THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES (, OLD REMINISCENCES GLASGOW WEST OF SCOTLAND. CONTAINING THE TRIAL OF THOMAS MUIRTHE BUTE ELECTION THE TRIAL OF WILSON, HARDIE AND BAIRDTHE OLD GUARDS OF GLASGOW- ROBERT CARRICK AND THE OLD SHIP BANK OF GLASGOW THE LAST EXECUTION FOR FORGERY EXTRAORDINARY BANK ROBBERY IN GLASGOWTRIAL OF THE REV. NEIL DOUGLAS, OF GLASGOW, FOR SEDITION THE TWA FUDDLED PRECENTORS FRA UD ON THE GLASGOW UNDERWRITERS AFFECTING STORY OF COL. HAMILTON OF THE SCOTS GREYS, KILLED AT WATERLOO - THE C ALDER FARMER AND HIS HECKLING WIFE ROBBERY OF THE EDINBURGH EXCISE OFFICE FIRST GAS ILLUMINATION IN GLASGOW A STRANGE ELECTION ON THE TOP OF BENLOMONDTHE REFORM BILL OF 1830 -HENRY BELL AND FIRST STEAMER BLOODY RIOT IN GLASGOW THE HANGMAN'S WHIP THE SPY SYSTEM-GLASGOW SENDING ITS FIRST TWO MEMBERS TO PARLIAMENT BURKE AND HARE THE FATAL DOOM OF THE GLASGOW BUTCHER, &>c., &>c. BY PETER MACKENZIE. VOL. I. GLASGOW: JAMES P. FORRESTER, 102 ARGYLE STREET. 1890. DA isu, v v I PREFACE. A PREFACE should be a formal and friendly introduction of the Author to his reader. Why, then, since I and my readers are already old friends, should my Publisher insist on a Preface, merely to appear at the beginning of the first volume of the " REMINISCENCES?" It may be that he is entitled to this formality ; but he cannot go further and so, while this is called a " Preface," it shall in truth be an Epilogue. And first, let it be a hearty and warm acknowledgment of the favour with which these garrulous and discursive Reminiscences has been received. In this I have realised somewhat of that which should accompany old age, and how can I be less than happy with my "troops of friends?" My once fearless " Weekly" my well-beloved "Old Loyal Reformers' Gazette" was compelled like the brave South- ern Confederacy, to yield to numbers. It was literally smothered by the " Penny Dailies," and in the sere and yellow leaf, I was cut off from my regular weekly com- munings with my friends. But now I fight some of my battles o'er again; and, while the past fleets like a diorama before my mind's eye, and I seize the salient points, and try to photograph them in print, the generous and ample 621183 IV PREFACE. support of my friends and many of the noblest and best in the land, I am proud to say, are among them sheds a silvery halo of peace and contentment round my declining years, and soothes the pain of many an aching wound. Thanks to you all! Especially the Author's acknowledgments are here most justly due to the kind and courteous criticisms of the Press, with which he was so long associated ; and even from the hands of strangers, to himself personally. He fain hopes, that the succeeding numbers of these Reminiscences, which will appear now in rapid succes- sion, will not be received less graciously than the portion now published. The Author once more subscribes himself, with a lively sense of gratitude and unfaltering duty, PETER MACKENZIE, GLASGOW, October, 18G5 CONTENTS. VOL. I. PAGE PREFACE, iii. CHAPTER I. Trial of Thomas Muir, Esq., &c., 5 CHAPTER II. The events of 1812, 1819-20, 99 CHAPTER III. Review of the Old Guards of Glasgow, &c., 217 CHAPTER IV. The Old Ship Bank of Glasgow Robin Carrick The First Appear- ance of the present Right Hon. Lord President of the Court of Session in Glasgow His Client Executed for Forgery, &c., 311 CHAPTER V. Extraordinary Bank Robbery in Glasgow Pursuit of the Robbers to London The wonderful Case of Huffey White, and Sentence of Death on James M'Coul, &c., 400 CHAPTER VI. The Rev. Neil Douglas of Glasgow, and his Trial for Sedition before the High Court of Justiciary, &c., 446 CHAPTER VII. The Cathedral The Two Fuddled Precentors The Daft Divinity Student, and the Cameronian Soldier, with his Wife, on their Tramp through Glasgow,. 470 CHAPTER VIII. The Bamboozled Messenger-at-Arms and his Lost Caption, 492 CHAPTER IX. The Sinking of the Glasgow Ships at Sea Fraud on the Glasgow Underwriters Interesting Trial and Capital Conviction, &c., &c. 520 CHAPTER X. Affecting Case The Story of Col. Hamilton of the Scots Greys, killed at Waterloo, and of his Sisters in Glasgow, 553 CHAPTER XI. Mr. Messenger M'Crone The Innocent Calder Farmer and his "Heck- ling Wife" in Glasgow, 611 PAGE 11. CHAPTER XII. The Canary, or the Bird Case, and the singular Revolution it effected in the Sheriffs' Chambers in Glasgow, and in the Decisions of the Law of Scotland, 621 CHAPTER XIII. Anonymous Letters An Extraordinary Glasgow Drama The Great Case of Kingan v. Watson, et e contra,.,.. 635 VOL. II. PAGE CHAPTER XIII. Continued. Anonymous Letters Au. Extraordinary Glasgow Drama The Great Case of Kingan v. Watson, et e contra, : 3 CHAPTER XIV. The Extraordinary Robbery of the Edinburgh Excise Office The Case of Brodie and Smith, Condemned to Death Scene between John Clerk, Esq., Advocate, and Lord Braxfield in the High Court of Justiciary, &c., 60 CHAPTER XV. Some Stray Leaves about Edinburgh, and its Ancient Judges The Parliament House, &c., 114 CHAPTER XVI. First Gas Illumination in Glasgow Johnny Corrie The Old Theatre in Queen Street, and the Beauties therein, &c., &c., 141 CHAPTER XVII. The Stocking and Glove Case And the Funny Glasgow Gluttonous Agent, &c., ~ 166 CHAPTER XVIII. The Laughable Horse Case,.... 178 CHAPTER XIX The Last of the Old Borough- Mongering Elections in Glasgow, 181 CHAPTER XX. Another Strange Election on the Top of Benlomond A New Elec- tion Writ, and a New Parliamentary Petition, &c., 200 CHAPTER XXI. The Advent of the Great Reform Bill of 1830 in Glasgow, and some old scenes respecting it worthy of being remembered, 224 CHAPTER XXII. A Squib, and the Retort Courteous, on the First Reform Bill, 253 m. CHAPTER XXIII. PAGE The Progress of the Great Reform Bill in the olden time, 254 CHAPTER XXIV. The Salmon Fishings on the Clyde The First Comet Steamer, and some Jottings about Henry Bell and ^Eneas Morrison, &c., 273 CHAPTER XXV. The Fishings on the Clyde, and some Notes thereupon 280 CHAPTER XXVI. A Bloody Riot in Glasgow Bob Dreghorn's House The Hangman's Whip, Ac., '. 294 CHAPTER XXVII. Literature and the Fine Arts in Glasgow An Amusing Story, 306 CHAPTER XXVIII. The Tricky Lawyer Vanquished by his own Process, and saved from Perjury, &c., &c., 312 CHAPTER XXIX. Some Passages in Glasgow about the First Great Reform Bill of 1831 and 1832,..., 326 CHAPTER XXX. Glasgow sending its First Two Members to Parliament, , 345 CHAPTER XXXI. Our own Daring Deeds The Expos6 of the Spy System, &c., 350 CHAPTER XXXII. Some other Passages worth noticing, 387 CHAPTER XXXIII. A Glance Backward, but in the Right Direction in Glasgow, 393 CHAPTER XXXIV. The Earl of Durham in Glasgow, 404 CHAPTER XXXV. A Strange Compound of Facts, 419 CHAPTER XXXVI. The Banks of Clyde Case Tarn Harvey and his Dyke The Dragoons, and all about it, 428 CHAPTER XXXVII. The Poor Prisoners of West-Thorn, 469 CHAPTER XXXVIII. The Resurrectionists of Glasgow in the olden time The Young Medi- cal Students The Uproar in the City, &c., 462 IV. CHAPTER XXXIX. PAGE The Case of Matthew Clydesdale the Murderer Extraordinary Scene in the College of Glasgow, 490 CHAPTER XL. Most Remarkable Escape of Two Condemned Criminals in the olden time, 501 CHAPTER XLI. The Shocking Case of Burke and Hare in Edinburgh, and Hare's Wife in Glasgow, 513 CHAPTER XLII. The Anatomy Bill Changed Times, 522 CHAPTER XLIII. The Great Glasgow Field Case Attempt to Ruin a Glasgow Mer- chantThe Biters Bit, 524 CHAPTER XLIV. An Extraordinary Murder Case in Glasgow The Fatal Doom of the Glasgow Butcher, &c., &c., 547 CHAPTER XLV. A Laughable Civil Case The Keyhole Case A Queer Action of Damages Ferric against Buchan, 578 CHAPTER XLVI. The Dram-Drinking Case Another Queer Action of Damages Miller against Dornach or Darroch, 582 CHAPTER XLVII. The Organ Controversy in Glasgow in the Olden Time Wonderful Changes, 585 CHAPTER XLVIII. A Great Swindling Assurance Co. Demolished Its Career in Glas- gow, &c., &c., 596 CHAPTER XLIX. The Cunning and Ingenuity of a Celt Hard Swearing in Glasgow,.... 632 CONCLUSION, 636 ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL. POLITICAL AND SOCIAL EEMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. VERILY we have lived, and blessed be God, we are spared, and continue to live, in most marvellous times. It is not necessary, and indeed it is of very little conse- quence, that we should give any account of our own personal history in this place. That may or may not be done by others, in a small paragraph or two, after we doff this mortal coil, and are quietly laid under the green sod. Suffice it here to say, by way of introduction to what follows, that the Trials in particular of the early SCOTTISH EEFORMERS of the year 1793, when GEORGE the THIRD was KING, made originally a very deep impression on our youthful minds, never effaced, and brought besides under our notice, and led to many subsequent remarkable circumstances, the narration of some of which may be deemed worthy of being published and recorded in a plain, concise, and authentic form, in these and other EEMINISCENCES. We begin now, with the TRIAL of THOMAS MUIR, Esq., Advocate, the younger of HuntershOl, near Glasgow, which Trial took place before the Lords of the High Court of Justiciary, at Edinburgh, on Friday, the 30th day of August, 1793, that is more than 70 years ago. The Judges on the Bench were the Eight Honourable the Lord Justice-Clerk M'Queen, better known by the name of BRAXFIELD, with Lords Henderland, Dunsinan, Swinton, and Abercromby, long since dead. That trial, REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. with the subsequent separate trials of Muir's friends, or companions, or compatriots, as they may now here pro- perly enough be called, viz., William Skirving, Maurice Margarot, Joseph Gerald, and the Kev. Fisher Palmer, all of which trials followed the first in rapid succession before the same Court, created uncommon interest throughout Scotland at the time. They also attracted the special attention, and aroused the indignation of some of the greatest Statesmen of the age, then in both Houses of Parliament, besides creating no small sensation in quarters abroad, the effects of which we are humbly persuaded, are not yet obliterated; nor can we doubt that they had some considerable effect on the political regime or STATUS, and future destinies of this great empire, now happy at home, and yielding to none other upon the earth. We shall at least endeavour, in a few of these pages, strikingly to shew, how dread, how positively shocking and awful, was the Administration of JUSTICE in those days, in many important particulars, in this kingdom, compared with what it is providentially now (1865), under the mild and peaceful sway of our good Queen VICTORIA. Yet we will not occupy the attention of our readers, to any unreason- able degree, with dry legal disquisitions or dissertations of any kind in connection with those trials, but proceed at once to the real nature or remarkable substance of them, in so far chiefly as our departed friend, Mr. Thomas Muir, was more immediately concerned; and in so far also, as the people of these kingdoms may be concerned about it still ; for it concerns their interests, if it does not touch their hearts yea, even after the lapse of so many long eventful years. We have, therefore, most respectfully to state, in a few words, that at a very early period of his life perhaps REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. too early, not for his fame, but for his future happiness he became an enthusiastic REFORMER " in the worst of times" at the darkest, or blackest, and most arbitrary period perhaps, of Scottish history varied through many generations as that history has been. And we may amuse, if we do not surprise, some of our younger readers of the present day, when we inform them, that when Thomas Muir first entered on his active political career, in the year 1792, there were then only a very few hundreds, at most only some 5000 Parliamen- tary Electors altogether in, or for this entire kingdom of Scotland ; whereas, they now amount to upwards of 100,000, with the prospect not certainly of diminution, but rather increase, from the obvious and growing state of the population itself. At the period above referred to, these small handful of Parliamentary Electors were called paper voters, or "Freeholders;' and it is the undoubted, and was then the most glaring fact, that many of these "Freeholders," or the pendicles, or stripes of land, or things which gave them the right to vote, were freely and unblushingly bought by, or sold to, the highest bidder, sometimes by public roup, under the hammer of an Auc- tioneer, for sums varying from <500 (scarcely any below that figure), to other sums varying from 1000, 2000, and sometimes as much as 5000 each, according to the political state of the market, or the agitating events of the particular county at the time. If this was truly the condition or exceptionable state of the counties of Scot- land at the period referred to (some thought it was a very good and excellent condition ; and so it was for many pockets and domineering parties), yet it was somewhat more glaring and reprehensible in regard to all the Burghs and cities of Scotland. For example, in this great city of REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Glasgow, in the year 1793, and down to the passing of the Reform Bill, many years afterwards, namely, in 1832, there were only some thirty or forty privileged Parliamen- tary Electors in it altogether! whereas, we count them now as approaching to 15,000 or 20,000 bona fide registered Electors : and we may here observe, that in 1793 the population of Glasgow amounted to about 70,000 or 80,000 souls; whereas, it is now (embracing the suburbs) according to the interesting and valuable statistical table published the other day by our new City Chamberlain, Wm. West Watson, Esq., whom we hail as the accom- plished successor of our old departed friend, John Strang, Esq., LLJ)., approaching the extraordinary number of 480,000 human beings, and still most rapidly on the increase, as well as every thing connected with Glasgow, whether as regards the arts and sciences, or the busy hum of men with its countless occupations. From small events sucli great beginnings rise ! And it is further somewhat amusing, and we almost smile now to mention the fact, that, in 1793, and long before and afterwards, this city wherein we dwell, was absolutely annexed to, or joined, or linked with, the then rural and small or insignificant Burghs, comparatively speaking, of Rutherglen, Renfrew, and Dumbarton, in regard to the choice of its then Parliamentary representa- tion, or rather in the choice of one single solitary repre- sentative amongst the said four conjoined Burghs to Parliament. In point of fact, Renfrew, with the two other small Burghs above-named, had as much right, nay, it sometimes had greater sway, or more absolute power, in the election of that one representative to Parliament, than Glasgow had, with its vast population exceeding them all, REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. Iry at least fifty times over ! This absurd and glaring state of matters led often to the quaint observation, amongst the old quidnuncs of the city, that it was sometimes very difficult, if not impossible, to tell whether Glasgow was really represented at all ; and they almost defied the Professor of Logic to define, whether any, and what part either of the head, the eyes, the legs, or the arms, or any other precise part of his mortal body,. the citizens could really claim, as their legitimate share of the said member. In sober truth, and strikingly illustrative of this, we may mention this other fact connected with it, namely, that each of the Burghs above-named, viz., Glasgow, Kuther- glen, Kenfrew and Dumbarton, through their own par- ticular self, elected Magistrates and Councillors, but nobody else had the absolute and undoubted power of choosing from amongst themselves one supreme function- ary or " independent Delegate" as he was called to decide the matter. In other words, four special Delegates, chosen or nominated by themselves, were to lay their heads together in the name and behalf of the four Burghs, and to declare who was or who was not their member to Parliament, when that eventful period in the history of the Burghs arrived for declaring the same accordingly. He was truly, if we may so call him, a great man, that self- enthroned " Delegate" a little long, exercising the most arbitrary and despotic sway in the matter, and ruling the roast pretty often in other places exactly as he pleased. In further illustration of this, let us suppose the fact, that the Parliament of Great Britain and Ireland was Dissolved, say, in the year 1792, then the election of this Wonderful one representative to Parliament behoved to take place within the Tolbooth, or Council Chambers of the allotted favourite Burgh, at 12 o'clock noon of the day, embraced 10 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. in His Majesty's Writ, sent hither for the particular pur- pose; and into that Tolbooth, or snug Council Chambers, or sanctum sanctorum, of such Burgh, important, vastly important to all classes either in a local or national point of view, as was the business about to be performed, yet no human being was permitted to enter therein, save the four Eight "Worshipful Delegates, with their select or favourite friends, displaying their cocked hats and seals, or other insignia of office, followed or preceded by the anxious expectant member " to be," in his court dress of velvet or silken attire, and " girt" with a sword a real sword on his thigh, as the King's writ positively com- manded all such members to be; and to this exceedingly small, but very distinguished group, were perhaps added some half dozen or so of wigged and powdered counsel and agents, learned in the law, going up to the skirts, or sitting as near as possible, at the elbows of the cogitating Town Clerk, with his faithful juvenile scribe, and ancient books of sederunt placed on the green table before them. On him the worshipful Town Clerk whose legal sway (ad vitam aut culpum) has rarely been doubted in this land devolved the high and exclusive duty of recording on the back of the King's writ, inscribed on a small roll of thin lean parchment, the name and designation of the fortunate and happy member then and there chosen. This, in fact, was all the Town Clerk had to do with the business; and for this finishing stroke of duty, rarely occupying more than a few minutes altogether, he received seldom less, from the sitting member, than an lionorarium. or fee of twenty, and sometimes as much as one hundred golden guineas, wrapped carefully in a linen napkin; while on the outside, watching and guarding the entrance to these great proceedings, were arrayed the Town-officers KEMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 11 of the Burgh, clad at this particular time in their braw new scarlet coats, blue breeches, and white stockings, with solid silver buckles on their shoes, and displaying, more- over, some gaudy ribbons attached to their button-holes or cocked bonnets, and holding in their sturdy hands some ancient warlike implements halberts, or battle- axes, that had seen service probably at the time of the Eebellion in 1715 or 1745: and then after the great business in the " Chaumer" was over, and the Election Writ stamped and sealed, and dispatched carefully to the Post-office, directed for St. Stephens, in London, the Town-officers, and all their friends, and as many of the Burgesses, with their wives> kith or kin, that could assem- ble, had rolling over to them on the streets, and as near to the cross as possible, as many hogsheads of porter and ale, sometimes casks of old Jamaica rum, and genuine old port, as they could well manage to consume, after the " glorious Marriage Election" was thus consummated in the Eoyal Burgh. It would be vain and needless, and out of place for us now, to attempt to describe some of the rich and racy and ludicrous scenes that fre- quently happened on these occasions. Pert upon them, we may only notice, that when the King's health was given first with flowing glasses and loud huzzahs, by the high functionaries engaged on these occasions, the glasses so employed to the brim with generous wine (plenty of it,) were speedily thrown over the windows, to the canaile on the streets, our patriotic Magistrates vowing and protesting Jbhat such pure and immaculate glasses should never be touched again by any ignoble lips ! We may go on to observe, that there were no public "Hustings" whatever erected, except the Gallows, for other purposes in those days : and 12 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. assuredly there was little, if anything, in the shape of " Heckling" to members of Parliament, now so common in many places in latter times not the sound of a hiss, or the echo of a groan, was even so much as heard of in those days at the election of members, from one end of the kingdom to the other. Such things, indeed, were never dreamt of, and never entered into the heads of the sturdiest politicians of former times. Every thing in the matter of these elections, in so far as lungs the vital part of man is concerned, was conducted in the most quiet and perfect good order, up to the date of the drinking of the liquids in the afternoon at the cross, but after that we are not responsible, and shall, of course, say nothing hoc statu. And so Glasgow came quietly, as events evolved, to be the good, gentle "returning Burgh," as others of the smaller fry, in like manner were, in their rotation. And thus, again, our douce canny neighbour, Burgh Rutherglen, had its happy turn " the neist" time, so its Burghers spoke; and then followed Renfrew and Dumbarton, in their due and circumspect order. Now, since as we have already remarked, there were just four Burghs in all, immediately connected in this political parliamentary programme ; and as it is plain, from the most common rules of arithmetic, that two and two exactly make four, so it naturally, and not unfre- quently happened, that a division occurred in the Select Burgh Camp, at or about the time these important Dele- gates came to be chosen, and much guzzling, probably accompanied with something better or worse, frequently took place, to gain over and secure the vote of the grand Delegate say Mr. Black or Mr. White, as we may here call him or fancy him to be. Generally speaking, the largest purse secured him, the Delegate, and bound him. neck and REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 13 heel to the Whig or the Tory side, as the case might happen, and thereby decide the Election, as money and bribery still does, we fear, in many places, on a larger scale. But then, when any three out of these four most potent Delegates, sometimes pretending to hold very liberal princi- ples indeed, united firmly on their man the man of their choice, he became perfectly sure of his election, and the fourth remaining Delegate, whatever he might have wished on the opposite side, might just retire and wring his hands in vexation and go to bed, or whistle on his thumb, for aught the other worthies cared. They were perfectly omnipotent without him. And on the other hand, when it came to pass, as it often did, that the four Burghs were equally divided, two on the one side, say, for Governor Houston of Dumbarton, and two on the opposite for Campbell of Blythswood : or when the Delegate for Glasgow happened to agree with the Delegate for Euther- glen, in bringing forward for example, Lord Archibald Hamilton, or old Sir Islay Campbell, or Finlay of Castle Toward, as their favourite; in short, when two and two were pitted against each other, and the strife for the member's seat became keen and warm, and sometimes pretty fierce, the great and decisive strug- gle came to be, to secure by all manner of means, foul or fair, the vote of that particular and all-important Delegate ; and sometimes a very coqueting Delegate he was, like a coy maiden with her many lovers ; yet he could ultimately dispose of the seat with one single word out of his mouth, pronouncing the name Campbell or Finlay as this precious Delegate had the absolute right conceded to him of giving the casting vote, and thus deciding the Election in favour of the one candidate or the other. In that way, it has 14 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. often been in days of yore, the prerogative of Eenfrew and Rutherglen united, to overpower the position, or overwhelm the influence, or doom the fate of Glasgow o with its younger Burgh of Dumbarton, and all therein contained. And was not this, we may well ask, en passant, a very singular and very pretty, or rather a most dis- jointed state of matters indeed, for this great and power- ful city of Glasgow, as regarded her political influence in those days in Parliament. This is not exaggeration by any means. Such events of the "olden time" very fre- quently happened almost exactly as we have stated leading doubtless to many scandalous JOBS, some of them of a very flagrant nature, but into which we could not very well enter within the limits of the present work, even although we had evidence at hand ready for doing so. One result of this extraordinary state of matters in the city of Glasgow was and here we give it on the best of all authority namely, the authority embraced in the Appendix to the Government Statistics of Scotland, pub- lished in Glasgow in the year 1823, by Mr. James Lumsden, afterwards Lord Provost, and whose son, Mr. James Lumsden is, we are glad to know, at the present moment the honourable Treasurer of the city. It conveys the extraordinary statement, as some of our readers will now surely regard it to be, namely, that up to the year 1812, "one hundred years, had elapsed since the citizens of Glasgow were represented in Parliament by one of their own merchants, viz., Mr. Kirkman Finlay, Lord Provost of the city" of which gentleman, by the bye, we must afterwards speak in a more particular way, as we go on with these Reminiscer^ces. Before, however, we get into more exciting matter, referable to our present work, the Prospectus of which, to REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 15 some short extent, may have been already seen by most of our readers, we may as well give the following rather amusing account of one of our County Elections in Scot- land: It was the County of Bute, joined then with the remote counties of Eoss and Cromarty, in sending one member to Parliament. The unit one was all-powerful in Scotland in those days two members for any one place on this side of the border was never heard of never dreamt of. And by the bye, the keen struggle at Bute, the other day, between the Honourable George Boyle and James Lamont, Esq., of Knockdow, almost rekindles our astonishment and makes us to hold our sides, as we contrast it with the following unique stoiy which we heard originally from Mr. James Gibson Craig, Writer to the Signet, afterwards Sir James Gibson Craig, of Eic- carton, Baronet, whose son, Sir William Gibson Craig, is now the Eight Honourable the Lord Clerk Eegister of Scotland. Sir James, had the story at first, we think, from Mr. William M'Leod Bannatyne, Advocate, after- wards Lord Bannatyne, one of the Judges of the Supreme Court, and a native, we believe, of Eothesay, in whose romantic churchyard he was buried long ago. The story itself, at a more recent period of history, formed the text of an excellent Eeform speech of FRANCIS JEFFREY, and it almost split the sides of some of the members of St. Stephen's, when that eminent man was Lord Advocate of Scotland under the Government of EARL GREY : and as the trite observation is, that a good story is not the worse, but sometimes the better of being twice told, we give it in this wise. It happened to fall to the turn of the County of Bute, at one of the olden elections, to return the one redoubtable member for the three united 16 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. counties of Bute, Ross, and Cromarty. There were, we believe, not more than three-score or say 50 electors or " Freeholders " amongst the batch of the three venerable shires altogether. But from rough or stormy weather at sea, with the utter want of conveyance by land, strange to say, not more than ONE out of the whole roll of Free- holders could reach the Island of Bute in safety, or in due time for the election. That Freeholder happened, for- tunately for himself, to be the expectant member for the three counties, and, panting like a bridegroom for his bride on his marriage day, he, by the most energetic exertions, contrived to reach, on the evening of the day prior to the election, Mountstuart House, the pretty seat, in that Island, of the Earl of Bute, who was once Preceptor and favourite minister of King George the Third, and at one of the ends of the long avenue of beautiful trees still surviving at Mounstuart, there was a small cozy wooden hut in which it was said the Earl studied and wrote some of his devoted letters to the King, reaching London with all expedition, not sooner than eight or ten days after date. On the fine frosty morning of the day of Election, the expectant candidate safely reached the old Court-house, in the ancient Burgh of Rothesay, from which place, we need scarcely remark, our own illustrious Prince of Wales takes one of his first Scotch titles, and here the expectant member found the Sheriff of the Shire, who had safely received the Writ of Election from London, and held it reverentially in his hands. The duty of the Sheriff simply was to read the writ to the assembled meeting of Freeholders whoever they were, and to return it to London in due course, indorsed, with the name and designation of the elected member for the united shires of Ross and Cromarty, &c. The thing REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 17 next to be done according to law, after the reading of the writ at this "great meeting" in Rothesay, was to appoint a duly qualified " Freeholder'' as chairman, to preside at the meeting, and subscribe the rolls. Now, this was a poser. But this accomplished member in esse or in posse, leaped over all difficulties at once. He gravely proposed that he himself should be the chairman of the meeting. He seconded his own motion. He then voted for himself as chairman ; and he took the chair accordingly, and returned thanks for the honour. The next third thing to be done, was to read and take the oaths of allegiance to the King, with the oath of abjuration against the Pope and the Pretender, to be followed by the oath against bribery and corruption, (alas, often violated). But all of these oaths he calmly administered unto himself, holding up his own right hand, and he subscribed each and all of them in their proper order. This done, the great remain- ing, but essential, business of the day came to be per- formed. This was for some Freeholder or other to come forward to nominate and propose to the assembled meet- ing a fit and proper Knight of the Shire, girt with a sword, as the writ required, to represent the said shires in the ensuing Parliament of Great Britain, &c. Up again arose our one notable " Freeholder," and look- ing about him, gravely proposed himself, in the most modest terms, for the dignified office. He thereupon seconded his own nomination. He complacently sat down in the chairman's seat allotted for him, congratu- lating himself on the result. Up he again arose, almost in a twinkling, and declared himself to be " duly elected;" and he thereupon administered to himself the oath " de fiddi" as member. It is impossible to depict the gravity necessary for the next " usual routine, but 18 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. final motion," which was a motion for a vote of thanks unto the chairman for presiding at the said meeting moved and seconded by himself unto himself, there was really no other Freeholder present to do so, and this of course likewise passed nem. con., because, as just remarked, there was absolutely no contradictor in the business of any kind. This may be taken as one good specimen of our old Scotch Elections. And so it was pleasingly enough ended in Rothesay in days of yore, without the semblance of blood or battery of any kind ; although latterly, to the reproach of the place, we are somewhat reluctantly but imperatively called upon to remark that blood and battery to some disgraceful extent were lately perpetrated in Eothesay we mean at the late Parliamentary election of the Hon. Mr. Boyle, pre- sumptive heir to the Earl of Glasgow, in the begin- ning of the present year (1865) still ringing in our ears ; but such violence, we hope, never will be perpe- trated again. By the above and similar elections of the olden time rapidly glanced at in these few previous pages, the whole political power of Scotland was almost monopolized, or absolutely centred, in the hands of a very few particu- lar personages, at the head whereof, especially in the memorable years 1792 and 1793, stood beyond all doubt, the powerful Dundas, or Melville family. They could even persecute, or promote onwards and downwards through the long reign of the Pitt Administration, any person or cause they pleased : and gift away almost any and every place or pension opening up in this kingdom. Remonstrance on any subject to a servile House of Commons was perfectly useless, utterly in vain in those days, because the vast majority of the members of that REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 19 House were virtually elected by themselves, or their dependents : and the Peers of Parliament then also exer- cised no small sway in electioneering matters, which by the Constitution they had no right to do. We remem- ber the story of a very rough member for one of the small English Burghs, or " rotten Burghs," as they were by others called, which story the late celebrated Sir Francis Burdett, once the great English Eeformer of the age, afterwards seized hold of, and threw up in their faces by the force of his satire and his eloquence, to the then assembled members of that House in the course of some great debate. It was to this effect that as some half- dozen of discontented "freeholders,'' or as Cobbett called them, "pot-wallopers," went to their member to complain to him of some vote or other that did not happen exactly to please them he broke out into a violent rage against them, swore like a fury, and told them, " that as he had bought them, so he would sett them by , just as he pleased, at the very first opportunity." And it was Lord Camelford, we think, proprietor of the old rotten Burgh of Sarum, famous in its day for sending two members to Parliament, though there was scarcely half a dozen of dwelling houses in all the place ; but the dominum utile of these lay exclusively in the hands of the noble Lord, who when jeered or taunted for sending the celebrated but captious Home Tooke, as one of its redoubtable two members to Parliament, broke out into an another exclamation, that he could send his own black menial servant-man to Parliament if he pleased, and whose vote for the ayes or the noes, would be received by Mr. Speaker, and counted as much as the greatest Squire in all that House. Hence arose the name of the " Boroughmongers" or sometimes as it was 20 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. called, " the Old Lady" of self election : and on the other hand, those disliking such a system, and conse- quently opposed to it, and advocating for a v/ise and judicious Keform in the representation, and at one period these indeed were few and far between, were vilified by the stern upholders of this most flagrant and reprehensi- ble system as Black-nebs discontented, seditious fellows, republicans, and levellers, or other foul and odious names worthy of the gibbet or the stake ! And the PRESS, and especially the local Press of this kingdom had, we are sorry to say, very little to say on Political topics, import- ant though many of these topics undoubtedly were to the peace and well-being of the State, including, of course, the interest of the great bulk of the community. In fact, " the gentlemen of the Press,'' especially in this quarter of the kingdom, saw very well that it would be impolitic, if not absolutely dangerous for them to speak out against the " Old Lady of self-election," protected as she was, by all the powers of office ; far less was it pru- dent for them to speak out boldly and manfully in favour of any reasonable measure of Eeform whatever. In proof partly of this, we may mention the fact now coming vividly to our remembrance, that within the last thirty or forty years, Mr. David Prentice, who first started the Glasgow Chronicle, on liberal principles in this city, and became its Editor, was taken over the coals, and sum- marily called to the Bar of the Supreme Court in Edin- burgh, simply because in some mild language he had presumed to animadvert on some very questionable pro- ceedings of that Court itself. All the Whig talent at the bar surrounded Mr. Prentice, at the time ; but he ever felt the stunning blow. And sure enough, about the same period, one of the most upright and public REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. 21 spirited gentlemen in Scotland, and of good landed estate in Forfarshire, we name him now with pleasure, viz., George Kinloch, Esq., of Kinloch, was obliged acting on the advice of his Counsel Francis Jeffrey, Henry Cockburn, and James Moncrieff to fly the country (year 1820,) for presuming to denounce with the true eloquence of a Scotchman, the horrid massacre at Man- chester, which had then recently taken place. All the powers of the Government were keenly and positively directed against Mr. Kinloch. He was pronounced to be an outlaw, by the High Court of Justiciary. But hap- pily he lived to return home in better times ; and in 1832, he was enthusiastically hailed by the Electors of Dundee, as their patriotic representative in the first Reformed Parliament. He died in harness, from the excess of duty in Parliament. We arc proud to say, that we enjoyed his friendship from one of our first dedica- tions made to him in the B-eform cause in early life. But let that pass. Still the persecution that he and others endured in those latter times, which we might enlarge upon if necessary, led to the applauding toast which then- came into vogue, at many social meetings, where politics previously durst not very well be even mooted " The man -who dares be honest in the worst of times." Some other striking instances bearing on the above from proofs in our possession, may be given by and bye. But it is time we should now introduce our readers- more directly to our heroic advocate, Mr. Thomas Muir y and to his most tragical history none hitherto, we are sorry to remark, venturing to do so, and none probably now alive that could do it with so much cherished feeling as we have all along avowed towards him and his memory. " Though dead, he yet speaketh." Few, indeed, if any, at B 22 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. this moment in the land of the living, can personally know the fact, but such it is, that he was born in the High Street of Glasgow, in one of those lofty tenements on the western side, nearly fronting our ancient Glasgow College, which, by the bye, we learn is now about to be removed to a more congenial situation. It is not for us to presume to make any prognostications on that subject in this place, save those of hopeful and increasing renown. The parents of Thomas Muir were quiet, decent, and most respectable people, natives of the city, and that is all we need say about them, except this, that the father was rather a successful and lucrative manufacturer, enjoyed considerable property within the city, and was, besides, proprietor of the pretty little estate and mansion-house of Huntershill, near Gadder, on the northern outskirts of the city. It was a place of rural eminence in those days. It has gone since into other hands, but it may be easily approached now from the Royal Exchange via the Edin- burgh and Glasgow Eailway, in the space of a very few minutes. We thus refer to it for an affecting episode, which in the course of this publication may appear. Being their only son, with an only daughter, Muir's doating parents gave him, as they could well afford, the very best education in the city; first in the Grammar School, under the tuition of Mr. Daniel Macarthur, whose name is still held in grateful remembrance by the des~ cendants of Muir and his ancient pupils. From the Grammar School, Thomas Muir went upwards and on- wards into our venerable College through its Divinity Hall, intending to become a Probationer of the Church of Scotland, and he was at a very early stage of his life, (22,) one of the elders thereof in the Parish of Cadder, in which Parish, we may remark, Huntershill was and is REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 23 situated ; but from his ready tact and powers of debate, evinced in many juridical discussions in College and out of it, he was advised, and finally resolved to direct his energies to the profession of the LAW, as an advocate before the Courts in Edinburgh a profession then holding, as it still does, and we hope, ever will, one of the highest pedestals for honourable fame. Accordingly, with earnest zeal and meritorious exertions, Thomas Muir went and studied for a few years longer in the University of Edin- burgh, and having thus prepared himself, he was taken on trial by the learned Dean and Faculty of Advocates, acquitted himself to their satisfaction, and was admitted without a murmur as one of the members of the Honour- able Faculty of Advocates, in the year 1787 he being then a most accomplished young gentleman, in the twenty-second or twenty-third year of his age, with the most polished, winning, and agreeable manners. The fellow-students, or companions, we observe, who passed the Bar with Muir in the same year, were Sir James Montgomerie, Sir A. M. Mackenzie, and Adam Gillies. The latter rose to distinction, as the Honourable LORD GILLIES, one of the Senators of the College of Justice; and beyond all question, he was one of the most able Judges that ever adorned the judicial bench in Scotland. Yet he had his few foibles desperately fond of WHIST and when he came out to Glasgow to preside in the Court of Justiciary, nothing pleased him so much on some occasions, after the Court broke up towards the even- ing, than to send old John Morrison, or some other pow- dered attending Macer of the Court, for his old cronies Eobert Davidson, Professor of Civil Law in the Univer- sity of Glasgow, the kinsman of Mr. Davidson, now represented by Messrs. Hill, Davidson, Clark, & Hoggan, 24 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. in Frederick Street .ZEneas Morrison, -Writer, grand- father of Mr. Archibald Robertson, now of the Royal Bank in Glasgow, and Dr. Richard Miller, Professor of Materia Medica, in Glasgow a true and genuine Whig : and the friends in reserve for Lord Gillies at the Whist table, in the George Hotel, in George Square, or in the Jumble Club, in Buchanan Street, consisted chiefly of old Mr. James Dennistoun, the founder and projector of the Glasgow Bank, Alex. M'Grigor of Kernock, James Crum of Thornliebank, John Lang, Dean of the Faculty of Procurators, and Samuel Hunter, of the Herald Office all very excellent citizens, and good players at Whist in moderation sixpence on the trick, sixpence on the points, and a crown on the rubber. The Jtimble Club, in Buchanan Street, in those days, we may remark, was situated near to the bottom of that street, where the now splendid warehouses of Messrs. Stewart & M'Donald are being erected, contiguous with those of Mr. Kemp, Messrs. Wylie & Lochhead, Murray & Sons, &c. ; and we almost doubt our own existence, when we call to remembrance the fact that, once upon a time, we could count not more than seven or eight separate and solitary dwelling-houses in that street altogether. These were the dwelling- houses of M'Inroy of Lude, Maxwell of Dargavel, Gordon of Aikenhead, Monteith of Carstairs, &c. And behind their gardens, or in the open fields then running into Gordon Street, the late Mr. Gilbert Kennedy, Collector of Cess, used often to amuse us and others, by telling this fact, among other things, namely, that as regularly as the shooting season came round, and his game license was taken out, he hunted in Gordon Street, including the head of Buchanan Street, and shot between the 1st and 30th of September, yearly, a covey or two of partridges, in that REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 25 identical street. Fancy the partridges now ivhirrmg in Buchanan Street ! Nor is this perhaps more surprising than this other fact, that we have seen the Tiay stacks standing up on the western side of Glassford Street, with the plum trees waving over the long brick wall near Eobin Carrick's celebrated Bank viz., the old " Ship Bank of Glasgow," now merged with others, in the Union Bank of Scotland. But see now the busy hives of human beings in the said Buchanan Street ! the gorgeous shops the displays of gold and silver plate the pretty silken attires, fit for Venus herself, but shaming the worsted and home-spun linen of former times with the delicious viands, of our Thynes, Forresters, and Fergusons, all redolent now of that street, with everything, in short, which wealth seeking. for luxury, can produce. There is, in fact, no other street like Buchanan Street, at this moment in Glasgow, save the Trongate and Argyle Street, to which, we protest, our old associations must ever cling. But from this digression, it will not, we think, be disputed, that when the Jumble Club in Buchanan Street was demolished, it only paved the way for the erection of the far more spacious WESTERN CLUB, farther up at St. Vin- cent Street, wherein the most excellent accommodation, not merely for Lords of Session, if they enjoy now, as Gillies did, rubbers at all, but Dukes, Marquises, Earls, and Squires need we exclude our own jolly merchant princes, who are, in truth, the very life and soul of it. They handsomely offered to place it at the disposal of our gracious Sovereign, when the Queen with her illustrious husband, and the Prince of Wales, and the Princess Eoyal, first visited Glasgow what changes even since then ! o o but as to that Eoyal visit it may become us to have a glowing chapter by and bye, containing some incidents 26 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. that have never yet been seen in print. We must here pause for a moment, and lament that Sir James Anderson, our then Lord Provost, who received the honour of knight- hood, directly from the gracious hand of her Majesty on the occasion, is now no more amongst us. He was truly a good and amiable man. But we are wandering away, as some may think, from our special attachment to Thomas Muir. We therefore return to his now peaceful shrine ; and let us humbly endeavour to speak reverentially and concisely about him. He was, when he first passed the Bar, glad to travel from Edinburgh to Glasgow in the slow but sure Eoyal George or other coaches then going, four-in-hand, at the rate of seven miles per hour especially at the customary opening of the Glasgow Assizes, to plead the cause of some poor friendless miscreant. He sought no fees for so doing he never expected any. But he was fast rising into a sure and lucrative practice in other civic cases of great importance. He was in truth becoming the pride and ornament of the Bar, vieing at the time with Sir John Connell, afterwards Procurator of the Church of Scotland, Eobert Hamilton, Sheriff-Depute of Lanarkshire, and John M'Farlane, of Kirkton, Campsie. It is not out of joint here, to remark, that in five years afterwards, viz., in 1792, Sir Walter Scott passed his examination as Advocate, at that Bar, George Cranston (Lord Corehouse), and David Boyle (Lord Justice-Clerk), in 1793 Francis Jeffrey, in 1794; and in 1800, John Archibald Murray, with Henry Brougham (ever illustrious be the name of Lord Brougham !) Francis Horner, and Henry Cockburn, they all passed the same Bar, and remembered well the antecedents of Thomas Muir ; while some of them, but not the whole, adored his principles almost with their whole hearts. REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 27 He burst out now, towards the year 1792, into a blaze of Political fame. He cast aside all his youthful diffidence. He literally became a strong man, clad, as it were, in bright polished political armour. He began to attack, single-handed and alone, and with language never before heard of in Scotland, the gross and flagrant corruptions of the State. He in brilliant tones, or with eloquence almost irresistible, rivetted the attention of his hearers at meetings held with them in regard to the ignoble state of o T DON. At four o'clock yesterday morning, Messrs. Muir, Skirving, and Margarot, were taken from their beds without any previous notice, handcuffed, and put into a post-chaise, to be conveyed to Woolwich, where a vessel waits to sail with them immediately for Botany Bay. Mr. Palmer has, we understand, been sent from on board the Hulks in the same manner, to take his passage on board the same vessel." Yours, " SENEX." And thus "Senex" being away, his mantle resting no longer on the shoulders of any of his age in Glasgow, for he was the first and last of his race for telling with unclouded memory, many things appertaining to Glasgow of the olden time we shall say of him in no sorrowing mood, for he was ripe of years, and lived beyond the allotted space for man, we shall simply say, that we will endeavour to cherish his memory with filial respect, remembering that, " Dust to dust," we must all go, sooner or later. Stop ! "We must really make another pause here, and crave the pardon of our readers, at the risk, as some may think, of overweening vanity and great presumption, in order to give in this place another one out of the many letters we received from Senex, which has just turned up to our hand, but it is too graphic and valuable in some respects to be altogether lost sight of ; and, more- over, while we feel, and are duly sensible, that it is much too flattering to ourselves personally, yet, in a subdued REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 53 spirit, we ought to be justly proud of it as coming from such a man, unrivalled as he has been in Glasgow his- tory. We may well afford to allow others to criticise us as they please in the most severe terms, since we hold this autograph from Senex ; and who is there amongst us in all Glasgow that would not feel somewhat proud, if to him it had been addressed ? STRAHOUN LODGE, MILLPORT, 81st Jan., I860. MY DEAR SIR, I duly received the Gazette of Saturday, containing a very flattering eulogy upon the merits of Senex, which is truly greatly overcharged. In place of Senex, the article should be read Peter Mackenzie, in which case it would have told ths truth. No man has contributed so much to the intellectual stores of Glasgow within the last half century, as Mr. Peter Mackenzie. He has every part and pertinent of the ancient city at his finger ends, treasured up in his comprehensive inind, which is still clear as crystal. He is altogether a very charming gentleman. Now, this is God's truth ; and truly in place of Senex, the Banquet should have been given to Peter. There is a subject, regarding which I have often thought of explain- ing to you, but felt a delicacy in doing so. From the long time that I have been acquainted with you, and from your kind attentions to me on various occasions, you no doubt thought that I should have sent a fair proportion of my scribblings to the Gazette, if such scrib- blings were of any value ; but the truth is, that the Herald Office ha* behaved in so remarkably handsome a manner to me, that I considei myself honourably bound to give it a preference. I had written the enclosed for the Herald, but as I see that you have the subject of " Satisfy the Production," in hand, perhaps it would suit to publish this article in the Gazette, with some of your own racy remarks, which you, being once a limb of the law, are excellently qualified to embellish. I feel very much flattered by the kindness of the Archaeological Society, in inviting me to a Banquet ; but I think very few of that Society know me by sight, and that they will be sadly disappointed on the occasion, owing to my being almost quite deaf, and unable to hear a word that may be spoken, unless it is roared in my lugs. I am, my dear Sir, yours truly, ROBERT REID. D 54 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Eight o'clock. MY DEAR SIR, The foregoing letter was closed and ready to be Rent to the post-office, when yours of yesterday came to hand. I am really ashamed of the attention thus bestowed upon me, as it far exceeds the merits of any thing that I have done. Please give my acknowledgments to the Old Volunteers for the high honour of meeting them on the 8th proximo, and say that I accept the invita- tion with great pleasure, and will bring the entire troop of the Glasgow Light Horse Volunteers of 1797 along with me. R. R. Our readers will please understand that "the entire troop" of the Glasgow Light Horse Volunteers of 1797, so pleasingly referred to by Senex in the above note, was represented in his own venerable person, as he was then the last sole survivor of all its officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates. Think of this ye sprightly Volun- teers of the present day ! "Who is there amongst you all of your thousands strong, that can reckon up to the great age of 93 ? TO SENEX. (TRANSLINED FROM COWPER'S POEMS, BY P. M.) JUNE, 18G5. Our good old friend is gone, gone to his rest, Whose social converse was itself a feast. ye of younger age, who recollect How once ye loved, and eyed him with respect, Both in the firmness of his better day, While yet he ruled you with a father's sway, And when, impaired by time and glad to rest, Yet still with looks in mild complacence drest, He took his annual seat and mingled here His sprightly vein with yours now drop a tear. In morals blameless as in manners meek, He knew no wish that he might blush to speak ; But happy in whatever state below, And richer than the rich in being so. Light be the turf, good Senex ! on thy breast, And tranquil as thy mind was, be thy REST. REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 55 We cannot, however, recur to the ground which we left, respecting Thomas Muir, till we show our readers in a brief way, how his companions, Gerald, Margarot, and Skirving, were all treated on their trials by the Justiciary Judges. We confess we have never seen or read any thing at all equal to it in the whole history of criminal procedure. The Star Chamber of old is nothing to it. But let our readers judge : MARGAROT'S TRIAL. Prisoner (at the Bar, addressing the Court). Now, my Lords,, comes a very delicate matter, indeed. I mean to call upon you, my Lord Justice-Clerk; and I hope that the questions and the answers will be given in the most solemn manner. I have received a piece of information which I shall lay before the Court in the course of my questions ; first, my Lord, are you upon oath ? Jiistice-Clerk. State your questions, sir, and I will tell you whether I will answer them or not. If they are proper questions, I will answer them. Prisoner. Did you dine, my Lord, at Mr. Rochead's, at Innerleith,. last week? Justice- Clerk. And what have you to do with that, sir ? Prisoner. Did any conversation take place with regard to my/ trial that day ? Justice-Clerk. Go on, sir. Prisoner. Did your Lordship use these words What would you think of giving him (the prisoner) an hundred lashes, together with Botany Bay ; or words to that purpose ? Justice-Clerk. Go on, sir. Put your questions, if you have any more. Prisoner. Did any person did a lady of the company say to you that the people would not allow you to whip him ; and, my Lord, did you not say, that " the mob would be the better for losing a little blood V These are the questions, my Lord, that I wish to put to you at present in the presence of the Court ; deny them, or acknowledge them. Justice-Clerk (turning to the other Judges with him on the Bench). 5G REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Do you think I shall answer questions of that sort, my Lord Hendet- land ? Lord Ilenderland. No, my Lord ; they do not relate to this trial. The rest of the Judges concurred in that opinion, and so the questions were not answered. Now, we have to disclose this astonishing fact to our readers, namely, that James Eochead of Innerleith, in whose house the then Lord Justice-Clerk of Scotland was alleged to have made use of the above horrible lan- guage, was one. of the Jurymen selected by his Lordship ; and one who actually sat as a Juryman on Muir's trial ! GERALD'S TRIAL. As soon as the Court met (10th March, 1794), the prisoner Gerald rose, and stated My Lords, I feel myself under the painful necessity of objecting to the Lord Justice-Clerk sitting upon the Bench, upon this plea: that his Lordship has deviated from the strict line of his duty in pre- judging this cause, in which my fortune and my fame, which is more precious to me than life is concerned. 1 beg to put this written state- ment on record. " In order to show that this objection is not made at random, the prisoner Joseph Gerald offers to prove that the Lord Justice-Clerk has prejudged the cause of every person who has been a member of the assembly calling itself the British Convention, inas- much as he has asserted in the house of James Rochead of Innerleith, that the members of the said British Convention deserved transporta- tion for 14 years, and even public whipping ; and that when it was objected by a person present in company, that the people would not patiently endure the inflicting of such punishment on the members of the British Convention, the Lord Justice-Clerk replied, ' that the mob would be the better for the spilling of a little blood.' I pray, (said the prisoner) that this may be made a minute of the Court I desire to have the matters alleged substantiated by evidence." Lord Eskgrove. " My Lords, this objection which comes before your Lordships is a novelty in many respects and I don't think this panel at this bar is well advised in making it. What could be his motive for it 1 cannot perceive. He has the happiness of being tried REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 57 before one of the ablest Judges that ever sat in this Court ; but he is to do as he thinks fit. I am sure he can have no benefit if he gains the end he has in view; and therefore I cannot perceive his motive, unless it is an inclination as far as he can, to throw an indignity upon this Court. I can ascribe the objection to nothing but malevolence and desperation" Prisoner. My Lord, I come here not to be the object of personal abuse, but to meet the justice of my country. Lord Henderland. 1 desire, sir, that you will behave as becomes a man before this High Court. I will not suffer this Court to be insulted. Prisoner. My Lord, far be it from me to insult this Court. Lord Henderland. Be silent, sir. Prisoner. My Lord Lord Henderland. I desire you will be silent, sir. Lord Swinton (another of the Judges). An objection of this kind, coming from any other man, I should consider as a very high insult upon the dignity of the Court ; but coming from him standing in the peculiar situation in which he now stands at the bar, charged with a crime of little less than Treason, the insolence of his objection is swallowed up in the atrocity of his crime. It appears to me that there is not the smallest relevancy in this objection. Lord Dunsinan (another of the Judges). I think your Lordships ought to pay no attention to it, either in one shape or another. The objection was unanimously disregarded Gerald found guilty and sentenced to fourteen years' transpor- tation. SKIRTING'S TRIAL. The Lord Justice-Clerk proceeded to nominate the first, five of the Jury, and asked the prisoner (who was by all accounts a most amiable man,) whether he had any objections to them ? Prisoner. Yes, my Lord; I object in general to all those who are- members of the Goldsmiths' Hall Association ; and in the second, place, I would object to all those who hold places under the Govern- ment, because this is a prosecution by Government against me, and 58 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. therefore I apprehend they cannot with freedom of mind judge iu a case where they are materially parties. Lord Eskgrove. This gentleman's objection is, that his Jury ought to consist of the Convention of the Friends of the People that every person wishing to support Government is incapable of passing upon this Assize; and, by making this objection, the panel is avowing that it was their purpose to overturn the Government. Justice-Clerk. Does any of your Lordships think otherwise ? I dare say not. Objection repelled. Prisoner sentenced to fourteen years' transportation. WITNESSES. But now see how some of the witnesses on these trials, were treated by the Court. Witness, James Colder. Interrogated by Lord Henderland What is your trade, sir 1 Witness. I have no trade. Lord Eskgrove. If you have no trade, how do you live ? Witness. I am neither a placeman nor a pensioner. Justice-Clerk (turning himself to the other Judges). What do you hink of that, my Lords ? Lord Henderland. What do you call yourself? Witness. A friend of the people. Lord Henderland. You don't live by that ; you must have some 'Occupation. Witness. I am maintained by my father, Donald Calder, merchant, in Cromarty. Justice-Clerk. O ho ! my Lords He has been sent up to the Bri- tish Convention. Witness. No, my Lords, I am not. Lord Advocate. I understand he is a Student at the University. Witness. Yes ; I am. Next witness, Alexander Aitchison, sworn. Justice-Clerk. Remember, sir, you are not come here to give dis- sertations either on the one side or the other. You are to answer facts according to the best of your recollection ; and according to the great oath you have taken, answer the facts that are asked of yoa. REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 59 Witness. My Lord, I wish to pay all respect to your Lordship and this Court ; but I consider myself as in the presence not only of your Lordships, but also as in the presence of the King of kings, and Lord of lords ; and therefore, as bound by my oath, to say every thing that I can consistently with truth, to exculpate this panel, who, I am sure, is an innocent man. Mr. Solicitor- General. Some things you have said now, will, in my opinion, tend to do more hurt than good to the panel. Witness. Of that the gentlemen of the Jury will judge. Justice- Clerk. Mr. Solicitor-General It is needless to put any more questions to this man. Solicitor-General. I shall put no more, my Lord. Witness was ordered to withdraw. Justice-Clerk. Put him out ; put hiia out ! Next witness called, and questioned. Did you ever observe any thing of a seditious or riotous appearance in the Convention 1 Witness. Not in the least. Prisoner. Did you ever hear any thing mentioned or whispered in the Convention that might tend to overturn the Constitution ? Witness. Ne ver. Prisoner. Did you ever hear any thing mentioned there against Placemen and Pensioners? Witness. Often. Prisoner (Margarot). That I suppose is the sedition that is meant to be charged against me. No further questions put to this witness. The next called was John "Wardlaw ; examined by the Lord Advocate. What is your profession ? Witness. A writer. Lord Advocate. Did you see the prisoner sign this Minute (a Minute of Reform Delegates). Witness. I don't recollect his signing it. I don't recollect whether he wrote it or not ; but Mr. Margarot (the prisoner,) is a man of courage, and a man of honour, and a man of virtue, and a man that would not deny his word, by God. Justice-Clerk. What is that you say, sir ? CO REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Witness. I said he would not deny his word. J'uslice-Clerk. But you said something else, sir. Witness. I said, by God. Justice-Clerk. My Lords ; this man is either drunk, or affecting to be drunk. My own opinion is, that he is affecting to be drunk : supposing he is not affecting drunkenness, he ought not to get drunk, knowing that he was to be called here as a witness. LordHenderland. I move that he be committed to prison fora month. And he was committed ! Are not these some racy specimens of the Justiciary trials of 1793 and 1794? But they are not equal to what absolutely occurred with some of the witnesses on Muir's trial two rather astonishing specimens of which we shall just give. Thus, Mr. John Kussell, who was at the time a highly respectable manufacturer in the city, called by Muir, was asked by the Court " whether any person had instructed him what to say." He answered, " none : except to tell the truth." Being asked by the Court who instructed him in that way? he replied, that the general instruction to speak the truth was so com- mon, that he really could not remember at the moment; the particular person who had given it. "Whereupon, the Lord Advocate moved that the witness be committed to prison " for prevarication on oath ! " At this astounding proposal, the panel Muir attempted to address some observations or explanations to the Court ; but the Court commanded him to sit down, as he had no business to interfere for the witness. And so this most respectable gentleman, living and respected for many years after- wards in Glasgow, was handcuffed and taken by the neck to prison, where he lay for three weeks. He published in the Edinburgh papers an indignant letter on the subject, dated from Edinburgh Tolbooth, 3d Sept., 1793. But this was all the redress he received. REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 61 Yet this treatment of Mr. John Russell he went by the name of STURDY in Glasgow, and by that name we saluted him many years ago is as nothing compared with the treatment which the respected Minister of the Parish of Gadder, viz., the Rev. William Dunn, received. He was an exceedingly quiet, and most upright man, and of no small talents as a Preacher of the Word. He esteemed Muir ; for Muir, we think we have already remarked, was one of his elders, and had officiated at some of his Sacra- ments in Gadder Parish. We beg to tell the story for the first time, as follows ; and it probably deserves a special niche in this place : Well ; this quiet, decent, unoffend- ing country minister, in the neighbourhood of Glasgow, happened to be the Moderator, for the time being, of the Presbytery of the bounds ; and as such, it fell to his lot, or it came to be his sacred duty to preach a Sermon before the Synod of Glasgow and Ayr, in this city of Glasgow. This sermon when delivered, was relished, and was reckoned to be a very able one ; and there were some sprinklings of lofty liberality about it, rare of its kind, which gratified the hearts of some of the lay members of the Synod, who heard it circumspectly, in the Old Trpn. They indeed became so prepossessed with the manner and the matter of the sermon, that they desired to have it printed and published, at their own expense. In this laudable fervour of ecclesiastical love towards Mr. Dunn, it happened that the Secretary of the Glasgow Reform Association was also specially directed to write to him a letter, conveying to him the most respectful thanks of that Association for his very excellent sermon, as they were also pleased to call it. This, at the time, naturally afforded some gratification to the worthy minister in his own quiet Manse at Gadder. We have been trying, for 62 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. reasons which will presently appear, to procure a copy of that old printed sermon, but have not been able to succeed. We would almost give ten prices for it now, if we could get it. Not very long after the above event, or this true history of the sermon, the Beagles of the law, instructed by the Sheriff of the County in which we dwell (Lanarkshire), and commanded by the then Lord Advocate (Dundas), went out to Gadder to search for "Seditious papers." The minister somehow or other got a hint that they were coming to him at the Manse, and when they rapped at his front door, he scratched his head, and began to think that the only paper he was possessed of smacking in the least degree of " Sedition," was the aforesaid letter of thanks, -about his relished sermon : so he ran up stairs to his old mahogany drawers, turned up that original, and till then treasured letter, and threw it into the smouldering peat fire of his own kitchen. He then made his obeisance, -and frankly told the officers of the law what he had just done. "Will it be credited ? he was soon afterwards actually seized by the cuff of the neck, on a petition and complaint of the Lord Advocate of Scotland, for falsel}?" and fraudulently destroying, or putting away Seditious letters or papers, and on that positive complaint, he was dragged to the bar of the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh ! He repeated to their Lordships the veritable statement as here given. He did more : he threw him- self " on the clemency of the Court," and respectfully beseeched them to pardon him, if he had done anything wrong. Their Lordships (Star Chamber all over,) after delivering their unanimous opinions " on the criminality of the act of which he stood charged," solemnly declared, " that if he (the Rev. Mr. Dunn,) had been served with an INDICTMENT instead of a petition and complaint, they REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 63 must have inflicted on him the highest arbitrary punish- ment." As it was, and seeing he had humbly thrown himself on the clemency of the Court, they just decerned and " ordained him to be imprisoned in the Tolbooth of Edinburgh for the space of THREE MONTHS." If anybody doubts this, let them turn up the files of the Edinburgh papers of 1793. Happily these extraordinary times are past and gone : and happily, most happily and willingly, do we here record the fact, that, while such was the disposition and temper of the Judges of the High Court of Justiciary in 1793 - and down even to a more recent date, the greatest change has taken place in the disposition of their successors now. We have Judges (1865) of whom, and for whom indivi- dually and collectively, the whole kingdom is justly proud : in whom the whole kingdom, from one end of it to tho other, reposes the most perfect confidence. No improper passion no swaggering bravado, or lawless stretch no brow-beating insolence, or undue prejudice of any kind is now seen to sway them, at this calm and enlightened period of our history. Strictures, no doubt, may still bo 'made upon them criticisms rough and deep, may still appear : but we believe in our consciences, that the judi- cial character of the Bench of Scotland is at this moment perfectly pure, and altogether unsullied. May it ever continue to be so! And we rejoice in this other fact, viz., that whereas we have been denouncing in no measured terms, the system of Jury Trial, as exemplified in these shocking trials in the Justiciary Courts of 1793, the law of Scotland in that respect has been most signally, and materially, and bene- ficially altered or reversed. For after the lapse of about a quarter of a century, and in the year 1821, greatly to 64 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. the lasting fame, we will here say, of the Eight Hon. Thomas F. Kennedy, of Dunure, (then member for the Ayr District of Burghs, and son-in-law of the eminent Sir Samuel Romilly, the greatest English lawyer of his age, who also we know commiserated the cruel fate of Thomas Muir), a Bill was brought into Parliament to put an end to " the Elements of the Art of Packing Juries in Scotland" as our old friend JEREMY BEXTHAM (living at the time,) most ironically, but fittingly called it : which Bill enacted, that the Jury, independent of the Judge, should thenceforth be chosen by BALLOT, and that the prosecutor and the prisoner should equally have right to challenge an exact number of the Jury, without stating any reason for such challenge. The Lord Advocate of the day however, (Sir Wm. Rae) we may here remark, was at first perfectly indignant at such a proposal of change in the law of Trial by Jury in Scotland. He resolutely con- tended that it should continue to be left as it was, in the hands of the presiding Judge, no matter who lie was; and Sir William actually sent out circular letters from the Lord Advocate's Chambers in Edinburgh, and with the Lord Advocate's seal of office upon them, of date Gth April, 1821, addressed to all the Lords-Lieutenant, or Con- veners of Counties in Scotland, beseeching them to meet and to move resolutions against Mr. Kennedy's Bill; and it is the fact, that most of the counties in Scotland positively did so. Nay, some of them with the more sycophantish leaven amongst them, went the length of declaring that it was " contrary to the Articles of the Treaty of Union, to alter in any shape the criminal law of Scotland ;" while others of those counties, the paper " Freeholders'' to wit, on whom we have been animadverting, most positively de- clared that Mr. Kennedy's proposed Bill proceeded "from ci REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 65 restless spirit of innovation," which ought to be suppressed. To the great, to the everlasting honour, we shall here say, in Scotland, of SIR EGBERT PEEL, who was then (Mr. Peel,) His Majesty 'L, Secretary of State for the Home Depart- ment, he refused to sanction with his countenance the selection of the Jury, as exercised in the case of Thomas Muir and others, which he viewed with some astonish- ment, if not with perfect indignation; and therefore he gave his assent to the Bill of Mr. Kennedy, which passed into law, and may be regarded at this hour as the Palla- dium of the just rights and liberties of the people of Scotland, whether in our civil or criminal courts. Glory ! we would here again say, to the memory of Sir Eobert Peel, for doing so. He was a keen and a great Tory ; but that does not detract from our estimation of him in this view. He had a clear and noble perception of some of the best feelings and highest interests of his country; an \ his subsequent crowning glory with respect to the Eepeal of the CORN LAWS, promoting, as is now univer- sally admitted, the interests and welfare of the whole EARTH, shall surely secure for him a high place in the annals of enduring FAME. With some pride, we may remark, that some cf the letters from him with which we were honoured at that period, may be engrafted on other chapters. We always respect WHIG or TORY, if reasonably satisfied they have uprightly discharged their public duty. Sometimes we hit hard; probably we have clone so too often in our day and generation ; but we defy any one to show that we have done so either from malice prepense, or any other the least unworthy motive. Coming then, to another point of review in the extra- ordinary case of Thomas Muir and his companions at 66 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. the Bar of the High Court of Justiciary, in 1793, we have to observe, that there was no appeal whatever from that Court in criminal cases of any description. In civil cases, there lay then, as still, an Appeal to the House of Lords, in almost every case, whether of the most trivial description, or the greatest in land or money. There was, we remember, a tenpenny appeal case to the House of Lords at one time, about the extra price of some two or three chalders of victual to the minister of Twcedside, or Chirnside, or Teviotdale; while at a more recent period, there were the Appeals in the great Earl of Fife case, and the still greater case of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, then united in one title, as to whether the Earl in his spectacles, or the Duke in his slumbers, had properly subscribed their names before witnesses, to certain documents of almost incalculable value. In others of those cases, the appellant to the House of Lords, or the respondent thereto, might slumber on like Eip Van Winkle, for three or more long years, without knowing the result. Nothing could disturb him or them during that long period about that appeal, save the dun- ning letter say, of Mr. Charles Berry, the London solicitor, to make a goodly remittance for fees to Mr. Horn, or Mr. Scarlet, or Sir Charles "Wetherell, or Mr. Brougham, or Mr. Abercromby ; and so have them " primed and ready," as the Appeal was now getting "ripe" for hear- ing. These were the words of some of the old Solicitors. In the days of Lord Chancellor Eldon, whom we have often had the pleasure of seeing, it took whole years at the very soonest, to hear any Scotch Appeal on the Woolsack, in the House of Lords. It sometimes took a period of four or six long years ; and in a letter of an old Glasgow scribe, toddling to London on a long jour- REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. ney of many days and nights to hear his appeal, and after the lapse of many months in London, he writes from Cockspur Street to his then impatient clients in Glasgow, " Hope deferred maketh the heart sad." He had some good hopes after all, that Lord Chancellor Eldon would reverse the Judgment of the whole fifteen Judges of the Court of Session. And so the Lord Chan- o cellor did; whereby that agent made his fortune. WEST- BURY with all his faults, (who without them?) is, we observe, playing " helter skelter" just now with some of our Scotch existing appeals. He is knocking them off with much power and the greatest expedition. But, cui bono? who is to be the next Lord Chancellor? We really cannot tell, any more than we can tell at the moment we now write, who are to be the next members for Glasgow. Here let us pay our humble meed of tribute to both of them (Messrs. Walter Buchanan and Robert Dalglish). Probably we shall never look upon their like again. But if, as we have observed, in civil cases of any kind, an appeal was open or competent to the House of Lords, such appeal in criminal cases was utterly denied ; abso- lutely forbid, no matter how doubtful soever the corpus delicti, or the credibility of the evidence on trial was: no matter how flagrant and exceptionable the charge to the Jury: no matter whether there was Perjury, palpable and plain on one side or other of the case : no matter whether in consequence of any miscarriage, let it be what it might, the fortune or the fame, or the very life of the prisoner depended upon it : no APPEAL whatever, on any ground, lay from that JUSTICIARY Court ; and therefore, the decisions of the Justiciary Court, like the laws of the GS REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Medes and Persians, were unalterable, except only in this respect, that by INFLUENCE of one kind or another, the mercy of the Crown might be interposed ; as it, we are sorry to observe, sometimes has been to those hardly deserving it. And yet there may be many good reasons for denying appeal from the Justiciary Court; for instance, the expeditious machinery of the law, the swift but certain punishment of detected offenders, &c. It is not, however, our province to say any thing more on that theme in tliis place. And now we must approach the dungeon of Thomas Muir. We would rather startle back from it. Although manacled in the Hulks, and compelled to undergo drudgery utterly revolting to his nature, he had some friends in the House of Commons, faulty as that House then was, who were staggered and alarmed on constitu- tional grounds, with the accounts which had reached them of his trial. Some of the greatest Statesmen of the age, while denouncing his sentence, spoke most feelingly in his favour. We cannot name them all. Our space precludes it ; but beyond all doubt, the greatest States- men then in the House, leading their parties, and vehe- mently pitted against each other, on this and other questions, were, Mr. Pitt for the Tories, and Mr. Fox for the Whigs. They sleep together, side by side, in West- minster Abbey. On the 10th of February, 1794, Mr. Fox rose, and declared in his place in the House of Com- mons, that he considered the sentence on Thomas Muir and his companions, was utterly illegal, " and perfectly abhorrent to the principles of Justice." Mr. Sheridan the bright and brilliant Sheridan on the same night declared, without being challenged by Mr. Speaker, " that such a sentence in Scotland, if pronounced REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 69 in England, "would be enough to rouse the people of England to arms." " I speak (said Sheridan,) with some information. I have seen these unfortunate victims. I have visited them in those loathsome Hulks, where they are confined amongst Felons ;" and, said Mr. Sheridan, rising in the might of his eloquence " If His Majesty's Ministers dared to attempt to make the law of Scotland the law of Sedition in England but they dared not or if they did, they would find it to be a sufficient crime to forfeit their own heads!' It has been remarked, that this was probably the strongest language ever uttered in the House since the reign of CEOMWELL, or the days of HAMPDEN. In these circumstances, and with this evolving spirit, Mr. William Adam, a native of Scotland, and a member of the House, gave notice, that on the 10th of March, he would move an address to the Crown for papers on Muir's trial, with the view of quashing the proceedings, and restoring Muir to his freedom, through the exercise of his Majesty's gracious prerogative. Accordingly on the 10th of March, Mr. Adam made a long and able speech on the subject, going over the whole particulars of the case, and criticising the conduct of the Scotch Judges most severely. We are told it occupied upwards of three hours in its delivery. He concluded by saying, as the then meagre reports of Parliament will show, that, " Feeling for the honour of the country, for the purity of criminal jurisprudence, for the safety of the British Constitution, he had thought it his duty to bring before the House a proceeding which had wounded and tortured the feelings of all considerate men." The motion of Mr. Adam was cordially seconded by Mr. Fox. It was resisted by the Lord Advocate, and by Mr. Pitt. It E 70 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. was supported by the Hon. Charles Grey, (afterwards Earl Grey, Prime Minister,) by Lord William Eussell, and others ; but on a division at three o'clock of the morning, it found only 32 supporters, against 171. Therefore the motion was rejected by a majority of 139. Colonel M'Leod was the only Scotch member who voted with Mr. Adam for the motion. In the House of Lords, nearly at the same time, a similar motion in favour of MUIR, was made by the then Earl Stanhope, seconded by the Earl of Stair. It found only two supporters against 49. But Earl Stanhope recorded his Protest on the Journals of the House, where we presume it may still be seen, of date 31st January, 1794. Of Mr. Adam, personally, we may state these few other interesting facts. He was, we have observed, a native of Scotland, of Blair- Adam, in the County of Kinross. He had two sons who rose to great distinction in the army and the navy, viz., Sir Charles Adam, and Lieut-General Sir Frederick Adam, who fought at Waterloo ; and we are mistaken, if Mr. W. P. Adam, who sits in the present but about to be dissolved House of Commons, for Clack- mannan and Kinross, and was made the other day one of the Lords of Her Majesty's Treasury, be not the grand- son or the great-grandson of that same Bight Honourable William Adam, and the friend of Thomas Muir, who made the above celebrated motion in 1794. At any rate, we are confident of this, that old Mr. William Adam was, in early life, a most accomplished English Barrister of great practice. He was Counsel for the then Prince of Wales (George the Fourth), and at last in riper years, he came to and settled down in Scotland ; for at the request or under the personal favour of the King, he became, on REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. 71 the first institution of the Jury Court in Scotland, some fifty years ago (1815), the Right Honourable the Lord Chief Commissioner of the Jury Court, with a permanent salary of 4000 per annum. We have seen him fre- quently in Glasgow in the discharge of his high and important duties, and, after these were over, inquiring earnestly about Muir's friends, and the remnant of his early Eeform friends and faithful witnesses, long since gathered to their fathers. Alas, for Muir himself ! His fate was now irrevocably sealed in this country. For soon after the decision of Parliament, he was ruthlessly shipped away for Botany Bay. We, of course, lose all sight of him on that long voyage. It was reported that an attempt was made to take away his life on the pretext of some mutiny on board ; but whether or not, we find, and need only here observe, that he appears to have arrived safely at Sydney, on the 25th of September, 1794 the first Seditious passenger, or rather we shall declare, the very first gentleman that ever landed under the ban of any sentence in that place. "We have not recovered any of his first intercepted and affectionate letters to his parents; but we will give after- wards a most pathetic one from Skirving, to his sad grieving wife, left behind him with their young family in Edinburgh, the recital of which might melt the heart of the hardest stone at this day. While we have given the strong and pointed language employed by Fox and Sheridan in the House of Com- mons, let us give now the following most agreeable and exquisite tribute applicable to Muir and to Scotland, from the lips of CUREAN, as contained in his brilliant 7-7 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. speech for Hamilton Rowand, charged for Sedition, at Dublin, in 1794 : Gentlemen of the Jury, It is to my mind most astonishing that in such a country as Scotland a nation cast in the happy medium between the spiritless acquiescence of submissive poverty, and the sturdy credulity of pampered wealth ; cool and ardent ; adventurous and persevering; winging her eagle flight against the blaze of every science, with an eye that never winks, and a wing that never tires ; crowned as she is with the spoils of every art, and decked with the wreath of every muse, from the deep and scrutinizing researches of her Hume, to the sweet and simple, but not less pathetic and sublime morality of her Burns how, from the bosom of* a country like that, genius, and character, and talents, should be banished to a distant bar- barous soil, condemned to pine under the horrid communion of vulgar vice and baseborn profligacy, for twice the period that ordinary calcu- lation gives to the continuance of human life. Surely every Scotchman, of whatsoever creed he may be, should feel justly proud of such a compliment, rehearsed now, after the dark vista of so many long years. It stands perhaps unrivalled in the English language ; but it reached not the ears, nor did it touch the heart or soothe the bosom of Thomas Muir, whose trial was the means of calling it forth. He was then far away ! He was located amongst the first group of banished convicts in that foreign land; and we have to mention this other singular fact, hardly credible, that besides the other convicts already enumerated, there was one amongst them, sent out in the same ship along with him, a notorious person, of the name of Henderson, who had been tried at the Glasgow Assizes three years before, for the capital crime of murder. Strange to say, Thomas Muir had acted as the Counsel for that very man at his trial in the city of Glasgow. There were some extenuating circumstances in the case. Muir ably turned them into good account for the unhappy trembling wretch, and literally saved his neck from the REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 73 gallows; for the Jury returned, as Muir entreated them to do, the modified verdict of " culpable homicide ;" and the culprit received sentence of 14 years' transportation, the exact period, be it observed, of Muir's own sentence for his " Sedition !" Conceive for a moment this wretched prisoner and his amiable Counsel voyaging together, and partaking of the same fare, and ultimately landing as fellow-convicts at Botany Bay! Is there a painter who can sketch this? Yet more singular still : it happened most fortunately for Muir and his companions Skirving, Margarot, Gerald, and Palmer, that the first Governor in the then unex- plored colony of New South Wales, was Mr. John Hunter, a Scotchman by birth, who had originally gone thither from the citadel of Leith. We ought really to be somewhat proud of that original Governor, though we never saw him and rarely heard of him, and his reign is long since over. But this good Governor in the year 1795, writes home to his friends at Leith the following rather interesting letter, which shows us what manner of man he was. It was originally published in the Edin- burgh Advertiser, in the year 1796: N. S. WALES, 16th Oct., 1795. The four gentlemen, -whom the activity of the Magistrates of Edin- burgh provided for our Colony, I have seen and conversed with separately, since my arrival here. They seem all of them gifted in the powers of conversation. Muir was the first I saw. I thought him a sensible young man, of a very retired turn, which certainly his situation in this country will give him an opportunity of indulging. He said nothing on the severity of his fate, but seemed to bear his circumstances with a proper degree of fortitude and resignation. Skirving was the next I saw ; he appeared to me to be a sensible, well-informed man not young, perhaps fifty. He is fond of farming, and has purchased a piece of ground, and makes a good use of it, 74 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. which will, by and by, turn to his advantage. Palmer paid me the next visit ; he is said to be a turbulent, restless kind of man. It may be so, but I must do him the justice to say, that I have seen nothing of that disposition in him since my arrival. Margaret seems to be a lively, facetious, talkative man complained heavily of the injustice of his sentence, in which, however, he found I could not agree with him. I chose to appoint a time for seeing each separately and on the whole I have to say that their general conduct is quiet, decent, and orderly. If it continues so, they will not find me disposed to be harsh or distressing to them. It may not here be altogether out of place to observe, that the first shipment of convicts from this country to Sydney, or to Botany Bay, or New South Wales, took place we think in the year 1785 : in fact, the now great and rapidly extending Colony of Australia, where heaps of gold have latterly been discovered, might then be said to be a vast barren wilderness ; for when Muir with his -companions were landed at it in 1794, there were only a mere handful a few dozens of individuals in the Colony altogether; whereas now (1865) it is teeming with its thousands and tens of thousands of free inhabitants under the British Crown, sending home to this mother country of ours, cargoes of gold to an extent hitherto unknown, and perfectly unparalleled in the history of the world. Thomas Campbell, the Bard of Hope, thus depicted it fifty years ago : " Delightful land, in wildness ev'n benign, The glorious past is ours, the future thine! As in a cradled Hercules we trace The lives of Empire in thine infant face. "What nations in thy wide horizon's span Shall teem on tracts untrodden yet by man ! What spacious cities with their spires shall gleam Where now the panther laps a lonely stream ; And all but brute or reptile life is dumb, Land of the free ! thy kingdom is to come!" REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 75 Mr. Hunter, the original good old Governor, seems evidently from the first interviews he had with them, to have formed a favourable opinion of our Scottish exiles; nor is this to be wondered at. They were utterly unlike any of the vile, depraved, daring pri- soners sent out in those early days to Botany Bay. They were men of high education and elegant accom- plishments, not rogues or vagabonds, or villanous dregs of society; and accordingly we learn that the Governor humanely took it on him not to oppress them with chains, or to yoke them in horrid* gangs with others at hard penal labour, but to afford them some rational indulgences in their unexampled situation. We may also observe, that Muir, Palmer, and Skirving, were possessed of small but sufficient sums of money impressed into their hands for all their supposed temporal wants, by their sorrowing relatives, ere they quitted this coun- try : and at Botany Bay they might have drawn for any further supply on their friends at home, if opportunities arose or occasion required it. After being for some little time reconciled as much as possible to their doomed fate, they each purchased under the approval of the Governor, several small tracts of land (now of great value), and Muir, Skirving, and Palmer actually built for the first time in that country, three neat pretty little cottages almost adjoining each other, in which, doubtless, they frequently talked over the vicissitudes they had experienced at home, mingled by the smiles and tears of those loved relations from whom they had been so ruth- lessly separated, and whose virtuous countenances depicted with all the shades and sorrows of life, would probably start up before them "in their mind's eye" with ten- fold force in that banished land, the wild sceneiy of 76 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. which, though fresh and fascinating to them as they first beheld it, could not subdue the inward, homeward throb- ings of their own vexed hearts, nor obliterate therefrom the sense of other recollections, impossible to be described, and impossible to be reviewed, by any narrative what- ever from the pen of any human being on this earth. 'Tis Tannahill, we think, who wrote the following lines : " The fate-scourged exile destined still to roam Through desert wilds, far from his early home, If some fair prospect met his sorrowing eyes Like that he owned beneath his native skies ; Sad recollection, murdering relief, He bursts in all the agonies of grief; Mem'ry presents the volume of his care And ' harrows up his soul' with ' such things were.' 'Tis so in life, when youth folds up his page, And turns the leaf to dark, black, joyless age, Where sad experience speaks in language plain, Her thoughts of bliss and highest hopes were vain. O'er present ills I think I see her mourn, And ' weep past joys that never will return.' " Our readers may here excuse us if we point out to them in a few plain words, and as nearly as possible, the exact relative position of those three gentlemen thus stationed together for the first time in New South Wales. Muir, at that date, was about thirty years of age, unmarried. Skirving was then about forty-five years of age, married, with an accomplished wife, and several young children left behind, sobbing and sighing for him in Scotland ; one of these children, still alive, in a good old age, may be recognised now in the person of the venerable Mr. Alexander Skirving, late of Messrs. Barclay and Skirving, the eminent auctioneers of this city. We may here observe of Skirving, that he was in early life a minister of the Gospel, connected either with the REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 77 Baptist or Relief, or other body, no matter which ; and he was once, we find, tutor in the family of Sir Alexander Dick, of Prestonfield, near Edinburgh ; but he came to prefer agricultural pursuits, and at the date of his trial he was becoming, by his steady habits, energy, and enter- prise, one of the most successful farmers in the Lothians, near Edinburgh. It was only when going occasionally to the city of Edinburgh, that he became acquainted with its leading Political Reformers, and heartily gave them his honest and active support. Palmer was now about forty years of age, unmarried. He was a highly educated gentleman, having studied in the Universities both of Oxford and Cambridge. He was related to some of the first families in England, and was a licentiate of the Church of England. It was only when coming occa- sionally to Scotland, and residing at Perth, that he lent his abilities, and broke out into all the strains of fervent English eloquence in favour of Scottish Reform ; but for this, almost as a matter of course, he was held to be guilty of sedition, and banished beyond seas. Ma.rgarot was a light-hearted, jolly, good Englishman, with a sprightly wife, who died in grief soon after his banish- ment, uttering these words from an old Scottish ditty : " Ye cruel, cruel, that combined The guiltless to pursue ; My Margaret was ever kind, He could not injure you. A long adieu ! but where shall fly, Thy widow all forlorn ? When every mean and cruel eye Regards my woe with scorn." Joseph Gerald, who afterwards joined them in captivity, was in the thirty-ninth year of his age, a widower, leaving behind him a son and daughter of good estate. In early 78 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. life he was one of the favourite pupils of the celebrated Dr. Samuel Parr, to whom he was devotedly attached* From one of his eloquent letters, written after sentence of banishment was pronounced, to Mr. Phillips, one of his early and unswerving friends, we extract the following passages, which at once show the classical scholar and accomplished gentleman: MY DEAR MB. PHILLIPS, I know not how to express the rising sentiments of my heart for your unbounded kindness to me. The best return, the only return I can make, is, to convince you, by the virtue and energy of my conduct, that I am not altogether unworthy of your friendship. A parade of professions neither suits you nor me, nor the occasion. You know my feelings, and will, therefore, do justice to them; and with this simple observation I close the subject. To the greater part of my friends I have written to Dr. Parr I have not written ; but to his heart my silence speaks. The painter who could not express the excessive grief, covered with a veil the face of Aga- memnon. Tell him, then, my dear Mr. Phillips, that if ever I have spoken peevishly of his supposed neglect of me, he must, nay, I know he will, attribute it to its real cause a love, vehement and jealous, and which, in a temper like Gerald's, lights its torches at the fire of the furies. And when my tongue uttered any harshness of expression, even at that very period my heart would have bled for him ; and the compunction of the next moment inflicted a punishment far more than adequate to the guilt of the preceding one. Tell him to estimate my situation not by the tenderness of his own feelings, but by the firmness of mine. Tell him, that if my destiny is apparently rigorous, the unconquerable firmness of my mind breaks the blow which it cannot avert; and that, enlisted as I am in the cause of truth and virtue, I bear about me a patient integrity which no blandishments can corrupt, and a heart which no dangers can daunt. Tell him, in a word, that as I have hitherto lived, let the hour of dissolution come when it may, I shall die the pupil of Samuel Parr. Ever yours, JOSEPH GERALD. In one of Mr. Palmer's first letters, dated from Sydney, New South Wales, 15th December, 1794, to his friend REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 79 Mr. Jeremiah Joyce, then one of the most eminent men in the city of London, he thus gives the following original and very interesting account of the Colony; and we pub- lish it here, because it proves how well some of his predic- tions about it have come to pass : MY DEAR SIR, I wrote you an imperfect account of myself by the " Resolution," Captain Locke, about a month ago. I write now to show you that I cannot forget you, but you must not expect a long letter. Mr. Muir, at whose house I write (our three houses are contiguous), and honest Mr. Skirving are both well, and I think as cheerful as myself. The reports you have had of this country are mostly false. The soil is capital the climate is delicious. I will take it upon me to say that it will soon be the region of PLEXTY. To a philanthropic mind it is a wonder and delight ; to him it is a new creation. The beasts, the fish, the birds, the reptiles, the plants, the trees, the flowers are all new so beautiful and grotesque that no naturalist would believe the most faithful drawing, and it requires uncommon skill to class them. We have gone into some of these particulars from the desire to show, or rather to prove, that the prisoners were not the low, grovelling, seditious wretches, as some might suppose them to be, and as many at first actually believed them to be in this country, but that they were in truth most amiable and accomplished persons; and from other particulars in our possession we have ascertained the fact, and delight to mention it, namely, that as every Sabbath morning came round, while they were thus in bondage far away, they remembered, as they did at home, the homage due from them to their Creator, and chaunted from their hearts, and with melody from their lips, the following still-abiding and ever-enduring paraphrase : " O God of Bethel ! by whose hand Thy people still are fed ; Who through this weary pilgrimage Hast all our fathers led : 80 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Our vows, our prayers, we now present Before thy throne of grace : God of our fathers ! be the God Of their succeeding race. Through each perplexing path of life Our wand'ring footsteps guide ; Give us each day our daily bread, And raiment fit provide. spread thy covering wings around, Till all our wand'rings cease, And at our Father's lov'd abode Our souls arrive in peace. Such blessings from thy gracious hand Our humble pray'rs implore ; And thou slialt be our chosen God, And portion evermore." We pause here with some propriety, we hope to question whether, up to that period (1794), such pathetic and sublime strains had ever before been heard by any human being in that vast vacant region that boundless contiguity of space. The Governor and his quiet family, living at no great distance, accidentally overheard them, and were at first perfectly entranced or delighted with them. " Hark ! how the awakened strains resound, . And break the yielding air : The ravished sense how pleasingly they wound, And call the listening soul into the ear." Thus the old Scottish Psalmody, which Skirving and Muir could give with perfect harmony, went with the thrilling remembrance of its pure old cadence in Scotland, into the Governor's own glowing Scottish heart. He came again and again and listened, and thanked them for the pleasure they had given to him in this exercise ; and Sabbath after Sabbath for some space, as regularly as that blessed day of rest came round, was occupied by these seditious- REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 81 mongers of Scotland, or as the then Lord Advocate of Scotland called them, " these horrid pests of society." " To Thee, God, we thy just praises sing ; To Thee we Thy great name rehearse : "We are thy vassals, and this humble tribute bring To Thee, acknowledged only Lord and King, Acknowledged sole and sovereign monarch of the universe ! All parts of this wide universe adore, Eternal Father ! Thy almighty power : The skies and stars, fire, air, and earth and sea, With all their numerous, nameless progeny, Confess, and their due homage pay to Thee." Is it impertinent here to remark, that if in our own times it be the fact, that two Italian singers shall receive for their duets one night in the Hayrnarket of London as much as 200 sterling, we wonder what would now be given on this earth for the thrilling music of these four condemned convicts, as originally performed by them no, that is not the word as originally chaunted by them under the blue vault of Heaven ? We are satisfied, from all the information we have been able to obtain, that Thomas Muir himself entertained no other idea than this, that they would be kept in bondage during the whole course of that cruel sentence unless, indeed, Death, the sure Vanquisher of all, should cut it short. He therefore became contented with teaching, agreeable to the request of the Governor, some of the ignorant wretched outcasts around him, who had probably despised or rejected the most salutary lessons at home; and for which or their other crimes they were now languishing in a foreign land. The small pocket Bible given to Muir by his parents was his chief book ; and from it he made some extracts by the print of his own hand, and gave them, like a good missionary, to those 82 REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. about him that he thought required them. We shall afterwards show how that Bible, besmeared with blood, came actually to save his own life in another and different region thousands of miles farther away. But there, in that place at Sydney, it is not too much for us to say, that Thomas Muir and his four virtuous companions first dug up the untrodden paths of civilized man, and watered with their tears that barren soil now so rich and luxuriant. And who is there amongst us that could possibly have imagined, at the period we are writing about, that the Australia of 1795 would in 1865, by its then hidden but now discovered gold and other products, almost control the destinies of the world? But whatever may be said or thought of these things, we venture to assert that Thomas Muir and his four banished companions from Scotland, first engrafted on it by their example and labours the seeds of real worth and lasting welfare. If diamonds, aided sometimes by the artifices of men, shall sparkle in this nether world, is it extravagant to suppose that the chaste eloquence of Thomas Muir, with the lofty principles which he carried out with him to Sydney, were treasured and acceptable in still loftier regions? Does not Cowper, the best of English poets, inform us that persecution sometimes chases " up to heaven ? " But we are not to soliloquise on this theme for a moment longer. Striking events of another kind, in another direction, come now upon us. Though thus far away, and in exile at Sydney, never expecting, as we have said, to return to his native country, a new era burst upon him of the most extra- ordinary kind and in the most extraordinary manner. Indignant, undoubtedly, as was much of the feeling of Scotland, England, and Ireland, at his cruel and unmerited REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 83 sentence, lie found no relief in those quarters, but the TRIAL itself, with the discussion about it in both Houses of Parliament, was wafted from Britain across the waves of the Atlantic, and came under the direct notice of GEORGE WASHINGTON, then the first, and the best, and the most illustrious President of the United States of America. Honour everlastingly to his great and spotless name. George Washington immediately formed the bold resolution to rescue, if he could, this young, able, and excellent Scottish advocate from his cruel captivity, and to bring him safely from the iron grasp of his enemies to the States of America, then blooming with the first-fruits of its early liberty, and there in America to have him to adorn its younger bar, or probably to shed lustre with his talents on its rising Bench. It is the fact, that the stirring eloquence of Thomas Muir, the burning words which he uttered at the bar of the Justiciary Court in Scotland, despised and re- jected as these were by those to whom they were addressed, penetrated the heart of Washington in his- own virtuous and exalted CABINET. And whatever we may think of America, or any of its States now (year 1865), we have to record this other most singular but gratifying fact, to the honour we will say of that great nation, that in the year 1795, scarcely two years- after Muir's trial in Edinburgh was over, there was fitted out at New York, the good ship named the "OTTER," commanded by Captain Dawes, for the purpose of pro- ceeding direct to Sydney, for the relief of Thomas Muir, in particular, and his fellow compatriots, if there they could be found. That ship, with its gallant crew, reached the Cove of Sydney in safety, and there cast anchor on, or about the 5th day of February, 1796. Some of its 84 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. officers speedily went 011 shore and espied or recon- noitered, and saw the Governor ; and they tarried about the place for several days on the ingenious, but natural pretext, that they needed some little relaxation on shore, and would like to get some fresh water from the murmur- ing rills in the neighbourhood for the supply of their ship. No suspicion whatever was entertained about them by the Governor, or by any individual of his slender staff, then about him. In fact, there was scarcely more than one or two hundred individuals in the place alto- gether. Pause, gentle reader, and think how it stands now ! Captain Dawes, the American messenger of mercy, as we may call him, sent by Washington on this errand, had soon the exquisite satisfaction of seeing and saluting Thomas Muir, and of grasping him cordially by the hand, and of whispering into his astonished ears, the message borne to him from Washington. Let some painter sketch this also with his pencil if he can. Our pens utterly fail to do it. And, therefore, we simply proceed to notice the fact, that Thomas Muir was speedily and safely taken on board the ship " Otter," whose flags were then most swiftly and gladfully unfurled, amidst the huzzas of all on board. Away that ship set sail from Sydney, appa- rently with glowing and favourable breezes. We must observe that Muir left behind him, in his cottage, a respectful letter addressed to the Governor, thanking him for all his kindness ; and there is not the least doubt that Muir embraced an opportunity of seeing his other companions and shaking hands with them, or bidding them an affectionate farewell, ere he left them in that place. " Thus Liberty, like day, Bursts on the soul, and by a flash from heaven Fires all the faculties with glorious joy." REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. 85 Of course the news of his escape came speedily to be known in the Colony: but what could the alarmed, petri- fied, and astonished Governor do? He had neither ships nor fleet, nor forces of any kind, to send in quest of him ; and although this singular and romantic escape must, in the nature of things, have gratified in secret the hearts, if it did not at the moment excite the further hopes, of those that remained in exile behind, it was of little consequence and no consolation to them much longer, because we learn the sad fact that poor Gerald was then actually stretched upon the hard couch of his unplenished deathbed, in his hut, in the last stage of consumption the symptoms of which had been visible upon him ere, with his serene and smiling countenance, he had been sent from England; and poor Skirving the amiable and virtuous Skirving breathing incessant prayers for his wife and children at home, was stricken with a mortal disease, and died within three days afterwards. Let some tears flow yet, if they can, for their memory ! while the coldest heart may be moved a little by the perusal of the following original letter the only one we will give from Skirving to his wife, written on his voyage outward : Kio DE JANEIRO, 5th July, 1794. MY DEAR, I wrote you by the "West India fleet when they parted with our convoy, which letter I hope you received. We arrived at this port yesterday in safety. My increasing love for you constrains me already to begin writing to you, but I shall keep my letter open while I may not lose the first opportunity of transmitting it. My unshaken faith in God our Saviour, that he is and will continue to be the husband of my widow and the father of my fatherless children, while the designs of his providence require the continuance of our separation, continues my support in this very unpleasant voyage. I trust your experience of this grace supports your comfort, and invigo- rates your faith and hope in the same Almighty power and love. F 86 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. I will not write you the particulars of our voyage till we are arrived at our destined port. Indeed, an intervening disagreeable occurrence renders it imprudent to write particulars. It has caused nie much trouble and vexation ; but the abounding, the superaboundiug conso- lations of Divine truth, and conscious innocence, have been my shield, and will ere long turn "the counsel of the fro ward headlong. Let our friends everywhere know that we will do nothing to dis- grace the cause of truth and righteousness for which we suffer. Probably the exclamation of the poet should be given here : " Good Heaven ! what sorrows gloomed that parting day, That called them from their native walks away. Yet with loud plaints the mother spoke her woes, And viewed the cot whence all her pleasure rose, And kissed her thoughtless babes with many a tear, And clasped them close, in sorrow doubly dear ; While her fond husband strove to lend relief, In all the silent manliness of grief." The first intelligence of Muir's remarkable escape from Sydney, was conveyed home in a letter written by Maurice Margarot to his friend Thomas Hardy, the veteran politician, in London (a native of Falkirk), pre- viously tried for his life on the charge of high treason, in 1793. That letter was published in the Edinburgh Advertiser of 1799. It simply says: "Mr. Muir has found means to escape hence on board an American vessel which put in here under pretence of wanting wood and water. She is named the ' Otter/ but from what part of America I know not. It is reported she came in here for as many of us as chose to go." The above intelligence, of course, electrified many in this country. We had certainly no electric wires at that time, nor for many long years afterwards and, by-the-bye, people were as sceptical about those wires as they originally were about the first " Comet" steamer, which REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 87 we remember we had the pleasure of seeing on the day of its very first voyage upon the Clyde. We retain in our possession one of the first original tickets issued to its cabin passengers by Henry Bell. Many people, of excellent hearts and liberal principles, inwardly rejoiced at this wonderful escape of Thomas Muir from Sydney; while others yet scarcely dared to utter in public what they really thought concerning him and his accusers: such was still the political state of Scotland at the time. But, alas ! for poor Muir. Though he was sailing for some weeks delightfully towards America, the promised land of his freedom and adoption, and was treated with every possible kindness, civility, and respect, by all the- officers and crew of that memorable ship ; yet, by the- inscrutable decrees of the Almighty, they were overtaken, by a violent hurricane, and the ship itself was driven on some dangerous rocks near Nootka Sound, on the western coast of America. The fated vessel almost immediately went to pieces. Yea, every soul on board perished, except Thomas Muir himself and two sailors. They alone reached the bleak shore, scarcely in life; and after wandering about for some days, feeding on the herbage or other things they could secure for the pressing wants of nature, Muir found himself unexpectedly separated from those two survivors, and never knew what became of them. Soon after this woful catastrophe, Muir himself was surrounded and captured by a tribe of roaming savages, from whose hands he expected nothing but the most miserable death. Whether from his mild and pleasing countenance, or any of the lessons of Freemasonry he had learned at home, we cannot tell ; but this is certain, that he experienced the most unexpected kindness from those savages : they REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. clothed him, and decorated him with some of their strange habiliments, and shared with him the best of their peculiar food, and he actually lived amongst them for several weeks. At last, with the instincts of liberty still sustaining him, he contrived in some other extraor- dinary way to escape from them. He had now no human being to direct his course. The stars of heaven, with some knowledge of astronomy he possessed, were his only guides ; and in this pitiable and forlorn condition he travelled almost the whole of the western coast of North America, a distance of upwards of 4000 miles, without meeting with much interruption. He has made us ac- quainted with the information, that when he laid himself down to repose by night or by day, under the scorching sun or in the night breezes, he read some particular pas- sage or other from his Bible, which had been preserved in his breast pocket on his shipwreck ; and he never failed to commend his soul to the merciful protection of his Maker. That same Bible will tell a still more extraordinary tale as we proceed. " When, chill'd with fear, the trembling pilgrim roves Through pathless deserts and through tangled groves, Where mantling darkness spreads her dragon wing, And birds of death their fatal dirges sing ; While vapours pale a dreadful glimmering cast, And thrilling horror howls in every blast : He cheers his gloom with streams of bursting light, By day a sun, a beaming moon by night, Darts through the quivering shades her heaving ray, And spreads with rising flowers his solitary way." He at last reached the city of Panama. It was then under the sway of the old Spaniards, who were ex- tremely jealous of the appearance of any stranger in their dominions. Mr. Muir fortunately, as may be supposed from his early education, was a good Latin scholar and REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. 89 linguist, and could converse easily in the French language ; so he found his way into the presence of the Governor of Panama, to whom he candidly disclosed his history and escape from Sydney. " Me from my native land An exile, through the dang'rous ocean driven, Eesistless fortune and relentless fate Placed where thou seest me." Moved by this remarkable tale, so strange and pitiful in every degree, the Governor was pleased to order that with the view of reaching America, he should be safely escorted by a party of Spaniards across the Isthmus of Darien, and landed at Vera Cruz, then the grand seaport of Mexico, where probably he would find some American vessel to take him to New York. No such vessel was there found. Muir was therefore sent on to the Havan- nah. The old Spanish Governor of the Havannah had, it seems, received some secret special dispatch from the Governor of Vera Cruz respecting Muir, which rather puzzled or perplexed that high functionary. The Havan- nah Governor, with all his apparent kindness to Muir, now came to the conclusion that instead of permitting him to sail to America, it was his duty rather to despatch him. to Spain, and there let the Spanish Government decide on his final destination. It singularly enough happened and this probably guided the decision of the Governor that there were then lying at the Havannah two Spanish frigates, richly laden with silver specie for Spain; and into one of these frigates, bound directly for Cadiz, Thomas Muir was speedily placed, without, of course, the slightest murmur of complaint on his part. Away these two frigates sailed in company for Cadiz with their colours proudly flying. 90 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Yet another still more marvellous event was soon to happen. These two frigates were scudding home right prosperously, as all on board imagined. They were getting near to, and actually within sight of Cadiz itself. But lo ! the British Government was then at War with France and Spain; and some of our British frigates were then cruising about, eagerly watching for prizes in those seas. We are here for a moment, we own, rather perplexed with mingled feelings of joy and sorrow at the narration of this other singular circumstance, namely, that near to that very harbour of Cadiz, which the two rich Spanish frigates were supposed to be now safely entering absolutely within sight of the glittering towers and battlements of Cadiz, there lay a British squadron under the command of Sir John Jervis, afterwards created, for his valour, the Earl of St. Vincent, in the reign of George the Third. On the morning of the 26th of April, 1797, two of the British frigates belonging to that squadron, viz., the "Emerald" and the " Irresistible," espied approaching those two Spanish frigates, with their sails and colours flauntingly displayed. The signal for chase, and the signal also for battle, was directly given by the British Commodore. And imme- diately the most active preparations for the decisive en- counter were made on both sides, pretty equally matched. The warlike colours of both nations were soon conspicu- ously hoisted in defiance of each other. " All on board held their breath for a time." But what can we think of the state of the feelings of Thomas Muir in these agitating moments not as they were when first " wrenched and riven" at the bar of the High Court of Justiciary, but as they were now solemnly felt on the deep dark ocean, where flashed the dread artillery. The battle was short, sharp, decisive, and bloody. Thomas Muir fell upon the deck REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. 91 mortally wounded. The Spanish frigates, shattered with shot and shell, could no longer resist they struck their flags. The British, ever mistress of the seas, were victo- rious, and seized their prizes. There is a most remarkable tale emerging out of this, which we are persuaded will further excite the astonishment of our readers; but before giving it, we must beg respectfully to direct their calm attention to the following original authentic letter from one of the British officers engaged in that battle, and written very soon after-;it was over, to one of his friends in Scotland, and published in the Edinburgh Advertiser of June, 1797: His MAJESTY'S SHIP " IRRESISIBLE," AT ANCHOR, OFF CAIMZ, 28th April, 1797. On the 26th instant, lying off here, saw two strange ships standing for the harbour; made sail after them with the "Emerald" frigate in company, and, after a chase of eight hours, they got an anchor in one of their own ports in Canille Bay. We brought them to action at two in the afternoon. We anchored abreast of them, one mile from the shore, and continued a glorious action till four, when the Spanish colours were struck on board, and on shore, and under their own towns and harbours. Our opponents were two of the finest frigates in the Spanish service, and two of the richest ships taken during this war. A viceroy and his suite, and a number of general officers, were on board one of them. I am sorry to say that, after they struck, the finest frigate ran on shore. We, however, got her off at twelve at night ; but from the shot she received she sunk at three in the morn- ing, with all her riches, which was a sore sight to me, especially as I had been on board her. We arrived here with our other prize, and are landing our prisoners. Among the sufferers on the Spanish side is Mr. Thomas Muir, who made so wonderful an escape from Botany Say to the Havannah. He was one of five killed on board the Nymph by the last shot fired by us. The officer at whose side he fell is at my hand, and says he behaved with courage to the last. But Thomas Muir was not killed on this remarkable occasion. The most singular, the most providential of all 92 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. occurrences about him again took place. No story can ex- ceed in fiction what we arc now about truthfully to relate. It so happened that another British officer, different in rank from the writer of the above letter, was engaged in that same battle, and had boarded the Spanish frigate in which Muir lay, and was in the very act of giving orders to his marines to pitch the killed or the dead overboard, with leaden bullets in their pockets to sink them down to their watery grave. As if by a miracle by the finger of a higher Power this British officer was attracted to the spot where lay the bleeding body of Muir, whose once comely face was now wofully disfigured with its own gore. He had been struck by a ball, and the side of his face was nearly shot away; so, turning him gently over on his back, preparatory to his last final pitch into the sea as his almost certain grave, the small pocket Bible which his parents had given to him at Leith, in the way we formerly mentioned, fell out from one of his pockets and lay beside him on the bloody deck. The British officer last alluded to, in a state of momentary curiosity, snatched up the little book, to look at it and see what it really was. Muir's sinking eyes then opened; he heaved a deep and piteous sigh clasped his feeble hands together, and moved his mangled head, which convinced the British officer that though mortally wounded he was not yet actually dead. He stooped down to view better the wounded man lying thus ghastly at his feet; and refolding some of the pages, and looking particularly at the tattered front page of that small book, this British officer, so employed and so en- gaged, became convulsed and nearly overwhelmed with emotion, for he discovered from the written inscription upon it that the man in this terrible and deplorable state was none other than Thomas Muir, who had actually been REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. one of his first and earliest friends and companions in the College of Glasgow, and of whose horrible sentence he on his naval station had previously heard with something like a shudder. In this most unexpected arid woful extre- mity, this brave British officer, reflecting for a moment on his own position for he might, with others of his officers. and men, easily have secured Muir as his prisoner, and carried him in that capacity to England, where probably he would have found rapid promotion at head-quarters for so doing yet he allowed the more generous and lofty feelings of nature at once to guide and direct him: and so, like the faithful friend, ever true under all circum- stances, or rather like the good Samaritan immortalised elsewhere, he proceeded to quench the bloody gore and to bind up the gashes of Muir's frightful wounds ; and this done, our brave British officer, calling a few of his men together, complacently ordered them to get ready their first pinnace, with a flag of truce, and to carry ashore as gently and expeditiously as possible this bleeding man, with an urgent request to the Spanish authorities to pay immediate and particular attention to him as one of their own wounded. " Roll on, thou deep and dark-blue Ocean roll ! Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain. Man marks the earth with ruin his control Stops with the shore : upon the watery plain The wrecks are all thy deed ; nor doth remain A shadow of man's ravage, save his own, When, for a moment, like a drop of rain, He sinks into thy depths with bubbling groan, Without a grave, unknell'd, uncoflin'd, and unknown." The safe transit of Thomas Muir to the Spanish shore was accomplished. The other results of that battle need not be told. But this we may remark, that had this 94 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. generous officer acted differently, and disclosed the name of Muir, and had him transmitted as a prisoner caught in battle, to England, he might have endured a still more terrible death in this country, such was the temper of the law, and the disposition of the times ; for it must be remembered, his original sentence expressly bore, that if he was found at large within the period of that sentence, he should suffer DEATH. He was now, however, once more beyond the reach of his enemies. At Cadiz he could scarcely speak from the terrible state of his wounds ; but strange to say, by some means or other, his extraordinary escape and arrival at Cadiz was speedily communicated to the French Direc- tory at Paris, to some of whose members he was personally known ; for it will also be remembered, that when he first visited Paris in 1792, the greatest attention and respect was there shown to him. To the honour, we will say, of the French Directory, including its First President, the great NAPOLEON, a French messenger was instantly despatched to Cadiz, to see that every attention was paid to Thomas Muir, and the recovery of his wounds. At last he revived, and was able to write ; for we find, that on the 14th of August, 1797, he addressed the fol- lowing to M. Paine, one of the distinguished members of the French Directory : CADIZ, August 14, 1797. DEAR FRIEND, Since the memorable evening on which I took leave of you at St. Cloud, my melancholy and agitated life has been a continued series of extraordinary events. I hope to meet you again in a few months. Contrary to my expectation, I am at last nearly cured of my nume- rous wounds. The Directory have shown me great kindness. Their solicitude for an unfortunate being who has been so cruelly oppressed, is a balm of consolation which revives my drooping spirits. The REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. '95 Spaniards detain me as a prisoner because I am a Scotchman. But I have no doubt that the intervention of the Directory of the Great Repxiblic will obtain my liberty. Remember me most affectionately to all my friends, who are the friends of liberty and mankind. I remain, dear sir, yours ever, THOMAS Mum. In the month of September immediately following, he had the great gratification to receive another special message from the Government of France, not only offer- ing to confer upon him all the privileges of a free citizen, but generously inviting him to come to Paris, and spend the remainder of his life in the bosom of the French Nation. The Government of France at the same time made a formal application to the Government of Spain to restore Thomas Muir at once to his personal freedom in that kingdom, and, besides, to afford him every facility on his journey to France which was done. He arrived at Bourdeaux early in the month of Decem- ber following. The municipal authorities of the city received him with cordial demonstrations of honour and respect. They invited him to a splendid public banquet, at which the Mayor of Bourdeaux presided (4th December, 1797). It was attended by upwards of 500 enthusiastic citizens, including the American Consul there stationed; and with enthusiastic and most friendly bumpers the health of Thomas Muir was given as " the brave young Scottish Advocate, emancipated from liis trials, his perils, and his toils, and now the adopted citizen of France." We are told that Muir fainted away in the arms of the American Consul, sitting beside him : such was the emo- tion of his then agitated heart agitated in a manner impossible to be described ; but the plain narrative of some of these events may afford some glimmerings of it. He, however, reached Paris by slow and easy stages on 96 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. the 4th of February, 1798; and on the 6th of that month he thus wrote to the French Directory: CITIZEN DIRECTORS, I arrived two days ago in Earis, in a very weak and sickly state. To you I owe my liberty. To you I owe my life. But there are other considerations, of infinitely superior importance, which ought to make a forcible impression on my mind. To my last breath I will remain faithful to my adopted country. I shall esteem, Citizen Directors, the day on which I shall have the honour to be admitted to your presence the most precious of my life ; and if I have passed through dangers and misfortunes, that moment will ever efface their remembrance. I have the honour to be, Citizen Directors, with the most profound respect, your grateful and devoted servant, THOMAS MUIR. Several members of the French Government immedi- ately waited on Muir to congratulate him on his arrival in Paris. His company was now courted by the highest circles in Paris. Nothing was awanting on their part to soothe and comfort him, and of this he felt most deeply grateful. But his mortal wounds were beginning to show their certain result. He retired to the beautiful village of Chantilly, near Paris, and there, on the 29th of Septem- ber, 1798, he calmly breathed his last. " The time will come," said Thomas Muir in one of hif prophetic letters long ago, " the time will come when my sentence will be REVIEWED BY POSTERITY." We have been humbly endeavouring to perform that duty. Thirty years ago, at the first advent of the great Ke- form Bill, when our hearts beat warmly at the memory of Thomas Muir and for the unparalleled sufferings he underwent to pave the way, as they helped to do, for the ultimate success of that great measure, we sketched out rapidly a history of his life, and transmitted it with a REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 97 short note to EAKL GREY the great and good Earl Grey reminding his Lordship of what he had done for Thomas Muir in his place in the House of Commons in 1793, and congratulating him on the glorious position he now held (1832) as PRIME MINISTER of Great Britain, and as we truly addressed him, the Father of the Reform Bill, which had accomplished a most peaceful, and, we will now add, a most beneficial REVOLUTION in these realms, as the state of the nation from that date to this abundantly proves. We are not ashamed, nay, rather we are proud to state, that we had the honour to receive the following acknow- ledgement from Earl Grey, written by his secretary and son-in-law, who is now the Right Honourable Sir Charles Wood, one of Her Majesty's present Ministers. We have kept it privately in our own repositories till now, when it appears for the first time in these pages ; and we thus publish it because it shows how the prophetic enunciations of Thomas Muir have come to pass, not from anything we could say or do, but from the highest evidence the Nation could give. DOWNING STREET, May 21st, 1882. SIR, I am desired by Lord Grey to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, and to convey to you the expression of the deep sense which he entertains of the very flattering mark of your attention and kindness to him. It has afforded him the greatest pleasure to receive so flattering a proof of regard from so zealous a labourer in the cause of Reform as yourself. I have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient servant, CHARLES WOOD. To Peter Mackenzie, Esq., Glasgow. Other letters from most eminent men of the same period we might publish, as well as the tribute from Thomas Campbell, author of the imperishable " Pleasures 98 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. of Hope," who knew Muir in early life in this city; but we postpone these now, and probably for ever. And yet we may go on for a moment or two to remark and why should we here be ashamed of telling it ? indeed, we should rather feel gratified in so doing that, still im- pelled by a strong sense of feeling towards his memory, we made a pilgrimage to the grave of Thomas Muir at Chantilly, exactly thirty years ago, having then received letters of introduction from Prince Talleyrand, the then French Ambassador in London; and from Joseph Hume, Esq., M.P., and others, addressed to the Marquis La Fayette, General Pepe, M. Moreau, Dr. Borthwick Gil- christ, and others in Paris. But we must reserve some of the circumstances of that journey, with the singular proceedings that afterwards occurred in Scotland, for another (shorter) Chapter at another time. Meanwhile, we are not altogether without the nope that NAPOLEON THE THIRD, from the regard his GREAT UNCLE in tho first French Directory entertained for Thomas Muir, will yet erect some tablet to the memory of the exiled Scottish Advocate and citizen of France, in riir.u beautiful Cemetery of Chantilly, where, as already stated, his ashes repose. " Far may the boughs of Liberty expand, For ever cultured by the brave and free ; For ever vtithered be the impious hand That lops one branch from this illustrious tree ! Britons ! 'tis yours to make the v c*u ore thrive, And keep the seeds of liberty alive 1" REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 99 CHAPTER II. THE EVENTS OF 1812, 1819-20. IF the statement be true, that the blood of Martyrs is the seed of the Church, then it is equally true, we think, that the persecutions and the oppressions of the Reformers of early times, conduced greatly to the advance and triumph of their principles. The trial in particular, of Thomas Muir, in 1793, on which we have been largely descanting in these previous pages, instead of making him detested by the people at home or abroad, only excited their highest admiration of him, and of the constitutional principles he so no nobly but perilously advocated. His cruel sentence, in place of crushing those principles, or, as the words of his Indictment bore, and the punishment following upon it purported to be, "in order to deter others from committing the like CRIMES in all time coming" had the very contrary effect. But what a shock- ing manifesto that was for the Crown lawyers of Scotland of 1793, to put forth, for " all time coming !" Why, his sufferings, we repeat, instead of deterring, kindled up more earnest flames, if we may so speak, of real heartfelt emotion in his favour, and those increased the more just as they became the more known throughout the kingdom. Within a quarter of a century after Thomas Muir had been infamously banished out of this country with his 100 REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. companions to Botany Bay, the demand for Reform became animated with loud, vigorous, and unmistakeable accents in this city of Glasgow in particular, as well as in other places throughout the realm, where previously it had only been feebly or scarcely heard. We would appeal now to the residue or remnant, if such really exist, of the violent Tories of 1793 of the Anti-Reformers of that period to all classes, indeed, of any and of every degree, whether they could now in their consciences propose that any person, whether of the highest or lowest character, should be treated now as a FELON, for holding faithful to his political creed ? In fact, we are almost persuaded that those who may have some scruples still about the Politics of parties, and don't very well relish the name of Reform, whether on the part of " advanced Liberals," or others, will have the candour to admit, that some of the revelations we have made, and may yet make, are truly revolting to the feelings of humanity itself in this age, as contradistinguished from 1793; and we almost feel confident that the mellowed hand of Time, with the improving knowledge of the age, will never permit those scenes to be enacted again, in this free and glorious country of ours. Still it is well that history should keep its finger carefully pointed at some of those bygone times. " They only laugh at wounds, who never felt a scar." Therefore in no tone of levity, but the very reverse, we proceed to observe, that towards the year 1812, the Government of that period, at the head of which was the Earl of Liverpool, got perfectly indignant and furious at some of the fresh movements then making in the pro- vinces towards Reform. The Government would listen to no reasonable proposition on the subject whatever. They REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 101 abhorred its very name. They resolved once more to prohibit and prevent it, if possible : and to stem, and keep it back, even with the aid of " horse, foot, and dragoons/' if necessary. There were a few choice spirits at that time in this city who would not exactly succumb to this conduct of the Government. We note down the names of a few of them, all of whom we knew personally in our younger years : John Russell, the witness on Muir's trial ; John Ogilvie, the china merchant, in Jamaica Street ; John M'Arthur, the ironmonger, in Argyle Street ; Benjamin Gray, the shoemaker, in Nelson Street; William Watson, the manufacturer, in George's Street; William Lang, the printer, in Bell Street; and John M'Leod, cotton-spinner, in Tureen Street all moving in the respectable middle ranks of life. It required, no doubt, a strong lever afterwards, to raise the higher classes "to the cause." But through the direct agency of the above individuals, and a few others, a great public meeting came to be held in Glasgow, in October 1816, the fame of which spread over the three kingdoms, and put His Majesty's ministers in great alarm. It was the largest meeting certainly, ever held before that date, in the history of Glasgow. The resolutions at that meeting (now upon our table) were mild in the extreme. They were addressed to the Prince Regent, afterwards George the Fourth. But we need not copy the whole of them in this place; suffice it to say, that they simply sought " for a redress of grievances in the Commons House of Parliament." Surely there was no Sedition in these expressions: but, yes there was; nay, there was " Treason" chargeable about them, as we shall presently show. It is, however, rather amusing, to stop here for a G 102 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. moment or two, to state the fact that the few original projectors of that meeting they are all since dead were much put about, and sorely grieved and perplexed in their minds, about procuring a suitable place in all the city wherein to hold it. The Lord Provost, James Black, positively prohibited, and dared them at their peril, to go to the Green with their meeting, otherwise the Magis- trates would soon call out the 42d Regiment, and with their bayonets keep them at bay! They applied for the use of the Trades' Hall, in Glassford Street, wherein to hold it, but here the Magistrates interposed, and absolutely prevented them from getting the use of that hall for a single hour for such a purpose; although it was almost immediately let to some mountebank or other arriving in Glasgow, to gull the citizens with his live Salamander ! a fact we can depone to, from personal knowledge. They next in their despair, went to Mr. Daniel Caldwell, of the Eagle Inn, to try and secure his stable-yard, in Maxwell Street, thinking it would do well enough for their meeting; and Mr. Caldwell himself being, as was supposed, a bit of a black-neb, alias a Reformer, rather heartily went in with the proposal ; in short, he agreed at once to the request, and the stable-yard was swept out accordingly by his hostlers, to be ready for the meeting. Large placards were immediately posted over the city, announcing the meeting in that place, but no sooner were these placards seen, than away the Provost and Magis- trates went to Caldwell of the Eagle, and taxed him as being an abettor of the most wicked " Sedition." The poor man got rather demented, particularly when he saw old Mr. John Pearson, of the Ropework Lane, his Tory factor, coming forward and concurring with the Magis- trates, and sternly forbidding him at his highest peril, to REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 103 use his premises for such " a d ble purpose." They however, made no scruples, none in the least, to allow Maule of Panmure, and Provost Jacob Dixon of Dumbar- ton, to fight a main of cocks in it for a thousand guineas, on the next or following week. That Eagle Inn, we may remark, is sadly dejected now; but it was once a great Inn the best posting one of its day, for the noblemen and gentlemen of the West of Scotland. The above interference of the Magistrates, which would scarcely be tolerated now, disappointed and even exasperated the citizens. Squibs, some of them pointed and severe, were rapidly published about the Magistrates. One oi them was entitled, " Gotham in alarm." It had, as we remem- ber, a most tremendous sale from the hands of Jamie Blue, one of the characters of the city. The following rather ironical one was from the pen of our old friend, SANDY KODGER : " Vile, ' sooty rabble,' what d'ye mean By raising a' this dreadfu' din ? Do ye no ken what horrid sin Ye are committing By haudin' up your chafts sae thin For sic a meeting ? " Vile Black-nebs! doomed through life to drudge And howk amang your native sludge, Wha is't gives you the right to judge O' siccan matters, That ye maun grumble, grunt, an' grudge At us, your betters ] " Base Rods! whose ignorance surpasses The dull stupidity of asses, Think ye the privileged classes Care aught aboot ye ? If ony mair ye daur to fash us, By George ! we'll shoot ye ! 104 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. " We've walth o' sodgers in the touu To keep sic ragamviffins domi ; And gin ye dinna settle soon, By a' that's guid ! We'll gar the common sewers rin Wi' your base blind ! " Tak', therefore, this kind admonition : Recant, repent, be a' submission : And, as a proof that your contrition Is frae the heart, In Glide's name burn that vile Petition Before ye part." The newspaper press, however, of the city, did not or durst not, assail the Magistrates on the subject, much less attack them for their unwarrantable and unconsti- tutional interference to prevent the meeting ; and in this emergency James Turner of Thrushgrove, previously the keeper of a small snuff and tobacco shop in the High Street, came forward and .offered to the perplexed, disappointed, and bewildering Committee, the use of one of his fields at Thrushgrove, within the boundaries of the city, whereon they might hold their meeting if they liked. This handsome offer greatly relieved the almost despair- ing Committee ; and it afterwards was the means of distinguishing Mr. Turner himself through a long course of active life in the city. His shop became the most frequented of any of its kind in Glasgow; and yet that very circumstance, plain and artless and laudable as it was, became afterwards, as we shall show, the positive cause of his being sent as a prisoner to the Bridewell of Glasgow, wherein he lay for some time under the capital charge of High Treason ! He triumphed, however, most completely at last, and lived to become one of the most active Magistrates of the city : and in that capacity, and in other political capacities, we knew him intimately REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 105 and well. It was gratifying to hear him. describe, that although he was once a poor tobacco shop boy in Glasgow, and ran his errands sometimes bare-headed and bare- footed, he arose to distinction, and acquired by honesty, regular habits, and persevering industry, a sufficient competency of the good things of this life. He died a few years ago, in rather affluent circumstances, much respected. The very name of Thrushgrove charmed the ears of Glasgow Reformers for many a long day; but its fields are now covered over with huge dwelling-houses. The grand day of holding that meeting at Thrushgrove had now arrived (29th October, 1816), fraught, as many thought, with great danger. It assuredly led to many important results, some of which it may be our province to tell as we proceed. This is the fact, that the whole city became most deeply agitated and concerned about it. Upwards of 40,000 individuals assembled in that field thrice the number, be it remarked, that the stable-yard of the Eagle Inn could have held. So much, you see, for needless, senseless opposition. The utmost order and propriety governed the whole proceedings lasting from twelve till four of the afternoon. Not a creature was injured not a sixpence was stolen from amongst the vast crowd: the greatest in point of numbers, we have said, that ever was seen up to that date in Glasgow, or any where else in this kingdom. But the 42d Regiment, on the requisition of the Magistrates, were drawn up in arms within the Barrack Square, Gallowgate, having twenty rounds of ball-cartridge stored in their cahouches ready for service ; while the dragoons in their barracks in Port-Eglinton Street, were also ready, saddled and bridled, to gallop over to Glasgow, if the signal was given from the Council Chambers, to the flag-staff on 106 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. the top of the Jail, where the Sheriff and all the Magis- trates had anxiously assembled. This meeting, as we have observed, simply asked in most respectful language, for " a redress of grievances," including an alteration of the flagrant Corn-laws then existing with great severity ; and it had a most animating and wholesome effect not only in the city, but over the three kingdoms, as the news of it fled hither and thither. Sir Philip Francis, the reputed author of " Junius," wrote from London about it to his friend Mr. Stewart Nicolson, of Carnock, afterwards Sir Michael Shaw Stewart, of Greenock and Blackball, Baronet, father of the present Sir Michael Kobert Stewart, Bart. Junius declared, that " he could not leave the earth," these were his words, till he learned something more about the Glasgow Thrush- grove Meeting; and that letter came into our youthful hands to make the inquiries which Junius wanted. Within the last two years, we stumbled on the valued original letter, written on gilt paper, in a fine old Eoman hand, and we transmitted it to the present Baronet, con- sidering him to be the best and most righteous custodier of it: and he was pleased to send us a kind note acknowledging the receipt, and thanking us for it. In every view, that Glasgow meeting had, we again say, the most powerful effect. It stirred up hundreds of other meetings throughout the land; insomuch, that if the Government were uneasy about the word REFORM before, they became excessively alarmed about it now. SPIES (horrid demons,) then began to be employed to bring them information, even from the private houses or recesses of the most estimable families that were sup- posed to be in the least degree friendly to that cause; and now we enter on the BLOODIER part of the work we REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 107 have undertaken to bring out and publish in these few chapters. In this city, as elsewhere, the Corn Laws, we repeat, were absolutely bringing into a state of misery and star- vation, the humbler or " lower" part of the population. We use these words in no improper vein of reproach. But, undoubtedly, the hand-loom weavers of the city and suburbs were at that time the most numerous class by far, of any other set of artizans in the city. They were then, the whole of them, a most meek, but intelligent race. They could argue on any question of Political Economy, with the most learned Professors in all the land; but, as the old proverb hath it, " When poverty comes in at the door, love flies out at the window" so, many of these poor weavers left their shuttles to denounce we give it in their own memorable words " the accursed Corn Laws." Starvation, lean, and gaunt, was visibly depicted on the countenances of almost the whole of these suffering Glasgow weavers, in the year 1812. The very Students of the University of Glasgow, consisting of the sons of "bien," or rich, or opulent citizens, who never knew what it was to feel the least pangs of want, began to entertain compassion for them : and it is the fact, that almost every one of the Students in Glasgow College, in the year 1812, sallied forth in a body from the walls of that College, and went and smashed to atoms the win- dows of their Lord Kector (Mr. K. Finlay), in Queen Street, because he had recently voted for the continuance of those laws in the House of Commons. Other outbreaks of a much more serious kind were then dreaded in the city, but effectually repressed by the speedy arrival of two additional troops of Dragoons, from Hamilton Barracks. Why, by the bye, were Hamilton Barracks, twelve miles 108 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. from Glasgow, originally erected in that quiet place ? They were so erected, as we heard from an old scribe, to please one of the Dukes of Hamilton, who liked to have the company of officers beside him at Hamilton Palace. But whether or not, we have to observe, that some years pre- viously to the above occurrence in Glasgow, in 1812, the RIOT ACT was read, and several poor weavers were slain, actually shot dead in the Calton of Glasgow, for begging rather vehemently for " cheap meal." Several of their kindred on the same occasion were severely and mortally wounded. This clamant distress leading to such deplor- able results, was chiefly ascribed to the Corn Laws : and the populace were led to believe, and did believe, for many years, that there was no rational hope of the repeal of those laws by the House of Commons, constituted as that House was seen>and known to be : nor till it came, if ever it came, to be "Radically Reformed." This, then, was the period when the word " Radical" first started into repute. Almost the whole of the Yeomanry, and very many of the landed proprietors of Scotland became incensed, almost furious, at every human being answering to that name of Radical seeking for redress. Truly we have lived to see the greatest possible change also in this respect, for the Corn Laws, after a long, severe, and anxious struggle, have not only been altered, but annihi- lated, we hope, for ever. The poor weavers of the city and suburbs, however, made an unhappy STRIKE in 1812, as all such strikes generally speaking, have proved to be, for a rise of wages, to meet, as they said, the " dear provisions." Meal then about 3s. per peck, wages about 8s. 6d. per week. Some of these weavers were tried for " Combination," in the Justiciary Court, at Edinburgh. One of the most active REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 109 amongst them, was ALEXANDER RICHMOND, himself ori- ginally a weaver, in the then small village of Pollokshaws, now teeming with its vast population, and otherwise contented and happy, thanks to the late departed and justly esteemed Lord of its Manor, viz., Sir John Maxwell of Polloc, Baronet, whose munificent gifts lately an- nounced, will shower fragrance on "his name for genera- tions to come in that quarter. But we must now fasten strongly on that man Richmond, and hold him fast, till we exhibit him as one of the greatest miscreants that ever haunted the people of this part of the world within the present century. He was, we must first observe, a clever young active fellow at the period above referred to, and enjoying " the gift of the gab," to no small degree. The Counsel for the weavers in Edinburgh, were FRANCIS JEFFREY, and HENRY COCKBURN, names that can hardly die in the Parliament House of that city. They were much pleased with the apparent honesty and activity of Alexander Richmond, in the case of those weavers, in 1812; and as the Indicted Weavers then got off with flying colours from the Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh, Messrs. Jeffrey and Cockburn, their Advocates, in a flow of good-hearted kindness and generosity, on the spur of the moment, gave to Alexander Richmond letters of introduction to their friends Messrs. Henry Monteith and Kirkman Finlay, two of the greatest manufacturers of the time in the city, begging them to look upon him and the poor weavers with the most favourable eye. Richmond was so plausible in his views at this time, that Jeffrey and Cockburn very soon afterwards actually offered to get him a Bank credit for 200 or 300 rare thing for any lawyers to do and to set him up as a Cork, or a weaving manufacturer, in this city on his own account. In that HO REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. way, or through such patronage, Mr. Alexander Richmond came to possess some considerable influence over the poorer weavers in Glasgow and neighbourhood, including others of the working classes. Reform Radical Reform was now careering on its way, in spite of the Government, who, with all its vast and powerful body of friends, were scowling at it, and bidding it defiance, with all their might and main. The excitement on the Reform side only grew the deeper and the stronger. England was then almost in an uproar about it. Old Palace Yard, including Westminster, the ancient Guildhall of London, and other distinguished places, now boldly erected their political Hustings, and many eminent orators on these hustings, such as Samuel Whitbread, Alderman Waithman, John Cam Hobhouse, (now Lord Broughton,) Sir Francis Burdett, Henry Brougham, Lord Cochran, (late Earl of Dundonald,) Mr. Alderman Wood, the most popular Lord Mayor of Lon- don in the present century he was chosen twice over for the office, and held it with singular eclat. He sur- rendered his house in Audley Street to Queen Caroline, the persecuted wife of George the Fourth, when she had no other place to go to in London ; and we are proud to say, that this Lord Mayor, afterwards created Sir Matthew Wood, Bart., felt deep interest in the fate of Muir, and frequently shook hands and conversed with us about it in the house of Joseph Hume, in Bryanston Square. His eldest son is the present Right Honourable Master of the Rolls in England. Besides the above, there were many, many other distinguished persons and eloquent orators, whose names we cannot give in this stinted place, for they would fill volumes. But they all in one voice shouted for Reform " the RADICAL REFORM, as they now boldly REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Ill called it, of the House of Commons. Ministers again became almost frantic with anger and rage, if anger and rage, should at any time form the elements of Ministerial qualities. And they now gravely insinuated in their places in Parliament, that plots and conspiracies, as they were well assured, were hatching to destroy the House of Commons, and divide piecemeal amongst the conspirators the landed property of the three kingdoms. This could only have been done to bring discredit and mistrust on the Keform party; to alarm the timid, and to stop, if possible, all farther " agitation" for Keform. And it was done too, most effectually for some time, for the Govern- ment actually got the House of Commons to suspend the "Habeas Corpus Act," which was and is, and may it ever continue to be, the bulwark of the British Constitu- tion, as regards the safety and the protection of the rights and privileges of all her Majesty's dutiful and loyal sub- jects. Whereas, the suspension of it even for a brief period, enabled the Government to obtain by that sus- pension, and carry into execution by one fell swoop, any arbitrary measure they pleased, in whatsoever quarter they pleased, and against whomsoever, person or personages, they pleased, in the three kingdoms. We have been told on reliable authority, that if the Government in 1793 had then obtained a conviction against Thomas Hardie, Home Tooke, and others, for Treason, as they had obtained it in Scotland against Muir and others, for Sedition, there were no fewer than 1500 warrants of commitment ready to be enforced against some of the best men in England, obnoxious to the Government, that being their only crime. But, in justification of this strong and violent proceeding, viz., the Suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, the Ministers of the Crown behoved to show some J12 I;KMI:STSCENCES OF GLASGOW. reasons or other, and to establish some facts to the satis- faction of the alarmed and pliant Parliament. At this epoch, the tribe of Villain Spies now began to creep out of their poisonous shells, ready, quite ready, to perform the work which the Government desired at their hands. Some of them were afterwards pretty well known throughout England, as the Parliamentary proceeding of the period will show, by the names, Edwards, Oliver, and Castles, &c., &c. They invented many daring revolution- ary stories, (proved afterwards to be utterly groundless,) but they brought them all thither, ready cut and dry " on paper," to the Home Office, where they were secretly and most willingly received. Lord Sidmouth, observe, was the Secretary of State for the Home Department. Lord Castlereagh held the seals of the Foreign Office. The Earl of Liverpool (Premier,) had fallen into delicate health, and partly for that reason, Lords Sidmouth and Castlereagh became the masters of the Cabinet, and they certainly ruled, completely ruled, and that too with a vengeance, the House of Commons. Lord Eldon, the old Tory Chancellor (a most excellent Judge he was in other respects,) completely ruled the House of Lords. His word was the law of that House for a long time for at least the full quarter of a century. At the above period, we go on to observe, Mr. Kirk- man Finlay was the pro indiviso member for Glasgow. In an evil hour he sent for Mr. Alexander Richmond, and after holding a long and confidential parley with him, (we give this on the authority of Richmond himself, from his own published statement some years afterwards,) he Mr. Finlay, in his own house, in Queen Street, now forming the site of the handsome buildings of the National Bank of Scotland, and believing that Richmond REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 113 was now the willing agent in his hands, communicated to him the fact, that Lord Sidmouth, Secretary of State, had imparted to him, Mr. Finlay, when in London attending to his duties in Parliament, an important " STATE SECRET," amounting to this, that Glasgow was hatching all over with plots, stratagems, and conspira- cies, against the Government, and therefore that it was requisite and essentially necessary, that Mr. Finlay should by any and every means he might employ, detect, discover, and procure for the Government, all information on the subject in Glasgow, the expense of which, it is almost superfluous for us to say, would be defrayed by Government, out of the " Secret Service Money/' then at their absolute disposal for any and whatever purposes they pleased. Mr. Eichmond was too glad to embrace this offer very much obliged and happy indeed, to accept of this secret agency. It was a Government Job opening up for him superior to all his former occupations ; and so he accepted it, and went about it without delay, most dex- terously. He very soon reported to Mr. Finlay, that he had detected something awfully alarming, most horrible indeed, going on, against the Government, in Glasgow; that in the city and the suburbs, he found out the Weavers taking Secret OATHS, to do what in them lay to overthrow the Government, yea, by "physical force" on the lawless pretext of Eeform ; and in confirmation of this, Mr. Richmond took out from his pocket-book, and exhibited to Mr. Finlay, a copy of the famous "Treasonable Oath" in Glasgow, to which we shall pre- sently refer, and which alarmed the whole kingdom. This alleged "Treasonable Oath" Mr. Richmond declared he was only able to procure at great personal risk and 114 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. some expense. Mr. Finlay first saw and read it with a thrill of horror and amazement. We now present it to our readers as follows : " In the awful presence of God, I, Andrew M'Kinlay, do solemnly swear, that I will persevere in my endeav- ouring to form a Brotherhood of affection amongst Britons of every description, who are considered worthy of confi- dence : and that I will persevere in my endeavours to obtain for all the people in Great Britain and Ireland, not disqualified by crimes or insanity, the elective franchise at the age of twenty-one, with free and equal representation, and annual Parliaments : and that 1 will support the same to the utmost of my power, either by moral or physical strength, or force, as the case may require. And I do farther swear, that neither hopes, fears, rewards, or punishments, shall induce me to inform on, or give evidence against any member or members collectively or individually, for any act or expression, done or made, in or out, in this or similar societies, under the punishment of Death to be inflicted on me, by any member or members of such societies. So help me God, and keep me stedfast." Mr. Finlay, being then, as we have stated, M.P. and Lord Provost of the city, instantly proceeded and com- municated this oath to James Reddie, Esq., then acting Assessor, or first Town Clerk of the city, (and a most able and accomplished man he was,) and then all the other Magistrates of the city were convened, including the Sheriff, Robert Hamilton, Esq., Advocate, and his brother Daniel Hamilton, Esq., of Gilkerscleugh, Sheriff- Substitute, the only Sheriff-Substitute, we may remark, at that time in Glasgow. This alleged oath embodied on that paper, petrified the whole of them, and drove REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 115 reflecting judgment almost completely out of their heads at the time. Mr. Richmond speedily enough brought fresh copies of the oath, with additional names appended to it, to Mr. Finlay. The cunning scoundrel saw well how the land lay. He was up to his work completely : and the more fictitious copies he brought, the more he knew his services would be appreciated, and of course, the better would he be paid for so doing. This oath, yea, this very oath, procured in such circumstances in Glasgow, was soon sent to Lord Sidmouth, at the Home Office. A Cabinet Council, we are told, was specially summoned about it, and ere many hours elapsed, the document was solemnly introduced and read, in both Houses of Parliament; and the very reading of it ran like a clap of thunder through both Houses. Indeed, some noble lords and honourable members became ghastly alarmed at it. It was enough, they declared, to justify the Suspension of the "Habeas Corpus Act," and the Lord Advocate, (Alexander Maconochie, Esq., of Meadow- bank,) was instantly ordered down to Scotland, to put the utmost rigour of the criminal law into execution, as he vowed he would do, against these banded TKAITOES to the Crown in Glasgow. Need we say, but we shall prove this by abundant evidence presently at our command, that this was a most false and spurious oath, wickedly invented by the aforesaid Mr. Alexander Eichmond, the once needy weaver in Pollokshaws, but now manufacturer, domiciled in Glasgow! He was truly a first-rate manu- facturer in one sense. The deliberate scoundrel soon con- trived to get poor Andrew M'Kinlay, whose celebrated case in the Court of Justiciary we are about to enter upon, with other poor simple weavers in Glasgow, to put down their names to it, first in the house of Neil Munn, 116 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. stabler and innkeeper, in Ingram Street; and next, in another public-house in the Old Wynd, kept by one Alexander Hunter, without giving them an opportunity of carefully reading it over, or making them sensible of its purport or intentions. He just assured them that it was a declaration in favour of Reform ; and this com- pletely served the fell object he had ultimately in view. Down came, as we have noticed, the Lord Advocate, in post haste from London, to put all the powerful machinery of the law into active operation in Glasgow. Many individuals were instantly seized "as suspected persons." It was sufficient in those days to seize any person if he was only "suspected" in his politics. His character, however upright in other respects, was no pro- tection to him none whatever. But Andrew M'Kinlay, the poor Radical weaver from the Calton of Glasgow, was undoubtedly one of the first victims laid hold of, 28th February, 1817. The astonished trembling man, brought from his loom, and taxed now with the capital crime of " HIGH TREASON," for taking this oath, was speedily handcuffed and placed in irons. No fewer than Jive long declarations were extracted from him by the Sheriff. He candidly confessed ; indeed, in those declara- tions he never attempted to deny his own poor signature to the bit of paper purporting to be the oath above quoted : and the confession was conceived to be perfectly sufficient to convict and condemn him outright for TREA- SON. And, forsooth ! as if he and his fellow prisoners or traitors, John Keith, Thomas Edgar, John Campbell, and others, could not really be kept in safe custody, in the Jail of Glasgow, for fear of insurrection in the Jail itself, they were actually transmitted in irons to the Castle of Edinburgh, and therein detained under martial law, or REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 117 military rule, till brought before the High Court of Justiciary, "to answer for their great and aggravating crimes. 5 ' The city, of course, was startled by these events all classes were keenly moved by them. Mr. Kichmond was now living cannily in a state of plenty, and had dainty dishes at his table which poor weavers of his caste rarely saw, and never tasted. Andrew M'Kinlay, kept as a close prisoner in irons, from the 28th of February, till the 23d of June, 1817, under the charge of High Treason, was at last brought from Edinburgh Castle, and placed at the bar of Justi- ciary, on the date last mentioned the Judges present, being the Eight Hon. David Boyle, Lord Justice-Clerk, with Lords Hermand, Gillies, Pitmilly, and Reston. The Lord Advocate appeared for the Crown, with James Wedderburn, Esq., Solicitor- General, and Henry Home Drummond, Esq., Advocate-Depute. The Counsel who came to the defence of the prisoner, without fee, for he was utterly unable to afford any, and we name them with some pride, were, John Clerk, George Cranstoun, Thomas Thomson, James Moncreiff, Francis Jeffrey, J. P. Grant, Henry Cockburn, and J. A. Murray. Never was a brighter bar seen at Edinburgh, in any case, if we except the trial, perhaps, of James Stuart, of Dunearn, for the murder by duel, of Sir Alexander Boswell of Auchinleck, the particulars of which we may bring out from some original Glasgow facts and papers in our pos- session. The oral pleadings, and especially the written " Infor- mation" prepared for this poor prisoner, Andrew M'Kin- lay, by James Moncrieff, Esq., Advocate, father of the present accomplished Lord Advocate of Scotland, and extending to some hundreds of pages of written mat- H 118 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. ter, were never surpassed, for cogent argument and masterly eloquence. On four successive, but different occasions, as the books of Justiciary, we presume, will still show, viz., on the 2d and 23d of June, on the 18th and 23d July, 1817, Andrew M'Kinlay stood arraigned at that bar his Counsel on all those occasions strenu- ously objecting against the relevancy of the libel, that it was not sufficient to sustain the capital charge of High Treason against him. His life on all those different occasions, was trembling in the balance, with the lives of many others besides him resulting in sure and certain Death in the most revolting form should the capital conviction against him be pronounced. Their Lordships by a majority "sustained the Libel as relevant to infer the pains of law ;" and on the PROOF to be now led, the life we repeat, of that man and those others inevitably depended. Eventful day it was for Scotland, that trial. The main evidence for the Crown against M'Kinlay, rested, as was supposed, on one John Campbell, a weaver of Glasgow, who was frequently seen and examined by the Crown lawyers before the trial, and quite ready and prepared, they thought, to SWEAR out and out, that M'Kinlay, the prisoner, had actually admin- istered the Treasonable Oath to this witness Campbell, and others, in several places in Glasgow ; and therefore, that the prisoner was not the simple innocent man he pretended to be; but that he was in truth, the guilty, treasonable wretch, steeped to the very neck in crime, all over. His life, however, was saved almost by a miracle. John Campbell, the expectant witness for the Crown, was in truth, a Eeformer at heart. He knew M'Kinlay, and felt much for him in his perilous predicament. But the Crown REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 119 lawyers were so eagerly anxious to secure him as their chief witness against M'Kinlay, that they had Campbell actually closely confined as a prisoner " in the Castle of Edinburgh :" and there some of them frequently visited him, and they tampered with him, and absolutely offered to reward or bribe him, for giving his evidence. Yes, they offered they seriously promised to give the man a good Government situation abroad, after the trial was over, provided he would only swear directly to the oath against M'Kinlay. And believing they had thus com- pletely secured Campbell, and to keep him in the best humour possible towards them for their purposes, he soon began to receive the most kindly treatment in short, all manner of indulgence in Edinburgh Castle, compatible with the perfect safety and security of the man. He came to know full well that the life of M'Kinlay was at stake fast ebbing one way or another. But while this was the case with Campbell, M'Kmlay's own Counsel and agents in Edinburgh were peremptorily denied all access to this all-important witness John Campbell, in Edinburgh Castle. It was their province, and they naturally wanted to see and know what he could really say against the unhappy prisoner, now approaching, as they thought, his " awful doom :" but the Governor of the Castle, with all its officers and subordinates, were strictly ordered and prohibited by the law officers of the Crown in Scotland, to deny any access whatever to him "by strangers," except- ing always themselves or those who could show a written pass from them. The soul of Campbell, accidentally overhearing this, took alarm. His conscience began to smite and gnaw him. But what could he do? He was a close prisoner in that Castle, excluded from every human being except those Crown lawyers or agents. But 120 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. in his musings an ingenious thought struck him. He had plenty of tobacco, in rolls of it given to him by Captain Sibbald. He also had the free use of pen, ink, and paper, which to M'Kinlay was denied. He scribbled on a small bit of paper addressed to M'Kinlay these words : " They are wanting to Bribe me to swear aAvay your life, but I'm true." Campbell cleverly put that slip into the inside of one of his small rolls of tobacco, and asked the Governor, when he next appeared in his cell, if he would just have the goodness to do him the favour to take and give this quid of tobacco to Andrew M'Kinlay, on the other side of the battlements of the Castle. This the Governor, without the slightest suspicion, at once pro- mised to do : and he kept his word. Poor M'Kinlay in a day or two afterwards, when untying this small piece of tobacco for use, became rather astonished at the written slip of paper he therein found, and read it over and over anxiously and carefully. He was allowed access only to one of his own lawyers at a time : so, when that gentleman came ere long to visit him in his cell in the Castle, M'Kinlay naturally enough put the bit of paper into his hands, telling him how singularly he had received it. This note, on that small bit of supposed waste paper, became the pearl of great price to M'Kinlay and to his case and final destiny. It was of course immediately and confidentially communicated to his learned Counsel. They were all very much surprised at it ; and all agreed in this, that immediately Mr. Eamsay, W.S., one of the prisoner's agents, should write officially to the Lord Ad- vocate, as also to the Crown agent, respectfully requesting to be admitted openly into the Castle to see the witness John Campbell. The request so made was peremptorily refused. It was made a second and a third time with no REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 121 better success. The anxious day of trial at last arrived. The Judges were seated. Proof was called. " Bring forth John Campbell from the Castle," said the macer of Court, acting on the direction of the Lord Advocate. "Stop a bit!" said Mr. Jeffrey, adjusting his gown, and his eyes sparkling with more than their usual animation; for he was now to play a most tremendous stroke the most important that any advocate could play for the weal or woe of his unhappy client, barricaded in the dock, struggling for his life. " My Lords," said Jeffrey, " we object to this man's evidence. He has been shut up in the Castle of Edinburgh, and upon making application to the civil and military powers we have been denied access to him. He is described in this indictment as ' a prisoner in the Castle of Edinburgh.' Your Lordships have found in other cases that a description of a person as residing in a certain street in Glasgow is not enough, or of a person as following a particular profession in the east ; and is it sufficient, then, to say of a witness that he is a prisoner in the Castle of Edinburgh ?" And then directing his piercing eyes towards the seat of the Lord Advocate and Crown agent, Mr. Jeffrey went on with this most cutting piece of satire : " My Lords, the prosecutor has prevented us from identifying this witness : how, then, can we know who the witness is, from anything yet told us ? He is as a man shut up in a sealed casket, to whom we have no access. He is still an egg in the shell, and is not to come out until the proper process of incubation be gone through by His Majesty's advocate." The Lord Advocate here became rather fidgetty. " My Lords," continued Jeffrey, " the public prosecutor has been hatching this evidence in the Castle of Edinburgh, and it is not yet disclosed. (Sensa- 122 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. tion.) If we go to the Castle, and approach the sentinels, and seek admission to the witness, they ask who goes there, and present their muskets to us. We then go to the more civil Fort Major, who tells us to go to the Crown Agent. He refers us to the Lord Advocate. His Lordship declines giving us access. We therefore protest against the reception of John Campbell as a witness for the Crown on this trial." A long and interesting debate ensued on both sides of the bar. The Lord Advocate insisted that Campbell ought to be received as a good competent witness ; and the Court allowed him to be brought forward and sworn. All eyes were now directed towards that witness. Jeffrey and all the other Counsel saw that the moment had now arrived for testing him through the small bit of paper in the roll of tobacco. In fact, it now became life or death neck or nothing for the prisoner M'Kinlay. LORD HERMAND administered the solemn oath in the first instance to the witness, and then put in limine some questions usually put to witnesses in those days. " Have you any malice or ill-will, sir, to the prisoner at the bar'?'* Answer, " None, my Lord." " Has any body given you any reward or promise of reward for being a witness on this trial?" " YES ! my Lord," was the immediate reply. The Court was thunderstruck. The question, with solemn emphasis, was repeated, the Court thinking that the witness had not properly heard or understood the question. It was again distinctly answered in the same way : "Yes, my Lord." The audience were now amazed Jeffrey's eyes flashed, if possible, with greater interest and a'nimation; but he calmly folded his arms, looking now with some smiling aspect upon the witness. His victory or ignoble defeat was, he perceived, at hand. On he more REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 123 smilingly but boldly went, telling the witness " to speak out don't be afraid." And speak out lie certainly did, with a vengeance, and the most thrilling and decisive effect. This important witness called for the Crown, and received by the Court notwithstanding the clever objections made to him by the prisoner's Counsel, went on and told slowly, articulately, and pointedly, how he had been attempted to \>&bribed in the Castle by Mr. Drum- mond, the Advocate-Depute sitting at the bar and that, too, in the very presence and hearing of the Sheriff of Edinburgh, to whom the witness boldly referred in con- firmation of his statement that he was absolutely to get a good permanent Government situation abroad, through Lord Sidmouth, after he gave his evidence for the Crown that day on that trial ! This sworn statement of Campbell, so strikingly and unexpectedly made, smashed the anticipated evidence for the Crown to atoms, and shattered to pieces the whole framework of the huge Bill of Indictment for Treason, which had been repeatedly laid on the table of the House of Commons. The case, in short (trumped up by Kich- mond), now recoiled and fell from its own baseness from its own utter and absolute want of honest support. The Crown lawyers rapidly bundled up their books and papers, and left the Court in a different manner they expected to do when they entered it that morning. The prisoner's Counsel snatched him cordially by the hand. He bowed his grateful thanks to them, and also to their Lordships. He was liberated from the bar ; and he walked quickly home that night to Glasgow, to see his anxious wife and seven, young children all, as may be supposed, in great anxiety and distress about him for three long months, under that terrible charge of High Treason. 124 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Richmond who was in Edinburgh, skulking behind the Crown lawyers in these proceedings informs us, in his own subsequent Narrative, that when he waited on some of them in their chambers on the following day, "they appeared like chagrin and mortification personi- fied."' The statement of Campbell, he declares, fell upon them " like a bomb -shell." And yet this scoundrel, Richmond, does not hesitate to state, in the printed narrative which he afterwards published for he, too, in process of time, turned tail upon them, because they did not continue to give him sufficient sums of money for his " invaluable services," as he had the effrontery to call them; and he adds, " I had frequent opportunities of unreservedly hearing the sentiments of the Crown lawyers during the progress of the trial:" " Had they in the first instance succeeded" mark the villain's words " in establishing the administration of the oath, two or three would have been sentenced to capital punishment, and a number more to transportation; and I have no hesitation," he further declares, "in saying, that their sentences would have been carried into execution. And thus terminated," he adds, " the case in Scotland upon which the Ministry depended for a justification of their proceedings," the Suspension, we have already observed, of the Habeas Corpus Act. What infamy ! What diabolical villany ! Were not these black days indeed for Scotland ? The preservation of M'Kinlay through that small roll of tobacco seems almost incredible; but " trifles llsrht as air" sometimes lead ' O to important results. Thus Shakspeare, in his tragedy of " Macbeth," says : " The instruments of darkness tell us truths, And with honest trifles Lead us to deep consequence." REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 125 The result of that trial protected for a time the liber- ties of Scotland. It affronted the Government. It almost covered their Lord Advocate and his coadjutors with irretrievable disgrace. They had no more trials for High Treason that year in Scotland; but still they had their overwhelming majorities in both Houses of Parliament. And yet they were nursing their wrath to keep it warm. In his place in the House of Lords, 16th June, 1817, Earl Grey emphatically condemned the conduct of Minis- ters. " Glasgow," he said, " was one of the places where treasonable practices were said, in the Report of the Secret Committee of both Houses, to prevail to the greatest degree ; but there could no longer be any doubt that the alleged treasonable oaths were administered by hired spies and informers." But we are now to enter upon a later and still more thrilling piece of history. Within two years after the date of M'Kmlay's trial in 1817, there broke out a new phase in Glasgow matters, and it came to a terrible height in 1819-20. Mr. Eichmond, the Spy, was still active amongst us in this city, not yet publicly detected, for he contrived to have his minions secretly around him, ready for the scent, like a pack of well-trained hounds. Those emissaries of Spies swarmed also over England, patronized by Government, as was afterwards clearly proven receiving their pay or reaping their rewards or the wages rather, of their iniquity, from the Government, through the Secret Service Money of the State, still at their absolute disposal. Reform Radical Reform, was now assuming its state- liest form its brightest aspect. The Government, with fresh vigour, again determined to crush it. They refused to give one member of Parliament to Birmingham, or 126 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. any to Manchester. They absolutely denied any Refor- mation whatever, of the House of Commons; and Glas- gow might have slept on to this clay, and Paisley and Greenock, and "Bonnie Dundee," and the fair city of Perth, the Sons of the Rock, at Stirling, and " our Falkirk bairns," and the Kilmarnock wabsters, and the Aberdo- nians, with others, might have been all " Nodding nid, nid, nodding," as the song says, for aught the Govern- ment cared. Most assuredly, those important places in this our land, never would have been emancipated or permitted to enjoy the franchise to any degree, if Lords Sidmouth and Castlereagh had been able to keep them under subjection. But the loud shouts of the people the rational and reasonable people of Scotland, were not to be trifled with now : and yet the Government resolved to keep them in awe, by the axe and the sword, and the horrid black hurdle and its trappings, surmounted by the hangman, covering his face in his black veil, as if ashamed of his work, with all his other shocking para- phernalia Treason Treason High Treason was to be doom of those simply crying for Reform against the com- bined powers of corruption and prodigality in the State. It happened unfortunately for the Government itself, at that time, that George the Fourth had urged his unpo- pular Ministers to bring in a Bill of Pains and Penalties against his persecuted and unfortunate wife, Queen .Caroline. We reserve to show what Glasgow did on that occasion, till another opportunity. We believe we are now one of the very few survivors that took the original, rather daring, and most active part in it. Our young blood was then we believe, pretty hot, and our heart, we know, beat somewhat ardently in favour of the Queen's cause. The Government at head-quarters, if REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 127 pusillanimous before, became severe and almost wicked now. They scrupled at nothing to serve their purposes. This was the period, dismal as it was to many, that brightened up the successful career of two eminent men, viz., THOMAS DENMAN and HENRY BROUGHAM leading without a doubt to the elevation of DENMAN to the seat of the Lord Chief-Justice of England, and BROUGHAM to the seat of the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain both individuals being previously the dauntless advocates of the Queen, without any silken gowns upon their per- sons for these were scowlingly denied them by the Government of George the Fourth. We remember of hearing, that old Cockle Miller, Professor of Law in Glasgow College, laid a bet of 10 to 100, that Brougham would one day become Chancellor. Ha gained it. The design of the Government now obviously was to impress FEAR upon the minds of the middle and upper classes, and get them to unite, for their own safety, as one man, for the preservation of the strict prerogatives of the House of Commons, or the resolution to keep the seats of that House unalterably fixed; or, in other words, to main- tain the huge Parliamentary Monopoly, for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many, and to suffer no man to enter that House* except through the Aristocracy, the- select Boroughmongers, or their agents. This was agreeable enough for some : it did not do for all. Loud knockings for admission, through an extension of the franchise, came to be heard at the doors of the House itself. The Life Guards and the Horse Guards were ordered to be in readiness at a moment's notice. It is still somewhat pleasant to look at the Horse Guards, as they stand in Parliament Street, with their polished 128 REMINISCENCES OF GBASGOW. armour. But the alarm was now dexterously raised by Government, that whereas there were " treasonable oaths" to subvert the Government in 1817, there were now (1819-20) the most atrocious designs in operation to overthrow the Government subvert the Constitution dethrone George the Fourth and to bring in a Provisional Government, composed of execrable and most desperate Radicals, who had nothing to lose, but every thing to gain, by the cutting of the throats of the chief members of both Houses. We are not exaggerating in this at all. The debates in both Houses of Parliament at the time will show it. And again it was asserted, in the strongest language, that Glasgow was the hot-bed in Scotland for these " damnable projects." We scorn now the foul accusation, but it was then believed. On Sunday morning, the 1st of April, 1820, a most treasonable address in reality, as it appeared to be, was posted over the walls of the city, and read by anxious hundreds and thousands, as they were proceeding to, and coming from church. It was one of the most exciting Sundays in Glasgow that Glasgow ever saw. Talk now of Sabbath desecration ! Every man, woman, and child then in the city, instead of reading their Bibles or learn- ing their Catechisms, talked and read only of this trea- sonable address; and as they saw in the afternoon, or heard clanking at night, troops of hussars entering the city in battle array, they were mightily alarmed. We remember the earnest prayer of Dr. Chalmers, in his then new church of St. John's in the Gallowgate, that after- noon, crowded to excess. So intent and silent were the vast audience, that a pin might have been heard falling when he uttered the passage; it was to this effect: " mighty Lord and Governor of the universe! preserve REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 129 this kingdom, we humbly beseech thee, from the horrors of civil war, apparently approaching us in this city. Keep us ever in thy fear; and fit us for all our duties, temporal and eternal." With the exception of Mr. Matthew Montgomerie of Kelvinside, one of Dr. Chal- mers's esteemed elders, we may here add, there are few perhaps now alive in the city that can record this other fact, viz., that we heard the whole of Dr. Chalmers' sermons in Glasgow, with three exceptions, from the time he came to the time he left it, including those of his assistant, the famous Edward Irving, who could crack a joke with any in the city. An original copy of that alleged treasonable address is now upon our table, beginning with these words : " Friends and Countrymen ! Eoused from that state in which we have been sunk for so many years, we are at length compelled from the extremity of our sufferings, and the contempt heaped upon our Petitions for Redress, to assert our rights at the hazard of our lives" And then it proceeded in the most glowing terms, urging them to fly to arms to regenerate their country, and so forth. And it concluded thus " By order of the Committee of Organization for forming a Provisional Government. Glasgow, April 1st, 1820." Had it been the gowk's day, nothing could have served better for a vast turn out of gaping people at some laugh- able expense. But every one deemed it to be of the most serious and alarming description. No one doubted its authenticity: no one ventured to call it in question, as the work of any Spy. All became aghast! preparing earnestly for their own safety from the Eevolutionary hands of this Provisional Government dating its decree from Glasgow. ]30 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Mr. Richmond, and his minions or hyenas, were lurk- ing about eagerly enough for their prey. They declared at some meetings assembled for the purpose, that England was already in ARMS that Kinloch of Kinloch, was coming from France with 50,000 troops, and that 5000 of these troops were to be encamped on Cathkin Braes to command the city, seize its Banks, hold its Excise and Custom Houses, and bind its authorities hand and foot; while Marshal M'Donald, and the Provisional Govern- ment on its undoubted success, would soon be enabled richly to reward all their "faithful friends and true followers." The bait took wild and extravagant though it was the spies and emissaries secretly rubbing their hands as soon to be rewarded by the existing and powerful Govern- ment of the day, for running down every Radical they could beat up in their dens: and alas! a few simpletons like M'Kinlay, with the Treasonable Oath, fell into this most fatal and infernal TRAP prepared for them. They had commenced under cloud of night to DRILL, exactly as was wished they should do in certain quarters their numbers were greatly magnified in other places : some fifty weavers were transmogrified into as many hundreds : and in that way, the Magistrates if not grossly imposed upon, were at least most thoroughly alarmed. The Executive Government hearing and knowing of all this, ordered some 5000 of regular troops infantry, artillery, and dragoons to enter, guard, and occupy the city. Those troops consisted of the Rifle Brigade, the 80th and 33d Regiments, the 7th and 10th Hussars, the Ayrshire Yeomanry, the East Lothian Yeomanry, the Dumbartonshire Yeomanry, &c., &c. Then it was that the corps of Gentlemen Sharpshooters, mustering nearly REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 131 1000 strong, came at their own expense, into active duty, dressed in their pretty embroidered green jackets, and trousers, and glazed hats, with their splendid military band of music, which made them to be regarded as the most handsome and agreeable corps that ever patrolled the city. We had the honour to belong to them. They are well entitled to a separate chapter at our hands, and we will give it by and bye; for though few, not more than sixty or seventy out of the 1000 now survive, we will say, without the fear of contradiction, and with- out subtracting in the slightest degree from the merits of the Volunteers of the present day, of whom indeed we are all justly proud, that they may emulate, but cannot surpass the dauntless bravery of their predecessors " in arms" forty years ago, nor eclipse them for dutiful atten- tion to every duty required of them, whether in the glow of summer, or the depths of winter; in sunshine, or in storm, at all times and all seasons, those Glasgow Sharp- shooters of old most faithfully did their duty, and never once flinched from it. And it is most gratifying to know and to state the fact even yet, that under the command of their soncy and cheerful Colonel, Samuel Hunter, Esq., Editor of the Herald, they were frequently reviewed on the Green of Glasgow, by the Lord President the Commander-in-Chief in Scotland and by many of the best and bravest Generals of the time in the British army, including our old Brigade-Major, afterwards Lieutenant General Sir Harry Smith, commanding in India, the glorious hero of Aliwal, from whom we received a long interesting letter four years ago, commencing " My dear Comrade," bringing out some old stories about these old Glasgow Sharpshooters, in the most graphic review, as he stood at the head of them very often in Glasgow Green: 132 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. but wo have no space for that honoured letter at our command now, much as we prize it, and much as our vanity might prompt us to give it. But the brave General, with many other warriors, is now at rest. It is here some- what significant to remark, as showing the fits and starts of human life, that, with the exception of the officers composing the Sixth Company of Sharpshooters, all the Captains, and nearly all the officers, composing the other ten or twelve Companies, are dead and gone, but of the Sixth Company, two of its original officers still survive, viz., William Smith, Esq., of Carbeth-Guthrie, Lord Pro- vost of the city, who was its Captain, and William Hamilton, Esq., of North Park, afterwards Lord Provost of the city, who was its Lieutenant with William Euing, Esq., of the Eoyal Exchange, Sergeant, William Brown, Esq., ex-Lord Dean of Guild, Corporal; while amongst the "full privates' surviving of that Com- pany, we may mention the names of Hugh Barclay, Esq., Sheriff-Substitute of Perthshire, Alex. Hamilton, Esq., W.S., LL.D., Edinburgh, Angus Turner, Esq., Town Clerk of Glasgow, John Buchanan, Esq., for- merly Secretary of the Western Bank, James Muirhead, Esq., Jeweller to the Queen, and D. C. Rait, Esq., Goldsmith, while amongst the other Companies we may pick out and recognise almost at random, Patrick Robertson Reid, of the Arcade, William Patrick, of the Cathedral, and a few others. When the late (new) Volunteer movement began in Glasgow, these " old fogies," if you please, headed by SENEX, remembering their former services, and still glowing with martial pride, made a dutiful tender of their services de novo to Her Majesty the Queen : and her Majesty through the late Duke of Hamilton, Lord Lieutenant of the REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 133 County, was graciously pleased to accept of them. That ancient corps of Glasgow Sharpshooters are represented now by three officers, viz., Walter Buchanan, Esq., late M.P., Captain; George Crawfurd, Esq., Clerk of the Peace for Lanarkshire, Lieutenant; and John Gilmour, Esq., ex-Magistrate of the city as Ensign ; with Peter Mac- kenzie, ex-Secretary, and are engrafted on the strength of the Third Battalion of Volunteers under the name of "the Old Guards of Glasgow" a name we think, which may glide through the annals of Glasgow without any disparagement. But we must wheel backwards, and take a short review now of some of the other deeds of 1819-20. Early on the morning of Monday, the 3d of April, (the Magistrates sitting up all night on Sunday,) issued the following PKOCLAMATIOK *' IN consequence of the present threatening appearances, the Lord Provost, Magistrates, Sheriff, and Justices, hereby order all shops to be shut this and every following night, until tranquillity is restored, at the hour of six : and they hereby enjoin all the inhabitants of the city to retire to their houses as soon as possible thereafter, and not later than seven o'clock. "All strangers are hereby enjoined to withdraw from the city before seven o'clock at night. Parties or groups of people standing together, or walking on the streets after the hour of seven, will be deemed dis- turbers of the peace, and will be dealt with accordingly. " If the lamps ai - e put out, the inhabitants are desired immediately to illuminate their windows with as much light as they can conve- niently command. GOD SAVE THE KING. "Glasgow, April 3d, 1820." The above authentic and official Proclamation, a copy of which is now upon our table, abundantly shows that I 134 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. we have not been exaggerating some of our preceding statements in any degree. And does not that document, which we have brought again to light after the lapse of so many years, strikingly convey to our readers of the present day some idea as to how Glasgow was encom- passed in 1828, ere many of them were bom ? Nor is this all. On the third day afterwards, viz., Tuesday, 3d April, 1820, the Magistrates issued another PROCLAMATION, denouncing the Treasonable Address of Sunday: and declaring "that the whole military power of the district will be employed in the most decisive manner, against all those coming forward to aid and assist in REBELLION," (these were its very words,) and the consequences, it adds, will be on the heads " of those who have seduced and misled the inhabitants, and fatal to all who venture to oppose and resist the overwhelming power at our disposal." Fancy the city of Glasgow shut up in a state of abso- lute terror at six o'clock of the evening, and " all strangers commanded to withdraw from the city before seven at night!" What would Morpheus, or Venus, or Bacchus, or Jupiter, or the sons of Mars, or any of the other heathen gods or goddesses say to such a Procla- mation, if gravely addressed to them now? But the crowning act in that reign of terror, was yet to come. King George the Fourth, on the 8th of the same month of April, 1820, commanded to be sent down the following Royal Proclamation to Glasgow, an authen- tic copy of which is also before us : "GEORGE R. " WHEREAS, it hath been represented to Us, that during the night of the 1st day of April, instant, many copies of a Treasonable paper, intituled, 'An Address to the Inhabitants of Great Britain and Ireland,' REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 135 and purporting to be issued by order of a Committee of Organization for forming a Provisional Government, were affixed on the walls or other conspicuous places in the city and environs of Glasgow, and in various parts of the counties of Lanark, Renfrew, Ayr, Dumbarton, and Stirling: Now, We, being desirous to bring to justice the authors and printers of the said Treasonable paper, do hereby, by and with the advice of our Privy Council, promise our most gracious pardon to any person concerned in affixing aud publishing the same, except the authors and printers thereof, who shall give such information to one of our principal Secretaries of State, or to our Advocate of Scotland, or to the Lord Provost of our city of Glasgow, as shall lead to the detection of the authors or printers thereof : and for further encour- agement to make the said discovery, We do hereby offer a Reward of Five Hundred Pounds Sterling, to any person (except as before stated,) giving such information as aforesaid, so that the said authors and printers may be convicted of writing, composing, and printing the said Treasonable paper, such Reward to be paid on the conviction of the offenders, by the Lords Commissioners of our Treasury. " Given at our Court at Carlton House, this 8th day of April, 1820, and in the first year of our reign. GOD SAVE THE KING." "We established the fact long ago, and we can refer to it again if necessary, that the Treasonable Address spoken of in this high-sounding Proclamation of King George the Fourth, was actually printed in Glasgow, by a young raw apprentice lad of the name of R. F. Fulton, who received 2 for doing so, from one of Eichmond's emis- saries ; but they packed off Fulton immediately to America, lest he should peach upon themselves! All this, and much more about it, we proved in the year 1832, by letters and documents from Fulton himself, addressed to the late Mr. William Lang, printer, in Glasgow, and by other evidence of the most conclusive kind; and therefore we need say nothing more about it in this place. But the deplorable fact has now to be mentioned by us, 13G REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. namely, that Richmond and his tribe of villains, consist- ing of persons of the name of Craig, Lees, Turner, Ander- son, King, and others, (but they all too escaped,) contrived to muster about 100 poor idle starving weavers and mecha- nics, not more, up yonder in the quiet rural "Fir Park" of Glasgow, the property of the Merchants' House, now forming the site of our beautiful Necropolis, where thou- sands upon thousands repose in their silent graves; but there, and in the neighbouring lands of Germiston, the leading Spies got the simpletons armed with pikes, guns, and pistols, telling them to be of good cheer furnishing them with copies of the " Treasonable Address," and urg- ing them to march on with quick speed to Falkirk, where they would find thousands of their English friends, taking possession of the cannon at the Carron Ironworks, with which they were to return back to Glasgow in triumph. And about the same time, a score or two of other indivi- duals of the same class, were assembled on the banks of the Paisley Canal, Port-Eglinton Street, to march in some- what similar array to Strathaven, there to salute Field- Marshal M'Donald with his troops coming to Cathkin. The assurance of all this was, that England was in a state of " INSURRECTION" already, pouring its forces into Scot- land to aid their Scottish brethren demanding their rights: o o and the other PROOF of this, would, it was said, be found in the fact, that the London Mail Coach coming to Glasgow on the following morning, would be intercepted and captured on some part of the road, and would not enter Glasgow at all! Never could infatuation go farther than this; but it was implicitly believed : and then con- ning over this Treasonable Address, whether at night or in the grey dawn of the morning, or at any other time, some of these rash and misguided men became perfectly REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 137 enraptured with it. They all put some such construction upon it as this : " It bids us 'gainst oppression fight, Eesist the wrong, maintain the right, And, when our country calls, with might To grasp the patriot steel." Within the city on the 2d, 3d, and 4th of April, 1820, all the Banks were guarded by numerous soldiers with fixed bayonets. So was the Excise and Custom Houses. The very Churches of the city had troops within their precincts. The Council Chambers and the Jail were surrounded Avith soldiers to protect the civil power, and keep the prisoners from rising in tumult. Artillery was actually planted to guard the Bridges on either side of the river, the report being, that the Paisley Kadicals 10,000 strong, with their awful pikes and clegs, were marching hitherward ; while others greatly feared that the whole city would soon be in flames, if the Mail Coach did not safely arrive; for then the English, with the French troops were surely at hand, and the PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT would soon exhibit itself, and show the thunder of its power ! We can attest this additional fact from personal know- ledge. The Eoyal Bank, then in the old beautiful house once the property of Mr. Cunningham of Lainshaw, and afterwards of John Stirling, Esq., of Cordale, in Queen Street, forming now the site of the Eoyal Exchange, was carefully barricaded all around, including its spacious gardens, now covered over with handsome shops and counting-houses ; and the Bank was thus barricaded, because the interior of it contained much of the valuable plate, and much of the treasure of the city ; in fact, the Eoyal Bank might then be represented to be as the 138 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. MINT or the TOWER of Glasgow. The whole of Captain Smith's Company of Sharpshooters, with 20 rounds of ball-cartridges in their cahouches, were drawn up within it; and ladies and gentlemen of the city, were actually seen sobbing and crying, and wringing their hands, and rushing to the Bank to take farewell, through the gape of its iron pillars, of some of its devoted inmates, ere they might be finally slaughtered. We positively saw one of the venerable Magistrates of the city, with the tears trickling down his cheeks, coming and bidding farewell to his eldest son, forming one of the front rank of those armed Sharpshooters ! This scene, we con> fess, rather startled our young hearts at the moment; but when it was announced that the Mail Coach from London had, after all, safely arrived at the Tontine, near to the Cross of Glasgow, three loud cheers were instantaneously set up, affording great relief to agonized parents, sweet- hearts, and wives. But now for the desperate and BLOODY work. Kich- mond, or his crew of emissaries, tracked the poor simpletons, or misguided wretches, onwards to their destruction. Old James Wilson, weaver at Strathaven, on whose melancholy case we are now entering, was the first victim marked out in that place. He had in 1793 corresponded with William Skirving, and com- miserated the fate of Thomas Muir. His house was a sort of rendezvous for some of the Eeformers of the village, on the arrival of any stirring news: and his calm and shrewd manners, and inoffensive and most honest disposition, made him a great favourite in the place. He was now in the sixtieth year of his age. He had heard by the merest accident, of the Treasonable Address on Monday. It had been posted up at Strathaven under REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 139 cloud of night. No one in Strathaven knew anything about it personally. But of course it made a sensation in the place. We are now, on a calm review of all the cir- cumstances, enabled to make the following statement, founded on the most perfect truth. Poor old Wilson was startled out of his quiet bed, in his own house, early on Thursday morning, by one Sheilds, sometimes calling himself King, and at other times Craig, from Glasgow. He varied his name often in Glasgow, as he went from place to place, but there can be no doubt he was one of Eichmond's most active emissaries. This villain King, had been able to assemble about twenty or thirty persons in or near Wilson's house. He told them the grand news from Glasgow, that the Provisional Govern- ment was getting on gloriously that Marshal M'Donald was actually encamping on Cathkin Braes the stop- page of the Mail, and so forth. The old man, innocent, scratched his head, as if really doubtful about the news ; but Sheilds cursed and swore, and said he should be shot dead if he became a coward at last; and this threat literally overcame the scruples of the old unwilling man. Seeing this, Sheilds now insisted that he should take and carry in his hand an old rusty sword which had hung in a stocking frame near the head of his bed. In the village there happened to be an old tattered flag with the words inscribed on it, " Scotland free, or a desert;" and with an old tin kettle for a drum, the squadron marched that morning from Stra- thaven via Kilbride, on the high road to Glasgow. It is almost laughable to describe this, but it is no laughable matter. The words on that flag which we have just quoted, were deemed to be actual words of " High Treason" soon afterwards, in the High Court of Oyer and Terminer, 140 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. in Glasgow. But we go on with our narrative. After marching for a short distance, the Villain Spy contrived to elude or slip away from them; and the poor simple- tons, on the advice of Wilson himself, (now beginning to think they had been grossly deceived,) were in the act of retracing their steps and returning quietly home; and Wilson in point of fact had reached his home, and was seated in his own house, when he was surrounded by officers of the law, and carried as a prisoner to Hamilton Barracks, where he lay till Sabbath morning; and on that day he was transmitted in irons to the prison of Glasgow. Here now, we must leave the case of Wilson at present, to bring under the notice of our readers the other expedition, which we alluded to as starting from the Fir Park (behind the Cathedral) for FALKIRK. It was the most important of the two, and we must dwell upon it at some little length, because we think it is really fraught with some interest yet. At this point of starting from Glasgow, between ten and twelve o'clock at night of Tuesday the 3d of April, we have evidence to warrant us in stating, that not more than 70 or 80 individuals assembled altogether. It was well indeed that there were not more of them, for the massacre which followed ; but they were enough for the Plot or the purpose aimed at. They were harangued in the most glowing terms by two persons named Turner and Craig they, too, frequently changed their names in Glasgow, as they shifted from place to place; but they were undoubtedly EMISSARIES under Mr. Eichmond. They were also harangued on that fatal night, by appa- rently a gentleman in a travelling cloak, speaking the English accent, and assuring them of the glorious news from England, of which he had just been the bearer REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 141 to the Glasgow Committee of the Provisional Govern- ment: Bru. Do you know them ? Luc. No, sir ; their hats are pluck'd about their ears, And half their faces buried in their cloaks, That by no means I may discern them By any mark of favour. Bru. Let them enter They are the faction. O, Conspiracy, Shotild'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night, When evils are most free ? 0, then, by day Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough To mask thy monstrous visage ? Not Erebus itself were dim enough To hide thee from prevention. The above meeting, however, told upon their excited feelings pretty well; and having been on that dark night furnished with swords and pikes, and muskets and pistols, and powder and ball, to some extent, they were urged to direct their course towards the village of Condorret, where they should halt at the house oi Mr. John Baird, in that village, who was well known as one of the quiet decent Reformers of the place : and heretofore, we may observe, a young man of the most irreproachable character, just entering on his 30th year. Condorret was thus to be the first stage of their route as they went on to Falkirk, to salute their English friends, and seize the cannon at the Carron Works. This first part of the Plot was well arranged, and it answered the designs of its managers completely. There can be no doubt that the Spies were then most active, spreading their nets in the best places imaginable for their designs ; and we had it direct from the lips of one of the then managers of those great works at Carron many years ago, that they were positively apprised 142 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. of what was likely to happen from Glasgow, and a Com- pany of the 18th Eegiment from Edinburgh or Stirling Castle, was secretly in waiting for the supposed attack! There went that same night from Glasgow to Con- o o dorret, another Villain Spy of the name of King, still more effectually to entrap John Baird. King made the most glowing representations to him ; and poor Baird in the fulness of his innocent unsuspecting heart, declared that he would be ready to welcome and receive, and attach himself to " the band of patriotie brothers coming from Glasgow." This was exactly what was wanted of him. 'He was now thick and deep into the rnesh bound for the crusade to Carron. As the morning dawned of the 6th of April, 1820, the jaded squad from Glasgow reached the quiet village of Con- dorret. The paucity of their numbers, and their ill-con- ditioned appearance, rather took Baird, and his few other friends in the village, somewhat by surprise; but King (the Spy,) solemnly assured them that they would be joined by thousands of true followers, as they approached Falkirk. Onwards, therefore, in that direction they went; but the Villain Spy seeing them thus fatally engaged or entangled, contrived to get away from them on the pre- text that he required to be in Glasgow that forenoon to meet the Provisional Committee on some of their most urgent business ; but while there, he would take care to report most favourably of each and all of them to the Provisional Government, in order that they might be adequately rewarded on their return. They were now like sheep in the shambles, ready for slaughter. Of the party from Glasgow, the best and bravest, per- haps, amongst them all, was Andrew Hardie a young- man a weaver by trade, a native of the city, then in his REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 143 26th year, and engaged to be married to a pretty young girl, in humble life like himself, of the name of Margaret M'Keigh, " Let not ambition mock their useful toil, Their homely joys and destiny obscure ; Nor grandeur hear, with a disdainful smile, The short, but simple annals of the poor !" Hardie, from his spirited appearance, was chosen on the spot as their leader, with John Baird, the next in command under him. They became at this stage of their proceedings, " sworn affiliated brothers," though they never saw each other before ; but they fell like brothers on the scaffold at the last. It happened most unfortu- nately for Hardie, that he was reading the Treasonable Address, just as he saw it posted in the neighbourhood of his poor mother's house, in Duke Street, near the High Street, on the Sunday morning, soon after it was there put up. To that poor widow's house, which afterwards became the attractive spot of one of the most splendid Illuminations that ever took place in Glasgow, we shall by and bye, with some interest refer. Great crowds were gathered around that Treasonable Address in Duke Street, on that Sabbath morning: some were for tearing it down and trampling it under foot, but Hardie struck in and resisted the doing of this, till he read it more attentively; and at this point he was seen and recognised by his namesake, James Hardie, Esq., who was then one of the most active Anti-Reform Justices of the Peace in Glasgow. The life of Andrew Hardie came afterwards materially to depend on that occurrence, sim- ple and natural though it then was, and in the way we have truly stated it. But to recur to our narrative the now weary bam- 144 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. boozled Radical squad, out all night, travelling on foot to Falkirk, began to muse and to think seriously of their situation. They saw no English troops. The lights of Carron, they observed, were blazing before them in their usual manner; and every thing was in quietness around. They therefore became for the first time, rather sceptical. Were they really deceived ? But still they went on a little farther: and hunger gnaw- ing them, and thirst somewhat oppressing them, they drew up, still showing some lingering courage, and approached now an important station, namely, the house of Mr. Archibald Buchanan, provision and spirit-dealer, at Castlecarry Bridge, on the high road from Glasgow to Falkirk. When they mustered at that place, there were only left about thirty of them in all with their pikes, guns, and pistols. The refreshments they anxiously called for there, deserve to be noticed. It simply consisted of a dozen bottles of porter, a half-mutchkin or two of whisky, and a dozen of twopenny loaves; and on that humble stinted fare, which surely our friend Mr, Forbes Mackenzie would not grudge there they rested for the space of nearly an hour. When the reckoning was called for, it amounted exactly to E^gJit Shillings of sterling money. They could scarcely (poor devils!) muster that amount amongst them; and it is amusing to notice, that they asked the innkeeper if he would take " a Bill from them for the amount at six wwntlis date, to be drawn on the spot, on the PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT at Glas- gow !" Hear this, ye modern upstarts, with less moral character than that of Hardie and Baird, ye vipers, who, by false and fictitious Bills, swindled the Western Bank of Scotland out of upwards of 500,000 sterling, and smile if ye can, at this modest proffered Bill of Eight REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 145 Shillings, for "real value" obtained on the spot! The douce canny innkeeper, however, at Castlecarry, rather demurred at this proposal of the six months' bill, on such great potentates as this so-called Provisional Govern- ment. He observed that he had not the honour of know- ing any of them personally; neither had the poor devils themselves; they were profoundly ignorant of the Provi- sional group, and could not tell the real names or desig- nations of any one of them: whereupon the simple-minded John Baird, weaver, from Condorret, drew out his humble purse from his pocket, and paid the full reckoning. The innkeeper then smiled complacently enough, bowing and thanking them for the money, and wishing them all success in their great enterprise. NICK himself might almost smile at the above bare recital of this occurrence; but it was solemnly pro ved as an element of Treason, and it became no smiling, but a real tragical piece of business, as we shall show, very soon afterwards. " Behold, another day breaks in the east : But even this night, whose black contagious breath Already smokes about the burning crest Of the old, feeble, and day-wearied sun, Even this ill night, your breathing shall expire; Paying the fine of rated treachery, Even with a treacherous fine of all your lives." ShaJcspeare. Onwards to the heath, or upwards to the hill of Bonnymuir, these thirty men went on Wednesday morn- ing, and lay down and rested their weary limbs for a short space, on the budding heather; and from that spot they had a clear and distinct view for many miles around, of one of the most beautiful scenes in this part of Scotland, namely, the Frith of Forth, the Abbey 146 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Craig, the nucleus of the Wallace Monument, the Gram- pian Hills, with Stirling Castle, all vividly before them. There they quietly stretched themselves, as we have just remarked, upon the blooming April heather, and yawn- ing with fatigue, from the effects of their long midnight and morning journey, they now formed the unanimous resolution of returning home that same afternoon quietly to Glasgow, since they saw no appearance of the great promised aid from England, nor so much as the least friendly recognition or symptoms of approving welcome, either from Carron or Falkirk, or anywhere else, in the spacious landscape around them. They now became positively disheartened; but their feelings were soon aroused in a way they little dreamt of when they left Glasgow, or when they still more recently bade adieu to the quiet village of Condorret. They saw coming galloping towards them, a troop of the 7th Kegi- ment of Hussars, with their waving lances and bright polished armour glittering in the April sun, followed closely by some of the Stirlingshire Yeomanry, armed and mounted. This sudden sight to these poor deluded dupes, brought with it at once the most serious moments of consternation and decision. With the courage worthy of a better cause, they started to their feet, formed them- selves into front rank, and made ready their pikes, pistols, and guns, unanimously resolving to do or to die on that field. Heroism in any form is attractive. It was here evinced in a lamentable degree. For instead of throwing down their weapons, and running away, or crying for mercy, as they might easily have done, Hardie and Baird, in particular, boldly defied the Hussars and the Yeomanry as they approached in hostile array ; and it is the fact, REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 147 that these twenty or thirty wearied unhappy creatures, with something like military tactics, again formed them- selves into solid square, and with their feeble pikes they repelled back for a moment or two, both the Lancers and the Yeomanry, with their prancing horses and expert riders. In vain, the brave, but most humane officer commanding those Hussars, Lieut. Hodgson, or Lieut. Jenkinson, who was, we think, a nephew of the Earl of Liverpool, called out to the misguided men to lay down their weapons and surrender. They set up a loud shout of defiance; and the BATTLE, if such it can be called, did indeed go on in right earnest on both sides for a few minutes longer. Can the result of it be for an instant doubted ? The valuable blood-horse, richly caparisoned, of the com- manding-officer, was shot down. That officer himself was severely wounded ; some of the Hussars were also- wounded by the blows of the piercing PIKES blood was- streaming, and cries and curses were now uttering on both sides. The heather on which some of the horses trode became actually on fire ; flash after flash went from the loaded carbines of the Hussars ; and their lances and swords became whetted with blood. One other dash one other resolute charge of the military and the poor infatuated victims, nearly all wounded, and some of them most terribly cut up, were finally subdued, and captured as prisoners. They were speedily taken away from that to them most fatal field, in carts procured from neighbouring farmers, and taken not to Glasgow, from whence they came, but to STIRLING CASTLE, where the military had been strongly reinforced, and there they were dealt with as we shall soon show. 148 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. The news of this BATTLE, exaggerated and magnified to a great degree, soon reached the city of Glasgow. The BELLS rang about it longer than usual at 10 on Wednes- day evening ; it was a tremendous wet afternoon in Glasgow it rained in torrents, " That night a child might understand, The dell had business on his hand." And when the farther news of the battle reached London by special express, two days afterwards, Lord Sidmouth hastened with the intelligence to the King at Carlton House, an Extraordinary Bulletin, or an Extra- ordinary Edition of the London Gazette was immediately published to satisfy the lieges, as well as the Nations of Europe, that the Treasonable Provisional Government, rearing its "Hydra head" in Scotland, was thus com- pletely defeated and destroyed. Public meetings in this city were immediately held, congratulating the Government on the result. It was inter alia stated by Mr. Kirkman Finlay at one of those meetings, and corroborated by Mr. Henry Monteith, and formed part of their resolutions, that " almost the whole mass of the population" were concerned in these desperate designs. Not true, we say. But others adopted a set of resolutions infinitely more glaring and stringent. These were to the effect, that they would expel from their works and employment, and withdraw from their support " every person" entertaining Reform or Radical princi- ples! We will not farther examine or criticise some other of those resolutions at this time, nor need we do so. They are curious and striking enough ; but we may observe, that if followed out now, they assuredly would send into desolation and misery, not only the greater part of the REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. 149 population of Glasgow, but of the entire kingdom. But whatever was the purpose or intent of those resolutions in 1820, that Movement from Strathaven, and that Battle at Bonnymuir, if battle it can be called, led unquestionably to the most grave and important events, felt then, as probably they ever will be, in this city and the nation at large, for reasons we shall soon follow up, and demonstrate to the satisfaction, we hope, of all parties. The Government of that period, with their victims in their grasp, and the Spies reaping their secret and untold rewards, lost no time in turning these events into the most terrible account for their own purposes. We beg all classes of the community now to consider this obser- vation, namely, that these poor wretches, instead of being admonished and sent to prison, either for a short or a long period, for their absurd and daring, or contemptible conduct, into which they had been led, through the insti- gation of hired assassins or spies whom they never suspected; for that, we think, would have been the fit- ting measure of their punishment at the time, were now to be doomed to be drawn on a Hurdle, and EXECUTED on the gibbet for the capital crimes of High Treason; and to have their heads severed from their bodies, and their bodies to be mangled and quartered by the axe of the Executioner, &c., &c. It is almost appalling at the present day to think of this, even after the lapse of such a long period ; but Truth written on the pages of history, should never die. The truth then, is, that the Government seized the opportunity of appointing under the King's Signet, one of the most formidable Eoyal Commissions that ever appeared for the trial of prisoners in Scotland, since the first great Rebellion. E 150 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. We are almost paralysed with amazement at the copy of it now before us. It is, or was directed to the Right Hon. the Lord President, the Lord Justice-Clerk, the Lords Gillies and Hermand, the Right Hon. the Lord Chief Baron, the Right Hon. the Lord Chief Commissioner, and Lord Advocate of Scotland, and they were enjoined and commanded to hold Special Courts of "Oyer and Terminer," as they were called, through Scotland, par- ticularly in Glasgow and Stirling, Paisley and Dumbar- ton, &c., for the trial and condign punishment of "all Traitorous persons and Conspirators against the peace and authority of our Lord the King." These were indeed ominous words, rarely echoed in Scotland. But not contented with committing those trials to the powerful management of the law officers of the Crown in Scotland, who were surely sufficient to cope with any class of culprits whatever, the Government sent down from London on a special retainer, Mr. Sergeant Hullock of the English Bar, afterwards Baron Hullock, with a fee of 2000 guineas in his pocket, to lead the pro- jected criminal proceedings in Scotland. On Wednesday, the 21st of June, 1820, this great Special Commission, under the Sign Manual of the King, arrived from Edinburgh at Stirling. We ought to have mentioned that nearly all the pri- soners taken at Bonnymuir, Hardie and Baird included, were previously retaken from Stirling Castle, and sent under a strong escort to Edinburgh Castle, there to be seen and examined by the Crown agents. We give the following interesting accounts from the newspapers of the time, of their retransmission again from Edinburgh to Stirling Castle: REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 151 " STIRLING, WEDNESDAY, June 21. " This day, the State Prisoners from Edinburgh Castle, under the guard of Capt. Sibbald, arrived here by the steamboat from Leith, to await the ensuing trials, being attended on board by a strong party of military, while another strong company of military awaited them on their arrival." And on the next page, there is this statement: " STIRLING, THURSDAY, June 22, Eight o' Clock, p.m. " This night arrived from Edinburgh, the Lords of the Commission appointed to present the bills for Treason to the Grand Jury. Their Lordships were received at St. Ninians, by the Provost and Magis- trates, and escorted to the Lion Inn, by the 33d Regiment of Foot, under the command of Colonel Elphinstone, and by an escort of the Glasgow Yeomanry Cavalry, commanded by Capt. Charles Stirling. At the inn they were waited on by General Graham, Deputy-Gover- nor of the Castle, and other gentlemen of the town. The Court meets to-morrow at nine o'clock, and the business before them is expected to occupy to-morrow and Saturday. The town is crowded to excess, and scarcely any accommodation remained for man or beast." " STIRLING, SATURDAY, 24th June. " This day the Lords Commissioners agoi-? met. The Grand Jury again retired, and found true bills against all the prisoners for High Treason." i Thereupon the Lord President informed the prisoners that they would be capitally arraigned, on or about the 6th day of July next, and under a farther strong escort of military, they were carried back in irons to Stirling Castle. The names of the prisoners so arraigned on this occa- sioD, and against whom true bills were found in the following order, were John Baird, weaver, in Condorret; Thomas M'Culloch, stocking- weaver, in Glasgow; Andrew Hardie, weaver, there; John Barr, weaver, in Condorret; William Smith, weaver, there; Benjamin Moir, labourer, in Glasgow; Allan Murchie, blacksmith, there; 152 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Alexander Lattimer, weaver, there ; Alexander Johnston, weaver, there; Andrew White, bookbinder, there; David Thomson, weaver, there; James Wright, tailor, there; Wm. Clarkson, shoemaker, there; Thomas Pink, muslin singer, there; Robert Gray, weaver, there; James Cleland, smith, there; Alexander Hart, cabinetmaker, there; Thomas MTarlane, weaver, at Condorret. The Foreman of the Grand Jury was the Hon. George Abercromby; and the prisoners on being asked by the Lord President to name their counsel and agents for the trial, condescended on the names of John Clerk, George Cranston, James Moncrieff, Francis Jeffrey, Henry Cock- burn, and J. P. Grant ; but it was finally arranged that Mr. Jeffrey should be their leading Counsel, and Messrs. David Blaikie, and William Alexander, W.S., Edinburgh, and Mr. George Bremner, Writer, Stirling, their agents. Somewhat similar preliminary proceedings took place against James Wilson from Strathaven, in Glasgow, and against others, in Paisley, Ayr, and Dumbarton. The attention of the whole kingdom at that time was seri- ously engrossed by those measures; and it is natural to suppose that the unhappy prisoners themselves, with their numerous friends, were beginning to be seriously alarmed about them. What frightful odds were now telling against them for their lives! At last the solemn days of trial approached, and the Lords Commissioners took their seats not with the arrogance and browbeating demeanour of the Judges on the trial of Thomas Muir, in 1793, but with the gravest dignity and circumspection. Andrew Hardie, the Glasgow weaver, was the first selected for trial. John Baird and the others were to follow his trial, and to share in his innocence, or partici- pate in his guilt, if so the Jury found. REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 153 At that solemn bar in Stirling, there appeared in array for the Crown, the Lord Advocate, (Sir William Eae) the Solicitor-General, (James Wedderburn) with Henry Home Drummond, and John Hope, Advocates-Depute ; Thomas Arnott, W.S., Crown Agent. Francis Jeffrey the eloquent and high-minded Francis Jeffrey, generously undertook to lead the Defence, with- out fee or reward, having as his Junior Counsel, Messrs. Robert Hunter, and A. H. Cullen. He felt a deep interest in the fate of all the unhappy prisoners, because he believed they were the dupes of more artful and design- ing men : at the same time he gave them no hopes of an acquittal; on the contrary, in all the consultations he held with them, he entreated the^m " to prepare for the worst." Nevertheless, he pled for them with a degree of earnestness and eloquence, not surpassed by any of hi& splendid orations in other causes. "We need not enter on all the particulars of that trial,, because we presume our readers sufficiently understand it already. The main point against Andrew Hardie was,, that he was cognisant of the Treasonable Address pla- carded near his mother's house in Glasgow; and that he refused to allow it to be pulled down or destroyed on the- Sunday morning as we have previously mentioned. This, was proved against him by his namesake, Mr. James Hardie, at the time, we repeat, one of the most active Justices of Glasgow; and shortly after the trial, this Mr. James Hardie received the appointment of Master of Police of Glasgow. The poor simple prisoner endea- voured to explain, and in his dying declaration he asserted the fact, that he had nothing whatever to do with the Address itself that he was wholly innocent of its fabri- cation and that he merely objected to its being torn 154 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. clown from the place on which it was posted on the street, as indeed any other person might have done, till he first had an opportunity of reading it. But the second, main, and most important point against the prisoner and his companions was, that they were caught in arms fighting against the troops of His Majesty the King, and this was sufficient to bring them within the scope of the Treasonable Address, and to make them responsible for it, under the penalties of High Treason. It is unnecessary to dwell on the stratagems and delu- sions which were practised on the unhappy prisoners at other points. These may be sufficiently gathered from pre- vious details. Undoubtedly there was much hard swear- ing in the case against them; every legal point was dexterously driven home against them by Mr. Sergeant Hullock, the English Barrister. No moral point however was touched in the case at all; indeed, the moral charac- ter of any of the prisoners was never once questioned. At one important stage of the trial, Sergeant Hullock in all his fury against the prisoners, attempted to browbeat Francis Jeffrey. This, we think, has not been published before ; but it is the fact, and it was communicated to us long ago by the late Mr. Alex. M'Neil, Advocate. Jeffrey had previously objected to the appearance of Hullock in the case at all contending that as this was a Scottish case, no English Barrister had a right to conduct it. The Court, however, decided otherwise, ruling that as Scottish Counsel were heard at the bar of the House of Lords, so Mr. Jeffrey could be heard even in cases of Treason at York. Be that as it may, Hullock went on rather defi- antly against Jeffrey : and this is what we have now to state for the first time, for it is singular, and will hardly be credited now-a-days, that the Lords Commissioners REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 155 expressly interdicted and prohibited the Press from print- ing any of the evidence, or any of the speeches of Counsel till the whole of the trials were over, and that under "the most severe punishment." Behold with what rapidity and no fears of coercion now, in any case, the press exercises its important duties ! Mr. Sergeant Hullock, at some stinging observation or other of Mr. Jeffrey, lost command of his temper, and again replied insultingly. Jeffrey sat down, knitting his brows, and called for note paper to be brought to him instantly. Eonald M'Donald of Staffa and lona, was at that moment sitting in Court. He was, in fact, Sheriff of the county of Stirling, and then attending to his official duties in that Court. He was a keen Tory, but he had a warm heart, and great regard for Jeffrey personally. His Highland blood became aroused on behalf of Jeffrey at one part of Hullock's assault ; so he quickly wrote, and threw across the table of the bar to Jeffrey, a note to this effect " Challenge the , and I'll be your second, any where out of this county." Jeffrey leaped across the table and grasped the hand of Staffa. The Court in a moment saw what was going to take place. A duel, undoubtedly, at the end of that awful trial. But the Lord President inter- posed; and Hullock was made to apologise to Jeffrey, which he did with all the frankness of an Englishman. They became afterwards the warmest friends, and were complimented by the Court for their high honour and masterly attainments. We will here only give the closing passage of Jeffrey's speech to the Jury, as follows : " Gentlemen, I cannot but think tliat now that the claim of im- mediate danger is over in this country, we shall have a fairer chance than at an earlier period you will look more to the merciful consi- 156 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. derations that may induce you to be satisfied with the exposure already made, and to construe what is equivocal with that favourable leaning and bias towards mercy, which the law expects and reqiiires at your hands, and from the consciousness of having exercised which, to your latest days, you will receive more pleasure than if you should act a Homan's part, and decide on a nice point of evidence, to sacrifice those unfortunate individuals who are already by a forfeiture of esteem and respect, to be considered as the victims of those deeper and more wicked designers whom the law has not yet overtaken. I think your feelings will be different, if in after times you pass by their dwellings, and instead of meeting with the tearful countenances of their orphans and widows, you there find the men themselves reclaimed from the disaf- fection with which they may have been tainted redeemed from the peril on the brink of which they now stand and enabled by their reformation to return to the exercise of an industry which is begin- ning to be better rewarded, and to bring up their children, and their children's children to admire those Court? and those Juries who have administered the law in mercy." But what was all the eloquence of Francis Jeffrey in such a case as this, in such times? Nothing absolutely nothing. He might as well have attempted to take tie Rock of Stirling Castle on his back, as get a verdict of Not Guilty for his clients. They were within the circle of " the Law of Treason," and out of it they could not escape ; and therefore, one and all of them, without the least hesitation, were condemned. We upbraid not the Jury, nor any of their descend- ants in this case. They took the Law exactly as it was propounded to them by the Judges; and we need say nothing more about it in this place. " Yet, oh ye sons of Justice ! ere we quit This awful Court, expostulation's voice One moment hear impartial. Give a while Your honest hearts to nature's touches true." After some other proceedings at Stirling, SENTENCE of DEATH was solemnly pronounced against all of the pri- REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 157 eoners! What a terrible array that was, sentence of Death against eighteen human beings at one time ! Some selections were made from amongst them, and the latter were transported for life. But the capital sentence was specially ordered to be enforced against Hardie and Baird at Stirling, on Friday, the 8th of September, 1820 in the most horrible manner for the sentence bore that they should " be drawn upon a hurdle to the place of execution, and be there hanged by the neck until you be dead; and that your heads shall be severed from your bodies, and your bodies shall be divided into four quar- ters, to be disposed of as His Majesty shall think fit." Shocking enough, certainly. We must here advert for a few moments to the case of James Wilson, tried before the same High Lords Com- missioners at Glasgow, on Thursday, the 20th day of July, 1820. The exact array of Counsel appeared for the Crown, as appeared previously at Stirling. On this occa- sion the prisoner was defended by the following Counsel, viz., Messrs. J. A. Murray, A. E. Monteith, A. H. Cullen, J. S. More, and E. D. Sandford. His Glasgow agents were, Messrs. Graham & Mitchell, and Fleming & Strang: and these agents, at their own expense, brought down from London, Mr. James Harmer, an eminent attorney, to guide them as to the constructive law of English Treason brought to bear against the prisoner. This Mr. Harmer afterwards became either an Alderman, or Lord Mayor of the city of London. And it is singular to remark, that Francis Jeffrey, who conducted the defence of Hardie and Baird at Stirling, became within twelve years afterwards, the popular Lord Advocate of Scotland; while John Archibald Murray, who led the defence for James Wilson in Glasgow, also became within fifteen 158 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. years afterwards, the successor of Jeffrey, in that great office of Lord Advocate. Neither the one nor the other of those accomplished gentlemen, we dare to say, ever fan- cied at the date of those trials, that such changes or ' O elevations referable to themselves, could possibly take place ; and yet both of them lived to ascend still higher the Judicial Bench, and actually to become Lords of Session, which they adorned long after their unhappy clients had fallen under the axe as traitors. We may afterwards publish some interesting corres- pondence we had with their Lordships, respecting the survivors of those trials, soon after their Lordships were clothed with the ermine of high official power, as Lords Advocate of Scotland, which correspondence we know, or the matter of it, attracted the special and gracious atten- tion of His Majesty King William the Fourth, and his Majesty's Ministers, soon after his Majesty came to the Throne, and led to a most gratifying communication from Lord John Russell, one of his Majesty's Principal Secre- taries of State, and also to a special despatch from Lord John Russell, by command of the King, to the then Governor of New South Wales, whither some of those unhappy survivors had been, as above observed, " trans- ported for life." But we must reserve this till we come to dispatch almost with our own right arm, Mr. A. B. Richmond the villain Spy, one of the most atrocious scoundrels, we take leave to say, that ever drew the breath of life in this country. Pritchard, executed the other day, was but a type of him for villany and deceit, in all their blackest forms. We shall then bring up Borne more remarkable matter in its proper place, and lay it before the eye of our readers. We dare say it will astonish some of them not a little. REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. ]59 Of poor old James Wilson's trial, we may here observe, that there was this difference upon it, from the case of Hardie and Baird. He knew nothing whatever of the Treasonable Address, except hearing of it at Strath- aven. He certainly never attempted to tear it down anywhere; nor did he sally forth of his own accord in rebellious warfare; on the contrary, he was enticed out of his own quiet house at Strathaven by the crew of villain Spies from Glasgow, who actually threatened to shoot him if he did not go out and join them. The poor old man, we repeat, in the very terror of .his life, reluctantly complied. Those villain Spies, in order to get him within the meshes of their designs, com- pelled him, as we have already remarked, to carry a rusty sword in his hand, and to unfurl an old Strathaven flag, bearing the words upon it, " Scotland free, or a desert." Those things, with other trifling incidents, were deemed to be " overt acts of High Treason !" He really got tired and vexed, and repented of his journey ere he had been many minutes upon the road. He desired to return quietly back to his own house. He resisted none of the King's troops, for he saw none to resist. He appeared in no hostile battle array. Order, peace, and reformation, were always his motto. He vowed no vengeance against any- one, for the milk of human kindness was nearer his heart. He certainly offered no promissory notes of any * Provisional Government" to anybody, for he knew nothing whatever about them. He harmed not so much as the hair of the head of any human being in the whole course of those proceedings, or at any time. Yet he was seized as a diabolical villain in his own house that same afternoon or evening, and on the capital charge of High Treason, he was handcuffed and placed in irons, and 1GO REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. carried off to prison. On that charge he was found guilty at Glasgow, and adjudged to suffer Death in the same horrible manner as Hardie and Baird were adjudged to do at Stirling. We were present at his trial, and also at his execution. We remember perfectly the mild inoffen- sive appearance of the poor old man, as he stood and sometimes sat meekly in the dock. Pity we had not his photograph now ; but photographs then were not in con- templation in the excellent way they may be easily obtained now in all quarters : but almost everybody at that date seemed to entertain a foregone conclusion against Wilson, while somehow or other, many seemed to feel a generous degree of compassion for him. He alone of all the crowded Court appeared to be the least anxious or afraid about his own awful fate; for he actually nodded and fell asleep in the dock during one period of his trial, and he was only aroused by the truncheons of the criminal officers beside him. His certainly was not the face of any dark Traitor either in fancy or reality. It was rather, we repeat, the face of a mild inoffensive old man, never before implicated in any crime : and as such the Jury evidently viewed him, for although under the law, and from the agitating state of society at the time, they felt themselves constrained to bring in a verdict against him, yet they accompanied it with a strong and unanimous recommendation in his favour to mercy. We afterwards learned from several of the Jury themselves, but they are now all dead, with one exception, in particular, we learned from the late George Eowand, Esq., of Holmfauldhead, who often conversed with us on the subject, that the Jury were much divided in opinion, and but for that strong recommendation to mercy, in which they all cordially agreed, some of tlr REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 101 Jury would have held out, and never convicted James Wilson of the capital crime at all. They confidently anticipated that his life would be spared, and that he would be restored to his family and friends at Strathaven, after perhaps some short imprisonment, as a pardoned man. These expectations, however, were not realised ; and as the day of his execution approached, much commisera- tion increased for him in Glasgow. The Government, so their officials declared, had determined to make "an exam- ple" of him in Glasgow; and they had likewise determined to make a still more terrible example of Hardie and Baird at Stirling. But still the most strenuous exertions were made to save them from the gibbet ; and it may be interesting, we think, to notice some of those exertions, proceeding as they did from the most laudable motives of clemency, and no disrespect to the Government itself. There was, we should observe, no recommendation of mercy from the Jury at Stirling. But some of Hardie and Baird's relations were personally known to the Hon. Admiral Charles Elphinstone Fleming, of Biggar and Cumbernauld a man of the most liberal principles and enlarged heart, who held in after times great influence with the Government. He was, if we are not mistaken, the personal friend and seconder in some duel of Lord Melbourne, the first Prime Minister of her present Majesty, when Her Majesty ascended the Throne. In addition to Admiral Fleming, Hardie and Baird's friends could count on Kobert Grahame, Esq., of Whitehill, after- wards Lord Provost of the city of Glasgow; and last though not least, on the Rev. Dr. Thomas Chalmers, and the Eev. Dr. Ralph Wardlaw, names ever cherished in the city of Glasgow. It is the fact that Dr. Chalmers who knew Hardie's poor relatives in Glasgow, and how 162 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. he had been entrapped in those unfortunate proceedings, wrote an energetic certificate in his favour to the effect, that the ends of justice might be satisfied by sparing his life. But Robert Grahame, of Whitehill, exceeded them all in point of indefatigable energy on this deplorable occasion. He actually left his own important business occupations in Glasgow, and posted to London for the express purpose of interceding with His Majesty's Govern- ment for a reprieve to the condemned prisoners, of whose history, condition, and entanglements, he also was per- fectly aware. Mr. Grahame was a gentleman of the highest reputation universally esteemed in Glasgow by men of all parties. He was the personal friend of the Right Hon. James Stuart Wortley, afterwards Lord Wharncliffe, one of the Cabinet Ministers of George the Fourth. We had wjiat follows on the authority of Mr. Grahame himself, who died some years ago. Poor Hardie had written some most affecting letters from his con- demned cell in Stirling, to his relatives in Glasgow, which somehow reached the hands of Mr. Grahame for perusal. Those letters struck him exceedingly. They moved and affected him to a degree, he said, which no letters of any kind had ever done before. We shall present our readers with a few quotations from them as we proceed. We are very sure they will make a profound impression on not a few of our readers of the present day. But it may suffice here to state that, in a postscript to one of his letters, which first rivetted the attention of Mr. Grahame, there was this expression "Be sure and be kind to my poor canary" a bird that used to sing sweetly to him in its cage, in his humble loom-shop in Glasgow. When Mr. Grahame pointed out these simple artless words to Lord Wharncliffe, the tears came start- REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 1G3 ing to his eyes, and he struck his hands on his forehead, exclaiming, "Good God! he cannot be a cold-blooded wretch that conld write such a sentiment. I will inter- cede for him with my colleagues/' But his Lordship's colleagues in the Cabinet sternly decided that the law should take its course, both at Stirling and at Glasgow. "We also had the opportunity of perusing many of Hardie's letters, written in his condemned cell, in Stir- ling Castle. Indeed, we had them all carefully in our possession some time ago and copied them ; and we must here declare, that we never read anything to equal them for real pathos and sublime fortitude. The celebrated letters of the learned and Eev. Dr. Dodd in his con- demned cell at Newgate, are as nothing to them, for fervid composition. We take leave to give the following few extracts from some of them. Listen to this first one, from the pen of the unfortunate youth, the poor helpless unsophisticated Glasgow weaver, addressed ob- serve, to his widowed and distressed mother in Glasgow, after he had received his sentence of death, and say if it does not yet command some generous emotion : STIRLING CASTLE, July 21st) 1820. MY DEAR MOTHER, AND RELATIONS, I take the opportunity of writing you a few lines, informing you of my welfare in this unfortu- nate situation in which I am placed, and likewise to remind you of the goodness of Him who hath given to the human race a life of labour, of fleeting joys, and transient sorrows, that we may not forget the value of our immortal souls. Since it hath pleased and seemed good to the Sovereign Ruler of heaven and earth to bring his poor feeble son into affliction, He also sends his ministering and consoling hand along with it ; and which is bearing me up beyond all human conception, so much so, that I enjoy a calmer and more tranquil mind than I ever experienced in all my life. I know too well that all my feeble efforts will not tend to ameliorate your grief for me in this unfortunate situation. Too well, my dear friends, do I know your 164 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. tender hearts which are alive to every feeling ; but what can I say or do? I may sit here and write, until my eyes are blind with tears, which at present are flowing profusely, not for my own sufferings, or what I am to suffer these do not give me much concern : but when I reflect on the disconsolate state which, I before observed, you must be in that alone, my dear mother and friends, is all that I ani concerned about in this world. For I expect I have already my peace made up with God, and I hope you will look unto Him, who alone is able to give you support under every dispensation of His providence. Think upon his great goodness to me. Draw consolation from that alone. Could you have thought that I was sufficient to withstand such a shock, which at once burst upo'n me like an earthquake, and buried all my vain, idle, and earthly thoughts beneath its ruins, and left me like a poor shipwrecked mariner on this bleak shore this land of disappointments ? This is the other one to his poor aged Grandfather. Mark the lofty tone of it: STIRLING CASTLE, 10th August. MY DEAR GRANDFATHER, I received a letter from you of date the 10th of June, and you will have heard of the result of my unfor- tunate affair, but there is no help for it now, and therefore it becomes us to submit to the will of God ; permit me therefore to lay before you a few reflections on this most important point, viz., our submission to to the will of Providence ; and although I am a young man and have had but little experience in this world, compared with you, I hope you will excuse my presumption for doing so. You have seen much of the vicissitudes of life. You have seen your wife, sons and daugh- tei-s, and other relations and acquaintances drop off, some of them like the ripe leaf in autumn ; others, as it were, by a sudden gust of wind blown from the tree before they arrived at maturity; nay, some of them in the very bud. You see what a wide contrast is between you and me, and yet to all human appearance, I shall be away before you. Dear Grandfather, as I am standing on the verge of eternity, and according to the course of nature, you cannot be long in this world this land of misery and as we are all poor needy sinful creatures, let us throw ourselves upon Him who is both able and willing to save. My earnest prayer is, that He may put upon us His unspotted robe of righteousness, and fit us for that society whose REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 165 business is perfect love. My health continues, with a calm and tran- quil mind, and I trust God who has been so kind to me, will continue with me to the end. I hope you will send for my distressed mother, and give her all the consolation in your power. And in another letter, the letter more like one from a philosopher, than a condemned weaver, he says : " You will have heard all the particulars of my trial more expli- citly than I can give it to you. I shall therefore sum up the whole in a very few words. If I have done wrong, certainly I ought to suffer. If not, my very blood will recoil on their own heads. My trial and sufferings will go through another investigation before a Tribunal ten thousand times more terrible than that before which I lately stood. You would likewise hear of the manner that my poor frail body is to be mangled, viz., to be hanged, beheaded, and quar- tered : but this is not all that will not suffice my remains are to be left to the disposal of His Majesty. But what matter is all this to me ? Although they should take my bones and grind them to powder, there shall not a particle of them be lost, but shall be gathered again, I am waiting with great patience until my time comes. The loss of my life gives me little concern. I am relying on the merits of a blessed Saviour for a happy reception. My sun is nigh set ; but I trust it will rise again to set no more for ever." Another is in this strain : STIIILIXG CASTLE, 5th Sept., 1320. MY DEAR RELATIONS, I now write you ray long and last farewell letter. ... I have wronged no person I have hurt no person, and I bless God who has the hearts of all men in His hands, that it never entered mine to hurt my fellow-creatures. No person could have induced me to take up arms in the same manner to rob and plunder. No, my dear friends, I took them up, as I thought, for the good of my suffering country ; and although we were outwitted, yet I protest as a dying man, that it was with a good intention on my part. But, dear friends, it becomes me as a dying Christian,' to over- look all these matters, which, I bless Gcd, I can do with pleasure. If I can't forgive my enemies, or those that have injured me, how can I expect my blessed Saviour to make intercession for me, who so freely forgave his, even when expiring on the cross he prayed for his L 166 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. enemies, " Father forgive them, they know not what they do." My dear friends, I again hope you will put yourselves to as little con- cern about me as possible. Is not that, we ask, one of the most benign letters that ever came from a prisoner's cell ? At the risk of some repetition, we venture to give the following other one from Hardie in this place, which proves in the most solemn and powerful language the depths of his profound affection for his poor widowed mother. It is addressed we should state, as some of the others were, to the care of his cousin, Mr. Bobert Good- win, who is still alive in this city, and who has become } and may be recognised at the present day as one of the most respectable and extensive house-factors in Glasgow. He, we hope, has no occasion to feel in the least degree ashamed of such productions starting again into life, if we may so speak, from the pen of his decapitoMd rela- tive, in the way we are now giving them : STIRLING CASTLE, 7th Sept., 1S20. MY DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTER, As I am now, in a few short hours to take my leave of this vain and transient world, I think it a duty incumbent on me, to lay before you a few observations, and however weak they may, or seem to be, yet upon consideration that they are from your dying brother, and as the words or advice of dying fiiends generally attract the attention, such as they are, I shall transmit them ; and may the Lord illuminate every dark ray of my mind, and enable me to impress your minds with a serious awe and resignation to His divine will. You may remember in a letter from our dear and distressed mother, of date 2d August, in which you express your deep concern for me in my then unhappy situation, and I am well aware that not only you, but all my relations, have put yourselves to much concern for me, which has been a great source of grief to me. But I beg your serious attention, while I state some- thing of more importance. In the same paragraph you remind me of " Eternity :" and that is an awful word : and so it is, my dear REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 167 brothers and sister, and I hope you will take it into serious considera- tion. And let me remind you, that you have a dear father, and six brothers and sisters already dropt into eternity; and while writing this, I am standing on the very brink of eternity. Indeed, we are at all times under sentence of death; and remember that what God saith to one, he saith to all " Dust we are, and unto dust we must return." From every age and condition of life, from every spot of ground, every moment of time, there are short and sudden ways of descent into the grave. Death, like a savage tyrant, goes about seeking whom he may devour. He regards not the strength of the vigorous the beauty of the comely nor the arts of the wise : alas! neither can. the sighs of the poor widow, nor the cries of the helpless orphan melt him into compassion, but like a rapid torrent, he carries down all without distinction, before him. Grey hairs are his ripe harvest ! Yea, like the raging storms, he crushes down the tender flower in its very bud. Now, my dear brothers and sister, I think I have said enough on the uncertainty of time. In sojourning in this valley of tears, we have no resting-place here ; but let us seek that eternal, rest which is to be found through the merits of Jesus Christ in that celestial city made without hands, in that heavenly Jerusalem whose builder and maker is God, where there is no created sun, moon, nor stars, but the glory of the Lamb is the light thereof. Do not mourn for me my dear relatives, friends, and acquaintances. While you are reading this, I trust I will be singing to the glory of God amongst angels, and those who have washed their robes in the blood of that innocent Lamb who sitteth at the right hand of God. I am not afraid to die. I shall hail the scaffold as the harbinger of my salvation. O my dear brothers and sisters, I earnestly entreat of you for the love of God, to be kind to my dear and distressed, and affectionate, and loving mother: and remember when you do so, that you are only doing your duty. O do, my dear brothers and sister, remember her, I earnestly entreat you ; and also do attend the church regularly. O my dear brothel's and sister, I must now lay down my pen. May the Lord of His infinite mercy, guide, protect, and lead you through the paths of this wilderness ; and after you have fulfilled a life agree- able to his commandments, enable me to hail you as happy and im- mortal spirits in glory. Remember again my dear mother. Fare- well ! my dear friends, farewell ! a long farewell to this vain world, and all its boasted pleasures. I am, mv dear friends, your dying brother, ANDREW HARDIE. 168 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. But there is yet another, the last he ever wrote; and it was written on the night previous to his execution to the darling of his heart to the young girl, Margaret M'Keigh, to whom he had been betrothed; and to whom but for those proceedings, he would have been assuredly married. Listen to the dying lover now, in strains, we will say, of the most touching eloquence : STIRLING CASTLE, Sept. 7, 1820. MY DEAR AND LOVING MARGARET, Before this arrives at your hand, I will be made immortal, and will be I trust, singing praises to God and the Lamb, amongst the spirits of just men made perfect, through the atoning blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Chvist, whose all-sufficient merits are infinitely abounding. What consolation does this render unto me, who, while writing this, am within a few short hours of launching into an eternity where I am not afraid to enter, although a poor unworthy miserable sinner, and not worthy of the least of His notice. Think, my dear Margaret, on the goodness of God to me in the last closing period of my life. Oh, think on it, and draw consolation from that source from whence I obtained it, and from whence consolation and real fortitude can alone be obtainet 7 . Could you have thought that I was sufficient to withstand such a shock, which at once burst upon me like an earthquake, and buried all my vain earthly hopes beneath its ruins, and separated from thee in whom all my hopes were centered? But, alas ! how vain are all the earthly hopes of us weak sighted mortals. How soon they are all buried in oblivion. My dear Margaret, put yourself to no concern about me. Oh, may that good and gracious God who has supported me so peculiarly, support you also in every dispensation of His gra- cious providence that He is pleased to visit you with. Oh that He may send His ministering angels, and soothe you with the balm of comfort. Oh may they approach the beauteous mourner, and tell you that your lover lives though condemned yes, lives to a nobler life. My dear Margaret, I am under the necessity of laying dowu my pen, as this will have to go out immediately " may God's grace your life direct, From evil guard your way ; And in temptation's fatal path Permit you not to stray." REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 169 You will please give my dying love to your father and mother, James, and .... And I exhort you all to a close walk with God through our Lord and Saviour; and when you have fulfilled a course of life agreeable to His word, that we may be united together in the mansions of peace where there is no sorrow. Farewell a long farewell, to you and all worldly cares, for I have done with them. I hope you will call frequently on my poor distressed and afflicted mother. At the expense of some tears, I destroyed your letters. Again, iarewell, my dearest Margaret. May God attend you still; and all your soul with consolation fill, is the sincere prayer of your most affectionate and constant lover while on earth, ANDREW HARDIE. Stirling Castle, Thursday Night, at 10 o'Clock. Was there ever anything 30 affectionate and almost sublime from any modern traitor on this earth.? But was he really a traitor ? Let the world, irrespective of his Jury, now judge. The rich after death sometimes receive ovations from their parasites, without any other quality to distinguish them. Is it improper that we should lift up the veil from the clouded life of this poor Glasgow weaver and some of his unfortunate companions ? or is it offensive that' we should here publish some of those letters so creditable to his self-taught and supposed illiterate pen? They will be read, doubtless, as the letters of a once convicted traitor; and in that view we are not afraid, and do not hesitate to present them to the notice of our readers. But they have the genuine marks of Christianity about them in an eminent degree, and his thoughts about death in the most terrible form upon the scaffold, disclose an amount of calm fortitude and pious resignation, almost to be envied by those who 170 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. pass away into another world with less preparation, but probably with greater crime. Lengthened as these extracts have been with respect to Andrew Hardie, we cannot pass over in utter silence the closing scene with respect to John Baird. The following are two of his letters to his brother and sister, in remarkable unison with those of Hardie : STIRLING CASTLE, 28th July, 1820. DEAR BROTHER, I have to inform, you, that I am in good health at present, thanks be to the Giver of all good for it. I hope this will find you and yours in the same. I am tried, and a verdict of Guilty pronounced against me ; but I will not get the sentence passed on me for some time. You will be well aware what it will be. I hope when I am cast out from the presence of men, that the Lord Jesus, through His blood will prepare me for joining with angels, and the spirits of those whom He has made perfect. I hope that you will be making it your daily employment to approach your God in prayer : and when you do this, I would warn you to take great care how you make your approach to HIM. You must know that you are approach- ing one who knows your heart and thoughts, and your very imagination. You are now the father of a family. You must keep in mind that you have a great charge see that you spare not the rod when need- ful, and take care that you do not make use of it in the fury of passion, but let your mind be settled when you use it. You cannot expect me to write you on those very important subjects, when you consider my situation. But I hope what I have said will not be lost. I hope you will not read it, and then forget it; but that you will lay it to heart, remembering you have it from an affectionate brother that looks death in the face. Although my race is run, and my sun about to set, and never more to rise in this world, yet I look forward to the Sun of Righteousness, who shall arise with healing under his wings, and conduct me to His rest. Give my best wishes to all inquiring friends. I remain, yours until death, JOHN BAIRD. IlEMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 171 STIRLING CASTLE, 28th July, 1820. DEAR SISTER, I now write a few words to you. My situation is no doubt painful to you ; but you must not grieve for me as one that hath no hope, for I have found more comfort in the dungeon than ever I ftnmd in this world. Although I am under the rod of affliction, God in his mercy has sent grace to support me. Although, man be the instrument that afflicts me, it has a two-fold meaning man for his pleasure and God for his justice and my good. Man will be brought to judgment for what he does to me. I pray that God may enable me to forgive them freely. Ah ! my loved sister, why all this care for me ? to a life so lost so totally undone: yet not doubting for mercy from His grace, who- bled on the cross for all those who seek him with their whole hearts. Oh ! may each breath, while God that breath shall spare to me, be yours in gratitude, and instant in prayer. Mankind shall learn by my sad story, your kind concern for me. May the Lord Jesus inspire us all with the sacred fire of his grace. In the arms of his free grace and mercy, may we trust our souls and our bodies, for He alone is able to keep them. Glory be to His name, for ever and ever. Amen. My kind love to all inquiring friends. Your affectionate brother, JOHN BAIRD. The following is the last one he wrote to his faithful friend Mr. Daniel Taylor of Kilsyth, who occasionally wrote some scraps of local poetry in his day : STIRLING CASTLE, Jfih Sept., 1820. DEAB FRIEND, I take this opportunity of sending you my long and last farewell. On Friday, I hope to me made immortal. Although man may mangle this body, yet blessed be God, he has kept the most noble part of it in his own hand. I do not mean to say anything about them who have been so sore against me: for I have made it my study to forget and forgive all men any wrong they have done to me. I received your kind and welcome letter. It cheered my heart to think you will go so far to see my grave ; and it gave me some con- soiation to say, you will write my Dirge. All this you have said, and I hope you dll do. It gives me no small concern to think that any 17'2 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. pei-son blamed you concerning me that I could never do. I look upon you still as my trusty friend; but you know men are oft blamed when they are not deserving of it. I hope that you will let all ani- mosity cease, and let love and harmony abound, is the sincere wish of your dying friend. " Let troubles riss and tyrant's rage, And days of darkness fall; But those that wait upon the Lord, Shall more than conquer all." If God be for us, who can stand against us 1 No more from your dying friend, a martyr to the cause of liberty. May the grace of God protect you and yours. Give my kind love to all friends of liberty. Yours, JOHN BAIRD. And there was added to the above, this significant note from Hardie : DEAR SIR, This comes from a hand you never saw, to the best of my knowledge from a hand that in a few days or hours must mingle with its native dust. Hard is our fate, my dear unknown friend; yet I resign my life without the least reluctance. I die a martyr, " Firm to the cause, like a magnet to its pole, With undaunted spirit and unshaken soul." My dear friend, I again bid you farewell ; and I hope you will keep in your remembrance the cause for which Baird and Hardie, and Cleland, died on the scaffold. No more farewell ! ANDREW HARDIE. P.S. Since writing this, I am happy to announce that Cleland has got a respite. A. H. We think we shall in a subsequent page or two, show how well Mr. Daniel Taylor, of Kilsyth, to whom the above letter was addressed, performed the duty he under- took to do, by some original verses he was pleased to commit to us many years ago, forming the "Dirge" which his dying friend so pathetically enjoined him to make, and which we are not ashamed to say, we have again recently perused with some edification and drops of awakened and soothing comfort. REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 173 We give the following from an eye-witness : " On the Wednesday, before their execution on Friday, amid the circle of his weeping family an aged father of fourscore, three sisters, two brothers, and two brothers- in-law, John Baird, detailed at considerable length, and with the utmost simplicity, calmness, and affection, his feelings, and his hopes : and again beseeched them when they returned home, not to mourn for him, but rather to return thanks to Almighty God for his great goodness in sustaining him under such trials. To those of his rela- tions who had children, he urged upon them the propriety of showing them a good example in early life, and that they might all live so as to be ready to die at a moment's notice; for although, he observed, the period of his exist- ence was fixed upon the earth, they knew not the day nor the hour when their own great change would come. "These were his words; and while every one in his condemned cell was convulsed and bewailing, and sob- bing with tears, he himself was calm and collected, and continued to address them in the most soothing tone and manner. One circumstance alone seemed to overpower him for a few moments. His venerable father, whom he had not seen since the morning of the day before he was taken prisoner at Bonnymuir, was bowed down on his knees near him in that cell at this last adieu. When they came to embrace and to shake hands with each other for the last time, the doomed prisoner snatched from his pocket, in which he had still been permitted to retain it, a handsome horn snuff-box, mounted with silver, and with a look which may be imagined but not described, he placed it in the trembling hands of his poor frail agonized father, saying, ' Dear father, please accept this from me. You will perhaps look at it when you can 174 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. no longer look at me in this world.' " This little incident of itself bespeaks its own impressive tale. But we come now to THE DREAD EXECUTIONS. First, it deserves to be remarked, that the trials of Hardie and Baird, as already stated, took place at Stirling, on 13th July, 1820, and that James Wilson's took place in Glasgow, on the 20th of the same month and year,, before the same Judges in all the cases. Wilson was doomed to be executed and beheaded at Glasgow, on 30th of August, 1820. Hardie and Baird were doomed to be executed and beheaded at Stirling, on the Stli of September, 1820. Therefore it is singular to notice, that Wilson, the last tried, was to be the first executed ; while Hardie and Baird the first tried, were to be the last executed; and there is this other remarkable difference in their cases, namely, that Wilson was to be executed within forty days of his sentence, whereas Hardie and Baird were allowed the greater latitude of fifty-eight days after the date of their sentence. We can give no reason for this remarkable difference: but the law we believe, now is, that in capital cases not more than twenty-one days shall elapse from the date of the sentence and the period of the execution. We must dwell upon those shocking State Executions a little longer, because they were the first of their kind that ever took place in Scotland, and we pray they will be the last. It may be harrowing to the feelings of our readers to listen to some other details referable to those matters ; yet in several respects they may be viewed as characteristic of Scotchmen in an eminent degree, even under the most appalling and certainly under the most REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 175 unparalleled circumstances that have ever happened in this country. In that view, and for other reasons, we feel it to be our duty to notice them, and probably to impress upon them for the first time the stamp of undoubted and unfading history. No sooner was poor old Wilson placed in his con- demned cell in Glasgow, (the same from which Pritchard was taken the other day to his Execution), than he prepared to meet his awful doom with all the composure of an humble and resigned Christian. He had only one artless story to tell from first to last; and he told it with unvarying truth. To blacken his character, how- ever, in the public estimation, and to strip him if pos- sible, of all sympathy and commiseration, it was foully insinuated that he was an infidel; and had actually burned the Bible in prison. Anything base enough, or black enough, was too easily believed against any Eadical Eeformer of those days. He had been visited in prison by several of the esteemed clergymen of the city; but one was permitted to enter his cell from a neighbouring parish, who, instead of comforting him with religious views, tormented him with political dis- sertations. This was the Eev. James Lapslie, of Campsie, who in 1793 roamed about the country and hatched evidence to convict the accomplished but unfortunate Thomas Muir of Huntershill; for doing which, this Mr, Lapslie was actually placed upon the Pension List of Scotland for 50 per annum, as long as he lived. He himself was stigmatised as a political renegade, prior to that period; but on the present occasion he presumed to lecture Wilson " on the dreadful crimes he had commit- ted against his King and country;" and he attempted to extract a written confession from him to that effect. 176 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. The poor prisoner had the moral courage to tell him to begone! and not lecture him anymore on such things: but this visit had such an effect on Wilson for some days afterwards, that he entreated the Jailor and the Turnkeys of the prison, not to allow any clergyman like Lapslie to approach or enter his cell. He held, however, sweet communion with the Rev. Dr. Greville Ewing, of the Independent Church, then in Nile Street, and Dr. Daniel Dewar, of the Tron, who both attended him to the scaffold. The unanimous petitions of his Jury and others for mercy to him, were utterly disregarded. Lord Sidmouth, the unpopular Secretly of State for the Home Department, coldly replied that he did not consider the prisoner to be a fit object at all for the Royal clemency. On the day preceding his execution, he was permitted to take an affectionate farewell of his faithful and devoted wife, who had lived in interrupted happiness with him for the long period of thirty years, and of his only daughter, the last survivor of six children; and anxious that his character should be vindicated and defended after he had suffered the utmost penalty of the law, he placed in ihe hands of his wife a written holograph document, which she afterwards in company with her niece, Mrs. Ritchie of Strathaven, was pleased to deliver to us : THE DYING DECLARATION OF JAMES WILSON. ("WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.) Being desirous that a correct account of my conduct in the matcer for which I am to suffer, should go to the public, I have to submit the following short narrative which neither conceals nor misrepresents the truth. I am just entering the 60th year of my age ; was born in the village of Strathaven of respectable parents ; was bred a hosier ; was married about 30 years ago, and never once left the house in which 1 was born, till I lately was confined to a prison. It will readily be REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 177 believed therefore, when I mention that my life was peaceable and harmlessly passed away; and indeed, I know no one in my neigh- bourhood that can say I ever injured or offended them. It was not till Thursday, the 14th day of April last, that this inoffensive life was interrupted by an occurrence, which in the little I had to do with it, I will now detail. In the morning of that day about twenty men, mostly belonging to Strathaven, came to my house, and said that a person of the name of Sheilds had brought some news from Glasgow, which had inclined them to set off immediately for that place ; and they added they were determined I should go along with them. I never heard of this per- son Sheilds before. I refused to go, but they threatened to blow my brains out if I did not accompany them. I said I had no arms ; when the persons noticed the blade of a sword which had no hilt, and was broken at the point, and which I used as a bow for my stocking-frame, and they observed I might take it. At length carry- ing this useless blade with me, we left my house for Glasgow ; but when near Kilbride, which is half-way, we heard that we were deceived, by the Glasgow Committee having all turned traitors. I then left those persons, and after stopping a short time at a friend's house by the way, I returned home, where I had scarce arrived, when I was secured by the officers of the law, and carried to Hamilton Barracks, where I lay till Sxinday, when I was taken to Glasgow prison. I was now charged with taking up arms and levying war against the King, and am doomed to suffer the extremest punishment of the law, as one who has committed High Treason. My trial is before the world. The facts of my case are already in some degree public, and I refrain in my present situation from making any obser- vations on those singular proceedings. I meet my fate in the calm- ness and tranquillity of a man who is decidedly conscious of suffering innocently. I most solemnly deny that I took up arms to levy war against the King. I indignantly reject the imputation that I com- mitted or intended to commit High Treason. Of that crime, or of any offence done or meditated against the lives or properties of my fellow-creatures, my heart does not accuse me : and the humane and discerning will, I am sure, with difficulty persuade themselves that the facts above detailed merited the name and punishment of Treason. I acknowledge that I die a patriot for the cause of freedom for my poor country, and I hope that my countrymen will continue to see 178 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. the necessity of a Reform in the way of the country being represented; and I hope my clear countrymen will unite and stand firm to their rights. In order to confute a most scandalous falsehood, that has I under- stand been circulated by two men of but indifferent characters, viz., of my having burned a Bible, as a dying man, I solemnly deny that I ever did anything of the kind; and I do solemnly declare it to be false. I therefore do declare and firmly believe the Bible to be the Word of God ; and I do believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world ; and I do place all my hopes and con- fidence in the mercy of God the Father, and in the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour. (Signed), JAMES WILSON. Glasgow Jail, Iron Room, 29th August, 1820. Could any dying Declaration of its kind be more explicit and satisfactory ? My death and life, My bane and antidote, are both before me This in a moment brings me to an end : But this informs me I shall never die ! The soul secured in her existence smiles At the drawn dagger, and defies its point. The stars shall fade away, the sun himself Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years : But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth Unhurt, amidst the war of elements, The wreck of matter, and the crash of worlds! Addison. We have only to make this short explanatory state- ment about the above Declaration itself, arising from its polished phraseology, namely, that although the sub- stance of that declaration was assuredly written by James Wilson himself in his " Iron room" as he calls it, in Glas- gow Jail, it was revised for him by his faithful attendant, the Rev. Dr. Greville Ewing, and then faithfully trans- REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 179 cribed in Wilson's own hand ; and the original of that copy has remained in our possession for the last thirty , years. Does it not tell its own interesting story even now, which we defy anybody to contradict. And tell us, ye Ministers of Justice! whether if James Wilson could start into life now; but that is impossible, his head would be severed from his body as a Traitor, in the way it was done? Is it not therefore of some importance to bring out those facts, and to keep them carefully in view as a beacon for posterity? For although the bloody days of 1820 can never return, it is impossible to tell what may occur in after ages. And at all events, the simple know- ledge of those facts, brought out in this manner and in this condensed form, cannot, we humbly think, but prove somewhat instructive to those who never heard of them before, and who probably till now, could scarcely believe that they actually occurred within so recent a period in the kingdom of Scotland, the land we happily live in at this date. Yes, the land we so happily live in at this date. For although we have witnessed the reign of no fewer than four British Monarchs, we ought all of us to be thank- ful, and very grateful, that we continue to live under the mild and peaceful sway of Queen Victoria, and in /~.o mere empty wrods, exclaim GOD SAVE THE QUEEN. And therefore, while in this old loyal vein, we may here be permitted to introduce the following lines, written and given to us many years ago, by our old esteemed friend, who was likewise our most faithful servant for some years, viz., the late Mr. Alexander Rodger, or, as he was familiarly called, Sandy Rodger, the well-known Glasgow poet, immediately after Her 180 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Majesty ascended the Throne ; but Sandy has long since " soared aloft," with imperishable laurels, we hope, for he was truly an estimable man ; yet we must record this extraordinary and almost incredible fact about him, viz., that he was one of the number of those who were actually seized and imprisoned in the Bridewell of Glasgow on the capital charge of High Treason ! Let these verses therefore, which now turn up to our hand, and which poetically, or in broad Scottish accents, refer to some of the significant events of the day, which Sandy witnessed and felt, attest to the world now, whether there was really anything like Treason in his composition or not, LINES WRITTEN IN THE YEAR 1837. God bless our lovely Queen With cloudless days serene. God save our Queen. From perils, pangs, and woes, Secret and open foes, Till her last evening close, God save our Qneen. From flattery's poisoned streams, From faction's fiendish schemes, God shield our Queen. With men her Throne surround, Firm, active, zealous, sound, Just, righteous, sage, profound. God save our Queen. Long may she live to prove Her faithful subjects' love. God bless the Queen. Grant her an Alfred's zeal . Still for the common weal, Her people's wounds to heal. God save our Queen. Watch o'er her steps in youth, In the straight paths of truth Lead our young Queen. REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. And as years onward glide, Succour, protect, and guide Albion's hope Albion's pride God save our Queeu. Free from war's sanguine stain, Bright be Victoria's reign. God guard our Queen. Safe from the traitor's wiles, Long may the Queen of Isles Cheer millions with her smiles. God save our Queen. Yes, we repeat, the man who spontaneously wrote the above lines on the Queen on the eve, observe, of Her Majesty's Coronation, and before Her Majesty's Marriage, had been previously imprisoned, and almost condemned in this city as a Glasgow Traitor! We may have a few additional words by and bye, to say about him, or rather respecting his memory. In truth, the volume of his Glasgow poems, some of which he used to recite to us with great animation, almost demands a special notice at our hands, which we shall give elsewhere, "if spared;" and that last expression is a saving clause cer- tainly, for this and other things starting to our mind's eye at this moment. We are beginning to be afraid, however, that we are fatiguing somewhat our readers. Let them please under- stand, that we are not by any means skilled in the art of book-making. It has been our practice, in another direc- tion, to write off-hand, just on the spur of the moment about the passing topics of the day, without much regard to any rigid, or glossy, or hypercritical rules; but always keeping the facts in view u And fects are chiels that winna ding, And daurna be disputed." M 182 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. And yet, like the plough-boy in his fields, we can some- times even whistle as we go along, without charging ourselves exactly with the appellation " Superfluous lags the veteran on the stage !" From this digression we must refer back for a moment or two longer, to the case of James Wilson. We think we really see him at this great distance of time, vividly, but slowly emerging from his condemned cell in the Jail of Glasgow, at two o'clock on Wednesday after- noon, the 30th of August, 1820, and entering the old adjoining Justiciary Hall, closely pinioned and bound, dressed in a white jacket and trousers, being the then prison garb of the condemned, with the front of his shirt laid bare, and his hands wrapt in a pair of white cotton gloves. The Eev. Greville Ewing immediately offered up a most eloquent and impressive prayer; and those (but there can only be a very few surviving now,) who still remember that most amiable and excellent divine in this city, may well believe that it was both able and sincere, and brought many real tears and sobbing hearts into active operation at the time. The calm, venerable look- ing prisoner standing uncovered, then read, and civilly requested the audience to join with him in singing some verses of the 51st Psalm, which was done with the most solemn effect; and then the crowded Hall was ordered to be cleared to make way for the Hurdle, containing the decapitator or the executioner, his face covered with a black domino, but holding up the axe and the other in- struments of death sternly in his hands ; and close there- unto was now seated the poor old victim in the dress we have described. Outside the Justiciary Hall, not fewer than 20,000 human beings had assembled; while around REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 183 the scaffold were drawn up the Kifle Brigade, still in Glasgow, with the 33d Kegiment of Infantry, and the 3d Dragoon Guards, being the greatest display of mili- tary force that ever attended any execution in Glasgow before or since. The Hurdle on its cranking wheels soon came round to the scaffold from the south angle of the Jail ; and when the old man was then lifted out of it, and made to ascend the scaffold, one universal shout of sym- pathy was set up for him by the assembled crowds. He gazed upon them for a moment or two with something like bewildered astonishment. They then set up a loud cheer for him, co-minoled with cries of "Murder! mur- ' O der ! " He bowed his head once or twice silently then ]et go the signal, being his own white handkerchief and in a little while, his dead body, dangling from the rope about his neck on the scaffold, was cut down and lay stretched on a black board on the top of a large fir coffin on the scaffold; and the ghastly face previously moulded in a fine form by its Maker, was then rudely turned over the neck again laid bare the uplifted axe actually gleaming in the autumnal sun at the deadly aim it was thence taking, and with one or two shocking: o ' O terrible blows, the muffled executioner in the strength of his might, struck the head from the body of James Wilson; and snatching up the slaughtered head in his bloody hands, with little regard to its innocent grey hairs, besmeared also with blood, he uttered in a sort of horrid yell, the words, " Behold the head of a Traitor!" At this sight, the lingering and petrified audience, burst forth with the exclamations "Shame! Shame! Murder! Murder!" and several of the soldiers on duty absolutely fainted. It was indeed a terrible sight. Dr. Strang, the late respected Chamberlain of the city, 184 REMINISCENCES OF gives the following version of it in liis own words, corro- borative of what we have already written : " Whatever may have been the reasons (says he), which induced His then Majesty's Ministers to reject the solicitations of those who were anxious that Wilson's life might be spared, it is certain they were most egregiously mistaken in supposing that his execution would produce any good effect. The public sympathy was all on the side of the prisoner a feeling that he was unnecessarily sacrified, seemed to per- vade the immense mass of spectators assembled to witness his execution; and shouts of murder, intermingled with cries of ' He died for his country/ were incessantly repeated. Unfortunately for the Ministers of that day, the better classes were very generally imbued with the same sentiments." We cordially subscribe to these sentiments of our departed friend, Dr. Strang, and now we will add this striking sequel to the 'whole, which we had from unques- tionable authority many years ago; and we shall offer no apology to our readers for publishing it in this place. The poor old victim several days before his execution had expressed an earnest and anxious desire that his remains might be buried " in the dust of his fathers," in the quiet village, now the rising town of Strathaven, with its pre- sent population of 6000 inhabitants. The authorities gave him reason to believe that his request would be com- plied with. Accordingly several of his sorrowing relatives from Strathaven, came to Glasgow in deep mourning to attend his execution, and claim his mangled body; but in the course of that day, peremptory orders were given to cart him up to the paupers' ground, near to the High Church Glasgow, and there to bury him under the sur- veillance of Mr. Alexander Calder, Sheriff-officer, and REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 185 others of his co-ordinate officers. This was done : but at the dead hour of that same night, James Wilson's daugh- ter, together with his niece, Mrs. Eitchie of Strathaven, to whom we have already referred, made a resolution that they would yet snatch up and embrace the dead body of their mangled relative. With a courage perhaps natura^ and perfectly excusable, but rarely if ever employed, they wended their way to the High Church burying-ground : and soon came to the undoubted spot where the body of their relative lay; for the green sod had not yet been tram- pled upon, and the scattered spadefuls of earth around it, sufficiently attested the still yawning grave. The grim walls of the ancient but splendid Cathedral, as they as- sured us, did not discourage them for a single moment, but rather seemed silently to aid or abet them in their singular but solemn and dangerous enterprise. They dug to the coffin, which only rested a very few inches beneath the surface, and entertaining no doubt about it at all, they quietly hurried away to their other relatives in the city, awakened them out of their beds, and with anxious pal- pitating hearts, soon described what they had just done. In less than an hour the identical body of James Wilson was borne away in a carriage for Strathaven, where it was decently interred, not as a traitor, but as an inoffen- sive, venerable, and beloved native of the place, " No further seek his merits to disclose, Or draw his frailties from their dread abode : There they alike in trembling hope repose, The bosom of his Father and his God !" We must not omit to mention the fact that, when the circumstances of the uplifting of the body of James Wilson from the High Church burying-ground reached the ears of the authorities in Gl?. r ;gow, it astonished them 186 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. not a little ; but they of course could take no farther proceedings on the subject. We shall soon however, show what an important effect that circumstance really had on other executions in Scotland. But we must hasten on now to the more interesting, but still more terrible EXECUTION OF HARDIE AND BAIRD AT STIRLING. What follows, we give not from personal observation, as was principally the case with Wilson, but from the most reliable evidence entrusted to us, the authenticity of which we challenge any one to dispute. We have already described the parting scene of Bairf* with his venerable father. " From the period of their condemnation," (says one of the ministers of religion who attended them, and who originally gave us the details in writing under his own hand), "from the period of their condemnation, they were almost daily attended by the Rev. Mr. Bruce, and by the Rev. Dr. Wright, and Mr. Small, of Stirling ; and by the Rev. Dr. Heugh, afterwards translated to Glasgow. But such was the rapid advancement they had made in the Christian life, that some of those reverend gentlemen acknowledged that they visited the prisoners rather to learn, than communicate instruction rather to witness the triumph of divine faith, than to perform any extra- neous service. It was the wish of the prisoners Hardie and Baird, to spend the whole of their last night on earth in private prayer to Almighty God; but some of their nearest and dearest relatives had expressed an ear- nest desire to pass this night along with them. This request being communicated to General Graham, the Governor of Stirling Castle, and to Major Peddie, the Fort Major, who invariably treated the whole of the pri- REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 187 soners with the utmost humanity in their power, was readily complied with. The night was spent alternately in reading some portions of the Scriptures, in prayer, and conversation; and so cool and collected were the prison- ers, nay, so cheerful and happy did they seem to be, that they were more like saints made perfect in bliss, than men about to undergo an ignominious death." Our reverend informant goes on to narrate, that at some intervals of the conversation, Hardie desired to know from some of his relations whether they had pre- pared a strong coffin for him to take his body to Glasgow, and he even examined his linen winding-sheet, which he discovered they had brought with them from Glasgow. About four o'clock of the morning, Hardie and Baird lay clown in bed together in that condemned cell in Stirling Castle, from which they were only to arise with the instruments of death about them. They slept soundly till six o'clock. At that hour, agreeably to their own previous request, they were awakened, and washed and dressed themselves. They, in this the last of their morn- ing devotions, engaged in singing the first four verses of the 51st Paraphrase; and Baird read from the 15th chapter of the first Corinthians. He then engaged in an agony of prayer, the purport of which was that ths Almighty would strengthen their faith, and stand by them at the approaching trying hour. This (says our informant,) was probably one of the most powerful, 'com- prehensive, and affecting prayers that ever was offered up. The reverend gentlemen who had now entered the cells and heard it, could not repress their emotion nor subdue their tears. At one o'clock, the hour of their execution being fixed for two, they requested to be allowed, as they passed out 188 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. from their cells to the scaffold, to take a glimpse of their companions taken with them at Bonnymuir, and to bid them from their prison walls, a last farewell ! This scene was touching in the extreme. Some eighteen or twenty youths grouped around the windows of their prison, the sashes of which had been thrown open tem- porarily for the purpose, and Hardie and Baird addressed them in the most affectionate and endearing terms, assur- ing them that though suffering, they were not evil-doers; and that the cause for which they suffered, would sooner or later prevail. After these short earnest addresses, they were all permitted to embrace each other, and it was with considerable difficulty that some of them were torn away from that sad and solemn embrace. Immediately after this scene, Hardie and Baird were conducted to the outside of the Castle gates, where the horrid Hurdle was in waiting to receive them, and drive them to the place of execution, at the Jail, in Broad Street, which street and all near it, was crowded to excess. Here again, as in Glasgow, the gallows was sur- rounded by the strongest body of military, consisting of the 13th Regiment of Foot, and a troop of the 7th Dragoon Guards, the guns of Stirling Castle pointing almost directly down upon them from the ancient ramparts. When the prisoners were taken from the Hurdle to mount the scaffold, they chaunted together the first four verses of the last Hymn most appropriate it was for the occasion. Hardie first walked nimbly to the scaffold ; and looking up, beholding it, he exclaimed "Hail, mes- senger of eternal rest! " Baird followed, and for a few moments both knelt down together in prayer. They then am^ and addressed the assembled and excited mul- REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 189 titude, greater by far than any that had ever been seen at any execution in Stirling, or that can likely be seen at any execution in Stirling again. Baird took speech first in hand. These were his words, standing erect upon the scaffold : " Friends and Countrymen, I dare say you will expect me to oay something to you of the cause which has brought me here ; but on that I do not mean to say much, only that what I have hitherto done, and which has brought me here, was for the cause of truth and jus- tice. I declare I never gave my assent to anything inconsistent with truth and justice. What I would wish particularly to direct your attention to is, to that God who is the Judge of all mankind, and of all human actions, and to Jesus Christ the Saviour of men. I have never hurt any one, I have always led an innocent life, and as that is well known to those who know me, I shall say no more about it. I am not afraid of the appearance of this scaffold, or of my own mangled body, when I think of the innocent Jesus whose O'.vn body was nailed to the cross, and through whose merits I hope for for- giveness." Hardie then stepped forward, and in the most dignified tone, reciprocated the sentiments of his companion Baird. He was adding the following words in a commanding voice, amidst breathless silence, " My dear friends, I declare before my God, I believe / die a martyr in the cause of truth and justice." At these expressions, a loud shout of applause was set up by the vast excited multi- tude. The military instantly prepared as if for action. The Dragoons unsheathed and brandished their swords; many of the audience screaming, and struck with terror, fled The scaffold itself became almost a moving mass of excitement. Hardie was interrupted and stopped in the middle of his address. The Sheriff (Ronald Mac- donald of Staffa,) ran up to him on the boards of the scaffold, and told him plainly that he could no longer permit him to proceed to harangue the audience in that 190 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. manner; or, if he persisted, that he (the Sheriff) would instantly command the executioner to do his duty. Hardie on this, civilly bowed, and said, " My friends, I hope none of you have been hurt by this exhibition. Please after it is over, go quietly home, and read your Bibles, and remember the fate of Hardie and Baird." He then kissed his companion Baird, standing close to him on the very brink of eternity. They grasped and shook each other by the hand, so far as their bounden cords permitted them to do; and as they had previously and mutually arranged between themselves, Hardie took now the last fatal signal, being a white cambric handkerchief, into his hands, and drawing nearer if possible, to the side of Baird, he uttered in a firm calm voice, the words, "Oh death, where is thy sting ; Oh grave, where is thy victory?" and at that last expression, he dropt the signal. The bolt fell, and the last moving sight of them was swinging together, and momentarily and convulsively attempting to catch each other again by the hands ; but in vain: the vital spark of both soon fled to another region happier we hope, according to their own prayers than the one they left; and after the lapse of half-an- hour, the executioner in his black domino, again appeared, and with other aid, stretched the bodies on the block, and taking aim with his uplifted axe, he, after several strokes, severed their heads from their bodies; and hold- ing them up streaming with blood, he mumbled out the words with considerable trepidation " This is the head of a Traitor, this is the head of another Traitor;" and he flung them down from him. to the black coffin under- neath, with a horrid crash. The vast assembly shuddered and groaned at this. The bloody work was now finished. But what then ? Did it, we now ask, with all circumspect REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 191 reverence, really crush, annihilate, or finish the just and righteous cry for Reform, in Scotland? The very reverse. For truly the poet has well answered and described this by saying " Freedom's battle once begun, Bequeathed from bleeding sire to son, Though baffled oft, is ever won." Yes, we say advisedly, and after the most anxious and careful consideration, that the blood of those men actually stimulated the cry for Keform, and what is better, led it victoriously into action within a few years afterwards, over the length and breadth of the three kingdoms. But we must not omit to notice in a very few words, how pitifully some of the authorities conducted them- selves immediately after the execution of Hardie and Baird at Stirling. Startled and alarmed, perhaps, by the uplifting of the dead body of James Wilson from the ignoble grave they had caused to be prepared for him in Glasgow, which we have already spoken about, they seemed to have actually dreaded the approach of the dead mangled bodies of Hardie and Baird for quiet inter- ment by their own sorrowing friends and relatives in Glasgow or Condorret; for the fact has now to be men- tioned by us, that the Government through these officials, issued peremptory orders to bury the sufferers under cloud of night at Stirling, and to keep a strong guard of soldiers from Stirling Castle to watch over their graves in that place, which was constantly done for a period of nearly two months! And we may further state, that, with the view of preventing any trouble or annoyance to the local authorities in regard to future executions of any kind, the rule was adopted, and now inflexibly is, to bury at once the condemned body of the executed culprit within 192 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. the precincts of the Jail, near to which he had paid the last penalty cf the law, a rule, we readily admit, not without its salutary influence in many flagrant cases, much as we may lament the strangulation of poor old Wilson, and the decapitation of Hardie and Baird, " Yflt even those bones iVom insult to protect Some frail memorial still erected nigh ; With uncouth rhyme.- -ind shapeless sculpture deck'd, Implores the passing tribute of a sigh." THE DIRGE, OR ORIGINAL LINES, Written over the Grave in Stirling, of John Baird and Andrew Hardie, at their own dyiny regutst in Stirlwy Castle, by Daniel Taylor, Kilsyth, and transmitted to Glasgow to Mr. Peter Mackenzie. Though. I can boast no animating song T j melt the lover, or inspire the brave ; Yet friendship bids me leave the busy throng To pour my sorrows o'er this bloody grave. Not only friendship, but tlieir dying charge My promise made how base were it forgot ? Then o'er this grave to write this funeral " dirge," And mourn their fate, since here I find the spot. Thou Gracious Power who taught the shepherd swain* To sing the glory of Emmanuel's birth, Teach me in friendship's pious humble strains, To mourn a friend a brother of the earth. Teach those who weep o'er this revered grave, To bless Thy name, thou Everlasting Hope, Who Baird and Hardie such assurance gave, As made them hail with joy " the fatal drop." For, hear the brave the generous youths exclaim, When the degrading Hurdle ceased to move ; And from his car the bloody axeman came With terrors more than human strength to prove. Hail, harbinger of everlasting peace ! In manly accents they addressed the stage Where soon the sorrows of their souls would cease, To join the saints of ever}- former ago. REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 193 But o'er this grave, the children yet unborn May shed a tear, when told by history's page How they from friends and aged parents torn, Braved all the horrors of the bloody stage. Surprised perhaps, to read the mournful tale, The rising youths may ask their aged sire, Was Scotia conquered? Did her foes prevail ? Oh, where was then your patriotic fire 1 Or did her laws such sacrifice require ? No foreign foe that ever ploughed the wave Or cross'd the Tweed, methinks the sire replies, Could leave us weeping o'er so sad a grave. No ! Scotia every foreign foe defies, But oh, nay son, excite me not to tell What I have known of Hardie and of Baird, So strong of freedom did their hearts excel But let those tears express my fond regard, Yet why should fancy fly the present grief, And point our hopes tc some more distant date ? Has fate decreed for us there's no relief? And must we sink beneath oppression's weight ? Forbid it heaven. Oh ! may Thy mighty aria Protect the humble and th^ friendless poor. let thy grace, their sinking spirits charm, Be Thou their stay their refuge most secure. However dark the present may appear, Though those in power our dearest rights deny, Yet truth and justice shall our bosoms cheer, And Freedom's sun shall blaze o'er Europe's sky But night returns, with all her sable train, And I must bid the lone churchyard adieu ; Yet never shall this dreary spot contain Two hearts more faithful, honest, kind, and true. It may be said, we've patriots resting here, \i Who gave their life to heal their country'* TTCCS; For Baird and Hardie loved their country dear, And only fell before their guilty foes. Here Piety, perhaps, weeps o'er a friend, They too, were pious, as their letters tell ; Say ye who saw them to their latter end, Could stronger faith in human bosoms dwell? 194 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Though near this place no marble statue stand, Nor weeping angel pointing to the spot ; Their fame is known through all their native land, And never, never, shall they be forgot! [Many other verses, probably excelling those just quoted, came into our possession long ago, but we give the above in pursuance of the promise originally communicated to the prisoners themselves. Major Peddle of Stirling Castle, kindly sent us some from the pen of another of the con- demned but transported prisoners, which we must reserve with the Major's most interesting letter, till we come to write another short but startling Reminiscence towards the end. We may here observe, that although we think we have in our possession the most complete collection o original verses of any in Scotland on those tragical events, yet we have no wish to overload these pages, or detain our readers too long about them, especially as we remember that we must concentrate some of these Remi- niscences within the shortest possible limits prescribed to ourselves; and but for this, we might be scared away from the task altogether, so onerous and multifarious does it seem to be growing upon our hands. Neverthe- less, we will faithfully endeavour to do our duty. At the same time, we must apologise for some small slips, or inaccuracies, that have crept in during the hurry of our zeal in making up some of the previous pages.] EXTRAORDINARY STATE OF GLASGOW IN 1820. Immediately after the Battle of Bonnymuir, and " the uprising," as it was called, at Strathaven, already des- cribed, some of the most extraordinary scenes took place in Glasgow that ever occurred at any period of its history, before or since. They are almost incredible; REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 195 indeed, some of them can scarcely be believed by the youngsters of the present day: but we shall narrate a few of them with some interest, we hope, and the most truthful regard to all. We have stated, that the " Treasonable Address" so much spoken of already, was posted on the streets of Glasgow, on Sunday morning, the 1st of April, 1820. On Monday, many of the cotton-mills and public works in and around the city, struck work; and the city itself was paraded by idle throngs more numerous than usually seen. Troops were marching into the city in all directions, from Sunday till Saturday of that week. The great event at Bonnymuir, please recollect, came off on Wednesday. It has been remarked by the oldest people in the city that that Wednesday was one of the wettest days ever seen in it within the memory of man or woman either. It rained in even-down torrents, as if Heaven for some par- ticular purpose, was pouring down its own artillery on the streets. It, is described by the oldest inhabitants still alive, as "th,e Kadical wet Wednesday;" and assuredly it cleared the streets of all idle stragglers. The military who stood out on active duty in obedience to orders, were drenched to the skin. Piquets of the Dragoons and the Hussars, nevertheless, were traversing all over the streets and onwards, as far as Camlachie, Rutherglen, and Toll- cross. The Commander-in-Chief in Scotland, viz., Major- General Sir Thomas Bradford, with his aides-de-camps, came expeditiously from Edinburgh on Sunday, attended by an escort of Lancers. The Lord Advocate, Sir William Rae, and his Deputies, including Mr. John Hope, after- wards Lord Justice-Clerk, arrived on Monday, attended by Robert Hamilton, Esq , the Sheriff-Depute, who chiefly resided in Edinburgh; but after that date, the Govern- 1 OG . REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. ment required that the Sheriff-Depute of the County of Lanark should reside permanently in Glasgow ; and this has been done since the days of Sheriff Hamilton, Eose Robinson, and Sir Archibald Alison. The latter, we may remark, who passed the Bar in 1813, was once an Advo- cate-Depute, under Sir Wm. Rae ; and in that capacity, in his earlier years, we have seen him conducting the cases for the Crown, at many of our Glasgow Circuit Courts of Justiciary, with all the suavity that still belongs to him. On that memorable week to which we have so often referred, the Lord Provost and Magistrates, Fiscal, and Town Clerks, &c., took up their quarters in the hand- some Buck's Head Hotel, Argyle Street, from whence the Magistrates (sometimes sitting up all night,) could more immediately and comfortably issue their manifestoes, warrants, or commands, &c. The Buck's Head, we may remark, was one of the most elegant and spacious Hotels then in the city. St. George's Square, now glittering with its Hotels, was then, in its centre, a mere swamp; for we have seen the eels and the puddocks, or frogs, swimming therein. The ancient Buck's Head was kept in prime order by Peter Jardine, and his wife, Mrs. Currie, and Miss Currie, their daughter, one of the celebrities of her day in Glasgow. She was the first young lady that ever handled a whip in Glasgow, or drove the first pair of ponies in a phaeton through the streets; and when she made her appearance in her chariot, conducted with great agility by herself, so strange was the sight then thought to be, on the part of any lady, that crowds used to run after her some to hoot, and some to cheer ; but she did not care a button for any of them, and although she died an old maiden many years afterwards, she lived to see a remarkable change in this respect in the city of Glasgow: REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 197 for who can look at our busy streets now, without seeing the most innumerable and charming exhibitions of horse- manship almost every hour of the day? "We almost regret to observe, that that famous old self-contained building, 'clypt the Buck's Head, the first of its kind certainly on that side of Argyle Street, Glasgow, and erected about the year 1750, by Provost James Murdoch, adjoining to that of Provost Dunlop, of Clyde, for his town's resi- dence, has been lately demolished to make way for some huge warehouses or other. Yet we cannot quit the spot without remarking, that at the period above referred to, and alongst with the Magistrates of the city, the officers in command of the 7th and 10th Regiments of Hussars, also took up their head-quarters in the Buck's Head Hotel, with their attending sergeants and orderlies; while their valuable stud of high mettled horses, richly caparisoned, stood ready, saddled and bridled, in the old Circus behind, forming partly now the site of the present elegant Theatre-Royal, in Dunlop Street, which street was called after Provost Dunlop above-named. On the other hand, in an opposite but adjacent direction, the Commander-in-Chief of Scotland, with his brilliant Staff, including Lieut.-General Sir Hussey Vivian, sup- posed to be one of the most handsome and best cavalry officers in Europe, sent expressly by order of his Royal Highness the Duke of York, Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, from London to Glasgow, with other exalted officers, took up their head-quarters in the ele- gant Star Hotel, at the head of Glassford Street, on the site of which, we think we lately remarked, the handsome pile of buildings belonging to the Bank of Scotland, were erected some years ago. By the bye, we observe that the Bank of Scotland is rearing another pile of commodious N 198 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. buildings adjacent to St. George's Square. Mrs. Young- husband, who long tenanted that ancient Star Hotel, was a nice smart pretty little lady, with an only daughter, like Mrs. Currie ; but she had the happiness to get a real good husband, and this is all we need observe about that family. But in that same Star, and next to the rooms of the Commander-in-Chief, there was an elegant suite of rooms specially occupied at the same time by the Lord Advocate, and his learned and active Deputies ; while at the Black Bull, near the centre of the whole, there came to be stationed, as their head-quarters, the officers of the various Eegiments of Scottish Yeomanry, arriving rapidly from several counties in Scotland, headed by Lord Elcho, (after- wards the Earl of Wemyss,) the immediate i-elative, we think, of the present public spirited nobleman of that name, who has done so much for the Volunteers of the present day; and their horses, we mean the horses belonging to the chief officers of the Yeomanry in Glas- gow, at the period we are writing about in the year 1820, were stationed in the long row of old-fashioned stables in Virginia Street, connected with the Black Bull, and now forming partly the site of the elegant buildings of the City of Glasgow Bank, near to which also the old Thistle Bank of Glasgow originally . stood. The Infantry Barracks in Gallowgate Street, built by Government in the year 1795, for the accommodation of about 1200 officers and soldiers fully more, we ima- gine, than was ever thought to be required for any emer- gency in Glasgow were now filled or crammed almost to suffocation, by no fewer than three complete Infantry Eegiments of the Line, and their officers, numbering up- wards of 3000 men, composed of the 1st Battalion of the gallant Kifle Brigade, which did so much service at Water- REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 199 loo, and here in Glasgow, under the command of Lieut.- Colonel Northcott ; the 33d Regiment, also at Waterloo, and here, under the command of the Hon. Colonel William Keith Elphinstone ; and the 80th Regiment, who bore the brunt at Sobraon, and here, under the command of Lieut.-C&lonel Cookson. Besides these crack heroic Infantry Regiments, and under their wing, there were no fewer than eight pieces of flying artillery in Glasgow. We remember some extensive wooden erec- tions were then expeditiously put up adjoining the Infantry Barracks for the accommodation of additional troops, but these happily were not required, and the wooden erections were soon afterwards demolished. We ought also to state that the Cavalry Barracks in Eglinton Street, capable of holding nearly 1000 men and horses, were likewise crammed almost to suffocation at the same period. And over and besides these regular and well- disciplined troops of the King, were the "armed Asso- ciation" of upwards of 500 of Glasgow civilians, some wags called them the armed assassins with the Glasgow Regiment of Sharpshooters, nearly 1000 strong, stationed of course, in their own lodgings or dwelling-houses, and all having the pass-word to fly to arms whenever the well-known Bugle sounded through the streets, whether at morning, noon, or night. Nor must we here omit the Glasgow squadron of mounted Yeoman?^/, pretty much resembling in some respects the " Queen's Own" of the present day, commanded by Charles Stir- ling, Esq., of Cadder, and James Oswald, Esq., of Shield- hall, afterwards M.P. for the city. We shall speak of that corps of Yeomanry in a few words afterwards. In addition to all this vast and unexampled array of military in Glasgow, at the period spoken to, there 200 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. were transmitted to Glasgow upwards of 1500 addi- tional stand of arms, upwards of 10,000 flints there were no percussion caps handled by the military in those days with upwards of one million of ball-car- tridges, sent expressly from Woolwich and the Tower of London., Few police officers not more than 80 or 90 were then in Glasgow, under the command of Captain James Mitchell, the tallest master of police we ever saw, and we have seen no fewer than eight of them in succes- sion. In fact, the quiet city up to the above date, scarcely required so many police whereas we have them now (year 1865,) under the command of Captain Smart, to the large number of 750, and still augmenting. There, in former days, our " Charlies" of the police, as they were called, sat demurely in their sliding shifting wooden boxes, placed occasionally at some corner or other of the chief streets, with their " booets"' or night-lanterns, and wooden clappers dangling at their sides, bawling out from their stentorian lungs, and notifying to the slum- bering or awakening citizens all the hours of the night: or as the morning dawned " Half-past five ; and a fine morning ! " But to assist the Police, even at that period, there came out from Edinburgh no fewer than fifteen stage-coaches, containing the elite of the Old Town Guard of Edinburgh, so called, and selected for their muscular strength, or other recommendations out of the ranks of the best clans of the Highlanders of Scotland. In short, the city of Glasgow that week, was in a state of the most indescribable military commotion ; and we will add now, of civic consternation and terrible but needless alarm. We question indeed, whether the city of Brussels on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo, could have exceeded it in some of those respects. Let us dwell for a moment REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 201 or two on the personal appearance of a few of those officers of the Hussars, &c., and give in connection with this, a few other incidents from vivid recollection, not yet effaced we think, in any degree. The 7th Hussars, commanded by the affable and sprightly Sir William Thornhill, had amongst its officers, the Earl of Uxbridge, the Hon. G. Molyneux, afterwards the Earl of Sefton, Lord Arthur Chichester, Lord Frederick Seymour, and the Earl of Belfast, &c., &c. The 10th Hussars, commanded by Sir George Quenton, the reputed son of George the Fourth, and this was that King's most favourite regiment, the Prince of Wales' Regiment, it is still called. It had amongst its officers in Glasgow, the Marquis of Carmar- then, the Earl of Wiltshire, Lord Viscount Beauchamp Lord Thomas Cecil, Lord George Bentinck, Sir John Trollope, the Hon. Charles Stuart Wortley, and Mr. Robert Burdett, the latter being the eldest son and heir of the then celebrated Reformer, Sir Francis Burdett, Bart., M.P., a very fine young man he was, his father allowed him 6000 a year for pocket money, and he was, partly on his father's account, a great favourite in Glas- gow. All the officers indeed, as their titles show, were men of rank and great fortune. Never was such a galaxy of them stationed in Glasgow; and they scattered their money here for some time with the most liberal hand. It was once stated, and we believe the statement to be true, that the embroidered gold lace and ornaments on each of their jackets and trousers, cost upwards of 500 sterling. We remember a very gross insult the only one we are happy to state, that occurred in Glasgow at that time with some trifling exceptions, but the one alluded to was attempted to be committed on the person of one of those handsome officers of the 10th Hussars, while that 202 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. officer was quietly standing on official duty on the front steps leading to the Buck's Head Hotel. Some eight or ten rude worthless dissipated vagabonds there are plenty of such, we are afraid, in other cities besides Glasgow came swaggering up to him, and groaned or made wry faces at him, and told him in the coarsest language, that he was but an "aristocratic coward." One of them more brutal than the others, made a spring at his rich hand- some military doubled jacket, as if to tear it abruptly from his shoulders. He at once repulsed the hand of the dirty intruder; and stood and looked quietly but indignantly at the whole of them for a moment or two. This only increased their insolence : some of them tried to drag him violently down from the steps of the stairs to the pavement below. Instead of calling for the aid of any of his brother officers, or his sergeant-at-arms in an adjoining place or of drawing his sword, and running the dastardly assailants through the body, as he might have done in consequence of being thus wan- tonly and grossly insulted when on military duty, he seized the first of them by the handkerchief covering his dirty thrapple, and pitched him down stairs, like a yelping cur flung into the water; and as the others came squaring up, he levelled the whole of them with his own scientific fists, right and left, and made their heads to rattle (as the old saying is), " on the crown of the causeway" that is, he fairly knocked them down one after the other in a very few seconds, almost as rapidly as we have written these last three lines; and the offending mis- creants each and all of them, were soon glad to get up and sneak away, else they might have received further deserved chastisement. We come now to the memorable Thursday of that EEMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. . 203 exciteable week. It was, observe, the Spring Sacramental Thursday of Glasgow, when all the douce and decent citizens are supposed to be engaged in their devotions at church, as their forefathers for centuries have been, at or about the same period of the year. We enter into no disquisition about the propriety or impropriety of this, or of any particular Fast-day, on any Thursday of the year, whether in spring, summer, or autumn, although some changes have, we are aware, recently been indicated in that respect. But if the Wednesday preceding was a remarkably wet day, this succeeding Thursday morning of the Preachings dawned with glimpses of the brightest sunshine. Almost every pulpit in Glasgow that forenoon, launched out into some political strain or other, especially about " the great and bloody battle" on the previous day at Bonnymuir. Many of the reverend gentlemen could scarcely know the real truth about it; but as the city bells had loudly rang for an unusual period on the pre- vious night, they naturally enough drew their own conclusions, and pitched their strains accordingly, not without putting some of their hearers into additional terror and dismay. The regular military of all denominations were, however, " standing at ease," as the phrase is, on that Thursday; or they were peaceably drying their wet regimentals, and brushing their belts and polishing their weapons for fur- ther services; while the jaded and wearied Sharpshooters, divided into two battalions, up all night, and for two pre- vious nights, on anxious duty, the one battalion having its head-quarters in the Old Tron Church in which Dr. Chalmers preached, near the Cross of Glasgow, and the other battalion having its head-quarters in St. George's Church, in the western division of the city, 204 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. wherein the Eev. Dr. Muir, now of Edinburgh, originally preached, in which churches we have seen arms and ammunition piled almost to an incredible degree ; but the Sharpshooters on this Thursday morning of the Preachings, were permitted by their officers, with the sanction of the General Commanding-in-Chief still in Glasgow, to evacuate those Churches, and go home for the first time those last three days, to their own abodes in the city, there to enjoy a comfortable nap in their own feather beds for a few hours; but with the injunction that they should start again to arms if neces- sary, at a moment's notice, or whenever the Bugles sounded with the strains they were all well taught to understand. Ere that afternoon had passed away, the snoring Sharpshooters were aroused by the very sounds just indicated. Alarming news, it was said, had again reached the Magistrates, and doubts were once more seriously entertained by them, whether the London Mail would continue to arrive on the following morning or not. That was still to be the signal of the success or non-suc- cess of the impending Revolution ! The Commander-in- Chief, the Lord Advocate, the Sheriff, the Lord Provost and Magistrates, had learned in the course of that day somewhat of the pitiful affair at Strathaven ; but it was magnified to an awful degree, as usual; and the excited gaping multitude out of doors had it revealed to them in a great variety of ways, and with colours more various and vivid, than those, perhaps, appertaining to the chameleon. Seriously, the citizens were again vastly alarmed ; and the Preachings for the remainder of that afternoon or evening (Thursday), in all the city and dis- senting churches were put completely out of the heads of many families. They rather anxiously prepared to put REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 205 their houses in order, and to barricade some of their front doors, while the gentlemen Sharpshooters, assisted by their brothers and sisters, were actively employed in scouring the gathering rust from their trusty rifles and ramrods, polishing afresh their accoutrements, and taking especial care that their powder was dry for immediate action. Our old friend, Sir Harcourt Lees of Dublin, used to say that it was a good thing " To keep your powder dry, and put your trust in God." And so it was; and ever will be, in all cases, either of supposed or real danger. We may here step for a little, and not go much out of our way, to observe, that the London Mail Coach then arrived pretty regularly in Glasgow, at or about five o'clock of the morning, containing of course, the usual mail bags, with some eight or ten passengers, not more, because the Postmasters-General at head-quarters there were two of them in those days in London viz., the Marquis of Salis- bury and the Earl of Chichester, with salaries of 5000 each (not bad for the Post-Office Department), those high potentates would not permit more than four inside, and six outside passengers to travel together in the Mail between London and Glasgow. This was absolutely all the direct conveyance between London and Glasgow at that time, occupying three long days' and two nights' journey! And truly it was frequently ludicrous to see some of those weary mail coach passengers as they arrived at their long journey's end, with their faces besmeared, and almost as black as ink, from want of being dressed, shaven, or shorn; and their legs benumbed with cold, or nearly paralysed with heat, according to the seasons : and yawn- ing and sneezing, and rubbing their eyes, as if they had 206 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. just awakened from a long dreary and comfortless slum- ber, but still mustering strength sufficient anxiously to inquire for all loving friends, so long away, and what news? The Glasgow Post-office, we may further remark, was then situated in narrow Nelson Street, almost underneath the Lyceum Rooms, which rooms were kept by two hand- some brothers, Messrs. John and William Tait, looking, in their dress and manners, the perfection of elegance itself. These rooms, now apparently so deserted and demure, were then the great places for making sales of heritable and moveable property, and holding meetings of trust, <&c., as is now done on a much more enlarged scale in the new Hall of the Faculty of Procurators, in another direc- tion of the city, viz., in St. George's Place. The then Postmaster of Glasgow, was Mr. Dugald Bannatyne, a most intelligent, worthy, and esteemed man. He at the same time, and for many years, acted as Chairman or Secretary of the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce ; he was the author of several essays and scientific works, and was related to Mr. Dugald Stewart, the famed Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of Edinburgh, under whom Lord Palmerston and other eminent men studied at Edinburgh in early life. Mr. Dugald Bannatyne's eldest surviving son, we may observe, viz., Mr. Andrew Bannatyne, has long been known and respected at the head of the legal profession in this city as Dean of the learned Faculty of Procurators. He too represents by marriage one of another old and justly famed Professor of this kingdom, viz., John Miller, Esq., Professor of Law in the University of Glasgow, whose works as a Jurist are regarded by the highest authorities as standards of the age. But while Mr. Bannatyne presided over the Post- REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 207 office in Glasgow, in the way we have stated, old Mr. John Bain, father of the present John Bain, Esq., of Morriston, farmed at the same period, the London and Glasgow Mail Coach then in its glory, and for many long years before and afterwards. The Mail Coach had the " Koyal" arms conspicuously painted in gold letters on both of its side doors. The Guard thereof in his rich scarlet livery, had allotted to him for his own special use, a queer projecting seat stuck up behind the coach, dangling with a goat's-skin, and also with a bear-skin, to cover his legs or wrap up his " outward man," in a wet or a frosty day, but with sufficient space from his high altitude, to see everything before him in or around the coach. He was armed with sword and cutlass at his side ; and had also two large carbines, or brass "blunderbusses," always ready primed and loaded, within his immediate grasp, for the Mail Coach was sometimes invaded in this country, but oftener in Ireland in those days. We remember a rather exciting scene which took place one evening, just as the coach was about to start from its well-known position near the Tron, at the foot of Nelson Street. An unfortunate gentleman had neglected, or was not able to take out his seat for London in sufficient time; in fact, all the seats had been already pre-engaged and occupied ; and it was often the case, that if any lady or gentleman few ladies travelled so far in those days really wished, or were required, or necessitated to go from Glasgow to London by the Mail, it was deemed prudent, or essentially necessary for security's sake, to have the seat taken out, and the passage money paid, at least eight or ten days before the journey commenced. No one was permitted to travel in the Mail Coach with- out being regularly booked, name and designation 208 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. written down in " the way bill," a duplicate whereof was ready to be given to the Guard for his guidance and government upon the journey. On that occasion, the gentleman alluded to was in a most agitated state, grieving and mourning that he could not be booked in the office, for he had been charged with some important domestic business or other to London, admitting of no delay; so he rushed despairingly out of the office and made his 'way to the steps of the coach, got up to the very top of it, and squeezed himself underneath the legs, or seat of the driver, into whose hands he had slipped something not at all disagreeable to that person, who soon spread one of his oily coats kindly over him. The accustomed and well trained horses, as if they really understood everything that was going on, were now prancing to get away the whip and reins of the driver were adjusted, the Guard himself began to sound the last blast of his official horn, as he always did, whether on arriving or departing from Glasgow ; but he got his sharp eye instantly fastened on one he thought too many on the coach for that journey. He therefore commanded the driver to pull up and wait; and down the Guard came from his seat, requiring the passengers each and every one of them to answer to their names, as he read them aloud from the " way bill" in his hands. Of course he soon detected the above unlucky gentleman, and required him immediately to dismount, and quit the coach. With tears starting to his eyes, the gentleman earnestly tendered to the Guard not only his full fare, but he held out in his palpitating hand and offered to give him a 10 or a 20 Bank of England note unto himself, if he (the Guard) would just allow him to be quietly carried on, and no more ado about it. In vain was that REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 209 offer made; in vain the other passengers unanimously interceded for this disappointed and dejected passenger. The Guard stood inexorable. Come down, sir, he said; come down! I command you in His Majesty's name, and by His Majesty's authority, instantly to leave that seat. Come down sir, I again say, within Jive minutes; otherwise I shall be compelled according to my orders and duty, to take up that blunderbuss (pointing to it), and blow your brains out ! And the Guard in pursuance of that threat, was in the very act of cocking his blunder- buss, when one of the other alarmed passengers in this state of obvious peril, handsomely offered, perhaps sel- fishly enough, to surrender his seat if the gentleman would just give to him his passage money, with the 10 or 20 of bonus for doing so, which the Guard had the moment before indignantly spurned. This was at once agreed to, and very gladly done; and away the coach now galloped, with loud huzzahs from the petrified crowd which had been gathering around the station; but we do believe from what we actually saw, that the stern Guard would have carried his fearful threat into execution, if this ready and fortunate relief had not occurred in the way stated. This reminds us of a much more agreeable story in an opposite direction, yet somewhat pert to the above, which our old friend " Senex" used to tell, and which we may as well give in our own way, without stopping, else it may not be given at all. An eminent Glasgow merchant in days of yore, (Mr. Archibald Campbell of Drumsynie, we think,) had a ship consigned to him with a valuable cargo from the West Indies. The ship (Ruby) was much beyond her usual time upon the voyage. Fears were beginning to be entertained about her safety; and our ancient canny 210 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. underwriters in the Old Tontine Coffee-Room there were only some eight or ten of them altogether in those days, including the well-known Andrew Gilbert, William Bennet, James Browne, and John Loudon would have nothing whatever to do with her, except at inordinate premiums of insurance. Mr. Campbell was rather vexed and alarmed about this; but instead of succumbing to the Glasgow underwriters, he resolved that he would insure the ship and cargo at Lloyd's, in London, through one of his own friends or agents in that city. Accordingly he wrote an order of Insurance to a large amount, and enclosed and sealed it in a letter which he took with his own hands to the Glasgow Post-office. No sooner had he done this, and had retired after the business of the day was over, to enjoy his early dinner and prime bowl of punch, (lemons and rum) with a few of his favourites in his lodging near Madeira Court, than an express reached him by the "Royal George" Coach from Greenock, announcing the fact that the anxious ship had safely arrived, and was seen anchoring at the Tail of the Bank, Greenock, about three o'clock that afternoon. He swigged off a good bumper of punch to the health of the captain and crew: followed by another, viz., "a speedy and good sale for all the rum and molasses on board." But the thoughts of the Insurance letter recently des- patched to London with his own hand, began to put him into a new element of vexation ; for he instantly came to see and reflect that if the policy of insurance was effected in London, the great premium exigible upon it, would swallow up the whole, or at all events, a great deal of his anticipated profits. The Mail was gone : he could not recall by hook or by crook, the letter he had so anxiously written. It was utterly beyond his power to do so, for a REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 211 letter of any kind once put into the Post-office ceases to be recalled from that place by its writer, but must go on to its destination. This other happier thought now struck him, viz., that one of his nimble clerks, whom he instantly summoned to his presence, might yet in a post- chaise and four horses from Thomas Hibbert's livery- stables in the Court adjacent, overtake the Mail, or at least get to London and reach his agent's abode in that |)lace, some time before the letters could be assorted in the General Post-office and delivered by the letter-carriers of London. He calculated that this express, per his clerk to London, would cost about one hundred golden guineas, but then he would save on the head of the insur- ance, some 1500 sterling at least. Away the clerk ran, got into the post-chaise with the needful for the journey, and the promise of a rich reward if he really outstript the Mail, or get to London before the delivered letter of insurance. He actually reached the house of the agent near Ludgate-hill, in more than sufficient time for his " express" purpose; and sat down pretty composedly to a good breakfast. What news from Glasgow ? nothing sir, of much consequence, except that the Ruby has arrived safely at Greenock, and the letter of Insurance I expect you will receive by this morning's post from Glasgow, need not, and must not be attended to. Of course not, said the delighted but hoodwinked agent, and the lucky clerk soon returned to Glasgow via one of the Leith smacks, rejoicing at the success of his journey, and reaping his reward. See now, in wonderful contrast to the above, an order of insurance, as the case may be, quietly and secretly transmitted from Glasgow to London, or recalled if necessary, within the space of a single hour by telegram, at a cost of little more than half-a-crown ; con- 212 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. veying at the same time, almost in the twinkling of an eye, orders in relation to matters of commerce, bills of exchange, &c., involving the value of thousands, and tens of thousands, yea, millions of pounds sterling, as is we believe, done now-a-days, almost every day and minute of the live long year. Is not this, then, really remark- able, as contrasted with some of the above simple stories of the olden time ? In fact, these electric wires, notwith- standing the recent mishap of the Great Eastern but it will soon be rectified, are linking the world in a way our first parents in Paradise could scarcely have imagined " Beneath, beyond, and stretching far away, Piercing the soul with faculties sublimed, To the unambiguous footsteps of the God Who gives its lustre to an insect's wing, And wheels his throne upon the passing worlds ! " But with all humility, we must return to the text of our own Reminiscences; and therefore we go on respect- fully to observe, that in those bygone days we have seen the old Glasgow Royal Mail Coach from London, enter- ing the city from the then lowly suburbs in the east, where our great cattle market is now situated, coming galloping up and through the Gallowgate, four-in-hand, to the Old Tontine, adjacent to the statue of King William the Third at the Cross, and drawing finally up up at the foot of Nelson Street, the trusty Guard at this last stage of his journey blowing his long tremendous horn to announce his arrival, " Hark, 'tis the twanging horn ! He comes the herald of a noisy world, With spattefd boots, strapt waist, and frozen locks, News from all nations lumbering at his back." And so after landing his weary passengers, and civilly saluting them by touching the rim of his hat with the REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 213 tip of his forefinger, and pocketing what they were pleased to give to himself and " coachey" by way of gra- tuity never less than a sixpence, but frequently half-a- guinea, he would proceed to tumble out his letter-bags from the " boots" department, as it was called, of the coach, unto the pavement of the street, and there, after carefully counting them at his finger ends, he would again lift and throw them across his own well set shoul- ders, and trot away with them on his " ain shanks* naggie," being his own trusty legs, without help of any land, forward to the head " offish," as it was called, in Nelson Street; entering which, panting and blowing, he would throw them deliberately down at his feet on the floor of that place, at the sametime with as much ease, probably, as Samson did with his green withes, u Cold, and yet cheerful : messenger of grief Perhaps to thousands, and of joy .to some; To him indifferent, whether grief or joy, Houses in ashes, and the fall of stocks, Births, deaths, and marriages ; epistles wet With tears, that trickled down the writer's cheeks Fast as the periods from his fluent quill, Or charged with amorous sighs of absent swain." It may be interesting here to notice the fact, that at the period referred to, next to the Postmaster himself, there was only one single solitary letter sorter : one sin- gle stamper of letters : three or four clerks, and not more than eight or ten letter-carriers for all Glasgow. Yes, they actually did not exceed twenty individuals altoge- ther ! But mark the contrast now. Why, we have at present, under the able and important management of Edward D. James, Esq., and in our new modern Post- office, in St. George's Square, becoming, by-the-bye, as we already think, barely sufficient for the increasing o 214 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. population and prosperity of Glasgow, we have a postal staff, not of twenty, but upwards of two hundred and fifty individuals, as is shown by the following return which we procured out of curiosity a few days ago, viz. : 12 clerks, 46 sorting clerks, 162 letter-carriers, including auxiliaries, 10 stampers, 12 bag collectors, 3 inspectors, 7 messengers and porters; in all, 252 persons attached to the head-office in St. George's Square. But besides these, there are at this moment in Glasgow, 19 Receiving- houses, of which 17 transact Savings' Bank and Money- Order business; and there are also no fewer than 30 pillar boxes, erected in other quarters of the city things in fact, that were never heard of in former times. And as for the revenue, although the rates of postage were exceedingly high in those days the postage of a single letter from Glasgow to London, costing one shilling and twopence, and from Glasgow to Edinburgh, sevenpence- halfpenny, and so on in proportion the revenue in Glasgow at that high and exorbitant rate, did not amount in 1820, to 40,000 per annum; whereas, we learn that last year, although the penny rate is now universal, it amounted to the large sum of upwards of 90,000 ster- ling. This, observe, from the Post-office alone: but we will make a few striking remarks, by-and-bye, about the ancient Custom-House and Excise Offices. Nor will we omit to give the wonderful history of the Penny postage, originally and successfully carried out by a native of Glasgow, who, though dead, deserves to be remembered. Of course, we need hardly remark, it is utterly impos- sible now, for any human being in this world, to carry the London and Glasgow mail bags on his own shoulders, as we have often seen in the way described, for there are tons upon tons of such things now; and still rapidly REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 215 increasing, we believe, in weight and quality. And our eyes, not dim, fail to discover any Royal Mail Coach coming jauntily along in our paths now. Those vehi- cles, so respected and admired in the olden time, have been literally driven from the road, or knocked down, or swallowed up by that monstrous leviathan, the Railway, snorting over the realm, and chasing everything before it with such astonishing speed; not limited with eight or ten squeezed pent up passengers as the Mail was wont to be, but with thousands upon thousands of them every day : and who, we ask, can really tell their numbers, or the improvements that may yet take place upon them during the next quarter of century, dating back from the period we have been writing about? For what is this but " a map of busy life its fluctuations, and its vast con- cerns ?" " Thus, our own lot is given in a land "Where busy arts are never at a stand Where science points her telescopic eye Familiar with the wonders of the sky, Where bold Inquiry diving out of sight, Brings many a precious pearl of truth to Us[ht "Where nought eludes the persevering gnecn; That fashion, taste, or luxury suggest." We are perfectly sensible that we have been making some deviations in these latter pages from our original assigned task, and we perceive that certain parties are already nibbling at us for doing so ; but with all defer- ence to them, or to their views, which are appreciated, it is not, we confess, in our nature to arrest our pens, or to throw them down sulkily, when we get into the vein of any subject, but to pursue it even round and about, according to our own whims or humour, or perhaps it is better to say, according to the best of our own unaided 216 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. judgment at the time. If we allowed critics, small or great, to trample upon us, this work assuredly would never have been written at all, " Digression is so much in modern use, Thought is so rare, and fancy so profuse, Some never seem so wide of their intent As when returning to the theme they meant." And, therefore, with good encouragement, we are happy to say, in other quarters, more indeed than we could possibly have anticipated, we proceed, as one of our old favourite authors recommends " To gather up what seems dispersed, And touch the subject we designed at first.'- REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 217 CHAPTER III. REVIEW OF THE OLD GUARDS OF GLASGOW, at six o'clock on Monday morning, than hundreds of the citizens were seen already waiting, and pressing forward to sign the Address. This was, indeed, something like marrow to our young bones. One of the first who cordially saluted us that memorable morning, was Mr. Adam Ferrie, a venerable citizen, who was scowled at and tormented by some of his own friends, for his liberal principles, and, on that account, he soon afterwards left the city and settled in Canada, where he became a leading Member of the Honourable Legislative Assembly. He was one of the champions about the great Harvie Dyke Cause, involving the liberties of the Banks of the Clyde, some of the papers concerning which are in our possession ; and we had the pleasure of a visit from him on his casual return to Glasgow, a few years ago, at the great age of 90 years, hale and hearty. Stark, the printer, who published the Address, was persecuted in so many ways for doing so, that he deemed it neces- REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. 273 sary to retire also to Canada, where, we are happy to say, he made a comfortable independence. Some of the above details, though apparently trifling, will show the importance of what follows. It had been arranged on Saturday night, that three of us, afterwards y'clept " the conspirators" viz., Kay, Scott, and Macken- zie, should faithfully meet, as early as seven o'clock on Monday morning in the Tron, where John, the beadle, was to be in attendance with a plentiful supply of pens, ink, and paper, for the business of the address. Our faithful friend, M'Neil, afterwards the great rising advo- cate at the Scottish Bar, had gone out to Hillend, near Airdrie, the seat of AValter Logan, Esq, of Fingalton, father of the celebrated Miss Logan, acknowledged on all hands to be the greatest beauty of the day that shone in Scotland. She was then courted by Lord John Campbell, afterwards Duke of Argyle, father of the present Duke; and he agreed, there can be no doubt, to marry her, but he resiled for some reason or other, and married Miss Glassell of Long Niddry. For this breach of promise, and in order to quash proceedings at law, it was under- stood that Lord John paid down out of Miss Glassell's portion, and with her consent, 10,000, with the stipula- tion of a farther sum of 10,000, if he succeeded to the dukedom of Argyle, which he did in 1839. Whenever Miss Logan appeared in the old magnificent Theatre-Eoyal, then in Queen Street, the audience rose, and the house rang with plaudits in her praises. On one occasion, we remember of seeing her when the dramatis persona con- sisted of John Kemble, the elder Kean, Mrs. Siddons, Mrs. Glover, John Young, Charles Yates, &c., actors, per- haps, never surpassed before or since, upon the British stage. "We believe Miss Logan afterwards married a dis- 274 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. tinguisked officer, and went to Bath, where she died. This brings us back for a moment to Mr. Alexander M'Neil. He faithfully promised that he would return from Mr. Logan's at Hillend, by the Prince Regent Coach from Edinburgh, and join us in the Session-house on Monday, to see how the address was getting on, and take his share of superintending the subscriptions, &c., &c. Between the hours of ten and eleven o'clock of that to us memorable morning, who should appear in the Tron Session-house, but two notable officers, perfectly known through all the city, for they were prominent characters- of their day, viz., Mr. Alexander Calder, Sheriff-officer, and Mr. Alexander Taylor, Town-officer, dressed in their red coats and official costume, and with trusty batons, or cudgels in their hands. Pressing through the crowd, and getting near to the table of the Session-house on which the address lay, they demanded to know in the name of the Sheriff, Lord Provost, and Magistrates, who it was that dared to publish such a diabolical Address, and to superintend it in that place ? We at first gently chatted , with them in reply; but this would not do. Calder, the Sheriff-officer, began rudely to lift the Address, obviously with the intent of taking it away. " Stop, sir," we ener- getically told him ; " you have no right to touch the- Address." " Oh very well," says his coadjutor, the Town- officer, "You, now taking charge of this Seditious and Treasonable document, are hereby summoned and re- quired to go with us instantly, to attend a meeting of the Magistrates, and to answer to them for your conduct. The Magistrates are assembled, and sitting now, in the chambers of Messrs. James and Robert Watson, bankers, in the Old Post-office Court. So, come away with us in custody this moment." REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 275 On this we are sorry to remark, our friends Kay and Scott at once bolted. "We were left alone, as we may say, in our glory, either to fly also, or attend that meet- ing; or allow those officers to smother, burke, or destroy that Address on which our whole hearts had been so eagerly engaged. Fortitude of some kind or another at once induced us to go away in custody of the officers to face the Magistrates. Indeed, we had no other alter- native, without bringing cowardice or disgrace upon ourselves. The astonished crowd flocking around the Session-house, and perceiving this extraordinary inter- vention of the Magistrates, looked unutterable things at each other, but they cheered us pretty heartily as they heard us telling John, the Beadle, to stand true. Forward,, therefore, we went to the sanctum sanctorum of the Magistrates, with some palpitation we do confess, but supported with a strong sense of public and private rec- titude, and that always gives one some courage, even in times of the greatest peril. Present at this scene: Gilbert Watson, Esq., acting- Chief Magistrate of Glasgow; Daniel Hamilton, Esq.,. Sheriff-Substitute ; Archibald Lawson, Esq., Magistrate; Stewart Smith, Esq., Magistrate; Ebenezer Richardson, Esq., Magistrate ; James Cleland, Esq., City Chamberlain ; Andrew Simpson, Esq., Procurator-Fiscal. A pretty for- midable array, certainly, on one side; but not a soul was present to give us the least aid in our now deserted and apparently forlorn condition in that crisis. Examined and interrogated by the Fiscal, after taking down name and designation, and all about it, &c., &c. Where do you reside, sir? I reside in the house of Mrs. Gumming, widow of the Relief minister of Errol, No. 37 Glassford Street, next door with Bailie William 276 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Lang. (His son, by-the-bye, Wm. Lang, Jim., was after- wards the respected editor of the Glasgow Argus; we were particularly friendly with him all along; he died in the States of America some years ago.) The examination continued in this wise : Fiscal Are you in the corps of Gentlemen Sharp- shooters ? I am. Fiscal (now recognising us, for he was a Sharpshooter himself) Oh! are you the young fellow that put the ball through the bull's eye at Jordanhill the other day? The same, I believe. Have you any ammunition left? Yes, I think I have 40 or 50 rounds of ball-cartridges in my lodgings. Now, sir; what tempted you to meddle with this most disgraceful and abominable business this flagrant and Treasonable address ? We answered a Bense of duty. Magistrate (loquitur) Now, young man, take care of your hand, and no insolence. I ask, did you take the oath of allegiance to the King when you joined the Sharpshooters ? Yes, I did. Magistrate Then, sir, how can you reconcile your oath to the King with the address to this strumpet? At these last words, our young blood, we confess, be- came heated and aroused, and forgetting all judicial restraints, we indignantly in language somewhat like this, broke out upon them : " My Lord Sheriff, and Gentlemen, I think I best discharge my allegiance to the King, by extending it also to Her Majesty the Queen, his lawful wife; and I em- phatically, but respectfully say, that YOU are the enemies of the King by defaming his wife." Fiscal Will you give up the address at once, sir, and no more of your gab; and destroy it and get away? REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 277 No, I will not give up the address, except by force and violence. I will go through with it in the way under- taken. Magistrate You deserve to be tried sir, by a military court-martial, and snot by G d ! Well, please your Honours, if you shoot me, you may as well shoot almost the whole Kegiment; for, to my certain knowledge, a goodly number of them have already signed the address this morning, and Captain Coleman of the 3d Company was signing it and congratulating me about it just before you brought me here in custody. At this last statement, some of the Magistrates looked amazed and spoke lowly with each other. Finding that they could not turn us from our purpose by threats of the above kind, Dr. Cleland, with whom we were after- wards, and in his declining years, on the best of terms, and he often mused and chatted with us on those extra- ordinary proceedings Dr. Cleland began now to coax and wheedle us, and to get, if possible, the address quietly surrendered. This was his cue at the moment; stroking us gently on the head " Oh, do, Mr. Peter ; do give up the address at once, or you'll be ruined for life: your master will turn you adrift from his office, for the Magis- trates are resolved to go from this and to wait upon him, and get you punished: therefore, do consent, like a good obedient lad give it up, give it up ; and the Magistrates will thank you." Not all the Magistrates in the world could have pre- vailed on us to surrender the address at that time, in such a manner. We would rather have been shot through the body. So they ordered us to go away, vowing that they would " soon clear the Session-house of its Treason," and telling us to proceed with the address if we longer s 278 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. dared, at our utmost peril. The news of this seizure, and encounter with the Magistrates, created a perfect ferment in the Old Town Tontine Coffee-Room, where all the elite of the city were wont to congregate. There was no Eoyal Exchange in those days. The spacious streets, all the way from the Tron Kirk to the Old Post-office Court, where the Magistrates had assembled, were occu- pied with the busy heavings to and fro of human beings, discussing what should next be done; but when the stripling youth was seen to emerge skaithless from the sittings of the Magistrates, and from the gripe of their officers, and recognised as the veritable author of the address, he was embraced rather rudely, in one sense, but carried shoulder-high, by the admiring throng, and literally seated in triumph at the table of the Tron! But the triumph in that place was not to last long. The Magistrates had positively determined to clear out the Session-house, and to lock it up via factis et armis. They summoned the alarmed Beadle to their presence. They strongly remonstrated with him for letting it for such a purpose at all ; but the .honest man told his plain, artless story " that he did not see how, in all the world, he could now steek the door, and drive the young gentlemen out, after they had made a distinct bargain with him, and had paid him down the twa guimas." Failing, therefore, to overcome the blunt integrity of the worthy Beadle, a real type of Nicol Jarvie, they sent for Dr. Dewar, the then respected Minister of the Tron, and got him to interfere, and abso- lutely to take away the key from the hands of the Beadle ; and the latter, of course, was now obliged to succumb or lose his situation. Within a few minutes afterwards, a strong posse of Police officers, headed by REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 279 old Captain Mitchell, made their appearance at the Tron, to clear the place, they said, " in obedience to the order of the Magistrates." This appearance of the Police, to interfere with a quiet constitutional proceeding, for such it was, whether we regard it in the light some may now do or not, greatly incensed the populace, and inspired them with fresh chivalry on the side of the Queen. The indignant crowd soon buffeted back the Police, actually chased them to tneir own quarters in Bell Street : and the citizens now became perfectly inflamed for the Queen. Huzzah for the Queen ! was the watchword and the reply; and, in good sooth, the Police themselves, at that particular period, had no heart to go against the peaceful crowd, shouting, as they saw they did, in that way for the Queen, and sympathising, like Scotchmen, on her hard fate, and cruel sufferings. But what did the Magistrates next do ? To show the strong feelings, and firm determination by which they, on the other hand, were actuated, they committed what we must here say was a reproach to themselves and a scandal on the administration of justice. They speedily brought up a. company of the 33d Eegiment, from the Infantry Bar- racks in the Gallowgate, and at the point of the bayonet they cleared that Session-house. Gracious God ! Did we really live in suoh times and did we see and experience such conduct or were such scenes really enacted in this city, and civilized land? Aye, indeed. But what followed ? Driveo out of the Session-house by sheer military force; but with the address itself carefully wrapped up and secured, and held firmly or desperately in our possession like an officer, we shall say, with the flag of his regiment around his body in battle, rather than lose it, we were most unexpectedly 280 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. but kindly saluted by the Kev. Mr. William Turnbull, the then popular Relief or Burgher minister, in Campbell Street, who happened to be in the Tron Kirk Session- house at the time, signing the address. He instantly offered to place his Church and Session-house at our dis- posal, for further signatures to the address, remarking that the Magistrates surely had no right to meddle with him for doing so. At that critical juncture, our faithful friend, Mr. Alex. M'Neil, made his appearance; and we entrusted the address and relative papers to him, and ran away as fast as our legs could carry us, not from our pledged duty, but to the office of James Stark, the printer, and got him on the receipt of other " Three guineas," to print large placards, intimating that " the Address would now be found in the Rev. Mr. Turnbull's Session-house." Thousands upon thousands flocked to that place to sub- scribe it ; and early in the twilight Mr. Calder the Sheriff- officer again appeared. " By the living God !" exclaimed M'Neil, "if any man shall dare, without lawful warrant to seize this address, and take it away, I -will blow his brains out on this spot, and take the consequences ! " and suiting the action to the word, he pulled out from his pockets, and laid them on the table beside him, where the sheets of the address were now lying, a brace of loaded pistols ! We do believe that if Calder had attempted to snatch or destroy the address at that moment, that M'Neil would have shot him, and we are afraid we would have been accessories, art and part to the deed. But Calder prudently sneaked away, and did not afterwards appear. He doubtless reported to his superiors what he had seen and heard. But Calder's visit at that late hour, did not disconcert U3 nearly so much as another visit of a very different descrip- REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 281 tion at a later period of that same memorable evening. We beheld coming into the Session-house, with eyes of amazement, our dear worthy master, JEneas Morrison, Esq., accompanied by the following gentlemen, viz., old Eobert Grahame, Esq., of Whitehill, (formerly referred to) afterwards Lord Provost of the city; Alex. M'Grigor, Esq., of Kernock : his firm then was Messrs. M'Grigor & Mur- ray, (Mr. Patrick Murray, father of the present Crown Agent for Scotland, was his son-in-law), the firm is now M'Grigor, Stevenson, & Fleming; and Dr. Richard Miller, Professor of Materia Medica, in the University of Glasgow all staunch Reformers and genuine Whigs of the olden time. We thought we were now fairly caught and doomed. " Bless me," said Mr. Morrison, advancing, and holding out his hand, " I thought you had asked me for liberty to get away somewhere from home." Old Mr. Grahame with the most benevolent and smiling counte- nance, now took speech in hand. " Do you know," says he, " that a deputation of the Magistrates have this day waited on your master here, to get him to take this address from you, and to turn you out of his office. Now, dear Master Peter, you have fairly affronted us all; you have taken the shine out of us seniors; we should have done this work long ago, but we have come to encourage and cheer you on; and do you know, I have told Mr. Morrison, and repeat in his presence, that if he really dismisses you from his office, by desire of the Magistrates, I will find room for you in Grahame & Mitchell's office, and give you a rise of 20 a-year on your salary." " And I," says old Mr. M'Grigor, " will be glad to get you on the same terms, if friend Morrison wheels over to the Magistrates." " Me wheel," exclaimed the hearty old cock, with an oath: "No, never! go on, Mr. Peter; you 282 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. must not turn your back now, like Lot's wife go a-head, keep your ground ; and I have told Archie Lawson, the Bailie who has importuned me, that I will write to my old friend, Lord Erskine, and let him tell the Lord Chan- cellor Eldon, what the Glasgow Magistrates have dared to do this day. I see the subscriptions are getting on favourably. So stick fast. Here are ten guinea notes, in case you need them ; and on Saturday at half-past four, 3 r ou will just come and take your dinner, and we will then talk over this business, and see how you get on." Never was a poor devil so joyously released. Brist- ling up with renewed spirit, we told them frankly and truly, that we had snatched a few minutes in James Stark's printing-office that afternoon, to write a hurried letter to Lord Archibald Hamilton, then at Arran, in his brother the Duke's favourite shooting quarters, letting his Lordship know what the Magistrates had done, and all about it ; and with this statement, our kind patrons were all apparently very well pleased. In returning to our lodgings that evening, we were struck to find our landlady, good old creature (some of her grandchildren are now in high position in Canada) wringing her hands, and in a state almost of mental per- turbation " What's this, what's this," she said, " Are ye really guilty of Sedition and Treason, my dear Mr. Mac- kenzie; and are they going to shoot you to-morrow morning? fly," she screamed, "fly, instantly, for the Adjutant has been here, and the Town-officers have been here, and they have broken open some of your drawers, and rummaged your books and papers, and carried away your sword and rifle, and belts and other things; and they say they will make a terrible example of you in Glasgow that you are in the hands of the Philistines !" HEMINI3CENCES OF GLASGOW. 283 We began rather to stare, and then to smile at her ; and " yet," she continued, seriously, " dear me, I cannot think that of you; you are so quiet and regular (self-laudation here, some may think). I told them that I never saw anything in the least degree resembling Sedition or black Treason about you, in your outgings, or your incomings, by morning, noon, or night But this is an awful city. Those horrible executions! preserve us all!" and she threw herself down on the sofa, and began actually to sob! We soon gave the good amiable lady the most perfect assurance that we had really done nothing wrong that the head and front of our offending was, this address to the Queen a printed copy of which we took from our pocket, and gave it to her to read. She did so with alacrity. She really read some parts of it oftener than once, and became wonderfully taken with it on the whole. She was, in fact, a Queen's woman! and we continued to be favourites with her in those lodgings till we came to enjoy better ones of our own. The threat, however, of being tried by a court-martial, was no joke. Some alive yet may remember, that King George the Fourth, by the advice of his Cabinet and Privy Council, had erased Her Majesty's name from the Church Liturgy. They refused they absolutely denied the prayers of the Church for the Queen ! But the Rev. Wm. Gillespie of Wells, who happened at that time to be Chaplain of the Kirkcudbright Yeomanry, put up his prayers for Her Majesty, and for so doing, he was actually placed under arrest by the Colonel of the Regi- ment; a fact which any one may see, by turning up the files of any of the Edinburgh papers of August and Sep- tember, 1820. 284 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. After this long preamble, we must remark, that it was rather a happy thought of our own, as it afterwards proved to be, to write to Lord Archibald Hamilton, in the way we did. His Lordship was then the popular repre- sentative of this great County of Lanark, in Parliament ; for although we call it a great and mighty county, as so it is, and still prodigiously on the increase, there were then only about 160 Electors, or paper freeholders, in ib altogether: and out of that small number, Lord Archibald and his friends could only reckon on the very slender majority at most, of some ten or twenty individuals ; whereas, the Electors of Lanarkshire, amount now (thanks to the Reform Bill) to upwards of 5000 : and thanks also to the present member Sir Edward Cole- brooke, they are legitimately on the increase. The city of Glasgow itself, as we think we have previously often enough remarked, was a mere nonentity at that time, as regarded the political representation, having only, in common with Rutherglen, Renfrew, and Dumbarton, the one-fourth share of a member, and that member was a keen Tory dead set against the Queen: whereas, Lord Archibald Hamilton from his eminent position and well- known liberal principles, and cherished regard publicly expressed by him in favour of the Queen, was the very best personage we thought, who if otherwise agreeable to him, should take charge of presenting this Glasgow Address ultimately to her Majesty in London. We knew that his noble brother the Duke of Hamilton was then, vigorously speaking and faithfully voting on her Majesty's side, in his place in the House of Lords. We further knew that his noble sister, Lady Ann Hamilton, was then one of the Ladies-in- Waiting on her Majesty, and had been her Majesty's most faithful servant and companion REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 285 at home and abroad for many years. We therefore frankly, and without the least reserve, acquainted his Lordship of our humble and rather perilous position and prospects in regard to the address. In particular, we explained all about the violent interposition of the Magis- trates; our rough and extraordinary examination before them that morning; the state and feelings of the city; and we enclosed printed copies of the address and relative placards that had been posted over the city under our own direct agency. In short, we concealed nothing from his Lordship respecting the whole affair, and gave him a rapid but faithful history of it down to the moment of our despatch, expecting at that same moment, and at every moment for some time afterwards, that we would be seized on some warrant or other of the Sheriff or Magistrates, or Lords of Justiciary ! "We must here make the remark, strange as it may seem to be, that none of our liberal newspapers then in Glasgow no not one of them, would either venture or condescend to publish the Address to the Queen, in any shape or manner of way ; nor would they venture to pub- lish one single syllable in reprobation of the conduct of the Magistrates, most glaring and flagrant as that con- duct was. The Scotsman of Edinburgh, was the only paper in all broad Scotland that " cheeped" about it in the following terms, under date Saturday, September 23d, 1820:- " The Magistracy of Glasgow, we leani, drove a body of individuals out of the Tron Kirk Session-house, on Monday last, where they were subscribing an Address to Her Majesty the. Queen. The room had been taken for the purpose, by three gentlemen, on Saturday evening. No riot nor disturbance could be alleged, to afford a pretext for this interference, which it is impossible to view in any other light than as 286 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. an insult to the citizens. One scarcely knows whether to feel mere contempt for the paltry spirit that dictated such an act, or indignation at the flagrant partiality it displayed. Had the object been to address the King, the same men would, no doubt, have thrown open every public building in the city. Their petty efforts, however, will only expose their own littleness, and will have no effect in preventing the inhabitants from expressing their opinions on a great public question. The number of names is said to be immense, and the pressure of individuals to get their names put down altogether unprecedented." Several days had now elapsed, but no answer from Lord Archibald Hamilton, which rather disheartened us. But still the address was getting on famously with subscriptions in the Old Relief or Burgher Church. Hundreds and thousands were subscribing it, and their numbers still increasing. One intrepid Hatter in the Trongate, but only one, his name was Hollgate Thomas Hollgate, we think whose shop was at the west corner of the Stockwell, had the temerity or the bold courage in defiance of the Magistrates, to place copies of the address within his windows. It resulted in this, that crowds flocked to those windows, and he became the most popu- lar shopkeeper in all the Trongate. He was called " the Hatter of the Queen," and long afterwards he used to joke and tell us that we had placed the best feather in his cap he ever had. Hollgate's hats and beavers became all the go. "We believe Mr. William Morrison is now the oldest successor of that line in Glasgow; and we are mis- O y taken if he did not witness and will not corroborate some of those remarkable proceedings. At last, the postman brought us a letter, franked, from Lord Archibald Hamilton, in the following terms : BBODICK CASTLE, ARRA.N, Sept. 25, 1820. SIR, Your letter of the 18th did not reach me till this morning, as, in consequence of the rough state of the weather, there has been no postal communication with this island for several days. REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 287 I have read your interesting statement, -with the papers you have done me the honour to send me, and I conceive you have acted with commendable spirit and propriety. I am, indeed, much surprised that the Magistrates of the City of Glasgow should have interposed in the way you have described. I will, with much pleasure, forward the Address to Her Majesty. If I cannot go to London myself, I will, with the leave of the gentle- men interested, entrust it to the care of Mr. Joseph Hume. I hope to be in Glasgow on Monday, the 2nd of October, and will be glad to have an interview with you, at the Buck's Head Hotel, soon after my arrival. I have written to Mr. Brown, at Hamilton Palace. My sister, Lady Ann Hamilton, still attends the Queen, and I will take care to let her know your movements in Glasgow, which I am sure will afford Lady A. no small pleasure. I have the honour to "be, Sir, your faithful and obedient servant, A. HAMILTON. You required to make no apology for addressing me. To Mr. PETEE MACKENZIE, 7 Miller Street, Glasgow. How strange, we may remark, that a letter going in those days by post from Glasgow to Arran, took seven or eight days on the journey, as the above shows ; whereas, by the rapidity of the railway and steamer traffic, we can now have despatches to and from Arran in a very few hours. The fact having transpired, that Lord Archd. Hamilton had cordially sanctioned and approved of the address, sent it again ringing like a marriage bell through- out the city; and the Chronicle for the first time spoko out as follows : " We understand that the address from this city to her Majesty the Queen, has obtained 35,718 signatures, which in point of numbers, far surpasses any address that has ever yet left Scotland. It is to be presented to her Majesty by our worthy representative, Lord Archibald Hamilton. His Lordship we iinderstand, passed through this city yesterday, on his way from A rran to Hamilton Palace." 288 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. We had the honour, the very great honour, as surely we may call it, of a long interview with Lord Archibald Hamilton, in obedience to his letter, in the Buck's Head Hotel, on Monday. The Duke of Hamilton's carriage with four splendid horses, and servants, &c., in State liveries, drew up at the door ; and when the noble Lord shook hands with us, in presence of the assembled crowd at parting, and again expressed his delight with all we had done in this business, we own, we returned to Mr. ./Eneas Morrison's office, proud as Lucifer probably the very proudest youth that day in all the city. Our steady and unflinching friend John Leslie, Esq., recently alluded to, yet alive, who with his old friend and companion, the late James M'Hardy, Esq., did all, or at least the greater part of the business of the Sheriff- Clerk's Office in Glasgow, which office was then situated in the south-east corner of St. Andrew's Square, was pleased in his own easy playful manner to dub us at that period with the title of the Queen's Attorney-General for Scotland. Here comes, they would say, as we entered the Courts, the Queen's young Attorney-General; and really if we had stuck fast to the Law, instead of running away headlong after Politics, which we have done now for nearly a century, we do not know how far up in the legal ladder we might this day have been, which some have reached with little trouble and less anxiety. But " pleasures are like poppies fled." We need not pursue the quotation ; and without murmuring, return to our theme. Shortly afterwards, we had the further honour of receiving the following letter from Lord Archd. Hamil- ton: REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 289 HAMILTON PALACE, October 16, 1820. DEAR SIR, I have the honour of forwarding to you the gracious reply of Her Majesty the Queen, to the Address from the Burgesses and citizens of Glasgow, which Address you did me the honour to entrust to me. As I mentioned to you, I wrote to Mr. Hume, and confided the Address to him ; and I enclose for your satisfaction a private note I have received from him, as also one from Lady Ann H., which indi- cate the pleasure this Address has given in London. You will please return these notes to me, under cover. If all goes well, it is probable the Duke will invite Her Majesty to this place next summer. I remain, dear Sir, yours very truly, A. HAMILTON. To Mr. PETER MACKENZIE, 7 Miller Street, Glasgow. We then with rejoicing hearts, waited on Mr. Prentice, the editor of the Chronicle, and showed to him these (to us) most precious documents. He was now polite and affable in the extreme; for although he had previously refused point blank to print the Address to the Queen, his eyes glistened with admiration at the sight of her Majesty's gracious answer; and he most gladly and wil- lingly agreed to publish it in his very next paper, which was all indeed we wanted him to do. Accordingly the following appeared in the Glasgow Chronicle, under date 24th October, 1820: GLASGOW ADDRESS. The address from this city to her Majesty the Queen, was presented to her Majesty at Brandenburgh House, on the llth current, by Joseph Hume, Esq., M.P., and the following is Her Majesty's most gracious answer, which has been communicated by the Ptight Hon. Lord Archibald Hamilton: " CAROLINE R. "I am unfeignedly obliged by this loyal and affectionate address from the inhabitants of the city of Glasgow. When I consider that this address is signed by more than thirty-five thousand names, or 290 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. more than a third part of that great, opulent, and enlightened city, I may be permitted to rejoice that the generous sentiments which it breathes, are so widely diffused, and so fearlessly manifested. " I cannot charge any of my wrongs upon the nation, I charge them upon that selfish junto, which, when it might have redressed them, only made them the means of gratifying their lust of domina- tion. If those who are now my enemies, but were once professedly my friends, had not sacrificed me to their love of place, the conspiracy of 1806 would have been so entirely suppressed, and the authors of it and the agents in it so completely exposed, that the present conspi- racy would never have dared to rear its head. This last conspiracy has been nurtured by the impunity of the preceding. " It is only generous natures that are capable of confessing the errors they have committed, and of repairing the wrongs they have done. My enemies are not of that stamp. They are not made of such noble materials. With them the sentiment of duty has vanished, without leaving any great portion of the principle of honour to supply its place. But notwithstanding this dearth of moral feeling in my adversaries, I repose a firm confidence in the virtuous sympathies of the nation. Those sympathies have been my solace in the most afflicting circu instances. ' ' Admirable document! We can almost salute it now with joyous but mellowed tears. "With the view, however, of counteracting this Address to the Queen, the Lord Provost (J. T. Alston,) issued circulars to some particular friends on the opposite side of the question, requesting a meeting in the Town Hall, at the Cross, to promote an address in favour of his Majesty George the Fourth, and his Ministers; and to supplicate the King to sit for his portrait to be placed in the Town Hall of Glasgow, at the expense of the citizens! This was rather too much in the excited temper of the city: and long before the hour of meeting, the Hall was crowded by many sturdy and indignant citizens, headed on the occasion by old Robert M'Gavin, and by Thomas Muir of Muirpark, who still sur- vives, resident at York Terrace, Regent's Park, London, REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 291 and to whom we think we may safely refer with some confidence on this and other topics, not yet touched upon. When the Provost appeared in the Town Hall to broach his resolutions, the hooting of the meeting was excessive, and all but unanimous against him. On the other hand, three loud and hearty cheers were set up for the Queen, seeing which, the Provost abruptly left the chair, and retired with some of his colleagues to another room, where they adopted what was called " a hole and corner address to the King," and the Provost went off with it to London; but no portrait of the kind contemplated, ever appeared in Glasgow : nor is this to be regretted, for George the- Fourth was not a pattern of virtue or morality. Very different are some of his successors. Her Majesty's trial in the House of Lords was now rapidly advancing to its final close. It may be interest- ing tc know, that the Queen made the following most solemn asseveration in a message to the House of .Lords, on the 7th of October, 1820, which inspired many with fervent awe in her favour: " The Queen most deliberately, and before Almighty God, asserts that she is wholly innocent of the crimes laid to her chai'ge; and she awaits, with unabated confidence, the final result of this unparalleled investigation. (Signed) " CAROLINE EEGIKA." The evidence against her Majesty being concluded, Mr. Brougham, as her leading advocate, made one of the most splendid orations in defence of her Majesty which he ever made. We hope our readers will excuse us if we give the following concluding portion of it : " My Lords, I pray you to pause, I do earnestly beseech you to take heed! You are standing on the brink of a precipice then beware! It will go forth as your judgment, if sentence shall go against 292 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. the Queen. But it will be the only judgment you ever pronounced which, instead of reaching its object, will return and bound back upon those who give it. Save the country, my Lords, from the horrors of this catastrophe ; save yourselves from this peril ; rescue that country, of which you are the ornaments, but in which you can flourish no longer, when severed from the people, than the blossom when cut off from the roots and the stem of the tree. Save that country, that you may continue to adorn it. Save the Crown which is in jeopardy the Aristocracy, which is shaken. Save the Altar, which must stagger with the blow that rends its kindred Throne ! You have said, my Loi'ds, you have willed, the Church and the King have willed, that the Queen should be deprived of its solemn service. She has, instead of that solemnity, the heartfelt prayers of the people. She wants no prayers of mine. But I do here pour forth my humble supplications at the Throne of Mercy, that that mercy may be poured down upon the people in a lai'ger measure than the merits of its rulers may deserve, and that your hearts may be tnrned to justice." At last the House of Peers, on 10th November, 1820, came to a division upon the Bill of Pains and Penalties, as follows: For the third reading, 108 Against it, 99 Majority, 9 We quote from the newspapers of the day as follows : " This division was received with the loudest cheers from the opposition benches. " While strangers were excluded, and the Lords were voting, seriatim, the Queen's Counsel were on the steps of the Throne, and kept account of the votes, so as to see how the majority of 28 on the second reading was affected by it. As soon as they had ascertained that it was reduced to nine the very number of the Cabinet they declared that the bill was only saved by the votes of those persons who had avowed themselves to be parties; and they went out to lay this statement before her Majesty while the Lords were dividing. A message was immediately prepared, and, being signed by her Majesty, was carried to Lord Dacre in the House. As soon as the numbers REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 293 on the division were declared, viz., 108 to 99, Lord Dacre rose, amid very vehement cries of "Order;" and as soon as the Peers had taken their seats, he observed, that he had been entrusted with a petition from her Majesty, praying to be heard by counsel against the passing of the bill. (Much cheering.) It was, we understand, and to this effect', ' That her Majesty having learnt that the third reading of the Bill of Pains and Penalties had been carried by a number of votes equal to the number of those who avowed themselves to be parties against her, she desired to be forthwith heard against the passing of the bill.' " The Earl of Liverpool (Premier) rose immediately, and said that he apprehended that such a course would be rendered unnecessary by what he was about to state. (Hear.) He could not be ignorant of the state of public feeling with regard to this measure, and it appeared to be the opinion of the House that the bill should be read a third time only, by a majority of nine votes. (Much cheering.) Had the thiid reading been carried by as considerable a number of Peers as the second, he and his noble colleagues would have felt it their duty to persevere with the bill, and to send it down to the .other branch of the Legislature. In the present state of the country, however, and with the division of sentiment so nearly balanced, just evinced by their Lordships, they had come to the determination not to proceed further with it. It was his intention, accordingly, to move that the question that the bill do pass be put over this day six months. (The most vehement cheering took place at this unexpected declaration.) " Earl Grey rose as soon as the Earl of Liverpool had resumed his seat, but the confusion did not subside for some time. His Lordship complained of the whole course Ministers had pursued with regard to the bill, which, after the declaration of the noble Earl, could scarcely be said to be before the House, but which was still before the country, and would long live in its memory. (Hear.) He charged the servants of the Crown with the grossest neglect of duty, in the first instance, in listening only to ex parte evidence, and giving a willing credence to the most exaggerated and unfounded calumnies. (Loud cheers.) They had thus for many months agitated the nation. They had produced a general stagnation of public and private business and they had given a most favourable opportunity, were it desired, to the enemies of internal peace and tranquillity. They had betrayed their King, insulted their Queen T 294 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. (continued cries of 'hear,' from all sides) and had given a shock to the morals of society by the promulgation of the detestable and dis- gusting evidence, in the hearing of which the House had been so long occupied. (Hear.) His Lordship concluded by assuring noble Lords on the other side, that the people of Great Britain would not be satis- fied with the mere withdrawing of the measure, but would demand a strict inquiry into its foundation and origin. (Great cheering.) " The question was then put from the Woolsack, on the motion of the Earl of Liverpool, that the question ' that this bill do pass,' be put ' on this day six months.' It was carried nemine contradicente, and almost by acclamation. " Order having been once more re-established, the Earl of Liver- pool moved that the House should adjourn till the 23d of November, the day on which the Commons meet. It was also carried, and their Lordships immediately separated." The news of her Majesty's virtual acquittal by the abandonment of the Bill in the House of Lords on Friday, reached Glasgow by the Mail Coach sometime on Monday. It created the liveliest satisfaction. All London was said to be in a furor, preparing for an Illumination, and the Queen was arranging with the Lord Mayor to proceed to St. Paul's to return thanks to Almighty God for her preservation. In Glasgow there was no bounds to the joy that Monday evening. Tar barrels were readily procured and lighted up in many parts of the principal streets; countless windows in the most prominent places of the city were spontaneously lighted up, while all along the crowded way was jubilee and loud huzzah. But this was too much for our then Magistrates. They could not brook it at all; so the Dra/* goons were called out, and with the aid of the Police, the blazing tar barrels, harming nobody, were soon extin- guished. But this did not and could not smother the strong feelings of the citizens. On the following even- REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 295 ing, viz., Tuesday, the illuminations were renewed. On the Wednesday evening, they were renewed again, and became almost universal throughout the city. The fol- lowing is the account given of some of those things in -the Glasgow Chronicle, timid as it was, to speak out at the time: but it was the only newspaper amongst us that mooted the word Eeform at all : THE ILLUMINATIONS. We mentioned on Tuesday the manifesta- tions of joy which took place on Monday, in consequence of the failure of the bill against the Queen. An account of the proceedings on Tuesday evening will be found in a succeeding page. Last night the illuminations might be said to be general. Many houses were brilliantly lighted up. Hutcheson Street was particularly luminous. Carlton Place, Clyde Street, and George's Square, presented splendid spectacles. Panes of glass, in a very few instances, were broken ; but in general the populace did not interfere with those who abstained from exhibiting lights ; nor were any other of the outrages of the preceding night repeated. The Dragoons were in the streets, and whenever a bonfire was attempted to b.e kindled, or a tar-barrel was brought into the streets, it was seized and extinguished. Baulked in these attempts, the lieges resorted to flambeaux, with which they headed the crowd, with the vievr of parading through the city; but they were repeatedly compelled to seek refuge in closes by the troops. The noise of fire-arms, squibs, and crackers, was incessant. Some of the windows contained devices. The Assembly Rooms displayed above 200 variegated lamps. The Riot Act was read early in the evening, and the Magistrates were in readiness at the Black Bull Inn. Two bonfires were kindled in the Green ; one at the Monument, and another at Greenhead. The last was extinguished by the military about 11 o'clock. About 12 the watchmen took their stations, and the streets were afterwards as quiet as usual. Besides the bonfires in the Green, there were others in the suburbs. Along the whole road from the Cowcaddens, Port-Dundas, and places adjacent, the houses were brilliantly illuminated. Placards were posted up stating that the Riot Act had been read, but happily the disposition to please, and be pleased, prevailed over the love of mischief. As a proof of the general good humour that pervaded the mass of beholders, we ma 296 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. state that numerous parties of respectable ladies and gentlemen were all the time freely promenading the most crowded streets. Thus for three days and three nights, the citizens were in the most joyous state of excitement and enthusiasm for the Queen ; and the Glasgow Address penned by the same hand, which, thank God, is still spared to narrate those things, and bring them to view before his kind and indulgent readers, was printed afresh and extolled in other quarters, in a way our vanity, exuberant as some may think it to be, will not permit us to describe ; and this is all we here intend to say about it. But mark, kind readers, the above statement of the EIOT ACT being read by the Magistrates, and on such an occasion! Was there really any Riot in the true sense of the word? Not in the least, nor any thing approaching to it at that time in Glasgow. Yet we can testify and depone to the fact, that we saw the Dragoons with their drawn swords, charging the masses the unoffending citi- zens men, women, and children, through the streets of Glasgow, because they were glad and peaceably rejoicing for the victory of the Queen ! Yes, we saw the unoffend- ing citizens with their wives and children, literally tor- tured into alarm, and running shrieking and crying, and endeavouring to escape into shops, lanes, and closes, in the Trongate and Argyle Street, from the galloping charge of the Dragoons. In particular, we saw one most frightful charge made by the Dragoons from the Buck's Head onwards to the Cross. We were standing near the spa- cious tenement in Spreull's Court, the entrance to which, besides many other places, was crammed with agonized and distracted people seeking shelter, as they thought, for their very lives. On the return of the Dragoons to the head-quarters of the Magistrates, who were then giving REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 297 their orders in the Black Bull Inn, and on wheeling round to make another display with their drawn swords up Glassford Street, we beheld Major Smith, our once glorious Brigade-Major, the future hero of Aliwal, whose name we have ever mentioned with profound regard in these and other pages, we beheld him at 'the head of those Dragoons, and rushing forward to him, with hat in hand, and head uncovered, and saluting him in the most respectful manner, which he at once acknowledged, for he knew us well, in proof of which, we shall give one of his most affectionate letters to us by-and-bye, and stroking with some danger, at that exciting period, the neck of his prancing grey charger, we thus addressed him, " Good God, Major, are you really going to sabre unoffending people in this manner ?" " No, my dear fellow," was his prompt answer, " I won't touch a hair of your head, at any rate, if your friends don't pelt us with stones; but you see we are acting on the orders of the Magis- trates, and we have peremptory orders to clear the streets, and they must be cleared. But I will pull up the squadron, to let you all retire; and for Godsake, get away to your homes directly." On rattled the Artillery, now at a slower pace, through those chief portions of the streets of Glasgow ; and the city that night was hushed to silence by military power, but the feelings of its thousands and tens of thousands of inhabitants, were lacerated to the quick. Instead of doing any good to the Magistrates, or perpetuating their own reign in the city, it almost led to absolute revolt against them. It sounded the doom of the " Boroughmongers," as they were then begun to be called in quarters formerly friendly to them. It led to a most important public meeting of the citizens soon afterwards. .But before directing the attention of 298 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. our readers to that meeting, it may be interesting here to refer to some of the further proceedings against Queen Caroline in London. Although the Bill of Pains and Penalties was aban- doned against her in the House of Lords, in the manner above stated, the most oppressive and persecuting spirit was continued against her by her husband, the King by his Ministers, and almost every one in official authority. She was denied access to every one of the Eoyal Palaces, whether in London or out of it. The doors of all of them were insultingly and deliberately shut in her Majesty's face; and she depended for a place of residence entirely on the generosity of Mr. Alderman Wood, whose eminent son is not the Master of the Eolls as we sup- posed him to be, in one of our previous numbers, but he is actually at this moment in the higher and more elevated position of Vice-Chancellor of England. The spa- cious mansion-house in Audley Street, London, was placed by Alderman Wood at the disposal of the Queen. She afterwards removed, we think, to Brandenburgh House. Parliament was fixed to be prorogued by Eoyal Com- mission, on Thursday, the 23d November, 1820. On that day, it was well known that Mr. Thomas Denman, one of her Majesty's Counsel, afterwards Attorney-General and Lord Chief-Justice of England, was to appear at the bar of the House with a Message from the Queen. With the view of smothering her Majesty's voice on the occa- sion, a most extraordinary scene took place in the House, as may be seen from the papers of that day, and it may interest our readers, as follows: " THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23. " The Speaker entered the House at a quarter before two. The gallery was not opened. REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 299 " After prayers were read, the Speaker inquired if any new mem- bers were waiting to be sworn. " Messrs. Lawley and Chaloner came forward, and a few minutes were occupied in administering the oaths. " Mr. Mann then moved a new writ for Westbury, and Lord Ossulston for Berwick. " Mr. Denman then rose, about five minutes past two, with a paper in his hand, which, he said, was a communication from the Queen. (Hear, hear.) " At the same time the Deputy-Usher of the Black Rod entered the House, and advanced to the table, amidst the loudest cries for ' Mr. Denman.' With these cries were mingled shouts of ' Withdraw, withdraw,' addressed to the Black Rod. Mr. Denman continued standing with the Message in his hand, and did not for a moment give way to that officer. Not a word the Usher said was heard. His message was drowned amidst the most indignant and vehement cries of ' Shame, shame,' from all parts of the House. His lips moved, but no sound was audible. After this mummery, the Black Rod retreated, apparently much agitated. A pause ensued, when " Mr. Tierney (one of the ablest Whig members of the House) rose, and observed, that not one word of what had fallen from the Deputy- Usher had been heard; and, how, then, did the Speaker know what was the message, or whether he was wanted at all in the other House? (Loud cheering, intermingled with cries of ' Order,' from the Treasury bench.) " The Speaker then rose, the uproar still continuing, and Mr. Ben- net, M.P. for Wiltshire, exclaiming, with a loud voice, 'This is a scandal to the country.' " The Speaker then proceeded down the body of the House amidst the most deafening cries of ' Shame, shame,' and loud and repeated hisses. Lord Castlereagh, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and a few Ministerial members, accompanied the Speaker. Lord Castlereagh followed close to him. " A considerable proportion of the members remained in the House awaiting the Speaker's return ; but it turned out, contrary to all pre- cedent, that no speech had been made by the Commissioners; and the Speaker did not return to the House of Commons, but went straight to his private apartments, leaving the House of Commons to collect as they could that a prorogation had actually taken place. I 300 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. " On the Speaker's return from the House of Peers, as he was passing through the lobby, the Sergeant-at-Arms, who was preceding him, was, as is usual, about to enter the door of the House of Com- mons, when the Speaker called to him, and said, ' Mr. Seymour, there is no business to be done; therefore I cannot go into the House.' The Sergeant bowed, and the Speaker passed quickly into the avenues leading to his house." Was there ever any thing, we may ask, so indecorous in, or discreditable to Parliament, within the memory of man? But the country thrilled with the theme. Many most affectionate addresses were presented by deputation to her Majesty, but amongst them none more conspicuous than the address of the brave Highlanders, then domi- ciled in London, which we may be excused for referring to in this place. A dear departed friend, writing to us at the time, gives this interesting sketch of it, " The most novel, and by far the most striking of any addresses and deputations to Her Majesty at this time, was that of the High- landers residing in London, and deputed from the Highland Assembly. The summons was ' Come every hill-plaid, and True heart that wears one.' Their ' gathering place,' this morning, was the Crown and Anchor Tavern, and they were coming from an early hour 4 All plaided and plumed in their tartan array.' In the number were several gentlemen, of high rank in the army, and eome connected with distinguished characters in the senate and at the bar. They were all in full Highland dresses, each having a tartan jacket and kilt, with the plaid in rich folds over the shoulder, hose, pouch, black velvet stock, and ' bonnet blue,' decorated with the ' eagle plume' mixed with ostrich feathers. A sort of collar of white silk was worn over the plaid, and a large rosette of white ribbon on the breast. The procession consisted of 12 landaus and four, all with white horses the postilions having white small-clothes, waistcoats and hats, with white cockades and buff jackets, &c., &c. REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 301 " The scene presented, when all were assembled, was indeed a scene to make a Highlander's heart swell with strong feeling. The powerful tones of the bagpipe excited ideas and feelings in his mind associated with all that is grand in moral courage, and all that is tender in domestic life. The strong impression upon every mind of the imme- diate purpose in view the recollection that they were about to pro- ceed with their congratulations to the presence of the calumniated and persecuted Queen; this feeling in every Highland breast gave inde- scribable pathos and meaning to the music of their native hills. It was joy mixed with sadness. They thought of the days that were past when her Majesty could indulge her fancy in all the brilliant and heart-delighting visions of affection and hope ; the thought of the bit- ter reverse which fate made irrevocable, and they sighed for their Queen; but they thought again of the infamy, degradation, and misery, into which power, craft, and perjury would have plunged her; and they rejoiced in the unexampled escape of her Majesty. Such were the mixed emotions with which they proceeded to offer congra- tulations to their Queen. Two Highland pipers sat in the first landau, and at half-past eleven o'clock, when the procession moved forward, a pibroch 'waked its wild voice anew,' and ' fir'd their Highland blood with mickle glee.' A large flag of silk plaid, with sky-blue streamers, was carried in the same landau. The spectacle was in every respect most -interesting. The crowd assembled to see this procession was very large, and seemed to participate cordially in the feelings of the Highlanders. "At Hyde Park Corner, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Hume, M.P., in their private carriage, joined the procession, and fell into the line immediately behind the landau in which the Address was carried. They were greeted with the warmest cheers along the whole line of their march from the Crown and Anchor to Brandenburgh House ; they marched into the long gallery with colours flying and pipes play- ing. When all were regularly arranged, and while the pipes played * Scots wha ha'e wi' Wallace bled,' her Majesty entered, and imme- diately turned round, and most graciously recognised the Highlanders, who bowed with profoundest respect to the Queen. Lord Archibald Hamilton, Mr. Peter Moore, M.P., Mr. Waithman, M.P., and Mr. Hobhouse, (now Lord Houghton), were all present in full court- dresses. Lady Ann Hamilton wore a rich tartan scarf. Mr. Hume, in full court-dress, introduced the chairman and the mover of the 302 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Address. The chairman presented the Addi-ess to her Majesty, who was graciously pleased to have it read by the mover in the Gaelic language. It was read with equal modesty and firmness. This was p&rhaps the first time that any King or Queen of this country listened to an Address in that ancient language." We need not give the address itself, but we cannot resist the temptation even at this remote period, of giving her Majesty's answer to it, a copy of which we made at the time, and have treasured it up for many a long day : and really it is impossible for us to read it now without feel- ing some emotion. The allusion in it to the death of her beloved and only daughter and child, the young Princess Charlotte of Wales, is like the poetry of Ossian, full of the most exquisite tenderness. We are therefore very hopeful, that our readers after perusing it, will not be offended at us for giving it, as follows : QUEEN CAROLINE'S ANSWER TO THE HIGHLANDERS OF SCOTLAND IN LONDON, DECEMBER, 1820. " It is with unfeigned complacency that I accept this artless tribute of glowing affection and generous loyalty from an assembly of the metropolis, who are natives of that romantic region where the spirits of departed warriors still speak. I am well aware that they come from that land which is renowned for faithfulness to its chiefs; and that their fathers bled for a Sovereign who had no other claim to their support but that which grief gives to the faded cheek and the sunken eye. They are natives of that land where adversity attracts more regard than the smiles of fortune; where the houseless have a home, and the friendless never want a friend. I was sure that griefs like those which I have suffered, and persecutions like those which I have undergone, would not be objects of indifference to those who were born and reared in that district where the brave are sensitive, and the sensitive brave. Their minds could not contemplate with apathy a fond mother, roaming like an exile in a distant land, while her only child was in vain imploring her presence with that look of solicitude, and that gaze of importunity, that mark the parting hour. REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 303 The dark cloud of death soon covered her snowy breast! deep and general was the lament when her heart beat no more ! Grief sat on every brow, and the face of the country appeared as if the desolating blast had traversed the land. Her remains needed no obsequies. Her tomb was the tomb of virtue. Affection sepulchred her memory in every heart. " The years that are past, and are to be no more, are but as things that have only an ideal existence in the memory ; but still they may cause the eye to stream with tears, or the bosom to heave with regret. The loveliness that has sunk into the grave is still lovely in the mind; and in that form in which virtue has made its abode, death is not lasting oblivion, but increased and permanent reminiscence. It is truth, it is integrity, it is benevolence, it is the amiable, the generous, the sincere, or, in one word, it is goodness, pure and holy, that con- verts the mortal into the immortal, the dying into the ever-living, the shadow into the substance, the fugitive into the fixed, time into eternity." When Parliament assembled on the 23d January, 1821, Mr. Wetherel (afterwards Sir Charles Wetherel,) moved that Her Majesty's name be restored to the Liturgy. Lord Castlereagh objected, and moved the previous question, which was carried by a majority of 260 against 169. On the 25th of January, Lord Archd. Hamilton made a similar motion with that of Mr. Wetherel, and a stormy debate ensued, when Ministers carried the adjournment of the debate by 310 against 209. On the 5th of February, the Marquis of Tavistock, afterwards Duke of Bedford, again took up the subject in favour of the Queen. Another animated debate arose, and continued till half-past six in the morning, when the House divided with nearly the same result. On the llth of July, Mr. Hume rose and moved that an humble Address be presented to his Majesty, praying that he will be pleased to issue his Royal Proclamation for the Coro- nation of her Majesty ; " thereby consulting the true 304 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. dignity of the Crown, the tranquillity of the empire, and the general expectations of the people." No sooner had the honourable member made his motion, than the Usher of the Black Rod made his appearance, and Parliament was again abruptly prorogued by Commission. The King's own Coronation, to the arbitrary exclusion of the Queen, was fixed to take place on the 19th of July. On the morning of that day the Queen proceeded to Westminster Abbey. She was refused entrance. On the 3d or 4th of August she became unwell. Her heart was broken; and on the evening of the 7th of August, she breathed her last, not without making her settlement, and giving to Lady Ann Hamilton and her other weeping attendants, her tranquil but solemn injunctions to carry her body to Brunswick, the place of her nativity, for interment, and to place upon the lid of her coffin this inscription: "Here lies Caroline of Brunswick, the injured Queen of England" But even her Majesty's cold, lifeless, and un- offending body was not to be carried away without blood- shed. The King's Government commanded that it should proceed through London only by a certain route. The vast population turned out to pay their solemn respects to the shrouded coffin containing her Majesty's remains. They were ordered back ; they were driven back ; and resisting, by casting up barricades near Hyde Park, the King's Life Guards were ordered out upon them, and several civilians were slaughtered and wounded on the streets of London, for these open manifestations of sym- pathy towards their injured murdered Queen. What awful what horrible times these were! One living now can hardly believe them, but we must carry our readers back for a few moments, to other scenes in Glasgow. REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 305 Concurrent with the Address moved in Edinburgh, and already spoken about, a few of the leading magnates of this our own city of Glasgow, scarcely calling them- selves Keformers at that period, but imbued with the most liberal principles, met together by private circular in the Black Bull Ball-Eoom, on Wednesday, the 1 3th of December, 1820, with the view of considering whether any, and what steps should be taken for the purpose of counteracting the fulsome Address to George the Fourth, then on its way from Glasgow to London. That meeting consisted of the following gentlemen : James Dennistoun of the Glasgow Bank; Professor Mylne of the College; Eobert Grahame of Whitehill ; Charles Tennant of St. Eollox ; Eobert Orr of Ealston ; James Murdoch of Auld- bank; William Kippen of Busby; David Todd of Spring- field ; Alexander M'Grigor of Kernock ; George Craufurd (father of our present Justice of Peace Clerk) ; Archibald Lament of Eobroyston; Dr. Eichd. Millar; James Oswald of Shieldhall ; John Douglas ; James Hutcheson ; John Fleming of Claremont; Henry Dunlop of Craigton; Thos. Muir of Muirpark; ^Eneas Morrison; William Mills of Sandyford ; Adam Watson ; Hugh Tennent of Wellpark, and a few others. They came, without much hesitation, to the unanimous conclusion, that the Address to the King, however laudable it might have been in other cir- cumstances, should not go forth as the Address of the citizens of Glasgow the meeting, with one accord, having all their sympathies in favour of the poor struggling per- secuted Queen. And in order to test the strength of public opinion on this point, as between the Magistrates and citizens, it was resolved that a public meeting should be called on an early day, in one of the largest Halls that could be procured in the city. 30() REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. " The accursed Gagging Acts" (as they were called) of Lords Sidmouth and Castlereagh, were in the most strict and repulsive operation at that time in the three king- doms. Under those Acts no public meeting whatever durst be called, without the leave or license of two or more Magistrates; or only after the lapse of a written notice of six days' served officially on the Magistrates. When some of the above most respectable gentlemen waited on the Acting Chief Magistrate, viz., Bailie Archd. Lawson the Lord Provost, as already remarked, having proceeded to London, with his address to the King he scowled upon them rather gruffly, though all of them were his equals or superiors in other situations in the city. He at once pointedly refused to call any such meeting, or to give it the slightest sanction. On the contrary, he plainly told the deputation that " they had better take care of their hands ; they had some stake in the community, he was pleased to observe, but they had better not border on sedition or treason, for which some had lost their heads in Glasgow, and out of it, already." At this, old Kobert Grahame (the future Provost), waxed wroth. He said to worthy Bailie Lawson, that surely the Magistrates would allow the meeting to be convened in the Town Hall? " Not a bit of it," he answered. Then, said old Mr. Charles Tennant, " we will get our own Trades Hall." "Try, if you dare, 3 ' said the Bailie. " Tuts," said Banker Dennistoun, " Come away friends, th re's no use in heckling here with Bailie Archie Lawson. I know Willie Bankier the calenderer, (afterwards one of the Councillors and Magistrates of the city) he's a braw youth, and manager of the Eelief Kirk in John Street. I saw him in the Bank this morning, and he said he would easily get that kirk if other places failed." Old Mr. Neil REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 307 -.. % Douglas, a celebrated preacher and character of his day in Glasgow, then holding forth in the old Andersonian O * O University, and who, by-the-bye, had been previously tried for Sedition before the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh, (and we have a rich story to tell about him in another chapter,) had handsomely offered the use of his premises in case of difficulty, for the meeting. But the Eelief Church in John Street was soon obtained as Mr. Dennistoun stated it would be. This stern refusal of Bailie Lawson, acting in the name and behalf of the Magistrates, created another flare-up in the city; and we must now refer to the requisition itself, a copy of which we have preserved since the day of its date, with the names and designations of all the sub- scribers to it, being 318 in number, many of them inter- woven with the very best interests of Glasgow, social and civil. In fact, we cannot go over that long list of names, as we did the other day, without emotion; for out of them all, we cannot fix on more than twenty living men. We had some thought of publishing the entire list itself, to show the sons, and daughters, and grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of the present day, how their sires acted, and to take them to the very abodes where they dwelt in former times, now strangely diversified ; but our space precludes us from doing it in these pages, " Be it a weakness, it deserves some praise ; We love the play -place of our early days. The scene is touching, and the heart is stone That feels not at that sight, and feels at none." Still, we may give the following faithful copy of the memorable requisition itself, with the notice attached to it: 308 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. " To the Honourable the Lord Provost, or in his absence the Acting Chief Magistrate of the City of Glasgow. " MY LORD, We request that your Lordship will call a meeting of the merchants, bankers, manufacturers, and other inhabitants, to be held upon as early a day as is convenient, for the purpose of considering of the propriety of voting a loyal and dutiful Address to his Majesty, and representing the unconstitutional and pernicious measures adopted by Ministers, especially in the proceedings against the Queen, and the sudden prorogation of Parliament ; and praying his Majesty to dismiss his Ministers, and to re-assemble Parliament without delay, that their advice may be taken as to the measures to be pursued for allaying the present discontent." "NOTICE. " GLASGOW, 15th December, 1820. " The above requisition was this day delivered to Archibald Lawson, Esq., the Acting Chief Magistrate of this city, in absence of the Lord Provost, but as he has declined to call the meeting therein required, notice is hereby given, that such meeting will be held within John Street Church, on Friday the 22d day of December current, at 12 o'clock, for the purpose mentioned in the said requisition." As the day approached for holding the meeting, the city became perfectly agitated from one end of it to the other. It transpired that the Magistrates had ordered the Infantry and Dragoons to be ready at a moment's notice; and further, that they had secured the services of two well-known scribes in the city, (Sinclair and Todcl,) who were to appear and move resolutions against the Queen, and in favour of the King and his Ministers. Long before the hour of meeting, the capacious church was crowded to excess, and hundreds after hundreds had to go away. Whether owing to the perfect enthusiasm of the meeting or not, we shall not say, but undoubtedly the two gentlemen alluded to, whom we saw on the plat- form, did not rise to make any counter address; but we REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. 309 distinctly saw Mr. Hugh Kerr, the then auxiliary Sheriff- Substitute, and Alexander Calder, the Sheriff-officer, and old John M'Callum, the Town-officer and Messenger-at- Arms, taking notes to detect anything which seemed to them to be seditious or treasonable ; and we shall give an amusing specimen of their handy- work in that way, which fairly nonplussed the Lords of Justiciary, on another occasion. We need not, however, occupy the attention of our readers with the speeches or resolutions of that remark- able meeting. James Oswald of Shieldhall, occupied the chair. Suffice it here to say, that the resolutions of the most spirited kind, were summed up in a petition to the King, condemnatory of the unconstitutional proceedings against her Majesty, and praying his Majesty to dismiss from his counsels and presence, his then advisers and Ministers : " Upon the motion of Mr. Thomas Lancaster, it was resolved " That His Grace the Duke of Hamilton, the Earl Grey, the Earl of Rosslyn, Lord Erskine, and Lord Archibald Hamilton, or any of these noblemen who may be in London when the petition reaches it, be requested to present the petition to his Majesty ; and " That Messrs. Robert Thomson, Robert Orr, James Dunlop, junior,, Dr. James Monteith, Messrs. Charles Tennaut, Wm. Mills, Samuel Coleman, Hugh Tennent, David Todd, John Monteith, James Carrick,. Thos. Muir, Peter Hutcheson, Hugh Smith, William "Watson, James Hamilton, Walter Brock, junior, and Dr. John Baird, be appointed as a committee for taking the necessary steps for getting the petition subscribed in a proper manner, and transmitted to London. " Upon the motion of Dr. Richard Miller, it was unanimously resolved " That the thanks of the meeting be given to Mr. Oswald, for his very able and impartial conduct in the chair. " It was further resolved, upon the motion of Mr. Geo. Craufurd, U 310 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. that the thanks of the meeting were justly due to the gentlemen of the committee who had taken the trouble of making the preparatory arrangements for bringing them together. "And, finally, it was, upon the motion of Mr. Cabbell, banker, resolved "That the proprietors and managers of this church are justly entitled to the thanks and gratitude of the meeting, for the accommo- dation with which they had been so liberally afforded. (Signed) " JAMES OSWALD, Chairman." Copies of the Petition lie for Signature at the following places : The Bar of the Tontine Coffee Room ; John Street Church Session House ; Messrs. Charles Tennant & Co., Moodie's Court ; Mr. William Shirly's, Ironmonger, Trongate ; Messrs. Weir & Kennedy, Argyle Street ; Messrs. Slater & Geddes, Canclleriggs ; Mr. John Gardner, Hosier, 4 High Street ; Mr. M. Spreul, Hutcheson Street ; Mr. Wm. Rae, Gallowgate; Mr. James Wallace, High Street; Mr. James Duncan, Saltmarket. This address had its effect not then, but afterwards, as we shall show. We pass on to other matter. REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 311 CHAPTER IV. THE OLD SHIP BANK OF GLASGOW ROBIN CARRICK THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF THE PRESENT RIGHT HON. LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COURT OF SESSION IN GLASGOW HIS CLIENT EXECUTED FOR FOR- GERY, &c. FROM political events, occupying so many pages of these first Reminiscences, we pass on to lighter and more varied events, occurring within the compass of our own recollec- tion, and in some of which we strutted or played, our own little part at the time. Next to the respected Mr. James Dennistoun, the oldest banker of any note in Glasgow, was Mr. Michael Rowand, of the Ship Bank, who departed this life about eight or ten years ago, in the 86th year of age. He was for many years Manager and Cashier, and ultimately partner of the renowned " Ship Bank of Glasgow," under the celebrated Robin or Robert Carrick. This Mr. Carrick was the son, we think, of a clergyman in Renfrewshire, " passing rich on 80 a-year." He came into Glasgow a comparatively poor boy in early life, but he established, or at all events he became the chief or leading partner of, the old Ship Bank of Glasgow, now merged as other Banks have been, with the present " Union Bank of Scotland." 312 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Robin Carrick, for that was the name he was always called in our recollection, amassed an immense fortune, nearly a million sterling; but he was one of the greatest scrubs or misers in relation to money matters, that Glas- gow ever saw. He died, a grim old batchelor forty years ago, without leaving one plack or penny to any of the charitable institutions of the city, in which city he had derived the greater part of his enormous wealth. But let him pass. " The beggar died ;" and beggars sometimes die much happier than richer men, as the story of Lazarus implies. Mr. Carrick's housekeeper, viz., Miss Paisley, an elderly damsel, was also his favourite niece. They lived in the upper flat of the Bank premises, then at the corner of Glassford Street, whereon some spacious modern premises are now reared. The Bank itself was a dark dingy place; but a grand establishment of its kind in Glasgow sixty years ago ; and while Mr. Carrick was famed for his vast banking transactions in the flat below, Miss Paisley was notorious throughout the city for the most niggardly management of his household in the flat above. She would prig, or higgle, or banter with uhe shopkeepers in King Street, then the chief provision place in the city, but now so deplorably deserted ; she would try to beat them down to the value of a farthing about the price of beef, mutton, or veal. We have frequently seen her hur- rying from the markets in King Street, with a sheep's- head and trotters in her basket, and a string of flounders or caller herring in her hands; and when she went. to the higher station of markets in the Candleriggs, she invari- ably stipulated with the green-grocers in that place, that if any apples or pears should be left over at the contemplated dinner dessert of Mr. Carrick's table, they would just be taken back on the following morning to the place from REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 313 whence they came, and paid for accordingly. No wonder the old miser and his amazon amassed riches to an almost incredible degree, by this miserable mode of living, so unworthy of persons of the most ample means; and who in their charities, if they ever knew such, were equally, if not more stringent and parsimonious. We shall here only narrate one or two veritable stories about him. We have others to tell about Mr. Rowand, whom we unfeignedly esteemed, and often chatted with. One of these stories came up our back the other day; and it almost made us indignant, and at the same time it affected our risible faculties ; but if it does not please our readers when we proceed to narrate it, we will only say that we shall " break our reeds, and never whistle more" on the subject. On one particular occasion, the old fellow, Eobert Car- rick, Esq., was waited upon by a deputation of two or three respectable citizens for his subscription to the Royal Infirmary, then in its infancy, or of some other institu- tion of pressing importance. They expected that he being the v. T ealthiest banker at the time in all the city, and knowing the urgent circumstances of the case, would head the list of subscribers with a pretty hand- some donation. To their mortification and surprise, he would only come down with "Two guineas." When they respectfully beseeched him to give something more, he waxed wroth, and was for drawing back his miser- able pittance, but recollecting himself for a moment, he stated that he really could not afford to give them any more ; and he literally bowed them out of his miserly room, encased as it was, with millions of money in the shape of bills or other documents. Not far from that bank was the warehouse of old Mr. John M'llquham, of 314 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW whom, besides the present, we have a good story to tell afterwards. Mr. M'llquham was then doing a good stroke of business in the tambouring and manufacturing O O line in Glasgow. When the deputation, who had just left Banker Carrick, approached Mr. M'llquham, he put on his spectacles, and glanced at the list of subsribers. He mused and commented on the trifling subscription of Mr- Carrick. Bless me! he said, has he only given you " Two, guineas" for such a benevolent purpose? Not more, they replied; and they made this statement to the old plodding but liberal manufacturer. Do you know, said they to Mr. M'llquham, when we pressed him for more, he sulkily told us that he "could not afford to give any more/' What's that you say? and they repeated the words, very much apparently to his astonishment and ire. He rose from his three-legged stool with some animation. Jamie 1 said he, to his faithful cash-keeper and confidant James Davidson, Esq., of Ruchill, father of the present esteemed Mr. Davidson, of that place Jamie! bring me the Ship Bank-book, and a cheque, and the ink-bottle, and a pen; and with these materials before him, Mr. M'llquham filled up with his own hand, a cheque on the Ship Bank for 10,000 sterling, or a much larger sum, as we have heard it stated to be, But no matter what the amount. It was a large one, certainly. Now, Jamie, run down as fast as your legs can carry you to the Bank, and take care and be sure and bring that money to me, and the gentlemen of the deputation here will just kindly wait till you return. Of course, they agreed to do so, not knowing at that moment anything about the impending circumstance. The cheque was presented at the Bank table, and a queer place it was. Old Eobin stared, and looked at it over and over again. Go back, said he, young man, to Mr. REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 315 M'llquham, with, my compliments, and tell him he has committed some mistake. ' What ! said the old indignant manufacturer, when that message was communicated to him, " Will Banker Carrick not give me my own money; I've greatly more beside it in his hands see the Bank- book with his own credentials" and the clerk nodded his silent assent : "so, go back instantly, and tell Mr. Carrick from me, that there is no mistake whatsomever, on my part. The gentlemen here are still waiting, so demand the money in big notes." On this fresh, but imperative message, Mr. Carrick got rather sliakey in his chair, and alarmed. There had been an understanding between him and his excellent customer, that when an unusual large supply of money was wanted from the Bank, a day or two's previous notice should be given, in order, as Robin remarked, that the wheels of the Bank might run on smoothly. So Mr. Carrick felt it now necessary to rise from his imperious scat, and to steek the door of his sanc- tum, (lock it up for the time,) and to trudge away over, musing unto himself, to the capacious warehouse of Mr M'llquham. " What's wrong wi' ye the day ?" said the Banker, as he now saluted his customer. " Wrong with me!" said Mr. M'llquham, "Nothing in the least degree wrong wi' me, praise be blest! but I am dumfoundered, and suspect that there's surely something very far wrong with yourself and the Bank; for, my friends, these douce decent gentlemen, sitting ben yonder, have assured me, that in your own premises, and out of your own mouth, you declared you could only afford to give them scrimp ' Twa guineas' for this praiseworthy purpose; and if that be the case, I think it is high time that I should remove some of my deposits out of your hands." This led to a most agreeable result. "Robin," with some reluc- 316 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. tance but he did it scribbled down his name to the subscription paper, at the request of Mr. M'llquham, for the sum of Fifty guineas; and Mr. M'llquham on that, cancelled his cheque for the 10,000, and the gentlemen of the deputation went away amazed, and perfectly delighted with this reception. Mr. M'llquham himself came to be engaged in a famous deputation to London, alongst with Col. Charles Walker, the old grocer in the Gallowgate, and Mr. Thomas Campbell, the Deacon of the Barbers, in Argyle Street, to Mr. Pitt, the Prime Minister of George the Third, in the first French war ; and this deputation was to offer Mr. Pitt, the raising 'of a Regiment of 1000 men in Glas- gow for the immediate service of the King. Mr. Pitt was mightily pleased with this deputation, but somehow or other he could not get his tongue on the proper name of Mr. M'llquham, as used in Glasgow. He saluted him as Mr. Macllkum ; and Mr. Macllkum, for the nonce, was not very well pleased with the misnomer. The soncy Deacon of the Barbers tried to set the Premier right about the pronunciation of his worthy friend's name, but the Eight Honourable Premier stuck fast to the word Macllkum ; while he became much amused with Deacon Campbell's plain, original conversation ; so much so, that when the deputation rose to come away, the Premier, thinking that Mr. Campbell was the greatest man of the lot, took him aside, and offered to introduce him to the King next day> for the honour of being created a knight, if he had no objection. This staggered the deacon, and this was his immediate and ready reply to the Premier : " I am very much obliged to you, Mr. Pitt, for the offer ; I'm very proud of it, indeed ; but I can only accept of it on one condition." " And what pray, is that condition ? '' asked REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 317 Mr. Pitt. " You see, right honourable sir, that I am only Deacon of the Barbers, in Glasgow ; but if you get His Majesty to issue an order in Council, raising the price of shaving, in Glasgow, to science the head, I could have the less objection to accept and meet the dignity.'' Mr. Pitt was convulsed with laughter; and we heard the deacon himself tell the story, in his own shop at the corner of Miller Street, where his brass plate dangled out on its pole. Say not, kind reader, that the trade of a barber is a lowly one. It was then as thriving and respectable as any of the other incorporated trades, and much more ancient than all of them. The surgeons took rank with the glovers, and others of a similar denomination only as barbers. They are mere offshoots of the barbers. Let others sneer at this as they may. Eeturning for a few moments longer to Mr. Carrick. He on another occasion (but we could give many similar droll stories about him,) was waited upon by a rising spruce customer of the Bank, with a batch of bills for discount. They seemed all to pass current, with the exception of one, the largest in amount. Eobin shook his head. " Oh, you need not hesitate about him, Mr. Car- rick," said the proposed discounter, " for he has started, and keeps his carriage." " Ou aye," says Eobin, " but the question wi' me is, can he keep his legs ?" Talking of Banks, and referring as we have done to the old Ship Bank, we may observe, that its great competitor in those days, was the Eoyal Bank, then situated in the lower flat of the cast corner house behind the church in St. Andrew's Square the grandest square then in Glas- gow, where the elite of the citizens had their residence. The Bank of Scotland was at that time located in a brick dwelling-house, up two stairs, in a lane in Queen Street, 318 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. behind Mr. Kirkman Finlay's house, now forming, as we have previously remarked, the site of the spacious pre- mises of the National Bank of Scotland. The British Linen Company Bank, then first beginning to be known in Glasgow, was occupied as the dwelling-house of its worthy agent, old Mr. Wm. M'Gaviu, " the Protestant," as he was called, a little further up, in the same street. Its fine pillars, the prettiest of their kind then seen and admired in Glasgow, are still observable in the same place, smiling almost like an old friend with a new face, to the gorgeous buildings now belonging to the British Linen Company, nearer the Royal Exchange. In regard to the Royal Bank, then in the active but now doleful St. Andrew's Square, there were erected two wooden sentry-boxes on the right and left hand of the entrance to the Bank, for the accommodation of the soldiers on guard, doing duty for the Bank. This was a privilege or distinction, which the Royal Bank alone possessed over all the other banks in Scotland, till within the last quarter of a century. We remember perfectly well of Mr. John More, the early Manager of the Royal, who subscribed all its notes in Glasgow, with his own hand. He lived, some thought, extravagantly, fell behind with his cash, and suddenly lost his situation, to the great grief and dismay of the citizens; for he injured no one, except the Bank itself, who could well stand all his defalcations or misfortunes. Two of the Directors came out suddenly upon him from Edinburgh. They counted his cash, which was first deemed to be all right, from the labelled piles of notes before them. They counted it again, and found some of these piles to be fictitious made up with feigned pieces of paper. He therefore was obliged to fly from Glasgow; and none of his relatives, REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 319 that we are aware of, now remain. But prior to this event, an interesting story may here be told about him, which paved the way for the ultimate success of some of the most eminent firms in the city of Glasgow. He had gone down to " the saut water at Gourock," by the ancient fly-boat, leaving Glasgow on Friday night, or at an early hour on Saturday morning, confidently expecting that he would be back to the Bank before twelve on Monday. Towards the afternoon of that day, the customers of the Bank had congregated in its lobby to a goodly number, impatient, and looking with anxious eyes to every corner of the Square, for the appearance of Mr. More, the mana- ger. No bills could be discounted in his absence, for he had left no authority, and no authority was delegated to others in the Bank at that time to do so. At last, after the St. Andrew's clock (still to the fore,) had struck two, and was approaching to three o'clock, all hopes of seeing the manager that day were grievously diminished or expir- ing. Some customers were actually getting frantic, for they had other bills to meet in other places, and were depending on their wonted discounts in the Eoyal Bank, per Mr. Manager More rarely, if ever absent, till now but the few clerks, then in the Royal, could do no busi- ness of that kind without the manager. In this dilemma, and we heard this from the lips of one of the oldest cus- tomers of the Bank, viz., Mr. Walter Brock, father of the late Henry Brock, who became the first manager and pro- jector of the Clydesdale Bank, Mr. Brock, depending like others, for his necessary supplies in the Royal Bank that day, formed the bold, but happy resolution of going to the house of old Mr. David Dale, in the neighbourhood, who was one of the Directors of the Bank, and in early life its chief agent in Glasgow. He was a most benevo- 320 REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. lent kind-hearted man; and there are a few yet who remember him with veneration and love in this city. Mr. Brock told Mr. Dale his honest artless story, and im- pressed him with the urgent nature of his requests about his bills of genuine value. " Just step awa' back, my dear sir, to the Bank, to Mr. Thing-um-Bob, the account- ant, and tell him from me, to give you the discounts you want." The word of Mr. Brock was as good as his bill or his bonds any day. So the clerks in the Bank relying upon him, gave him the money. Seeing him successful, counting his notes at the bank table " Bless me," said one of the agitated and almost distracted customers, " Bless me, how in all the world, Mr. Brock, have you succeeded in the absence of the manager." " I just went to Mr. Dale." Away, some half-a-dozen of them or more, ran to Mr. Dale's house. He recognised them kindly, and told them just to go back to the bank and tell the clerks " to do the needful." The clerks, however, laying their heads together, rather demurred to the responsibility about to be thrown upon them in this way; and they considered that they should have the written name of Mr. Dale himself on the back of those bills, ere they advanced any cash upon them. The palpitating customers flocked back again to Mr. Dale's house. " I cannot and will not," says he, " put my name on the back of any of these bills, because I have nothing to do with the transactions whether good or bad which they represent. But gentlemen," says he, " as I know you all, I'll not see you at a loss, if I can help it. How many of you may there be in the bank waiting for discounts?" " About a dozen or two." " Very weel, just go back, and I'll follow you in five minutes." And the good man, true to his word, made his appear- ance all quaking, except himself. The clock was on REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 321 the eve of striking three, when the doors of the Bank behoved to be shut. " I see," said Mr. Dale, looking around him, "that you are all douce decent customers; and therefore," said Mr. Dale to the Bank clerks, " you will please discount the whole of these bills on my respon- sibility, and I will give you a line under my hand to that effect." Glad tidings those were, for they saved one or two customers from having their bills dishonoured in other places, if not from utter bankruptcy and ruin ; yet their successors have actually risen to wealth and affluence in this city, for which they may bless David Dale, though they never saw him, and probably never heard of this true story till now. It is not yet closed about him. In a day or two afterwards, he began to reflect and think seriously on what he had done. The amount of those discounted bills was enormous, considering the times. The manager returned, and the figures and the discounts were cast up; but Mr. Dale had afterwards the great satisfaction of telling his friend Mr. Brock, that every one of the bills were paid, plack and penny, promptly and honourably, on the day they fell due. And therefore, does not this part of our Eeminiscence resound to the honour and credit of Glasgow? But we return again, for a few moments longer, to the old Ship Bank, as it s'tood at the corner of Glassford Street. Mr. Michael Rowand transacted the whole of its business, when he became connected with it, at a small fir desk, with a corresponding wooden stool for his seat, nothing like cushions or sofas, or carpets, to be seen in the whole premises, one or two of its rooms were more like the cells of a police-office, than anything else; and the ghost of Robin Carrick might stand petrified, if he beheld now some of the gorgeous furniture of modern 322 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. times. Mr. Rowand in his back shop room it could scarcely be called received and paid away all the money, with the exception of bills payable, the business of which was transacted in another small room to the front, by an old gruff man of the name of Allison, who counted the notes slowly and leisurely, and sometimes twice and thrice over. He would scarcely be tolerated in any banking establishment now-a days. Quick and sharp is the order of the present times. As for Mr. Rowand him- self, he was also slow, but sure. He had about a quire of paper always at his hand. It was called " a blotter," nothing like a fine bound day-book or ledger, was seen near him, excepting those loose sheets of paper pinned together; and as he paid out the money, he lifted the lid of his desk, in which the money lay, placing the roller, which every school-boy knows, erect within, to keep up the lid of that valuable depository, ay, and until he had satisfied himself that the counting of the notes was all right; seeing which, he would remove the roller some- where to his right hand, laying down the lid of his desk cannily, till he quietly entered the transaction in his " blotter/' Of course, these transactions were all care- fully entered in the other books of the Bank. It was the rule of the Bank in those days to close its doors between the hours of twelve and one o'clock, to afford the officials time to look over their forenoon's trans- actions, to see that all was right, and to prepare leisurely for the business of the afternoon. This was what was called the "twal' hours." Precisely at one, the doors of the Bank were again thrown open by John, the old coach- man of Mr. Carrick, for the miser really kept a cranking vehicle of that kind. John also acted as the Bank porter, and by him the doors were again finally closed for the REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. business of the day, exactly at three. That old man, the porter, had also been the sort of butler and faithful ser- vant in other respects, of Mr. Carrick, for the long period of nearly fifty years ; and when the millionaire died, it was confidently expected that poor old John would have been noticed handsomely in his settlement. He left him not a farthing not even the gratuity of one year's wages and all poor coachie got was some old clothes which had been worn almost threadbare by the great Banker, but miserable man, consisting of corduroy breeches, rig-and-fur worsted stockings, old spats, with- out buttons, and one or two old black coats, and shabby hats of the coarsest brim. In the foregoing numerous capacities, old John became a real Glasgow character. He knew every merchant and manufacturer in the city, and could tell all about them, with their kith and kin, to the bargain. He remembered and conversed with the great Virginia lords, when they walked towering in their pride of place, Avith their scarlet mantles, in the Trongate. He had carried in his arms, when he was an infant, the illustrious Sir John Moore, the hero of Corunna, born in this city, to whom Mr. Carrick was distantly related; and poor old John used to tell us many interesting stories about Glasgow matters when we visited him in the Town's Hospital, many years ago, where he was enrolled as a pauper, and died; but he was always polite, and possessed a heart and disposition infinitely more agreeable than that of his great rich worldly master. Those " twal' hours," in particular, were indeed glad moments to old Mr. John Marshall, the accountant of the " Ship ;" for, when he got his summations accomplished, which he generally did in the space of a few minutes, he took staff in hand, and toddled over to Archie Ferguson's 324 1U3MINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. tavern, at the head of the Stockwell, where he spent the remainder of the hour greatly to his heart's content. He had his glass, and sometimes his pint of rum, his lemons, and his limes. No whisky, or at least little of it, was tasted in those days, by the good people of Glasgow all fine Jamaica rum rum punch, and rum toddy, and for many years rum was the great liquor trade in Glasgow. We heard the late Mr. Wallace of Kelly say, that in early life his father derived upwards of 20,000 per annum alone, from his Rum Plantations in Jamaica; but when rum went out of fashion, and whisky became the order of the day, these rum plantations dwindled almost to nothing. But to our tale. On one occasion, but there were many occasions, we think, we see old Accountant Marshall coming statelily erect from Ferguson's tavern to the Bank's head-quarters. It was a summer day. The rum punch had settled in his head. He was fully six feet in his shoes and buckles, his personage lean and spare. He was venerable, however, for his years, and his powdered hair and silken tie, which gracefully curled almost down to the middle of his back, made him a most striking character at that period in Glasgow. His dress was not less remarkable. It may astonish the youths of the present day to be told of it. He had nankeen breeches, for be it observed, nankeen was fashionable for the old as well as the young, in the days of George the Third. Nankeen trousers and nankeen vests and jackets predominated for many seasons, and our aged hero appre- ciated them in his own person. Draped out in his nan- keens, with white silken stockings on his spindle shanks, a white vest, with its flapping outside pockets, which came farther down than we need describe; a dark claret coat, which reached to his heels, while the neck of it for REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 325 thickness might have made a good bolster for any child, and with a proboscis for the largest quantity of snuff, our hero, for he was in truth a quiet man, proceeded to take up his wonted position in the Bank chambers. To do so, he behoved to walk through the dark lobby. He stag- gered to the left side, and held by the wall, and perceiving him in this rather awkward position, one of the young- sters connected with the Bank, offered to guide him to his stool, and in the most affectionate manner, said " Hae, Mr. Marshall, hold your head, and open your mouth, till I put a peppermint lozenger in it, that will keep the smell of the rum from the nose of Robin;" meaning Mr. Carrick. This was not unlike the position of Mr. Samuel Hunter's clerk, already noticed. At that mo- ment, it happened that Robin was keeking out of one of the apartments close at hand, and overheard the corollary. He saw how the land lay, at once. His anger was great. The body of the little man, round and portly as it was, quivered with rage, " You'll no deceive me with your peppermints any longer pre- tending to go for your twal' hours, and coming back in this manner, reeling and stoving with rum, and bringing discredit on yourself and disparagement on the Bank. If you want to slocken your drouth, Mr. Marshall, at twelve o'clock, you must just be contented to step out to the pump-well at the back Court; but never let me see you sooking peppermints, and reeking wi' rum ony mair, in this Bank, at your peril." This finished the " twal' hours." The business of the Bank now went on without interruption, from 10 till 3 o'clock; and in winter days, the great establishment was lighted up with two or three penny candles in tin casements, which were only cleaned once in the week, on Saturday afternoon, after the tallow x 326 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. upon them had gathered till they were no longer pleasant to the eye, nor creditable to the place. It was often alleged that Eobin's coachman was carefully enjoined to collect the stumps of the candles, to grease the wheels of the old miser's carriage, and save him the price of the oil otherwise necessary for that purpose. We ought to state, that the original partners of the Ship Bank at the time referred to, were the aforesaid Robert Carrick, Nicol Brown, Esq., of Waterhaugh, in Ayrshire, and John Buchanan, Esq., of Ardoch, in Dumbartonshire, Mr. Buchanan was a most serviceable, useful, and bene- ficial man to the Bank. He signed all the notes, in the first instance, followed by Mr. Marshall, the account- ant. Mr. Buchanan, at the same time, was member for his native county of Dumbarton, in Parliament. He rebuilt the beautiful old Castle of Balloch, on the banks of Lochlomond, and his daughter married Robert Findlay, Esq., of Easterhill, long one of the most distinguished merchants in Glasgow. He was the first manager, we think, of the National Bank in Glasgow, and his family now enjoy the estate and Castle of Batturich, not far from the other Castle above noticed, which, since the death of old Mr. Buchanan, has passed into other hands. From his position as member of Parliament, he enjoyed the pri- vilege of frartking the letters of the Bank, to the extent of fourteen per diem. This was a great boon ; it saved the Bank some hundreds of pounds per annum, for postages. It was, moreover, regarded as a mighty hon- our. None of the other Banks in Glasgow, rising as they were, to great repute, had a member of Parliament at their back, such as Robin Carrick's Bank could boast of; and it added to the halo of Mr. Buchanan, that he enjoyed the friendship, and was a great favourite of ,the then REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 327 Duke of Montrose, father of the present Duke, whose residence, Buchanan Castle, was not far distant. The old Duke wielded vast political power and influence at that time in Scotland. He was Master of the Horse to- King G.eorge the Third. He also held the same rank under George the Fourth. He was a knight of the most noble order of the Garter; and a clever and sprightly man he was in his day. He had from his position as- Master of the Horse, the privilege then of riding in the King's chariot, and driving with the King's horses,, attended by his Majesty's grooms in royal livery; and therefore when he passed through Glasgow, on his way to- or from London, and tarried at the Star Hotel, in Glass- ford Street, and made a visit to Mr. Buchanan at the Bank, the Glasgow youths of those days who had heard thrillingly of Prince Charlie and the '45, but had never seen Royalty, and had little chance of seeing London, or even crossing the Borders, ran in crowds to behold the royal carriage; and their demeanour was marked with the greatest respect. They invariably touched their hats to their superiors, who acknowledged them in return. The first five shilling piece we ever saw, was put into our hands in the burgh of Dumbarton, by James, Duke of Montrose. A CHAPTER OF LIGHT INCIDENTS. We have now to tell rather a ludicrous, but original story connected with the Ship Bank. There were then no Athenaeum Rooms, no Queen's Hotel, no Royal Exchange, in Glasgow, in those days; but there were Club-houses plenty. One of these was yclept the Smoke, being the Sun Tavern, on the east cor- 328 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. ner of the Stockwell, not far from the Ship Bank ; and this was the favourite haunt of some of the Bank clerks, and others, their companions. The club met at seven of the evening, and when any of them told a wrong story, or committed any mistake, or incurred the censure of the President, he was fined in glasses round to all the com- pany, not exactly the best mode of fining, we should say, but it was a jovial concern. One afternoon, in the month of February, the storm in Glasgow raged furiously. The chimney-stalks, and the cans on the house-tops were tumbling down in all directions. It was a frightful night; but the club met as usual. One of the truest and raciest of its members, was Mr. James Harvie, (from Greenock) who had the finest haberdashery shop at that time in the Trongate. He was polite, well educated, well informed, and clever; his wit was of the first order, and no man ever sat in his company for ten minutes, without being instructed and charmed by him. The famous Mr. John Douglas, whom Blackwood called " the Glasgow Gander," never had any chance with him at all. It was a rich treat to see those gentlemen pitted against each other in the wit line. On this raging stormy even- ing, Mr. Harvie was nearly an hour beyond his usual time of arrival at the club. At last, he entered. The chairman, Mr. John Birkmyre, (originally from Port-Glasgow) salu- ted him. " Come away, Mr. Harvie, we were wearying for you, and your cracks ; but we are glad to see you this terrible night. What news do you bring ?" " News," said Harvie, putting on his gravest face. " It's indeed a terrible night, the EN (laying peculiar emphasis on the word), the EN of the Ship Bank's blown down." " Gude preserve us," exclaimed George Lothian, one of the chief clerks of the Bank, sitting comfortably with his tumbler, REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 329 and starting to his legs, " that's most awful news;" and he fled out of the room, followed by two or three others, upsetting hats, great-coats, umbrellas, &c., to see the ruins ! They returned to the club in a few minutes, dripping with rain, but burning with rage and indigna- tion. "Now, Harvie," says Lothian, the bank-clerk, shaking his fist at him, " You are an infernal liar!" "What's that you say?" said Harvie, with the greatest composure. Lothian repeated his excessive strong expres- sion. " Now," says Harvie, " you are either blind, Mr. George Lothian, or have taken too much toddy, or have gone to the wrong place, otherwise you would have seen that what I said was true ; for I repeat again, in the pre- sence of this company, that the ' EN' of the Ship Bank is positively blown down. Sir, you have called me a liar ; but ere this club breaks up this night, you shall retract that rash expression, and apologise to me, otherwise I shall pistol you to-morrow morning." Addressing the chairman " Now, Mr. Chairman, if you will have the goodness, stormy as the night is, to put on your cloak, and go out with me for five minutes, I will satisfy you that my statement is correct, or you may fine me, or eject me from the club, as you please." They went out accordingly, they glanced and they glowered. " There,, now," says Harvie, " don't you see it ? Look there"- pointing with his finger " don't you sec that ?" and he touched the place above the Bank front door, where the letters or signboard of the Bank had been indented. O Those letters were carved out, or rather stuck in by some cement, upon the wall; but the storm that night had been particularly fierce on the letter " N," and had blown it out of its ancient place, as Harvie had noticed, when he was passing on to the club. ""Well now," says he, 330 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. " didn't I tell you truly that the ' EN' of the Ship Bank's blown down ?" Eough as the night was, they could not resist the ready laughter at the clever ruse. Lothian enjoyed it himself; he apologised to Harvie, and was fined in glasses round to all the company the chairman giving this appropriate sentiment, viz., " May we always be happy, but never rash in any of our sayings or doings." But our friend Lothian soon came to have his revenge on friend Harvie. The latter gentleman had realised from his business a sufficient competency a comfortable fortune certainly, for any batchelor. Indeed, he never liked the haberdashery business. It was not suited to his taste at all ; so he resolved to relinquish it, to sell off his rich stock, and enjoy his otium cum dignitate. For that purpose, he put printed placards in his grand shop- windows, headed with the following words : DECLINING BUSINESS. " Mr. Harvie respectfully begs leave to inform his friends and customers, the ladies and gentlemen of Glas- gow" and so forth. George Lothian, with some other wag, stepped into Mr. Harvie's shop early one morning, when Mr. Harvie of course was absent, and with a painter's brush, soon inserted the letter "A;" so that the grand placard was made to appear and read as follows : "A DECLINING BUSINESS." "Gudesake," said the braw ladies, peeping into the haber- dasher's windows, " is Mr. Harvie really failing in his business." Others put the construction on it that the business was fast sinking, in a rapid decline ; and so the titter-tatter ran through the city about the unfortunate REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 331 condition of the elegant and accomplished James Harvie. He could not for a couple of days understand how the crowd was gathering around some laughing outright in his face some shaking their heads with rueful counten- ances, till at last he sallied out and beheld his own bills transmogrified in the above fashion. He soon shut up shop, but a sad misfortune overtook him in Jamaica Street. He fell on his own stairs, and fractured his skull ; but his wit never forsook him to the last; for when some of his friends were calling to see him, and one of them was making the excuse that he could not remain longer, because he was busy, and it was the rent-day (Whitsunday.) "Yes," said Harvie, " I've got my wrent (rent) here," pointing to his wounded head, " and it's the last I shall ever get." In addition to the Smoke, or the Sun Tavern, already mentioned, there was another one, where the quid nuncs of the city enjoyed their "twal' hours," and other things, to great perfection, viz., the Prince of Wales' Tavern, then in Wilson Street, the very spot whereon the Sheriffs' Chambers, in the County Buildings, are erected. It was while sitting at a jovial party in that tavern, on the 5th of August, 1810, as we heard the late Mr. Stevenson Dalglish describe, how the master of the establishment rushed in to announce that Nelson's monument, on the Green of Glasgow, had been shattered by a tremendous storm of thunder and lightning ; and the monument was only repaired or reconstructed a few years ago. This gives us the opportunity to remark, that we have in our possession some of the original papers about the early erection of the monument, as also the one to the illustri- ous Sir John Moore, in St. George's Square; but we are preserving them for another occasion, if we are spared to overtake it. 332 REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. FORGED BANK NOTES AND THE LAST EXECUTION FOR FORGERY IN GLASGOW. The passing of Forged Bank Notes was carried on to a great extent in Glasgow and its neighbourhood, fifty years ago. In particular, the Guinea notes of the old Greenock Bank, now swallowed up by the disaster of the Western Bank; and the Guinea notes of the Glasgow Ship Bank, now merged with several other banks in the great " Union Bank of Scotland/' of whose original for- mation in Glasgow, and some singular circumstances about it, we perfectly remember, but the time has not yet come for speaking thereanent ; and although Guinea notes of any bank are not to be seen now, there cannot be the smallest doubt, that they were the chief mediums of circulation in the West of Scotland, within the last 40 years. Golden guineas, and guinea notes, were the great emblems of currency, long before the One Pound notes; and the gold sovereign came into operation in a subse- quent reign. The forgery of the Ship Guinea notes, and the forgery of the Greenock Guinea notes about the same time, gave great annoyance and mortification to Messrs. Carrick, Brown, & Co., of the Ship ; and to George Eobertson and James Hunter, partners of the Greenock, and old Mr. Alex. Thomson, their manager, at Greenock, who, we un- derstand, still survives in a green old age. His subscrip- tion was considered at the time, to be more elegant than that of any other Bank manager in Scotland. It hap- pened that there was a most active messenger-at-arms at that period in Glasgow, viz., Mr. James M'Crone; and in the year 1809, he was specially employed by the above Banks to ferret out the Forgers, if possible ; but above all REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 333 things, to secure the forged plates. For that purpose, he went to Ireland, with some of the Bank clerks, having reason to believe that the forgeries were actually perpe- trated in Ireland, and chiefly in the town of Belfast, from whence the notes were easily brought, and disposed of in Scotland. Mr. M'Crone captured, as he supposed, some of the gang in Belfast, but they deforced and nearly murdered him; and he was obliged to return home to Glasgow without effecting the object of his journey. His activity, however, and courageous conduct on the occa- sion, attracted the notice of the then Duke of Athole, the great-grandfather of the present Duke, to whom the whole great Island of Man then belonged. His Grace in going to that Island, as he often did in the summer months, took up his quarters, in the first stage of his journey, in the Black Bull Inn, Glasgow, where he would rest " till the weather cleared up," when he would take his passage in the Isle of Man smack, moored at the Broomielaw, for the special conveyance of his Grace and retinue to the Island; or sometimes the smack would "heave-to" at Greenock, waiting for his Grace. The idea of a steam- boat going from Glasgow to the Isle of Man, was never dreamt of in those days. The Duke, therefore, had time to ruminate on Mr. James M'Crone's activity in Glasgow; and as the population of the Island of Man was then becoming great, and rather troublesome to his Grace; and his rents or tithes not very well collected in some parts of the Island, he sent for Mr. M 'Crone, and soon engaged him to go to the Island of Man there to take up his permanent residence, and act as the Duke's Commissioner for the whole Island. Government bought up the Island from the Duke's representatives at an enormous price, some time afterwards; and Mr. M'Crone died rather in a 334 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. tragical way, we think, but he left his family well pro- vided for. The appearance, however, of Mr. M'Crone in Belfast, on the mission first above referred to, though not success- ' O ful in his own hands, had the effect for two or three years of stopping the supply of forged notes in Glasgow. But they made their appearance again most profusely in Glasgow and its neighbourhood towards the beginning of the year 1817. They became rife in Glasgow at that time, and people fingered and thumbed, and plodded, and examined, and re-examined every Bank-note, before they would accept it or give back the change for it. This greatly increased the annoyance in some of the Banks. One day early in the spring of that year, there came into the old Ferry-house at Govan, two genteel-looking men, and asked for a bottle of porter, which was at once supplied to them by the servant-girl in charge. One of them took out a goodly bunch of notes from his pockets, and asked for the change of one, to pay the reckoning, which amounted to a silver sixpence. The servant-girl counted down to him the remaining change, which they pocketed, and went away, crossing the ferry to the Par- tick side of the Kelvin, where they soon arrived in safety. In a few minutes afterwards, the ferryman himself entered Ms house, and the servant-girl gave him the note. It was a Guinea-note of the Greenock Bank; and pretty notes those were ; some of them were double notes, repre- senting two guineas on the same paper. The ferryman "began to entertain his doubts about the note. He showed it to a neighbour, who doubted with him. They then resolved to put the ferry-boat into imm.ediate trim, and to sail in quest of the two men who had passed the note, in the simple way above stated. They soon espied, and REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 335 tracked them near to Clayslaps, on the road from Glasgow to Partick. Instead of stopping to see what was the matter, they took to their heels and ran, as fast as their legs could carry them ; but the ferryman nimbler than they, overtook and caught them. They then offered him a real genuine guinea-note of the Thistle Bank, Glasgow, a great bank once in its day, but it is merged now with others; and they also offered to give the ferryman five shillings to himself for his trouble, if he would only let them go; but he held by his grip till he was joined by some Glasgow gentlemen walking on the road; and the two prisoners were marched off to the Glasgow police- office, in Albion Street, there was no such thing as a Station-office at that time, in or around Glasgow. The names of those two prisoners were James O'Neill, and William M'Kay, alias M'Coy, natives of Ireland. They were soon indicted for forgery. The Greenock Bank was determined to make an example of them ; and it cost that bank many hundreds of genuine notes to do so. All the banks indeed, were interested in the result; and the Bank of England itself, whose one pound notes were then also forged and circulated to a large extent about that period, paid great attention to this particular Glasgow case. Their agent in Edinburgh, was Mr. James Gibson, after- wards Sir James Gibson-Craig, Bart., his firm was then Gibson, Christie, & Wardlaw, W.S., he revised the indict- ment, and consulted the Crown Counsel about it. The indictment itself was prepared by Henry Home Drum- mond, Esq., afterwards M.P. for Perthshire, and father-in- law of the late Duke of Athole. He took great pains with the case, and pled it ably against the prisoners, as Advocate-Depute in Glasgow, at the Assizes, 25th April, 1817. We remember the trial perfectly, for we were 336 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. present during the whole of it. The Judges were, Lords Herinand and Gillies. The case was duly called. Mr. James M'Crone, the Glasgow messenger-at-arms above referred to, was brought from the Isle of Man. He clearly identified M'Kay or M'Coy, as one of the parties who had deforced him in Belfast. The other evidence consisted of what we have already narrated. We have gone into those particulars, and dwelt on this case, because we hesitate not to say, it was the direct means of bringing into notice, for the first time in Glas- gow, a very remarkable man, who has risen to the highest pinnacle of fame and judicial power in Scotland, viz., the Right Hon. Duncan M'Neill, the present Lord Presi- dent of the Supreme Courts; and we are very hopeful that his Lordship will not be offended at this notice, if he comes to see it at any time. He made a very powerful address to the Jury on behalf of the prisoners, which ri vetted the attention of every one in the crowded Court; and he broke out into a strain of most impassioned elo- quence towards the close of his address. He snatched up the puny tattered labelled note from the table, and twisting it in his hand, he asked the Jury whether they would take away the life of his unfortunate client for such a rag? Old Hugh M'Lachlan, writer, of Messrs. M'Pherson & M'Lachlan, one of the most shrewd, respectable, and experienced agents, at that time in Glasgow it was in his office that the late Mr. Sheriff Steele, and the present Mr. Sheriff Strathern, besides many others, were reared happened to be in Court during the whole of Mr. JM'NeiU's address ; and after it was finished, we heard him utter these words " TJiat's a splendid speech; that young man will rise in his profession ;" and we believe it is the REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 337 fact, that he soon adopted Mr. Duncan M'Neill as his junior in the Court of Session, and afterwards made him his senior counsel in all the numerous cases, not merely of Messrs. M'Pherson, M'Lachlan, & Steel, but he became the favourite counsel of the majority of other agents in Glasgow, in consequence of the first powerful impression he made in Glasgow in that case. But old Lord Gillies, with the sanction of the oldei Lord Hermand, soon took up the sledge-hammer, if wo may so speak, and demolished the eloquent and impas- sioned speech of the young Counsel, in so far as the letter of the law, or the Court and Jury, were concerned. The Jury, without retiring from their box an ugly ill-con- trived place it was acquitted O'Neill, who had not been identified at Belfast ; but they unanimously found M'Kay guilty of uttering the note, knowing it to be forged. The Advocate-Depute, Mr. Henry Home Drummond, then craved the judgment of the Court against M'Kay. Lord Hermand proposed DEATH. Lord Gillies solemnly sentenced him to be executed in Glasgow, on the 28th of May, between the hours of two and four of the afternoon. The prisoner on being called to stand up and hear the sentence read, earnestly begged that their Lordships would have mercy on him, and transport him for life, as he had only uttered the one solitary note proved against him, His plea was disregarded, he was executed at the time fixed. Other two unhappy men were left for execution at these same assizes in Glasgow, but they were respited In narrating the execution of M'Kay, the papers of the day stated " He was a fine looking man, with an intelli- gent countenance, about five feet nine inches high, and 338 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. well-proportioned; and was about thirty-one years of age. He struggled very much, for a minute or two, throwing his limbs in every direction. A strong detach- ment of the 40th Eegiment was employed as guard." Who can look back on some of those details, without horror? But, blessed be God, this was the last execution for forged notes in Glasgow. We have to relate a famous Bank robbery affair, and another Bank case to give, full of much greater interest than the above, and rather diverting ; but we must take a fresh peep at some of our old papers, which we have sometimes been almost tempted to throw into the fire; and we dare say, there are some people " still to the fore," who would like very much that fire and brimstone could yet overtake them, before we put them on record, " But fraud must be shamed, And cant and craft must fly, And Truth stand forth. To meet the public eye !" AN EXTRAORDINARY BANK TRIAL IN GLASGOW- AMUSING SCENE. Brushing the cobwebs away from some of our own legitimate papers of the " olden time," and shutting our eyes from the execution of poor M'Kay, above alluded to r we now come to give the particulars of a trial, which will probably divert the attention of our readers, or amuse them with livelier interest." We have, as already hinted, some other remarkable trials to give ; but this one comes rather pert on the Ship Bank affairs, and probably there are some yet alive, who may remember it well. We can vouch for the truth of its salient points, for we were wit- ness to most of it. REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 339 Forty years ago, one evening towards the end of the month of October, 1821, there came into the Eagle Inn, Maxwell Street, then a sprightly place, much frequented by the nobility and gentry of the West of Scotland, but now sadly dejected, a dashing sort of a gentleman, dressed in black, with his left arm apparently resting on a silken string across his breast, and his head finely powdered, as was the case with many of the nobility and gentry in those days. He announced himself as Sir Thomas Mait- land, Baronet, Admiral of the Eoyal Navy; and he requested a suite of apartments, saying, that his valet would arrive from Greenock with his luggage on the fol- lowing day. Mr. Boniface of the Hotel, viz., the late Mr. Daniel M'Lean, who retired from it with a goodly fortune many years ago, as did also his successor, Mr. James Eraser, was too glad to receive such a distin- guished visitor, " Down to the ground, He bowed profound." And in the course of the evening, after participating in the good things of this life, which the Eagle bountifully supplied, the Admiral gave orders that a hair-dresser should be brought to shave and powder him pretty early on the following morning, breakfast to be ready pre- cisely at nine, and that the very best carriage and handsome pair of horses in the stable-yard, should be brought to the front door of the Hotel, at eleven o'clock, to drive him through the city, &c., &c. Accordingly, not contented with any ordinary barber, Mr. M'Lean of the Hotel, went himself and engaged Mr. Kitchie, the portly deacon of the barbers, to come, and with his own exalted hands to shave and dress his Excellency, the Admiral; for the whilk, the deacon was handsomely rewarded on the 340 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. spot, with five shillings sterling, in place of sixpence, the lawful and usual charge. The breakfast to the Admiral was served up in perfection every delicacy was there: and Mr. Boniface and his waiters afterwards declared that it might have whetted the appetite of his Royal Highness, the Prince Regent. At eleven o'clock, the carriage, was called according to order. It drew up at the front door of the Eagle. The handsome postilion with his light blue silken jacket, and several rows of bright yellow buttons thereon his velvet cap embroidered with tassels and lace his tight buckskin leather breeches and polished boots with silver spurs at the heels, &c., plainly indicated to the passers-by, that no small charac- ter was emerging from the Eagle. Mr. Boniface, the master of the Inn, was standing erect at his door unco- vered. His chief waiter at his side, ready to mount the dickey of the carriage, and act as valet or guide to the Admiral, as was arranged in his projected tour that forenoon through the city; and in answer to inquisitive questions, sometimes naturally enough put by inquisi- tive observers, Mr. Boniface whispered to some of them that this was " His Excellency Sir Thomas Maitland, Admiral of the British Fleet, and Governor of the Ionian Islands, just arrived from Malta." They quickly took off their hats, and stood uncovered; and as he entered the carriage and it rolled along, they gave him a loud and hearty cheer, which he politely acknowledged. The iirst place of his destination was to the Eoyal Bank, then in Queen Street, which we have previously described. Old Mr. John Thomson, who died recently in Edinburgh, after his severe struggles with the ill-fated Edinburgh and Glasgow Joint-Stock Bank, was at the above period the sole Manager of the Royal, in Glasgow. Our hero, the REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 311 Admiral, for such we may now call him, equipped in the above style, soon made his way into the interior of the Bank, and with the greatest coolness introduced himself to the manager, and presented to him a draft for 90 on his alleged Bankers in London, the well-known Messrs. Smith, Payne, & Smith, requesting to be furnished with the ready cash for it. Mr. Thomson was rather surprised at the moment with such an unexpected and distin- guished visitor; but after putting some questions to the Admiral, he soon smelt a rat, as the saying is. There was, be it observed, a real Sir Thomas Maitland, then in existence. He was brother of the Earl of Lauderdale, and truly Governor of the Ionian Islands. Mr. Thomson, with some civility, remarked to the Admiral, that he understood some connections of. the Maitland or Lauder- dale family, kept an account with the Thistle Bank, in Virginia Street; and therefore that the Admiral had bet- ter go with his draft for the 90 to that place. Nothing daunted, but rather encouraged, it would seem, with this reception, away the Admiral drove in his carnage to the good old Thistle Bank, which bank, we may observe, afterwards amalgamated with Mr. Dennistoun's Glasgow Bank, which is, with several other banks, now incorporated with the Union Bank of Scotland. Mr. Richard Duncan, or rather in his absence, Mr. Robert M'Nair of the Thistle Bank a shrewd active man, recently dead, who had as one of his colleagues in the bank, Mr. James Watson, then u young active gentleman, and now one of the revered members of the Town Council of Glasgow and we wish all members of our City Council, present or future, could refer to their apprenticeships in early life, so creditably as Mr. Watson may well do. Mr. M'Nair (and we heard this from himself many years ago,) was Y 342 KEMDriSCESefiM OF GLASGOW. much taken up with the appearance of " the Admiral," and he eyed him from head to foot; but without casting any doubt on his credentials, civilly told him, " it was not convenient at that time of the day to cash the Lon- don draft" a mode of excuse which Mr. Carrick of the Ship Bank invariably used to any of his dubious visitors who came to him with their drafts. Nothing daunted with this second refusal, away our hero drives to the next Bank at hand, namely, the Ship Bank itself, not many yards distant. The sough soon ran in that bank, fortu- nately for the Admiral and his purpose at the time, and it reached the ears of Mr. Michael Eowand, sitting methodically in his quiet inner chamber, that Admiral the Hon. Sir Thos. Maitland, Bart., had arrived near the front entrance of the Bank, and was stepping out from his carriage to do business within its walls. Mr. Eowand with some trepidation, but much civility, towards an Admiral, who was indeed a rare customer for any local bank in those days, as probably he is still, came forward and saluted the Admiral, that is, the banker lifted his hat from the crown of his head towards him rarely done to any quiet honest customer in modern times ; but still we are glad to say, that there are some bankers in our city contradistinguished from others, that can do the agreeable when necessary, " Worth, makes the man, The want of it the fellow, And all the rest is leather and prunella." Mr. Eowand, our old friend, for he was truly an old friend in many ways, had a rigid rule never to discount bills to any individual, however eminent he might pre- tend to be, without having an introduction from some known customer. " Did Sir Thomas know any Glasgow REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 343 gentleman, or could he refer to some one for inquiry?" " yes," replied the Admiral, " I know the Rev. Dr. M'Lean of the Gorbals." " Very good," says Mr. Rowand. " Then, if you please to take the trouble and drive across in your carriage by the Stockwell Bridge, and just get the Doctor to put down his name on the back of the draft, you will get the money on your return, with much plea- sure." Away the Admiral rattled in his carriage to the Gorbals, and rapped at the door of the Kirk Session- house, in Buchan Street. He knew very well that nobody was there at the time; so he ordered the horses of the carriage to be wheeled round, and take him to the Wheat Sheaf Tavern, in the neighbourhood, kept by Mrs. Paterson, and a famous tavern it long was in that part of Glasgow. The old sign of it may be seen on the same spot to this day ; at least we eyed it with some pleasure, a few days ago. One of the best and most original lhist clubs of Glasgow exercised its dominion in that place for nearly a century; and from its windows in a fine calm summer evening, we have seen the salmon fry leaping in myriads, where now there is nothing but sludge and filth, and thousands of pounds expended to remove what is called the gurgling " weir." On getting into the Wheat Sheaf, the Admiral called for brandy and water, pen, ink, and paper, and these being supplied to him, and the reckoning paid, he stepped once more into his car- riage, bound for the Ship Bank, where with the greatest politeness he soon presented his draft de novo, with the name of the Rev. Dr. M'Lean of Gorbals, purporting to be endorsed upon it. Mr. Rowand soon gave him the money, minus the discount, in the most agreeable way imaginable for both parties at the time, insomuch, that Mr. Rowand escorted the Admiral to his carriage at the 344 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. front door of the Bank, where gaping crowds were again waiting to behold that high and mighty personage ; and away he was driven in hot haste, and amidst loud cheers to the Eagle Inn, where he was, of course, most graciously received by Mr. Boniface, to whom, without an hour's delay, he graciously tendered a braw new 5 note of the Ship Bank, and ordered a sumptuous dinner to be ready for two or three gallant friends, whom he said he expected to arrive at half-past four o'clock in the afternoon, that being the then fashionable hour of dining in Glasgow. He went out, he said, to make a few other " shoppings." The dinner was, of course, prepared " piping hot ;" but to that Inn the bold Admiral never returned. During the course of that same afternoon, Mr. John Buchanan a keen sharp-eyed clerk of the bank, not the director of the same name but a lean lank personage, entirely in the confidence of the bank, while making up his London despatches, anent the discounted bills, as it was his especial duty to do, was much dumfoundered or perplexed by the appearance of the draft for 90, dis- counted that day for the Admiral. It was, he thought, queerly written, and not at all accurately expressed, as coming from the pen of any Admiral. Some of the words indeed were grossly mis-spelt, as we shall show afterwards. Therefore an immediate consultation was held in the Bank parlour as to whether this could be a genuine draft or not from Admiral Sir Thomas Maitland. Mr. Thomas Falconer, the then well-known crusty, but legal scribe in Glasgow, connected with the bank, who was, besides, Commissariat Judge Advocate -Depute of Glas- gow, and had all the ingredients about him of his client, Kobert Carrick, Esq., was expeditiously brought from his office, at the head of the Stockwell, to advise in the momen- REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 345 tous matter of this consultation. He said it was as plain " as a pig-staff," that there was something fundamentally wrong on the very face of the draft itself; and at his suggestion, Dr. M'Lean of the Gorbals was soon visited by another clerk from the bank The Doctor looked at the draft with some amazement. He said he really had not the honour of knowing in any manner of way such a distinguished personage as the Admiral; therefore the name on back of the discounted draft was not his. It was a forgery. On this discovery, all the beagles of the law then in Glasgow, were speedily engaged to go in quest of the delinquent Admiral, now called the " arrant impostor." Every inn and tavern in the city were searched for information about him ; at last it was dis- covered that he had gone into the house of one Mrs. Cullen, who kept lodgers at the Broomielaw, where he had his head washed or displenished of the fine scented hair-powder put upon it by Deacon Ritchie ; and that after some other adjustments, he had sailed in the High- land steamer that afternoon from the Broomielaw, bound through the Caledonian Canal, for Inverness. He was pursued thither, and actually caught in one of the links of the canal, then coming for the first time into travelling repute in Scotland, and brought back handcuffed, as a prisoner to Glasgow, and examined and interrogated in presence of Laurence Craigie, Jun., Esq., one of the Magistrates of the city, on the 4th February, 1822. In his declaration, he confessed that his real name was Donald Davidson that he was not an Admiral at all of the British Navy; and never was, and never expected to be one, but that he was a discharged soldier, or sergeant of the Rifle Brigade that he had lost his left arm in battle, at the siege of Badajos, under Wellington: 346 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. and that he also fought and had a medal for the battle of Waterloo. His story was rich and interesting in many points, so far as it then appeared to be. Under the above plain name of Donald Davidson, he was capitally indicted to stand his trial for Forgery, at the Glasgow Assizes, in April, 1822. The indictment against him was prepared by a young rising Counsel of that day, viz., Mr. John Hope, Advocate-Depute, son of the then Lord President, Charles Hope ; and that young Counsel so often referred to, became afterwards Solicitor- General, and Lord Justice-Clerk of Scotland. We have an original copy of the indictment before us. It runs as follows: Donald Davidson, present prisoner in the Tolbooth of Glasgow, you are indicted and accused at the instance of Sir William Rae of St. Catherine's, Baronet, his Majesty's Advocate, for his Majesty's interest, that albeit by the laws of this and every other well-governed realm, falsehood, forgery, and wilful imposition, are crimes of an heinous nature, and severely punishable. Yet true it is, and of verity, that you the said Donald Davidson, are guilty of the said grimes, (passing over some of the other legal phraseology) in so far, as you did on the 30th day of October, 1821, feloniously write or fabricate, a bill or note, bearing to be drawn by Sir Thomas Maitland, Baronet, K.C.B., therein designed, Admiral, Royal Navy, for .90 sterling, conceived in the following or similar terms : nn o,, v GLASGOW. 30th October, 1821. 90 Sterling. At seight (sic orig) pay to me or my order the Sum of Ninty (sic orig) Pounds Sterling, which place to the debeit of my accounct. (Signed,) THOMAS MAITLAND, Baronet, K.O.B., Admiral, Royal Navy. And addressed to ;t Smith, Payne, & Smith, Bankers, George Street, Mansion-House, London," intending the said words to pass for, and be received as the genuine subscription of the Honourable and Right Honourable Sir Thomas Maitland, Knight Grand Cross of the Order REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 347 of the Bath, Lieutenant-General in the British Army, and presently his Majesty's, Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands and Governor of Malta; and also the words, "James M'Lean, D.D., Minister, Gorbals of Glasgow," as the signature of an indorser or cautioner for payment of the said bill, &c., &c. This trial of the reputed Admiral, with other trials at the same assizes, which we shall shortly refer to, created uncommon interest in Glasgow at that period. The Earl of Lauderdale, his son Lord Maitland, Lord Douglas of Bothwell Castle, and others, sat upon the Bench. After the examination of some official witnesses, Mr. Eowand, the chief witness, was called, and appeared with due solemnity in the box. Our own treat from our own original notes is now to come. The prisoner's counsel, we may here state, was Mr. Alexander Earl Monteith, Advocate, a young Glasgow gentleman, born in Glasgow, and connected with the Monteiths of Anderston, and Carstairs, &c. We knew him very well; but we had the misfortune, we confess, at an after period, to quarrel with him about some Free Church matters, which should be buried in oblivion for better things. Mr. Monteith lived to become the Sheriff-Depute of the kingdom of Fife, as it has been designated, but all his judgments were marked with equity and good feeling. Our learned friend, Mr. Monteith, on the above occasion, was full of spirit. He had rather a swaggering gait about him; but he was always well-fortified in his facts, and concise in his language, whether he had the ear of the Court or not in his favour. When the chief examination of Mr. Kowand on the part of the Crown was finished, Mr. Monteith, after a mutual exchange of Glasgow civili- ties, began to cross-question him nearly as follows : Monteith Now, with all respect for you, Mr. Rowand, 348 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. can you upon your oath, take it upon you to swear that the prisoner at the bar is the man who did those things? Rowand Kather puzzled, but looking earnestly at the prisoner, sitting in the dock with two sheriff-officers on each side of him. % Macer of the Court Stand up, Sir Thomas, to be identified. (Here the laughter began.) Sheriff-officer Smiting the prisoner on his shoulders with their batons Will ye no stand up, sir, to be iden- tified by the decent witness? (The prisoner stoically kept his seat.) Macer addressing their Lordships He'll no rise, my Lords. Lord Succoth (to prisoner) Stand up, sir; and obey the orders of this High Court. Prisoner rose, and then politely bowed to the Bench, and saluted with his hand to his head, like a well- trained soldier to his commanding-officer. (The audience who had now a good view of the prisoner, became greatly amused and interested.) Prisoner's Counsel (Monteith) Now, Mr. Eowand, examine the prisoner well, from head to foot. (A pause.) Can you really swear to him? Mr. Rowand He wants, you see, the powdered hair. (Laughter.) Advocate-Depute Oh, we all see that perfectly well, I should think. (Renewed laughter.) Mr. Rowand He wants also, I may remark, the bushy black whiskers down to his chin. (Roars of laugh- ter.) (The prisoner, we may observe, had taken the precau- tion to have his head shaved, and his whiskers entirely removed before trial.) REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 340 Macer Silence in the Court ! The Court, however, was convulsed with this interlude, and silence was not so easily obtained. Lord Succoih Silence, I say silence, I command; else the Court must be entirely cleared. A dead pause occurred on that threat. Cross-examination resumed by Monteitli You say r Mr. Eowand, that the prisoner counted the notes when you gave them to him at the Bank counter. Now, sir, how could he count the notes when he wants the arm ? Witness (puzzled) I did not know that. (Sensation.) Prisoner s Counsel Now, step down again, sir, from the box where you stand, and review the Lieutenant- General at the bar, where he sits. (Roars of laughter, in which the prisoner himself heartily joined.) Macer Silence in the Court ! (It was impossible, however, to suppress the loud guffaws, as Mr. Eowand stood eyeing the prisoner, and handling the stump of his left arm.) Advocate-Depute (restraining himself, but scarcely able to do it, and putting on an air of great gravity as Mr. Rowand re-entered his box) Have you any doubt, sir, in your own mind at this moment, that the prisoner at the bar is the man you saw and identified in the Fiscal's office? Witness I think he is; but he is greatly altered in his appearance. (Laughter.) Prisoners Counsel And this is the man described in the indictment, (gravely reading it) as the Honourable and Right Honourable Sir Thomas Maitland, Knight Grand Cross of the Bath, Lieutenant-General in the British Army, and presently his Majesty's Commissioner of the Ionian Islands, and Governor of Malta ? (Shouts of laughter, the prisoner himself again joining.) 350 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Lord Succotli (scowlingly to prisoner) Sir, this is no laughing matter for you, at any rate, as you may proba- bly find, by-and-by. The titter-tatter, nevertheless, continued. Macer Silence; I again say, in the Court. Will ye no keep silence there, if you please; you, in that side- gallery? (where some ladies were sitting and enjoying the scene.) Prisoners Counsel (again with considerable gravity) Am I correct, Mr. Eowand, in stating, that you went out from the Bank, and saw the prisoner to his carriage at the door, bound for the Eagle Inn ? Witness I did see him to the door. (Great laughter.) Prisoner's Counsel And after seeing him to the door, did you cordially shake him by the hand, and wish him great success back again to the Ionian Islands, he having at that time your 90 in his pocket ? Witness Exactly so. Prisoner's Counsel I have no more questions, my Lord. Witness retired. As he left the Court, making his way through the crowded passage, he landed in the room to the right, wherein the meeting of the Magistrates and Town Coun- cil were wont to be held. He sat down on one of the old-fashioned mahogany chairs relics they still are in that place of the 1715 and 1745 wiping his otherwise pleasing face from the drops of perspiration that were then exhausting him. Dr. Cleland, the City Chamber- lain, stepped forward, and saluted him, and offered him a glass of Madeira, or of Burgundy; or a " cold caulker," as he called it, of Brandy. The Banker would have none of those liquids, A drink of cold water, muddy though EEMINTSCENCES OF GLASGOW. 351 ifc was, from the Dalmarnoek or Cranstonhill pipes, was all he desired; and he got it from one or other of those establishments, for they were then the only water- works of their kind in Glasgow. Loch Katrine, now in its zenith, was never dreamt of, and scarcely anticipated by any human being in Glasgow, any more than the waters of the distant Jordan in those days, for the benefit and refreshment of the pure descendants of St. Mungo. We could almost stop here, and give a real genuine water toast; but we have a most dreaded execution on hand. Mr. Eowand, after recovering himself somewhat from his long examination, and felicitating himself on the kind ana. acceptable services of Dr. Cleland, the City Chamberlain, made this frank confession " Bless me, dear Doctor, I would not for the best 100 note of the Ship Bank, have been badgered and squeezed in this way. Will they HANG him, do you think?" Chamberlain Indeed, Mr. Eowand, I don't know; but it looks very like a hanging case at present. Eeturning to the crowded Court, Lord Succoth is charging the Jury in his rani-stam-and-jump way, furi- ously against the Admiral, who is now rather calm and collected. The Jury speedily found him guilty as libelled; and, according to our notes, the following occurred : Mr. Hope, the Advocate-Depute, craved judgment. Lord Meadowbank, addressing his learned brother on the bench, remarked, that the panel had had a fair trial ; and that in a commercial country like this, forgery, espe- cially in the manner it was here committed, could not be forgiven. Some legislators had promulgated the vision- ary idea of extending mercy to persons guilty of the crime ; but his Lordship desired it to be understood that that was not the opinion of his learned brother or him- 352 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. self. Therefore, the panel was sentenced to be executed on the 29th day of May, 1822. That sentence to his great credit be it said filled the mind of Mr. Rowand with horror. He could not rest day or night about it; and with the great influence the Bank possessed, he importuned his friend and partner, Mr. Buchanan of Ardoch, M.P., and that gentleman got his friend, the Duke of Montrose, to intercede with the Government for Donald, the pseudo- Admiral ; so there came a respite from George the Third, and the sen- tence of death was commuted to transportation for life. Nothing, for some time afterwards, created so much catchination, or annoyed the worthy Banker and the whole establishment of the Ship Bank so much, as to be asked, whether any of the Admiral's bills were at a premium ? or how the clever rogue, their dis- tinguished customer, was getting on at Botany Bay 1 ? No Bank, certainly, had any customers exactly like him in Glasgow; yet in process of time, other banks, and especially the Western Bank of Scotland, had far greater and much more reprehensible customers than Donald Davidson, without any indictment hanging over their guilty heads. But in addition to the above case at that Circuit, there were others of a varied and remarkable kind. Let us sketch a few of them. Thus, there was the case of David Rankine, a young boy of about sixteen years of age, accused of breaking into the house of a widow lady in Portugal Street, Gorbals, and stealing from a chest of drawers, seven twenty shilling notes, and one guinea note, and a gold ring, set with pearls. The little urchin was doomed to be executed on the same day as Donald Davidson. REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 353 Thomas Donachy, for breaking into the cellar of Mr. John Bryce, timber-merchant, in Oxford Street, and rob- bing it of some bottles of port wine, claret, and Teneriffe, was also doomed to be executed on the same day. John Campbell, for breaking into the dye-house of Mr. William White, near the foot of the Saltmarket, and stealing a drab mantle, was also doomed to be executed on the same day. And another prisoner, viz., Patrick Campbell, was nar- rowly receiving the same doom for breaking into the dwelling-house of Mr. John Neilson, spirit-dealer, White- vale; but the following scene occurred, which marvel- lously saved his neck. There came into the witness-box, to give evidence against him, an assistant criminal-officer of the Burgh Court of Glasgow, whose name was Dunn. He was obviously intoxicated ; for he came reeling and staggering with some impudence towards the bar. The Advocate-Depute, Mr. John Hope, soon perceived his condition, as everybody else did. "Stand back, sir!" said Mr. Hope, in a tone of indignation. The drunken fellow gazed at first with the most muddled astonishment, but he became sober at last. " Sir," said the Advocate- Depute, "If you or any other officer of the law, shall dare to come into this Court in such a state, to swear to the character of any prisoner on trial for his life, you shall not escape without signal punishment." The indignant tones of Mr. Hope reverberated through the crowded Court, and found an echo in every heart. The worthless officer was committed to Jail for thirty days. Mr. Hope refused point blank to examine him as a witness; and this punishment had a most salutary effect amongst the lower class of beagles of the law, who then prowled about the Courts stoving with drink. Perhaps our readers will 354 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. hardly credit the statement we are now to make, and the Temperance League may hold up their hands in wonder at it ; but it is the fact, that in those days, spirits, porter, and ale, with other things, were actually sold in any quantity, within the walls of the prison of Glasgow itself, by the Jailer and his assistants, under the connivance, and with the perfect approbation of the Magistrates ; and large profits were made and transferred to the revenue of the city, by the extensive and notorious, and public sale of them ! If anybody doubts this, we undertake to prove by a reference to the city books, which we saw and examined long ago, that upwards of 20,000 bottles of ale, porter, and brown stout, were sold in the Jail of Glasgow, in the course of one year alone, within the last forty years. We have some remarkable facts to state about the treatment of the civil prisoners in those days, and we may afterwards introduce the case of one poor factory girl in particular, who was actually imprisoned and kept in Jail for a lengthened period, at the instance of certain horse-leeches in Glasgow, who now hold their heads wonderfully high, for the balance of a debt of less than one shilling; yes, less than one shilling, after they had squeezed out of the poor creature by cruel arrest- ments and other proceedings, every penny she had in the world. It was one of the most outrageous and unfeel- ing cases of the kind we ever knew. We brought it under the direct cognizance of the then Lord Advocate, Francis Jeffrey, in his house, in Moray Place, Edinburgh. He held up his hands in astonishment and indignation, and we sent him at his own request, an authenticated copy of the commitment, under the hands of the Glasgow Jailer; while we had the satisfaction afterwards of know- ing, that that case led to one of the most praiseworthy REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 355 alterations with respect to imprisonment in the law of Scotland, whereby none could be incarcerated for debts under the value of 8 6s. 8 d.; and thus we may claim nome of the original credit thereof, not perhaps, without leaving an authenticated copy of the above Jail document as a legacy to the heartless parties referred to, as we almost vowed we would do, long ago; for we observe that some of them now stand with pretty long faces at our church doors on Sunday, and for a pretence make long prayers, insinuating, at the same time to gain credit with the world for their philanthropy, forsooth that they are exceedingly kind and compassionate to the poor. " By their deeds, ye shall know them," saith the Scrip- tures ; and it is always satisfactory to us to refer to such unerring authority. But to recur to the criminal case above referred to, Mr. Hope did a most graceful act. He restricted the libel against Campbell to an arbitrary punishment, where- by the miserable prisoner from the above fortuitous cir- cumstance" of the drunken beagle, escaped the gallows, He had sentence of transportation for life. A most painful incident ensued at the same assizes, in regard to another case, which displayed the fine sensitive feelings of Mr. John Hope, although he has been accused of being a most severe and tyrannical Judge. There was brought up from her cell, and literally lifted into the dock, as we saw, a poor creature of the name of Helen Gorie, evidently in the last stage of consumption, accused of some petty theft. The Advocate-Depute shook his head as he eyed her with much commiseration, and he paused for a little. "My Lords! I shall not go to trial with this case. I consent to the immediate liberation of the prisoner." The poor creature swooned and fainted 85(3 tffcAflfTOCENCES OF GLASGOW. in the dock; and Mr. Hope went across to the seat of the Magistrates, and personally entreated them to see her sent to the Infirmary, and properly attended to. She died on the way thither. Thomas Cook accused of murdering John Macfarlane, copper-smith, in Glasgow, at his shop-door in the Gallow- gate, was found guilty of culpable homicide, and had sentence of transportation for life. Two Gamekeepers, of the then Lord Blantyre, were also brought forward accused of murdering in the parish of Erskine, a notorious poacher, of the name of Orr. Mr. Henry Cockburn was brought out from Edinburgh on a special retainer for them. Not guilty. But the thrilling case at that period in Glasgow, which we listened to, was the case of a beautiful young creature of the name of Helen Rennie, accused of murdering her illegitimate child by means of arsenic, on a Sunday afternoon. She was well educated, but had been basely betrayed or seduced, by a pert dashing scoundrel of the name of Jonathan Allwood, who was admitted into some of the best society in Glasgow, it being supposed that he had plenty of cash at his finger-ends, without virtue of any sort; and that is still, we are sorry to remark, the chief criterion of the present day. " If you have gold, plenty, you may plate sin with brass," &c. She had given out her child to nurse, in the house of a respectable married couple in the Gorbals. It was thriving, and becoming a nice little prattling creature; and the mother appeared to be fondly attached to it; for she came almost every Sunday, during the course of four or five years, and settled punctually with the nurse for its board, and kissed the child tenderly. The villanous father for some of his ol her crimes, was obliged to fly REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 357 from Glasgow ; and it was supposed that the burthen of maintaining the child now pressed heavily on the unfor- tunate mother. She came, much in her usual way, one Sunday afternoon, and kissed the child apparently with all the affection she had ever shown to it. She said to the nurse, after the lapse of a little interview, that she would take out the boy for the first time in her own hand, and give him a nice walk to the banks of the Canal, in Eglinton Street, not far distant. She returned with the child very soon afterwards, and kissed it over and over again, in presence of the nurse, and the nurse's husband. She then hurriedly bade them good-bye, and went politely away ; but she had no sooner gone than the innocent little creature began to vomit and to scream vehemently, and fell into sore convulsion fits, and in a few moments longer, he died, to the astonishment and great grief of his nurse and her husband, who had no children of their own, and probably on that account they were more devoted to the unfortunate child. Suspicions began to be entertained about the now weeping and dis- tracted mother. Arsenic was detected on the clothes of the dead child, and the unhappy mother was traced to some apothecaries' shops, where she had bought a mixture of sulphur and arsenic, or other poisonous things. She was therefore taken up en a warrant of the Magistrates, imprisoned in the Jail of Glasgow, and capitally indicted for trial at this Circuit in Glasgow, for the crime of murder. No case, perhaps, created greater sympathy or compas- sion in the city, than did this one of this pretty but unfortunate girl Long before the hour of trial, the Court was crowded to excess, up to the very ceiling of the old Justiciary Hall; not an inch of standing room to z 358 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. spare. The outward appearance of the Court is thus described by the Glasgow Herald of that day: " This morning, there was a most extraordinary anxiety to gain admission into Court, and the crowd collected was more like that assembled to witness an execution, than that brought together on a common Court day. A party of horse and foot paraded in front, and at the south end of the Jail, to preserve order, which they had very great difficulty in doing." The unfortunate creature, when placed in the dock, buried her face in her white cambric handkerchief, and sobbed aloud. She was dressed in deep mourning, and when she occasionally lifted her veil and her features were seen, they were indeed beautiful, though pale as marble. We have often been unable to efface her from our memory, as she appeared in that dock. The able Counsel engaged specially to defend the pri- soner, was Mr. John Jardine, son of old Professor George Jardine, of Glasgow College a most esteemed Professor he was for many long years in this city. The learned Counsel at the commencement of the trial went forward and shook his client most affectionately by the hand, while the tears in rapid profusion were seen trickling down her agitated face. Many shuddered at the bare idea that the lovely creature, so placed before them, would soon have her exquisite neck encircled by the hangman's horrid rope. She assuredly was no diabolical hardened -murderess for gain unto herself. The bereave- ment was rather her own ; or if murder it was, whether by accident, or in a fit of frenzy, for who can tell the secrets of the heart, these considerations, undoubtedly, were felt keenly at the tiniCc But we must only speak of the trial itself. The Jury were sworn. The evidence for the Crown was REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. 359 led ; and as it proceeded, a most unexpected but remark- able scene occurred, which probably saved the life of the beautiful prisoner, when everything else seemed to be tell- ing fatally against her. The like of it, we venture to say, never occurred before or since, in any criminal trial in this city. One of the witnesses was most severely questioned and overawed by the Bench. She was a respectable woman far advanced in pregnancy, which the Judges probably did not know; but the Jury had a better view of her. She became much agitated at one of the rather threaten- ing questions put to her. It happened fortunately for that witness, but infinitely more for the prisoner herself, that there was upon the Jury, a well-known citizen of Glas- gow, learned in the law, and moving in the first society of Glasgow, viz., Mr. John Douglas of Barloch, writer, in Glasgow, who afterwards, on the death of Mr. Eichard Vary, became Clerk of the Peace for this great county; and to him on his death, Mr. George Craufurd, who now holds the office, succeeded. Mr. Douglas, though a bachelor, was always an ardent admirer of the fair sex. and he could not tamely submit to the line of examina- tion he saw the decent unsophisticated poor woman of a witness exposed to. Mr. Douglas, we here may remark, was a most majestic-looking man. His very counte- nance commanded attention and respect. He arose in his seat in the jury-box, and protested against the treat- ment the witness was receiving. The Court snubbed the bold Juryman for his interference at that stage of the proceedings. He kept his position however, and retorted that he knew his duty as well as their Lordships knew theirs : and perform it he would, whether their Lord- ships liked it or not ! On that independent sally of Mr. Douglas, the crowded Court, astonished with delight 360 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. at the courage he displayed, set up a loud cheer, with clapping of hands. The Judges became indignant. Lord Succoth started from his seat, sweltering with rage. Lest it may be supposed we are surcharging this part of the occurrence, we refer to the files of the Glasgow Herald of that date, which rarely found fault with Judges of any kind in those or any other days: LOKB SUCCOTH, (vide Herald) with much energy, said, " I will never sit in a Court of Justice, and tolerate such behaviour as this ; and I insist that the police-officers or the military be called in to clear the Court." " Three or four soldiers (says the Herald) were accord- ingly brought in with drawn bayonets, who cleared all the gallery part of the Court." Fancy such an occurrence at the present time! Onwards the trial slowly proceeded in the then stinted Court; but in a short time it became as densely crowded as ever; for the sixpences and shillings, and half-crowns, or something better, slyly slipped into the hands of the Town-officers in those days, never failed to secure a pretty ready mode of access to the Court, if there was really standing room in it at all. Many affecting incidents respecting the prisoner, subsequently occurred on this trial, but we cannot here dwell upon them. Suffice it to say, that the Advocate-Depute himself, was deeply moved, and nearly overpowered by them. When the evidence was at last concluded, and as he rose at a late period of the night to address the Jury for the Crown, you might have heard a pin fall in that crowded Court. We have seen him in many of his addresses, but his commencement on this occasion was solemn and affecting in the extreme. When he came to analyze one part of the evidence with reference to the proved affection of the mother to the REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 361 child, and the last kiss she was observed to give it on that fatal Sunday, he faltered and he failed. His lips quivered, and he burst into tears, and sat down on his seat, covering his eyes with his hands, and not able to proceed with his address for some moments. He at last recovered himself, apologising to the Court for the apparent weakness, seldom displayed, we may re- mark, by any Advocate-Depute in any case ; but now rising with the occasion, and feeling the necessity of his own position, he went on with his renewed power- ful address to the Jury against the prisoner. But the above incident led Mr. Jardine, the prisoner's Coun- sel, to whisper into the ears of her agent standing near him " The poor girl is saved ! TJiat touch of fine feeling on the part of Mr. Hope, must save her !" The Advocate-Depute, in concluding his address, declared, that he found himself much exhausted; but he felt it to be his duty to lay the evidence in all its bearings before the Jury; and whilst he felt himself constrained to ask for a verdict of guilty at their hands, " he could con- scientiously say before his God, that his heart bled for the unfortunate victim against whom he craved it." Nobly did Mr. Jardine follow for his poor stricken client. He made a most affecting speech. But Lord Succoth began to charge the Jury most strongly against her, and throughout. He finished his charge at half-past one o'clock on Sunday morning ; at which hour the Jury retired, and were directed to be enclosed, and return their verdict at half-past nine on Monday morning. The following extract from one of the Glasgow papers of Monday, will show how the Judges spent part of their time in Glasgow that Sunday: 362 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. " Yesterday, the Judges, Lords Pitmilly and Succoth, attended by the Magistrates, the civil authorities of the city, the Sheriffs, and a great proportion of the Counsel attending the Circuit, went in pro- cession to the Cathedral, where divine service was performed by the Very Rev. Principal Taylor. The guard of honour consisted of a detachment of the 4th Dragoon Guards, and a detachment of the 77th Regiment of Foot. Colonel Sherlock, the Brigade-Major, Lieut. - Colonel Smith, and several other officers attended. The mounted Band of the Dragoon Guards added greatly to the solemnity." The following was read from the precentor's desk of every Established pulpit in Glasgow that Sunday : " Remember in prayer, five young men under sentence of death; and a young woman in great distress." The Judges, we may remark, after sermon on Sunday, had quietly driven out to Garscube House, the residence of Lord Succoth; the residence also of his father, the Eight Hon. Sir Islay Campbell of Succoth, Baronet, for- merly Solicitor-General, and Lord Advocate of Scotland, and finally, Lord President of the Court of Session ci slender well-built little man, then in greatly advanced years ; but he was a giant for intellect in early days. He rose to rank, wealth, and distinction, mainly owing to the masculine pleadings he wrote, or the eloquence he displayed in the great Douglas Peerage case, the fame of which can never die in the annals of judicial procedure, ' either in Scotland, or the House of Lords. Lord Succoth, we may remark,, had a fine promising son, viz., Mr. John Campbell, who had recently passed the Faculty of Advo- cates ; and he appeared at the Glasgow Assizes for the first time on the above occasion, to assist Mr. John Hope. He afterwards became M.P. for the County of Dumbar- ton, in Parliament ; and would probably have risen to great distinction in his profession, if his life had been REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 36? spared, for he was an able and fluent speaker, but he died suddenly soon after his marriage, leaving the present Sir Archibald Islay Campbell, his son and heir. It may be here interesting to note the fact, that Lord Suceoth, had also two nephews at this Circuit, viz., Mr. Arthur Connell, son of the then Judge- Admiral of Scotland, Sir John Connell, who was also Sheriff of Eenfrewshire, and Procurator of the Church of Scotland. Sir John Connell was a native of this city, and he married one of the daughters of old Sir Islay. Hence the connection with Lord Suceoth. The other young Advocate referred to, was Mr. John Tait, the present venerable Sheriff of Clackmannan and Kinross, whose father was Mr. Craw- ford Tait of Harvieston and Castle Campbell, lately acquired by Sir Andrew Orr. Mr. Crawford Tait had married another of the daughters of old Sir Islay, and by that marriage there was also Mr. Archibald Campbell Tait, the present Lord Bishop of London, who is thus intimately connected with Glasgow ; for indeed, the Suceoth family have been allied to it for centuries, and can even trace their pedigree through some of the female branches, up to Sir William Wallace. A daughter of Lord Suceoth, who died the other day, was the Countess of Leven. At nine o'clock on Monday morning, the 22d of April, 1822, the bells of the city began to ring anew, announc- ing that the procession of the Judges was coming forward from Grarscube House, to finish the trial of Helen Eennie. The magistrates and military went out towards the Cow- caddens Toll, to meet and escort them with pomp and circumstance into the city. Precisely at ten o'clock, the Judges took their seats once more in the Old Hall. The Court was again surrounded by infantry and dragoons, 364 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. and every inch of it crammed by palpitating mortals, young and old, to bear the doom of Helen Rennie. The screams of many, nearly trampled to death, to get into the Court, were sometimes terrific. It was now, as they all knew, to be .a matter of life or death neck or nothing, for that unhappy young creature. The diet of his Majesty's Advocate for his Majesty's interest, was soon called, amidst breathless silence. The poor prisoner, more dead than alive, was carried up by the Turnkeys, through that awful winding stair, which still exists, and which many have seen for the first and the last time, with quaking hearts. She seemed to be utterly uncon- scious of everything passing around; in fact, the report was, that reason had fled its throne, and that she was now a maniac, beyond the power of the Court. The names of the Jury were deliberately called over, and they all answered to their names. In those days, it may be interesting to notice the fact, that it was the rule of law, in all capital cases, for the Jury, after being enclosed, whether for a long or a short period, to return a written verdict, under an envelope, duly signed and sealed by their Chancellor, who again was to deliver it into the hands of the Justiciary Clerk, sitting beneath the Judges, and by him communicated to their Lordships. If the verdict was a guilty one, the envelope containing it, was generally sealed with black wax, if otherwise, conveying a verdict of not proven, or not guilty, as the case might be, the envelope had its seal of red not bloody wax, therefore, in many cases, it became a mat- ter of the greatest interest and excitement for the friends or the foes of the accused, to get their eyes first fixed on the outward appearance of the seal. If black, the black cap was very soon to be at hand; if red, the prisoner and REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 3G5 his or her friends might get ready with their peons of congratulation. In the present instance, some confusion took place from the excessive crowd; and many stout hearts heaved to and fro, whispering, is she innocent or guilty ? At last, the package itself was displayed, and the announcement made, that the Jury by a plurality of voices, had found the prisoner not guilty ! What a cheering and clapping of hands, then took place. The bewildered creature screamed aloud. She looked, and she looked around her once or twice, but with one terrific glare. Tragedy itself could hardly excel this, as displayed most unaffectedly in the Justiciary Court. Her amiable Counsel tried to soothe her by some sweet words of con- gratulation; but she started from her seat tearing her ringlets, and crying for her child. All eyes with few exceptions, were then moistened with resistless tears. But Lord Succoth, even after the verdict in her favour was recorded, continued to address her at some length, stating, that although this was the most interesting case he had ever heard, yet if he had been of the Jury, he would certainly have gone with the minority for a ver- dict of guilty. He took occasion to animadvert on one of the Jur}c, viz., Mr. John Douglas, who, there can be no doubt, ruled the verdict, and got it in favour of the pri- soner, by a majority we think, of ten to five; but Mr. Douglas, we remember, kissed his own hand, and bowed to the Court in silent defiance. It is singular to remark, that whether owing to this trial or not, or to the appear- ance of Mr. Douglas in the way we have stated, the fact is, that soon afterwards, all writers, or practising attor- neys, or law agents, were absolved from serving on Juries in criminal cases, and they were also debarred from acting as Justices of the Peace. 366 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. So much for some of our Glasgow criminal cases at that period. We have a few others to tell, of more sur- passing interest; but we cannot overtake them all at one time, and perhaps we are fatiguing our readers. We have here simply to make the concluding remark appli- cable to the last one above noticed, namely, that Allwood, the heartless seducer, cheat, and scoundrel, was slain in one of his revelries on the streets of Calais ; while Helen Eennie lived to become a virtuous wife and mother, an ornament of society in other regions. We had a grateful letter from one of her relations not long ago. THE MEMOEABLE GLASGOW CIRCUIT OF 1822 AND- THE FATAL DUEL OF SIR ALEX. BOSWELL, &c. Another interesting, but much more important case, with reference to its results, than any of the cases above noticed, was also set down for trial at those same Assizes- in Glasgow, in April 1822, namely, the case of Mr. Win. Murray Borthwick, printer, accused of theft. That case, strange to say, occurring in Glasgow, and under that charge of " theft," led to the memorable duel between James Stuart, Esq., of Dunearn, writer to his Majesty's Signet, and Sir Alexander Boswell, Bart., of Auchinleck, then M.P. for the County of Ayr a duel which resulted in the melancholy death of Sir Alexander Boswell, and to the subsequent trial of Mr. Stuart, him- self, before the High Court of Justiciary at Edinburgh,, for murder. No accurate report of that case of Borthwick's was ever published. The real history of it, indeed, was never given; yet after the lapse of forty years, when all the chief actors in it are dead and gone, we are enabled to- REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 367 supply the desideratum from unquestionable sources. In fact, we are the living witness of the chief part of the narrative which follows, having seen it with our own eyes. In the year 1821, a violent Tory newspaper was first published in this city yclept the Sentinel. Other papers have since been published under the same name } but the one referred to, was published by Mr. Borthwick, here standing accused of "theft," as above stated; and his part- ner in the publication, was Mr. Robert Alexander, under the firm of Borthwick & Alexander, or Alexander & Borth- wick. It was of the same stamp as the -more notorious Beacon, started and published in Edinburgh, about the same time. Politics, in those days rose to the highest pitch of excitement nay, fury. A Whig would scarcely speak to a Tory; and a Tory would scarcely speak to a Whig, if he could help it. The rules of common civility were sometimes grossly invaded to the spitting actually in each other's faces, as we have seen done in the Old Tontine Coffee-Room, leading to actions of damages, and assythment, &c. There appeared in the columns of that Sentinel, from time to time, violent attacks on the chief leaders of the liberal party in Scotland; and in particular,. on Mr. Stuart of Dunearn, and his venerable and most inoffensive father; and also against Mr. James Gibson- Craig, afterwards created by the first Eeform Ministry of Earl Grey, Sir James Gibson-Craig of Riccarton, Baronet, of whom we have had occasion frequently to speak, as we may still have, in these pages; and also against the amiable and accomplished Lord Archibald Hamilton, then sitting in Parliament, as we have already stated, for this great County of Lanark. A more upright liberal and enlightened nobleman, never sat in Parliament. 368 KJiiMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Scotland owes much, to his memory, and much to the efforts he made in the Reform cause, when it was dan- gerous to speak about it. So groundless, virulent, and malicious were the attacks made on him in the Beacon, that Lord Archibald, from a sense of public duty, felt himself constrained to bring an action against its publishers, challenging them to prove some of its corrupt allegations. Mr. Gibson-Craig also raised a somewhat similar action against the Beacon; and Mr. Stuart of Dunearn, brought his against the Sentinel and its pub- lishers in Glasgow. Those actions created the greatest interest, not merely in the Parliament House of Edin- burgh, but the whole of Scotland; and they also attracted the attention of Parliament. During the discussion of them, it so happened, that Borthwick and Alexander quarrelled between themselves, and went to law against each other; and there is a say- ing, that " when rogues cast out, honest men get their own." Be that as it may, Borthwick was thrown into Glasgow Jail, on or about the 22d of March, 1822, in virtue of a caption, for an old debt of 50, at the insti- gation, as he alleged, of his partner, Mr. Alexander. While thus in prison, he had time to muse and reflect on some of the scandalous libels, he, with Alexander, had published on Mr. Stuart and Lord Archibald. He wrote most penitential letters from prison to both of them. Lord Archibald Hamilton came in from Hamilton Palace to consult with his personal friend and steady political agent, old Mr. Alexander M'Grigor of Kernock, writer in Glasgow, the grandfather of the present gentleman of the same name, (A. B. M'Grigor, Esq.) A communication was soon opened up with his Lordship's Edinburgh agents, viz., Messrs. Young, Ayton, and Rutherford, W.S. They REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 369 consulted with Mr. Stuart, and also with Mr. Gibson, who were embarked in the same mutual cause of attack and defence; and it was unanimously agreed to send out a special commissioner from Edinburgh, to see Borthwick in Glasgow Jail. That commissioner was Mr. Win. Spalding, S.S.C., with Avhom, and with some of his relations in Glasgow, we had the pleasure of being most intimately acquainted. We accompanied him to the Jail to see Borth- wick. In one of his first interviews with Borthwick in that place, the latter gave Mr. Spalding reason to under- stand that the libels written against Mr. Stuart, Mr. O ' Gibson, and Lord Archibald Hamilton, were so written, not by Borthwick himself, or his partner either, but by persons of high rank and estate in the land. This startled or astonished Mr. Spalding ; but in proof of what he had stated, Mr. Borthwick went on to declare, that if he could only get out of prison for the 50 debt, he would soon secure the original manuscripts themselves, for they were all in his own desk, in the printing-office, in Nelson Street, Glasgow. He refused, however, at that time to disclose the names of the authors, or any of them, saying, he would only do so, after he was fairly out of prison ; and when that was accomplished, he would not only deliver up the original papers, but subscribe any palion- ade or apology that might be required for publish- ing them. On that statement, Mr. Spalding speedily went back to Edinburgh, and a consultation was imme- diately held with Mr. John Clerk, advocate, afterwards Lord Eldin, and Mr. James MoncriefF, advocate, after- wards Lord Moncrieff, the leading counsel for the parties more immediately concerned. They intimated to Mr. Spalding, who was present at the consultation, that it was of the greatest importance, in their opinion, to secure 370 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. the documents through the hands of Borthwick himself, at all hazards, and to have them lodged, if possible, in the hands of the Clerk of Court, in Edinburgh, on Mon- day or Tuesday, at latest, when some important motion referable to the cases, was to be heard before the Lords Commissioners of the Jury Court. Accordingly Mr. .Spalding returned to Glasgow on Saturday night. We again saw him. Mr. Stuart followed, and took up his quarters in the Tontine Hotel. It was too late to renew the negotiations with Borthwick on Saturday night, because the prison doors were then shut against all visitors. But they opened from nine till ten o'clock on Sunday morn- ing ; and again from one to two o'clock ; and in the evening, from six till eight o'clock, when they finally closed for the night. Such was the rule of the Glas- gow prison in those days. Visitors, we say, of every description; were freely admitted to see civil debtors at the hours we have specified; and they could have ale, porter, and brown stout served out to them in any quan- tity by the Jailer, if they only paid for the liquor. One may think that this was greater desecration of the Sunday within those prison walls, as so it was, than the running of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway now-a-days, but it was permitted " by authority." This we only give by way of parenthesis. When Mr. Spalding went down to the Jail on Sunday morning, with the 50 in his pocket, to liberate Mr. Borthwick, old Mr. John M'Gregor, the Jailer, who was a very particular sort of a man about hornings and captions, refused to finger the money on that day. He would vend his porter and ale in any quantity, but to take the money for a caption on the Sabbath-day, was a thing he had never done, and would on no account d.o, without a special order from the Magistrates, or their REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 371 Town-Clerk, Mr. Eeddie. In this emergency, Mr. Spalding repaired to the spacious house of Mr. M'Grigor, the writer, in Queen Street, whereon the Clydesdale Bank was ori- ginally built many years afterwards ; forming now the Chambers of the Inland Eevenue Department of Glas- gow. Mr. M'Grigor was as reluctant as any of his brethren at that time in Glasgow, to do business on Sunday; but this was a case of "pressing emergency," and away he went to the house of Mr. Keddie, the Town-Clerk, then in Gordon Street, on the very spot where the handsome new buildings of the Commercial Bank of Scotland are now reared. Mr. Reddie had a very great respect for Mr. M'Grigor. The regard was mutual; and although Mr. Eeddie was somewhat sur- prised at this visit of his friend on such a day, he soon wrote a holograph note to old M'Gregor, the Jailer, telling him to take the 50, and give up the caption, and set Borthwick immediately at liberty. This had the desired effect. Mr. Borthwick with his traps or paraphernalia, left the prison between the hours of six and eight on Sunday evenin^, and went over to the Wheat Sheaf Tavern, in O 7 ' Gorbals, near the Gorbals Church, kept by Mrs. Paterson, already described, where he made his quarters good for that night, pledging himself to meet Mr. Spalding opposite the doors of the Post-office, in Nelson Street, at seven o'clock precisely, on Monday morning. Lest our memory should have failed us in any respect, at this important point of the case, we made it our duty not very long ago, to c:et access to the old Jail records, from which we made O ' the following queer and perhaps unexampled extract in the handwriting of the faithful old Jailer : "(Sabbath) 10th March, 1822. William Murray Borthwick . . Liberated. Having consigned 50 sterling by Mr. Alex. M'Grigor, 372 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. writer, being the amount of debt for which Mr. William Borthwick was incarcei'atecl, as marked on said caption, Mr. M'Grigor having given his letter to free and indemnify the Magistrates and Keeper of their Tolbooth, occasioned by said Liberation." Accordingly, early on Monday morning, at the hour appointed, Mr. Win. Borthwick made good his word, by appearing at the Post-office, in Nelson Street, within a very few yards of his own printing-office in that street. One of the printer's devils, as he may be called, appeared as usual with his keys, to open the office doors, and brush up the desks, &c. He was rather astonished, but agree- ably pleased, to see his old master out of limbo, and once more coming to his own office. He bounded with joy on the occasion. Borthwick gave the nod, or signed to Spalding standing at a little distance, that all was right as regarded the entrance to the office, and that the import- ant documents they were in quest of, would immediately be made forthcoming: but lo! when Borthwick opened his own desk with his own keys, not one of these docu- ments was to be seen ! There was an iron Safe, however, in an inner room of the same place, but the key of it was not to be had. The young urchin stated, that of late, Mr. Alexander (the other partner,) had kept that key in his own pocket. What was Borthwick now to do ? Was he to be baulked out of his own papers taken from his own desk, and belie the solemn undertaking he had made to Mr. Spalding, as above stated; or must he wait till Alexander made his appearance, as he usually did, about ten o'clock in the forenoon, and take the chance of getting the key of the safe from him, which he could hardly expect with- out a regular tulzie. He determined, therefore, to break O ' * open the safe, without a moment's delay; and for that purpose, he speedily went out in quest of the first smith's REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. shop he could find, for keys, sledge, and hammer. It hap- pened, singularly enough, that Mr. Eobert Napier had then his original mechanic's shop in the Old Grammar School Wynd, leading from Canon Street to the High Street, not very many yards from the Sentinel office. Mr. Borthwick entreated Mr. Napier to come and open the door of his Safe, alleging that the key had gone astray ; and that he was anxious, and in a hurry to get out some important papers. Mr. Napier himself was busy at his own anvil at that early hour of the morning, and he could not very well go and leave the job he had faithfully in hand; but he des- patched his brother, Mr. James Napier, with the necessary implements to do the work, little dreaming of the result: and we dare say, hardly imagining that from that small shop with its three apprentices and two journeymen, for that was his full complement of hands at this early period of his life, he would within a few years thereafter, become one of the most eminent engineers in the kingdom, giving employment to hundreds and thousands enjoying at the same time, the loftiest personal character for enterprise, integrity, and honour building ships, which form at this moment the pride of the British navy, and fulfilling im- portant engagements also with nearly every Government in Europe. We hope we do not give offence, when we say, that few men of his standing ever wrought so hard or laboriously in early life, as Mr. Robert Napier, engaged, as we know he was, from six of the morning till six of the evening, with only one hour to himself for break- fast, and another for dinner; and then in the evening,, storing his mind in the Andersonian University, or studying attentively the plans of the immortal James AYatt, whose shop, once upon a time, was not far from. A2 374 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. his (Mr. Kobert Napier's) own shop in the quarter above- mentioned. ' " Happy the man, there seeking and there found, Happy the nation, where such men abound." Mr. Napier, therefore, is well entitled to ride now in his own carriage, and to muse on the splendid collection of paintings and other things, which adorn his princely mansion on the banks of the beautiful Gareloch. He was once the Deacon of the Hammermen in Glasgow. He has lived, we think, to see all his fellow-deacons in the Trades' House of Glasgow, dead and gone ; while he him- self is hale and hearty, blessed with, an excellent consti- tution, derived from virtuous and happy parents, which with his other qualities, combined with the genius of his own family, have justly secured for him a world- wide fame. We hope we will be pardoned for this digression so creditable to Glasgow and its engineering interests; and therefore we now proceed to introduce our readers to the Sentinel office at the period referred to. With his trusty instruments and strong right arm, Mr. James Napier, the brother of Eobert, who still survives,, .,lso honoured and esteemed by all who know him, soon broke open the iron safe, as Mr. Borthwick its supposed owner, standing beside him, had urgently entreated him to do; and in a twinkling, Mr. Borthwick saw and clutched the import- ant papers he was in quest of. In the exuberance of his feelings, Borthwick threw open one of the front win- dows of his office, and hailed to Mr. Spalding, who was waiting rather impatiently on the opposite side of the street with two strong city-porters, engaged and ready to lend a helping hand, if necessary. Within a very few minutes, all the letters and papers in that iron safe, were REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 375 huddled into a bag; and with the special consent and direction of Borthwick, they were speedily carried to the Tontine Hotel, where, as already stated, Mr. Stuart of Dunearn had taken up his temporary quarters. Mr. Stuart, however, during all this period, declined to have any interview whatever, with Borthwick himself. He scorned indeed to meet him ; but left all this preliminary business to the discretion or management of Mr. Spalding, subject to the approval of Mr. M'Grigor of Kernock. Soon after, the papers were thus secured and taken to the Tontine ; a post-chaise was expeditiously ordered for Edinburgh, and into it Mr. Stuart and Mr. Spalding went "post-haste" for that city, remembering the important motion which the learned counsel, Messrs. Clerk & Mon- crieff, had contemplated for Tuesday morning. In read- ing over on this journey, some of the letters and papers thus discovered and secured, and now safely enough in their own hands, Mr. Stuart in the first instance, and Mr. Spalding in the second, were astonished to find that some of the most offensive libels against Mr. Stuart, were in the handwriting of Sir Alexander Boswell ! Proof, strong as holy writ, was soon fastened upon him. The news of this astounding affair and discovery in Glasgow, soon reached London. Down came per express, Sir Alex. Boswell, who was then attending his duties in Parliament, to Edinburgh. He seemed at first not to be in the least afraid of confronting, as he called him, in one of his squibs or libels " That slot-feeding Stuart, That sou of a cow-art." Sir Alexander reached Edinburgh on Saturday night. Mr. Stuart soon found him out, and challenged him. Meanwhile, the bursting open of the Safe in the Sen- 376 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. tinel office became the subject of great excitement in Glasgow. For when Mr. Eobert Alexander made his appearance in that office on Monday forenoon, and found the Safe prostrate, and the letters and papers abstracted, or taken away, he, in a great rage, taxed his partner Borthwick, with the crime of theft; and applied for, and actually got out a warrant, to seize Borthwick on that charge. On that warrant, Borthwick was seized accord- ingly, and taken before the Magistrates ; but he told without any disguise, the plain artless story we have given, and the Magistrates consented that he should be liberated on his own parole, to appear again, if wanted. He now wished to pay a visit to some friends at Dundee, for a short period, and thither he went, fairly and openly. But the Lord Advocate, Sir William Kae, the personal friend of Sir Alex. Boswell, and with him in Parliament, alarmed and appalled by what he had learned had taken place in Glasgow, applied for a Justiciary warrant against Borthwick, such were the despotic powers of the Lord Advocates in those days, and it is the fact, that Borth- wick was seized in Dundee, by a messenger-at-arms from Edinburgh, handcuffed, and placed in irons; and in the custody of that messenger, and two concurrents, armed with loaded pistols, he was taken not to Glasgow in the first instance, but to Edinburgh, denied all access to his friends or agents, and bail peremptorily refused to be taken for him. We can prove this, and much more, by records too well authenticated, we are sorry to say. He (Borth- wick) was afterwards transmitted "in safe custody" to Glasgow, with an indictment in his hands, to stand trial on the 22d day of March, 1822, before the Circuit Court of Justiciary in Glasgow, for the crime of theft from lockfast places, which was then deemed to be a capital crime, by REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 377 the law of Scotland. The " theft," all the while, con- sisted in taking away the aforesaid letters and papers in the way we have truly stated. When Mr. Borthwick was brought in custody to the Glasgow criminal bar, to answer that charge, which he was prepared and ready to do by his eminent Counsel, Mr. Henry Cockburn, who came out specially from Edinburgh to defend him, the diet to the amazement of everybody, was abruptly deserted pro loco et tempore, by his Majesty's Advocate; and the buffetted-about Mr. Borthwick, was re-committed to his criminal cell, in Glasgow Jail, on a fresh warrant, worse by far than his imprisonment under the caption for 50, for then he had his ale and porter whenever he chose to call for them, but now he had nothing but cold water, not always very fresh, and his " coggie" of meal brose doled out to him once in the day all the allowance for supposed criminal prisoners in those times it is infinitely better now, whether wisely or not, we shall not presume to say, there are so many disquisitions on that theme, pro and con. It is, however, shocking to think, that we have seen prisoners some of them perfectly innocent lying on the cold flag stones of the cells in the old prison of Glasgow, six feet by four, in the depths of winter, without bed or blanket, or light of any kind from any window; and when we occasionally visited the poor maniacs' cells in the old Town's Hospital of Glasgow, (fronting the Clyde) worse by far, than the above " model prison" of Glasgow, as it was called for here they were chained together, and sometimes cruelly whipped, we thought that death itself would have been a blessed relief for many of them. So true it is, that " Man's inhumanity to man, Makes countless thousands mourn." 378 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. But this is another digression, which we really cannot help, because we proceed, according as our memory, governed invariably by the truth, seems to guide us. When the knowledge of the above fact transpired in Edinburgh, that Mr. Stuart of Dunearn had challenged Sir Alex. Boswell to mortal combat, the case of Mr. Borthwick, interesting as it was, became of secondary importance; though there is scarcely any doubt, that but for that challenge, it would in all human probability have been attended with the most fatal consequences to Borthwick himself, such was the state of the law and the temper of the times, and the mode of selecting Juries in Scotland. But the Crown lawyers were soon very glad to allow him to be released from prison ; for if they had persisted in bringing him to trial, pending the indict- ment for the duel, he would, it was thought, have made other discoveries infinitely more disgraceful than those attaching to Sir Alexander Boswell. The latter gentleman (in all other respects, a most amiable and accomplished man, inheriting all the talents of Johnson's biographer,) peremptorily refused, as we have already stated, to make any apology whatever to Mr. Stuart; and now the affair between them came to a most serious and dreadful crisis. Mr. Stuart, a still more amiable man, but driven to this necessity, wrote out his fatal and written challenge. It was approved of by his friend and seconder, the then Eight Hon. the Earl of Eosslyn, who was the intimate friend of the illustrious Duke of Wellington, and after- wards one of the Duke's Cabinet Ministers. With that challenge, the Earl of Eosslyn sought out Sir Alexander Boswell in his club in Edinburgh, and had an interview REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 379 with liim. Sir Alexander perceived he had now no alter- native. He therefore speedily hastened to his own friend, the Hon. John Douglas, brother of the then Marquis of Queensberry, and secured him to act as his seconder. Somehow or other, this challenge transpired in Edin- burgh, within a few hours afterwards, and reached the ears of the Hon. Adam Duff, the then Sheriff of that county. The Sheriff promptly issued his warrant, and had the parties instantly seized, and bound under heavy penalties to keep the peace. This was done in the hope it proved vain of preventing the contemplated duel. The Sheriff's warrant could only apply to his own juris- diction within the County of Edinburgh. The parties, therefore, either on Monday night, or early on Tuesday morning, crossed the Firth of Forth, with all expedition, and landed with their seconds and other attendants, in the county of Fife. At eleven o'clock on Tuesday morn- ing, with no Sheriff or other officer, or obstruction of any kind in view, they assembled by appointment, in a field near the village of Auchtertool, three or four miles inland from Aberdour, opposite to Leith. It was indeed a memorable meeting, hardly yet to be forgotten in Scot- land. The chief parties, viz., Mr. Stuart and Sir Alex. Boswell, were soon placed at a distance of twelve paces from each other, with loaded pistols in their hands. We leave the Earl of Eosslyn to tell the tale himself, as it will be found in another page. Both parties immediately fired. Stuart stood skaithless ; but the bullet of his pistol pierced the body of Sir Alex. Boswell, who fell to the ground mortally wounded; and he died in the course of the following day. The news of that event, so slow was the communication in those days, did not reach Glasgow till the Friday following. It created, as may be supposed, 380 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. a great sensation not only in Edinburgh and Glasgow, but over the realm. Borthwick's trial being expected to take place in Glas- gow on the following week, a tremendous uproar again occurred about it. We have a copy of his original indict- ment before us, and in it, we observe that the name of Mr. James Napier stands prominently as a witness for the Crown. We extract the following from the Glasgow Courier of Tuesday, the 23d April, 1822 : " The general belief (says the Courier) that Borthwick's trial would come on yesterday, brought a great concourse of people to the vicinity of the Court-House, at an early hour. The persons assembled would have filled the Justiciary Hall ten times over. The interest excited by the expectation that this important case would come on then, was so great, that the door-keepers were unable without great inconveni- ence to the parties, to pass the Jury, the Counsel, and the prisoner's agents, who, as visual are admitted by tickets. Under these circum- stances, Bailie Craigie, the Acting Chief- Magistrate, and Dr. Cleland, found it necessary to attend at the principal gate an hour before the opening of the Court, by which order was preserved, and free admis- sion procured for those who had tickets, and the public generally, till the Court was filled. The crowd was kept from pressing on the gates by files of horse and artillery.'' Notwithstanding of this great preparation, the Advo- cate-Depute, as we have already stated, much to the chagrin and disappointment of many parties, deserted the diet pro loco et tempore; and some time afterwards, Mr. Borthwick was liberated from prison. He was, in fact, liberated without bail or caution of any kind at all. But he remonstrated to Parliament, and craved redress. His petition to that effect, which we have often revised, was ably and energetically presented and supported by the Hon. James Abercromby, afterwards Speaker of the House of Commons, and created Lord Dunfermline; and after a REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 381 lengthened debate, with the details of which, we cannot o from our limited space, occupy the attention of our read- ers, the House divided, when there appeared in favour of the petition of Borthwick, 95; against it, 120; majority, 25. This narrow majority of 25, constituted as the House of Commons then was, was considered at the time as tan- tamount to a defeat of the strong Tory Government of that day. It helped on apace, the measure of Reform, " looming in the distance." After the fatal result of the duel, Mr. Stuart was ear- nestly advised by his friends, to fly for his safety, if not for his life. They knew he would be accused of murder, and thrown into Jail on that charge, from whence there was no release by bail. He therefore proceeded to France, and surrendered himself to Sir Charles Stuart, afterwards Lord Stuart de Rothesay, the British Ambassador in Paris, declaring his perfect willingness to return to meet any trial in Scotland when required. Early on the morning of the day of duel, Mr. Stuart delivered a sealed parcel at the house of his confidential friend, Mr. Gibson, W.S., containing a letter, which in the event of his death upon the field that day, was to be delivered by Mr. Gibson to his affectionate and devoted wife, with some necessary instructions about his affairs. Towards the afternoon, and when all was ended, as between the parties on that fatal field, Mr. Gibson describes the affecting meeting between him and Mr. Stuart in Edinburgh. This is not fiction : it is better than the reading of any evanescent novel. It is as fol- lows: "About two o'clock in the afternoon, (says Mr. Gibson) when coming down St. Andrew's Street, I saw Mr. Stuart coming out of my chambers, and when he saw me, he turned short, and instantly ran up stairs into my 382 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. room. I followed him as fast as I could, and asked what had happened ? He ran into a corner of the room, covered his face with his hands, and burst into tears. When he was a little composed, I again put the question. He said he was afraid Sir Alexander was mortally wounded. Mr. Stuart was in the most complete agony of mind. I said he must immediately leave the country: that his remaining would subject him to grievous and unnecessary imprisonment. He positively refused to go at first. He said, wherever he went, he would be miser- able till he knew Sir Alexander's fate. I again pressed him in the strongest manner. He at last agreed. I went to the Bank and got money for him ; and soon afterwards met him in his own house ; and the last words he said, were, remember to give notice that I shall be ready to stand trial. Next morning I saw Mr. Sheriff Duff between 11 and 12 o'clock, and I gave him the notice." On the 25th of May, 1822, an Indictment was left for Mr. Stuart, in his house, Charlotte Street, Edinburgh, accusing him of the murder of Sir Alex. Boswell, and requiring him to appear, and stand trial on that capital charge, before the Lords of the High Court of Justiciary, at Edinburgh, on Monday, the 18th day of June follow- ing, at 10 o'clock forenoon. As early as four o'clock that morning, the doors of the Justiciary Court were besieged by anxious visitors ; and crowds continued in the Parliament House till five o'clock of the following morning, when the trial terminated. Probably our readers will excuse us, if we sketch out some of the particulars of this most interesting trial, as follows : On the Bench, there appeared the five following Judges REMINISCENCES OF Ui^SGOW. 383 now all dead, viz., the Eight Hon. David Boyle, Lord Justice-Clerk, Lord Hermand, Lord Succoth, Lord Gillies, Lord Pitmilly. The Counsel for the Crown, were represented by Sir William Eae, Bart., Lord Advocate, James Wedderburn, Esq., Solicitor-General, Mr. Duncan M'Neill, (now Lord President) and Mr. Robert Dundas, Advocate-Depute. On the part of Mr. Stuarfc, there never appeared before or since, such a splendid array of Counsel as the follow- ing, viz., Mr. Francis Jeffrey, (afterwards Lord Jeffrey) Mr. James Moncrieff, (afterwards Lord Moncrieff) Mr. John A. Murray, (afterwards Lord Murray) Mr. Henry Cockburn, (afterwards Lord Cockburn) Mr. John Cun- ningham, (afterwards Lord Cunningham) Mr. Thomas Maitland, (afterwards Lord Dundrennan) and Mr. Win. Gibson, now the Right Hon. Sir William Gibson-Craig,. Bart., Lord Clerk Register of Scotland. The panel (Mr. Stuart) took his place at the bar, accompanied by his relatives, the late Earl of Moray, the Hon. Mr. Erskine of Cardross, Capt. Alexander Gordon, of the Royal Navy, and the Hon. Admiral Charles Elphin- stone Fleming, of Biggar and Cumbernauld. The Prince Czartorisky, Lord Belhaven, the Hon. Mr. Fox, afterwards Lord Holland, and other eminent persons, sat on the Bench, near the Judges. Mr. Stuart, having pled not guilty to the charge of murder, as laid against him in his indictment, his elo- quent Counsel, Mr. Henry Cockburn, who, as we have already stated, was Counsel for Borthwick, and knew all about the papers in the Sentinel office, and how they were obtained, began and stated his preliminary defence, in a speech, one of the most masterly he ever made. Some passages of it thrilled the Court : 384 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. "Now, my Lords, although, in this indictment ho is styled we think, somewhat uncei'emoniously ' James "Stuart,' those who drew it, might have known that he was directly connected l>y blood, with some of the noblest and most ancient families in the laud. He is first cousin once removed, of the noble family of Reay. He is very nearly connected the precise degree is immaterial with the noble families of Buchan, Melville, and Cardross, and several others. But I need say no more on this part of the case, than that he is lineally descended from that great statesman, whose history adorns the house of Moray (this was an illusion to the Regent Murray). Failing the family of the last Earl, the father of the gentleman at the bar, would have inherited the honours of that illustrious house ; and accordingly, I perceive at this moment, that he is supported in this the day of his tribulation, by the present possessor of the honours and fortune of that family, who has chosen to forego the privileges of the peerage, which would have given him a place beside your Lordships, and with great manliness and good taste, has rather preferred to sit at the bar with his relative and his friend. Nor is the personal character of the prisoner unworthy of these high and hereditary honours. This is a theme on which it is far better for the witnesses to speak than me. But I must say, that if it fell to the lot of any person to be reduced to the necessity of proving his personal character, there is no man beyond these walls, ay, there is no man within them, who could get a more beautiful character from a greater number of disinterested and spontaneoiis witnesses all tendering their services, from the ranks too, of his political adversaries, than wi,ll be given to the gen- tleman at the bar." Mr. Cockburn then described the discovery of the papers leading to the fatal duel, substantially in the way we have already given it, and then he goes on " In the very first number of that abominable paper, I find it said of this gentleman at the bar a gentleman who has in his veins the purest and noblest blood in this country, and who at that moment was admitted to the society of as large a circle of friends as any man can boast of, that he had dishonoured the blood and the name of his family. I find him accused by name of meanness, and called a heartless ruffian; and there is applied not indirectly, but broadly, and without evasion, that intolerable word coward, an imputation, IIEMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 385 which, when it can be borne quietly, the character of a British gentle- ,man is gone." The Jury were now sworn, as follows : Thomas Adinson of Carncart ; William Pagan of Linburn ; John Waucbope of Edmonstone ; Sir Alex. C. Maitland of Cliftonhall, Bart.; Sir John Hope of Craighall, Bart.; James Watson of Saugh- ton; James Haig of Lochrin; John Thomson of Burnhouse; John Anderson of Whitburgh; Sir James Dalziel of Binns, Bart.; James Dundas of Dundas; David Brown, clothier in Edinburgh; Robert Paterson, ironmonger, there; Thomas M'Ritchie, wine merchant, Leith; Wm. Telfer, merchant, there. Sir John Hope, Chancellor. The first witness called for the Crown, was the Earl of EosslyD, who acted as the seconder of Mr. Stuart. He is thus designed in the report of the trial : JAMES, EARL OF EOSSLYN, a General in the Army, commanding; the 9th Reo-imeut of Lio-ht Dragoons, sworn o o o o * by the Lord Justice-Clerk. Lord Justice-Clerk. My Lord, persuaded that your Lordship must be acquainted with the privileges of the Peerage, and considering that such a case as the present is new, and has never been brought under the deliberate judgment of the Court, and as the question arising upon it may depend upon another jurisdiction, the Court will leave it to your Lordship's discretion, what course you will think it fit to pursue in this case. Lord Rosslyn. It is fit, under those circumstances, particularly after the honour your Lordship has done me in thus addressing me, that I should state, that I am not aware, that anything in my situation as a Peer, should alter or affect my duty in giving testimony as a witness, when duly called on to do so in a Court of Justice ; nor do I hold, as far as I understand, that any privilege belong- ing to that rank, should prevent me from answering any 38 G REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. questions which the Court may think fit to put to any other witness standing in similar circumstances. Mr. Solicitor-General. Are you acquainted with the panel at the bar? A. I am. Q. Were you acquainted with the late Sir Alexander Boswell ? A. I was. Q. In the course of the month of March last, were you charged with any message or communication by the panel at the bar, to Sir Alex. Boswell ? A. I was. Q. Will you explain what was the nature of that message? A. Upon the 25th of March last, I saw Sir Alexander Boswell, in consequence of a note which I had written to him, requesting permission to see him; and I stated that I waited on him at the desire of Mr. Stuart. I stated to him, that Mr. Stuart had been put in possession of cer- tain papers, some of which appeared to be in Sir Alex. Boswell's handwriting, and having been sent by post, bore the post-marks of Mauchline, and the corresponding post-marks of reception at Glasgow. That those papers were addressed to the Editor of the Glasgow Sentinel, and appeared to be originals of papers published in that newspaper. That one of them, particularly a song, con- tained matter most offensive, and most injurious to Mr. Stuart's character, charging him, in more passages than one, directly with cowardice. Mr. Solicitor-General. Who were present at the time you gave the message you stated to Sir Alex. Boswell ? A. No person at first. Q. What passed then ? REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 387 A. Sir Alexander stated, that it was a subject of great delicacy, and he desired to have a friend present, to which I acceded, as highly desirable. Sir Alexander left me, and returned with Mr. Douglas as his friend. I then repeated to Sir Alexander in Mr. Douglas' presence, what I had before said to Sir Alexander. Sir Alexander and Mr. Douglas desired to confer together. I left them, and when called back, found Mr. Douglas alone. He stated, that if this unfortunate busi- ness was to proceed any further, there were two condi- tions which Sir Alexander considered as indispensable. One, that no meeting should take place for fourteen days fit least, because he had some family settlements to arrange, which he, believed would require his presence at kirk and. market, the other, that any meeting which might take place, should be on the Continent. On these conditions, I had no difficulty in saying, that I thought them likely to be agreed to by Mr. Stuart. Mr. Douglas then called in Sir Alexander, who stated that he acknowledged the letter with his signature, to be his writing; and with respect to the other papers, he declined to give any answer whatever. We then parted. Q. Will* your Lordship now proceed to state what followed ? A. I saw Mr. Stuart, and proceeded immediately to Mr. Douglas, and stated, that I was grieved to find that no alternative was left to Mr, Stuart. That Mr. Stuart agreed to both the conditions stated by Mr. Douglas, viz., that there should be a delay of fourteen days, and that the meeting should be on the Continent. I left Mr. Douglas to go to Newhaven, meaning to return to Fife immediately, in the conviction that every- thing relating to this subject, was for the present finally 388 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. arranged. The boat was about to sail, but before I em- barked, I was overtaken by Mr. Douglas, who stated to to me, that Sir Alexander had taken the advice of a legal friend, and that he thought it no longer necessary to go to the Continent, and that Sir Alexander was there- fore desirous of having a meeting in Scotland. I objected to that, as highly inconvenient, and embarrassing in some respects, and as contrary to the agreement entered into between us. I stated, that many circumstances made it appear to me desirable, that all future arrangements should be settled in London, as we had agreed, whether we should go to the Continent or not; but that I was still of opinion, that we ought to adhere to the arrange- ment of going to the Continent. I stated that I would not go back to Edinburgh, because I was persuaded that my return with him, coupled with our meeting in the morning, might excite observation and suspicion. I then went home. Mr. Solicitor-General. AY ere you again called upon next morning? A. Yes. Q. By whom ? A. By Mr. Jas. Brougham, brother of Lord Brougham. Q. What time in the morning did you receive this visit from Mr. Brougham ? A. I cannot speak to a few minutes, but I should think it was from about a quarter to about half-past eight o'clock. Q. Was it at Dysart ? A. At Dysart. From eight to half-past eight, cer- tainly it was. It was early in the morning. Mr. Brougham stated to me, that Sir Alexander Boswell and Mr. Stuart had been bound over in the course of the REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 389 night, by the Sheriff of Edinburgh, to keep the peace within the county and city ; and that in consequence of that proceeding, and the expedition which the matter now required, it had been settled during the night that Sir Alexander and Mr. Stuart should meet at Auchtertool that morning, and he desired me to meet Mr. Stuart at Auchtertool, which I did. I went there; and on the east side of the town I met Mr. Douglas. We had some con- versation, and we fixed upon a piece of ground in a field by the roadside. Mr. Stuart and Sir Alexander arrived in carriages, and got out at the place we had fixed upon. Lord Justice-Clerk. At what time was this? Lord Rosslyn. I believe at ten o'clock THE SCENE ON THE FIELD. Mr. Solicitor-General. What next took place? Your Lordship will please go on with your statement. The Earl of Rosslyn. The pistols were produced and loaded, by Mr. Douglas and myself. Mr. Douglas sitting down, and I standing up. Mr. Douglas received from .me a measure of powder for each, and the balls, and lammed them down. There were but two pistols, of \\hich Mr. Douglas took one, and I took the other. The ground was measured (I cannot state exactly the time, wl ether before or after loading) twelve very long paces between the stations. There was some trifling difference in the measurement, and we took the longest. The pis- tols were delivered to the parties respectively by Mr. Douglas, and by me ; and it was agreed that they should fire together, by a word. Mr. Douglas put it upon me to grve that word, which I did accordingly. They both fired, and Sir Alexander fell. B 2 390 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Mr. Solicitor-General. Will your Lordship go on to state what took place then on the field? A. Every possible assistance was afforded to Sir Alexander, who was surrounded by the medical attend- ants, Mr. Douglas, and myself, and I believe by Mr. Brougham, who, during these transactions, had remained on a hill at a little distance, in charge of my horse. Mr. Stuart had advanced with great anxiety towards Sir Alexander, but from his situation, and the necessary treatment from those about him,- he did not speak to him, nor do I think could have had any proper opportunity of doing so. When upon examination of the wound, I was given to understand that it was a very serious one, I advised Mr. Stuart to go away, which he did. Mr. Jeffrey (Cowisel of Mr. Stuart) to the Earl of Rosslyn. I have two questions to ask your Lordship on the whole matter. From all that you saw of Mr. Stuart's conduct in the matter, from the first commencement to the last, had your Lordship any reason to believe that he was actuated by hostility or vengeance to Sir Alexander Boswell, or merely by a desire to repair his injured honour ? A. From the whole of Mr. Stuart's conduct through- out the proceedings, the impression made upon my mind was, that there was no feeling of personal ill-will or resentment against Sir Alexander Boswell, but a deep sense of the unavoidable necessity of vindicating his own honour, more especially when it was assailed by a direct imputation of cowardice. Q. Did you find him. unreasonable or tractable, and disposed to comply with all your suggestioDS ? A. Perfectly reasonable, and most ready to comply with my advice. REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 391 Q. Another question I wish to ask your Lordship is, whether, on the whole of the transaction from first to last, Mr. Stuart's bearing and deportment were such as to make your Lordship persuaded that he was a man of constancy and courage, or cowardly and timid? A. I have no difficulty in stating that Mr. Stuart's conduct from first to last, from the commencement to the 26th of March, was cool, composed, and temperate, and such as might be expected from a man of constancy and courage. Mr. Stuart said to me at the moment- 1 gave him the pistol, " I think I ought not to take aim," in which I agreed. I desired him to present his side, and not his front. Q. Did your Lordship, accordingly, observe how he conducted himself. Had you your eye upon him, after giving the word ? A. Yes, certainly. Q. Have the goodness to mention what the word was? A. First, both parties were asked if they were ready. Then the word was given as quick as the words could follow each other, "Present Fire!" The Honourable JOHN DOUGLAS, the Second of Sir Alexander, examined: Q. What time did you and Sir Alexander leave Edin- burgh. Did you set out together ? A. After Sir Alexander made arrangements at home, O 7 we got a post-chaise ; he sent for a medical man, and we set off a little before five o'clock in the morning. Q. Was any medical person in the carriage with you and Sir Alexander ? A. Dr. George Wood. Q. You crossed the water ? A. We crossed at the Queensfeny breakfasted at 392 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. North Queensferry then went to Auchtertool. We were to be there at ten, and were there about ten minutes before ten. Q. Did you see any other carriage arrive at Auchter- tool? A. "We saw a carriage arrive about ten minutes after ten o'clock. Mr. Stuart was in it. Q. Did you find Lord Rosslyn at the village ? A. Not at the village. I went toward the road at the east end of the village, as I supposed Lord Rosslyn would come that way, and I met him about a quarter of a mile from the village. Q. Did you then return ? A. I then told Lord Rosslyn we were ready at the village, that Sir Alexander was there, and that Mr. Stuart had arrived; and that Lord Rosslyn had better not come into the village as he might be known. Q. State what you observed ? A. They fired, and I then saw Sir Alexander fall. Q. Did you hear his pistol go off ? A. Yes, I am pretty certain I did. They both went off. I heard the noise of two distinct shots. Lord Justice-Clerk. Were they distinct from each other ? A. They were distinct from each other. Mr. M'Neill. Did you then go up to Sir Alexander? A. I immediately ran up to Sir Alexander, and in- quired if he was wounded. Q. Did the surgeons come up ? A. They were quite at hand, and instantly with him. Q. Did you observe Mr. Stuart standing ? A. I do not think Mr. Stuart left his place, at least REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 393 not much from where he stood. I did not observe him much. I did not look much at him. Q. Did you make any intimation to him ? A. After the medical persons had examined the wound, Dr. Wood told me he was afraid it was mortal. I went towards Mr. Stuart, and told him he had better go off directly. THE MEDICAL EVIDENCE AND THE DEATH. Dr. GEORGE WOOD, of Edinburgh, examined: I stated to Mr. Liston (the surgeon in attendance for Mr. Stuart), upon reaching the ground, that we ought to turn our backs and not see the firing ; but that instantly on the shots taking place, we should get up as fast as possible. On turning round after hearing the firing, I saw Sir Alexander on the ground. We went up instantly and found him wounded. Q. Did you hear one or two shots ? A. Two shots very close one on another. Q. You immediately ran up ? A. We immediately ran up, and found that the ball had entered about the middle of the right clavicle, which it had severely fractured. Q. State what occurred ? A. Two pieces of bone were extracted on the spot. The first by myself, and the second by Mr. Liston. Each of us endeavoured to lay hold of and extract other pieces of bone, but we found it impossible to do so. We then proceeded to examine the wound, for the purpose of dis- covering if the ball could be extracted, or where it was lodged. But we did not find it. Q. Was it your opinion that it was a mortal wound ? A. At once, I was perfectly decided. 394 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Q. Was Sir Alexander carried afterwards to Balnmto ? A. He was carried afterwards to Balmuto. Q. And did you attend him to Balmuto ? A. I did. Q. And afterwards ? A. Yes. Q. And till lie died ? A. TiU he died. Q._Wlien did he die? A. At half-past three o'clock next day. Q. And of that wound he died ? A. Certainly. It was the cause of his death. We need not pursue these examinations further. The Lord Advocate addressed the Jury in the most temperate and impressive manner for the Crown, craving a verdict of murder against Mr. Stuart. On the other hand, Mr. Francis Jeffrey made a brilliant defence for him, which rivetted the attention of all who heard it; and about midnight he concluded his speech, .entreating the Jury to bring in a verdict of not guilty. At an early hour of the morning, the Lord Justice-Clerk (Boyle) proceeded with his charge to the Jury, and to his eternal honour, we must say, he did this in a manner which disarmed the furious partizans or politicians of the day : GENTLEMEN, Before concluding, I cannot help expressing my anxiety, that no misunderstanding should exist as to my opinion of the writings which led originally to this lamentable catastrophe. God forbid, that it should for a moment be supposed that I, or any other Judge in this country, could approve of such publications, or look upon them with anything but reprobation. I do lament, from the bottom of my heart, that the unfortunate gentleman deceased, should have had any concern with writings of this description ; but I am afraid, gentlemen, it will be impossible to shut your eyes against the evidence by which it is proved that Sir Alex. Boswell was engaged REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 395 in these writings, and that the prisoner at the bar was the object of his attacks. You will therefore keep these considerations in your view, and pro nounce such verdict, as the circumstances of the case shall seem to you to authorise. The Jury, without retiring, after a few moments' con- sultation, returned their verdict, viva voce, by their Chancellor, Sir John Hope, " My Lord, the Jury unani- mously find Mr. Stuart not guilty." The body of Sir Alex. Boswell was brought from Fife- shire, and buried with great pomp and solemnity, at Auchmleck, 10th April, 1822. We take the following description of it from an Ayrshire paper : THE FUNERAL OF SIR ALEX. BOSWELL. AYR, April 11, 1822. Yesterday, the remains of Sir Alexander Boswell were consigned to the tomb. Our readers know, that for this purpose, the body had been brought from Fifeshire to Auchinleck House. We understand that it was the intention of the relatives of the departed, that the funeral should have been private ; but an inclination to gratify the natural and expressed anxiety of the First Regiment of Ayrshire Yeomanry Cavalry to attend the funeral of their Colonel, and the ready acquiescence and participation in this desire and feeling by the Lord-Lieutenant of the County, altered this intention. Accordingly, about noon, almost the whole of the First Regiment, mounted, and the other gentlemen and tenantry invited to the funeral, approached the house. Many of them had travelled from a great distance, and some refreshment became necessary, as being usual. An elegant repast was accordingly served up to the noblemen and gentlemen in the house, and to the cavalry, &c., on the lawn. This repast was prefaced by an appropriate blessing from the Rev. James Boyd, the minister of Auchinleck, and followed by a thanksgiving from the Rev. John Lindsay, of the neighbouring parish of Ochiltree, some time minister of Auchinleck. At the conclusion of the refreshment, the body was removed from the house to the hearse, and the procession formed and proceeded in this order : 396 REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. The First Regiment of Ayrshire Yeomanry, mounted, and under the command of Capt William Campbell of Fairfield, in reverse order, followed by the Bugles belonging to the corps. The tenantry and other gentlemen of the neighbourhood, to the num- ber of nearly five hundred. The undertaker and his assistants. The body, in a hearse, drawn by six horses the whole in deep mourning. His groom, and other servants, and dependants. His only son, a youth of fifteen, accompanied by Lord Glenlee, Lord Balmuto, and Sir James Montgomery Cunningham, in a coach- and-four. The Right Hon. Lord Glasgow, the Lord-Lieutenant of the County, the Hon. John Douglas, and General Leslie, in a coach-and-four, in deep mourning. Then followed between twenty and thirty carriages, containing the principal friends of the deceased, and the chief gentry of the County. In this order the funeral proceeded to Auchinleck churchyard, before which the Cavalry filed off, and the rest of the attendants pro- ceeded on towards the church, the Yeomanry meanwhile resting on their swords. The body was then removed from the hearse, and deposited in the family vault under the aisle of the church. This vault is cut out of the rock on which the church stands, and was cleared and enlarged some time since, by the order of the deceased. Besides the numerous attendants at the funeral, it is computed there were upwards of ten thousand spectators collected from the neighbouring villages and surrounding country a number almost incredible, considering the limited extent of the population in that quarter. The rank, talents, and character of the departed the cause and manner of his death and the loss his relatives and society have thereby sustained all combined with the extraordinary solem- nity of the scene, to render this altogether one of the most striking dispensations of Providence, that has occurred in this quarter for a considerable time past, and it cannot fail to make on all a deep and lasting impression. REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 397 As for Mr. Stuart, lie found no heart to remain in Edinburgh, after this catastrophe. He travelled to Ame- rica and other parts of the world, for some years, and published some interesting volumes of travels. He after- wards settled in London, and became editor of one of the London journals, viz., the Courier, no longer in existence, though it was once one of the ablest papers in London. He found great favour with Lord Melbourne, who knew him personally ; and when Lord Melbourne became Premier, he appointed Mr. Stuart to the office of Inspec- tor ,of Factories for Scotland. He was succeeded in that office by the late Sir John Kincaid, of whom we have already spoken as being in the Rifle Brigade in Glasgow, in the memorable 1820. Mr. Stuart originated the United Kingdom Fire and Life Assurance Company; at least he became Chairman or Deputy-Chairman of it; and in that capacity he came to inaugurate the office in Glasgow, under the agency of the late Mr. A. B. Seton. That flourishing office is now engrafted with the North British Insurance Company, under the agency of Mr. G. AY. Snodgrass. Mr. Stuart came frequently to Glasgow, where he had many ardent friends; and, on one occasion, he collected some fifty of them together, and gave them a splendid dinner in the Eagle Hotel, at which we had the happiness of being present; but they are now all dead, with the exception of Robert Salmond, Esq., ex-Manager of the City of Glasgow Bank, who is now enjoying his otium cum dignitate, after a long life of faithful and honourable services in this city. Mr. Stuart died in November, 1849, in the 74th year of his age, preserving to the last, as Mr. Townsend in his State Trials declares of him, " the character of a staunch parti- zan, a warm friend, and most honourable man." 398 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. HIGH COURT OF JUSTICIARY HTH JUNE, 1822. W. M. BOETHWICK. Mr. Henry Cockburn, Advocate, as Counsel for William Murray Borthwick, stated that his client had been served with criminal letters, at the instance of Robert Alexander, proprietor and publisher of the newspaper called the Glasgow Sentinel, to stand trial before their Lordships this day for the crime of stealing certain manuscripts and documents from the office of the said newspaper; that as the said Robert Alexander has abandoned his interest, decreet for expenses should be given against him, and that the Bond of Caution for insist- ing, should be forfeited, and decreet given against the said cautioner for the said expenses. The Lords, in respect that the private prose- cutor has abandoned the prosecution, dismiss the libel, and declare the Bond of Caution granted for reporting and insisting in the criminal letters to be forfeited, find the said Robert Alexander liable to the said W. M. Borthwick in the expenses incurred by him, in preparing for his trial, and allow an account thereof to be given in, and decern. But these proceedings were not allowed thus to -rest. They aroused the attention of parliament, and, in the course of that same month, the Hon. James Abercromby, afterwards Speaker of the House of Commons, and late Lord Dunfermline, rose in his place, and thus addressed the House : DISCUSSION IN PARLIAMENT. Mr. ABERCROMBY I rise to present a petition to this House from an individual with whose name, from recent occurrences, the House is familiar. I mean Mr. W. M. Borthwick. (Hear, hear, and cries of Order at the Bar.) This petition I have read with the deepest attention, and can assure the House it is drawn up in language to which the most critical observer can make no objection. It contains a clear recital of all those transactions to which it was my duty to allude in the discussion on a former night. It recites his arrest and imprisonment in the Jail of Dundee; that his repositories had been seized and broken open; that he himself had been placed in irons (hear, hear) that from the prison of Dundee, he was removed to Edinburgh, in the custody of two persons with loaded pistols; that REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. 399 all access to his friends and agents had been denied; that bail had been rejected; and yet after all, the trial had been abandoned. That- he was a second time committed to prison, and after experiencing the severest treatment, was at length liberated from Jail without any application on his part, and by the voluntary act of those who impri- soned him. This unfortunate person, through me, presents his peti- tion to this House, and prays relief for the manifold and severe injuries and wrongs he has endured. MR. ABERCROMBY'S MOTION. (From the Scotsman of June 27, 1822.) Mr. Abercromby's motion came on on Tuesday. After an able speech, the honourable member moved that a select committee be appointed to inquire into the conduct of the Lord Advocate, and other law agents of the Crown in Scotland, relative to the public press, and more especially into the prosecution instituted against Mi-. W. M. Borthwick. The debate which is of the very highest interest, will be given in our supplement. Mr. Abercrornby was followed by the Lord Advocate, Mr. Peel, Sir James M'Intosh, and Lord Lon- donderry; and on a division, the numbers were For the motion, 95; against it, 102; majority, 25. 400 REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. CHAPTER V. EXTRAORDINARY BANK ROBBERY IN GLASGOW- PURSUIT OF THE ROBBERS TO LONDON THE WON- DERFUL CASE OF HUFFEY WHITE, AND SENTENCE OF DEATH ON JAMES M'COUL, &c. OUR neighbouring Burgh of Paisley, was no small drink in this our City of Glasgow, fifty or sixty years ago. It had here its " Paisley Bank." It had here also its Paisley Union Bank. The branches, or the agencies of these two banks in Glasgow, did a very considerable deal of business. The office of the first-mentioned bank, was for a long time in one of the ancient tenements near the Cross of Glasgow, opposite the statue of King William, in which same tenement the branch of the present flourishing City of Glasgow Bank recently did its business for several years, under the agency of Mr. William Robertson, till it removed that good branch to the fine new tenement recently erected nearly opposite the Tron Steeple, where previously stood the tenement wherein the illustrious Sir John Moore, the hero of Corunna, was born. The Paisley Union, transacted its business in what was considered to be a very beautiful building in Glasgow fifty years ago in that building to the east, in Ingram Street, REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 401 nearly opposite Hutchesons' Hospital; and from the front door of the Hospital, this old Paisley Bank office may be viewed still to some advantage. It forms Nos. 49 and 51 of Ingram Street, now occupied by Messrs. Eeid and others; and although this Bank, with the other one above-named, has long ceased to transact business under those titles, being merged in modern banks still alive and active, yet the old Paisley Union will form the subject of a most extraordinary affair, or rather a chain of the most extraordinary and marvellous circumstances, that proba- bly ever occurred in this city or kingdom. These, we shall now endeavour truthfully to narrate in our present Eeminiscence, and with an interest which will increase and be developed towards the close of it. Our readers, however, will please in the first place, to observe the fact, that the office of the Paisley Union Bank as seen now, was very different from what it was, as seen then, viz., in the year 1811, with which year our story begins. Nearly opposite to the Paisley Union Bank, a very celebrated woman at that time in Glasgow, viz., Mrs. Neil Munn, kept a tavern for carriers' quarters, &c. It has been demolished to make way for modern buildings. Farther on, but nearly opposite the Bank, there was a long dead wall running on the north side of Ingram Street. On the east and west, on the south side, there were some beautiful gardens, no longer in existence, being covered over with the haunts of busy commerce. Down- wards a little to the right, there was the famous Glasgow Bowling Green of old, now forming the site of our City Hall, and bustling Bazaar, in the Candleriggs. And thus the Paisley Union Bank was seen towering in its pride of place fifty years ago. 402 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Standing at the old wall near Mrs. Munn's stables, which some yet in Glasgow may remember, any stranger had the best opportunity of reconnoitring the appear- ance of the Bank, and that it was anxiously reconnoitred at the period referred to, by certain strangers then in Glas- gow, there cannot be the smallest reason to doubt. This Paisley Union Bank, we may remark, did also a very large business in Edinburgh. Sir William Forbes & Co., now represented by the great Union Bank of Scotland, were its agents in Edinburgh; and regularly on every Saturday morning, it was the custom of Sir William Forbes & Co. to make up and send a large supply of bank notes, and gold guineas, and silver, in exchange or otherwise, for the supply of the Paisley Union Bank in Glasgow, during the following week. There was a strong iron bank box fitted for the purpose, and the porter of the Bank in Glasgow, used regularly to attend the arrival of the Edinburgh Mail Coach at the Black Bull Inn, here, on Saturday afternoon, and fetch away the well chained box, with its valuable contents, to the Bank premises in Ingram Street, where it was duly and safely deposited within the other huge iron safes' of the Bank itself. On Saturday, the 13th of July, 1811, the remittance from Sir Wm. Forbes & Co., was unusually large. It amounted to many thousands of pounds ; and the bank porter had some difficulty in carrying the precious load to its assigned place ; but he managed to do so in per- fect safety. The Bank was now carefully locked up for the night; and the keys thereof, together with the key of the great iron safe, were duly taken to the dwelling-house, situated in St. Enoch Square, of Mr. Andrew Templeton, who was the chief Manager of the Bank in Glasgow. It happened that this was the Fair week of Glasgow. The REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 403 trusty porter of the bank, and his douce and faithful spouse, who had apartments for themselves in a separate department of the bank, took it into their heads to walk down to the Green of Glasgow, on that fine summer Saturday evening to snuff " the caller air," and to see the Shows, which then flourished in all their pristine inno- cence in those days. There was no outlet by any steamers from Glasgow at that time, and of course, none by any railway; and it was a great thing on Saturday, to take a, jaunt on "shank's naggie," and behold Dumbarton Castle I Mr. Templeton, we may remark, was one of the tallest and stoutest men we ever remember of seeing in Glasgow. He was much respected. He was that year Chief Magis- trate of the Gorbals; and he was, for several years after- wards, in the Magistracy of the city. When the porter or his wife, as was their wont, got the keys of the Bank from Mr. Ternpleton's house, in St. Enoch Square, on Monday morning to open the front doors of the Bank and to sweep out the office, they found everything apparently correct, as usual. But when the Manager himself entered with the key of the iron safe to take out the notes about ten o'clock, for the business of the day, a very different state of matters presented themselves. The drawers of the press in the inner safe in which the Bank's own notes to a large extent had been deposited, stood rifled, and were completely empty: nothing left but bills for discount or fulling due. Sir Win. Forbes & Co.'s iron box also stood open, and was completely rifled. Every gold guinea, and there had previously been piles upon piles of them in the bank coffers, had disap- peared ; the silver also : so that this morning, the Bank in Glasgow was absolutely left without a shilling in its coffers! The loss indeed was enormous; some guessed it 404 REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. at 30,000 sterling, at least; others at 50,000 or more, a vast abstracted loss surely for one Bank establishment at that time in Glasgow; but for prudential reasons, affecting perhaps its own stability, the Bank never con- descended to state the precise amount. We shall give, however, a tolerable idea of it afterwards. Meanwhile, it was sufficient to know, that the Bank had been broken into and robbed of all its most valuable treasure; and this, of course, created a perfect panic, and the utmost consternation in Glasgow, and especially at Paisley, on the following day, when the news became known, and for many a long day afterwards. Every Paisley Union Bank note that made its appearance, was questioned and re-questioned by its vendor, times and ways without number. Bank notes, indeed, of every description, were handled with much uneasiness and doubt, as if coming from the hands of traceable robbers. The following advertisement appeared in the two Glasgow newspapers of the day, and in placards over the city and elsewhere: REWAUD OF FIVE HUNDRED GUINEAS. DARING HOTJSEBREAKING AND ROBBERY. WHEREAS, the office of the Paisley Union Bank Company in Ingram Street, Glasgow, was this morning discovered to have been broken into since Saturday night, and Bank notes of the above and other Banks to a very considerable amount carried off. A Reward of "Five Hundred Guineas is hereby offered for the apprehending of the person, or any of the persons, guilty of the above daring Robbery: to be paid, on conviction, by Mr. John Likly, Cashier of said Bank at Paisley, or Mr. Andrew Templeton, at the Company's Office, Glasgow. And if any such information shall be given by an accomplice as may affect the discovery and apprehension of any other of the offenders, and lead to the recovery of the property, he will be entitled to the above Reward, and His Majesty's most gracious Pardon will be applied for on his behalf. REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. 405 It is requested of all Banks and Banking Companies, and of the Public in general, to take notice, and give information as above, or to Mr. John Bennet, Procurator-Fiscal of the City of Glasgow, of any suspicious persons or circumstances tending to a discovery of the offenders, for the recovery of the property; and to stop any notes which may be offered in exchange or otherwise, under suspicious appearance, till due investigation; for which, suitable reward, and all expenses will be paid as above. Information may also be transmitted to the house of Sir William Forbes, James Hunter & Co., Bankers in Edinburgh, or to any Banking Company in the neighbourhood of the place where any dis- covery may be made. Glasgow, Monday, 15th July, 1811. It happened singularly enough, that on Sabbath morn- ing the 14th of July, as early as three or four o'clock, a decent tradesman of the city, whose name was David Clacher, in the employment of our old friend, Deacon James Graham, wright, when looking out of the window of his house in Taylor Street, in the upper regions of the city, which afforded a distinct view of the wall at Mrs. Munn's tavern, opposite the bank above described, beheld the unusual sight of three men leaping over that wall; and when they landed on the inner side of it, excluded as might be supposed from all observation' at that particular time, he saw them sitting down on the green sward, and busily arranging various parcels of paper, and other things of that sort, and tying them up eagerly in napkins, kandkerchiefs, or bags, and then exchanging some of their own body clothes, and adjusting their cravats and great-coats, and then carrying away the bundles. He watched those seemingly strange movements a little longer, from motives of mere curiosity; and he kept his eye steadily upon the three personages, till he saw them wending their way apparently to the old Coach-yard then c 2 406 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. in George Street, where lie unavoidably lost sight of them. He called the attention of his wife to these circumstances at the time, and she concurred with him in thinking that there was something remarkable about them, especially so early on a Sabbath morning, in that quiet and then sequestered spot of the city of Glasgow, now teeming with its busy thousands. "We have stated that the news of this vast and daring robbery, when divulged, created a perfect panic in the city; and David Clacher above referred to, when hearing of it, and consulting with his wife, like a good citizen, lost no time in hastening down to the Bank, and telling what he had seen near the Bank premises, on that Sabbath morning, as above narrated. We heard all this many a time from Mr. Clacher himself, and others. Instantly, on Clacher's statement, Mr. Fiscal Bennet hastened up to the George Street Coach-yard, kept by old Mr. Alexander Leith Sandy Leitli, he was usually called who had a place besides, in the High Street, for gigs, saddle-horses, sedan-chairs, post-chaises, &c. Many a good hire did we pay to him in our early days. We have passed through our hands some of his drafts on Grahame of Gartmore, and others, per the Ship Bank, for two hundred guineas at a time, and oftener for much higher sums ; but it must not be sup- posed that we squandered that money, or anything like it, on ourselves. We introduce the circumstance, because it gives us the opportunity of saying, that Sandy Leith, undoubtedly, was one of the original and greatest horse- coupers of his day in the city of Glasgow. Next to him, we would probably name Thomas Hibbert; and not going down, but rather rising in a greatly extended sphere, we would name our old respected friend, Mr. REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 407 James Walker, whose activity in the Tontine Hotel, was proverbial many years ago; nor must we overlook his enterprising junior Mr. Atidrew Menzies, and others. It may be amusing here to state the fact, that Mr. Alex. Leith, who was, we repeat, the greatest postman of his day in Glasgow, (irrespective of Mr. Bain of the Mail Coach Office) had only five or six chaises in his possession altogether, with some thirty or forty horses at 'the utmost; whereas, we might now count easily enough on at least five hundred chaises, vehicles, or omnibuses, and not less than 1500 posting horses in the city of Glasgow. And see, all this now, without taking into account the prodi- gious traffic by steamers and railways, then utterly unknown. Have we not then been living in a city of progress in a world of wonders? This digression, for such we again acknowledge it ta be, only brings us back the more prominently to old Sandy Leith, the king, as we may call him, of the post- masters and saddle-boys of Glasgow, fifty years ago. His nose, unfortunately, had been nearly bitten off, by one of his own favourite horses, perhaps in a fit of good nature, when he was rubbing it down kindly in his own stables, (noticed already in an article about Colonel Hunter's horse) ; but he was a good and worthy man, esteemed for sagacity, good, humour, and perfect honesty. The visit, however, of Fiscal Bennet, about the Bank robbery, put him rather " out of sorts," as he often acknowledged to us; but he told the truth without the slightest hesi- tation. In answer to the interrogatories of the Fiscal, he and his hostler remembered perfectly, that on the Sunday morning above specified, between the hours of five and six o'clock, they were rapped out of their beds by some gentlemen who wanted a post-chaise immediately 408 REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. for Edinburgh. The worthy old carle, for such we may here also call him, had some qualms in his conscience about hiring. his chaise on Sunday to any strangers what- ever, unless in cases of necessity and mercy. He com- plained that the order for the hire of the chaise had not been communicated to him in due time on Saturday night; whereupon one of the three personages adroitly remarked, that a near relative had taken suddenly unwell in Edinburgh ; and that they required to go and see him post-haste. On this, the scruples of Mr. Leith were effectually removed; the horses ordered to be fed for the journey; which done, the chaise was soon brought out, and the bundles, bags, and portmanteaus duly deposited therein ; and away the chaise rattled with its three pas- sengers. The information and description of them given by Sandy and his hostler to Fiscal Bennet, led to the following publication : It being ascertained that three men, believed to be strangers, left Glasgow under suspicious circumstances about six o'clock on the morning of Sunday last, the 14th of July, in a post-chaise to Airdrie, and proceeded eastward, of the following descriptions, viz. : 1st. A man about five feet ten inches, stoutly made, and active a full plump face and ruddy complexion full stuffed neckcloth, dark- coloured long coat, light coloured blueish striped wide pantaloons or trousers wore over-boots dark eyes, black short hair, somewhat pitted with smallpox a dark-coloured greatcoat, which he occasionally carried over his arm; sometimes spoke in the English accent and sometimes Scotch. 2d. A man about five feet eight inches, lightish made, pantaloons 6r trousers like the other, and sometimes wore over-boots long dark- coloured coat. These two appeared somewhat like gentlemen. 3d. A man five feet nine inches high, slender and ill-made, long coat, dai'k coloured; shoes and light-coloured stockings. Dresa and appearance rather like a tradesman. REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 409 It is particularly requested of the inhabitants of the city of Glas- gow and vicinity, that any circumstances known concerning these persons or any one of them the time of their residence in Glasgow the direction in which they came their lodgings, and the places where, and persons with whom seen while in Glasgow, may be com- municated immediately to Mr. Templeton or Mr. Bennet. And the names of those who rcay make such communications will be concealed, if desired. The chase after the robbers now became ardent and keen. They were followed from Airdrie to Mid-Calder, thence to Uphall and Edinburgh. In each of these places and they were all famous posting stages between Glas- gow and Edinburgh in the olden time the three parties in the post-chaise had called for the best wine and enter- tainment that could be had ; and they contrived at all of them to pay for the reckoning, including the renewed hire of the post-chaise and horses, with a 20 note of the Paisley Union Bank, receiving back the difference in gold guineas or other bank notes. When they reached Princes Street, Edinburgh, they pulled up, dismissing the post- boy and his chaise, and paying him handsomely for his own trouble, with a Paisley genuine note, which rather unusual occurrence with him, made him take good obser- vation of " the kind liberal gentlemen." He saw them each firmly grasping their respective parcels, and throwing their greatcoats loosely over them, like honest travellers pursuing their journey. All trace of them in Edinburgh was utterly lost on Tuesday: every hotel and lodging- house in Edinburgh, was ransacked by the police in vain. The London and Leith smacks at Leith were overhauled; every mail coach and stage coach proceeding out of Edinburgh, was inquired after by the police, but to no purpose. At last it was discovered, that in a small tavern in one* of the back streets of Edinburgh, viz., in Rose 410 EEMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Street, then kept by a Lanarkshire man of the name of M'Ausland, three gentlemen, apparently Englishmen and travellers, had ordered dinner on Sunday, in a great hurry, between one and two o'clock: that they drank wine plentifully, and paid him with another 20 Paisley Union Bank note, and went away pretty soon afterwards. All Edinburgh was searched again carefully, but the robbers were not there, Meanwhile, Mr. John Likly, the head manager of the Bank in Paisley, came in to Glasgow, and after consult- ing with his friend and agent, Mr. Robert Walkinshaw, of the firm of Messrs. Walkinshaw & Dow, writers, in the Stockwell, afterwards Messrs. Walkinshaw, Dow, and Couper, who ultimately had their chambers in the Bank premises in Ingram Street, Mr. Couper is still alive, hale, and hearty, and is at the head of the firm of Messrs. Couper, Mackenzie, & limes ; it was resolved that Mr. Likly and Mr. Walkinshaw should take out their seats in the next mail coach,, and proceed to London, to instruct the Bow Street police-officers respecting the robbery; while Mr. James M'Crone, the famous messenger-at-arms in Glasgow, should pursue his scent in another direction. Singularly enough, when stopping for a few minutes at Darlington on this journey, Mr. Likly ascertained that in that very inn, three gentlemen had arrived in a post- chaise and four on Monday that they called with all expedition for four fresh horses that they drank hur- riedly two bottles of wine, and paid the charges with a 20 Paisley Union Bank note again, receiving back the differ- ence, and that they sought and obtained change from the innkeeper of another 20 note of the same bank, which notes he still retained in his possession, and they were, shown by him to Mr. Likly, who at once identified them. REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 411 The innkeeper at Darlington could not really tell whither the gentlemen went in their post-chaise and four. He only knew that they had gone off on the London road, but he gave such a vivid description of their persons, as left little room to doubt that they were the same as Sandy Leith had described in Glasgow. Quick as horses 7 legs could carry them, Messrs. Likly and Walkinshaw proceeded to London; and arriving there, they immedi- ately waited on Stephen Lavender and John Vickery, at the Bow Street police-office. These two officers, we may remark, were in great repute at that time. They were considered to be the most expert police-officers that London ever had ; and they died, we believe, many years ago, leaving no inconsiderable fortunes derived by the rewards they had received for the successful performance of many of their duties. They took up the Glasgow Bank robbery case, with great gusto. It was just the very case they liked to have; and they assured. Messrs. Likly and Walkinshaw, that ere six days elapsed, if the robbers were really within any of the four corners of the city of London, they would have them entrapped and carefully secured with their booty. The six days assigned by the Bow Street officers, Lavender and Vickery, had now nearly elapsed; but no trace of the robbers found in London. In Glasgow, how- ever, and while Messrs. Likly and Walkinshaw were still away in London, a most extraordinary piece of informa- tion was obtained, which we shall now relate. A respect- able widow woman of the name of Stewart, who kept lodgers, and resided near the then end of the Brooinielaw, at the foot of Carrick Street, a very quiet and secluded part of Glasgow it thin was, gave information to the authorities that, for some weeks preceding the robbery, 412 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. she had three gentlemen lodgers in her house whom she took to be Englishmen, that they were very quiet in their manners dined regularly every day at two o'clock saw no company went out sometimes very early in the morning to fish, they said, on the banks of the river (nor was this, by-the-bye, any joke, for although the banks of the river are sadly polluted now, we have seen as many as twenty fine fresh salmon caught in it per net and cobble, on a Monday morning in June, near the very steps of the stairs of the present Glasgow Custom-house!) but in the evening, she remarked, they oftener went out, to go they said, to the Theatre-Royal, in Queen Street, and frequently did not return till one, two, or three o'clock of the morning; but as they were so very quiet in all their movements, and paid their lodgings regularly every week, she had really no suspicion of them all the time they remained with her, which was for a period of nearly two months. She now remembered, however, that she had seen them occasionally handling and assorting some skeleton keys. She observed some plans or drawings of keys, and other implements, once or twice on their table; and she remembered of carrying herself, at their special request, a parcel containing some of those plans or drawings, to Messrs. Howie or Hard- greaves' quarters, in Brunswick Street, who were then the great carriers between Glasgow and London, which par- cel was addressed to somebody or other in London; but the name she could not at the moment recollect. She was certain, however, about the parcel going to London; and she further remembered that one of the gentlemen, about three weeks before the robbery, had gone away, as he said, on some business journey to Liverpool or Bristol; but that hfe \yould return to Glasgow in about a fortnight, REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 413 which he did. She distinctly mentioned this other fact, namely, that they called for their bill, and' finally settled with her for the amount of it, on Saturday night, preced- ing the robbery; and the description which she gave of them tallied exactly with the description which Sandy Leith, and the innkeeper at Darlington, had given, ag before narrated. The blunt information, which this decent honest woman (long since dead) had thus given of the skeleton keys, and the parcel to London, turned out to be of the greatest importance. It was speedily communicated to Messrs. Likly and Walkmshaw in London ; and by them it was forthwith communicated to Lavender and Vickery, the two London police-officers, who were beginning to think that the discovery of the robbers in London was getting rather hopeless ; for they had expended much of their time, with their retinue of expert assistants, in tracking every coach and mail coach in London every post-boy every vehicle every tavern of good or bad repute : besides the quarters of all the money-changers known in London, to no purpose. They had also been at every bank in the city of London; but not one of the abstracted notes could there be found. This fresh information, however, arriving from Glasgow about the parcel and the skeleton keys, made a new light to dawn on the London detectives, and excited their highest hopes and expectations. They went directly to the Glasgow waggon or carrier's office in London. They searched out the way-bill. They got it, and fixed their eyes on one remarkable designation as follows : " For Mr. Little, care of Mr. John Scoltcock, 'blacksmith, in Tower Street, off St. George's-in-the-Fields, London." On perceiving that address, Lavender and Vickery quietly rubbed their hands with ecstacy. They 414 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. were now, they thought, and thought truly, scenting out their game inasmuch as this Mr. Scoltcock was known to them, to be a most notorious character for making false or skeleton keys, for the most accomplished robbers in London; and the Mr. Little, to whom to his care this Glasgow parcel was addressed, was suspected or con- sidered by them to be one of the greatest robbers, without exception, that had infested England. His real name was Huffey, or Henry White. He had a few months before been caught and convicted for robbery, and sen- tenced to transportation to Botany Bay for life; but he made a desperate and successful escape from the Hulks at Portsmouth. Search was made for him in many parts of England, in vain; and these practised and expert London police-officers had come to the conclusion, that Huffey would never turn up till some other great and daring robbery occurred. They had, therefore, such a case now fairly presented to them from Scotland. Their cogitations, as may now be supposed, were intensely directed to the whereabouts of Huffey White .and his Glasgow parcel. They were all aware that he had left a wife in London; and they knew her residence, and had often watched her movements long before the Glasgow robbery had taken place. But they came to the prudent resolution, as it turned out to be, not to disturb her at this time, but to go at once and surround the blacksmith's house, in the first instance, and to search all about it. It is proper, after the description we have just given of Huffey White, that we should now introduce to the notice of our readers, the other dramatis persona his associates and fellow-lodgers in the house of Widow Stewart, at the Broomielaw, &c., &c. The first of those REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 415 characters, and the greatest by far of importance, was Mr. James Moffat, alias M'Coul, who performed the extraordinary part which this Reminiscence will soon describe, and which will render his name for ever famous or notorious in the criminal annals of Scotland ; and the other or second personage, was one Harry French, a London thief, famous at lock picking, for which quality he was the confidant of Mr. M'Coul. Those three per- sonages, viz., Huffey White, James Moffat or M'Coul, and Harry French, we may here repeat, completely answer the original description in the Glasgow papers before referred to. The Bow Street police-officers were now thoroughly armed and equipped for the important task before them. But before noticing it further, we must here remark, that neither Huffey White nor Harry French could read or write ; but Mr. M'Coul could do both : he was rather an expert scholar, and to him therefore the gang committed the charge of the precious notes, as beat knowing the real value and bearing of them. He had thus, as he fan- cied, not merely the absolute control of the notes, but the destiny of his guilty associates in his own hands. He had partly arranged with them for some shares of the plunder; but he took especial care to keep by far the most convenient and precious part of it to himself; and when the guilty trio reached London, which they did early on Wednesday or Thursday morning, Mr. M'Coul gave to Huffey White and Harry French a few Bank of England notes out of the robbed parcel got in Glasgow, in order to enable them to go and see their dulcinas in London, and to make all things ready for an agreeable division of the whole spoil, in the course of the following night. They therefore cordially and sincerely agreed to 416 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. meet on that night, in the house of their old friend, Mr. Scoltcock, the blacksmith, and then finally arrange how to melt or smash the Paisley Union Bank notes, or get them disposed of for gold or other monies in London, through the agency of certain reset ters, then as now, we are afraid, reaping a villanous but lucrative occupation. Mr. Scoltcock, the blacksmith, was, as may be ima- gined, perfectly delighted to see his three very particular friends back again safely to London. They let him know how they had "done the job" to an enormous amount in Glasgow; and they were laughing and crow- ing at the feats of Mr. M'Coul in particular, who not getting the skeleton keys to suit his hand at first in Glasgow, had gone back to London to get a fresh set prepared, which ultimately answered; and this accounts for the absence of M'Coul, who pretended to his landlady, Mrs. Stewart, in Glasgow, that he was away on a visit to Liverpool or Bristol. They also, over their cups and pipes, described to Mr. Scoltcock, how often they had been in the Bank in Glasgow under cloud of night, or early in the morning, measuring and trying the keys how often they had been alarmed and scared in their purpose how, on one occasion in particular, on a Sun- day, they thought they were caught and done for, by the unexpected opening of the front door of the Bank, and the entrance of the porter into the lobby; they kept quiet, but had their pistols cocked, and their daggers ready to plunge into his body ; but happily for himself, the porter came no farther than that lobby to carry away some umbrella; and by a piece of the most marvellous good luck for themselves at the time, they saw the porter retiring and locking again the front door of the Bank, he having no earthly conception of the ugly customers then REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 417 armed within, who, there can be no doubt, would have murdered him on the spot rather than be captured. It is singular to relate, but it is the fact, that although the robbers on that occasion had complete possession of the Bank, they did not think there was money enough in some of the Safes, to tempt them to take it then away. They therefore, at great hazard to themselves, carefully relocked the doors, and came away skaithless, determined to await the arrival of a larger parcel of notes and specie from Edinburgh, the movements of which, on Saturday afternoons, they had for some time been carefully watch- ing. That opportunity, they thought, had at last arrived, by the heavy parcel we have already alluded to, from Sir William Forbes & Co. They therefore determined to accomplish the robbery neck or nothing neck or every- 1 thing, on this subsequent Saturday night, or very early on Sunday morning. Hence they settled their lodging bills with Mrs. Stewart at the Broomielaw, on Saturday evening, and bade her good-bye. With their dark- lanterns, ready keys, and practised hands, they soon found their way back again into the more precious Safes and coffers of the Bank. They now rifled them most completely taking away everything but the copper money; and even on some of it they had laid their daring hands. Never was robbery so coolly and daringly perpetrated in this kingdom. We may now therefore view, if we can, these three daring robbers, all safely and snugly arrived in London, with some 30,000 or 40,000 of good genuine Scotch bank notes to dispose of, without speaking of the gold and silver, seldom difficult to be disposed of any where at any time. Huffey White's wife, in London, was perfectly overwhelmed with joy, when she beheld her husband for 418 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. the first time after his daring escape from the Hulks, entering her lodgings about three o'clock of the morning, and making her acquainted with this run of tremendous good fortune. He at once gave her a 10 or 20 Bank of England note to procure some necessaries; and told her, that with his share of the vast booty, he intended to sail to America, but if she would not accompany him, he would settle upon her 50 per annum not bad for a robber's wife, certainly. Harry French, the other confe- derate, had also formed the resolution of going to America with his share of the booty. Mr. M'Coul signified that he did not know very well what to do ; but probably he would reside in some remote corner or other of England, as a gentleman living on his means, and perhaps forming other schemes of Bank robbery. Those, undoubtedly, from their statements, appeared to be the resolutions and arrangements of this gang. Huifey White's wife, rejoicing in the great good for- tune of her husband, but still concerned for his personal safety, proposed or cordially went in with the arrange- ment, that they should sojourn for a short period in the house of Mr. Scoltcock, with whom and his wife she had always been on the best of terms. She had then no idea that Mr. Scoltcock had been making the skeleton keys for Glasgow, or receiving any parcels from Glasgow, otherwise she might have fancied that his house was not the very safest, place for them. But to it they went. In it the gang had all joyously assembled, and it was most agreeably arranged that they should have " a good supper" over the division of the spoil that evening, in Scoltcock's house. His wife got a 20 Bank of England note to provide for the vivers. Mr. M'Coul went away to the place where he had carefully secured the chief REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. 419 bulk of the booty, but he faithfully promised to return with his friend, Mr. French, at the supper time. The reeking roasted goose, broiled ham, and chickens, dumplings, new potatoes, and green peas, grapes, straw- berries, and cucumbers, yea, every delicacy of the season, were now all ready, and placed on the table, in Mr. Scoltcock's snug house, with jugs of ale, pots of double stout, gin, rum, brandy and wine, beyond compare. The banquet, in short, was sumptuous in the highest degree, for this precious company, and only awaited the arrival of the two important guests, Messrs. M'Coul and French. Eap-tap! came to the door, and the blacksmith's wife rose from her cushioned seat, and was beginning from her inner chamber to scold the anticipated guests for detaining them so long from the ready supper, when lo! who should enter, swift as arrows, but Lavender and Vickery, the two Bow Street police-officers, with an attendant retinue of assistants. The scene at that instant must be left to the imagination of our readers. We simply narrate the real facts. And here it is superfluous for us to observe, that the London police-officers immediately recognised Huffey White, and made him their prisoner. The sup- per arrangements were, of course, thrown into a state of indescribable confusion. Huffey found himself help- less; but he made a desperate attempt to dash through one of the windows; they overpowered him, and manacled him at once with their patent handcuffs, well knowing what a dangerous character he was. They then searched him from head to foot, and discovered upon his person abundant evidence of the Glasgow (Paisley) Bank robbery. In one of the departments of the blacksmith's house, they also discovered the very box which had been sent up from Glasgow, with a plan of 420 REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. the skeleton keys, besides several letters from M'Coul, addressed to Mr. Scoltcock, directing some secret altera- tions to be made ; and on this, the whole of the inmates, consisting of Scoltcock and his wife, and HufFey and his wife, and one or two other chosen friends, were taken away as prisoners, and lodged for the night in Horse- monger-lane Jail. The evidence was thus pretty complete. But where was the chief actor, Mr. M'Coul, and his other guilty associate, Mr. French ? Where were the parcels containing the bank notes? They had Huffey in durance; but where was the treasure? Like the fox near his trap, but scenting from afar, Mr. M'Coul, and his friend Harry French, wheeled about from Scoltcock's house and nestled for the night in a snug den in the neighbourhood of Horsemonger-lane Jail: and soon afterwards negotia- tions were opened up with the London police-officers for the release of the prisoners for thieves even can enter on their negotiations and it was proposed that if the Bank officers would grant a free pardon to Huffey White, and get him released from prison with the others, and allowed to go at large, the Bank would receive back on his account, the sum of 12,000 in name of ransom money. It may seem strange to be told now, that such a proposal was actually made, entertained, and positively accepted in the city of London, at the period referred to. It was virtually a compounding of felony ; and this very case, with others which occurred, led to a most wise, but stringent alteration of the law, whereby it was made a high crime or misdemeanour, to compound with felons under any circumstances ; and this is the state of the law now. But at the period referred to, strange to say, Mr. Huffey White, on the payment of that 12,000, abso- lutely received his free pardon. Mr. Scoltcock and his REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 421 wife, and Huffey and his wife, were liberated from prison; and shortly thereafter, Mr. Likly, in company with his agent, Mr. Walkinshaw, returned to Glasgow, rejoicing probably, that they had been so successful in in this the first part of their negotiations in London. One might suppose, that with such an hairbreadth escape attending him, Huffey White, in particular, would take precious care of his hand now, and not risk his neck in such jeopardy again. He despised, poor fool, the admonitions of his really-loving wife, and like a har- dened miscreant, he formed a fresh plan for the robbery of the London and Leeds Mail. He was within a few months afterwards, caught in the very act of that rob- bery, tried and convicted, and sentenced to be executed; and he was executed accordingly at Northampton, with the character ascribed to him, of being one of the boldest and greatest robbers of his day, in all England But what became still of Mr. M'Coul and the other ? And what became of their share of the plunder in con- nection with the Glasgow robbery ? We have disposed of Huffey himself, effectually, and for ever. But we must bring his wife again upon the tapis, in connection with the extraordinary statements we are now about to make. It begins, we almost think, to look like a sort of romance now; but the grave reality of it, we can truly aver, is beyond all dispute. Mr. James Moffat, alias M'Coul, the far more accom- plished but daring robber, had eluded the grasp of the London police-officers for many months; but at last, he too was caught by Lavender and Vickery. His associate, however, Mr. French, was never heard of. Some conjec- tured, and others believed, that M'Coul had poisoned or dispatched him, and purloined his large share of the D2 422 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. booty; while others thought he had escaped to America. Be that as it may, we can trace him no longer on the scene; and therefore we are now to speak about Mr. Moffat alias Mr. M'Coul, himself, more particularly. When he was captured by the police-officers in London, he had nothing but gold and Bank of England notes in his possession ; not a particle ostensibly belonging to the Paisley Union Bank, or any other bank in Scotland. He at first stoutly denied that he had ever been in Scot- land, he emphatically denied that he had ever been in Glasgow; and of course, he equally denied that he had ever occupied lodgings in the house of Mrs. Stewart, at the Broomielaw, that he knew nothing whatever about Ingram Street, or the Paisley Union Bank. In short, he declared that he was wholly innocent of this Bank robbery. Therefore, he was reprimanded for a time, as they call it in England ; and it now became necessary to send up witnesses from Scotland to identify him if they could, in presence of the Lord Mayor, or Magistrates of London. That was easily done. David Clacher, the wright, and Alex. Leith, the chaise-hirer in Glasgow, with the innkeeper at Darlington, were dispatched to London; and on their arrival thither, and seeing Mr. M*Coul in the Bow Street police-office, they hailed him at once, without much hesitation, as their transient, but now captured friend. He disdained to make the slight- est recognition of them, averring that he had never seen them in all his life. Anticipating this seizure and arrest of M'Coul in Lon- don, old Mr. John Bennet, the once vigilant Procurator- Fiscal of Glasgow, applied pro forma to the Magistrates of Glasgow for a warrant (we have a queer old duplicate REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 423 of it before us) to "secure" the person of the said James Moffat, alias M'Coul, as " guilty, accessory, art and part, of the foresaid theft, bank robbery, and housebreaking, and to imprison him within the Tolbooth of Glasgow, therein to be detained, till liberated in due course of law." It is singular to observe, that this warrant of the Magistrates of Glasgow, was not committed to the hands of any of their own officers in Glasgow, but was specially entrusted to Mr. Archibald Campbell, the then well- known and celebrated criminal officer of the Sheriff and Magistrates of Edinburgh, who went up with it expressly to London, and saluted Mr. M'Coul for the first time; but he afterwards became much better acquainted with him, as the extraordinary sequel will show. The identity of Mr. M'Coul being thus clearly estab- lished in London, the Lord Mayor, without hesitation, indorsed the Glasgow warrant, committing it to the special charge of his own officer, Mr. Wood, a most faithful London officer he was, who with the above Mr. Archibald Campbell from Edinburgh, were enjoined to chain Mr. M'Coul both by the arms and legs, and to bring him by the mail coach safely down to, and land him in, the Tolbooth of Glasgow. They all arrived in this city on the morning of Friday, the 10th of April, 1812; and in the Jail books of Glas- gow of that date, Mr. M'Coul was duly entered, as any- body who doubts our story, may see at this day. After being in Jail for some weeks, and no active pro- ceedings against him being taken whether from the Want of other evidence or not, we shall not at this stage say he sought the advice of two most respectable legal firms then in this city, whose successors are still extant; 424 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. and they thought they had discovered some flaw or other in the original warrant of commitment, which, if sus- tained by the Court, would entitle him to be discharged from prison. They therefore presented a bill of suspen- sion and liberation, in the name of M'Coul, to the Lords of Justiciary in Edinburgh ; and on advising this suspen- sion, the Lords actually adopted the views of Mr. M'Coul's legal agents in Glasgow, and granted warrant for his immediate liberation from Glasgow Jail. This was done on the 2d of July, 1812, on which day he left the Jail of Glasgow rejoicing. Emboldened by this legal success, he returned to London, defying warrants of any kind; for he had the Justiciary written extract warrant of liberation in his possession, which was entitled to faith, as he was advised, over the three kingdoms. After the lapse of three years, thinking that everything about him had been forgotten, he returned again to Scot- land, with an elegant female, whom he palms off as his wife; and they take handsome lodgings at Portobello, in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, where, with a retinue of servants, horses, and carriages, they lived for a time like people of the first rank. They were promptly and liberally paying for their entertainments with ready money, in the shape of 20 notes of the Bank of Scot- land, and other banks ; but with none at this time of the Paisley Union Bank; and against those other eminent and enviable bank notes, no sort of suspicion was then in any quarter entertained. With the facility thus given to them by the interchange of those notes in Scotland, which, there cannot be the least doubt, induced M'Coul to return hither away from the eye of the old London detectives, he encroached so much on his success, that he REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. 425 even frequented with his supposed wife, the Theatre- Boyal, and some of the most fashionable hotels in Edinburgh, and passed others of his 20 notes with the greatest alacrity, adding to his bills of fare, a handsome douceur to the waiters, and receiving back the difference on his large notes with admirable politeness and compo- sure, more so, perhaps, than would have been displayed by the most distinguished visitors of our land. It was his cunning drift, of course, to get all the stolen notes disposed of as easily and conveniently as possible, within this part of Scotland, without the aid of foreign money-changers or resetters, or the payment to them of their exorbitant charges. He chose rather a new scene for his work now. He went down to Leith, and presented himself to one of the Branches of the British Linen and Commercial Banks there, taking out with the greatest nonchalance from his pocket, a large parcel of genuine notes of the Bank of Scotland, and requested an order for a corresponding amount, either on the Bank of England, or that bank's own agents in London, which was, of course, immediately complied with. On another day, he came equally confident with another parcel of the notes of Sir William Forbes & Co., for a very large sum, and asked for a similar draft on London for the amount, which he of course, again, most easily obtained. He tried his hand a third time with a parcel of notes of Sir Win. Forbes & Co., amounting to 1900, including some 800 notes, tied together, of the Paisley Union Bank! He was now plunging unwittingly into the very vortex of the robbery. The bank tellers were rather surprised at this last display, for they began to talk and remember of the robbery that had occurred in Glasgow, three or four years previously. They therefore bade him sit down 426 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. for a little, while they secretly sent for an expert police- officer of the name of Denovan, who, after getting an "inkling" of what had occurred, came boldly forward and taxed him at once with palming off the stolen notes of the Paisley Union Bank, &c. It is a strange fact, but true, that Mr. M'Coul, who at first stood mute, but looked astonished and indignant at this charge, on recovering his self-possession, had the assurance to say, that if the Bank people would give him the promise that these were really part of the stolen notes of the Paisley Bank, he would in the meanwhile give them up, rather than be troubled in the matter; and with an increasing degree of bolder assurance, he positively requested the Leith Bank people to retain the notes till he made some farther inquiry for his own satisfaction on the subject; after doing which, he would return to the Bank at Leith, and learn or communicate the result in a day or two afterwards. He gave his address at Portobello, all right. On this plausible offer and bold pretext, he was actually allowed to make his exit from the Leith Bank, not exactly like a bird of Paradise, but rather like a bird of passage, " now uppn the wing." It is needless to say, that he never re- turned to that Bank again. Scotland, he doubtless thought, was now becoming rather hot for him; so he packed up his trunks at Porto- bello, with all expedition, and fled with his dulcina by a circuitous route back again to London, taking especial care to have the authenticated extract warrant of the Lords of Justiciary in his favour, wrapped up and care- fully secured in his breast pocket. It was more precious to him than gold or notes, he then thought, to any amount at that time. But what does this gentleman Mr. M'Coul, after safely getting to London, next do ? Why, REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 427 he goes boldly to an attorney's office to take legal advice about the money he had left in Scotland, viz., the 1800, contained in the parcel of Sir Win. Forbes & Co.'s note, and the 800 of the Paisley Union as before stated. He is advised both by London attornies, and London counsel learned in the laiv, that " possession of nioveables, pre- sumes property" " that a fortiori possession of bank notes, presumes the lawful right thereto in the hands of the possessor," which can only be destroyed by positive proof to the contrary, such as that the possessor had knowingly and wilfully obtained them by fraud; and since there was no proof of that description against Mr. M'Coul : on the contrary, as he set up the statement that he had gained the notes by horse-racing with strangers on the Sands of Musselburgh and Portobello, and other places, he must therefore be regarded as the bonajide holder of them. On that most plausible plea sometimes irrefragable in law his London attorney, as by him advised, wrote a letter to the Manager of the Bank at Leith, and also to the Manager of the Bank in Glasgow, demanding restitu- tion of the 1800 sterling! The Banks, of course, are astonished at the effrontery of such a letter, with such a demand, and pay no attention to it, nor to another one from the same channel, threatening now an action at law, to compel restitution of the money ! And in this situa- tion of matters, what does Mr. M'Coul himself next do ? Why, he comes boldly down again from London to Edin- burgh. He takes up his abode in the city of Edinburgh not for the purpose of passing away any more of the stolen notes through his own hands, but for the ingenious purpose of establishing his right to a "jurisdiction" in Scotland, whereby he might prosecute an action in his own name, before the Lords of Council and Session, 428 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. against the Paisley Union Bank Company, for payment to him of the above sum, with interest and expenses ! ! It may seem incredible, but it is the fact, that such an action was absolutely raised. And it may seem equally incredible, but it is also the fact, that such action led to the most extraordinary results that ever took place in any of our Courts in Scotland. We are much mistaken, indeed, if we do not astonish the whole of our readers with what follows. Not only did he raise his action for 1800, but he demanded " damages" to a large amount, from the Paisley Union Bank Company, in consequence of what he was pleased to call their "illegal and unwarrantable imprison- ment of him in the Jail of Glasgow," which, he con- tended, was sufficiently proved by the extracted warrant of liberation of the Lords of Justiciary in his favour, as before set forth. He was well aware, before the action was raised, that his early companion and associate in crime at Glasgow, viz., Huffey White, had been executed, for another crime, in England ; and, therefore, that he had nothing to fear from Huffey, any more than from poor Harry French, whom, it was alleged, he had despatched by his own instrumentality long ago. He learns that Mr. Likly, the Manager of the Bank, who went in pursuit of him to London, is dead ; that his old landlady at the Broomie- law is also dead, and that Alexander Leith has removed from his old premises in George's Street. This notable pursuer therefore thinks that he is pretty snug and safe, armed at all legal points, in his great action against the Paisley Union Bank : and the Bank, brooding over their previous loss, begin for the first time to get rather afraid of the issue of it. They are driven, of course, to the REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 429 necessity of defending themselves in the action, other- wise decree would go forth against them for the large amount demanded by Mr. M'Coul. They refer in their defence to the robbery. He has the unblushing effrontery to deny it. He has the unparalleled effrontery to insinu- ate that if there was any robbery at all, it was the persons connected with the Bank that did it themselves ! ! He goes on in this way from month to month, and from year to year, with his great suit, or process, in the Court of Session or rather there are two or three huge law pleas going on at the same time M'Coul versus the Bank, and the Bank versus M'Coul, et e contra ; for it is singular to remark that the Bank were actually advised to bring an action against Mr. M'Coul for 15,000, as his supposed share of the plunder. These actions were joined together, ob contingentiam, as the lawyers say. What marvellous proceedings these were to be sure ! Wholly unprecedented we venture to repeat, in the annals of litigation in this kingdom ; yet they were pleading away at this rate on both sides, through all the old, slow, and expensive stages of the Court of Session, for a period of fully more than Jive long years, when at last both, or all of these processes were remitted to the Jury Court for trial, which Court, we may remark, had then only been inaugurated for the first time in Scotland, under the auspices of the Right Honourable William Adam, Lord Chief- Commissioner, whose name we have honourably mentioned in previous pages. The cases, thus so long and keenly litigated, were set down for trial before his Lordship, and a Jury, at Edinburgh, llth May, 1830. It was arranged that the Civil Suit, at the instance of the Bank against M'Coul, concluding for the 15,000, should be tried first, because that case would be decisive of the other one at his 430 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. instance, for restitution of the 1800, and his damages. The Counsel for the Bank, in these interesting cases, were Francis Jeffrey and Henry Cockburn. The Counsel for Mr. M'Coul were John Peter Grant, M.P., afterwards the Right Honourable Sir Jolm Peter Grant, Lord Chief- Justice of India, Mr Archibald Alison, and Duncan M'Neil, the present Right Honourable Lord President of the Court of Session, and First Magistrate of Scotland. What a galaxy of talent on both sides of that bar whetted for the important issue ! The Bank, of course, led their evidence. They clearly proved the robbery to the extent of nearly 50,000. When Mr. Hamilton, the Bank Teller, was giving his evi- dence on that head, and speaking to the description of the notes as he last saw them in the Bank safe imme- diately before the robbery, Mr. M'Coul, who was present in the Court, had the impudence, irrespective of his Counsel, to put some most improper questions to Mr. Hamilton, which raised the disapprobation of the Lord Chief-Commissioner. "Mr. Moffat," said his Lordship, "Mr. Moffat you must not interfere in that way;" where- upon Mr. Jeffrey, the sharp and glowing Counsel for the Bank, gave him this deg "-Mr. Moffat," said Mr. Jeffrey, with his flashing eyes and indignant tones, " Mr. Moffat, I tell you what, sir you had better go round to your own side of the bar;" and with that significant salute, Mr. Moffat, or M'Coul, sat down silenced. The evidence pro- ceeded. Step by step the most conclusive evidence came out against him. David Clacher, the wright; Alexander Leith, the chaise-hirer ; the tavern-keeper in Edinburgh; the innkeeper at Darlington, with others, had all been examined and interrogated ; and the Counsel for the Bank at last proceeded to call and put into the REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 431 witness-box a young girl, who we must now for the first time introduce to our readers, viz., Margaret M'Aulay, a niece of Mrs. Stewart, the dead landlady at the Broomie- law, in whose house it will be remembered the robbers had lodged. She had occasionally served them under her aunt while there, and it was thought she would now be able most positively to identify the prisoner, or defender, Mr. M'Coul, who first denied upon the record that he had ever been in Glasgow before the robbery at all. She be- came, therefore, one of the most important witnesses at this concluding stage of the case. Seeing her approach the box, Mr. M'Coul attempted, on some pretence or other, to slink out of the crowded court; but he was brought back and directly confronted with her. The honest girl, without hesitation, swore to him most pointedly ; she had no doubt whatever about his identity, that he was one of the three who stayed in her aunt's house at Glas- gow, for a period of nearly two months ; and this, with the attempt he had just made to leave the Court, made a profound sensation both on the Court and the Jury, and all who saw it. Suffice it to say, that after the discharge of some most eloquent speeches, pro and con, the Jury unanimously returned a verdict in favour of the Bank and against M'Coul. Immediately on the verdict being given, Mr. M'Coul, the now discomfited pursuer, or defender, attempted again to leave the Court and get away ; and he did get away out of the Court for a short period, but the officers of justice were directed to keep their eyes sharply upon him; and within a few hours afterwards the Lord Advo- cate of Scotland, from the startling nature of the evidence disclosed in the Civil suit, had his Criminal warrant made ready for the commitment of Mr. M'Coul to prison, 432 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. accused of the original robbery. The previous extract warrant of liberation on which Mr. M'Coul had so long o confidently relied, became now like a rope of sand, utterly useless to him at last. The Lord Advocate, in himself, is the most powerful warrant of any in all Scotland. He can commit, and re-commit, at pleasure, always under the control of the Court. So Mr. James Moffat, alias M'Coul, was speedily "Indicted'' at the instance of the Lord Advocate, to stand trial before the Lord Justice- General and Lord Justice-Clerk and Lord Commissioners of Justiciary, for the Capital Crime of Bank Robbery, as aforesaid ; and his trial fixed to take place, at Edin- burgh, on the 19th day of June, 1820. It forms another separate and most astonishing case, and we hope we are not fatiguing our readers by giving it, as we now pro- pose to do. The cool impudence, the daring effrontery, of Mr. Moffat, alias M'Coul, in the Civil Court, before the Lord Chief-Commissioner and Jury, did not avail him much in the Criminal tribunal before which he was now to appear. He came, however, to the bar of the High Court, in custody of the Edinburgh jailor and turnkeys, with a bold and defiant look, at ten o'clock, on the morning of the day mentioned, viz., Monday, 19th June, 1820. The Court, as might have been expected, was crowded to ex- cess. On the bench were the Lord Justice-Clerk, Boyle; with Lords Hermand, Succoth, and Meadowbank. There appeared for the Crown, Mr. Solicitor-General Wedder- burn ; with Mr Hope, afterwards Justice-Clerk ; and Mr. Henry Home Drummond, of Blairdrummond, Advocate- Depute. There appeared for the prisoner, Mr Menzies, afterwards Lord Chief- Justice of Ceylon; with Mr. M'Neill, the present noble head of the Court ; and it is REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 433 most pleasant for us, in common, as we are sure it is, with all the people in Scotland, to recognise him now in that most dignified capacity. It was then mooted that the prisoner's most able Counsel Menzies and M'Neill, then young men, not long at the bar were to take objections to the indictment against the panel, in which, if they succeeded, he might still hope to escape. The chief objection, we remember, was, that the criminal letters, or indictment, had not been served on the prisoner in presence of two attesting wit- nesses; and there were other objections which we need not describe. Long and eloquent arguments were raised on both sides of the bar. The Court at first seemed much struck with some of them. They complimented Mr. M'Neill on what they were pleased truly to term his " masterly arguments." They intimated that they re- quired time to deliberate carefully over them ; therefore the case was adjourned till Thursday. On that day the Judges again met, but they repelled the objections taken by the prisoner's Counsel ; sustained the indictment as relevant to infer the pains of law ; and ordered the trial peremptorily to proceed on the following Monday morn- ing, at 10 o'clock. It was now neck or nothing life or death, for James Moifat, alias M'Coul. Long before the hour of trial the Parliament Square was again crowded ; and when the doors of the Court were opened, the rush for admission was almost terrific. All the witnesses for the Crown were duly marshalled. They had been kept in safe custody for some days previous, as when the case was first called, and the above objections taken, it was found that a most material witness for the Crown was somehow or other absent ; and it was feared, or surmised, that the case for 434 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. the Crown might, after all, break down by that continued absence. Now all was ripe and ready for action. In a bold tone the prisoner pled, " Not Guilty." His declarations were first put in and admitted. In these he had the assurance still to deny that he had ever been in Glasgow pre- vious to the Bank robbery of 14th July, 1811. The robbery itself was again most clearly established by the evidence of Mr. Hamilton, the Bank accountant ; by Mr. Hodgert, another of the tellers ; and by old John Eobert- son, the Bank porter. Then the Counsel for the Crown followed this up by the clear evidence of the young- woman lately referred to, viz., Margaret M'Aulay, who again identified the prisoner as being one of the very men who had lodged in her aunt's house, in Glasgow, for the period already stated. This was fatal to his declaration of ever having been in Glasgow prior to the robbery. Then Mr. David Clacher, the wright, who had viewed the three robbers behind the wall opposite the Bank, early on the Sunday morning of the robbery, arranging their parcels, recognised the prisoner as one of the three on that occasion. He, the witness, had no doubt about him. Then Mr. Alexander Leith, our old friend the chaise-hirer, also identified the prisoner as being one of the three who came to him and hired his chaise for Airdrie, between five and six of that Sunday morning, and going away in it with their parcels. Mr Leith stated that while the chaise was making ready, they swallowed in his house, for he had the license, two gills of the best Jamaica rum, with two bowls of milk, besides bread and cheese in plenty. This was their morning's breakfast, with the fruits of the robbery in their possession, amounting to many thousands of pounds sterling. Then REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 435 the different post-boys, or chaise-drivers, who rode to Edinburgh ; besides the innkeeper in Rose Street, where they got their hurried dinner on Sunday, and drank a bottle of wine over it, all identified the prisoner, Mr. M'Coul. Mr. Boniface, at Darlington, who had innocently enough exchanged two of the twenty pound notes, also identified the prisoner at the bar. This our readers may think might be deemed pretty conclusive, and perfectly sufficient evidence in any case. But the Bank, in unison with the Crown lawyers, had determined to leave no stone unturned to obtain a sure conviction against the audacious prisoner. Another important witness, there- fore, was called no other than Mrs. White, the widow of Huffey White, his socius criminus, who had disgorged 10,000 or 12,000 to save his neck, when taken in Lon- don, and was set free ; but was afterwards captured and executed, as we have already stated, for another most daring robbery, viz., the robbery of the London and Leeds mail coach. She had disappeared from Court at the pre- vious diet some thought she had been kidnapped by Mr. M'CouTs agents but she was now safely brought into Court by one of the macers, and all eyes were- intensely directed toward her ; and no wonder, for hers, indeed, was a most pitiable and remarkable life. She clad in deed mourning calmly described the unex- pected arrival of her ill-fated husband from Glasgow in London, on Wednesday morning after the robbery the candid account he apparently gave of it to her in perfect confidence the great booty he expected from the hands of Mr. M'Coul the supper on the head of it, prepared for the banditti, in Scoltcock's house ; who, it may also be remembered, had made, on the prisoner's special employment, the false keys for entering the Bank 436 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. in Glasgow, on which we need not further dwell with the sudden entrance of the Bow Street police-officers the seizure of the petrified husband the escape of M'Coul, or rather his non-appearance in Scoltcock's house when the officers took possession of it, all as previously narrated. This witness, Mrs. White, from her position, and the singu- lar nature of her evidence, became a most terrible witness against Mr. M'Coul, the prisoner at the bar. But an important point was here raised by the prisoner's acute Counsel, viz., that this was not legal evidence to touch the accused, because Mrs. White's husband, on whose state- ment, or information, she mainly relied, was an infamous person, capitally convicted, and, therefore, that the Court could not receive such evidence. The Court reserved the point, but received the evidence, cum nota, that is, for what it was worth, in the estimation of the Jury. But, at last, a far more important witness than Huffey White's widow was called into the box. This was Mr. John Scolt- cock himself, the famous London blacksmith, of whom we have been narrating so much. When the prisoner at the bar beheld him, as he steadily held up his right hand and took the oath, Mr. M'Coul, for the first time in all his long experience, quivered and quailed, and nearly fainted. This remarkable and important witness, guilty in many respects though he was, went on minutely to describe how he originally formed the acquaintance of Hufley White, Harry French, and the prisoner at the bar how he was prevailed on by the prisoner to make an assort- ment of skeleton keys, blanks, pick-locks, punches, files, and other implements of house-breaking how the prisoner corresponded with him by letters, from Glasgow, about some of the keys, and sent plans of the Paisley Bank, with some of the drawers and safes therein how, REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 437 when some of the skeleton keys did not exactly fit, Mr. M'Coul himself came up to London, with wax figures and wooden models of some of the key-holes of the Bank, to enable him, the witness, " to do the needful " and how, after the robbery was accomplished, they came to his house in Tower Street, London, rejoicing over their spoil their vast fortune, as they called it, in Glasgow and promised to reward the witness himself handsomely, after he, Mr. M'Coul, had " smashed]' that is, converted, the Scotch notes into genuine gold; a promise, however, which the prisoner at the bar and his associates failed to perform. They were " nick't" he said, in the very act of rewarding him, if the supper in his own house, on that fatal evening, had been safely digested ! This, on the part of Mr. Scoltcock, who, some may think, should also have been an arraigned prisoner at the bar, was direct, special, and clenching evidence against the panel, Mr. M'Coul. His head was now drooping very low. But another important witness from London was next called, viz., Mr. Wooler, a money changer, or trafficker in foreign and domestic notes. He deponed to the fact, that the prisoner had actually proposed to deal with him for the disposal, at least, of some 14,000 or 15,000 of " Scotch Bank Notes," but that the proposal somehow was broken off. It was utterly in vain for the prisoner to rebut this fresh, strong body of evidence by showing that, either by horse-racing, or any other contriv- ance, he had amassed such an enormous amount of Scotch notes, especially of the Union Bank of Paisley. Finally, the famous London police-officers, so often referred to, viz., Lavender and Vickery, were called. They gave a short, but interesting, description of their searches in London in quest of the three robbers, ending by the catastrophe of E 2 438 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. that rare supper in London, which led to such aston- ishing results. It was now drawing to midnight, when all the extra- ordinary evidence, on this extraordinary trial, was at last concluded. The elaborate speeches of the learned and ingenious Counsel on both sides of the bar were then de- livered, with what effect may soon be seen. The Lord Justice-Clerk, at broad daylight in the morning for the Court had never once adjourned except for a few minutes to take some necessary refreshments delivered his emphatic charge to the Jury. The Jury, without retir- ing from their box, announced their verdict, unanimously finding the prisoner guilty of the capital crime, as charged in the indictment. He was, with great solemnity, decerned and adjudged to be executed at Edinburgh, on Wednesday the 26th of July following, between the hours of eight and ten of the forenoon. On hearing his sen- tence, which left little or no hope of mercy to him in this world, he became tremulous and deadly pale. All his previous defiant looks either forsook or deserted him, or left him utterly prostrate ; and it is a remarkable fact, that when the turnkeys visited him in his condemned cell soon afterwards, they could scarcely recognise him as being the same man, for the fine jet black hair of his head had become all of a sudden nearly grey. Let physiologists, or other scientific doctors, descant on this as they may, the fact is perfectly true. His fancied wife, or mistress, had been all this while hovering about Edin- burgh. It was thought that with the sentence of death passed upon him, he would have made confessions, or re- velations, about many of the missing notes, or of other great robberies and crimes in which it was supposed he had been connected, including the robbery and murder, in REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 439 Edinburgh, of poor William Begbie, the messenger of the Bank of Scotland. Great and unknown exertions were undoubtedly made for M'Coul in influential quarters ; for on the morning of Sunday, the 16th of July, a " respite" came down, from King George the Fourth, to the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, to postpone his execution for one month. That month had nearly elapsed when another respite came down to him for another month. That second month had also nearly elapsed when a third re- spite arrived, extending it " during the King's pleasure." This was a most marvellous and tantalizing line of pro- cedure certainly, wholly unexatnpled in regard to the sacred exercise of the royal authority, in the criminal annals of Scotland. It could only be defended, if de- fended at all, on the supposition that the condemned prisoner now the wretched man had some important revelations to make, about the remainder of the stolen notes, and other things. None such were made by him. His mistress, losing all regard for him, held them secreted in another place ; she haughtily resolved to do nothing more for the condemned prisoner, and perhaps this is too often the way with the recipients of crime, after they have their wages of iniquity secure in their own pockets. She now began to upraid the wretched culprit as a great villain, " richly deserving of the gallows ;" and in that respect she had her wishes now very soon gratified, for the next de- spatch from the Secretary of State's office brought with it the imperious command to Execute James Moffat, or M'Coul, on a day then named, in conformity with the terms of his original sentence. Two or three days previous to the final day now fixed for execution in Edinburgh, viz., towards the 22nd of December, 1820, Mr. M'Coul contrived to end his own life, by his own hand, by swallowing arsenic, 440 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. or other poison, which had been secretly conveyed to him in prison, but by whom never known. And thus termi- nates the trial and fate of Mr. James MofTat, alias M'Coul, with which we have been so long troubling our readers. We leave them to judge whether we have created any fresh interest in it or not. But, in truth, the remarkable story is not yet finished. Another phase occurs about it which will probably startle some of them not a little. Ten or twelveyears after the above tragical termination of M'Coul himself, in the con- demned prison of Edinburgh, an apparently respectable English traveller, from London, came to transact some business in Glasgow, as also in Edinburgh.- He opened up an account, and made a deposit in one of the Edin- burgh banks, for a sum of 750 sterling, giving in satisfac- tion thereof, a similar quantity of genuine notes of the Paisley Union Bank. Some of these notes were soon re- cognised by the Bank teller who handled them, as being part and portion of the old stolen notes of the Paisley Union Bank in Glasgow. The traveller, on being ques- tioned, gave a candid statement of the way and manner he had received them in London. He remembered per- fectly the name and designation and place of residence of the party who had so given him these notes in London. He offered to remain in custody till the Bank in Edin- burgh satisfied themselves of his innocence on that point. The Bank in Edinburgh immediately apprised the surviv- ing members of the Paisley Union Bank in Glasgow of the occurrence. They sent for Mr. Henry Miller, a very famous officer we are glad to say, still active and alive? who is the manager, at this moment, of the City of Glas- gow Guardian Society for the Protection of Trade, and to him, we think, we may confidently refer for confirma- REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 441 tion of a considerable portion of the strange facts we are now to relate. The Bank, after a confidential interview with Mr. Miller, immediately despatched him to London. On arriving there, he went, in the first instance, to old Mr. Vickery, the once famous police-officer, who, having closed all his troubles, cares, and sorrows, with thieves and robbers, and all other culprits, great and small, was enjoying his calm and peaceful retreat in the vicinity of London. Mr. Vickery was very glad to see his young, active friend, from Scotland. The old gentleman, for he was a gentleman "to the manner born," chatted over some of his exploits, and his eyes glistened with anima- tion at the stories brought to mind about Huffey White and James M'Coul, and the Paisley Bank robberies in Glasgow; and he gave Mr. Miller some important hints, as a " brother chief," in regard to the object of his journey, or the further prosecution of his inquiries in the metropolis. After the colloquy with the renowned Mr Vickery, Mr. Miller proceeded, without loss of time, to Sir Eichard Hall, the then active magistrate of the Bow Street Police Station. Sir Richard also received him very agreeably on his important mission, and went heartily into the ex- plained business. A warrant was speedily made out, or some authority was given, for immediate search and seizure, in the house of a well-known gentleman, doing business in a certain way, on a pretty large scale, in the city of London ; and who had a splendid residence out of London, with his carriage, and retinue of servants, &c., but as he is still alive, we may well refrain, in the mean- time, giving his name in this "delicate investigation," especially as we have no desire to injure him in the slight- est degree. With the aid of a Bow Street police-officer, placed at his disposal by Sir Richard Hall, Mr. Henry 442 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Miller started on his important mission to the country house of the aforesaid gentleman, and reached it at an early, but not inconvenient, hour of the following morn- ing, ready to catch him, and make a careful search, or ex- amination of him, in his premises, ere he started, as he pretty regularly did, for his business in the city, or the Eoyal Exchange of London, in the forenoon. Mr. Miller found the above gentleman quietly walking in his pleasant garden that morning, and examining his beautiful flowers. He at once told him the rather unpleasant purpose of this visit ; but not put about in the least degree by it, he rather smiled, and told, to the astonishment of Mr. Miller himself, that he had been apprised of it already. He, therefore, in a tone of the most perfect confidence, desired Mr. Miller and assistant to search his premises in any way they pleased ; but, at the same time, he warned them that if they went beyond their prescribed limits, he would make them responsible, though it should cost him thou- sands of Bank of England money. He offered to meet them, in the course of the same day, at Mr. Miller's hotel in London, which was Gerald's Hall, off Cheapside Street, and to communicate to Mr. Miller, without breach of con- fidence, all the information in his power. With this offer, apparently so frankly and sincerely made, Mr. Miller at once acceded, nor had he any reason to regret doing so, as the sequel will soon show. True to his word, the gentlemen referred to, accompanied by an eminent attorney, met Mr. Miller in the above place ; again warn- ing him a second time, that if he proceeded any farther, or published, or propagated, any statement whatever im- plicating him with the robbery, he would bring his action at law against him (Miller), and all concerned. This was somewhat like Mr. M'C/oul in embryo, if we may call REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 443 it, with his actions against the Paisley Union Bank Secretary. Mr. Miller, however, responded with tact and civility in this strange encounter ; and the short and the long of it was, that negotiations, in the most amiable, or friendly spirit, were soon opened up, about the " restitu- tion " of the remaining bank notes ! Mrs. M'Coul, now passing by the name of Mrs. Eeynolds, had been living, richly and luxuriantly enough, since the death of her first husband in Edinburgh Jail, if husband he really was, in some freehold property which she had purchased, there is little reason to doubt, with some of the spoils in the neighbourhood of Gerald's Square, almost in the very heart of the city of London. On the day after the above interview with the gentleman referred to, and his attorney, two other persons called on Mr. Miller, at his hotel, and, after exchanging some common-place civilities, requested to know the amount of " reward " that would be given if the remainder of the Paisley notes were quietly put into his possession. " Not one sixpence," answered Mr Miller, "though 10,000 of those notes were at that moment counted over to him/' They stared with some surprise at each other. They then commenced to ask him whether he had any inven- tory, or list, or numbers of the stolen notes, to prove them. This, on their part, was a natural enough ques- tion. Mr. Miller at once perceived its importance. Ho answered it dexterously, but candidly. " I have," said he, " no inventory beside me this moment, but I can easily get it in a very short time ; and if they would just have the goodness to wait upon him again, at the same place and hour, on the following day, he would then show it to them, with the precise numbers of the notes, and all about it." They agreed to do this. Mr. Miller, in truth, had no such 444 REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. inventory in his possession ; but, after they went away, he sat down, or rather he sat up all night, manufacturing an inventory out of his own brain. He saw they were illiterate people, and could not read running numbers on any paper ; but he did not allow them to go away, or slip from his fingers, without setting a careful watch on their motions, in order that he might pounce upon them in their own rendezvous, and search there, with the Lon- don police, if other things failed. It has oftimes been stated that there is occasionally some Iwnesty even amongst thieves, or their associates. So the parties, true to their word, returned to Mr. Miller on the following;; * O day. He at once presented them his own concocted in- ventory ; telling them, besides, that all the numbers of the missing (stolen) notes were then perfectly well known to all the bankers in London, and to every banker in the kingdom ; and that it was impossible any more of the Paisley Union Bank notes could be vended, without de- tection, followed by condign, or capital punishment. They knit their brows, and again pressed him for some "reward!" He was firm and resolute on that point, and would give nothing no, not so much as one sovereign. They finally left him, but he, with his detectives, had them in his eye all the while. He was now prepared, right seriously, to make capture of them, and arranging his plans for the following day; but this was rendered unnecessary, by the following unex- pected and extraordinary incident which now took place. Towards midnight of that same evening, or very early on the following morning, there came to him, to his address at the above hotel, a huge sealed package, actually containing the remainder of the Paisley Union Bank notes, to a large amount ! No conditions were attached to it of any kind; REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. 445 no questions were asked, and none were given in reply. The parcel itself, after what had just occurred, signifi- cantly enough told its own tale ; and, therefore, rejoicing with it in his sure possession, Henry Miller expeditiously returned with it to Glasgow, and soon placed it in the hands of his clients, who had engaged him to go to Lon- don. These gentlemen were, of course, most exceedingly surprised and delighted with the result ; and we do not think we arc guilty of any great breach of confidence when we state that they rewarded Mr. Miller, for his trouble, with a sum of five hundred guineas. His use- ful and diversified career in this city, is happily not yet terminated ; and we hope he will long continue to be a terror to evil doers, and a praise and protection to such as do well. In any event, we feel persuaded that he will not charge us with exaggeration in any part of this story, which might be interwoven with some of the remarkable criminal annals of Scotland : and, as such, we present it to our readers with all fidelity. But we have some other treats to give, or events to narrate of equal, if not surpassing importance if we are not really transgressing on the patience of our readers, whose numbers, we rejoice to learn, are rapidly increasing, in a way we never expected, over the three kingdoms. 446 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. CHAPTER VI. THE REY. NETL DOUGLAS OF GLASGOW, AND HIS TRIAL FOR SEDITION BEFORE THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICIARY. THERE was, as we very well remember, a most extra- ordinary character of a preacher in this city, in the year 1817; and at that time he was in the zenith of his popu- larity, viz., the Rev. Neil Douglas, representing what was called " the Evangelical Union/' or some other name, into the merits of which we cannot, of course, enter : " For points of faith, let senseless bigots fight, That man can ne'er be wrong whose life is in the right." Mr Douglas lived in the upper flat of one of the fine old tenements in the Stockwell, wherein the Dukes of Argyll and their retinues were wont to reside, when they ame in their chariots, as they occasionally did, to Glas- gow, in the winter months, from their old castle of Rose- neath burned to the ground a great number of years ago, long before the present elegant structure at Roseneath began to be built by the grand uncle of the present Duke ; whom, by the bye, George the Fourth, when Prince of "Wales, enticed, with the Earl of Moira and others, into deep gambling transactions, otherwise the present castle of Roseneath. with its projected style of offices, REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 447 might have been one of the most magnificent structures in Scotland. We remember of seeing, very frequently, the old Duke referred to in Glasgow, who was an exceed- ingly handsome man, accompanied sometimes by his two sisters, viz., Ladies Augusta and Charlotte Campbell, two of the most celebrated beauties in the Court of George the Third ; alongst, also, with the beautiful Lady Paget, wife of the Earl of Uxbridge, afterwards Marquis of Anglesey, with whom the Duke fell in love, and ran away with, but latterly married, after the due ceremonials of the Divorce Court were carried through. The Marquis, it may be remembered, fought with heroic valour at Waterloo, and lost one of legs on that field, which led to many lines of poetry about him ; but he and the Duke, notwith- standing of the above affair, afterwards walked arm in arm together, and dined frequently at the table of George the Fourth. Our old friend " Senex," has stated the fact, that when Lady Charlotte Campbell, in particular, came to visit some of our haberdashers' shops then few and far between in the Trongate, or Argyll Street, such was her transcendent beauty, that crowds ran after her to get a glimpse of her, and tell that they had really seen her. " For ne'er did Grecian chisel trace A nymph, a naiad, or a grace, Of lovlier form or finer face." Lady Paget, afterwards Duchess of Argyle, had a mis- carriage, at Dumbarton, otherwise the present family might have been elbowed out. The old, ancient house in Stockwell, thus occupied by the Argyll family, has long since been demolished, as many other ancient and dignified dwelling houses in Glasgow have been, to make way for modern buildings, to serve noble, but more lucrative purposes ; nor is it deroga- 448 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. tory here to make the observation, that the Dukes of Montrose had once their "pavillion" up near the Dry gate of Glasgow, forming now the site of the wings of the Bridewell, or North Prison, of Glasgow. But the Stock- well the ancient Stockwell stands, in some of its parts, in bold relief still. It was feued originally, as we learn from ancient records, so far back as the year 1345. It formed the leading thoroughfare to the only bridge that for many certuries spanned the river Clyde in Glas- gow ; and we felt somewhat elated, when, with hundreds, nay with thousands, of others, we stood, not many years ago, on the centre of the spacious new bridge, when it was opened by Mr York, the Deacon-Convener of the Trades' House of Glasgow, whose demise we have to notice since the first number of these Eeminiscences were published. He was, we respectfully take leave to remark, one of the most enterprising builders of the city, as some of his works may, for ages to come, testify ; and, in person, he resembled the profile of King George the Third, as appearing on the coins of the realm, more than any other person we ever saw. But the old, wonderful Glasgow preacher, viz., Neil Douglas, the subject of our present article, starts up vividly before us, in his huge brown wig, and ancient habiliments, at a time when we were studying the law, not certainly the prophets, in the University of Glasgow. Mr. Douglas, we may remark, was connected by marriage with some of the best families in Scotland. He had no church of his own, properly so called, but, with the money of his wife, he rented, for a moderate sum, the old origi- nal " Andersonian Institution," then No. 2 of Upper John Street ; which admirable Institution, we need hardly in- form our Glasgow readers, was built and endowed, in the REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 449 year 1795, by the eminent and patriotic Mr James Anderson, Professor of Natural Philosophy in the Uni- versity of Glasgow. That old Institution has since been supplanted by the modern, but more splendid one, nearer St. George's Square. It may not be presumptuous for us to state that, among other things, we have one of the original letters, written in a fine old Eomau hand, by the estimable Professor, to one of his favourite students, who had gone away and played the truant, at Hamilton, be- seeching him to return to his classes ; and, probably, ere we are done with these Eeminiscences, we will place that letter, if the Directors are willing to receive it, in the archives of the Andersonian University, quantum valeat. The Rev. Mr. Douglas, we are sorry to remark, was vexed and cursed by a most blackguard son, who utterly despised all the good moral precepts of his father. He was banished forth of the city, with deep disgrace ; and that had no small effect in securing for Mr. Douglas him- self a considerable degree of public and private sym- pathy. "Oh, for a better law to noose the villian's neck Who starves his own ; who persecutes the blood He gave them in his children's veins, and hates And scorns the woman he has sworn to love ! " The old, rev. gentleman, for he was now approaching his 70th year, had, somehow or other, imbibed, for reasons best known to himself, a tremendous amount of hatred against King George the Third, and " his prodigal son," as he called him, the then Prince Regent afterwards George the Fourth. Nothing could soften his wrath, even in the pulpit on Sunday, against those Royal personages. Nor did they stand alone in that respect. He was equally fierce and furious against the then House of Commons, for 450 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. he did not hesitate, on diverse occasions, to declare from his pulpit, " that it was a den of the most infernal corrup- tion;" and when he condescended at times to be some- what more moderate in his language respecting Parlia- ment, the moderation of it only consisted in this, that some of the members of the House, which he named, were bought and sold, like so many buttocks, in the mar- ket for filthy lucre, furnished by the devil ! This was startling enough, and much stronger, a great deal, than any of the other most violent reformers of the day had ventured to utter ; but still, as Mr Douglas was a minis- ter of the gospel, and otherwise highly connected, it was thought he was a sort of privileged person, entitled to say anything he pleased in his own "poopit " Anglice, pulpit. He soon found out his mistake, however, as we shall presently show. He had publicly announced a course of lectures, to be given by him in the Andersonian on Sunday, on the "Prophecies of Daniel," &c. Amongst the first of these lectures, on a fine summer Sunday afternoon, to a crowded audience, he became perfectly furious in some of his political flights. He had the temerity to liken the good old amiable George the Third, then an in- valid in Windsor Castle, as worse, in his mental and cor- poreal capacity, than Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Jews ; and, as for his son and heir, Greorge, Prince Eegent, he designated him as a poor infatuated creature, over head and ears in love with jolly Bacchus ; and, as for his "concubines" whose names and designations he also did not hesitate to give without a blush, he scattered them with awful blasts of fire and brimstone, without mercy. Crowds after crowds innumerable, ran to hear these absurd, or senseless "sensation lectures." Nothing could withstand some of his vehement and ungovernable de- REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. 451 nunciations on these, to hiin, most kindred topics ; yet, in many other respects, he was a most amiable, easy, and obliging man. He was in stature rather small ; and in person, lean and lank, and sallow complexioned. But he had a voice terrible for its power ; it might be heard a long way off indeed, from his pulpit, and those who once heard it could scarcely forget it again, it was so uncommon scarcely of the earth, earthy. When the perspiration came trickling down his lean cheeks, as it often did in summer weather in the course of his animated effusions, he would think nothing of throwing off his curly wig, and wiping his face with a large towel, always beside him in the pulpit he never wore any gown and when he resumed the thread of his discourse, after this momentary relaxation, he looked like some sepulchral spirit conjured up by the painters of old. He was, we re- member, on one particular occasion, very much tormented with a swarm of flies, joined with some wasps, buzzing about his ears and other places of his person ; he tried frequently to clear them away, with his hands thrown out in the most fantastical manner, while he was launching forth, with some tremendous philippics, against Lords Sid mouth and Castlereagh, to whom he also bore a mor- tal grudge, as was evident from the whole tenor of his discourses. The insects, however, were again re-appearing, and tormenting him more than ever. It was an exces- sively hot afternoon, both outside and inside of the taber- nacle. He stopped abruptly for a moment, and, thrusting out his clenched fists, as if to catch a handful of them, and slay the insects, his tormentors, on the spot ; or suiting the action to the words, or the words to the action as hath been said of other divines he broke out with his excla- mation, much to the astonishment of his numerous 452 REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. auditory " Yes, my brethren, the enemies of our country will go to , as sure as I catch these troublesome and tormenting wasps;" but, opening his fists to gaze at his sup- posed capture, the vermin escaped, and flew away, and he made this excuse to his auditory " Feggs, my brethren, I've missed them." He then, after the half-suppressed titter of his auditory, resumed his awful battery against some of the conspicuous living statesmen of the day ; and, certes, he missed few of them from his Pandemonium. It is said truly, that comparisons are sometimes odious. We may be pardoned for the statement here, namely, that we have had the privilege of hearing, or listening, to very many preachers, of one kind or another, for more than half a century, but, of all the preachers we ever heard, none could excel the Kev. Neil Douglas, for stamping or thumping, or the hot fire of his eloquence, when he be- came fairly excited with his inflammable matter. Even the elder Kean, whom we have often seen on the boards of the old Theatre Eoyal, in Queen Street, in his Richard the Third, Sir Giles Overreach, and other characters, could not match, for vehemence of speech and rapidity of action, this old, celebrated Glasgow preacher. And if his "placs of worship" if that be a proper name for it could have held 10,000 persons, in place of 500, we are persuaded it would not have contained all the numbers rushing and panting to hear him, on some of his grand occasions. He might be said to be the Spur g eon of Glas- gow, on a grander scale. At last, the Magistrates of the city got rather uneasy, if not alarmed, at the tenor of some of his extraordinary discourses which had reached their official ears. They, therefore, engaged three of the most expert town-officers of the city, whom we remember very well, viz., John REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 453 M'Callum, Alexander Taylor, and James Perrie, to go and attend the remainder of these lectures, and to be sure and take down, in careful memorandum, all he said, in par- ticular about Nebuchadnezzar and the King, and the Prince Kegent, and the House of Commons. This was quite a new and unexampled task for these officers a complete style of different legal work, certainly, to any they had ever tried. They could execute summonses, acts of warding, hornings, and captions plenty or other things of that sort, in the legal way but to follow at the heels of a minister, or, rather, look straight in his very face, and take down his actual words, within the circum- bendibus of his own pulpit, was, they thought, rather be- yond the lawful or legitimate province of their own pecu- liar cloth ; nevertheless, they dare not refuse, nor kick against the pricks ; for as their superiors, the Magistrates, had required them to do this duty, do it they must, and there was no use any longer in shaking their heads about it. Somehow or other, the douce officers, and their sonsy wives, in the Bridgegate a grand place of its day began to " blab v about it, as the saying was, or to talk, as we should say now, about the wonderful sermons of that wonderful preacher, thrilling through Glasgow ; and this they did ere the next series of his lectures commenced, on which their worthy husbands were to be so deeply em- ployed ; and thus it came to pass that Mr. Douglas was apprised, by some of his enthusiastic admirers, that he had better take care of his hand with his sermons now, as " three spies," in the shape of town-officers, were coming in order to hear him, by order of the Magistrates, next Sunday. Unfortunately for the town-officers, in their excess of zeal to get as near as possible to the pulpit, in order to catch the true sound of his voice, or the real F 2 454 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. ipsissime verba of his lecture, they squatted themselves down on the steps of the stairs leading directly to his pul- pit. On his entrance thereunto, he soon eyed them, but he commenced the service with perfect serenity. This first part of it decently over, he began to clear his throat for the real mettle. He soon looked down from one side of the pulpit, and then from the other side of it, fiercely eying the town-officers, clad partly in their red habili- ments, and he began, literally, to give it them, perhaps not unlike one of the enraged bulls of Bashan, which we read of elsewhere. The congregation soon saw that there was something " brewing in the wind." On he came to Nebuchadnezzar, with s&me of his usual comparisons, stamping and thumping in the most tremendous style, far more violent now in his language than he had ever been before. And, then, how he did burst forth on the three town-officers themselves, whom he surveyed underneath him, scribbling away with their pencils and paper, and now looking at each other somewhat aghast, as much as to say this is dread Sunday work certainly. He charged them as being a parcel of " infernal scamps, or spies, sent, not by Nebuchadnezzar, but by Beelzebub the Devil, from the Council Chambers, to entrap him ; " and such was the vehemence of his personal wrath against them, and the dagger-like looks manifested by some of the congregation also towards them, that they became, at this stage, fairly non-plussed, and were glad to cease writing, and throw aside their pencils and their paper, and afterwards to strut with them away in their breeches' pockets ; resolving to trust to their own unaided memories for the remainder of his lecture, which, after all, was the spiciest and most inflammable part of it. That lecture, or call it what you please, we can have no reason to doubt, made a very deep REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 455 impression, indeed, on the three decent town-officers they could scarcely forget the fire and brimstone which was also to be heaped on their devoted heads, for coming with the intent they did to hear him. The like of it they certainly never heard, nor any person else in the city; so when they went to the Council Chambers, at the Jail, on the following morning, they told what had happened, as distinctly as they remembered, to the sitting Magis- trates, which petrified their honours not a little in their own judgment-seat. They commanded the immediate attendance of Mr. Andrew Simpson, the then young, active Procurator-Fiscal, who had succeeded old Mr. John Bennett, and Mr. Simpson presently took from them a written precognition, or declaration, giving " the awful words " of the Rev. Neil Douglas, time and place above mentioned ; which precognition the three town-officers duly subscribed with their own hands, without the smallest doubt or hesitation on their parts, at the time. That precognition, with other papers, was in due course transmitted to Lord Advocate M'Conochie, in Edinburgh; and within a very few days afterwards orders came from the Crown Counsel to seize greatly to his own consternation the person of the said Eev. Neil Douglas, as guilty of the crime of High Treason, or Sedition, and to imprison him in the Jail of Glasgow till liberated in due course of law. He was INDICTED to appear before the High Court of Justiciary, at Edinburgh, on the 26th of May, 1817, on the modified charge of "Sedition," or of " wicked sedition/' in his pulpit, as aforesaid. The three town-officers already referred to were, of course, to be the chief, or principal witnesses against the accused on his trial. In fact, on their united testimony, 456 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. as contained in their written and subscribed precognition, just referred to, the Lord Advocate and his Solicitor- General and Advocates-Depute, confidently relied for a sure and speedy conviction against the reverend panel, who, by this time, had become much alarmed about it himself. In fact, everybody in Glasgow believed that he would be transported "beyond seas" to a certainty. But, as good luck would have it for him, at this impor- tant juncture of his fate, the town-officers began to dis- pute among themselves as to the real words, or the true meaning or import thereof, as they heard him on that memorable Sunday afternoon. Some official jealousy had sprung up between them : the one thought his own dignity was superior to that of the other, las junior in office ; the junior, on the other hand, thought that his memory was fresher and clearer, and more to be depended on, than any of the elder twain. Hence, as the day of trial approached, the hitherto united trio came to be seriously divided in opinion on the subject ; and the old proverb is, that " when a house is divided against itself, it cannot very well stand/' The longer they now talked, the more they came to be at variance about the prisoner's exact lecture. All this, of course, was kept under their own thumbs, and utterly unknown to the prisoner himself or his agents. In fact, the latter thought that he had " little or no chance of escape," under his indictment, from Botany Bay, These three intelligent, and otherwise perfectly correct witnesses, singular to say, on the memorable day of trial in Edinburgh, became perfectly bewildered and bam- boozled about it more than they had ever been in Glas- gow. Their memories seemed to have fled from them in the most essential particulars. They, no doubt, remem- bered the words, Nebuchadnezzar, and Beelzebub, and the REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 457 Devil, perfectly well, and could lay much emphasis there- upon, but the grand application of the lecture became like a myth, or the mountain clouds, to them. It was lost in various ways ; they could not really tell why or wherefore ! In their perplexity, they requested to have their memories refreshed by their written precognition to the Fiscal in Glasgow, by which they said they would abide, and their precognition was about to be shown to them, to clear up and strengthen their evidence against the prisoner. " No, no," said FRANCIS JEFFREY (the elo- quent Counsel for the accilsed), "these procognitions shan't be shown ; they cannot bear any faith in judgment ; " and he started a powerful objection to the competency of the precognition, contending that it was to the facts then spoken to on their oaths, and not on the previous precog- * nitions at all, that the Cour tor the Jury could attend on that trial. In this view the Court concurred, and the pre- cognitions became the real safety of the prisoner, almost as marvellously as did the roll of tobacco, which we described in the previous striking trial of Andrew M'Kinlay. The case, in short, against the reverend prisoner abso- lutely broke down, through the lapsus of their own chief witnesses. The Solicitor-General, Wedderburn, abandoned it, with some degree of mortification on his lips. The late unhappy, but now surprised and rejoicing prisoner, was cordially congratulated by his eminent Counsel on this sudden, unexpected result ; and Mr. Douglas returned to Glasgow in a frame of mind better, we doubt not, in every view, than when he left it for Edinburgh ; for he took the opportunity of stating in most respectful lan- guage to the Lord Justice-Clerk, ere he left the bar of the Justiciary Court, that he would never more lecture about 458 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Nebuchadnezzar, nor say any words derogatory of his gracious Majesty the King, or to the disparagement of both Houses of Parliament. We believe he faithfully kept his word. Peace, then, to his memory ! THE PROFESSOR OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY TAKEN UP FOR SEDITION OR TREASON IN GLASGOW. BUT another venerable clerical event occurred in this city in bygone years, in the person of a very different, and more exalted gentleman, viz., Mr. John Mylne, the vener- able and highly accomplished Professor of Moral Philo- sophy in the University of Glasgow, which we may as well describe now. Almost the whole of the twenty professors of that date were good, staunch Tories of the Pitt, or olden school, with the exception, probably, of four, viz., Professor Mylne, above referred to; old Mr. George Jardine, Pro- fessor of Logic ; Dr. Richard Miller, Professor of Materia Medica ; and Mr. Jas. Miller, Professor of Mathematics. These four gentlemen were of the liberal, or Whig school. They rather admired the principles of the Eight Honour- able Charles James Fox ; and they attended the anni- versary of his birth given regularly by a public dinner, at one guinea per head, in the Black Bull Ball-room, then a very celebrated place in Glasgow. In fact, the occasion of the celebration of Mr. Fox's birth-day in Glasgow was almost the only occasion afforded at that remote period of ventilating anything in the shape of Politics, or politi- cal sentiments of any kind whatever. The Corporation of the City, as we formerly remarked, was then close, self-elected, and Toryish almost to a man. No reporter REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 459 whatever, from any section of the press, was permitted to enter its inner chambsrs, or to note down a single syllable of any of its meetings ; and not so much as the " whisper of discontent " was heard emanating from its walls. The Provost, Bailies, and Councillors worshipped cordially un- der the political banners of the Eight Honourable William Pitt ; and they also regularly held the anniver- sary of his birth-day in the Assembly Eooms, or in the Town Hall at the Cross a splendid old apartment it was of ancient days the walls whereof were decorated with trophies, and full length portraits of James the Sixth of Scotland and First of England, Charles the First, Charles the Second, James the Second, William the Third, Queen Mary, Queen Anne, George the First, George the Second, George the Third, and Archibald, Duke of Argyle, in his robes as Lord Justice-General of Scotland ; while at the head of the room stood a full length statue in marble by Flaxman of Mr. Pitt himself. We have been at many civic banquets in that place the last on the occasion of Her Majesty's first gracious visit to Glasgow since which period the ancient Town Hall has been dismantled, and these paintings and the statue of Pitt have been removed to the M'Lellan Galleries some call them the Incorpora- tion Galleries founded by the late Archibald M'Lellan, Esq., of whom we may have occasion to speak hereafter. But seeing that we are near the Cross now, we may go on to observe that the Music Bells, in the old steeple thereof, played the following tunes statedly, viz. : On Sun- day, "Easter Hymn ;" Monday, "Gilderoy;" Tuesday, " Nancy's to the green wood gane ; " Wednesday, " Tweed- side ; " Thursday, " The lass o' Patie's Mill ; " Friday, " The last time I came o'er the Muir ; " Saturday, " Ros- lin Castle," &c., &c. 4bO REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. Eeverting to our main story, we have to state that the Pitt Club and the Fox Club were originally great things of their day in Glasgow, as well as over the three king- doms. There was a complete line of demarcation between the principles of each a clear and palpable difference of political sentiment which led not unfrequently to much personal feeling, and sometimes to personal annoyance, even in the highest grades. The first G-lasgow Fox Club was sometimes graced with the presence of the then Duke of Hamilton, his brother Lord Archibald Hamilton, and it rarely missed the father of the late Sir John Maxwell, Bart, of Police. On the other hand, the Glasgow Pitt Club relied on the then Duke of Montrose, the then Earl of Glasgow, and it rarely missed old Archibald Campbell of Blythswood ; therefore there were men of rank ranged against each other on both sides. It was difficult to get any of the city clergymen to grace the Fox Club they rather preferred the Pitt one but in order to prevent the Tories from saying, as they sometimes tauntingly did, that the Whigs, or the Foxites, were nothing but "a graceless and a godless set," Professor Mylne pretty regularly officiated at the Fox anniversary, by asking the blessing " for the good things of this life," and he in consequence got the name of the " Whig Chap- lain." From his eminent position in the College, it was fre- quently the duty of Professor Mylne to give a lecture or a sermon to the students on Sunday, in the Common Hall of the University, and many of them liked to hear him wonderfully well, for he was a favourite with most of them. Politics, however, were bitter keen even on a Sunday at that time. They raged almost like the stoimy billows. REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 461 Many yet amongst us may remember that the great Napoleon Bonaparte, the uncle of the present Emperor of the French, made his escape from the Island of Elba, where he had been for some time closely confined as a prisoner, by the Allied Sovereigns of Europe, in order, as they declared, to prevent him from disturbing the peace of the world. The news of this wonderful escape of Napoleon, which in a few weeks afterwards led to the famous battle of Waterloo, where Napoleon was overthrown by the immor- tal Duke of Wellington, reached Glasgow on Sunday morning, 26th of March, 1815. It was the especial duty of Professor Mylne to officiate in the College Hall that forenoon. On this occasion he commenced the sacred service by giving out the 107th Psalm. The words are as follows, and to them we would now crave attention ; Praise God, for he is good : for still His mercies lasting be. Let God's redeem'd say so, whom he From th' en'my's hand did free ; And gather'd them out of the lands, From north, south, east, and west. They stray'd in desert's pathless way, No city found to rest. For thirst and hunger in them faints Their soul. "When straits them press, They cry unto the Lord, and he Them frees from their distress. Them also in a way to walk That right is he did guide, That they might to a city go, Wherein they might abide. For the text of his lecture, the Professor chose Acts llth chapter, 19th verse, and onwards. At the conclu- 462 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. sion he gave out the following verses of the 26th Para- phrase : Behold he comes ! your leader conies, With might and honour crown'd ; A witness who shall spread my name To earth's remotest bound. See ! nations hasten to his call From ev'ry distant shore; Isles, yet unknown, shall bow to him, And Isr'el's God adore. Seek ye the Lord while yet his ear Is open to your call : While oflfer'd mercy still is near, Before his footstool fall. Let sinners quit their evil ways, Their evil thoughts forego ; And God, when they to him return, Returning grace will show. "We state this staggering fact, without the fear of con- tradiction from any quarter, that these very lines we have above quoted were actually construed against the ven- erable Professor Mylne, as amounting, at the time, to SEDITION, if not to HIGH TREASON, on his part ; and an express was sent off from Glasgow to Edinburgh that same Sunday afternoon, to apprise the Lord Advocate of this " damnable conduct" so it was called, of Professor Mylne ! On Monday morning, the Sheriff-Depute of the county who had then his permanent residence in Edin- burgh, as all previous Sheriff-Deputes had was ordered by the Lord Advocate to proceed forthwith to Glasgow,. to take a criminal procognition against Professor Mylne ! We may here remark that the Lord Advocate of that day was the Eight Honourable Archibald Colquhoun of Gars- cadden and Killermont, father of the present Mr. J. C. Colquhoun of Killermont. The Lord Advocate Colquhoun, REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 463 we may remark, sat in Parliament through the political influence of the then Duke of Montrose, as Member for the County of Dumbarton ; in which county, at the last general election, it will be recollected, the extraordinary TIE took place between Mr. Stirling (Liberal), and Mr. Smollett (Conservative), exactly 1555 electors having voted on each side, so that neither of the candidates could claim the legal majority when the Sheriff declared the poll. This, however, showed, at the same time, a strength of upwards of 3000 registered electors last year in that county; whereas, when the Lord Advocate Colquhoun represented it forty years ago, we distinctly remember for we often counted the whole of them, and knew every one of them by name and designation there were only seventy-four voters, or proper freeholders, in it altogether; and, therefore, we may well smile at this prodigious- change, which we have thus witnessed, from 75 to 3000 persons ! It is almost fabulous for us, some may think, to speak about it in this way, but it is the undoubted and undeniable fact. We rather think this singular TIE in Dum- bartonshire is unexampled in the Parliamentary annals of Scotland since the Eevolution of 1688. But the same thing, on a smaller scale, we remember, occurred at one of the early Municipal Elections in Glasgow, in the days of Mr. Reddie, some thirty years ago, when a new elec- tion was ordered to take place ; and probably a scrutiny or a new election for Dumbartonshire will be ordered to take place on the assembling of the new Parliament iti the approaching year, 1866. Be that as it may, it is now proper for us to observe, that the Sheriff-Depute of this County of Lanark, who came out from Edinburgh to seize Professor Mylne in Glasgow, as above stated, was Robert Hamilton, Esq., Advocate, afterwards one of the 464 REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. principal Clerks of Session. There was only one Sheriff- Substitute at that time in Glasgow, viz., the late Daniel Hamilton, Esq., of Gilkerscleugh, and he was the Depute's own brother. There was no Sheriff Small Debt Court now so prolific at that time in Glasgow. The idea of a Small Debt Court, swelling now with its thousands of cases per week, was at that time never once entertained. There were only four or five clerks altogether in the Sheriff-Clerk's office and our old friend Mr. Leslie, still alive at Hamilton, was one of those clerks ; the office was up a wooden stair at the back of the Lyceum, in Nelson Street; and the interior of it just contained two small apartments, furnished with two fir desks covered with leather, and some half-dozen of chairs and stools. Mr. Hugh Kerr, writer, Auditor of the Sheriff Court, sometimes acted as Sheriff- Substitute, in the absence of Mr. Hamilton. Mr. William Dunn Barclay was the Sheriff's Procurator-Fiscal. He was brother-in-law o'f Provost Jacob Dixon of Dumbar- ton, and was at one time highly esteemed, but he lost his lucrative situation by an act of bribery proven against him in some combination case, and he went all to the dogs in consequence. He was succeeded by our old, intelligent, upright, and faithful friend, the late George Salmond, Esq., who, it is not too much to say, was respected to the day of his death by men of all parties. He is succeeded by his early protegee, Wm. Hart, Esq., who has had more experience in Fiscal business, of one kind or another, than any other man probably alive at the present moment in Scotland. On the Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of the memorable week above spoken to, the Sheriff-Depute and the Sheriff-Clerk, the Fiscal and his clerk, were constantly engaged in examining witnesses against Professor Mylne, REMINISCENCES OF GLASGOW. 465 not only in the College, but in other places of the city ; and, as may easily be supposed, the circumstance that the Sheriff-Depute had come out expressly from Edinburgh, by orders from the Lord Advocate, to institute a criminal prosecution against the amiable Professor for his Sunday lecture, or discourse, about Bonaparte, created a vast amount of sensation amongst all ranks and classes in the city. The students were perfectly bewildered with ex- citement. They met in knots and clubs, discussing the matter ; and when the Professor went to re-open his classes on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, the College Courts resounded with rapturous plaudits in his favour. The students could not possibly conceive how it was that such a man could be guilty of Sedition, much less of High Treason, and that too, in the Common Hall of the University, on the previous Sabbath. Professor Mylne's personal friends in the city rushed to his aid. James Dennistoun, the banker ; Chas. Tennant, of St. Eollox ; Eobert Graham, of Whitehill ; William Stirling, of Cordale ; John Douglas, of Barloch ; William Kippen, of Busby ; Sir John Maxwell, of Polloc (father of the late respected Baronet), and others, offered to be sureties for his appearance in any trial to any amount. On Friday afternoon the Professor was again judicially examined and interrogated, in his own house, by the Sheriff, and the following is a true copy of his written Declaration, which we have preserved amongst many other old papers. It abundantly speaks for itself : DECLARATION OF MR. JAMES MYLNE. AT Glasgow, the 31st day of March, 1815 years, in the presence of Robert Hamilton, Esq., Advocate, Sheriff-Depute of the County of Lanark Appeared Mr. James Mylne, Professor of Moral Philosophy in tho 466 REMINISCENCES OP GLASGOW. University of Glasgow, who being examined, declares, That he is Chaplain of the said University : That he preached on Sunday the 2Gth March current, in said chapel : That he heard that morning, and with very deep concern and grief, the unfortunate news of the day from France : That the Psalm given out that day, and with which service began, was the 107th, several verses at the beginning; being the psalm to which he had regularly come in the course of his official duty in the chapel : That in the concluding prayer, when speaking of public matters, the declarant expressed deep regret at the dark and gloomy prospects now presented to the nations of Europe, and rever- ence for that Being who can guide the furious passions of wicked men ;