and a half east of Dysart, and one
west of East Wemyss. It is governed by two
bailies, a treasurer, and council. It consists of
one chief street, has a tolerably good harbour,
and possesses some vessels. Salt still conti-
nues to be made here, but the exportation of
coals, which is carried on to a considerable ex-
tent, forms the principle trade. A few only of
the inhabitants are engaged in weaving. Of
late years the town has been much improved,
with the exception of the town-house, which
has fallen into decay, and presents a perfect
picture of ruin and desolation. A Sabbath
School has also been recently erected in this
town by Captain Wemyss of Wemyss.

WESTER-KIRK, a parish in the district
of Eskdale, Dumfries-shire, bounded by Esk-
dalemuir on the west, Ewes on the east, and
Langholm and Tundergarth on the south. It
extends ten miles in length, and from five to
six in breadth. The district is hilly and pas-
toral, resembling the adjacent border parishes,
and consists of the vales of the waters of Meg-
get and Stennis, and of that of the Esk. — Po-
pulation in 1821, 672.

WESTER, a river in Caithness, which
arises from some springs and lochs in the parish
of Bower ; after an easterly course of several
miles, it flows through the loch of Wester, and
empties itself into Keiss bay.

WESTERN ISLANDS, a series of is-
lands on the west coast of the Highlands of
Scotland. See Hebrides.

WESTERTOWN, a small village in the
parish of Tillicoultry, county of Clackmannan.

WESTMOINE, a district of Sutherland-
shire, situated in the north-west corner of the
county.

WE ST RAY, one of the islands of Ork-
ney, and among the largest of the northern
cluster. It is separated from the mainland
and the island of Rousay by a broad gulf call-
ed Westray firth. The island is of an irregular
figure, and measures about ten miles in length,
by a breadth of from one to four. A range of
moderately high hills skirts its west side, and
terminates in magnificent precipices, the re-
sort of innumerable sea fowl. The rest of the
island is nearly level, or gently sloping from its
centre. The island has generally a rich soil,
42.

and much of what is left in a state of nature,
is capable of improvement ; but it labours un-
der the serious disadvantage of a great defi-
ciency of peat for fuel ; and this necessary ar«
tide is, with much risk and labour, carried from
the neighbouring island of Eday. It has two ha-
vens ; one of which affords indifferent anchor-
age, the other is tolerably safe. The shores
produce kelp, and the manufacture of this arti-
cle, with the cod fishery, employs a considerable
number of the inhabitants. Much fine land
has been overwhelmed by sand blowing ; and a
great many graves, with stone coffins, and war-
like instruments, have been exposed. The
island possesses a solitary monumental stone of
considerable height, concerning which tradition
is silent. The old castle of Noltland is a spa-
cious structure in the northern part of the
island. A small cavern in the high cliffs of
Rapness, of dangerous access, was the refuge
of several Orkney gentlemen, who, in 1745,
espoused the luckless cause of the house of
Stewart. Here they were concealed for seve-
ral months, while a vigilant search was made
for them through the islands by a party of
the king's troops. They endured much hard-
ship in the interval ; their food was daily
supplied by a faithful female, without whose
aid they would have starved. Their houses
were burnt ; but this proved eventually fortu-
nate ; for government, afterwards ashamed of
this circumstance, not only granted them in-
demnity, but gave them better houses than
those which had been destroyed. Westray
forms a parochial division, including Papa-
Westrayon the north. In 1821, the popula-
tion of the parish was 1977, of which Papa-
Westray had 297.

WESTRUTHER, a parish in Berwick-
shire, bounded by part of Cranshaws on the
north, Lauder on the west, Greenlaw and Long-
formacus on the east. The northern half of
the parish is hilly, being a portion of the
elevated Lammermoor district; but the other
half is level or finely inclining fields, and under
the best processes of husbandry. Roads from
Lauder to Dunse, Greenlaw, and Kelso, pass
through the parish. The village of West-
ruther lies on the first mentioned. There
are other two small villages, namely, Hunts-
low and Wedderly, in the district — Population
in 1821, 870.

WHALSAY, an island of Shetland, lying
on the east coast of Mainland, and in the

W H I T E K I R K.

!003

parochial division of Nesting. It extends about
four miles in length, by from one to two in
breadth. The land is of the usual hilly and
bleak nature of Shetland. On this island, the
proprietor, Mr. Bruce, has reared, at a great
expense, a large and elegant mansion, built of
fine freestone imported for the purpose ; but
the edifice is singularly ill placed, and is ut-
terly thrown away on an island of this descrip-
tion. A parliamentary church has been built
at Sandwick on the west coast. Whalsay
contains several hundreds of inhabitants, but
the returns being included in Nesting, the
exact number cannot be specified-
WHINYEON, orWHINNYAN,(LOCH)
a small but beautiful lake in the stewartry of
Kirkcudbright, lying between the parishes of
Girthon and Twynholme.

WHITEBURN, or WHITBURN, a
parish in the southern part of Linlithgowshire,
bounded on the north by Bathgate, on the
east by Livingstone, by West- Calder on the
south, and Shotts on the west. It extends
about six miles in length from west to east, by
a breadth of four at its west end, from which
it tapers to a point on the east. The district
lies chiefly betwixt the Almond on the north,
and the Briech water, one of its tributaries,
on the south. The parish lies high, and con-
tains much moss and pasture land, but in the
lower division it is arable, and finely planted
and enclosed. The south road from Edin-
burgh to Glasgow passes directly through the
northern part of the parish, and on this road
stand the villages of Whitburn and East Whit-
burn, the former twenty-one miles west from
Edinburgh, and twenty-three from Glasgow.
It is regularly built, and is in a thriving condi-
tion ; the inhabitants, amounting to 750 in
1821, being mostly employed in the cotton
manufacture. It possesses meeting-houses of
the United Associate, of the Original Seceders,
and of the Original Burgher Associate Synods.
A handsome school was some years since erect-
ed by the trustees of the late Mr. Wilson,
who bequeathed a considerable part of his
property for the erection and support of charity
schools in the neighbourhood. Two public
libraries are supported by the inhabitants. On
the road south from Whitburn to Wilsontown
is the small village of Longridge. — Population
of the parish in 1821, 1900.

WHITEH1LLS, a considerable fishing
village in the parish of Boyndie, Banffshire,

situated on the sea-coast, about half way be-
tween the towns of Banff and Portsoy,

WHITEKIRK, a parish in Haddington-
shire, including the abrogated parochial division
of Tynningham, which was united to it in
1761 ; bounded by the sea or mouth of the
Firth of Forth on the east, North Berwick on
the north-west, Prestonkirk on the west and
south-west, and Dunbar on the south. It ex-
tends nearly six miles from south to north, and
four from east to west. The land is nearly
altogether flat or composed of fields finely in-
clining to the Peffer Burn and the Tyne, both
of which intersect it from west to east. The
only rising ground is a low hill on the north
side of the parish church, in the northern par*
of the parish, from whence an extensive view
of the lower part of the vale of East Lothian
and the Firth of Forth may be obtained. The
parish church is an old, plain, substantial edifice
in the Gothic style, with a square turret, and
the interior fitted up in a rude manner. On the
building are still seen some ornamental re-
mains of an age of misplaced piety. This
church was at one time the object of pilgrim-
age to devotees, and it will be remembered,
that under the pretence of a pious expedition
thither, in order to perform a vow for the
safety of her son, the widow of James I.
contrived to deceive Chancellor Crichton,
and carry off James II. in a chest to Stirling ;
an incident well known in Scottish history.
Immediately behind the church there is a large
house, now converted into a granary, which
seems to have pertained to the religious esta-
blishment. In 1356, when Edward III.
invaded East Lothian, the sailors who attended
him broke into the church of Whitekirk, and
despoiled the image of the Virgin Mary, a crime
which was punished afterwards, says Fordoun,
by a storm at sea. The district of Whitekirk
and Tynningham, it may be safely conjectured,
thus engrossed the notice of the religious, in
times prior to the Reformation, from having
been a place consecrated by the residence of
the pious St. Baldred, the apostle of Chris-
tianity in this part of the kingdom, who
flourished at the end of the sixth and beginning
of the seventh century. See the article Bass,
for some notices of this distinguished man.
The district of Whitekirk, besides including
the abrogated parish of Tynningham, has
incorporated the small and ancient parochial
division of Aldham, vulgarly Adam, which lay

J 004

WHITHORN.

on the sea-coast, to the north. Here, almost
opposite the Bass, and a short distance east
from Tantallan Castle, are still seen the de-
solated ruins of the hamlet, and doubtless the
religious edifices of Aldham, now converted into
outhouses to a farm-yard. Proceeding east-
ward along the coast, which is here bold and
rocky, the traveller successively arrives at the
modern mansion of Sea-cliff, and the ruin of
Old Scougal. The rocks of Scougal on the
beach beneath are noted for the number of
wrecks of vessels which they have caused. A
promontory of land, still farther east, is called
Whitberry Point. The united parishes now
under notice are under the very best processes
of agriculture, and Tynningham is richly
clothed with wood. See TynninghaM. —
Population in 1821, 1048.

WHITENESS, a parishin Orkney, united
to Tingwall. See Tingwall.

WHITEN-HEAD, a promontory on the
north coast of Sutherland, in the parish of
Durness.

WHITHORN, a parish in Wigtonshire,
occupying the outer extremity of the eastern
peninsula of that county ; bounded by Glasser-
ton on the west, and Sorbie on the north. It
extends nearly eight miles in length, and is
from two to four in breadth. The sea-coast
is generally bold and rocky. The most south-
erly point is Burrow-head, and on the east is
Port-Yarrockhead. Port-Yarrock is a har-
bour on the northern side of the headland.
Betwixt Port-Yarrock and Burrow-head is the
small isle of Whithorn, contiguous to the coast.
The surface of the parish is variegated by
hills and valleys, the soil is fertile, and the
land is generally enclosed and cultivated.
There are many thriving plantations on the
estates of Castle- Wig and Tonderghie, on
which are also excellent residences. On the
isle of Whithorn there was once a chapel,
the ruins of which are still extant. There
was another chapel which stood on the lands
of Octoun or Aughton ; both were subordinate
to the mother church mentioned in the follow-
ing article.

WHITHORN, or WHITHERN, a royal
burgh in the above parish, situated at the dis-
tance of eleven miles south from Wigton,
thirty-two from Stranraer, eighteen from
Newton -Stewart, and forty from Portpatrick.
Whithorn may boast of a most remote anti-
quity. It was originally a town of the Novantes,

a tribe of Britons who possessed the district,
and is understood to have been the place men-
tioned by Ptolemy under the name Leucophibia.
St. Ninian built a church here in the fourth
century, which Bede mentions as the first
which was erected of stone, and which, from
its appearance, was called, in the Roman lan-
guage, Candida Casa, or the White House.
This appellation, however, did not Jail into
popular use, and was translated into the Saxon
term Hwit-cern, which has the same meaning,
and in a modern age it has been refined into
Whiihern. The place was the seat of the
bishops of Candida Casa during the eighth
century; and it continued the seat of the
bishops of Galloway on the revival of that
bishopric, in the twelfth century. Besides the
cathedral of the diocese, there was a priory of
great eminence in Whithorn, founded by Fer-
gus, Lord of Galloway, who flourished in the
reign of David I. and constituted the dean and
chapter of the cathedral, the monks of the
establishment. These churchmen were of the
order of Praemonstratenses. The priory of
Whithorn derived great celebrity from its
possessing some of the relics of St. Ninian,
who it seems was buried in the church which
he had himself erected. For many centuries
previous to the Reformation, the bones of St.
Ringan, as he was called, were the fond object
of adoration of devotees from all parts of the
country, and as we are gravely informed, were
most efficacious in the working of miracles for
the benefit of the faithful. It is discovered from
the registers of the great seals, and the royal
treasurer's accounts, that many Scottish kings,
queens, and other royal personages, visited
Whithorn on pilgrimages. In 1425, James
I. granted a general protection to all stran-
gers coming into Scotland, in pilgrimage,
to visit the church of St. Ninian. In the
summer of 1473, Margaret, the queen of
James III. made a pilgrimage thither with
six ladies of her bed chamber, as her attend-
ants, who got new livery gowns on the occa-
sion. Among other articles furnished at the
same time, were " four panzell crelis (panniers)
to the queen, at her passage to St. Ninians,
viiisA." James IV. throughout his reign made
frequent pilgrimages to the shrine of St. Ni
nian, generaUy once, and frequently twice, a
year ; on which occasions, he appears to have
been accompanied by a numerous retinue, and
among others, by his minstrels. At Whithorn,

WICK.

1005

he made offerings in the churches, at the al-
tars, and at the relics of St- Ninian, giving also
donations to priests, minstrels, and pilgrims.
James V- also appears to have made pilgrim-
ages to the same places in 1532 and 1533.
These pilgrimages were so rooted in the prac-
tice of the people, that they continued for
some time after the Reformation, notwith-
standing all that preachers could inculcate, or
Sir David Lindsay could write ; and they did
not finally cease till they were made punishable
by act of parliament, in 1581. The demolition
of the religious structures, the flight of the
monks, the seizure of their possessions, and
the stoppage of the traffic in pilgrimage, con-
spired to ruin Whithorn, which had grown
wealthy from the money spent by the devotees.
After the period of the Reformation, it is
seldom mentioned in public transactions, and
Beems to have sunk into obscurity. From
successive kings it received various charters,
constituting it a burgh of barony. It is now
a royal burgh, though we have not seen the
period of its creation stated. It consists chiefly
of one street, running from north to south, with
diverging alleys. Nearly in the centre, it is
intersected by a small stream, across which a
bridge is thrown for the accommodation of the
inhabitants. The trade of the town is incon-
siderable. It possesses a small port, two and
a half miles to the south, at the isle of Whit-
horn. As a royal burgh, the town is governed
by a provost, two bailies, and fifteen councillors,
one of whom is the treasurer ; and it joins with
Wigton, Stranraer, and New Galloway, in
electing a member of parliament. The parish
church at the town is a neat and spacious edifice,
built partly on the ruins of the priory, which
still, in their decay, are remarkably grand and
imposing. A Saxon and some Gothic arches
continue standing, sculptured with the royal
arms of Scotland, and the armorial bearings of
the Bishops of Galloway. Besides the parish
church, there are meeting-houses of the United
Associate and the Reformed Presbyterian
Synods. — In 1821, the population of Whithorn
was 1000, including the parish, 2361.

WHITSOME, a parish in Berwickshire,
including the abrogated parochial district of
Hilton ; bounded by Edrom on the west and
north, Hutton on the east, and Ladykirk and
Swinton on the south. It extends four and a
half miles in length, by two and a half in
breadth, and is wholly arable, being part of the
beautiful and rich district ol the Merse. The

village of Whitsome is small, and is situated

at the centre of the district Population in

1821, 661.

W H I T T ADD E R, a ri ver in Berwickshire,
which has its rise in the hilly district of Lam-
mermoor, county of Haddington, and flowing
in a southerly course through the Merse, falls
into the Tweed about five miles above Ber-
wick. Its chief tributary is the Blackadder,
which falls into it on its right bank.

WHITTINGHAM, an extensive parish
in Haddingtonshire, reaching from the borders
of Berwickshire, a length of eleven miles
northward, into the rich agricultural district of
East Lothian, by a breadth of about six at the
south end, and about four at the north, but very
narrow in the middle. The parish of Garvald
is chiefly on the west. The greater proportion
lies in the hilly district of Lammermoor, and
is devoted to pasturage. In the northern di-
vision are the beautiful pleasure grounds and
plantations around the fine mansion of Whit-
tingham. The small village of Whittingham
stands in the neighbourhood, at the distance
of six miles east from Haddington. — .Popula-
tion in 1821, 750.

WICK, a parish in the eastern side of the
county of Caithness, lying on the sea coast
betwixt Bower on the north, and Latheron on
the south. On the west is the parish of Wat-
ten. Wick parish extends twenty miles in
length, and from five to eight in breadth. On
the side next the sea it is projected to a point
called Noss-head, which is the most distinguish-
ed promontory on the coast. The ruins of ol<-
castles are scattered about on all the high part,
of the coast difficult of access. The remain
of Aldwick, Girnigoe, and Castle Sinclair art
still of great size. The district is flat an<.
uninteresting in appearance, a great part of •
being still uncultivated and covered with heatl
and moss. The waste lands are however ra
pidly improving, and agriculture is now con
ducted on modern and beneficial principles
Small farms have been gradually extended intc
those of a larger size ; a class of intelligen ,
farmers has been introduced, and substantia,
farm houses have been built. The river Wick
intersects the parish, and falls into the sea a;
Wick Bay.

Wick, a royal burgh in the above parish,
situated on the sea coast or bay of Wick, at
the distance of twenty-one miles from Thurso,
seventy- three from Tain, sixty- four from Dor-
noch, 119A from Inverness, and 276| from

1006

WIGTONSHIRE.

Edinburgh, by way of Perth and Dunkeld
It takes its name from the Danish word wrick,
which signifies a bay or inlet. The town,
which lies low and is irregularly built, is
composed of the royal burgh of Wick, and the
suburbs of Louisburgh and Pulteney-town.
Of late years it has been considerably improv-
ed and extended, but it still retains much of
the dirty and slovenly appearance of the smal-
ler Scottish towns. Wick is the principal
seat of the northern herring fishery ; and during
the fishing season, when the harbour is filled
with vessels, and thousands of boats are con-
tinually floating across the bay and the surround-
ing sea, it presents an animating and bustling
appearance. Many thousands of fishermen,
curers, and women, employed in gutting and
packing the herrings, are then congregated from
all parts of the sea coast of Scotland, and from
the remotest parts of the Highlands. The
herrings, when cured, are principally exported
to the Baltic ports, and to Ireland. There
are no manufactories, but various distilleries,
rope, and shipping companies, &c. have lately
been established. The refuse of the herrings
are found to be valuable as manure, and is
purchased at a high price by the neighbouring
farmers ; it has been of great use in bringing
a vast quantity of waste land under cultivation.
In consequence of the estates by which the
burgh is surrounded being entailed, its im-
provement and extension has been much
cramped. Wick is the county town of Caith-
ness, and seat of the sheriff court, &c. A
handsome county hall, jail, &c. have lately been
erected. It was erected into a royal burgh in
the year 1589, and the Earls of Caithness
were constituted its superiors. The superiority
is now the property of the Stafford family, and
the power it is supposed to confer is still ex-
ercised by a direct interference in the election
of magistrates. The burgh is governed by a
provost, two bailies, a dean of guild, treasurer,
and seven councillors. Besides the parish
church, there is a meeting house of the United
Secession Church, and another of the Inde-
pendents. The inhabitants support a sub-
scription library, and some local institutions.
A market is held every Friday, and there are
four annual fairs. — In 1821, the population of
the town was 2900, including the parish 6713.
WICK, a river in the foregoing parish,
which rises in the high grounds in the parish
of Latheron. In its course it is augmented

by two streams ; one from the loch of Toftin.
gal, and the other from the loch of Watten :
it discharges itself into the sea at the town
of Wick. It is not navigable, but is valuable
from its salmon fisheries.

WIG, a safe bay in Loch Ryan, Wigtonshire,
nearly opposite to the village of Cairn.

WIGTONSHIRE, a county occupying
the south-western extremity of Scotland, form-
ing the western part of the ancient district of
Galloway. It is bounded on the east by the
stewartry of Kirkcudbright, or Eastern Gallo-
way, also by Wigton bay ; the Irish sea limits
it on the south and west ; and it has. Ayrshire
on the north. It lies between 54° 36' 45",
and 55° 3' 40" north latitude ; and between 4*
15' 50' and 5° 7' 10" longitude west from
Greenwich. The shire extends between 28
and 29 miles from north to south, and between
30 and 31 miles from east to west. In this
extent is comprehended the large bay of Luce,
which indents it throughout an extent of 15
miles on the southern side ; and Loch Ryan,
an arm of the sea, indents it on the northern
side 8| miles. The bay of Luce, by so deeply
indenting the land, forms two peninsulae, and
these projections have been long known by
the Celtic name of the Rhinns of Galloway.
The peninsula on the east receives the local
name of the Machers. The superficial contents
(taking a medium calculation betwixt Ainslie
and Arrowsmith,) may be deemed 484 square

miles, or 309,760 statute acres At the

epoch of the Roman intrusion into North-
Britain, the ancient British tribe of the
Novantes inhabited the whole site of East-
ern and Western Galloway ; having Leuco-
phibia, or the modern Whithorn, for their
principal town, and Rerigonium, or Loch
Ryan, for their principal port. The Anglo-
Saxons overran the district in the sixth cen-
tury, and Oswie, the Northumbrian king, set-
tled at Whithorn the episcopate of Candida
Casa, which had its commencement in 723,
and its close in 790. The anarchy which had
prevailed in the Northumbrian kingdom, to-
wards the end of the eighth century, gave a
shock to the Saxon power in this quarter.
The country on the west was overrun by the
Cruithne, or Picts from Ireland and the Isle of
Man, during the ninth and tenth centuries, and
hence the name of Galloway, or the county of
the Gael, was conferred on the territory; and
hence the rude usages which so long charac

W I G T O N-

100?

terised this portion of Scotland. A sketch of
the history of Galloway being given under
that head, it need not be further repeated here.
— The shire of Wigton rests upon a southern
exposure ; and its waters generally descend to
the Irish sea. The climate is moist, with
winds from the south-west, which prevail
during the greatest part of the year, and
usually bring with them rains ; yet when
proper attention is used by the agricul-
turist, the moisture of the climate is but sel-
dom injurious to the products of the earth.
Snows seldom lie long; and frosts are not
usually severe, or of long endurance. This
shire is one of the lowest districts in Scotland ;
and its diminutive hills are generally pretty
free from the obtrusion of rocks. The best
lands lie near the shores ; the inland divisions
being more elevated and largely mixed with
heath and moss. The shire has no consider-
able rivers. The chief are the Cree, the
Bladenoch, and the Tarf, with a few of
smaller size. The greatest part of the soil of
the district is of a hazel colour ; and is of that
6pecies, which is sometimes termed a dry
loam, though often it inclines to a gravelly
nature. It principally lies upon a bed of
sckistus, and primary strata. In the northern
part of the Rhinns, sandstone occurs. Quarries
of slate have been found of different qualities.
There is no coal, at least for any useful pur-
pose ; and although there is plenty of iron ore,
it is of little value from the absence of coal.
Lead mines were formerly wrought with the
greatest success. In early times this district
of Galloway, like the greater part of the
country, was covered with woods. From the
uncultivated nature of the original Novantes,
and the more civilized colonists of the middle
ages, we may easily infer, that the usual pro-
gress of agricultural economy from rudeness
to refinement, took place in Wigtonsliire.
Under the mild management of the Baliols,
lords of Galloway, husbandry began to prosper.
Even during the year of conflict and conquest,
1300, the English armies found more wheat in
Galloway than the mills of Galloway could
manufacture. But ages of warfare, waste,
and local tyranny succeeded, and it is inferred,
that here, as in Kirkcudbright stewartry, the
country was much better cultivated in 1300
than in 1708. The era of the revival of
agriculture was about the year 1760, when the
Earl of Selkirk began to improve, upon syste-

matic principles, his estate of Baldoon, under
the management of an intelligent agriculturist
of the name of Jeffray. His example was soon
advantageously followed. Wight, the cele-
brated agriculturist, visited Wigtonshire in
1777, and he found the Earl of Galloway
actively engaged in the improvement of his
farms. The next great improver was the Earl
of Stair, who, by his influence and example,
effected a total change in the parish of Inch,
near Stranraer. It is told, that during twenty
years, his Lordship annually planted ai least
20,000 trees. The salutary improvements
which now took place among the landholders,
were no doubt greatly owing to the vigorous
efforts of the agricultural society of Dumfries,
conducted, as it was, by the genius and talents
of Mr. Craik. The spirit and practice of
husbandry, gradually emigrated from Dum-
fries-shire to Kirkcudbright j and travelling
westward, they pushed their career of melio-
ration into Wigtonshire. Since that period
rents have risen rapidly, and corn and other
products of husbandry, black cattle, sheep,
wool, and swine are now largely exported.
Wigtonshire is under a very limited number of
proprietors, in comparison to the adjacent
districts. Recently there was one estate above
L.30,000 of real rent, one above L.10,000, two
from L.5000 to L.10,000, thirteen from
L.1000 to L.5000, twelve from L.500 to
L.1000, eighteen from L.100 to L.500, and
thirty under L.100. The shipping trade of
Wigtonshire has also been greatly enlarged.
At the epoch of the Revolution of 1688 the
shire had just four boats ; in 1819 it had 99
vessels of the aggregate burden of 460 tons.
Wigtonshire comprehends seventeen parishes,
and three royal burghs, Wigton, Whithorn,
and Stranraer, with several thriving vil-
lages and burghs of barony, as Newton-Stew-
art, Garliestown, Glenluce, Port-Patrick, &c.
It has a number of small sea ports or natural
harbours, chiefly in the western peninsula. It
likewise possesses a number of splendid man-
sions, the seats of its nobility and gentry. —
In 1821, the population was 15,837 males and
17,603 females, total 33,240.

WIGTON, a parish in the above county,
lying on the west side of the mouth of the
Cree, or Wigton Bay, and extending five and
a. half miles in length, by four in breadth,
bounded on the north-west and north by Pen-
ningham, and on the south and south-west by

10G8

W I G T O N.

Kirkinner. The Bladenoch water is its
southern boundary. It has several eminences
throughout, but is generally flat and fertile,
and derives additional beauty from the finely
planted lands of Baldoonin the adjacent pa-
rish of Kirkinner.

Wigton, a royal burgh, and seat of a presby-
tery in the above parish, is pleasantly situated
near the north side of the Bladenoch water, at
its junction with the Cree or bay of Wigton, at
the distance of 105 miles from Edinburgh,
fifty-eight from Dumfries, twenty- nine from
Stranraer, and seven and a quarter from New-
ton-Stewart. Wigton rose into existence during
the middle ages from the erection of a castle on
the spot by a band of successful Saxon invaders,
who conferred on it the name of Wig, from the
place having been contested in battle, — the
word wig signifying a conflict of this nature in
the Gothic tongue ; the adjunct ton, or town,
was afterwards given when the town arose.
The castle of Wigton was subsequently a royal
residence. The town of Wigton is not once
mentioned in the Diplomata Scoriae ; and it
first became conspicuous during the reign of
David II., or David Bruce, (1329-32,) when
it gave the title of Earl to the respectable fa-
mily of Fleming, in the person of Malcolm
Fleming, who had been the instructor, as well
as the protector of the infant son of the re-
storer of the Scottish monarchy. Besides be-
ing benefited by the castle, Wigton derived
some support, the favour of royalty, and not
a little importance, from having a religious
establishment. A convent of Dominican friars
was founded in 1267, by Devorgille, the mu-
nificent daughter of Alan, the lord of Galloway,
the wife of John Baliol of Bernard Castle, and
the mother of John Baliol, King of Scots.
This convent stood on the south-east side of
the town, and was governed by a prior. We
learn that Alexander III. granted to these
friars a large portion of the firms coming to
him annually from the town. They also re-
ceived frequent gratuities from James IV., on
his many pilgrimages to St. Ninians at Whit-
horn. On such occasions, the king usually
lodged at their convent, as the most commo-
dious inn. They likewise received temporary
grants of the fishery in the Bladenoch from
James III., James IV., and James V., in
consideration whereof, the prior and friars were
obliged " to sing daily, after evensang, Salve
Reginct^ with a special orison for the king's fa-

ther and mother, and predecessors and succes-
sors." The possessions of the friars, after be-
ing spoiled by " the auld laird of Garlies," and
others, were annexed to the crown. The old
parish-church was a rectory, and was dedicated
to St. Machute, a British saint who died in the
year 554. From its situation in a remote part
of the country, away from the course of
thoroughfare, Wigton is unnoticed in the his-
tory of the last three or four centuries. In the
year 1581, it was specified as one of the king's
free burghs. It has the tideway of the bay of
Wigton, or the estuary of the Cree on the east,
and the Bladenoch water on the south. The
principal street is a parallelogram, of which the
internal space is laid out in shrubberies, an«.
enclosed by a rail. At the upper end of the
innermost space, which is used as a bowling-
green, theground has beenformed into the shape
of a circular stair, upon the verdant steps of
which the citizens recline, in the fine summer
evenings, to witness the sports of the bowl-
players below. At the lower extremity there
is a remarkably fine and very intricate dial.
All round the bowling-green there are shady
walks, which the contemplative may traverse
without being seen from without. This is
altogether a wonderfully fine thing, and quite
unexampled in Scotland. Its merit must be
doubly appreciated by the stranger, when he is
informed that the space which it occupies was
once the site of the great common dunghill of
the people of Wigton. An amusing anecdote
is told in regard to the former use and purpose
of the place. Upon the occasion of an election,
when it was found impossible to clear the
ground of its vast stercoraceous incumbrance in
proper time, boards were thrown over it, and
upon these were erected tables, at which a
great body of honest burghers, and wily politi-
cians, sat down to a public dinner. Perhaps so
many " honourable men" were never before
known to dine upon a dunghill ! At the upper
extremity of the parallelogram, without the
rails, stands the market cross, a fabric of singu-
lar elegance, composed of a species of grey
granite, very common in this part of the
country. At the other extremity is the town-
house. The church, a very plain building, is
situated between the town and the sea. The
church-yard contains the tombs of two women,
who, in the persecuting times, were drowned
in the tide at the mouth of the river Bladenoch.
Besides several other " martyrs' stones," it

W I S T 0 U N.

101

contains a number of monuments remarkable
for their antiquity. It is a peculiarity, how-
ever, common to all Galloway, that the burial
grounds contain more ancient tomb-stones
than are to be found anywhere else in Scotland.
Some of the houses in the town of Wigton
have the appearance of considerable antiquity.
The town is decidedly a dull one ; yet such as
it is, with the country around, it supports a
branch of the British Linen Company's Bank.
It carries on a small export trade in corn,
&c; the number of its vessels in 1819 was
forty-three, all employed in the coasting traffic.
It possesses a brewery and distillery. The inha-
bitants support a public subscription library and
a printing press. As a royal burgh, Wigton is
governed by a provost and ten bailies, and fifteen
councillors, one of whom is treasurer. Besides
the parish church, there is a meeting-house of
the United Associate Synod. The fast-day
of the church is the Thursday before the third
Sunday of June — In 1821, the population of
the town was 1500, including the parish, 2042.

WIGTON BAY, an inlet of the sea of
considerable extent, projected inland betwixt
the county of "Wigton on the west, and the
stewartry of Kirkcudbright on the east. At
its inner extremity, it receives the waters of
Cree and Bladenoch. It affords safe places of
anchorage, and has some good harbours.

WILLIAM, (FORT) a fortress in the
West Highlands, in the shire of Inverness,
situated on the east side of Lochiel, and the
south side of the small river Nevis, where it
falls into that inlet of the sea, at the distance
of sixty-one miles south-west of Inverness, and
twenty-nine and a-half south-west of Fort-
Augustus. It is of a triangular form, with two
bastions mounting fifteen twelve-pounders.
The fort was originally built during the usur-
pation of Cromwell, by General Monk, and
occupied much more ground at that time than
it does at present, accommodating no fewer
than 2000 men. It was then named " the
garrison of Inverlochy," from the ancient castle
of that name in the neighbourhood. In the
time of William III., it was rebuilt on a smaller
scale, with stone and lime instead of earth ; and
received its name in honour of that monarch-
In the year 1 745, it stood successfully a siege
of five weeks, but is by no means a place of
strength. It is now garrisoned by a governor,
fort-major, and company of soldiers.

WILSONTOWN, a viUage in the upper
part of Lanarkshire, in the parish of Carn-
wath, 23| miles south-west of Edinburgh, and
SiN.E-of Lanark, erected by Messrs. Wilsons
of London, to accommodate the workmen at
their extensive iron-foundry. The work
is excellently situated in respect of mate-
rials j for on the very ground where the blast
furnaces are erected, there are coal, iron-
stone, limestone, and fireclay ; and perhaps
no work in Britain has all these materials
so near and in so great abundance. Yet
this establishment has not prospered, whe-
ther from the distance from a sea-port, or
the lack of skill, capital, and enterprise, we
have not heard. The works, after having been
for some years at a stand, are now again em-
ployed.

WILTON, a parish in Roxburghshire,
lying on the left bank of the Tiviot, opposite the
parishes of Hawick and Cavers, and bounded
on the north byMinto. It measures nearly five
miles along the Tiviot, by a breadth of about
three miles. The surface is irregular, but in
general fertile, and well cultivated. The
grounds adjacent to the river are beautiful.
The only residence of note is that of Wilton
Lodge— Population in 1821, 1661.

WINCHBURGH, a small village and inn
eleven miles from Edinburgh on the road to
Glasgow, by Falkirk. See Kirkliston.

WINTON, a small village in the parish of
Pencaitland, Haddingtonshire ; it formerly
gave the title of Earl to the family of Seton ;
near it is the elegant house and grounds of
Winton.

WISP, a hill in the parish of Cavers, Rox-
burghshire, 1836 feet in height.

WISTOUN, a parish in the upper part of
Lanarkshire, to which in 1772, that of Ro-
bertoun was united. The united parish lies on
the left or north bank of the Clyde, extending
five miles in length, by from three and a-half to
four and a-half in breadth ; bounded by Lam-
ington on the opposite side of the Clyde,
Symington on the east, Carmichael on the
north, and Douglas on the west. The surface
is hilly, the ground rising from the Clyde to-
wards the northern border, where the lofty
and conspicuous hill of Tinto forms the
boundary. On the banks of the Clyde, and
two small tributaries, the lands are finely cul-
tivated and enclosed, and in some places shell

G N

J010

Y A R R O W.

tered and beautified by plantations. The
parish contains three villages, — Wistoun, Ro-
bertoun, and Newton of Wistoun. Wistoun
takes its names from a settler here of the name
of Wice, who held the territory of Wice-ton in
the reign of Malcolm IV. In the charters,
the place is sometimes called Villa. Wicii.
Robertoun took its name from a settler named

Robert, also in the reign of Malcolm IV —
Population in 1821, 927.

WOODHAVEN, a small village in the
parish of Forgan, Fifeshire, situated on the
coast of the firth of Tay, opposite Dundee.
Between the two places there is a regular
ferry. See Dundee.

WRATH, (CAPE). See Cape Wrath.

YARROW, a hilly pastoral parish in Sel-
kirkshire, of extensive dimensions, comprising
the whole of the vale of the river Yarrow, and
the lower part of the vale of Ettrick. It
measures about eighteen miles in length and
sixteen in breadth at its widest part. It is
bounded on the west byMegget, on the north
by Peebles and Traquair, on the north-east
by Selkirk, and on the south by Ettrick. It
has been already mentioned under the heads
Selkirkshire and Ettrick, that the county is
in a great measure composed of the two vales
of Ettrick and Yarrow, the first of which has
been already sufficiently described. In travel-
ling from Selkirk in a south-westerly direc-
tion, the vale of Yarrow parts ofF from the
plain of Philiphaugh towards the right, that of
Ettrick towards the left. In its lower division,
the vale of Yarrow is agricultural and richly
clothed with wood, among which stands the
house of Bowhill, a seat of the Duke of
Buccleugh. The higher part of the dis-
trict, is hilly and wild, and chiefly adapted to
sheep pasture. The river Yarrow, which
gives its name to the district, rises at a place
called Yarrow Cleugh, very near the sources
of the Moffat water, and running east a few
miles, forms a small lake called the Loch of
the Lowes, which discharges itself into St.
Mary's Loch, and being emitted from thence,
after a course of about sixteen miles, falls into
the Ettrick, two miles above Selkirk. Yar-
row, partly from a certain melancholy event
which occurred on its banks, but more perhaps
from its adaptation to rhyme, has been the
subject of ballads, songs, and poems innumer-
able. The last distinguished verses written
upon it were those of Wordsworth, called
" Yarrow Unvisited," and " Yarrow Visited ;M
the first composed eleven years before the poet
had seen the vale, the last immediately on
having seen it. Both compositions refer
43.

throughout to the poetical charm thrown over
the locality by the ballads of which it has been
the subject, particularly that by Hamilton of
Bangour, beginning,

Busk ye, busk ye, my bonnie bonnie bride,
Busk ye, busk ye, my winsome marrow ;

but without being aware of it, the poet of
the lakes has more than doubled the charm
that previously existed. The incident which
gave occasion to this profusion of verse, i9
said to have been a duel fought betwixt John
Scott of Tushielaw, and his brother-in-law,
Walter Scott, third son of Robert Scott of
Thirlstane, in which the latter was slain. The
alleged cause of dispute was the knight of
Thirlstane having proposed to endow his
daughter with half of his property, upon he?
marriage with a warrior of such renown. The
residence of the youthful husband, or lover, as
he is sometimes represented, was Oakwood
Castle in Ettrick. The combat took place
on a muir a little way west from Yarrow Kirk,
opposite to a pass in the hills by which the
duellists might have come over from Ettrick
to fulfil their deadly purpose ; and two tall
unhewn stones stand at the distance of a hun-
dred yards from each other, commemorating
the fatal scene. There is something highly
peculiar in Yarrow. There is more than na-
tural silence On those MUs, and more than ordi-
nary melancholy in the sound of that stream.
There is a dolefulness instead of a joy in the
summer wind, and the sternest winter here
mingles with the withering breeze of autumn.
But the dejected loneliness of the place is
described to perfection in the term applied by
the old ballad-writer to the dim recesses of the
vale. Newark Castle, the ancient mansion
in which Anne Duchess of Buccleugh and
Monmouth is made to listen to the Lay of the
Last Minstrel, rears its grey massive form at
the mouth of the Vale, and, with the dark

Y E S T E R.

ion

wooded hills rising closely around on both
sides, has an appearance truly striking and
romantic. Throughout Selkirkshire, as in
this case, every opening or pass in the hills
has been commanded by a fortress, the ruin-
ed and haggard forms of which generally
survive, like the ghosts of sentinels haunt-
ing their old favourite posts, and which,
it is easy to see, must have been origin-
ally used as the means of robbing and de-
pressing, as well as protecting the country.
It is a huge square tower, now roofless, with
a half-demolished barbican, forming a court-
yard, and having its lower story formed into
one centre vault for the keeping of cattle.
It stands upon an eminence overhanging the
Yarrow, opposite to the farm of FouJshiels,
where Mungo Park, the celebrated African
traveller, first saw the light. About a mile
above Newark, the handsome modern mansion
of Broad-meadows, (John Boyd, Esq.) occu-
pies a conspicuous situation, and commands a
delightful view of the lower part of the vale.
Still farther up is the little village of Yarrow-
ford ; near which formerly stood the strong
and venerable castle of Hangingshaw, one of
the possessions of the outlaw Murray, and
of his descendants till a late generation. The
next object of interest occuring in the vale
of Yarrow is the church, a neat edifice, which
stands on the public road on the left bank of
the stream. Between Yarrow kirk and St.
Mary's Loch there is no object of particular
interest, except Mount Benger, the residence
of James Hogg, more commonly called the
Ettrick Shepherd, whose poetical genius
requires here no eulogium. St. Mary's Loch,
lying at the head of the vale, is a beautiful
sheet of water, extending about three miles in
length, by from half a mile to a mile in breadth.
This lake lies in the very bosom of the south-
ern Highlands. The hills around are of that
sombre rueful description so common in the
north. They resemble the Highland hills in
form, although not so high ; and this may
a1 together be termed a fine specimen of moun-
tain scenery. Dryhope castle, a ruin near the
eastern extremity of the loch, was the resi-
dence of Mary Scott, the flower o' Yarrow,
renowned in song, and who having been mar-
ried to Elliot of Minto, became the ancestress
of the ingenious lady who wrote " the Flowers
of the Forest." On a rising ground further
up the vale, on the north shore of the lake,

the ancient burying ground of St. Mary's kirk
is still extant, though the church has long dis-
appeared. The whole scene around this sin-
gular burial-place is bold and lovely in the ex-
treme. Of late, there have been considerable
improvements in the roads of this district, and
tourists may pass from the head of the vale of
Yarrow round to that of Ettrick, or proceed

westward to Moffat Population in 1821,

1249.

YELL, an island of Shetland, lying north
from the Mainland, to which it is second in
point of size, and south from Unst, On the
east it is divided from Fetlar by Colgrave
sound. It extends about twenty miles in
length from north to south, by a general
breadth of seven. The coast is bold and
rocky. In the interior the land is pretty level,
with several small lakes, which are the sources
of a few rivulets. The only arable land is on
the coast. Towards its north end it is in-
dented on the west by Whalforth Voe, and on
the opposite coast by Refirth Voe, leaving
an isthmus between. The island is divided
into two parishes, — North Yell, united to
Fetlar in forming a parochial division ; and
the united parishes of Mid and South Yell.
—Population of Mid and South Yell in 1821,
1729— of North YeU and Fetlar, 1586.

YESTER, a parish in the county of Had-
dington, bounded on the west by Bolton and
Humbie, on the north by Haddington, on the
east by Garvald, and on the south by the
heights of Berwickshire or Lammermoor. It
extends upwards of four miles in length, by
three in breadth on an average. With the
exception of the southerly hilly and pastoral
district, it is a beautiful agricultural parish,
finely enclosed, and clothed with woods. The
pleasant village of Gifford, already noticed
under its own head, and which may be styled
the capital of the parish, lies four miles south
from Haddington. In the immediate neigh-
bourhood is Yester house, the elegant seat of
the Marquis of Tvveeddale, embosomed in noble
old woods. The more ancient seat of Yester
was a castle farther up the rivulet which here
descends from the Lammermoor hills, the re-
mains of which are still to be seen on a sort of
peninsula formed by a junction of two streams.
The old castle of Yester was built by Hugh
Gifford, the supposed enchanter of the Col-
stoun pear, who died in 1267. That singular
personage, whose necromantic powers are still

1012

Y T H A N.

the object of popular superstition, is said to
have used his magical art in constructing a
vault under his castle, which the common
people term Bo- Hall, or Hobgoblin Hall.
The reader will not require to be reminded of
the figure which Giflbrd and Bo- Hall make in
Marmion. — Population in 1821, 1100.

YETHOLM, a parish in Roxburghshire,
lying on its eastern side, close on the borders
of Northumberland, having Morbattle on the
south and south-west, and Linton on the
north and north-west. It is of a triangular
figure, four miles in length, by two in breadth,
at its northerly or widest extremity. It is in-
tersected by the small river Bowmont, which
after flowing through it enters Northumber-
land. The surface is hilly, but green in ap-
pearance, and excellently adapted for pastur-
age. There are some considerable haughs on
the banks of Bowmont, and the land is in this
quarter under cultivation. The parish pos-
sesses two villages, or a village in two parts ;
the largest, called Town-Yefholm, lies on the
west side of the Bowmont, and the other, de-
signated Kirk-Yetholm, is situated about half
a mile distant on the other side of the stream
and of the haugh which it flows through. Both
are humble in appearance, especially the
last, which is chiefly inhabited by gipsies, a
race formerly remarkable for their disorderly
and idle lives, and now greatly distinguished
by peculiarity of habits or character from
their fellow townsmen. The close proximity
to the border most likely induced the settle-
ment of the gipsies in this locality. An idea
may be formed of the humbleness of Yetholm
from the fact, that the church is not slated,
but, according to a primitive fashion, covered

with thatch. Yetholm lies in a valley, which
being surrounded on all sides by lofty moun-
tains, seems completely sequestered from the
rest of the world — alike inaccessible from with-
out, and not to be left from within. The valley
has, however, more than one outlet. The
road to Kelso leaves it on the north side by a
circuitous opening in the hills. Hard by the
right hand side of this path is the mansion of
Cherrytrees, remarkable on account of the
celebrated adventure which procured for David
Williamson, a persecuted presbyterian clergy-
man, afterwards minister of St. Cuthberts at
Edinburgh, the nick-name of Cherrytrees
Davie. Yetholm stands eight miles south
from Kelso. It possesses two annual fairs of
some note — on the 5th of July and the 31st
of October Population in 1821, 1280.

YICH-KENNISH, a small island of the
Hebrides, lying between North Uist and Ben-
becula,

YOHIN, a small river in Dumfries-shire,
tributary to the Nith.

YOCKER, a village with some manufac-
tories, on the borders of the parish of Ren-
frew, on the north bank of the Clyde.

YTHAN or ITHAN, a river in Aber-
deenshire, which rises in the hills of the parish
of Forgue ; after a south-easterly course of
about thirty miles, being augmented about
twelve miles from its mouth by the Gight,
it falls into the sea at the small village of
Newburgh. The parish of Foveran is on its
south bank, and that of Slains on the north at
its estuary. It is navigable for three miles,
as far as Ellon ; and vessels of 100 or 150
tons burden can proceed a mile up. It pos-
sesses a valuable salmon fishery.

ZETLAND ISLES; see Shetland.

APPENDIX.

POPULATION OF THE DIFFERENT PARISHES IN SCOTLAND

ACCORDING TO THE PARLIAMENTARY CENSUS OF

1831.

Total

Abbey St. Bathans
Abbotshall
Abdie

Aberbrothock
Abercorn
Aberdalgie
Aberdeen, New
, Old

Aberdour (Aberdeen)

Aberdour (Fife)

Aberfoyle

Aberlady

Aberlemno

Aberlour

Abernetby (Elgin)

Abernethy (Perth)

Abernyte,

Aboyne and Glentanar

Airly

Airth

Alford

Alloa

Alness • ,

Alva

Alvah

Alves

Alvie

Alyth

Ancrum

Annan .

Anstruther Easter

■ Wester

Anwoth

Applecross

Applegarth

Arbirlot .

Arbuthnot

Ardchattan and Muckairn

Ardclach

Ardersier

Ardnamurchan and Sunart

Population.

122
4206

870
6660
1013

434
32,912
25,107

58,019

1548
1751

660

973

i 1079

1276

1258

1776

254
1163

860
1825

894
6377
1437
1300
1278

945
1092

1454

5033
1007

430

830
2892

999
1086

944
2420
1270
1268
5669

Population.

Ardrossan . .

3494

Arngask

712

Arroquhar . .

559

Asbkirk

597

Assynt . t

3161

Athelstaneford

931

Auchindoir and Kearn

1030

Auchinleck

1662

Auchterarder . .

3182

Auchterderran

1590

Aucbtergaven

. 3417

Auchterhouse

715

A uchterless

; . 1701

Auchtermuchty

3225

Auchtertool • .

527

Auldearn

1613

Avendale

5761

Avoch

1956

Ayr ...

760

Ay ton

1602

Ballantrae

150S

Baldernock . .

805

Balfron

2057

Ballingry

392

Balmaclellan

1013

Balmaghie

1416

Balmerino

1055

Balquhidder

1049

Banchory-Davenick

2588

Banchory- Ternan

. 1972

Banff

3711

Barr

941

Barra

2097

Barrie

1682

Barvas

3011

Bathgate

3593

Beath

921

Bedrule

309

Beith ....

5117

Belhelvie

1615

Bellie

243?

1014

APPENDIX.

Population,

Population.

Bendochy

780

Cathcart . .

2282

Benholm

1441

Cavers

1625

Berwick, North . .

1824

Ceres

2762

Biggar . . ...

1915

Channelkirk

841

Birnie

408

Chapel of Garioch

1873

Birse

1476

Chirnside

1248

Blackford

1918

Clackmannan

4266

Blair-Athole and Strowan

2779

Clatt

535

Blairgowrie

2644

Cleish

681

Blantyre

3005

Closeburn

1680

Boharm

1385

Clunie (Perth)

944

Boleskine and Abertarff

1829

Cluny (Aberdeen)

959

Bolton . .

332

Clyne

1711

Bonhill

3874

Cocksburnpath

1143

Bonkle and Preston

748

Cockpen

2025

Borgue

894

Coldingham

2668

Borrowstounness

2809

Coldstream

2897

Borthwick . .

1473

Collace

730

Bothkennar

905

Collessie

1162

Bothwell

5545

Collington

2232

Botriphmie

721

Colmonell

2212

Bourtie . .

472

Colvend and Southwick

1358

Bowden . . .

1010

Comrie

2622

Bower

. 1615

Contin

2023

Boyndie

1501

Corstorphine

1461

Bracadale

1769

Cortachy and Clova

912

Brechin

6508

Coull , .',.-■

767

Bressay, Barra and Quarff

1699

Covington

521

Broughton, Glenholm and Kilbucho

911

Coylton

. 1389

Buchanan

787

Craig

. 1152

Buittle

1000

Craigie

824

Burntisland

2366

Craignish

892

Crail

.1824

Cabrach

978

Crailing

733

Cadder

3048

Cramond

1984

Caerlavei-ock

1271

Cranshaws

136

Cairney . . . .

1796

Cranston

1030

Calder

• 1184

Cratby

1808

, Mid

1489

Crawford

1850

, West

. 1617

Crawfordjohn

991

Callander . . •>

1909

Crichton

. 1325

Cambuslang

2697

Criech (Fife)

419

Cambusnethan

3824

Criech (Sutherland)

2562

Cameron

1207

Crieff

4786

Campbelltovvn

9472

Crimond

879

Campsie

5109

Cromarty

2901

Cannisbay

2364

Cromdale

3234

Cannoby

2997

Cross, Burness and Lady

1839

Caputh

2303

Crossmichael

1325

Caraldston

252

Croy

1664

Cardross

3596

Cruden

2120

Cargill

1628

Cullen

1593

Carluke

3288

Culross

; 1488

Carmicbael

956

Culsalmond . ..

138

Carmunnock

692

Culter

497

Carmylie

1153

Cults

903

Carnbee

1079

Cumbernauld

3080

Carnock

1202

Cumbrays

894

Carnwath

3503

Cummertrees

, 1407

Camden

1261

Cumnock, Old

2763

Carrington

561

, New

2184

Carsphairn .

542

Cupar-Fife

6473

Carstairs

981

Cupar-Angus

2615

Castletown

2227

Currie

1883

APPENDIX.

1015

Daffly

Dairsie

Dalgetty

Dalkeith

Dallas

Dalmeny

Dairy (Ayr)

Dairy (Kirkcudbright)

DaLymple

Dalserf

Dalton

Dalziel

Dalmellington

Daviot

Daviot and Dunlichty

Deer, Old

, New

Delting i

Den in o

Denny . .

Deskford

Dingwall

Dirleton

Dollar

Dolphington

Dores

Dornoch

Dornock

Douglas

Drainy . .

Dreghorn

Dron

Drumblade

Drummelzier

Drumoak

Drymen

Dryfesdale

Duddingstone

Duffus

Duirinish

Dull

Dumbarney

Dumbarton

Dumblane

Dumfries

Dun

Dunbar

Dunbog

Dundee

Dundonald

Dunfermline

Dunkeld and Dowally

Dunkeld, Little

Dunlop

Dunnet

Dunnichen

Dunning

Dunnotar

Dunoon and Kilmun

Dunrossness

Dunscore

Dunse . .

Dunsyre

Population.
2074

605
1300
5586
1153
1291
3739
1246

964
2680

730
1180
1056

691
1788
4110
3525
2070

383
3843

828

212*
1384

1447

302

1736

3380

752

2542

1296

■688

464

978

223

804

1690

2283

3862

2308

4765

4590

1162

3623

3228

11,606

514

4735

197

45,355

5579

17,068

2037

2867

1043

1906

1513

2045

1852

3143

4405

1488

3469

335

Population.

Dunsdeer

*1488

Durness

1153

Durris

1035

Duthil and Rothiemurchus

1895

Dyce

.

620

Dyke and Moy

.

1438

Dysart

•

7104

Eaglesham

2372

Earlstoun

^

1710

Eastwood

m

6854

Eccles • .

.

1885

Ecclesmachan

m

299

Echt

1030

Eckford

1148

Edderachylis

.

1965

Eddertown

.

1023

Edenkeillie

m

1300

Edinburgh

Canongate

10,175

College Church ' .

4244.

Grey- Friars, Old

4345

, New

4536

High Church

2614

Lady Yester's

2890

New North Church

. 1350

Old Church

1952

St. Andrew's

7339

St. Cuthbert's

70,887

St. George's .

7338

St. Mary's

6587

St. Stephen's

5772

Tolbooth

3256

Tron Church

3009

136,294

North Leith

7416

South Leith

18,439

Total

1162,15(3

Edleston

836

Ednam

,

637

Edrom

1435

Edzell

.

974

Elgin

6130

Ellon

.

2304.

Ely

1029

Errol

.

2992

Erskine

.

973

Eskdalemuir

.

650

Essie and ISevay

.

654

Enrich"

.

530

Evie and Rendall

.

1381

Ewes

.

335

Eyemouth

1181

Fala

,

437

Falkirk

.

12,743

Falkland

2658

Far

2073

* The return here is probably incorrect : the popula-
tion in 18-21 was 1601.

t There is a slight difference in the amount here stated
and the sura of the different parishes added together— it
is so in the Return,

1016

Fearn

Fenwick

Fern

Fernell

Ferry-port-on- Craig

Fettercairn

Fetteresso

Fintray (Aberdeen)

Fintry . (Stirling)

Firth and Stennis

Flisk

Fodderty ..

Foggo

Forbes and Tullynessle

Fordice

Fordoun

Forfar

Forgan

Forgandenny

Forglen

Forgue

Forres

Forteviot

Fortingal

Fossaway and Tullibole

Foulden

Foulis- Wester

Foveran

Fraserburgh

Fyvie

Gairloch

Galashiels

Galston

Gamrie

Gargunnock

Gartly

Garvald

Garvock

Gask

Gigha and Cara

Girthon

Girvan

Gladsmuir

Glammis

Glassford

Glasgow

Blackfriars

High Outer

St. Andrew's

St. David's .

St Enoch's

St. George's

St. James'

St John's

3t. Mungo's

I ron

Barony .

Gorbals

APPENDIX.

Population.

1695

2018

450

582

1529

1637

5109

1046

1059

1200

286

2232

433

778

3364

2238

7949

1090

917

820

2286

3895

624

3067

1576

424

1680

1609

2954

3252

4445
1534

3655

4094

1006

1127

914

473

428

534

1751

6430

1658

1999

1730

1 r

Glass

Glassary or Kilmichael

Glasserton

Glenbervie ,

Total

7569

9137

5923

6268

7921

15,242

8217

11,746

10,295

7529

77,385

35,194

>2,426

932

4054

1194

1248

Glenbucket

Population.
539

Glencairn

2068

Glencorse

652

Glendevon

192

Glenelg .

. ' 2874

Glenholm

259

Glenisla

1129

Glenmuick

2279

Glenorchay

971

Glenshiel

715

Golspie

1149

Gordon

882

Govan

5677

Graitney .

1909

Grange

1492

Greenlaw

1442

Greenock

East Parish

4672

Middle Parish

7371

West Parish

15,528

Total 27571

Guthrie

i 528

Haddington

5883

Halkirk

2847

Hamilton

9513

Harray and Birsay

2387

Harris

3900

Hawick

4970

Heriot

327

Hobkirk

676

Hoddam

1582

Holme

•47

Holywood

1066

Houstoun and Killallan

2745

Hownam

260

Hoy and Graemsay

546

Humbie

875

Huntly

3545

Hutton ;

1099

Hutton and Corrie

860

Inch .

2521

Inchinan

642

Inchture

878

Innerkip

2088

Innerleithen

810

Innerwick

'987

Insch

1338

Inverary

2133

Inverarity

904

Inveravon

2648

Inverbervie .

1*37

Inverchaolain .

596

Inveresk

8961

Inverkeilor

1655

Inverkeithing

3189

Inverkeithny .

589

Inverness .

14 324

Inverury . .

1419

Irvine

5200

* This is probably a typographical error : the return In
1821 was 773.

APPENDIX.

1017

Population.

l<opulation.

Jedburgh

5647

Kilwinning

3772

Johnstone

1234

Kincardine, (Pertn)

2456

Jura and Colonsay

2205

(Ross)

1887

Kincardine o' Neil

1936

Keig

592

Kinclaven •

' 890

Ken-

1084

Kin fauns

732

Keith

4.464

Kingarth

746

Keith-hall and Kinkell

877

King Edward

1966

Kells

1128

Kinghom

2579

Kelso

4939

Kinglassie

938

Kelton

2877

Kingoldrum

444

Kemback

651

Kingsbarns

1023

Kemnay

616

Kingussie

2080

Kenethmont

1131

Kinloch

402

Kenmore

3126

Kinloss

1121

Kennovvay

1721

Kinnaird ,

462

Kettins

1193

Kinneffand Caterline

1006

Kettle

2071

Kinnell

786

Kilbarchan . .

4806

Kinnellar

449

Kilbirny

1541

Kinnettles

547

Kilbrandon and Kilchattan

2833

Kinnoul

2957

Kilbride

2656

Kinross

2917

East

3789

Kin tail

1240

West

1685

Kintore

1184

Kilbueho

353

Kippen

2085

Kilcalmonell and Kilberry

3488

Kirkaldy

5084

Kilchoman

4822

Kirkbean

802

Kilchrenan and DalavicL

1466

Kirkcolm

1896

Kilconquhar

2540

Kirkconnel

mi

Kildalton

3065

Kirkcudbright

3511

Kildonan

257

Kirkden

1039

Kildrummy

678

Kirkgunzeon

652

Kilfinan

2004

Kirkhill

1715

Kilfinichen and Kilviceuen

3819 .

Kirkinner

1514

Killarrow

4898

Kirkintilloch

5888

Killean and Kilchenzie

2866

Kirkliston

2265

Killearn

1206

Kirkmabreck

1779

Killearnan

1479

Kirkmahoe . .

1601

Killin

2002

Kirkmaiden

2051

Kilmadan

648

Kirkmichael, (Dumfries)

1226

Kilmadock or Doune

3752

(Ayr)

2758"

Kilmalcolm • >

1613

(Pcr'h)

1568

Kilmalie

5566

(Banff;

1741

Kilmanivaig

2869

( Cromarty)

.

Kilmany, (Fife)

707

Kirknewton

1445

Kilmarnock

18,093

Kirkoswald

1951

Kilmaronock

999

Kirkowen

1374

Kilmartin

1475

Kirkpatrick- Durham

1487

Kilmaurs

2130

Fleming

1666

Kilmeny, (Argyle)

2207

' Iron gray

912

Kilmorack

2709

Juxta

981

Kilmore and Kilbride

2836

Kirkton

294

Kilmory

3771

Kirkurd

318

Kilmuir

3415

Kirkwall

3721

■p j.

1551

T£-' • •

6425

Kilninian and Kilmore

• ' 4830

-cviiiiemuir •
Knapdale (North)

2583

Kilninver and Kilmelfort

1072

(South)

2137

Kilpatrick New

3090

Knockandow

1497

Old

5879

Knockbain

2139

Kilrenny

1705

Kilspindie

760

Ladykirk

485

Kilsyth

4297

Laggan

1196

Kiltarlity

2715

Lairg

1045

Kiltearn

1605

Lamington and Wandel
6o

382

1018

APPENDIX.

Population.

Population,

Lanark

7672

Madderty

713

Langholm

2676

Mains of Fintry

156

Langton

443

Makerston

326

Larbert

4248

Manor

254

Largo • .

2567

Markinch

4967

Largs

2848

Marnoch

2426

Lasswade .

4252

Maryculter

960

Latheron

7020

Marykirk

. " 2032

Lauder

2063

Marytoun .

419

Laurencekirk

1S86

Mauchline

2232

Lecropt

443

Maxton

462

Legerwood

565

Maybole

6287

Leochel and Cushnie

1077

Mearns

2814

Lerwick

. i 3194

Meigle .

873

Leslie (Aberdeen)

473

Meldrum

1790

Leslie (Fife)

2749

Melrose

4339

LesmahagQ .

6409

Menmuir

871

Lessudden

701

Mertoun

664

Leswalt

2636

Methlick

1439

Lethendy

306

Methven

2714

Lethnot and Navar

401

Middlebie

2107

Leuchars

1869

Midmar

1074

Libberton

773

Minniegaff

1855

Liberton

4063

Minto

481

Liff and Benvie

4217

Mochrum

2105

Lilliesleaf

781

Moffat

. 2221

Linlithgow

4874

Monedie

1028

Linton (Peebles,)

1577

Monifieth

2635

Linton (Roxburgh,)

462

Monikie

1322

Lintrathen

998

Monimail

. 1230

Lismore and Appin

3365

Monivaird

531

Livingstone

1035

Monkland, East

P8S7

Lochalsh .

2433

West

'9580

Lochbroom

4615

Monktown

1818

Lochcarron

2136

Montquhitter

. 2004

Lochgoilhead and Kilmorich

1396

Montrose

12,055

Lochlee

553

Monymusk ,

1011

Lochmaben

2795

Monzie

1195

Lochrutton

750

Moonzie

188

Lochs

3067

Morbattle

1055

Lochwinnoch

4515

Mordington

301

Logie (Stirling,)

1945

Morham

262

Logie (Fife,)

430

Mortlach

2633

Logie Buchan

684

Morton

2149

Coldstone

910

Morven

37

Easter

934

Moulin

2022

Pert

1359

Mouswald

786

Logierait .

3138

Moy and Dalarossie

1089

Longforgan

1638

Muckart

617

Longformacus

425

Muiravonside

1511

Longside

2479

Muirhouse

657

Lonmay

1798

Muirkirk

2816

Loth

2211

Muthill

3234

Loudon

3959

Luce, New

628

Nairn

3266

Old

2180

Neilston . .

8016

Lumphanan

957

Nenthorn

380

Lunan

298

Nesting

2103

Luadie and Foulis-Easter

778

Newabbey

1060

Luss

1181

Newbattle

1882

Lvne and Megget

156

Newburgh

2612

Newburn

418

Murhar, New

1246

Newhills

255?

APPENDIX.

1019

Population.

Pop

ulation.

Newlands

1078

Rhynie and Essie

1018

Newton

2274.

Riccarton . . •

2499

Newton upon Ayr

4020

Roberton

1268

Newtyle

904.

Rogart ...

1805

Nigg (Kincardine)

1684

Ronaldshay South

2354

(Ross)

. 1404

Rosemarkie

1799

Northmaven

2386

Roseneath

825

Rosskeen

2916

Oathlaw

533

Rothes .

1709

Ochiltree

1562

Rothesay

6084

Oldhamstocks

720

Rothiemay

1228

Olrick

1127

Rousay, Egilsbay, Weir, and Enhallow

1262

Ordiquhill

655

Row ....

2032

Ormiston

838

Roxburgh

962

Orphir

996

Rutherglen

5503

Orwell

3005

Ruthven

363

Oxnam

676

Ruthwell

1216

Oyne

796

Rynd

400

Paisley, Burgh

31,460

Saddel and Skipness

2152

Abbey Parish

. 26,006

St. Andrews (Fife)

5621

Panbride

1268

St. Andrews (Orkney) »

889

Parton

824

St. Andrews Lhanbryd

1087

Peebles

2750

St. Cyrus

1598

Pencaitland

1166

St. Fergus

1334

Penningham

3461

St. Leonards

482

Pennycuick

2255

St. Madoes • . .

327

Penpont

1232

St. Martins

1135

Perth

St. Monance • ...

1110

East Church

7188

St. Mungo

791

West Church

4406

St. Ninians

9552

Middle Church

5238

St. Quivox

5289

St. Paul's Church

3184

St. Vigeans

7135

Total

20,016

Saline

1139

Peterculter

1223

Salton

786

Peterhead

6695

Sandsting and Aithsting

2194

Pettinain

461

Sandwick

973

Petty

1826

Sanquhar

3268

Pitsligo

1439

Scone

2268

Pittenweem

1317

Scoonie

2566

Polmont

3210

Selkirk

2833

Polwarth .

288

Shapinshay

809

Port-of-Menteith

1664

Shotts

3220

Port- Glasgow

5192

Skene

1677

Portmoak

1554

Skirling

358

Port- Patrick

2239

Slains

1134

Portree

3441

Slamannan

1093

Premnay

625

Sleat

2957

Prestonkirk

. 1765

Smailholm . . •

628

Prestonpans

2322

Small Isles

1005

Snizort

3487

Queensferry

684

Sorbie

1412

Sorn

1253

Rafford

992

Southdean

839

Rathen

2100

Southend

2120

Ratho

1313

Speymouth

1476

Rathven

6484

Spott

612

Rattray

1362

Sprouston

1384

Rayne

1484

Spynie ;

1121

Reay

2881

Stair

737

Redgorton

1866

Stenton

686

Renfrew

. 2833

Stevenston . »

3544

Rerrick

1635

Stewarton

-503

Rescobie

808

Stirling

'340

J 020

Stitchell and Hume

Stobo

Stoneliouse

Stonykirk . . •

Stornoway

Stow

Strachan

Stracbur

Straiton

Stranraer

Strath

Strathblane

Stratbdon

Stratbmartin

Strathmiglo

Stricben

Strickathrow

Stromness

Stronsay, Eday, and Faray

Swinton

Symington (Ayr)

Symington (Lanark)

Tain

Tannadice

Tarbat

Tarbolton

Tarland and Migvia

Tarves

Tealing

Temple

Terregles

Thurso

Tibbermuir

Tillicoultry

Tingvvall, Weisdale, and Whiteness

Tinwald

Tiree

Tongland • •

Tongue

Torosay

Torpbichen

Torryburn

Torthorwald

Tough

Towie

Tranent

APPENDIX.

Population.

834

Traquair

440

Trinity Gask

2359

Troqueer

2966

Tulliallan

5422

Tundergarth

1448

Turriff

1039

Tweedsmuir

633

Twynholm

1377

Tynron

3329

Tyrie

2962

1033

Udny • .

1683

Uig

855

Uist, North

1940

South . •

1802

Unst

564

Uphall

2832

Urquhart (Elgin)

1827

.. (Ross)

nn(] r)|onmnriefnn

971

884

Urr

489

Urray

3078

Walls (Orkney)

1556

and Sandness (Shetland-)

1809

Walston

2274

Wamphray

1074

Watten ..

2232

Weem

766

Wemyss

1255

Westerkirk

606

Westray

4679

Westrutber '. •

1223

Whitburn

1472

Whitekirk and Tynningham

iS 2797

Whithorn

1220

Whitsome

4453

Whittingham

800

Wick

2030

Wigton

1889

Wilton

. 1307

Wistounand Robertoun

1437

1320
828
728

3620

Yarrow

Yell, North, and Fetlar

South

Yester
Yetholnt

Population.
643
620

4665

3550
530

2307
288
871
493

1613

1309
3041
4603
6890
2909
1254
1019
2864
2942
3098
2768

1067

2143

429

580

1234

1209

5001

642

2032

• 830

2075

1109

2415

664

715

9850

2337

1866

940

1221
1689
1812
1019
1289

INDEX

OF PLACES, PERSONS, &c. NOT INCLUDED IN THE ALPHABETICAL

ARRANGEMENT

Abbeyeraig, 951
Abercairney, 450
Achieson's Haven, 789
Addiston, 879
Advocateship Lord, 343
Affarie, Loch, 587
Aikerness-loch, 869
Aikwood, 414
Ailnach Water, 672
Ainort, Loch, 936
Aird Linn, 934
Airds, 736

Airly Castle, 23, 24
Aithwards, 557
Aldernan Water, 204
Aldham, 82, 1003
Aldwick, 1005
Alf'ord, Battle of, 25
Allan, Port of, 941
Alloway Kirk, 193
Alorburn, 216
Altnaharrovv, 548
Amisfield, 521
Amulree, 108, 203, 252
Anandale's, ( Marquis of) Beef

Stand, 412
Aquhorties College, 595
Arbigland, 807
Arbuthnot, Dr. 49
Ardenerockran Inn, 991
Ardincaple, 538
Ardmore Point, 627
Ardmaddie, 918
Ardoch, 634
Ardwhillary, 748
Argyle, Execution of, 303
Arienas Loch, 791
Arkaig Loch, 587
Armidale, 937
Arnpryor, 953
Arthur's Seat, 201, 271
Ashley, Loch, 185, 587
Askaig, Port, 628
Auchancass Castle, 677
Auchencairn Bay, 885

Auchindrain, 761
Auchindune Castle, 789
Auchlossen, Loch, 750
Auchmuir Bridge, 652, 722
Auchtertyre, 779, 851, 982
Aughton, 1004
Auldcamus, 151
Auldcathy, 183
Auldfield, 868
Auldhame, 82, 1003
Auldhouse Burn, 268
Auld Wife's Lift, 74
Auniston, 582
Aven, Ben, 5
Avon, Loch, 120

Water, 942

Aylort, Loch, 418
Ayr Bank, 67

B.

Baberton House, 178
Bach, 990
Back Water, 597
Badenoch, Wolf of, 409
Badenyon, 497
Bagimont's Boll, 355
Bagusty Strath, 434
Balahulish Slate Quarry, 723
Balbedie Hill, 718
Balbegno, 426
Balbinning, 718
Balbrogy, 177,412
Balcail House, 500
Balclutha of Ossian, 25, 206
Baldoon, 1007
Baldowie, Loch, 73
Baldred's Cradle, 82
Baldridge Colliery, 240
Balfour Castle, 755
Balgavies, Loch, 440
Balgonie Castle, 755
Balgowan, 771
Balgownie, Bridge of, 17
Balhousie, 858

Balintore, 424
Ballagan, Spout of, 101
Ballancrief, 19
Ballangeigh Road, 958

■, the Gude Man

o', 953
Ballantradoch, 982
Ballindalloch Cotton Mills

74, 489
Ballindean, 572
Balloch, 578, 634
Ballochniel, 674
Baltebun, 910
Balveny Castle, 789
Balweary, 656
Bambriech Castle, 437
Bankbrae, 620
Bankton House, 876
Barclosh, 668
Bargeny, Lords of, 74
Barholm, 671
Barmure, 757
Barnbougle Castle, 183
Barnera, Loch, 455
Barns, 836

East, 226

Barnwell, 161
Baron-bridge, 411
Barrel of Butter, 134
Barrhead, 80, 805
Barrisdale, 555
Barrogil Castle, 131
Barry Hill, 763
Barskimming, 750
Batties Den, 833
Battleby, 880

Battock Mount, 443, 644, 977
Bay of Martyrs, 560
Beatoun, Cardinal, 35
— — James, 453
's Mill, 816

Beattie, James, 9, 700
Beg Water, 924
Beindoran, 502
Beinima, 55
Beininturk, 55
Bellcraig, 776

1022

INDEX.

Belmont Castle, 762
Bemerside, 770
Benaburd, 5
Benanambran, 55
Benarty Hill, 653, 718
Ben Aven, 5
Benchonzie, 779, 849
Bencleugh, 147, 819
Beneaton, 55
Bengloa, 849
Ben Laoi, 502
Bennahna, 55
Ben-na-cailich, 936
Benvie, 727, 728, 746
Bessy Bell and Mary Gray,771
Bethelmy Hill, 763
Bield, 836
Big Island, 924
Bighouse, 548

Bay, 880

Bigsetter Voe, 913
Binarty Hill, 653, 718
Bining, West, 809
Birkbill Inn, 935
Birnam Hill, 258
Birse, Licking the, 921
Bishopmill Village, 410
Black Agnes, 221
Black Dwarf, 754
BlackhaU, 900
Black Larg Hill, 211, 215
Black Loch, 939
Blacksbaws, 737
Black- Water, 184. 712
Blainslee, New, 901
Blair, Rev. Robert, 57

Castle, 851, 984

Blairantibert, 910
Blair-Drummond, 851, 982

Moss, 645, 849

Blairgiebeg, 458
Blairs, College of, 5, 544
Blaven Hills, 937
Blednoch Water, 662, 668
Bloody Field, 79
Bluther Water, 171
Blytheswood, 885
Bold Tower, 836
Boece, Hector, 11
Bo' Hall, 1012
Boise, Forest, of, 427
Bona, 588, 806
Bonar Bridge, 411, 550
Bonjedworth, 900
Bonnington, 879
Bonniton Linn, 150, 690, 715
Bored Stone, The, 79
Bothgowan, 589
Bowhill, 414, 1010
Bowling Bay, 129, 637
Braal Castle, 527
Brabster Castle, 131
Bracklin-bridge, 124
Braemar, Castletown of, 503

Braeriach, 5

Brandy, Loch, 440

Branxholm, 415, 532

Branxton, 577

Brawn Burn, 771

Breich, Water, 123, 275, 728,

100?
Bridge End, 628
Bridge of Dee, Battle of, 8
Bridge of Weir, 556, 620
Brisbane House, 695
Broadford, 936, 938
Broadhurst, 527
Broadlee, 900
Broadmeadows, 101 1
Brockloch, 761
Brodick Bay, 55, 621
Broichin Castle, 878
Broomhill, 651
Broughton Water, 457
Brow, 909

Broxmouth, 114, 227, 907
Bruce, Michael, 652
Robert, 56, 147, 195,

242

Sir William, 172

Brunt Hill, 943
Buccleuch, 414
Buchalch, 808
Buchan, Earl of, 200

Countess of, 94

Buchanan, George, 34, 102,

629

House, 951

Bucket Water, 497
Buckholmside, 454
Buck Stane, 117
Burglow, Loch, 91
Burleigh Castle, 718, 826
Burness, 169, 684, 889
Burnet, Bishop Gilbert, 12,

911
Burns, Robert, 29, 71, 217,

256, 674, 758
Burn-weel, 887
Burrowhead, 1004
Bushbum, 639
Bussbay, 712
Byron, Lord, 9, 17

Caberstone, 836
Cademuir, 844
Cadyou, 527

Castle, 61

Cairn, Little, 990
Cairnbulg, 651,879,990
Cairndoon Lead Mine, 630
Cairness House, 747
Cairney Islands, 141
Cairnkinnow, 214, 846
Cairns, 275

Cairntable Hill, 68
Cairnyflappet Castle, 968
Calarnish, 996
Caldan Hill, 79
Calder Iron Works, 23
Caldron-Linn, 188
Caldshiels Hill, 900
Callander House, 951
Calton Hill, 271
Calve Island, 986
Cambus Burn, 631
Cambuskenneth, 1, 951, 955
Cambus- Wallace, 198
Campbell House, 650
Campsie Linn, 134
Campstone Castle, 994
Camustown, 778
Cameron, Richard, 23

Jenny, 26

Cannor Loch, 501
Canty-Bay, 83
Carbet Water, 441
Cardaine, 891
Cardrona, 836, 990
Cardross House, 781
Carglom, Little, 816
Carham, 99
Car Hills, 778
Carlinrig, 145, 692
Cartings Loups, 134
Carmel Water, 596, 634
Carnegie of Findhaven, 443
Carneilar, 979
Carpow Island, 141
Carrick Water, 84
Carron-Bum, 902
Carron- Craig, 892
Carronshore, 106
Carruthers, 771
Carter Fell, 146, 903
Carter Hill, 599
Carterhaugh, 414
Carts Dyke, 509
Cartside Mills, 604
Casken, 910

Cassillis, Countess of, 761
Castle-Duart, 794, 987
Castlefern Water, 497
Castle Finlay, 588

Grant, 587, 787

Gray, 851

Castle Haven Creek, 978
Castle Hill Quarries, 143
Castle HuntJy, 851
Castle Kennedy, 965
Castle Lyon, 746
Castle Menzies, 1001
Castle of Gloom, 191
Castle- Semple, Loch, 741
Castle Sinclair, 1005
Castle Stewart, 496, 814,

865
Castle Tioram, 934
Castle Tirim, 776

INDEX.

1021

Castletown, 820
Castle Wig, 1004
Catfirth Voe, 503, 806
Catrail, 900
Catterline, 651
Caverhill, 836
Cessnock Water, 886
Chapel, 901
Chapeltoun, 122
Chattie Water, 99
Charteris, Colonel, 30
Cheildhells Chapel, 901
Cherrytrees, 1012
Chesterlee, 901
Chesters, Hamlet of, 439
Chesters House, 904
Chisamil Castle, 80
Chisbinny Island, 141
Chisholm, Estates of, 552
Chon, Loch 19, 448
Christ's Kirk, 617
Chur Water, 964
Clachandysart, 736
Clach-na-bane Hill, 644
Clachshank, 964
Clackmae, 901
Clans, badges of, 553
Clarerhouse, 61, 101, 106,

305, 753
Claypotts Castle, 113
Cleghorn, 689
Clerkington, 521
Cliff Loch, 997

Sound, 117,555

Clunai Loch, 789
Clunie, 943
Clunnie Loch, 411
Clutchart-Crag, 2
Coates, East, 125

, West, 125

Cockspart, 900
Coldham Village, 177
Colgrave Sound, 531
College Mains, 982
Colmkill Loch, 937
Colstoun, 521

Pear, 101 1

Compensation Pond, 498
Comyn, Assassination of, 119
Cona Water, 497
Con-Fion, (hill of Fingal)

498
Conglas Water, 77
Connachen Hill, 623
Connel Ferry, 413
Conveth, 639, 700
Cope, Sir John, 157
Copehouse, 900
Cora Linn, 150, 690
Corehouse Falls, 1 50, 7 1 5
Corrah, 668
Correen Hill, 5
Corrie Water, 201, 560
Corryhabbie Hill, 78
Corsincon, 817, 914

Corstoun, 967

Coruisk, 916, 937

Cotts, Loch of, 998

Coull Castle, 160

Court of " the four Burghs,"
585

Cousland, 163, 891

Cowdailly Castle, 137

Cowdenknowes, 266, 701

Craigdarroch Water, 497

Craig- David, 92

Craigdow, 673

Craigend Loch, 807

Craigends, 619

Craigfoodie Hill, 179

Craigforth, 951

Craigiehall, 183

Craigindarroch Hill, 501

Craig Leith, ( Stirlingshire),
29

Craigmiller Castle, 273, 727

Craignethan, 717

Craigowl, 443

Crawford Priory, 173, 430

Cree, Ferry town of, 814

Creachbein, 55

Creich Loch, 937

Crichton, the admirable, birth-
place of, 149

Criffel, 157, 661, 663, 807

Croe, 654

Croiskeworwarre, 194

Cromal, 588

Crombie, 988

Cromlix, 210

Cromwell, Oliver, 70, 227, 299

Cromwell Park, 861, 880

Crook Burn, 150

Crookstane, 539, 701, 805,
964

Cross Water, 749

Crossfield Hill, 997

Crosslee, 556

Crossraguell, 674

Cruachlussa Hill, 55

Crugleton, 941

Cruick Water, 425,441, 769

Cruicks, 583

Culfargie, 424

Culhorn, 965

Cullelo quarry, 431

Culzean, 673, 674

Cumberhead hill, 717

Cumberland, Duke of, 60

Cumberley, 903

Cunningsburgh, 256, 913

D.

Dalarossie, 792
Dalavich, 496, 622
Dalcross, 169

Dalhousie Castle, 152, 273
Dalmahoy, 159, 673, 879
Dalmahoy hill, 271, 282

Dalmean, 411,457
Dalmennock bay, 909
Dalquhurn House, 134
Dalswinton, 671
Dalmally, 502
Dalzell, Sir Thomas, 2
Damhead, 652
Darnaway Castle, 262
Darnley, marriage and death

of, 292
Dawick, Easter, 836
Wester, 836

Dawstane-burn, 900
Dead water, 901
Deal Voe, 187
Dean-burn, 820

Castle, 632

Deanston Cotton- works, 198,

489
Dear water, 164
Deloraine, 414
Demyat hill, 819
Den-Fenella, 426
Deskford, 790
Deuch water, 616, 663
Devil's Beef Stand, 41

Steps, 116

Mill, 188

Dhu, Loch, 19

Dippool Water, 136, 792

Dirrington laws, 746

Dod, 900

Dodcleugh hill, 900

Doine Loch, 76, 981

Dolphingston mill, 599

Don, Loch, 794

Donan, Castle of, 654

Doon hill, 226

Doreholm, 925

Douglas, Bishop Gavin, 19,

251
Douglas family, 96
Dovecote, 800
Dow, Loch, 987
Dowally, 250, 743
Dowl, Loch, 189
Draphane Castle, 717, 806
Dreva, 836

Drimmie, Snobs of, 746
Drimmie house, 746
Drip bridge, 982
Dripping well, 168
Drochil castle, 751, 813, 980
Dronach-haugh, 771
Drumclog, 61, 748
Drumcrieff, 776
Drumcultran, 668
Drumellie loch, 650
Drummore, 581, 876
Drumore bay, 671
Drummond Castle, 802, 850,

851
Drumuachter Forest, 991
Dryburgh Abbey, 701, 901
Dryburn-bridge, 577

102 1

Dr)'grange, 904

bridge. 701, 904

Dryhope castle, 1011
Dry, Loch, 186
Dubbo, 894
Dubh, Loch, 934
Duddingstone house, 183
Duff house, 78
Duich, Loch, 587, 654
Duinicoich hill, 577
Dullan water, 790, 942
Dullater bog, 639
Dulsie bridge, 435
Dumbenan, 558
Dumbuck hill, 638

rock, 206

Dun of Relugas, 787
Dunarduil, 588
Dunaverty castle, 942
Dunbar, Bishop Gavin, of

Aberdeen, 11
Duncans hill, 99, 878
Duncow, 671
Dundaff linn, 150
Dundargue Castle, 18
Dundas Castle, 183
Dundee, Viscount, 540
Dun Dornghil, 261
Dun-dornadilla, 554
Dundrennan Abbey, 885
Duneaton Water, 150, 164
Dunglas, 638
Dunglass, 152, 820

Burn, 92, 516

Dunira, 157, 851
Dunlichty, 792
Dunmore, 24, 951
Dunnemall Castle, 172
Dunnibrissle, 179
Dunnichen Hill, 443
Dunnikier, 656
Dunolly Castle. 819
Dunphail, 787
Dunrobin Castle, 166, 504
Dunrod, 664
Dunsaich Castle, 939
Dunsgrebin, 588
Dunskey Castle, 873
Duntocher, 637
Duntreath Castle, 966
Dupplin Castle, 3
Dunure, Castle of, 65, 761
Durie Iron Foundry, 723
Dum Water, 439
Durran Hill and Loch, 820
Duwhat, 674
Dvvarfie stone, 557

E.

Earlston Burn, 16 1
Earls-seat, Hill, 10 1
Eust-ness, 583
Edgerston, 599, 904

INDEX.

Edinburgh

Academy, Edinburgh, 377
Advocates, Faculty of, 345

Library, 348

First Clerks, 346

Advocateship, Lord, 343
Argyle, Execution of, 202
Associate Synod of original

Seceders, 370
Bagimonts Roll, 355
Banking Houses, 394
Baptists, 371
Bereans, 371
Blackfriars, Monastery of,

355
Blind Asylum, 392
Blue blanket, the, 288
Blyth's Close, 333
Botanic Garden, 380
Bridges, New, 328
Bruntsfield Links, 404
Burgal System, &c. 400
Caledonian Horticultural So.

ciety, 354
Calton-hill, 282, 326
Canal-Basin, 326
Canongate, 338, 405
Castle, 283, 335
Chapel, Broughton Place,

370

Cowgate, 370

Gaelic, 368

. Glenorchy's Lady,

367
Nicholson Street,

Rose Street, 370
St. Georges, 369

St. James', 369

St. John's, 369

St. Paul's, 368, 369

St. Peter's, 368

Charles I. crowned, 297
II. visits Edinburgh,

298
Churches, Canongate, 366

Grey friars, 362

St. Andrew's, 364

St. Cuthbert's, 365

St. George's, 364

St. Giles', 359

St. Mary's, 364

St. Stephen's, 36 1

Trinity College, 361

Tron, 363

Yester's, Lady, 364.

370

Clavei house, 305
Cleanse- the- Causey, 290
Clubs in Edinburgh, 382
College Library, 375

Museum, 374

of Justice, 291,

343
Commissary Court, 45

Edinburgh continued,

Congregation, Lords of the,

292
Constables, High, 401
Conveyances, 400
County- Hall, 403
Cromwell, Oliver, takes

Edinburgh, 299
Cross, Description of the,

328, 329
Customs, Board of, 352
Darien Expedition, 307
Darnley, marriage and death

of, 292
Deaf and Dumb Institution,

392
Dispensaries, 391
Donaldson's Bequest, 387
Drawing Institution, 377
Earthen Mound, 324
Episcopal Church, 368
Estates, Convention of, 305
Exchequer, Court of, 345
Excise Office, 352
Fires, Great, (1824) 316
Friends of the People, 314
Froissart's description of

Edinburgh, 318
Fuel, 399

General Assembly, 371
George IV., Statue of, 398
Glassites, 371
Grassmarket, 333
Green, Captain, riot about,

307
Greenside, Hospital of, 358
Greyfriars, Monastery of,
356

Church-yard, 334

Guard-house, 330
Hamilton, Duke of, 305
Hertford, Earl of, burns

Edinburgh, 291
Highland Society, 354
Holyrood Abbey and Pa-
lace, 337

, Sanctuary of, 341

Hospitals, 384 to 388
Independents, 371
Infirmary, Royal, 390
Insurance Offices, 393
Jails and Bridewell, 402
James VI., 294, 296
Jews' Synagogue, 371
Jock's Lodge, 405
John's Coffee- House, 332
Justiciary, Court of, 345
Kirk-of- Field, 355
Knox, John, House of, 334
Lauderdale, Duke of, 300
Libraries, 383
Lightning, 399
Linen Hall, 335
Literature, 396

INDEX.

1025

Edinburgh continued
Luckenbooths, 330
Lunatic Asylum, 392
Lying-in Hospitals, 391
Lyon Court, 345
Magdalene Asylum, 392
Markets, &c. 398
Mary, Queen, arrival of, 292
Meadows, 404
Medical Lecturers, 375
Melville's Monument, 398
Merchant Company, 401
Merlin's Wynd, 363
Methodists, 371
Mons Meg, 337
Montrose beheaded, 298
Monuments, 397
Moray Grounds, 325
Morning Lectureship, 367
Morton, Earl of, 293
Murray, Earl of, 292

's, Regent, house, 334

National Monument, 397
Nelson's Monument, 397
Netherbow Port, 329
New Jerusalem Temple,

371
Newspapers, 397
New Town, 322, second, 324
No- Popery Riots, 313
North Bridge founded, 321
Observatory and Astrono-
mical Institution, 380
Parliament, riding of Scot-
tish, 309

House, 340

Square, 331

Paul's Work, 356

Penny- Weddings, Curious

enactment anent, 301
Periodical Publications, 396
Physicians, Royal College

of, 381
Piershill Barracks, 405
Pleasance, 357
Plinian Society, 382
Police Establishment, 401
Poor, Management of, 388
Population, 406
Porteous Mob, 301
Portsburgh, Wester and

Easter, 405
Post Office, 350
Provident, Friendly, Socie-
ties, 393
Quakers, 371
Ramsay's, (Allan) House,

333
Rebellion, (1715) 311.

(1745) 312
Regalia of Scotland, 336
Register House, 349
Relief Synod, 371
Repositories, 388

378

Edinburgh continued
Restalrig, 404
Revolution Riots, 304
Rizzio, murder of, 292
Roman Catholic Commun-
ion, 369
Royal Academy, 380

Institution, 353

Society, 381

St. Bernard's Well, 403
St. Catherine of Sienna, 357
St. Leonard's, 357
St. Mary's Chapel, 356
St. Mary Magdalene's Cha-
pel, 356
St. Mary of Placentia, 35T
St. Ninian's Chapel, 357
St. Roque's Chapel, 358
St. Thomas' Hospital, 357
School of Arts, 378
School, City, 378

, Education Society,

378
— — , Episcopal Free, 378

, High, 376

— — , Infant, 378

, Maxwell's, Lady,

378
— — , Sessional, 377

-, Sunday Evening,

, Wightman's 378

Sciennes, 357

Scottish Military and Naval
Academy, 379

Seaforth's Regiment, mu-
tiny of, 313

Session, Court of, 343

Societies in Edinburgh, 382
■ ■ ■ for Religious
Purposes, 383

— — , Benevolent, 389

Society of Arts, 355

Stamp Office, 352

Stewart,Provost, trial of, 313

Stockbridge, 403

Subscription Library, 382

Surgical Hospital, 391

Surgeons, Royal College
of, 376, 381

Synodal and Presbyterial
Court, 372

Tax Office, 35?

Teind Court, 344

Tolbooth, 330

Theatre Royal 394

— — — — Caledonian, 396

Trustees, Board of, 353

Union Riots, 308

Unitarians, 371

UnitedSecession Church,370

University, 293, 372

Water, 399

Weir, Major, House of, 333
6r

Edinburgh continued
Wernerian Society, 381
Writers to the Signet, 346

349
York, Duke of, (James)

301
Edinglassie, 790
Edinkens, 577
Edmonstone, 814
Edmonstone Edge, 581
Edrington, 788
Eidh Water, 124
Eilan-na-Kily, 932, 933
Eilan-Wirrey, 932
Eildon Hall, 904
Eishart Loch, 936
Elan-nan-each, 793
Eilan-nan-muchd, 793
Elcho Castle, 909
Eld-botle, 808
Elderslie, 885

Mills, 601

Elphinston Tower, 989
Elibank Tower, 836
Ellerholme, 924
Elliock House, 914
Ellwick, 923

Elphingstone, Bishop, 10, 11
Elshieshields Castle, 740
Elsridge Hill, 1000
Enard Loch, 895
Enoch Loch, 192
Erchless Castle, 131
Erisa Loch, 636
Erisort Loch, 741
Erochty Water, 101
Errack, Loch, 450
Errock Water, 89
Erskine, Ralph, 245
Esby, 651
Esk Grove, 798
Ethie House, 582
Etterick Pen, 215
Ettleton, 143
Evan Water, 41, 676
Bridge, 775

Eynat Loch, 162

Fairay, 970
Falside Hill, 581
Farnell Parish, 109
Farnua, 668
Farradale, 635
Fascally, 992
Fast Castle, 151
Fat-lips Castle, 976
Fenella Strath, 644
Fenton, 190
Fenzies Loch, 650
Feochan, Loch, 918
Fernat Water, 792

1026

INDEX.

Figget, Lands of, 201

. Burn, 705, 873

Fin Castle, 203
Fingal's Sitting- Place, 873
Fingask Castle, 639
Firmouth Hill, 5
Fishwives Causeway, 202
Fitful Head, 256
Fithie Water, 981
Fittie Loch, 826
Fleet Mound, 550
Fletcher, Andrew, 911
Fleurs, 613, 904
Follart, Loch, 203, 260, 936
Foodie Hill, 179
Foss, 203
Foudland, 5, 577
Foulshiells, 1011
Fountain Hall, 845
Fraoch-Elan, (Isle of Heath-
er) 62, 502
French-man's Rock, 104
Frew, Fords of, 504
Froissart, 180
Fruid Water, 994
Fruin Water, 744
Fulgae Skerry, 924

G.

Gallaberry hill, 211
Galloway house, 457, 941
Gallvale Castle, 102
Galtway, 664
Gameshope, Loch, 977
Gannachy, bridge of, 426
Gardie Water, 148
Garmond, 781
Garrat's Linn, 741
Garrel, 672

Gartmore, 448, 655, 781, 951
Gartness, 628
Gartree, 850
Garvald Foot, 725
Garve Water, 998
Garveilan, 932, 933
Geam, Loch, 934
Geanies, 978
Gelston, 615
Gight, Bog of, 438
Gight Water, 1012
Gillies' Hill, 79
Gilnockie, 692
Girnigoe, 1005
Givel Water, 61
Gladhouse Water, 982
Glamich, 936
Glasgow

Banking Companies, 490

Barony Parish, 471

Church, 472

Barracks, 483

Glasgow continued

Beatoun, James, 453

Benefit Societies, 481

Blythswood Grounds, 467

Bridewell 469

Bridges, 468

Broomielaw, 468

Burgal System, &c. 482

Calton, 467

Carriers, 492

Chapels, 472, 473

Charitable Institutions, 480

Churches, 469—473

Classes for Mechanics, 475

Coaches, 490—493

Courts of Justice, 483

Dripping Aisle, 470

Exchange Buildings, 469

Fairs, 484

Grammar School, 476

High Church, 470

Hospital, Hutchison's 479

Hutchesontown, 467

Infirmary, 469

Insurance Companies, 490

Jail, 469

Lauriestown, 467,

Libraries, Public, 477, 478

Literary Society, 477

Lunatic Asylum, 481

Magdalene Asylum, 481

Maitland Club, 477

Markets, 484

Molendinar Burn, 470

Monuments, 479

Newspapers, 478

Philosophical Society, 477

Police Establishment, 483

Population, 495

Procession of Charity
Schools, 481

Schools, 477

Steam Boats, 492

Engines, 489

Theatres, 469

Town Hall Buildings, 469

Tradestown, 467

Trades-Hall, Buildings, 469

Trade and Manufactures,
485

University, 47S

Anderson's, 474

Water Companies, &c. 484

Watt, James, 488
Glasseter, 654
Glass Water, 84
Glencaple Village, 119
Glendearg, supposed, 26
Gleneagles, 909
Glenelg Kirk, 938
Glenesland Water, 256
Glenfalloch, 744
Glenkill burn, 672
Glenlee Park, 609

Glenorchay, Gallow hill of,

502
Glenormiston, 573
Glenquhargan Craig, 846
Glentyan, 620
Glenorchy, 736
Glisnock Water, 175
Glomach Cascade, 654
Gogar Burn, 879
Goldielands, 532
Gordon, Sir John, execution

of, 7
Gordon Castle, 438, 787
Lodge, 939

Gore Water, 105
Gosford, 19
Govan Water, 760
Gowlan hill, 958
Gowrie House, 858
Grahame, Sir John, 421
Graham, Douglas, 674
Graham's Dyke, 44
Grandtully, 203, 252
Grange, 622
Grange Island, 141
Grange Pans, 137
Gray House, 728
Greenan Castle, 508
Grieston Tower, 836
Griskay Island, 996
Grudie Water, 423
Guard Bridge, 792
Gudeman o' the Bog, 438
Gunsgreen, 418
Gutness Voe, 256
Gylen Castle, 618

H.

Habbie's Howe, 846
Haddo's Hole, 13
Hagrasetter Voe, 817
Haigs of Bemerside, 770
Hailes Quarry, 280
Haining, 920
Halbeath Village, 240

Colliery, 84, 240

Halgreen, 132
Hall-hill, 812
Hamilton, Gavin, 641

, Patrick, 3*

Hangingshaw, 101 1
Happrew Easter, 836
Har Stane, 117
Hard-moor, 448
Harehead Wood, 922
Harifs Dyke, 145, 508
Harlaw, Battle, of, 6
Hartside, 685
Hassendeanburn, 773
Hatton, 879

Castle, 815

Haven, East, 833

Haven, West, 833
Havera, 984
Hawthornden, 273, 697
Hayston, 830, 837
Hedderwick, 441
Hempriggs, 877
Heriot's Shiells, 629
Hermandston, 911
Hermitage Castle, 143
Hertford, Earl of, 703
High Town, 905
Highland Host, 540
Highland Roads, 546
Hillhouse, 836
Hillhousefield, 705
Hilslack, Tower of, 26
Hindhope, 920
Hirsel, 154, 558
Holydean Chapel, 108
Holylee Tower, 836
Holy Loch, 636
Holy- Pool, 434
Holywell-haugh, 683
Home, Rev. John, 57, 710
Homildon-hill, Battle of, 976
Hope- Johnstone of Annandale

212
Hope Burn, 458
Hopetoun, Earl of, 212
Hopetoun House, 2
Horsburgh, Nether, Tower,

836

, Castle, 573, 836

How, 924
How Mire, 581
Hoxa, Howe of, 890
Humble-bumble, 760
Huntingdon, Earl of, 228
Huntington, 523
Hunting Tower, 861, 984
Huntslow 1002
Hurlet West, 828

-, Colliery, 882, 883

Hutton, Dr., 120
Hyndford Bridge, 690

I

InehafFfay, 753

Inch-Brioch, 160

Inchbum, 639

Inch- Cape Rock, 46

Inchdairney, 649

Inchira, 140

Inchmartin, 140

Inchmichael, 140

Inchtower, 572

Indal, Loch, 598, 628

Ingram's Crook, 79

Inish- Connel, 62

Inishail, or Beautiful Island,

62
Innes House, 998

INDEX.

Inver, Loch, 548
Inverallochie, 879
Invercarity Castle, 681
Invergarry House, 499
Invermay, 448, 760
Invermoriston, 411
Invernettie Bay, 862
Invernochtie, 967
Irvin, 675
Island-Devar, 126
Islesburgh Voe, 817

J.

Jean town, 139
Jock's Lodge, 405
Jones, Paul, 667

K.

Kailzie, 573, 990
Kaim of Mathers, 910
Keeshorn, Loch, 895
Keil Water, 694
Keiss bay, 1002
Keith, 557

Cascade of, 412

Keithny Water, 585
Kelburn Castle, 695
Kllisport, Loch, 682
Kelly, Castle, 136

Bridge, 652

Kemp Score, 191
Ken-edar Castle, 647
Kenmure Castle, 609
Kennedy, Bishop, 34, 38
Kenneth III., assassination of,

426
Kepping Burn, 696
Keppoch, 907
Kerrfield Brewery, 844
Kerse House, 507, 951
Kershope Water, 143
Kerston Roads, 145
Kessock Ferry, 590, 593
Kethick Village, 177
Kettietoft, 912
Kilblane, 671
KilbiVnie, 184
Kilcatten Bay, 647
Kilchonan, 450
Kilchurn Castle, 502
Kilcummin, 60
Kildean, 952
Kilkerran Castle, 179
Killiecrankie, Battle of, 540
Killiesmont, 607
Kilmarnock, Lord, 76
Kilmelfort, 636
Kilravock House, 801
Kilspindie, 19

IOi27

Kinblythmont, 582
Kindar, Loch, 807
Kingerloch, 736
Kingledoors, 200
Kingpool, 412
King's Hill, 892

Inch, 884

King's. Seat Hill, 250, 453
Kingston, 190
Kingswood End, 647
Kinnie River, 587
Kinira Bay, 50
Kinkell, 608, C09

Bridge of, 752

Kinaird, 809
Kinnaird Castle, 425
Kinneil, 104
Kinrara, 943
Kippen, King of, 953
Kippenross Walk and Tree,

210
Kirkandrew, 103
Kirkandrews, 132, 412

Bay, 104

Kirkbog, 817
Kirkbost Island, 996
Kirkbride, 675, 760

Church, 761

Kirkcormick, 615
Kirkdale House, 671
Kirk-Domini 81
Kirkforther, 755
Kirkhill Village, 125
Kirklands, 968
Kirkpatricks, Murder of, 119
Kirkstyle, 135
Kirkton, 892

Kirmundy, Nether, 747
Kirty Water, 651
Knaick Water, 801
Knight's Field, 892
Knipe Water, 61
Knock, 619
Knock of Brae Moray, 190s

270
Knockan Linn, 741
Knockdollian Hill, 68
Knock-Dolton, 68
Knockdow Hill, 68
Knockfarril, 189, 588
Knockhill, 77, 78, 507
Knocknavie, 896
Knocknunan Hill, 68
Knox, John, 35, 122, 525
Knoydart, 499
Kuittle, or Cuthil, 876
Kyleaken, 988, 966
Kyle- Rich, 937
Kylesmure, 757

L.

Ladies' Hill, 960

1028

INDEX.

Lady- Wood Edge, 920
Laerton, 582
Lag Bay, 4-96.
LaganalacMe-, 262
Lagamhuilin, 627'
Laggan Bum, 1001
La Mancha, 813
Lambhead, 970
Lamer-Laws, 116
Lammer Island, 223
Lamp Acre, 159
Langnewton, 30
Langside, Battle of, 1 44, 464,

717 -
Lang- Whang, 137
Largenlen, 761
Lathallan, 622
Lauder of the Bass, 82

-— Maggie, 43, 82

Laurieston Castle, 910
Law of Laurieston, 162
Lawdhope, 920
Lawers, 779, 851
Laws Hill, 200
Laxaforth Hill, 997
Leapsteel, 900
Leathan, Loch, 873
Lee House, 690

Penny, 690

Water, 738

Leighton, Bishop, 209
Leiret.Burn, 901
Lemno Water, 441, 818
Lendrum, Battle of, 781
Lennel, 154
Lennie Water, 942
Lennoxlove, or Lethington,

521
Leny, 850

■ Pass of, 1 24, 631

Lenzie, 173, 669
Lethington, 521
Letter Findlay, 742
Leverspool Water, 59
Libo, Loch, 750, 850
Libo-side Hills, 805
Libraries, Itinerating, 520
Lilliard's Edge, 31, 759
Limehouse Water, 123
Lincluden, Church of, 119,

149
Lindean, 453
Lindsay, Sir David, 176
Line, 553
Linns Mill, 671
Lion's Den, 181
Lithgow, William, 689
Lity, Loch, 60
Loch-au-dallag, 554
Lochananougal, 45
Lochend. 710
Lochend, (Kirkcudb.) 807
Locher worth Castle, 105
Lochgellie, 826

Lochiel, 1009
Lochinvar, 184
Lochlin Castle, 424
Loch-na-Caplich, 938
Loch-na-Gaul, 45, 794
Loch-na-Keal, 636, 997
Lochter Water, 997
Lochwarret, 105
Lochwirmoch, 979
Lochwood Castle, 603, 1000
Lockeart Water, 61
Logan of Restalrig, 190, 702

Rev. John, 710

House, 892

Water, 175

Logiebride, 59

Long, Loch, (Kirkcudb.) 186
(Renfrews.) 805

Longcraig Islet, 569
Longhope, 557
Longridge, 1003
Longside Burn, 900
Longueville, the Med Reaver,

30, 646
Look-about-you, 148
Loretto, 797

our Lady of, 796

Loudon, Countess of, 66
Lovat, Lord, 84, 123
Lowrie's Den, 942
Lowther Hills, 211, 215, 411,

687
Loy, Loch, 60
Loyal Hill, 30
Luchar Burn, 936
Luffness, 19

Luichart, Loch, 423, 449
Lundie, 851
Lundin, Standing Stanes of,

694
Lunna, 925
Lurg Hill, 507
Lyon, Loch, and River, 109
Lyra Skerry, 924

M.

Macdonaldof Glenaladale, 499
Macduff, 428

Escape of, 265

's Cross, 428, 810

Macfarquhar's Bed, 168
Machers, the, 1006
M'Lellan of Bomby, 666
M'Neil, Clan, 80
Magdalene Pans, 581
Magnussetter Voe, 925
Mahir-Hanish Bay, 126
Maidenpaps, 122, 900
Maiden Way, 901
Maisley Lime -work, 606
Maisterton, 808
Malcolm Canmore, 242

Malloch, 606
Maltey island, 889
Mansfield, family of, 76
Mar, family of, 27, 28
March, Earl of, 221
Marfield Powdermill, 846
Mark Water, 441
Markie Water, 942
Mars' Wark, 961
Mary's (Queen) Thorn, 144
Mashie Water, 942, 967
Mastertown, 240
Mauldslie, 716
Meadowbank, 673
Meginch, 140
Meikle Folia, 452
Melfort Loch, 827
Melseter House, 557
Melville, 430

Castle, 698

House, 181, 778

Andrew, 35

Menteath of Closeburn, 212
Merecleugh-head, 416
Merkinch, 551, 593
Merkland, 934
Merlin's grave, 200
Merry Men of Moy, 847
Mickle Roe, 924, 925
Middleholm Village, 108
Milburn Tower, 879

Harbour, 453

Milliken House, 604, 620
Milltown, 778, 816
Minnick Water, 8 1 7
Misty Law, 457, 882
Mitchell's Report quoted, 545
Moat Hill, 560
Molendinar Burn, 470
Moil Castle, 938
Monboddo, Lord, 440
Mon ess, Falls of, 19
Monksburn, 516
Monmouth, Duke of, 106, 415
Monreitb. Bay, 496

Miltown of, 496

Monroman Moor, 425, 442
Monteith, Sir John, 206
Montgomery, Family of, 264,

407
Montrose, Marquis of, 540
Mormond, Hill of, 879
Morningside, 161, 985
Morphy Castle, 910
Morrer Loch, 499
Morton House, 774
Mossflat Lands of, 135, 142
Mossgiel, 758
Motherwell, 527
Mount-Benger, 1011
Mounthill, 429
Mount-Stewart, 647
Muckairn, 50
Mugdock Castle, 966

INDEX.

102»

Muir of Orchil, 802
Muiriston Water, 1 22
Muirton House, 595
Mulbuy, Hill of, 62
Mulroy, 907

Mure of Auchendrane, 65
Murthly Castle, 252
Mylnefield, 746

N.

Napier of Merchiston, 628
Nathansthim, 805
Navir, Grind of the, 925
Needslaw, 901
Nemphlar, East, 689
Neptune's Staircase, 129
New Inn, 755, 866
Newark Castle, 1010

Bay, 157, 187

Newbigging, 582, 797
Newbigging, (Roxburghs.)827
New-fort, 763
New Hailes, 581, 800
Newhall, 846, 877
Newhouses, Village of, 79
Newlaw Hill, 885
Newliston, 670
Newport, 425 ; 446
New-Posso, 185, 836, 963
Newton, 622, 805, 901
Newton-don, 963
Niddrie, 726

Castle, 671

Nidpath, 837

Castle 573, 836, 843

Nisbet, 162
Noath Hill, 5, 886
Noblebouse, 813
Notland Castle, 1002
Normans Law, 2
North-Bar, 568
Northfield, 876
Novar, 550
Nundrum, 833
Nunraw, 458

O.

Oakwood, 414, 1010
Obelisks, Antique, 20
Ochiltree, Lord, 100
Odness, 970
Olana Frith Voe, 187
Old-Bar Castle, 568
Oldcraig Castle, 862
Oliver's Mount, 582
Omoa Iron Works, 126
Orbiston 123
Orchard, the, 529
Orkil, 812
Ormiston Tower, 836

Oronsa, Loch, 939
Orton, 896
Otterston Loch, 179
Otterswick, 912
Overbie. 771

P.

Paddock Bower, 720
Panhope bay, 437
Panmure House, 833
Patie-muir, 240
Patie's mill, 814
Patnuck Water, 924
Pavilion, The, 904
Peelfell. 900
Pencross Castle, 171
Penelheugh Hill, 31
Pennersaugh, 771
Pert, 743
Philliphaugh, 414, 836, 921,

1010
Philorth Water, 879
Physgill House, 496
Piershill Barracks, 405
Piltarf, Falls of, 979
Pinkerton Burn, 583
Pinkie, 797, 798

House, 581

Pirn, 837
Pitagowan, 114, 457
Pitcaim, 713
Pitmain, 991

Inn of, 497

Pitmilly, 649
Pittendriech, 808
Plasterer's Inn, 755
Pluscardine Priory, 408, 787
Polkemmet, Village of, 89
Polmadie Coal-work, 882
Polnoon Castle, 264
Pomilion Water, 61
Port-Mahalmack, 978
Port- Mary, 886
Port-na-currach, 560
Portnockie, 880
Port- William, 773
Pouten Burn, 475
Pow Water, 425, 753
Pow-sail Water, 200
Powtrail Water, 150
Presmennan Lake, 947
Prestonfield, 201
Preston Grange, 788
Priest Island, 112
Primrose, 137
Purvis Hill Tower, 836

Q.

Quarff Parish, 109
Queensberry, Dukes of, 199,
261

Queens' Seat, 581
Queenside Loch, 882
Quendal Bay, 925
Quoich Loch, 587
Quothquon Law, 725
Quchullin Hills, 937

R.

Rae Loch, 650
Randal's Field, 79
Randal's Walls, 834
Raney Water, 895
Ranfurly, 619
Raploch 958
Rapness Cliffs, 1002*
Rathillet, 631
Rattray Bay, 166
Ravenscraig, 741

Castle, 834, 89

Ravenskeugh Burn, 516
Ravenswood, supposed, 163
Rebellion 1715, 540

1745, 541

Redcastle, 551, 750
Island, 582

Redhall, 675

Quarry, 280

Redpatrick, 514
Reed Bower, 720
Refirth Voe, 1011
Rcid Swire, 599
Reikan Linn, 741
Rendall, 869, 870
Renton Village, 134
Resolis parish, 167
Restalrig, 404
Retreat, the, 1
Rhind Island, 141
Riddell Horse, 904
Ridden Loch, 265
Ridon Loch, 630
Roman Fort, 580
Rob Roy, 423, 51 1
Robert's Linn, 900
Rochalzie, 412, 924
Roeness Hill, 925
Romanno, 813
Ronas' Hill, 818
Rossie Loch, 429

Priory, 572

Rosyth Castle, 583
Rothesay, death of the Duke

of, 423
Row, the Hole o', 969
Rowadill, 531
Rowardennan, 89
Royston, 703 '

Ruchil Water, 268
Rullion Green, 498
Rumbling Brig, 188
Ru-na-braddan, 938
Ruthven, 984

1030

INDEX.

S.

Sage, Rev. John, 166

St. Baldred, 81, 516

St. Bridget, 675

St. Catherines, 726

St. Clair, 893

St. Clement's Wells, 800,

989
St. Columba, 119, 560
St. Helens, 2
St. John's Clachan, 184
St. Johnstoun, 853
St. Kentigern, 82
St. Magnus Bay, 817, 833
St. Margaret's Hope, 583,

890
St. Mary's Isle, 923
St. Michael, 175
St. Patrick, 637, 675
St. Patrick's Well, 185
St. Ronan's Island, 256
St. Rule, 32
Salmonet, M. de, 202
Samphray, 437, 924
Sandside Bay, 880
Sauchiebog Village, 125
Sauls-seat, 565
Scallasdale, 795
Scalpsie Bay, 418
Scarry Hills, 122
Scarborough Chapel, 599
Scarsough, 588
Scotstarvet House, 146
Scotstown, 885
Scougall, 845, 1004
Scraada, Holes of, 924
Scrabster Roads, 983
Scrape Burn, 185
Scresort Loch, 907 908
Scrogbank, 836
Scrymgeours of Dudhope, 230,

238
Scuir-donald, 970

Rock, 408

Scur-choinich Hill, 55
Scur Dhonuil, 55
Seacliff, 1004
Selkirk, Alexander, 694
Seggieden, 646
Seriden, Loch, 627, 794
Seven-kings'-sons, 168
Shaggie Water, 160, 785
Shambelly, woods of, 807
Shanter, farm of, 674

Tarn o', 71, 674

Sharpe, Archbishop, 35, 78
Shaw's Water Company, 513
Sheriff-hall Colliery, 182
Sinclair-bay, 121
SkaiU, 870

Loch, 869

Skateraw, 577
Skelmorlay, 695
Skibo,55l

Skipness Castle, 910
Slaines Castle, 115, 170
battle of, 170

Slapin Loch, 936
Slatehill Moss, 900
Slia'gaoil Hill, 55
Sligachan Loch, 93G
Smollett, Dr. 103
Snaudoun, 829
Snaid Water, 744
Soleburn Bay, 909
Somerset, Duke of, 703
Spango Water, 1000
Spelvie Loch, 794
Spey Bay, 160
Spitalshiells, lands of, 135
Spittall, 634

Hill, 282

Spottiswood, Archbishop, 35

John, 123

Springfield, 433

Springkell, 676

Springwood Park, 901

Stair, Earl of, 670

Start Point, 912

Stein, 938

Stennis, Water of, 412, 762,

1002
Stevenston, 521
Stewart, Allan, 65
Stewartfield, 186
Stobbs, 904
Stonebyres Fall, 150, 690,

715
Stone Lud, 108
Stoneyhill, 800
Stonriggan Water, 184
Stormont Field, 861
Storr Hill, 938
Stotefieldhead, 198
Strageath, Roman camp at, 801
Straloch, 752
Strathaird, 937
Strathhenry, 713
Strath-lachlan, 964
Strathmore, Earl of, killed,

443
Strathordil, 548
Strathy Water, 424
Street house, 900
Streven Loch, 579
Strom, Lake of, 926
Sumburgh, 915
Sunderland, Hall, 922
Sweetheart A obey, 807
Swein Loch, 682
Swinabbey, 84

Talk islet, 571
Tam o' Shanter, 71, 674
Taniff, Loch, 45
Tanlaw Hill, 412

Tantallan Castle, 81, 95, 1004
Tappielickoch, 741
Tare Hill, 5
Tarras Water, 412
Taymouth Castle, 109, 851,

980
Teel Water, 60
Terrenzean Castle, 175
Thanes Castle, 836
Thankerton, ltfb
Thirlestane, 416

Castle, 699

Thomas the Rhymer, 266
Thomson, James, 31, 270
Thornhill, 645
Thornton, 575
Threave Castle, 142
Tibbers, 199
Till Water, 993
Tin^aBurn, 416
Tinris Castle, 836

Hill, 211, 215

Water, 143

Todhea.1, 784
Tombane, 111
Tom na-heurich, 595
Tonderghie, 1004
Tor, 526
Torness, 970
Torrance, 621
Torridon Loch, 45
Tony, 816
Torsay island, 918
Toskerton, 964
Torsonce, 964
Tow-brig, 741
Tower of Repentance, 1 74
Trafalgar-inn, village, 156
Traill trow, 174
Treag Loc: , 587
Trinity, 812
Trochree CrsJe, 252
Tromie Watjr, 942
Trondrayisl,...! 924
Troup Head, 456, 651
Truim, 684, 942
Tua Loch, 504
Tullimet, braes of, 743
Tulloch, 501, 861
Tiulocbgorum, 203
Turnberry Castle, 673
Turnlea Hill, 125
Tushielaw, 414, 879
Tvvoford, 900

U.

UdrigiU head, 452
Uglass Water, 744
Ulbster, 983
Unich Water, 440
Unish Point, 203
Upsettlington, 683
Urrard House, 630

INDEX.

1031

Vain Castle, 425
Valentia, Province of, 271
Vallafield hill, 997
Valley, the, 960
Vat, the, 501
Vinny Water, 668
Vord Hill, y97

W.

Walkinshaw, 516, 882
Wallace, Sir Wm., 69, 255,
689, 887, 951 ,,. '

's Cave, 142

's Seat, 207

's Tower, 24

>s Tree, 419

Walliford, 581
Walls, 901

Wandel, 685 (v

Warder's Dyke, 216 -
Waidlaw, Bishop, 34 .

Wardlaw Hill, 214, 608
Wark Water, 738
Watch Hill, 774
Watling street, 834, 900, 901
Watt, James, 488, 513
Wells, 904
Weir Island, 899
Wester-cash, Feus of, 968
Westerhall, 865
Westhaven, 441
Westness; 899
West-pans, 581 , 800
Westquarter, 951
Westraw hill, 865
Westwater, 441, 717
Whallbrth Voe, 1011
Whaple, 941
Wheel-causeway, 901
Wheel-church road, 143
Whim, 813

Whitberry Point, 82, 1004
Whitburn, (Wigton) 496
Whitecoombe HiU, 211
Whiteford, 965
Whitehill, 662

Whitehillbrae, 900
Widewall Harbour, 890
Wilstown, 894
Wingate, Ninian, 73
Wisheart, George, 758
Witches' Bridle, 445

Howe, 446

Witherspoon, Dr. 86
Wodrow, Rev: Mr., 268
Wood, Sir Andrew, 694
Woodend Paper Mills, 77 i
Woodfield Park, 648
Woodhead, 452
Woodhill, 917
Woodhouselee, 498
Wreaths Castle, 807
Wynde, Harry, 855

Y.

Yair House, 993
Yardsides, 887
Yoke Hill, 7 74
Yoker Distillery, 884

FINIS.

KDINBUFOH : PKINTED BY A. BAT FOL'R & CO

f-