SUPPLEMENT 
 
 TO THE 
 
 COURT OF SESSION 
 
 GARLAND. 
 
 EDINBURGH: 
 
 THOMAS G. STEVENSON, 
 
 87, PRINCES STREET. 
 M.DCCC.XXXIX. 
 
EDINBURGH : 
 
 PRINTED BY ALEX. LAWRIE & CO. 
 NORTH BANK STREET. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 NOTICE, .... . v 
 
 1. Epigram upon the Report that Mr. Yorke, who moved 
 
 that Strangers should be excluded during the Exami- 
 nation of Evidence concerning the Expedition to the 
 Scheldt, was to be created Lord Dover, 
 
 2. Epigrams on Philip Syng Phisic, M.D. 1792, . . 1 
 
 3. Scriptural Mottos, proposed to be put up in the Inner- 
 
 House, instead of the Creed and Commandments, 
 which were taken down when the Court was repaired, 4 
 
 4. Justice Law, by Sir Walter Scott, Bart. . 5 
 
 5. A Chapter from the Book of Kings, . . 12 
 
 6. Lord Bannatyne's Lion, . . . .14 
 
 7. Joys of the Jury Court, A New Song, ... 15 
 
 8. Sketch of the First Division of the Court of Session in 
 
 1823, . . . . . .17 
 
 9. Hurrah for the Bill and the Franchise so Low ! . 25 
 10. Bill of Suspension Johnnie Gow, Merchant in Montrose, 
 
 against Johnnie Bell, Merchant in Dundee, . 27 
 
 11 Resolutions to be proposed for the Adoption of a United 
 Meeting of Whig-Radicals and Radical-Whigs, in the 
 Grassmarket, to be held this day, Friday, 21st No- 
 vember 1834, near Porteous' Hole, at the old place 
 of Execution, ... .29 
 
 12. Complaint of the Pollysyllable " Otherwise/' against 
 
 Mr. John Horn, Advocate, . . .33 
 
NOTICE. 
 
 | HE present Brochure is intended as a Supple- 
 ment to the COURT or SESSION GARLAND, 
 and contains various articles, chiefly taken 
 from a Manuscript Volume compiled by the 
 late Mr. William Hume or Home, who, for many 
 years of his life, was Clerk to the first Lord Meadow- 
 bank. This collection is rich in satirical effusions, 
 chiefly political, and no inconsiderable portion of its 
 contents has evidently come from the public jour- 
 nals, although a great part seems to be derived 
 either from memory or manuscript copies.* 
 
 The Song of Sir Walter Scott, in which the late 
 Lord Ellenborough is so severely handled, occurs 
 in this manuscript ; it appears never to have been 
 printed previously, and the Editor has much satis- 
 faction in being enabled to present a copy of it to 
 his readers. 
 
 Mr. Hume had also in his possession another 
 manuscript volume, in which many of the Parliament 
 House jeux d'esprit were included ; this, some short 
 
 * The Diamond Beetle Case occurs in the volume, but the 
 variations between the printed and manuscript copies are too un- 
 important to require particular notice. 
 
VI NOTICE. 
 
 time before his demise, was destroyed, a circum- 
 stance much to be regretted, as a gentleman, who had 
 it once in his possession, recollects that it contain- 
 ed several curious pieces, which he has never seen 
 since. 
 
 This opportunity is taken of correcting some 
 mistakes which have crept into the GARLAND ; one 
 of the most important is, the assertion that the 
 Parody on Helvellyn was the joint production of 
 Lords Jeffrey, Cockburn, and Murray, and of John 
 Richardson, Esq. Solicitor, London, whereas it was, 
 with the exception of one line by the former, entirely 
 the composition of the latter gentleman. The error, 
 in giving the Song upon occasion of the dinner in 
 honour of Lord Melville's acquittal to the wrong 
 party, is explained in the notice prefixed to Sir 
 Walter Scott's Song. In both instances the evi- 
 dence of authorship seemed positive and conclu- 
 sive, yet, in both instances, it turned out to be 
 erroneous. 
 
 The Errata, so far as discovered, are enumerated 
 in the note.* It is possible some inaccuracies may 
 still have escaped detection, for it is next to impos- 
 
 * ERRATA. 
 
 Prefatory Notice, p. ix. Note, for Lord Cockburn read Lord 
 Jeffrey. 
 
 P. 47, for tailzie read failzie. 
 
 P. 48, Note, for Thomas Pringle read Andrew Pringle. 
 
 P. 48,* for then in read threw in. 
 
 P. 48,* Note, after the words " inherited from her father/' read 
 " the eldest son and heir of " [the Judge.] 
 
 P. 70, for correspondence read condescendence. 
 
 P- 77, for Commissioners read Commissaries. 
 
 P. 150, Note, for Lord Jeffrey read Lord Medwyn. 
 
NOTICE. Vll 
 
 sible to avoid mistake, and even the most experi- 
 enced eye will at times overlook a blunder, a fact 
 which those acquainted with passing sheets through 
 the press well know. The late worthy and learn- 
 ed Dr. Adam, for many years Rector of the High 
 School, was the author, or rather compiler of 
 many useful works, chiefly of an elementary na- 
 ture. The proof-sheets, after he had corrected them 
 himself, used to be brought by him to the class, 
 and were then put in the hands of the boys, to see if 
 their vigilance could detect error ; strange to say, 
 there was hardly a revise without a blunder, a lucky 
 circumstance for the detecter, who got an hour's play 
 for his acuteness.* The proof used to be given to the 
 dux, and transmitted from boy to boy, frequent- 
 ly the discovery was not made till after it left the 
 duxes form ; and it was not uncommon for some one 
 perhaps twenty below, to point out a blunder that 
 had escaped all those immediately above. Not- 
 withstanding all this care and anxiety, there is not 
 one of the works, and they are many, of this vener- 
 able person, in which clerical mistakes may not be 
 found. This anecdote is mentioned to shew how 
 exceedingly difficult it is, with every precaution in 
 the world, to produce a work altogether immacu- 
 late, although several books have been most errone- 
 ously called so. 
 
 * Dr. Adam taught the fifth,, or Rector's class, (being the one 
 preparatory to College,,) and as the boys at the top had for the 
 most part previously been studying Latin for five years, the 
 mode of revision adopted by the Rector was judicious enough. It 
 was usual to remain two years with the Rector so that in this 
 way boys were generally six years at the High School. 
 
SUPPLEMENT 
 
 TO 
 
 COURT OF SESSION GARLAND. 
 
 i. 
 
 EPIGRAM UPON THE REPORT THAT MR. YORKE, WHO MOVED 
 THAT STRANGERS SHOULD BE EXCLUDED DURING THE EX- 
 AMINATION OF EVIDENCE CONCERNING THE EXPEDITION 
 TO THE SCHELDT, WAS TO BE CREATED LORD DOVER. 
 
 From Mr. Hume's MS. volume This Epigram is from the pen of the Honour- 
 able Henry Erskine. 
 
 Since Yorke's made a Peer by the title of Dover, 
 All fears of Invasion must surely be over ; 
 When he guards our coasts it may well be concluded, 
 We shall always be sure to have strangers excluded. 
 
 II. 
 
 EPIGRAMS ON PHILIP SYNG PHISIC, M.D. 1792. 
 
 From Mr. Hume's MS. volume An American gentleman, from Philadelphia, 
 of the very singular, but somewhat harmonious name of Philip Syng Phisic, 
 having taken out his degree as Doctor of Medicine in 1792, the late Lord 
 Kinnedder then Mr. William Erskine. an accomplished lady, now no more, 
 and an eminent lawyer, afterwards raised to the Bench, in a playful mood 
 wrote the following Epigrams, both on the name and the inauguration. The 
 first five are, it is believed, by the gentleman last alluded to, but the Editor 
 has been unable to assign the remainder to their respective authors. 
 
 Sing Physic, sing Physic, for Philip Syng Phisic, 
 Is dubb'd Dr. Phil for his wonderful skill ; 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO 
 
 Each sick phiz he'll physic, he'll cure every phthsic, 
 Their lips fill will Philip,, with potion and pill. 
 
 2 
 
 If music, as Plato does stoutly maintain, 
 In every disease be a sovereign thing, 
 
 For calming the spirits, and cooling the brain, 
 Be sure, Dr. Phil, when you physic, to sing. 
 
 Lo, Phisic, the College permits thee to work, 
 
 In curing diseases, the greatest of curses, 
 Syng ! Dance then for joy, when thou thinkst at one jerk 
 
 Phisic can empty both stomachs and purses. 
 
 4 
 
 What a fillip to physic, if Philip Syng Phisic 
 His skill and his quill to support her shall bring, 
 
 Of fever and phthsic each Master and Miss sick, 
 Of Syng Phisic's physic the praises shall sing. 
 
 5 
 
 Each gap in the science of physic to fill up, 
 
 Old Phoebus young Philip Syng Phisic bestows ; 
 
 Then the potion and pill of Phil still shall we swill up, 
 And Syng shall be sung at the close of the dose. 
 
 6 
 
 The physic of Philip so sweetly to swill up, 
 
 Health, joy, and delight among mortals shall bring, 
 
 With pap and with praise then still Philip we'll fillip, 
 And loud lo Paeans to Syng ever sing. 
 
 7 
 O Death, since Phil physics, thy triumphs are past, 
 
 And broken thy dart is, and blunt is thy sting ; 
 Phil shall fill us with physic, while physic does last, 
 
 And while Syng Phisic physics, we'll Syng ever sing. 
 
COURT OF SESSION GARLAND. 
 
 8 
 
 To each creature his own still is dearest and sweetest, 
 Mine host loves old stingo,, and honey the bee, 
 
 Then Phisic with physic still Philip shall fillip, 
 And sung by Syng Philip, Phillipics shall be. 
 
 9 
 
 When Philip's great son, as old chroniclers sing, 
 
 Fell sick, to great Philip* for physic he clung, 
 Then Philip with physic so fillip'd the king, 
 
 That physic and Phil by Timotheus were sung. 
 Now broke be Phil's pill-box and Timothy's lyre, 
 
 Let fame to my hero their blazonments bring, 
 Like Philip's great son he can bleed, or the sire 
 
 He can physic like Philip, like Timothy sing. 
 
 10 
 
 Syng Phisic for fees seeks the sick man to physic, 
 But unsought hopes the fee of hzs physic and skill ; 
 
 So ne'er let Phil Phisic of physic the fee seek, 
 Nor the sick man be fee sick of physic and Phil. 
 
 11 
 
 Let physic sing Philip, for Philip Syng Phisic, 
 From plain Philip Phisic is dubb'd Dr. Phil, 
 
 Sing Syng then each patient, while Philip shall physic, 
 And Phisic shall fillip with potion and pill. 
 
 12 
 
 That Apollo the God is of Physic and Song, 
 Each school-boy I think will full readily hollow, 
 
 Then since to his name the same arts do belong, 
 Be Philip Syng Phisic our Magnus Apollo. 
 
 * Alexander's Physician. 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO 
 
 III. 
 
 SCRIPTURAL MOTTOS, PROPOSED TO BE PUT UP IN THE 
 INNER-HOUSE INSTEAD OF THE CREED AND COMMAND- 
 MENTS, WHICH WERE TAKEN DOWN WHEN THE COURT 
 WAS REPAIRED. 
 
 FROM MB. HUME'S MS. Volume. 
 
 LORDS ANKERVILLE* f Mouths have they, but they speak 
 
 AND DuNSINNANE. \ not. 
 
 METHVEN. They say, Ha ! ha ! 
 
 MEADOWBANK. M ? ui} ? sh * U ^ in P arables 
 
 and sayings dark. 
 
 WOODHOUSELEE. My soul is like a weaned child. 
 
 f Then be not like the horse or mule 
 
 ( which do not understand. 
 
 TT /My very bones are waxen old with 
 
 -L J. ERIV1 AiN X). s * 11 i i 
 
 \ roaring all day long. 
 
 LORD JUSTICE-CLERK f I like a bottle am become that in the 
 ESKGROVE. ( heat is set, I am dry and parched. 
 
 (From Heaven's end is his going 
 forth, circling to the end again. 
 Take not the words of truth utterly 
 out of my mouth, O ! Lord. 
 
 * David Ross, Esq. son of David Ross of Inverchasly, passed Advocate 27th 
 July 1751. He obtained, in 1756, the office of Stewart-Depute of Kirkcud- 
 bright ; and on the 3d September 1763, became one of the principal Clerks of 
 Session. On the death of Andrew Pringle of Alemoor, he was raised to the 
 Bench 22d February 1776, upon which occasion he took the title of Ankerville. 
 His Lordship died at his seat of Tarlogie in Ross-shire, 16th August 1805, 
 aged 78. 
 
COURT OF SESSION GARLAND. 
 
 IV. 
 JUSTICE LAW. 
 
 BY SIR WALTER SCOTT, BARONET. 
 
 Sung at the Meeting of Lord Melville's Friends, after his Acquittal. 
 
 IN the volume to which the present brochure is supplemental, 
 the authorship of the Song there inserted upon the Acquittal 
 of Lord Viscount Melville, was, upon authority which at the 
 time could hardly he questioned, assigned to an accomplish- 
 ed gentleman, who, for a series of years, adorned the Scot- 
 ish Bench. Subsequent investigations, however, have proved 
 the assertion to he erroneous, and the verses in question are 
 undoubtedly the production of Lord John Townshend, the 
 grandson of George first Marquis of Townshend, who, although 
 regarded as a Whig during the greater portion of a long life, 
 would, now-a-days, be looked on as a Conservative.* He was 
 born January 19, 1757, and died 25th February 1833, at 
 Brighton, aged 76. He married April 10, 1787, Georgiana- 
 Anne, only daughter of William Poyntz, of Midgham House, 
 Berkshire, Esq. by whom he had issue. 
 
 The song which follows, so far as can be ascertained, has 
 never been printed ; it occurs in Mr. Hume's MS. by whom 
 it is ascribed to Sir Walter Scott, probably correctly, as it is 
 in exact conformity with his political feelings ; and its being 
 suffered to remain in manuscript is easily explained, from 
 the severity with which Lord Ellenborough is treated. The 
 
 * Lord John was a contributor to the Rolliad, and, amongst other portions, he 
 wrote the probationary Ode of Mr. afterwards Sir Nathaniel Wraxall. In the 
 Jockey Club, part 2d, p. 108, there is a satirical account of his Lordship, in 
 which it is remarked, " In literature, Lord John has, in some degree, distin- 
 guished himself, and the public are indebted to him for a few ingenious satirical 
 poems, which have contributed to their mirth and entertainment." 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO 
 
 Editor may also state, that this assertion of Mr. Hume is 
 corroborated by that of a gentleman of high rank in the 
 literary world, who remembers the song, could quote some 
 verses of it, and who, without hesitation, ascribes it to Sir 
 Walter Scott. 
 
 Upon occasion of Lord Melville's impeachment, Lord 
 Ellenborough, who held the high office of Lord Chief Justice 
 of the King's Bench, took a very decided part against the 
 party accused, so much so, that as he was one of the three 
 Peers the other two being Lord Fife and Earl Stanhope 
 who voted Lord Melville guilty of having fraudulently 
 taken ten thousand pounds, or some other large sum or sums 
 of money, placed in his name as Treasurer of the Navy, from 
 the Bank of England, and applied the same to his own use, 
 or to some other corrupt and illegal purpose. His Lordship 
 having spoken with that violence which he sometimes in- 
 dulged in, was answered by the Archbishop of Canterbury, 
 in a temperate but energetic manner, and so effectually, that 
 he attempted no reply. 
 
 In Scotland, excepting with a small minority, Lord Mel- 
 ville was highly popular, nor was this at all remarkable, as 
 his Lordship's partiality for his countrymen was notorious, 
 and numberless persons owe their fortunes and station to his 
 friendly exertions. When the news of the acquittal came to 
 Edinburgh, it was intended that there should be a general 
 illumination. This ebullition of public feeling gave great 
 offence to the " talents," and Mr. John Clerk, then Solicitor- 
 General, determined, at least, to prevent this as far as he 
 could : he waited accordingly on the Chief Magistrate, and 
 delivered to him a written legal opinion, the evident object 
 of which was to terrify the Town-Council, which he certain- 
 ly succeeded in doing ; a copy of it is preserved in Mr. 
 Hume's MS. and is too curious to be omitted in this Collec- 
 tion. 
 
 <c I am of opinion that it is against law, in a city of the 
 
COURT OF SESSION GARLAND. 7 
 
 i( size of Edinburgh, to do anything by which a mob may be 
 " collected, for the purpose of compelling the inhabitants to 
 " illuminate their windows. The meanest person in the 
 " city who attempts to make a mob, or does anything where- 
 *' by a mob may be gathered for the purpose aforesaid, acts 
 " against law, and is not only liable civilly for any damages 
 " that may be done, but may be prosecuted criminally for 
 '* punishment ; and the crime does not depend upon a follow- 
 4k ing mischief, but upon the act by which a danger of mis- 
 " chief is occasioned, whether such mischief actually follow 
 " or not. And if it is illegal, even in mean and ordinary 
 " persons, to do such acts, I conceive it to be much more 
 " culpable, and therefore, more highly punishable, where 
 " such acts are committed by persons in the higher ranks of 
 " life, whose example is more dangerous, and who have not 
 <k the excuse of ignorance. And, most of all, do I hold it 
 c< culpable, when such acts are committed by Magistrates, or 
 " persons in authority. These persons must not only abstain 
 " from such attempts themselves, but they must give no 
 " countenance to them in others, either directly or indirectly, 
 " by connivance. And, on the contrary, it is their duty to 
 " do everything in their power, by exertion of their authority, 
 " and by employing those who are under their orders, to pre- 
 " vent every attempt of the kind.* 
 
 " And, farther, it is against law, in any case, to do any 
 " thing whereby the inhabitants of the city may be compelled 
 " to illuminate their windows against their will. I hold the 
 " breach of the law to be much greater, as it is much more 
 <c dangerous, where the proposed illumination is on account 
 " of an event as to which there is not an union of sentiment. 
 " Where an account arrives of a great victory obtained by 
 " his Majesty's arms, and every person is filled with joy, 
 " there is so little risk of harm from an illumination, that it 
 
 * What would Mr. Clerk have said to the Marquis of Anglesey's " Agitate, 
 agitate, agitate" ? 
 
SUPPLEMENT TO 
 
 " is held to be allowable to give way to the public feeling, 
 " though it is not strictly agreeable to law ; and there is a 
 " sort of sanction by practice, to illuminations on such occa- 
 " sions. And where there is reason to apprehend that the 
 " public mind is very much divided, and that the most oppo- 
 " site feelings possess different parties, the joy of the one 
 <c must not be allowed to break out in anything in which it 
 " may be met by the discontent or displeasure of the other.* 
 " An illumination is a thing of this sort, and if it is allowed 
 " to take place on account of the event, the news of which 
 " has just reached this city, I do not think it will be possible 
 " to prevent mischief. Wherefore, I am clearly of opinion 
 " that the authors, promoters, and persons in authority, who 
 *' connive at an illumination on this occasion, must involve 
 tc themselves in illegal acts, and will be very deeply responsi- 
 " ble for the consequences. 
 
 (Signed) " JOHN CLERK." 
 Edin. 15th June 1806. 
 (Sunday.) 
 
 In consequence of this strongly expressed document, the 
 Magistrates issued a proclamation, in which they stated, that 
 <c information having been received that many of the inhabi- 
 " tants of this city and suburbs are desirous to testify their 
 " joy on the acquittal of Lord Melville, by illuminating their 
 " houses ; but His Majesty's Solicitor-General for Scotland, 
 <c in absence of the Lord Advocate,-)- having communicated to 
 ' the Lord Provost and Magistrates of the city, and Sheriff 
 16 of the county, ' that from information received by him, it 
 " ' appears that there are apprehensions of riot and disturbance 
 " < in the city, in case of an illumination upon the acquittal 
 " c of Lord Melville,' the Lord Provost, Magistrates, and 
 
 * The illumination on the passing of the Reform Bill, for instance, 
 f The Hon. Henry Erskine, M. P. At the subsequent Election he was re- 
 turned Member for the Burghs of Dumfries, &c. 
 
COURT OF SESSION GARLAND. 9 
 
 " Sheriff, however desirous the citizens may be to illuminate 
 t { their houses on the above occasion, do hereby recommend 
 ' to them to abstain from that mode of testifying their joy 
 " at this time. 
 
 " While they congratulate their fellow-citizens in the 
 " honourable acquittal of that distinguished statesman, by 
 " the highest tribunal of the nation, and participate in the 
 " general feeling of happiness on that occasion, they trust 
 " that nothing will be done to injure the property or persons 
 " of individuals, which the Lord Provost, Magistrates, and 
 " Sheriff, are determined to protect." 
 
 Notwithstanding this manifesto, the illumination was pretty 
 general ; and amongst other instances of enthusiasm, may be 
 noticed that of Messrs. Campbell and Young, brewers, who, 
 in the centre of their yard belonging to their premises, placed 
 a butt of their excellent stout, over which was suspended a 
 transparency of the Dundas Arms, under which, was " the 
 friend of his country," the supporters of the Noble Lord 
 entered by the west and retired by the east gate. This con- 
 tinued till near twelve o^clock at night. 
 
 The Magistrates, the Merchant Company, and other bodies, 
 voted congratulatory addresses on the occasion. In short, 
 every possible mark of respect was paid throughout Scotland 
 by the citizens, generally, to their countryman. 
 
 At the dinner given by the friends of Lord Melville in 
 Edinburgh, on June 27, 1806, in the Assembly-Rooms, 
 George Street, upwards of five hundred Noblemen and Gen- 
 tlemen assembled ; and among the company, says the 
 Edinburgh Evening Courant, " we observed the venerable 
 William Law, late Sheriff of East-Lothian, now in his 93d 
 year, and the oldest judge in Britain : He retired at an early 
 period, leaning on his son, while the music, with happy effect, 
 played the Scotish tune of " Auld Langsyne" A number 
 of loyal and appropriate toasts were drank. In the course of 
 the evening many excellent songs were given, among which 
 
10 SUPPLEMENT TO 
 
 we noticed one which was received with loud bursts of ap- 
 plause. The poetry of which was said to come from the 
 muse of " the last lay,"" and was sung with admirable effect 
 by the proprietor of the Ballantyne Press." 
 
 The song alluded to, is that which was privately printed 
 and circulated at the time, and which has been inserted by Mr. 
 Lockhart in his life of Sir Walter, vol. 52, p. 106 ; but as the 
 one that follows has been omitted in all editions of the works 
 of Sir Walter, the Editor has much pleasure in including it 
 in the present collection. 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 Come listen, brave boys, to my story so merry, 
 'Tis of the Archbishop of fair Canterbury 
 How the mitre did keep the full bottom in awe, 
 And the Gospel taught manners and justice to Law. 
 
 2 
 
 A great lawyer stood up in a very great hall, 
 Some folks call'd him Justice, some Law did him call j 
 But neither like Law, nor like Justice spoke he, 
 But some foul mouth'd attorney who rail'd for his fee. 
 
 3 
 
 Then up rose this prelate so rev'rend and wise, 
 
 And expressed to their Lordships regret and surprise, 
 
 " You should ne'er till you try folks, hang, quarter, or draw," 
 
 Quoth the head of the Church to the head of the Law. 
 
 Then Lauderdale gaz'd on Law's tablet of brass, 
 
 And beheld it as blank as the brow of an ass. 
 
 Quoth his Lordship " next day he'll reply and content us,' 
 
 But the lawyer from thenceforth was non est inventus. 
 
COURT OF SESSION GARLAND. 11 
 
 5 
 
 Whitbread's* lost all his hops of conviction we hear, 
 But got plenty of wormwood to bitter his beer ;t 
 For when some home questions by Plomer were put, 
 The brewer of porter turned out a mere butt.J 
 
 * Whitbread was the chief manager on behalf of the Commons in the impeach- 
 ment. He made a long oration both in opening and closing. The late Right 
 Honourable George Canning gave the following versified speech of the patriotic 
 brewer. 
 
 I'm like Archimedes for science and skill, 
 
 I'm like a little maid running up a hill ; 
 
 And to interest the hearts of the fair, be it said, 
 
 I'm like a young lady just bringing to bed. 
 
 If you ask why the eleventh of June, I remember 
 
 So much better than April, or March, or November, 
 
 "Tis because on that day 'tis with pride, I assure you, 
 
 My sainted progenitor first took to the brewery : 
 
 That day on the morn he began to brew beer, 
 
 At night he commenc'd his connubial career, 
 
 And my sainted mama having scap'd a miscarriage, 
 
 You see here before you the fruit of that marriage. 
 
 On that day too he died, having finish'd his summing, 
 
 And the angels all cried, here's old Whitbread a-coming. 
 
 That day then I hail with a smile or a sigh 
 
 For his beer with an e, or his beer with an i. 
 
 And on that day each year, in the hottest of weather, 
 
 The whole Whitbread family dine all together. 
 
 My Lords, while the beams of this hall do support 
 
 The roof that o'ershades this respectable Court, 
 
 While the light of the sky pours in at those windows, 
 
 Where Hastings was tried for oppressing the Hindoos ; 
 
 My name, like my sires, now illustrious shines 
 
 Emblazoned on journals, like his upon signs. 
 
 f Whitbread with his hops of conviction all blasted, 
 
 Drinks wormwood more bitter than his quassia ere tasted. 
 
 J The following Epigram on Whitbread is tolerably good : 
 
 Sam Whitbread, the brewer, for many a year, 
 Has favoured the public with speeches and beer ; 
 Till in his own trap, like other knaves falling, 
 His speeches have poisoned his fame past recalling. 
 The work to complete, and his pains to make shorter, 
 Inspire him, good Heaven, to drink his own porter. 
 
12 SUPPLEMENT TO 
 
 6 
 
 If a tradesman crave pay ere his work it is done, 
 Or committee ask thanks ere their cause it is won ; 
 You may judge of them both in the very same way, 
 And believe both your money and thanks thrown away. 
 
 7 
 
 The party now find themselves in a fine stew, 
 
 But must be contented to drink as they brew ; 
 
 For we've found out the difference 'twixt merit and jaw, 
 
 And the damnable odds between Justice and Law. 
 
 8 
 
 Then here's to this prelate of wisdom and fame ; 
 Tho' true Presbyterians, we'll drink to his name, 
 Long ! Long ! May he live to teach prejudice awe; 
 And since Melville's got justice, the devil take Law. 
 
 V. 
 
 A CHAPTER FROM THE BOOK OF KINGS. 
 
 In Mr. Hume's Collection, there is inserted a printed broadside, relative to the 
 change of Administration, when the " Talents " went out, and their Oppo- 
 nents came in. It is very clever, so much so, that at the risk of its being of 
 foreign growth, the Editor has given it a place in the present volume. 
 
 1. Now GEORGE the Third was twenty and two years old 
 when he began to reign, and he reigned King over all Eng- 
 land forty and seven years. 
 
 2. And he did that which was right in the sight of the 
 Lord, and served the Lord his God, with all his heart : so 
 that before him was no King like unto him. 
 
 3. And it came to pass in those days, that the servants of 
 the King, the wise men of the land, even " all the Talents 
 thereof? came in, and stood before the King, and said, 
 " O King ! live for ever." 
 
COURT OF SESSION GARLAND. 13 
 
 4. " May it please thee, O King ! to extend to certain of 
 thy subjects throughout thy dominions, those gracious indul- 
 gences which others of their brethren possess ;" and the 
 King answered, and said, " Let it be so* 
 
 5. Then the wise men of the land, even " all the Talents 
 thereof" communed among themselves, saying, " Notwith- 
 standing our Lord the King has granted us this our peti- 
 tion^ nevertheless it sufficeth us not" 
 
 6. And they returned unto the King, and said, " Be it 
 known unto thee, O King ! that there exist certain Statutes 
 and Ordinances, instituted in the darker ages, and ordained 
 in times of ignorance and superstition, when thy forefathers 
 were called to the Throne of these Kingdoms : 
 
 7. " Which Statutes and Ordinances, may it please thee, 
 O King ! to annul and destroy ; to the end that those may 
 be satisfied who were never yet contented, and that those 
 who were ever disaffected may be made loyal." 
 
 8. And the King answered, and said, " Not so. We can- 
 not dispense with the oath which we have taken; neither 
 will we, that the bulwarks of our Throne be removed, nor 
 the fundamental laws of our Kingdom changed." 
 
 9. Whereupon the servants of the King, the wise men of 
 the land, even " all the Talents thereof" were full of fury; 
 and the form of their visage and of their language was alter- 
 ed, and they said, " O King ! we are not careful to please 
 thee in this matter : 
 
 10. " For we have bound ourselves by an oath, and stand 
 pledged to each other, that we will not cease to offer this 
 counsel unto thee, day by day continually, until all these 
 things shall be accomplished." 
 
 11. Then the King's anger kindled, and he became ex- 
 ceedingly wroth, and he drove those his servants, the wise 
 men of the land, even " all the Talents thereof? from his 
 presence, and from his Councils, and they went out and 
 wept bitterly. 
 
 12. And they went unto the two Houses of Assembly, 
 
14 SUPPLEMENT TO 
 
 the great Council of the Nation, and made grievous charges 
 against their Lord, the King; but the Council regarded 
 them not. 
 
 13. And they appealed unto the People, and the People 
 regarded them not, hut glorified the King, and held " all the 
 Talents" in exceeding great derision. 
 
 14. So that they became a laughing-stock and a bye-word 
 throughout all the land of England, in so much that they 
 are called the " lost sheep? the " unprofitable Talents? 
 even unto this day." 
 
 15. Now the rest of the acts of the wise men, even of 
 " all the Talents? are they not known in the land of Tur- 
 key and of Egypt ? And are they not written in the Books 
 of Folly and Incapacity ? 
 
 VI. 
 LORD BANNATYNE'S LION. 
 
 The exact degree of truth in the following Dialogue the Editor has been unable 
 to ascertain. It is said that the Court had been engaged in the discussion of 
 a Bill of Suspension and Interdict, relative to certain caravans with wild 
 beasts on the Mound ; in the course of which Lord Bannatyne fell asleep. 
 This cause having been disposed of, the next was called, which related to a 
 right of lien over certain goods, when the learned Lord, who continued dozing, 
 having heard the word lien, pronounced emphatically anglice, not gallice, by 
 Lord Meadowbank, made the mistake here recorded. 
 
 MEADOWBANK. I am very clear that there was a lien 
 upon this property. 
 
 BANNATYNE, (half asleep.) Certainly. But it ought to 
 be chained, beca-a-se,* &c. 
 
 BALMUTO. My Lord, it's no a livin' lion^ its the Latin 
 word lien. 
 
 HERMAND. No, Sir, The word is French. 
 
 BALMUTO. I thought it was Latin, /or its in Italics. 
 
 * The way in which his Lordship usually pronounced " because." 
 
COURT OF SESSION GARLAND. 15 
 
 VII. 
 JOYS OF THE JURY COURT. 
 
 A NEW SONG. 
 
 Am. " When the heart of a man is oppressed with care." 
 
 Written by a professional gentleman, some of whose lucubrations have already 
 enriched this miscellany, shortly after the institution of the Jury Court, which 
 was compared to the Garden of Eden, because it was made for Adam ; at 
 least, such was the popular scandal on the subject. JJpwards of twenty years 
 experience has failed to convince the people of Scotland of the beauty and 
 excellence of trial by jury, in civil causes ; and we believe, with few excep- 
 tions, all parties in this country, whether conservative, whig, or radical, would 
 cheerfully concur in its abrogation. It appears to be a strange popular notion, 
 that a dozen men usually illiterate, are better qualified for analyzing intri- 
 cate evidence, reconciling contrary proof, or assessing damages, than persons 
 having the education of gentlemen, who from their youth have been engaged 
 in studying the laws of their country. As it is, the jury must take the law 
 from the judge, and if they do not, then a new trial follows, to the benefit of 
 no one but those employed professionally in the cause. Gases certainly may 
 be figured where trial by a special jury would be expedient ; but these are of 
 rare occurrence, compared with the great mass which might be settled at one- 
 fourth of the expense in the Court of Session. The most vexatious, however, 
 of jury cases, are those which, being in value above forty pounds, have been 
 advocated from the inferior Courts under the Statute, to be tried by Jury. In 
 this way, no poor man dare venture to sue before the Sheriff in any action 
 where there might be a proof, without the chance of being, nolens volens, 
 dragged into the Jury Court at a most enormous expense. If Jury trial is 
 such a fine thing, why not make it cheap ? Why not allow subordinate Judges 
 to summon Juries, if they think a civil cause ought to be heard that way ? 
 
 1 
 
 When a man has money and time to spare, 
 To the Jury- Court let him straight repair ; 
 
 'Tis the place of all places 
 
 For settling of cases, 
 'Tis a damnable shame that it has not a share. 
 
16 
 
 SUPPLEMENT TO 
 
 2 
 
 The Court of Session is somewhat lame, 
 The Court of Exchequer is much the same, 
 
 But our trial by Jury, 
 
 I can assure you, 
 Wants nothing at all except a good name. 
 
 3 
 
 The Law of the Jury- Court no one knows, 
 
 It has rules for its friends, and rules for its foes ; 
 
 Old HUM, if you'l ax him, 
 
 Has no settled maxim, 
 But to put down these, and to favour those. 
 
 4 
 
 'Tis a Court of a most enlightening kind, 
 As those who repair to it surely find ; 
 
 When we manage them rightly, 
 
 They lightly, lightly, 
 Leave the Court and their purses behind. 
 
 5 
 
 'Tis a blessing not to the Suitors alone, 
 But to the Judges every one, 
 
 For these great sages 
 
 Have much better wages, 
 Without working for them as we have done. 
 
 6 
 
 'Tis a Court as pure as unsunned snow, 
 A Court above all Courts below ; 
 
 'Tis the glory of glories, 
 
 The scourge of the Tories, 
 And, please Heaven, it shall continue so. 
 
COURT OF SESSION GARLAND. 17 
 
 VIII. 
 
 SKETCH OF THE FIRST DIVISION OF THE COURT OF SESSION 
 
 IN 1823. 
 
 From the Edinburgh Literary Gazette or Weekly Cyclopaedia, Saturday, March 
 8, 1823, No. 5, and probably written by the Editor, Mr. Parry. The in- 
 tention avowed of giving a continuation containing Sketches of the Scotish 
 Bar, seems never to have been carried into effect. The First Division now 
 sits in a very handsome Court, recently finished, the picture of the old one is 
 tolerably correct. 
 
 THE interior of the First Division of the Court of Session 
 has nothing to boast of ; it is a small confined apartment, 
 with a gallery only fit for the accommodation of fiddlers, 
 to which the segment of a circle, within which the Judges 
 sit, forms an exact counterpart. It is perhaps unnecessary 
 to mention, that immediately beneath them, the Principal 
 Clerks of Session have their seats, and the Crown Lawyers 
 also, on the occurrence of criminal procedure. The body of 
 the chamber is furnished with seats, precisely of the same 
 form, and in the same manner, as those which are to be met 
 with in country churches. They are of an oblong form, 
 with a raised frontispiece of about six inches superficies at 
 the uppermost part, and of such a breadth at the base, as 
 may permit you to sit, with your knees doubled into the 
 form of an Z. A wooden railing of the most clumsy and 
 unseemly workmanship is carried down through the centre of 
 these incommodious cribs, dividing them into two equal parts. 
 On its first formation, none but gowned and wigged gentle- 
 men were entitled to a seat on the right hand of the Judges,* 
 
 * In 1771, the judges, according to the following notice in the Edinburgh 
 Evening Courant, (June 13,) put on, summer robes, an arrangement which 
 does not seem to have been adopted by their successors, as they now wear the 
 same robes in winter as in summer. 
 
 " Yesterday, the Court of Session sat down for the summer : Their Lord- 
 " ships appeared for the first time in elegant new summer gowns, the purple 
 " part of which is of a thin woollen stuff, and the red part is satin. It is re- 
 
18 SUPPLEMENT TO 
 
 while the Writers to the Signet were, with great propriety^ 
 accommodated on the left ; but a perfect revolution has taken 
 place in this arrangement, and all persons, I think, may now 
 enter, and take their seats on either side, provided they do not 
 interfere with those set apart for the accommodation of the 
 College of Justice. Their distinguishing marks were former- 
 ly pointed out. 
 
 There are five Judges in this Division, as well as in the 
 Second, and the Magister primus Dominorum, in propria 
 persona, here holds Court. He sits in an arm chair, in the 
 centre of the groupe, immediately before a statue of the late 
 President Blair, which is placed within a niche in the wall, 
 only fit for the reception of an eight-day clock. 
 
 On taking my position in the front of the gallery before 
 mentioned, I found that the Judges had not yet made their 
 entree. The printed pleadings in the different causes, which 
 were to be heard during the course of the day, had, however, 
 been placed before their chairs, by their clerks. Several of 
 these persons were talking together within the sacred circle. 
 I never beheld a set of men, where the appearance of culti- 
 vated intellect was more strikingly deficient, They seem to 
 have an air of vulgarity, an aspect of selfishness, which, to 
 my eyes, is most revolting. The very cut of their coats is 
 of a mechanical nature, the dulness of their looks, one might 
 suppose to be a prototype of their understandings the vacan- 
 cy of their features to be an evidence of their employments. 
 Yet all these observations are but deductions from appear- 
 ances, and they are notoriously deceitful, they are, at least, 
 
 ' markable, that although the judges in England have so long had both sum- 
 ' mer and winter gowns, the Lords of Session have, from the institution of the 
 ' College of Justice in 1530 to the present year, which is no less than two 
 { hundred and forty years, continued to sit, both in the summer and winter 
 ( Session, in their dark close and velvet gowns. The variation now introduced, 
 ' by which a due regard is had to the different seasons, is certainly a consider- 
 ' able improvement in point of convenience, as well as a pretty variety." The 
 pomposity of this announcement of their Lordships' change of garment is amus- 
 ing enough. 
 
COURT OF SESSION GARLAND. 19 
 
 generally so ; and in regard to the clerks of the Judges of 
 our Supreme Court, must be so. Because it would be an 
 absurdity to suppose, that the representatives of this nation 
 in the House of Commons would tolerate the payment of 
 several hundreds a-year, to men of such qualities as their ap- 
 pearances impressed upon my mind. Nor would the Judges 
 themselves retain about their persons men of other than cul- 
 tivated, upright, and honourable minds. But this is a digres- 
 sion. Besides the gentlemen of whom I have just been writ- 
 ing, there were two other persons, lounging within the bench, 
 who evidently belonged to a different tribe. They carried 
 large maces in their hands, and wore gowns, which the 
 former wear not. They, however, shewed all the " circum- 
 stances of office," looked the audience in the face with the 
 most contemptuous stare, enjoyed their joke, and leaning 
 their backs against the wall, exchanged snuff-boxes, and 
 wiped their noses, with all the hauteur and elegance of their 
 masters. One of the twain, who by the bye, is a most re- 
 spectable kind of a man, and a serjeant in the Sharpshooters 
 to boot, (" He and I went through the Castle campaign 
 together,") observed a certain Noble Marquis invading the 
 hallowed precincts of the Outer House, with spurs upon his 
 calces, to the great danger and detriment of many robes, that 
 floated in sweeping elegance along the floor. This guardian 
 of legal security instantly seized upon the person of nobility, 
 and literally turned him out. My friend, who told me the 
 anecdote, waggishly observed, that this was not exactly "Sua- 
 viter in modo, but certainly fortiter in re" 
 
 Hang these jokes, they always carry one adrift from the 
 thread of his story. To my purpose, then. This valiant 
 macer shouldered his mace of a sudden, as if the Sheriff 1 had 
 given the word of command, and disappeared through a door 
 on the left of the apartment. In a few minutes he returned, 
 in solemn gait, and behind him came their Lordships. 
 
 The buzz which prevailed in the Court, previous to their 
 entrance, and which produced a sound exactly like that which 
 
20 SUPPLEMENT TO 
 
 issues from a hive of bees, was instantly hushed. All was 
 silent as death, save the rustling hum of printed papers, turned 
 over by the hands of men in eager expectation of debate, 
 which to many, must have given " dreadful note of prepara- 
 tion." Suddenly the auditors uncovered and started on their 
 feet. Lnaturally enough prepared for " God save the King," 
 but it came not the word was, " as you were." Every 
 thing was now prepared for the " onslaught," as Sir Dugald 
 would have termed it, and I, in like manner, prepared my 
 instruments, by extracting from my pocket a small memo- 
 randum book and pencil. I had begun to make my observa- 
 tions upon the Judge who sat upon the extreme left, and had 
 even got the length of " fine eye aquiline nose demon- 
 strative brow expressive mouth " when a shrill pipe broke 
 through my reveries, with the exclamation of, " Take off 
 your hats in the gallery." Little dreaming that I was the 
 cause of his vociferation, I stared around, in order to dis- 
 cover the offender, when observing all eyes turned on my- 
 self, I instinctively put my hand upon my occiput, and then, 
 to my great confusion, discovered that my hat was there. I 
 pulled it off with extraordinary celerity, and when my senses 
 had recovered their usual level of conception, turned my eye 
 towards the person from whom the rebuke proceeded. He 
 was a red-faced man, of inferior altitude, and " spectacles on 
 nose ;" when I say a red face, the expression is imperfect, 
 because it was not merely red, but absolutely fiery, and the 
 hairs of his head, in unison with the imperious characteristic 
 of his countenance, stood directly upright, in stiff greyish 
 bristles. The business of the day commenced. Petitions 
 on petitions were read (at least the prayers of them), and 
 ordered to be answered. Notes, too, upon notes, followed, 
 in numerous progression, and " amands " were cancelled on 
 the causes shown, and time given to prepare pleadings. Then 
 Cessios came, and sympathetic tales of misfortunes in trade 
 having fallen on the heads of honest and industrious mer- 
 chants, were related, that harrowed the very soul with com- 
 
COURT OF SESSION GARLAND. 21 
 
 miseration ; but nothing of greater interest occurred no dis- 
 play of legal eloquence was given no opportunity afforded. 
 I began to wax a little impatient from disappointment, par- 
 ticularly as I was ignorant of the names of all the Judges, 
 except the Lord President, whom I knew, because we had 
 been brothers in arms, ventured life and limb together for 
 our country, and charged the " common cry of curs," at the 
 point of our invincible bayonets, down Elder Street, in com- 
 pany, on the ever memorable night of the illumination for 
 her late most illustrious Majesty. Eheu ! ! My vexation 
 was, however, soon absorbed by the operations of the joyous 
 organs, on hearing a well-known voice enquire whether 
 " they were done with the single Bills yet ?" I expressed 
 my inability to answer the question, by ignorance of his 
 meaning. " What ! not know the Single Bills, man ? well, 
 I'll tell you. They consist chiefly of Petitions, written or 
 printed, and Notes to force in pleadings, when the period 
 allowed by the Court for their lodgment is expired ; next 
 follows (as you will see), the Summar-rolL, which chiefly 
 consists of Petitions and Complaints from the freeholders of 
 Counties, against the admission of interlopers to their roll ; 
 of Petitions from the Bill-Chamber, &c. &c. ' Last stage of 
 all,' the Short-roll is called, which consists of cases ripe for 
 advising, on Petitions and Answers, or the like not know 
 this ? why every barber's clerk in Auld Reikie knows it. 
 Good, my Ldrd, remember." I promised obedience, but as 
 I knew that my friend was particularly partial to locomotion, 
 deemed it wise to gain what information I could of him, 
 concerning the Judges. " Will you favour me with your 
 ear a short time." I therefore asked " I wish you to answer 
 me a few questions, which I will put to you concerning their 
 Lordships on the Bench." " Oh, with all my heart only 
 don't be tedious, for to-morrow is teind-day, and I have a 
 clerical friend waiting me in the Outer-House, to be intro- 
 duced to my friend in the Hessians." I again pledged obe- 
 dience, and proceeded systematically to work, by inquiring 
 
22 SUPPLEMENT TO 
 
 first, " Who is that dignified, handsome man, with the spark- 
 ling eyes, compressed mouth, and classical features, on our 
 left ?" " That is Lord Balgray, the soundest-headed man 
 on the Bench. He forms his opinion on a case after study 
 and deliberation, comes prepared to his seat, and all the 
 cunning of the Bar cannot drive him from the right path. 
 His papers are his heacons, and by them he steers his course 
 safe and sound, through all the quicksands and shallows that 
 meet him in his voyage to justice. He stands by himself 
 and thinks for himself; and as he is always ready, generally 
 delivers his opinion first, which he does firmly and distinctly. 
 One of our great guns, you must know, has a habit of shaking 
 his head, when he, forsooth, thinks his superior at fault. I 
 have seen him do so, when Lord Balgray was speaking. 
 The only effect his disapprobation had upon his Lordship 
 was this, it made him speak more forcibly and equivocally. 
 He is not to be shaken." " Why, this is praise with a ven- 
 geance, you are in the skies, my friend, this is absolute 
 flattery." " Not a whit, man not a whit, all true as the 
 Pope."* " Well, I am glad to hear it. Now for the second ; 
 speaking from first impressions, I should say he was an irri- 
 table person one that frets at straws." "It may be so 
 but you are mistaken, friend ; although it is difficult to say 
 what he is, because his bodily tackle is somewhat the worse 
 for service. He was a shrewd man, that is certain ; a straight- 
 forward, fearless man in his public, and amiable in his private 
 life. Old age was honoured, you know, in Lacedsemon; 
 therefore punctum sat.'^ Be it so I am content. The 
 third I know you need not trouble yourself to describe him. 
 I already know him to be one of the best hearted men alive, 
 though somewhat warm ; the latter is a quality almost in- 
 
 * David Robertson Williamson Ewart, Lord Balgray, was raised to the Bench 
 in 1811, and died at his house in George's Square, Edinburgh, Feb. 3, 1837. 
 His Lordship married Miss Robertson of Lawers, but by her had no issue. The 
 picture given above is very accurate, for he was a fine looking man, and a most 
 able lawyer. 
 
 Lord Hermand. 
 
COURT OF SESSION GARLAND. 23 
 
 separable from the former. What say you of him as a Judge ?" 
 " Just what you say of him as a man ; as a Justice-Clerk, 
 4 take him all in all, we ne'er shall look upon his like again.' 
 I think it was a pity he resigned that situation ; he was so 
 completely calculated, by the fervid piety of his eloquence, to 
 make an impression, in his address, on the mind of the most 
 hardened criminal. But, in his present capacity, he does 
 honour to his country, and no man could better uphold the 
 dignity of a Senator."* " That's enough time flies on. The 
 fourth he upon the left that quiet-looking man who is 
 he ?" " Lord Succoth ; a very inoffensive man and well in- 
 tended.* He has not sufficient confidence in himself to prove 
 
 The following character of the President from a Whig pen may be inserted 
 here : 
 
 " Tory though he be, I like the President much. Fresh, hearty, and sin- 
 " cere, you know in him whom you have to deal with, and sincerity in my eyes 
 " covers a multitude of sins. There is nothing about him of the modern shuf- 
 fling look of fallacy, Toryism. He is of the genuine old Cavalier School, 
 " and scorns bush-fighting, a word and a blow, the blow first perhaps is what 
 " you may look for from him. Age has much tempered his fire since I first 
 " saw him at the head of the Edinburgh Volunteers. I can't help thinking yet 
 " he would have been more in his element at the head of his regiment than of a 
 " Court. Still he makes a very respectable Judge and is deservedly esteemed. 
 " He has none of that tact which assumes dignity as a cloak for ignorance, or 
 " makes a flash speech when a crowded court is to be expected, an excuse for 
 " want of attention during the rest of a week or a session. His talents are of 
 " that every day business kind which are the most needed and most useful though 
 " least attractive. I remember the President some years ago at the special 
 *' commission for the trials of the rioters of Bonnymuir, a job he did not seem 
 " to relish much. To the great consternation of the English functionaries he 
 " began by desiring the prisoners to be allowed seats. Taking some refresh- 
 " ment after the trial had lasted some hours, and observing the eyes of the prison- 
 " ers following the morsels, he ordered them beef and bread ; and still later in the 
 " day, noticing their flushed and anxious faces, he permitted them to retire two 
 " and two into the open air. This kindness quite overcame them, and, in passing 
 " me, one of them remarked, (and I concur heartily in the feeling which dictated 
 " the observation), My God, if they had been a' like that chap, we would not 
 " have been here the day.' " (Chronicle, \st April 1831.J 
 
 * Sir Archibald Campbell, Bart, of Succoth, was for many years a Lord of 
 Session and Justiciary. Having served the usual number of years, he retired 
 upon two-thirds of his salary. He is the eldest son of Lord President Campbell. 
 
24 SUPPLEMENT TO 
 
 a great Judge. He keeps an excellent table, though no 
 bad Judge, in that respect, I can assure you." " Very pro. 
 bably and, no doubt, that will go far in your opinion ; but 
 ' let that pass,' as the man says in the play. Who is the fifth ? 
 He must be Lord Gillies." " Right*; ' right as my glove,' 
 most wise, as Oldbuck hath it. It is that self same Lord. 
 A man of wonderful talent, ingenuity, and research ; but 
 rather unwilling ! Now, he has much confidence in his own 
 opinion, which a consciousness of his own ability very natur- 
 ally produces. He is rather much of a lawyer of an advo- 
 cate, I mean. But, notwithstanding, he is a brilliant orna- 
 ment to the Bench.' ' Very good, very well told indeed ; 
 very much obliged to you. Now I must bid you good-day. 
 You know I am writing Sketches of the Scottish Bar ;' so 
 I must get rid of all this information, while it is fresh in my 
 recollection." " Oh, very true. But stop I thought you 
 had finished them. Can't you stay to hear the pleadings ? 
 Your article won't be worth lighting a farthing candle with, 
 unless you give specimens of the different orators half an 
 hour will serve your purpose." No, no ; can't upon my 
 honour ; I have more to say than I can well remember. 
 But I am perfectly aware of the truth of your observations 
 relative to the specimens ; and as you said to-morrow was 
 teind-day, I suppose that would be a good day to attend." 
 " Certainly, for variety, though not for display. However, 
 for your purpose, I don't know whether you could choose a 
 better. The whole strength of the Bar will be assembled, 
 and you can pick your men." " That is just what I desire. 
 You'll look in upon me, then, to-morrow morning, and I 
 shall do my utmost." 
 
 It was in consequenc of his being Judge in the famous case of Hay, during 
 the dependence of which his Lordship left Scotland for the clime of Italy, 
 that those memorable proceedings took place against Hay, which at the time 
 created a great sensation, but are now almost forgotten. Hay intemperately 
 complained of the delay, and he was proceeded against for contempt of Court. 
 
COURT OF SESSION GARLAND. 25 
 
 IX. 
 
 HURRAH FOR THE BILL AND THE FRANCHISE SO LOW! 
 
 This Song is believed to be written by a member of the Faculty of Advocates, 
 who has been very successful in his political squibs. There is prefixed 
 this notification: " The following Song was dropped from the pocket 
 " of a member of the Political Union of Edinburgh, and found by a Gen- 
 ' tleman, who sang it at a Dinner of the young Conservatives of that place, 
 " held on the Anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, 1832." The dinner re- 
 ferred to, was a sort of gathering of the Conservative party, consisting chiefly 
 of Advocates and Agents, the great majority of whom were much opposed to 
 that lauded panacea for all evils, the Reform Bill : they were in a woeful 
 minority ; for the citizens of Edinburgh, or rather the ten pounders, were in- 
 toxicated with Reform, which was as much puffed as Warren's jet blacking, 
 or Dr. Goss's " ^Egis of life ;" and the old clothes-men of St. Mary's Wynd 
 in the city sang hymns of praise for becoming politically as great as the aristo- 
 crats of Moray Place. Every thing was to be changed according to the newest 
 and most approved fashion, so much so, that the following Lines, by an 
 Anti-Reformer, were not very far wrong : 
 
 We thankful feel that the sun and moon 
 
 Are placed so very high, 
 That no presuming hand can reach 
 
 To pluck them from the sky ; 
 If 'twere not so, we cannot doubt 
 
 But some reforming ass 
 Would soon propose to snuff them out, 
 
 And light the world with gas. (Nov. 25, 1832.J 
 
 AIR" The Black Jock" 
 
 Ye beggars and blackguards of every degree, 
 Ye ruffians and rascals sing chorus with me, 
 
 In praise of the Bill and the Franchise so low ; 
 Ye coblers and tinkers, old clothes-men and all, 
 Ye caddies and scavengers, hark to my call ! 
 Ye publicans shout, and ye sinners rejoice, 
 Thieves, pickpockets, cheats, lift together your voice, 
 
 Hurrah for the Bill and the Franchise so low ! 
 
26 SUPPLEMENT TO 
 
 Oh ! when shall time hasten that glorious day ! 
 When we shall have every thing in our own way, 
 
 All under the Bill and the Franchise so low ; 
 When order and law may be safely defied. 
 When physical force shall the contest decide, 
 When in riot and drunkenness round we shall roll, 
 And a sprig of shillelah shall settle the poll, 
 
 All under the Bill and the Franchise so low ? 
 
 No Aristocrat then shall dare utter a word ! 
 The voice of the people alone shall be heard ! 
 
 All under the Bill and the Franchise so low ; 
 If to vote against us any Gentleman tries, 
 Our brickbats shall level his nose with his eyes, 
 Or o'er the North Bridge we may tip him a dance,* 
 Even Jeffrey and Murray must just take their chance, 
 
 All under the Bill and the Franchise so low. 
 
 Stockbridge and Jamaica Street now will outface, 
 The Gentry of King Street and proud Moray Place, 
 
 All under the Bill and the Franchise so low ; 
 See what thousands the Cowgate and Canongate send, 
 The High Street from closes and wynds without end, 
 What swarms from the Bow and Grassmarket unkennel, 
 Burke's corner, Main Point, Potterrow and the Vennel ! 
 
 Voting under the Bill and the Franchise so low. 
 
 No Tax then on Whisky, no Taxes on Ale ! 
 No Taxes on Knowledge, no going to Jail ! 
 
 All under the Bill and the Franchise so low ; 
 No Sheriffs, no Baillies no city Police, 
 No Ministers' stipends our pockets to fleece ; 
 No Fiscals no Judges to hold up the rod 
 No King, Lords, or Commons no, nothing, by G-d, 
 
 All under the Bill and the Franchise so low. 
 
 * Alluding to the threat of throwing the Lord Provost Allan over the North 
 Bridge, for supporting the Tory Candidate for the representation of the City. 
 
COURT OF SESSION GARLAND. 2? 
 
 X. 
 
 BILL OF SUSPENSION JOHNNIE GOW, MERCHANT IN MONTROSE, 
 AGAINST JOHNNIE BELL, MERCHANT IN DUNDEE. 
 
 Party Agent. 
 
 Written by Mr. James Henderson, formerly Clerk's Assistant in the Bill-Chamber. 
 
 My Lords, unto your Lordships now, 
 Most humbly means and shews 
 
 Your present suitor Johnnie Gow, 
 A merchant in Montrose, 
 
 That I am charged by Johnnie Bell, 
 
 A merchant in Dundee, 
 To pay the contents of a bill, 
 
 For twenty-one pound, three. 
 
 The foresaid bill was drawn by me, 
 
 As an accommodation 
 To a poor deevil, Jamie Lee, 
 
 Wha is by trade a mason. 
 
 The bill accepted was by Lee, 
 
 Who, with my indorsation, 
 Transfers the same to Bell, you see, 
 
 For his accommodation. 
 
 Bell never gied a penny piece 
 
 O' value for the bill, 
 The blackguard only wants to raise 
 
 The wind to spend on yill. 
 
 For want o* ony other way 
 
 To prove it, tho' I'm loath, 
 I'll prove non-onerosity 
 
 By reference to oath. 
 
28 SUPPLEMENT TO 
 
 M ay it, your Lordships, therefore please, 
 
 To grant to me a sist, 
 Until Bell's oath upon the case 
 
 Shall come to be discust. 
 
 According to justice, &c. 
 
 (Signed) JOHNNIE Gow. 
 
 20th Feb. 1335. 
 
 INTERLOCUTORS. 
 
 The Ordinary to the charger's oath 
 The reference does sustain, 
 
 Ordains him therefore to depone, 
 To William Forbes Skene ; 
 
 To whom commission now he grants, 
 
 To take his deposition, 
 Report quamprimum, and meanwhile 
 
 He sists all execution. 
 
 The Ordinary has advised the bill, 
 Together with the oath, 
 
 Finds Jamie Lee and Johnnie Bell 
 Consummate blackguards both. 
 
 He passes then, of course, the bill, 
 
 Continuing the sist ; 
 No caution here, can be required, 
 
 The charge was so unjust. 
 
COURT OF SESSION GARLAND. 29 
 
 XI. 
 
 RESOLUTIONS TO BE PROPOSED FOR THE ADOPTION OF A 
 UNITED MEETING OF WHIG-RADICALS AND RADICAL-WHIGS, 
 IN THE GRASSMARKET, TO BE HELD THIS DAY, FRIDAY 21sT 
 NOVEMBER 1834, NEAR PORTEOUS' HOLE, AT THE OLD PLACE 
 OF EXECUTION. 
 
 The following Jcu d'esprit was the production of the Parliament House Wits, 
 upon occasion of an attempt by a section of the Citizens of Edinburgh to 
 create, by a Public Meeting, agitation against the dismissal of the Melbourne 
 Administration. It was heartily laughed at by many of the gentlemen in- 
 tended to be satirized, and it has been, at the request of one of them, included 
 in this brochure. 
 
 Moved by Mr. James Aytoun. 
 Seconded by Lord Provost Spittal. 
 
 I. That this Meeting regard with the deepest grief and 
 dismay the Dissolution of a Ministry, whose great and in- 
 creasing incapacity and insufficiency had a tendency to bring 
 all Government whatever into contempt, and to advance the 
 progress of that political disorganization, which it is the ob- 
 ject of the great mass of Reformers to accomplish. 
 
 Moved by Councillor Purves. 
 
 Seconded by nine other Gentlemen. 
 
 II. That as " measures, not men," has ever been the 
 maxim to which the Liberal party has hitherto professed to 
 conform their habits, the Meeting do not think that they are 
 cutting before the point, by expressing their disapprobation 
 of the men whom his Majesty has called to his Councils, 
 without reference to the measures, whatever they may be, 
 by which those men are to shape their conduct. 
 
 Moved by Mr. J. B. Gracie. 
 Seconded by Mr. C. F. Orr. 
 
 III. That the un-looked for change which has occurred, 
 has, on the very eve of fulfilment, disappointed the just ex- 
 
30 SUPPLEMENT TO 
 
 pectations of a numerous body, founded on the most implicit 
 subserviency to the purposes of a party, and the most vigi- 
 lant attention to individual interests. 
 
 Moved by Mr. Charles M'Laren. 
 
 Seconded by Mr. Alex. Peterkin. 
 
 IV. That the most appalling symptoms of the present 
 emergency, is the gross apathy and insensibility of the pub- 
 lic press, the distress of the sufferers by this calamity, and 
 the presumption with which the Times newspaper, and other 
 influential and hitherto Liberal Journals, have avowed the 
 dangerous doctrine, that the new Administration should be 
 tried before it be condemned a course inconsistent with the 
 first principles of Whig justice, and irreconcileable with its 
 invariable practice. 
 
 Moved by Mr. R. B. Blyth. 
 Seconded by Mr. Peter Brown. 
 
 V. That your meeting view, with the utmost apprehen- 
 sion, the alarming RISE IN THE PUBLIC FUNDS, on the announce- 
 ment of the formation of a new Administration, which they 
 cannot but deprecate, as indicating a delusive and plethoric 
 state of the national credit, and the near approach of some 
 peculiar financial crisis. 
 
 Moved by Dr. Browne. 
 
 Seconded by Mr. R. W. Jamieson. 
 
 VI. That the Meeting cannot contemplate, without 
 anxiety, the prospect that public curiosity will, in future, be 
 deprived of the legitimate enjoyment afforded by the disclo- 
 sure of those Cabinet secrets which have been deliberately 
 divulged by the members of the late Administration, but 
 which, there is too much reason to fear, will now remain con- 
 fined to the breast of those who view, with a narrow-minded 
 bigotry, the obligation of an oath of secrecy. 
 
COURT OF SESSION GARLAND. 31 
 
 Moved by Sir T. D. Lauder. 
 
 Seconded by Mr. John Cuninghame. 
 VII. That your Meeting cannot flatter themselves, that 
 under the new Administration, the country will enjoy the 
 advantage arising from the visits of a Lord Chancellor, who, 
 having failed in effecting the Establishment of Local Courts, 
 has endeavoured to supply their place by completing, with 
 unexampled celerity, a voluntary circuit of Great Britain, 
 from Dornoch to Dungeness, in a manner so well calculated 
 to promote the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge ; and at 
 once so amusing to the public, so honourable to his judicial 
 station, and so gratifying to his Majesty, whose sacred name 
 he lost no opportunity of honourably associating with his 
 own. 
 
 Moved by Bailie M 4 Farlane. 
 Seconded by Councillor Saunders. 
 
 VIII. That this Meeting consider that under the various 
 symptoms preceding and attending this event, demonstrating 
 the inherent debility, and affording a certain prognosis of the 
 demise of the late Administration, it was unfeeling to take 
 advantage of its enfeebled state, and unnecessary to precipi- 
 tate the Dissolution of a Cabinet already exhibiting the usual 
 offensive indications of spontaneous combustion, and which 
 must speedily have evaporated of itself, with the general 
 commiseration of an indulgent though disgusted public. 
 
 Moved by Mr. Adam Black. 
 
 Seconded by Mr. Johnstone, Printer. 
 IX. That this Meeting express a confident hope that his 
 Majesty will specially exclude from his councils all who have 
 not received the approbation of the Liberal Party, and this 
 Meeting protest that the late statements in the Edinburgh 
 Review, in favour of the Duke of Wellington and Sir Robert 
 Peel, shall be held as errata, or shall be interpreted in a 
 manner totally different from their plain and obvious meaning, 
 any customs or practice to the contrary notwithstanding. 
 
32 SUPPLEMENT TO 
 
 Moved by Mr. Murray of Henderland. 
 Seconded by Mr. Robert Hunter, Advocate. 
 
 X. That after the boast so justly made by Lord Brougham, 
 that the Whig Ministry in the last Parliament had done 
 so little, and his cheering announcement that the next Par- 
 liament would do less, it is dreadful to contemplate the pos- 
 sibility that the New Ministers may actually do something 
 for the country, and thereby secure a fallacious popularity, 
 most injurious to the prospects of those who have been ex- 
 pelled from power. 
 
 Moved by Sir J. G. Craig. 
 Seconded by Mr. Wm. Bell, W. S. 
 
 XI. That the present change, as well as various other 
 recent events, naturally suggest the reflection, that the course 
 of future Improvements, whether local or national, must pro- 
 ceed in the Western or straight, rather than in that Eastern 
 or crooked line, which has uniformly been observed by ad- 
 herents of the late Government ; and which has, on so 
 many occasions, led to nruch public good, and some private 
 advantage. 
 
 Moved by Mr. Andrew Miller. 
 
 Seconded by Bailie Thomson. 
 
 XII. That your meeting profess to repel, with indignant 
 disbelief, the concurring statement of the whole public press, 
 that the head of the late Administration was himself the 
 bearer of that letter from his Majesty to the Duke of Wel- 
 lington, by which he was called to his Majesty's Councils 
 a statement which they will believe, on the testimony of Lord 
 Melbourne himself, more particularly as, if true, it must de- 
 prive the present Meeting of its sole ground of Complaint, 
 and the preceding Resolutions of their whole propriety and 
 application. 
 
COURT OF SESSION GARLAND. 33 
 
 Moved by the Youngest Bailie. 
 
 Seconded by the Common-Executioner. 
 XIII. That, inspired by the Grave and Elevating Asso- 
 ciations which the Erection of a Scaffold in the Grassmarket 
 is naturally calculated to excite, the Meeting feel that they 
 will be justified in their confident anticipation that the Sub- 
 ject will not be allowed to Drop, and that the whole Meet- 
 ing will Hang together in accord and concord, until the final 
 execution of all that they have in view. 
 
 Moved by Sir John Dalrymple. 
 Seconded by Captain Carnegie. 
 
 XIV. That an Address be prepared embodying the pre- 
 ceding Resolutions, and that the same be transmitted to the 
 late Lord Chancellor, with a request that he will forward 
 them to his Majesty, by that Evening's post. 
 
 XII. 
 
 COMPLAINT OF THE POLLYSYLLABLE " OTHERWISE," AGAINST 
 MR. JOHN HORNE, ADVOCATE. 
 
 From the pen of Hew Murray Kynnymond, Esq. Advocate. This gentleman 
 succeeded, in the month of March 1736, to what remained of the estate of 
 the ancient family of Kynnymond, as well as to the separate property of Mel- 
 gund, under an entail executed by his brother uterine, Sir Alexander Murray, 
 Bart, dated the 13th September 1710. His mother, Janet Rochead, daughter 
 of Sir James Rochead of Inverleith, was twice married, 1st, to Alexander 
 Murray of Melgund, by whom she had one son, Sir Alexander, the entailer;* 
 and 2c?, To Sir David Dalrymple of Hailes, Bart.f by whom she had Sir James, 
 his successor, and Hew who succeeded to the Kynnymond and Melgund 
 estates, and died December 23, 1741. In the notice of his demise inserted in 
 the Caledonian Mercury, he is described as " a most friendly and humane 
 " gentleman, and eminently distinguished for his knowledge in the law, and 
 " eloquence at the bar."f He married Isobella Somervell, one of the 
 
 * He died in 1713. f 4 h A P ril 1691 - 
 
 J In the copy from which this article is printed, there is written "This was 
 done by Mr. Hew Dalrymple, advocate, afterwards Hew Murray Kynnymond 
 of Kynnymond, the prettiest gentleman of the whole faculty in his time." 
 
 3 
 
34 SUPPLEMENT TO 
 
 daughters of Hugh Somervell of Innerteil, W.S. and had issue, one daughter, 
 Agnes, who, by her marriage with Gilbert, afterwards Sir Gilbert Ellliot, 
 Bart, carried the Kynnyraond estates to the Minto family, who, although they 
 take the name of Kynnymond, have not any connection with that ancient 
 race, excepting by succeeding to the estates, under the before-mentioned 
 entail. 
 
 Mr. Hew Murray Kynnymond died considerably in debt, and the produce of the 
 sale of his town house, books, and furniture, was insufficient to satisfy the 
 demands of his creditors. His daughter had various law-suits with them, the 
 Session Papers in which are preserved in Lord Elchies' Collection, vol. 18, 
 1742-1749. 
 
 Mr. Home, who seems to have treated the Pollysyllable with just contempt, was 
 an Advocate, and for many years one of the Dean's Council. He was posses- 
 sed of a good estate in Aberdeen, being designated Home of that Ilk. His 
 daughter and heiress married Hew Dalrymple, a member of the Faculty of 
 Advocates subsequently raised to the bench by the title of Lord Drummore. 
 The estates of Home now belong to his Lordship's grandson, Sir Robert Dal- 
 rymple Home Elphinstone, who was created a Baronet 16th June 1828. 
 
 To the Right Honourable the Lords of Council and Session, 
 the Complaint of " OTHERWISE," an Injured Pollysyllable 
 and Adverb, against Mr. JOHN HORN, Advocate ; 
 
 HUMBLY SHEWETH, 
 
 That it is with grieff and vexation your petitioner is in- 
 duced to intrude upon your Lordships' time in the hurry of 
 the end a Session, but the circumstances of the case makes 
 it absolutely necessary. 
 
 What gives occasion to the present complaint, is a certain 
 paragraph, contained in a paper intitled " Answers for the 
 " Duke of Gordon to the Petition of the Earl of Murray," 
 in which, to your petitioner's great surprise and mortifica- 
 tion, he found the following words : " He will not at this 
 44 time of the Session presume to take up more of your Lord- 
 " ships 1 time about the gramatical signification of the pity- 
 " full monosyllable and adverb OTHERWISE." 
 
 I own I am an adverb, and I glory in the title, nor shall 
 anything which a proper substantive noun can say make me 
 ashamed of it. But to be made a monosyllable, and a pity- 
 
COURT OF SESSION GARLAND. 35 
 
 full monosyllable, I burn with a just indignation at the very- 
 thought of it. 
 
 Little did I expect this return from a gentleman for whom 
 I had done numberless acts of friendship. I put it home to 
 his conscience, whether I have not alwise been a ready assist- 
 ant to him, upon all occasions, nay, whether he has not con- 
 stantly made use of my name and credit, when no other 
 monosyllable or polosyllable on earth could serve his pur- 
 pose. Let him .say otherwise if he dares. Sure he will 
 blush at pronouncing my name, though this is not the first 
 time I have been sensible of his ingratitude ; for I am 
 credibly informed that he and his other brethren at the Barr 
 have asserted that a thing was So, when they and your Lord- 
 ships knew it was OTHERWISE. 
 
 The thing is so ludicrous, that I can hardly descend to 
 an argument that I am a pollysyllable, having all the marks 
 and apparent symptoms of polysyllabilaty. I am a poly- 
 syllable, descended of polysyllables. The alias's and aliters 
 of ancient Rome were my predecessors, and the autrements, 
 a French family, own the same original. It is true, my 
 mother was a monosyllable of the family of WISE, (a very 
 fast headed race ;) but they, for a proof of their wisdom, have 
 deserted the monosyllables, and by matching into our house, 
 are now naturalized polysyllables, ALWISE, LIKEWISE, SIDE- 
 WISE, and many others, are all children of the same lady. 
 
 Your Lordships are dayly witnesses of the hereditary 
 antipathy that is between our family and the monosyllabical 
 house of So. The disputes between So and Otherwise, I 
 may say, without vanity, have made some noise in the world, 
 and I dare say, that for the sake of the irreconcilable hatred 
 we bear to that pityful monosyllable, we shall continue 
 enemy s to the whole monosyllabical clan to the last letter of 
 our name. 
 
 I need say no more, because I have the happiness of the 
 intimate acquaintance of all your Lordships 1 numbers, in 
 
36 SUPPLEMENT TO 
 
 whose mouths I have alwise made a very considerable figure. 
 I must acknowledge the obligations I ly under to your Lord- 
 ships 1 justice, in the many contests I have had with that 
 diminative prig So; for often and many times after your 
 Lordships have found So, upon application from my friends, 
 you have found OTHERWISE ; nay, I am so far convinced of 
 your Lordships' gracious thoughts of me, that I firmly be- 
 lieve, that often when your Lordships say So, you mean 
 OTHERWISE. 
 
 I shall not detain your Lordships any longer. I have 
 raised and repeated a Declarator of Monosy liability, and I 
 beg it should be found and declared, that I am a Pollysylla- 
 ble, and that the Signer of the Answers may be ordained to 
 answer summarily as a Member of the College of Justice, 
 and may publickly recant and declare that I am a true and 
 undoubted Pollosyllable, and own, that the HORNS are but 
 pityfull Monosyllables themselves. ACCORDING TO JUSTICE, 
 OTHERWISE.* 
 
 * From a manuscript obligingly communicated by the Reverend Dr. Lee. 
 
PARLIAMENT HOUSE GARLAND. 
 
 BARON SCHIEDAM. 
 
 A MOST EXCELLENT NEW SONG. 
 (BY A PERSON OF QUALITY.) 
 
 TUNE " Croppies lie down" 
 
 When the King (Heaven bless him !) resolved, as appears, 
 To strengthen his hands by a new batch of Peers ; 
 Paper-Barons abolished he call'd on Lord Brougham 
 To find something solid to place in their room. 
 Says Brougham, " Please your Majesty, certain I am, 
 There is nothing more solid than Baron Schiedam." 
 Chorus. Dam, dam,* Baron Schiedam. 
 
 " To your Majesty's subjects how great the relief, 
 For these Barons of paper, one Baron of beef; 
 In a sole corporation, he weighs eight or ten 
 Of Lords spiritual temporal, all join'd in one ; 
 A complete House of Lords, (deny it who can,) 
 Without any proxies, is Baron Schiedam." 
 
 Dam, dam, &c. 
 
 In turning the page of our history o'er, 
 So prodigious a Baron was ne'er made before ; 
 King John and his Barons we cease to admire, 
 Chief Barons avaunt ! Baron-bailies retire ! 
 Not Baron Munchausen, nor Baron Geramb, 
 Can compare for a moment with Baron Schiedam, 
 
 Dam, dam, &c. 
 
 * Care must be taken not to pronounce this d n. Printer's Devil, 
 
To Lord Overgroggy, the news, it is said, 
 By Lord Pilmagoggy were quickly convey 'd ; 
 Both Lords of the Law, each renown'd as his brother, 
 For Institutes one, Minor practics the other ; 
 For the Convict they sent, transported he came, 
 And down they all sate with their fav'rite Schiedam. 
 
 Dam, dam, &c. 
 
 " A night oft we '11 make," quoth my Lord Overgroggy, 
 " So we shall, please the pigs !" roar'd my Lord Pilmagoggy. 
 " What's that noise? the police ?" (see, the Convict's afraid,) 
 " No, 'tis Dauney and Neaves, two blind fiddlers by trade. 
 The Convict in silence sate sipping his dram, 
 Quite subdued by the spirit of potent Schiedam. 
 
 Dam, dam, &c. 
 
 They drank and they toasted, they hip, hip, hurrah'd, 
 Till not one could tell what the other had said ; 
 " Very good, very good!" said my Lord Overgroggy, 
 " Most glorious !" hiccup'd my Lord Pilmagoggy; 
 They embraced, and they danced, till they fell to a man, 
 And the last words they said, were " Long life to Schiedam." 
 
 Dam, dam, &c. 
 
 Then join hand in hand, let our glasses o'erflow 
 To the great Earls of Hollands, and Count Cura9oa ; 
 With brave Chasse in front, he has nothing to fear, 
 While his breeches effectually cover his rear ; 
 The broad bottom'd union there *s no one that can 
 Represent half so well as great Baron Schiedam. 
 
 Dam, dam, &c.* 
 
 THE BEAUTIES OF OVERGROGGY. 
 
 A SONG ON THE GENERAL QUESTION. 
 
 TUNE " Oh, the Groves of Blarney," 
 
 When all so voggie 
 
 At Overgroggy, 
 With Baron L[othia]n we go to feed ; 
 
 Who, with airs and graces, 
 
 Far surpasses, 
 And his wit and beauty do much exceed. 
 
 * By Andrew Skene, Esq. 
 
There I have seen, sir, 
 
 With Mr Skene, sir, 
 And P R so small, 
 
 And N s and D y 
 
 So wise and funny, 
 Both singing to the deep canal. 
 
 There a profusion 
 
 And rich confusion, 
 Of lovely objects are to be found ; 
 
 And our secretary, 
 
 So brisk and airy, 
 Swimming about in the horse pond. 
 
 No place is neater, 
 
 Or more completer ; 
 There are charming valleys and lofty hills, 
 
 There 's every feature 
 
 Of lovely nature, 
 And also Thomson upon Bills. 
 
 When for relaxation 
 
 Of conversation, 
 All to the garden we repair ; 
 
 'Mongst the currant bushes, 
 
 And amorous thrushes, 
 Meandering* in the ambient air. 
 
 There you may see, sir, 
 
 That charming creature so fair and bright ; 
 
 Taking his ease, sir, 
 
 Among the trees, sir, 
 Or wandering in the pale moonlight. 
 
 Then for his fees, sir, 
 
 'Tis what you please, sir, 
 Since he disdains for to repine ; 
 
 He's paid with whisky, 
 
 To make him frisky, 
 And candles for to make him shine. 
 
 Verba solennia of the Abbot of Unreason. 
 
B and Gillies, 
 
 Two drunken fellows, 
 
 Eternally sipping at their wine ; 
 
 But R R , 
 
 He beats us hollow, 
 
 All in the sentimental line.* 
 
 PETER'S FAREWELL ADDRESS. 
 
 As the worn show-horse, whom Ducrow so long 
 
 Has taught to prance before th' applauding throng, 
 
 Now all unfit to play his wonted part, 
 
 Turns the dull mill, or trails th' ignoble cart ; 
 
 If, midst his daily toil, perchance he hears 
 
 Great Wombwell's trumpets, and th' attendant cheers, 
 
 Strives from his rear the cumbrous load to fling, 
 
 And longs to circle in his ancient ring : 
 
 So I, when loud your festive laughter swells, 
 
 Would gladly don once more my cap and bells, 
 
 So sad it is to deem my triumph 's past, 
 
 And think these joyous plaudits are my last. 
 
 Warn'd by some symptoms of a certain age, 
 
 To-night a veteran quits the mirthful stage ; 
 
 A certain age a certain port requires ; 
 
 Not prematurely Robertson retires ; 
 
 At four-and-forty, when the locks are grey, 
 
 'Tis time to doff one's comedy array, 
 
 And leave, while youth's excesses we retrench, 
 
 Some space between the banquet and the bench. 
 
 Time was, when even the rigid and the wise 
 Might scan my levities with lenient eyes. 
 Cast in a mould denied to other men, 
 (Great Jove will hardly use it soon again,) 
 If not with wit, at least with words at will, 
 The wish to please, and, shall I say, the skill ? 
 Peers, parsons, players, applauded as I spoke, 
 And Huntly loved, and Scott endured the joke. 
 Each look would set the table in a roar ; 
 And when the look was grave, men laugh'd the more. 
 Hard task, and how perform'd you best can tell, 
 To serve two masters, and to serve them well ; 
 
 * By Andrew Skenc, Esq. 
 
For manners can with mammon ill agree, 
 And jealous Themis hates Euphrosyne. 
 But now, farewell the mimic look and tone, 
 The general question and the big trombone, 
 That makes the orchestra nothing O ! farewell 
 To Oscar's melody and Ossian's shell ; 
 The stammering cornet, the Italian air ; 
 Farewell the bagman, and farewell the bear ; 
 Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious fun', 
 Farewell, for Peter's occupation 's done ! 
 
 Yet still the fire, that burn'd too fierce before, 
 May shed a chasten'd light your evenings o'er : 
 Sometimes the mountain may bring forth its mouse 
 To please the laughers in the Outer-House ; 
 Nay, e'en in yonder niche, install'd on high, 
 Some jest or pun Lord Peter may let fly. 
 Clerks, counsel, agents, and the weekly roll, 
 Shall vainly strive their muscles to control ; 
 Wide spreads the infectious laugh, and ev'n awhile 
 The losing litigant consents to smile ; 
 Bremner, exulting, chuckles as he goes, 
 And purple Beveridge hides his quivering nose ; 
 All but the macer, grieved to see no more 
 The classic gravity that Corehouse wore. 
 But to return. If you have owed to me 
 One witless jesty one pointless repartee ; 
 If I at good men's feasts too long have loll'd, 
 And seldom stirr'd when bells to church have knoll'd ; 
 If censuring tongues might of my errors tell, 
 As loving mirth, not wisely but too well ; 
 If even in caution's course I miss'd my aim, 
 Tried jokes by stealth, and blush'd to find them fame ; 
 The few abortive efforts I have made 
 By this preposterous tribute are repaid. 
 Could my big bosom prop the swelling line, 
 I then could speak what feelings now are mine ; 
 But fancy fails, expression dies away, 
 In feeble murmurs I can only say, 
 Amidst my throbbing heart's tumultuous strife, 
 " This is the proudest moment of my life !" * 
 * By D. Cheape, Esq. 
 
8 
 
 C , advocate, particularly distinguished himself, in a 
 
 speech which lasted exactly two hours and a half, and 
 which was as effective as a musical voice, graceful gesti- 
 culation, and pointless (we forgot, pointed) sarcasm could 
 make it. Amongst the toasts, the following were received 
 with rapturous applause : " Lady Holland and the 
 liberal ladies." " Lord Teynham and the Whig peerage." 
 " Daniel O'Connell, the tine ould Irish gentleman," by 
 Mr W. G. Craig. " Pilmagoggy and the Scotish bar," 
 by the Chairman. " His Majesty's Bill-sticker," by Mr 
 
 J M , an embryo Advocate-Depute. Besides 
 
 the public spirited noblemen, baronets, and citizens who 
 so kindly roam about the county to patronize Whig 
 dinners when the charge does not exceed 3s. 6d. (drink 
 included,) about two hundred persons were present. 
 
WORKS PREPARING FOR PUBLICATION, 
 BY THOMAS G. STEVENSON. 
 
 87) PRINCES STREET, EDINBURGH. 
 
 I. 
 
 MUSICAL NOTES on SCOTLAND, by SIR JOHN GRAHAM 
 DALYELL. Illustrated by Twenty-four plain and coloured plates. 
 
 \* This curious and entertaining work will form a handsome volume in 
 4to, price 1, 11s. 6d. 
 
 II. 
 
 THE MINOR WORKS 
 
 OF 
 
 SIR DAVID DALRYMPLE, LORD HAILES. 
 
 Including his Proposals for carrying on a certain public work 
 in the City of Edinburgh. Specimens of Notes on the Statute 
 Law of Scotland, and of a Scottish Glossary. Remarks on the 
 Latin Poems of Dr. Pitcairn. Fragment of the Life of Montrose. 
 Letters, &c. &c. &c. with Sketch of his Lordship's life, and a 
 portrait and fac-simile, in one volume, 8vo, uniform with the last 
 Edition of his Annals of Scotland, to which it will be an appro- 
 priate Supplement. 
 
 III. 
 
 THE GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HOUSE OP 
 LESLEY, from Martin of Clermont's MSS. and other inedited 
 sources, with Notes and Illustrations by JOSEPH ROBERTSON, 
 Esq. 4to. 
 
 IV. 
 
 NOTES FROM THE BOOKS OF ADJOURNAL from 
 1625 to 1670, with Observations Illustrative of the State of 
 Scotland during that period. 
 
 *^* These interesting extracts commence where Pitcairn stops, and 
 though usually brief, omit no matter of any importance. The 
 Cases of Witchcraft are especially curious. 
 
 V. 
 
 ACCOUNT of the SPORTS, PROCESSIONS, and COR. 
 PUS CHRISTI PAGEANTS, with Notices of the Common 
 Minstrels of the City of Aberdeen, during the Fifteenth and Six. 
 teenth Centuries, with an Introductory Notice, Notes, c. by 
 JOSEPH ROBERTSON, Esq. 8vo. 
 
WORKS PREPARING FOR PUBLICATION. 
 
 VI. 
 VOLUME SECOND 
 
 EDITED, WITH AN INTRODUCTORY NOTICE AND NOTES, 
 
 BY 
 
 THEODORE MARTIN, ESQ. 
 
 This volume, which concludes Rabelais' world-renowned Ro- 
 mance, will be printed from the text of Motteux and Ozell, 
 uniformly with the Reprint of Sir Thomas Urquhart's Transla- 
 tion of the First three Books. It will comprise the Pantagrueline 
 Prognostication and other pieces contained in former Editions, 
 and will be accompanied by a facsimile of Rabelais' autograph. 
 
 In this Edition it is proposed to include Rabelais' Prefaces, and 
 such of his other authentic miscellaneous pieces, as have not 
 hitherto been given in any English Edition of his Works. 
 Among these will be found a Translation by the Editor of Rabe- 
 lais' scarce and interesting pamphlet entitled " La Sciomachie, Et 
 Festins Faicts A Rome Au Palais DeMonseigneur Reverendissime 
 Cardinal Du Bellay, Pour L'Heureuse Naissance De Monseig- 
 neur D'Orleans." The text of Motteux and Ozell will be care- 
 fully revised throughout, and no endeavour will be spared to 
 render the present volume, in conjunction with that already pub- 
 lished, in every way the most complete and elegant Edition of 
 Rabelais, that has hitherto appeared in this country. 
 
 The Impression will be strictly limited to ONE HUNDRED 
 COPIES; PRICE TO SUBSCRIBERS Two GUINEAS, To NON- 
 SUBSCRIBERS THREE GUINEAS. 
 
 VII. 
 
 THE MEMORIALS of the FAMILY of SPOTTISWOODE 
 of SPOTTISWOODE, by FATHER RICHARD AUGUSTINE HAY. 
 Including the POEMS of COL. SIR HENRY SPOTTIS- 
 WOODE, with Illustrative Papers, Notes, &c. 4to. 
 
 %* This Volume will be printed uniform with Father Hay's GENEALOGIES 
 of the HAYES of TWEEDDALE and the SAINTCLAIRS of ROSSLYN, 
 and along with which will be given a General Title-Page, Con- 
 tents, and Indices for the whole. 
 
 T. G. S. begs to intimate, that he will be happy to undertake 
 
 the SALE of any Work connected with SCOTTISH HISTORY, 
 
 ANTIQUITIES, POETRY, &c. 
 LIBRARIES or PARCELS of RARE and CURIOUS BOOKS; also, AB- 
 
 BOTSFORD, BANNATYNE, and MAITLAND CLUB BOOKS, PUR- 
 
 CHASED or EXCHANGED on LIBERAL TERMS. 
 NEW PUBLICATIONS SUPPLIED, &c. &c. 
 
 EDINBURGH, 87, PRINCES STREET, 1839. 
 
*