(?\ f exhibition — no high-dressed housekeeper, or pompous guides, unus et alter, in succession, to give their cold, drilled lesson. On our driving up, a very intelligent girl came out of an adjoining cottage, and no other human being was visible in the place, excepting her and ourselves, during the whole survey which we made. And this was done at leisure, and with some accuracy. I can recal only a portion of the many curious articles and objects here presented to our view, and carrying us back two or three centuries. Entering the court-yard we first saw the porter's lodge, and the massive old wooden bed in which he slept. We then HADDON HALL. 19 went into the chaplain's room* and study, in which there are now placed a gun, a pair of boots, a chapel-bell, a leathern doublet, a hunter's horn, pewter dishes, &c, all of ancient date and form. The hall resembles that of a small college, with a high table across, and long tables at right angles, stretched from one end of the room to the other. Within the outer hall there is another dining-room, with oriel window and carved chimney-piece, over which is inscribed : Dreade GOD and honor the Kyng. Here there is a large copper wine-cooler ; and on one of the panels are carved portraits of Henry VII., and his Queen, extremely well executed in wood. We then successivelv viewed the drawing- room with its oriel windows, tapestried walls, and old embroidered ottomans, and the dress- ing-room and the bed-room of the Earl. The only mode of access by which the ladies' maids could reach their mistress was by the open court, and a flight of unprotected stone steps leading to her dressing-room. Among the other apartments are a handsome gallery, a state-bed-room with an ancient bed, * This was the only apartment into which any object has been transferred from their appropriate position. 20 HADDON HALL. which was sent to Belvoir Castle for the use of George IV., when Regent ; and guard-rooms in the tower. But perhaps there is, after all, nothing more curious in the whole place than the arrangements of the kitchen and adjoining offices. So accu- rately are they maintained in their former con- dition that they might be used for dinners and company at this very moment — that is suppos- ing such cooks, as then dressed dinners, and such guests as then consumed them, could again be assembled within Haddon Hall. In the kitchen are the old tables, benches, &c. still hard, strong, massive, and serviceable, with the chopping-block, the dressers, and a salt-box of immense magnitude. Within the kitchen is a bakery and a larder. Farther on is the butchery or slaughter-house, with all its painful accompaniments. Seeing no entrance, except that by which we had entered, I asked whether the cattle used to come in to be killed through the kitchen. " Yes, Sir, that was the only way." In the buttery, the door has a small hole, which served as the means for distributing food to the poor claimants of the neighbourhood. Altogether Haddon Hall interested us extremely. I have not spoken of the building itself, nor of the surrounding scenes, because in both these ASHFORD. 21 points this old hall has other rivals ; but I believe that it has none as to the abundance of articles remaining in it, which were here literally used in ancient domestic life, and for the exactitude of information with which it supplies the intelli- gent observer, who may wish to trace out the in-door history of former generations in our land. In France, the Castle of Chenonceaux, near Tours, and of Azay-le-Rideau near Chinon, are kept up in some measure with the same view ; but in both those residences habitation has, in a certain degree, necessitated an introduction of modern arrangements. Haddon Hall is not inhabited, and therefore not a single new thing is requisite in it, or indeed visible. Passing by Ashford, with its steep and beau- tiful slopes, overshadowing trees, and gracefully built houses, we traversed a district of complete solitude, but much attraction. The road made a long and gradual ascent between steep hills for many miles, amidst coppices and woods, and gray granite here and there peeping out from the green foliage around. Moors appeared in the distance on the right. I observed here a rare and curiously shaped plant, with a large leaf resembling that of the rhubarb, but of a rounder form, bordering the road in thick clusters for a 22 CHARITY BATHS. few hundred yards. It was a specimen which, to my knowledge, I never before met. Resting at Buxton, we visited the Charity Baths, maintained for patients in indigent cir- cumstances. Many persons interested in the condition of the poor may be glad to know that such an institution exists, and that admission for the suffering poor can be obtained with every facility. I specially mention this because rheumatism is, perhaps, the very ailment in which the waters of Buxton are found the most valuable and effective ; while, so far as I have observed, there is no form of suffering to which the agricultural labourers of England are more subject. Exposure to the inclemency of the weather is the cause ; and, in mentioning the subject, I speak from pastoral experience in witnessing the sickness of the poor. No cases of suffering appear to me so common, and no words are so continually heard beneath the cottage roof as rhumatiz, or rhumatics, in answer to inquiries as to the health of the poor. Beyond Buxton the country displays some wild and rather bare heights, reminding me in some degree of the lower parts of Plinlimmon. We reached Manchester during the evening, where we were to pass the next day. MANCHESTER AT NIGHT. 23 The hotel at which we stopped was near the Dean's-gate, a long street and thoroughfare, which, especially on Saturday night, as the great marketing occasion for the labouring population of the town, is thronged from end to end with such a vast crowd that all have to dodge about, and push their way in order to make any advance. Except, of course, in the time of a procession, or at some similar scene, I never saw sucli a stream of human beings in any town whatsoever. The Toledo, at Naples, or Ghent, at the work- men's dinner time, is nothing in comparison. The whole street was brilliant with gas from the shops, and adjoining the street was a large meat market thronged with purchasers, though it was near midnight. There is something very strange and somewhat solemn in witnessing for the first time such a multitude of souls thus gathered thickly together. Perhaps my remembrance that the hour was on the very confines of the Lord's day, made the impression more vivid, as I retired to rest from the midst of the countless throng of fellow-creatures and eternal souls. I am glad to say that I heard little or no profane language, while I saw little drunkenness and no violence during an hour or more in which I was a close observer of the scene around me. I believe that faithful and earnest ministrations of 24 CONDUCT OF THE PEOPLE. the Gospel, Sunday Schools, and Temperance Societies, are, under God's blessing, the chief means to which improvement is due whenever improvement appears in the habits of the popu- lation dwelling in those crowded cities of our land, such as that where I now write. SALFORD. 25 CHAPTER III. Salford — Rev. H — S — . — Sunday Schools — Lancashire Psalmody — Adult Scholars — Circulation of the Scriptures — The Sabbath — Christian Communions — Lancashire Dialect — Union School — Solitude of the Roads — View of Preston — Condition of Work- men — Mr. Swainson'e Factory — Factory process — Roads and Inns. July 27. — We attended to-day the services at Christ Church, in Salford, which immediately adjoins Manchester. The incumbent of this large, important, and populous locality is the Rev. H — S — , well known throughout England for his eloquent and energetic speeches, as scrip- tural in their character as they are rich in illus- tration, and adorned with all that fine feelings, a poetic spirit, and a noble heart can pour forth. I have more than once heard him speak, and witnessed the thrill of interest with which, after one or two sentences are uttered by him, his glowing addresses are invariably received by his delighted audience. I had never heard him preach, but had been told that his sermons were comparatively of a calm and chastened character, vol. i. c 26 REV. H S — . and that he was not less distinguished for his pastoral affection and parochial diligence, than for his oratorical powers. To-day I had an opportunity of observing how true and accurate all these statements were, and how they were exemplified in his valuable ministry. We heard him preach both morning and evening. His sermon in the morning was on the Parable of the Unjust Steward. That in the evening was on Mordecai's exclamation, " All this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai, the Jew, sitting at the King's gate," (Esther v., 13), and most ably he set forth the misery of ungodly men, who, being given up to the evil passions, and dominion of their own corrupt hearts, cannot help feeling, and often- times exhibiting their wretchedness, though, as Haman, they may possess all those exterior advantages in which the world conceives that the elements of happiness consist. Among many other beautiful and effective passages was one, in which he contrasted the state of wicked Haman, amidst ail his splendour and gratified ambition, unable to conceal his misery from his family and friends with that of Paul and Silas, amidst all their bodily suffering and affliction in the prison at midnight, with feet fast in the stocks, and backs lacerated by the scourge, SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 27 unable to conceal their joy, and singing praises to God, so that the "prisoners heard them." (Acts xvr., 25.) In the midst of all the avocations of the day, Mr. S found time to show to my wife and myself every attention and kindness. During the day we accompanied him to one of his Sun- day Schools, for, as every thing is done on a large scale in these localities, he has no less than four. I hear that there is one Sunday School in Manchester attended by two thousand scholars ; and the number frequenting this single institu- tion, out of the four under the pastoral care of Mr. S , is not less than five hundred. On entering the large apartment, in which this school is held, I was much struck with the order and regularity visible all around. The boys' and girls' school-rooms are separated by a partition, sufficiently high to exclude all view of what is going on in each from the other. At one end of this partition there are a few steps, and the cler- gyman, or individual deputed by him to officiate, can be seen by all underneath the roof at the times of prayer or address to those present. I mention this, as it is a subject of some conse- quence in the proper management of a school, to accomplish this object without having the boys c 2 28 LANCASHIRE PSALMODY. and girls together during the period of instruc- tion. The Lancashire psalmody is celebrated through- out England, and without doubt we heard the psalms and hymns very beautifully and melo- diously sung. I heard that the taste for music prevails so strongly, that the girls employed in the factories often sing hymns at their work ; and a lady, who exerts herself in the Sunday School which we visited to-day, told me that when she went with friends or visitors to one of the factories, where she was known to the young people from her Sunday intercourse with them, they immediately struck up a hymn or psalm, by way of recognition. What a beautiful and touching welcome ! May it be an earnest and a prelude of that still more glorious hymn, which on the day when all things shall be known, multitudes of teachers shall hear uttered by those who then shall rise up, " call them blessed," and acknowledge them as the friends of their souls, who first brought them to know God through Jesus Christ His Son ! There are no less than twenty-nine teachers in the boys' school which I visited. I observed one class formed entirely of grown up men ; and in the girls' apartment there were many growm up women, w r ho still continued their attendance. ADULT SCHOLARS. 29 I was informed that among the adults there were fathers and mothers of families ; and there are even instances of parents and children attending the school together. All this bespeaks a deep and continued interest in divine things, and is equally creditable to the adult scholars, who evince such humility, docility, and diligence, as it is to the teachers, who year after year are enabled, by the grace of God, to keep this in- terest alive.* * From various accounts which I heard in Salford and Man- chester as to the progress of the Gospel, and the interest apparently awakened in so many minds as to spiritual things, I was not un- prepared for the glad tidings which during the ensuing autumn were spread about the land regarding the unparallelled demand for the word of God proceeding from those towns, and the value attached not only to the privilege of possessing, but also to that of dispersing it among others. The whole account of the matter has been given in such a graphic and impressive manner by my valued friend, C. S Dudley, Esq., that I cannot do so well as to introduce a considerable portion of the statement made by him on the sub- ject, as agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society, in a letter dated November 22, 1845. It has been widely circulated in the country, but I deem it quite a privilege to circulate it still more. " l.The Manchester and Salford Auxiliary was one of the earliest of our affiliated institutions, having been instituted in the year 1810. The population of that period did not much exceed one hundred thousand : it is now estimated at more than three hun- dred thousand, and is rapidly increasing. The distribution of Bibles and Testaments in the five years ending with 1815 was considerable, averaging about seven thousand annually. During the ensuing six years the sales gradually declined to about two thousand five hundred ; but were again materially and rapidly in- creased by the establishment of the Ladies' Branch Society and its connected Associations, by whose instrumentality the annual sales 30 CIRCULATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. We much enjoyed our Sabbath to-day ; and, indeed, I know few occasions on which one more were raised to about eight thousand. They speedily, however, again declined, until they reached their former level of about two thousand five hundred. In the year 1S3S, the present Depository was established, and its beneficial effects soon became perceptible. The sales in 1839 advanced to four thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven, and, with the exception of one year of severe priva- tion and distress, have steadily and progressively increased, until, in 1844, they reached twelve thousand five hundred and seventy- seven. The total issues of the society during thirty-four years, ending September 30, 1844, amounted to one hundred and ninety- four thousand three hundred and thirty-five, being an average annual issue of five thousand seven hundred and twelve. 2. Such was the state of this Auxiliary at the end of its thirty- fourth year. To the casual or unreflecting observer, this, when viewed in connexion with other means of supply, might have ap- peared an adequate provision for the population. The fallacy of such an opinion will; however, at once appear, when it is stated that, in the year ending September 30, 1845, the sales exceeded fifteen thousand, being nearly threefold that of the average of pre- ceding years. And yet this was but the first indication of that extraordinary demand for the Holy Scriptures which has manifested itself among the working-classes, and is progressively and rapidly increasing. In the month of October the sales at the Depository amounted to nine thousand six hundred and eighteen ; and, so rapid has been the increase of demand, that in the first eighteen days of the present month eleven thousand seven hundred and thirteen copies have been issued, the sales during the last ten days averaging more than one thousand a day ;— a fact unprecedented in the history of any similar institution. But even this extensive circulation seems only to have stimulated the inquiry and demand ; for on Monday last the orders received amounted to two thousand six hundred, and on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively they reached four thousand, thus making the number required within three days more than ten thousand ! The orders transmitted to Earl Street since the 1st of October amount to more than thirty- eight thousand copies. [3. THE SABBATH. 31 delights in the day of holy rest than when on a journey. We may be in a strange place, but 3. It is not improbable that, in the contemplation of this vast distribution of the Holy Scriptures within the limits of a single Auxiliary, a suspicion may be awakened that the demand was prompted, in degree at least, by interested motives, and that a portion of these purchases have been made with a view to a re-sale at advanced prices. Nor was my own mind free from this im- pression, when first witnessing the extraordinary scene at the De- pository. All my inquiries, however— and they have neither been few in number, nor limited in extent — have failed to discover a single instance in which Bibles or Testaments have been purchased for pecuniary gain. 4. The agency by which this work has been accomplished, and is still proceeding, is not the least remarkable feature of the case. The impulse to offer, and the desire to purchase, seem to have been alike spontaneous and simultaneous. Teachers and senior children in Sunday Schools — clerks in warehouses and factories — serious young persons employed in the numerous and extensive cotton-mills — and others, in various ranks of life, who had been graciously taught the value of the Holy Scriptures as a revelation of infinite love and mercy — appeared to be animated by one spirit. After imploring a blessing from on high on their undertaking, they provided themselves with specimens of different editions of Bibles and Testaments, which they exhibited in the schools and factories, where they appear to have met with open doors and willing minds in every quarter. Thus two young women employed in one factory, disposed of three hundred Bibles and Testaments within a few days. A youth of sixteen years of age, the junior clerk in another cotton-mill, sold four hundred and sixty within a similar time; and in a note now before me, writes: — " Our mill has been in a commotion to-day with the people coming to order books." Two young ladies, collectors of a Bible Association, who had considered their district supplied, furnished themselves with baskets of Bibles and Testaments ; and, going forth among the in- habitants of the same district, have, for several weeks, disposed of from twenty to twenty-five copies daily. Passing over many other interesting illustrations of the subject, I will only add, that the 32 CHRISTIAN COMMUNION. still, wherever we can unite in worship with a congregation of our brethren, and especially when, as to-day, a truth-speaking and enlightened minister presides over that congregation in whose worship we share, there we cannot feel ourselves at all in a strange place ; there we join the family of God ; there we hear the joyful sound of the Gospel ; there we seek edification for ourselves ; there we rejoice for others that they have the bread of life distributed among them ; there we bless God for exalting and honouring His own holy name. When, however, I make these remarks in illustration of the spirit in which we may pass the Lord's day, even in a place where we are total strangers, I cannot say superintendent, teachers, and senior children of the Sunday Schools attached to one place of worship, have not only sold within a fort- night six hundred Bibles and Testaments to the scholars, but have actually disposed of four thousand copies in the various fac- tories in which these children are employed. In almost every in- stance the sales have been in single copies ; the few exceptions being those made to individuals for other members of their respec- tive families. Such, my dear friend, is a hasty and very imperfect sketch of this mighty moral movement — a scene surpassing any I have ever yet witnessed, or hoped to witness. I will not, at present, attempt to trace it in its origin and history ; nor will I incur the risk of grieving one valued friend, who, with the members of his family, has taken a prominent part in these proceedings, by mentioning his name ; but I do not hesitate for a moment in expressing the deep and solemn conviction, that this extraordinary manifestation is to be ascribed to the especial blessing of Almighty God. LANCASHIRE DIALECT. 33 that we were called upon to realize a stranger's feelings to-day. The kindness of Mr. S and some of his friends, with whom he made us acquainted, rendered our position quite of another character. An odd question, and, to the ear of a southern like myself, rather enigmatically expressed, was put to me during the day by a poor aged man, who attends Mr. S — 's ministry, and with whom I endeavoured to hold a little conversation : — " What's your ivull of our man ?" As it was ex- plained to me by one who stood by, acquainted with the local dialect and turn of expression, the question signified : — " What is your opinion of our minister?" July 28. To Garstang. — A very beautiful morning. The heavy showers of yesterday had laid the dust, just as the roads needed it. At about four miles from Manchester, a magnificent building, of which we had previously heard nothing, appeared all at once inour sight. Although the front was only just finished, yet the edifice bore resemblance, from its size and architecture, to some grand palace, or magnificent mansion of old times. It stretched its front before us to an extent of nearly two hundred yards, and I found, on inquiry, that it was to be a school for the children of the Manchester Union, which includes c 3 34 UNION SCHOOL. thirteen districts, and that arrangements were made for the accommodation of no less than two thousand children. We walked through the most important parts of the edifice— through three capacious school-rooms, admirably ar- ranged, through one of many dormitories, and through the hall, an apartment of great extent, which is also to be used as a chapel. The building is in the old English style, and is the work of a Manchester architect. I was told that it would be finished for the reception of its inmates before the end of the vear ; and we left the place full of admiration at the splen- did establishment, so soon to be opened and occupied. In saying this, I pass no opinion on the principle of these vast assemblages for which Unions and Union schools are built. The railroad was near and parallel to the turn- pike road during a great part of our journey to-day. We had accordingly a very accurate specimen of the state to which so many of the highways of England must ere long be reduced. For mile after mile no carriage, cart, or even traveller of any class passed us. The railroad is so extremely cheap (one penny a mile), and offers so many stations, in constant succession, that the labouring population avail themselves of this mode of locomotion ; and, considering SOLITUDE OF THE ROAD. 35 the value of time in these manufacturing dis- tricts, find it the most economical plan thus to proceed to their work, or on their different engagements. As to the old roads, the descrip- tive passage of the Scripture is literally fulfilled in each clause : " The highways lie waste : the wayfaring man ceaseth." (Is. xxxm. 8). While as to the railroad, another passage in Scrip- ture is wonderfully exemplified, " Many (perhaps the many) shall run to and fro." (Dan. xn. 4). Our road for a considerable distance was paved in the middle, and my little grey pony, who, by her shrewdness and observation, very soon found out in France that the draught was lighter on the pave than on any other surface, and therefore, if allowed, used always to push up from either side upon it, soon exhibited her good memory and choice on the subject by here pur- suing her old plan. This pave, the solitude of our way, and a line of very lofty bare heights to the right, very much reminded me of some of our French drives in the kindred parts of that country. The language of the people too was to me, as a southern, almost like that heard in a foreign clime, partly from the words themselves, but still more from the accent. I had much difficulty in understanding the Lancashire dia- 36 VIEW OF PRESTON. lect, and sometimes could not comprehend it at all. Little attention seems paid to the road ; and though the turnpikes were high and numerous, yet I was told that they were totally inadequate to the expenses ; and with some, to whom we spoke on the subject, an idea seemed to prevail, that if these roads were to be kept up at all, some new measures must be adopted for the purpose. The view which met our eyes on approach- ing Preston, was really very grand, and had the claim of perfect dissimilarity from any scene which 1 had ever witnessed. On turning round a corner of the road, a lofty and richly wooded ridge of considerable height extended itself, at about a mile distance, across the whole horizon before us ; while on the top of this ridge, cut- ting the sky in bold relief, stood in single file, several gigantic factories. I never had seen any such buildings occupy- ing a similar position, or indeed having any other effect than that of spoiling their neighbour- hood as to the picturesque. But here, though I can only speak for ourselves, as to their effect, we thought them very striking features, and I know that to us they were objects of a long and admiring gaze. CONDITION OF WORKMEN. 37 The day was bright, while a fresh breeze, which was blowing at the time, rapidly dispersed the ascending smoke, instead of allowing it to hang darkly and heavily around. But, above all, the bold features of the neighbouringlocality were able without injury, to bear such masses of plain brick work as those which stretched before us along the blue sky. Strange as the subject may seem to the painter, when only thus noticed by the pen, I could not help thinking that the first view of Preston, as seen from this point, and on such a day, would make a fine appearance on canvas ; and my desire certainly was to have, at all events, a sketch of the scene. Perhaps some passing thoughts of the grandeur of English enterprize and trade contributed to such feelings. And why should they not ? As we ascended the hill, which led up to the town, I entered into conversation with a me- chanic, who was going to his work. He told me, that at the present time there was plenty of employment, and that too at good wages. He added that the men were much better off now than they used to be, from so many being tea- totallers. As for himself, he said that he should not know the taste of liquor now, so long was it since he had taken any beer or spirits. 38 MR. SWAINSON S FACTORY. On entering Preston we drove up to the largest factory, Mr. Swainson's, and requested permission to see it. My card was asked for, and we were immediately admitted. An intelligent and oblig- ing young man (to whom I take the present opportunity of returning our acknowledgments) showed us over the whole building, and through the various departments of the establishment, so that we might see and understand the process of labour throughout. This led us through a con- tinued series of observations, which extended from that of the uncleaned wool in bales to that of the finished pieces of cotton ready for exportation or immediate use at home. The cotton-bales were in the top story, at an immense height from the ground. In order to reach it, we had only to step on a small platform, which was worked in a kind of shaft by pullies, and we were immediately drawn up to the top- most story with perfect ease, and without the smallest feeling of insecurity. Thus all fatigue is obviated ; and on inquiry we found that all those engaged in the factory were accustomed to use this pleasant mode of ascent. I had never seen a cotton factory before ; and, as may be supposed, was much impressed with the marvellous character of all the spectacle FACTORY PROCESS. 39 around. The situation of the edifice is most airy and lofty, and due ventilation is provided for with all judgment and care. The building is fire-proof from top to bottom. The magnitude of the operations may be supposed, when I men- tion that fourteen hundred persons are employed, although the machinery is what is called " self- acting," and requires a much smaller number for its operations than machinery of another description, in frequent and common use. Among the remarkable characteristics of the moving and mechanical power, all stirring and working around us, nothing struck me more than the temporary but perfect stoppage of a few seconds which takes place, so as just to give time for some needful object requiring this delay. There was something grand in the regular pause at certain intervals, when all which was before moving, stood still for a moment, and then re- newed again its slow but mighty course. I was informed that there was much activity in the cotton trade, and that at the present moment it chiefly resulted from the large orders for China. We slept at Garstang, a small town with a very pleasant inn. Indeed, along the whole of this northern road, from hence to Glasgow, we found a succession of small and neat stopping 40 ROAD AND INNS. places — mostly in rural situations, with well- furnished and clean apartments, every attention, and very moderate charges. Most of their names will be found in the course of the ensuing pages. In general we met them at every six or seven miles : and I mention them, hoping, that in spite of present appearances, the fine high- roads of England, and her trim rural inns may not be quite forsaken by travellers. A QUARRY GARDEN. 4 | CHAPTER IV. A Quarry Garden — Beauty of the Scene — Lancaster — Lancaster Gaol — State of Crime— Passage of the Sands — The Lakes — Wordsworth. July 29. Garstang to Kendal.— This morning was delightful, and we had proceeded about four miles when we came all at once on a scene of the utmost floral beauty, appearing in a singularly formed garden, close to us at the road-side, and only separated from it by a light iron fence, just sufficient to effect security from the ingress of animals. In fact, all was arranged on the liberal principle, that the road passengers were to be the spectators most to be considered, as the garden presented a theatric and semi-circular form, sloping down and opening towards the highway. The sight was most captivating. A rich assemblage of shrubbery, trees, plants, and flowers, with mown turf in each appropriate place, and matted foliage, creeping and hanging 42 BEAUTY OF THE SCENE. about on every jutting eminence, in the most varied profusion, and all lit up with a bright sun — such was the spectacle before us. Having for some time gazed at the scene from the road, we asked of an old woman at a cot- tage, or kind of porter's lodge (for no other house was within sight) whether we might walk into the garden. Permission was granted at once, and we wandered about freely by ourselves for some time, much enjoying each successive compartment of a place, in which wildness and decoration are most beautifully blended. We were praising and admiring all that we saw around, when suddenly we came in sight of a gentleman who was working among the flowers with every appearance of industry and zeal. He was the proprietor : he received us most courteously, and told us the history of this charming scene. He said that he had entirely formed it himself, and that it had resulted from the labour and attention of twenty years. I should certainly have supposed, from the growth and maturity of the plants, that it could scarcely have been effected during a shorter period. The rough cavity of a large stone-pit was the original site, and by little and little the garden had reached its present extent, beauty, and perfection. Independent of the lovely LANCASTER. 43 forms and colours at cur feet, the distant view- was fine, embracing a rich valley, and mountain- heights beyond. To a real admirer of a highly dressed garden, or one wishing to arrange a wild spot in any similar manner, a visit to this quarry-garden would well repay a journey of some length. I could not help thinking of Virgil's beautiful lines, as at all events applying to the scene, and perhaps to its owner. " Nee fertilis ilia juvencis, Nee pecori opportuna seges, nee commoda Baceho. Hie rarura tamen in dumis olus albaque circum Lilia, verbenasque premens vescumque papaver, Rcgum sequabat opes animis. GEORG. IV. 128. On driving away, w 7 e passed the residence of the proprietor, a small neat house on the hill to the left, but quite unconnected with the garden which I have described. The absence ot a residence there — for the old woman's house is small and almost hidden by the trees — gives a peculiarity of character to the whole scene, which may be well imagined. We were now T approaching Lancaster. The first view of that town is magnificent, lis seen from the hill at about a mile distance. The old castle — now 7 a gaol — stands up boldly and prominently, backed in the distance by the mountains of Cumberland and Westmoreland, 44 LANCASTER GAOL. while broad sheets of water, flowing eastward and westward, give light and variety to the prospect. The position of the town — the form of the castle — and the eminence, on which it stands, bring foreign localities vividly and accurately to the recollection of a traveller. I employed my spare time at Lancaster by a visit to the gaol, which is partly ancient and partly modern ; the old edifice, with which the name of John of Gaunt, the " time-honoured Lancaster," is connected, having been, with considerable additions and reparations, employed as the county gaol. I was shown with much civility through the whole edifice, and the various apartments of the prisoners. I had within a fortnight visited another county gaol, that at Reading, in Berkshire, where the system of separate cells and solitary confinement is adopted ; while here, although there is a certain classification of the prisoners, still the whole arrangements of the gaol are quite of another character. I have no thought of entering here on the grand question of Prison Discipline, but I certainly can never see or direct my attention to an institution of the kind without a sense of the paramount importance of keeping, by due and legitimate means, the young offenders from the old, and the culprits incarcerated for STATE OF CRIME. some slight crime from those who are hardened in guilt and iniquity. My feelings on this subject were much strengthened and quickened by some conversations which I once held with a very intelligent Governor of a county gaol. Instead of being himself inured to this ad- mixture by long use, he represented to me its mischief and dreadful effects, in a manner which I shall not easily forget. It was gratifying to hear from one of the officers of the prison, that crime — so far as could be judged from the prison records — had much diminished in this very populous and important county. While he had remembered — even within the last four years — no fewer than three hundred and ninety-eight in the prison, there were now but one hundred and forty. The same individual showed me that fearful engine — the drop — taken to pieces and put aside, I trust, for many years to come. The hanging-beam bears an awful testimony to its use in the grazed mark which the rope, whence each unhappy man was suspended at the time of his execution, had made in the blackened wood. My informant had twice seen eight persons hanging on the beam at once, on account of various crimes, and once he had seen no less than nine ! On the latter occasion 46 PASSAGE OF THE SANDS. it was for high treason, and riotous proceedings of a character most dangerous to the peace and welfare of the country. Shortly after leaving Lancaster, we saw on our left the tract of sand, alternately covered and left bare by the sea, and forming the upper part of Morecombe Bay, between the coasts of Lancashire and Westmoreland. These sands are constantly traversed by carriages and foot passengers ; and here I looked for the first time and with intense interest on a trackway such as this, stretching far across the sands. Some of the most exciting dangers and spirit-stirring scenes, to which the traveller can in any clime be subject, have been those connected with the rising and pursuing tide on such an expanse as this. Many a tale has been embellished with these narratives, but many more have been the true histories of danger and escape — of terror and of courage — of life and death witnessed on a surface like this — smooth but perilous — tempt- ing, though so treacherous. When I looked along the wide and shining expanse of the far-spreading sand, I could discover no moving object whatsoever ; but the more experienced eye of a dweller in the neighbourhood, with whom I was conversing at the time, saw at once and pointed out to me one solitary THE LAKES. 47 vehicle, about half-way, slowly creeping onward across this strange highway. To one familiar with this part of the country, the passage must be too well known for him to share in our feelings, as we viewed it from a distance ; but to us it would have been one of vivid interest ; and we could not help wishing that our intended line had been in that direction. As it was, however, our plans obliged us to advance northward without diverging from our course. We were also compelled to leave " the Lakes" unvisited, notwithstanding the attraction of those mountain heights, which rose so nigh in all their varied forms, and within which we knew that the fair watery gems, known by that name, w T ere set in all their beauty. The evening was clear and every line in the prospect was, for an English landscape, very accurately and sharply defined. The country in the foreground appeared well cultivated, and cherished with much care ; and many habitations, apparently belonging to small landed proprietors, were scat- tered amongst the hills. We journeyed on, much enjoying our drive, though not without an intermixture of regret that we had thus to pass, as if it were common ground, that which is perhaps the most lovely region which England's isle contains on 48 WORDSWORTH. its surface — the region too, where the Pa- triach Poet of the Lakes has shed the beauty of high arid poetic thought over each mountain, dell, and stream, connected with his verse, and where he still dwells in all true fidelity and per- manent attachment to the scene of his early choice. KENDAL. 49 CHAPTER V. Kendal — Railroad Labourers — Their dress and appearance— Their character — Ministry among them — Its effects — Shap Fells — Railroad work — Its danger exemplified at Reading. We much admired the approach to Kendal as we advanced towards it through a verdant valley, with a "fine knoll of ground crowned by a castle, fronting us as we advanced. The heights on the left of Kendal are extremely steep, while, on the right, the ground descends rapidly. The position seems inconvenient for a large and flourishing town, but I should presume that it must give such facilities for drainage as to promote the healthiness of the place in no ordinary degree. The Poet Gray, in his Epistolary Journal of a Tour to the Lakes of Cumberland and Westmoreland, addressed to Dr. Wharton, VOL. I. D 50 RAILROAD LABOURERS. somewhat curiously describes Kendal : " The town consists chiefly of three nearly parallel streets, almost a mile long ; except these, all the other houses seem as if they had been dancing a country-dance, and were worn out ; there they stand back to back, corner to corner, some up hill, some down, without intent or meaning." A vast number of railroad men were loitering about the streets telling their avocation by their mien, dress, and general appearance in a way that cannot be mistaken by any one who has lived in the neighbourhood of their work, or at all events observed them with any degree of interest and attention. Exactly as I remember them standing in groups, or slowly strolling about the streets at Reading, after their day's work was done, so I found them at Kendal this evening, telling at once the nature of their avocation by their clay-coloured garments, their strong bodily development, and their indepen- dent bearing. My present notice of their dress recalls to my memory some particulars of their peculiar tastes on this subject, as indulged in on holidays and Sundays. Then, in many instances, their costume is very handsome, and no small sums are expended upon it. I have seen them clad in coats of the finest broad THEIR DRESS AND APPEARANCE. 51 cloth, and of such copious dimensions that thev would certainly have made two garments of the same kind for many a slim young gentleman. Their tailor's bill must of course have been in accordance with the size of the garment. To this was often added a velvet waistcoat, figured, of red, or of some other brilliant colour, adorned with hanging buttons of equally showy pattern. Nor must I forget the corduroys, and highly polished lace boots. The dress of their wives too was sometimes of a costly and showy description ; and altogether there was some- thing very peculiar in the appearance of one of these high-dressed labouring men, accom- panied by his wife to Church — especially when coming for the baptism of a child, or on any other marked incident in their lives. I have also alluded already to their physical strength. The arm of a robust railroad man is quite an extraordinary spectacle. I do not exaggerate in saying, that I have seen it twice the size of that of an ordinary labourer. I have sat among them reading and explaining the Scrip- tures, while nine or ten of them, as hearers, were arranged on a bench in a line close before me, and I have more than once found my attention wandering from my subject, and fixed with astonishment on the gigantic size of their limbs, d 2 5*2 THEIR CHARACTER. as developed by muscular exertion, among men qualified by constitution to bear it.* As to their independent mien, I have only one remark to make here, which is, that I would earnestly recommend to all ministers and others interested in their spiritual and moral welfare, and desirous " to have fruit among them even as among others," not to mistake it for insolence or repulsiveness ; nor at all to suppose that they are less susceptible of kindness and attention than others, engaged in hard and rough toil, and removed from all influences of a softening and ameliorating character. Just let it be proved to them that you have their interest at heart, by attention to some of their number in cases of sickness, or any circumstances where sym- pathy can be shown. Just let them be addressed * It is well known that the men work in gangs, or small parties, under the direction of one head, who is a kind of middle-man between the contractor for the work, and the men who do the work. A certain amount of labour is to be done by this body in common, so that if any individual of the party is weak or unequal in any way to his proportionate share of the task, the others must suffer accordingly, and do among them his work. It may naturally be supposed that this renders the whole party very watchful, cautious, and alert as to those admitted. And I have heard that a new- comeris sometimes put to the following test of his corporeal strength and endurance. An instrument, like an immense paviour's mallet, is placed in his hand, and with this he has to strike a certain num- ber of blows, without stopping or resting, in the presence of those witnesses most interested in his physical capacity to take his due share in their allotted toil. MINISTRY AMONG THEM. 53 in plain, hearty, friendly, short, significant lan- guage, and not in a cold essay-like style. Just let them be treated as if you knew somewhat of their temptations, their difficulties, and of their obstacles in the pursuit of a godly life — grega- rious wayfarers as thev are — and you will awaken their interest, you will gain their affection ; you will, by God's blessing, be instrumental in turn- ing them also, like any other class, from the error of their ways, and in leading them to serve God through Jesus Christ, our one common Lord. At least, you may expect that some will be thus impressed, and what is any ministry but the effectual conveyance of God's truth to some of those who outwardly hear it. When Paul himself " persuaded concerning Jesus, both out of the Law of Moses, and out of the Prophets, from morning till evening, what was the result ? That all believed ? No ! Some believed and some believed not." (Acts xxviii. 24). I well know the value of instances which one has met with one- self;* and I therefore have introduced in the * A vast number of railroad men were assembled for some time at Reading for carrying on their work in that neighbourhood. Very few of them appeared in church, and their conduct, on the whole, was undoubtedly of a very ungodly and dissolute character. Some of my valued clerical friends of the town, in conjunction with myself, adopted certain measures towards their spiritual wel- fare, such as that of distributing Bibles and Tracts among them, 54 MINISTRY AMONG note two instances, where in my own humble, and, after all, but very scanty endeavours to together with short but earnest invitations to attend the House of God ; and a special service was opened for their benefit in my church, at a certain period of the week, when it seemed most likely that some of them might be gathered in to hear the word of God. During the progress of these measures, I went along the line, one evening, to meet the men on their return from work, in company with two of my brethren, our object being to address all who would listen to us, whether singly or whether in small parties, on the subject of their souls. One of these was the Rev. J. N. Allen, now one of the Chaplains to Her Majesty's Forces in India, and the author of a most engaging and impressive volume, entitled " Diary of a March through Scinde and Afghanistan with the troops under the command of General Sir William Nott." My friends were soon engaged in the good work, addressing little groups of listeners who quickly gathered around them. I went onward towards the place where the main body was usually collected to receive their wages on that evening of the week ; and all at once, on turning the corner of a hedge, found myself unexpectedly among a crowd of the workmen, of above two hundred in number, who, in consequence of a slight shower, had collected under the shelter of some trees. I was in a certain degree known to some of them, and they immediately collected in a circle round me ; many of them asking me what I wanted among them ; some of them charging me with being a character very unpopular with them, that is a tea-totaller, and others with being a Ranter, mixing with their observations, oaths, threats, and no slight share of ridicule. " What do you come among us for ? Don't you know that we are like a set of wild horses, who wouldn't mind knocking your brains out ?" Or, " We don't care for such chaps as you. All we want is beef, and beer, and a good song." However, at the same time a few were endeavouring to get for me a hearing. I had a small Bible in my hand, and took advantage of a lull in the storm of tongues to commence the perusal of our Lord's words on the Brazen Serpent. By raising my voice, and making some quick answers to some of the most direct and troublesome opponents, I was enabled, after a few minutes, to obtain perfect silence, which RAILROAD LABOURERS. 55 advance the religious condition of the railroad men, I have personally experienced the truth I thankfully employed in preaching the Gospel of Christ according to the glorious passage which I had just read. I have seldom witnessed a more striking change than that which came over the countenances and the mien of these rough and (as it might have seemed a few minutes before) impenetrable men. Tears appeared in many eyes when I had done. Some shook hands with me ; many thanked me. All contradiction, abuse, and ridicule had passed away. I trust that much good ensued, and indeed it would have been wrong and faithless to doubt it. One instance came to my know- ledge, which I shall now relate. Among those assembled was a man of about thirty-five years old, who had lived a notoriously ungodly life. Among his vices were drunkenness, swearing, and not only a total neglect of the Lord's day and house, but also such a prejudice against its observance that he actually took strong and wicked measures to prevent his wife from pursuing any line of conduct on that matter ^superior to his own. On the evening of the day to which I allude, this man went home, and said that he had heard a gentleman speak to the men about the Brazen Serpent and Jesus Christ, and added that he would like to hear him again. He immediately became a regular attendant at my church, and gave up all his wicked and ungodly habits in a most remarkable and decided way. He delighted in hearing the Bible read to him every evening, and above all used to ask for the psalms. About three months after, having on the even- ing before been thus engaged, he went out to his work early in the morning in that full strength and vigour of frame for which the railroad men are so remarkable. At ten o'clock he was no more. A mass of earth and gravel falling upon him, had crushed him utterly dead in a moment ! Can we doubt of that man's change, ere his appointed time had arrived ? Can we refuse to notice God's sovereign grace, or the power of His Spirit and Word, in His blessing on a few, stammering, confused words of one of His ser- vants ? God forbid ! I shall give one instance more, showing that the most abandoned characters may be softened in due time, although, in one's own 56 ITS EFFECTS. of those scriptural assurances ; how the word of God " shall prosper in the thing whereto He short-sighted, heartless view, one might have almost thought the individual in question, even as one of the swine, before whom the Gospel and the Word were pearls all idly flung. One day, when passing a public-house, not far from my church, I heard a loud quarrel inside among a body of about twenty rail- road men Thinking it my duty to try to act as " peace-maker," I went in and addressed them on their conduct, and here I was protected from absolute violence — for most of them were drunk — by two or three who knew me. One of the party was, however, quite furious, and abused me in worse terms than I have ever been subjected to on any other occasion which I happen to remem- ber, following me out into the road, and only prevented from strik- ing me by some who held him back. " Pray don't have anything to do with him," said they, " he's the worst man on the line. " Among other things he said to me, was this : " They talked of your giving away books ! You wouldn't give me one, I'm sure." " In- deed," said I, " I will. You shall have one left for you where- ever you like." His lodging was named, and it was my intention to have given him a Testament, when I next passed that way. However about two days after, and before I had left the book, I met him again, drunk. He immediately commenced language of an abusive kind against me, and, among other things said I had not kept my word. I told him my intention, and fulfilled it accord- ingly. I heard nothing of him for about three months, and had quite forgot the circumstances, when one day as I was riding fast along the road, a man, who was walking alone, sprang from the path, and taking off his hat, was in an instant almost under my horse's feet, as if determined, at all hazards, to have an interview. He was quite sober, and said eagerly, " Do you remember me, Sir?" " No/' said I, " I have no particular recollection of you." " I am the man, Sir, who abused you so shamefully at the (mentioning the name of the public-house where the transaction occurred) and I'm very sorry for it, and I want to ask your pardon." " You have it, I am sure, but you should ask pardon from God for this and all your other sins." " Indeed I do, Sir, many times, and I ought. I SHAP FELLS. 57 sends it ;" how His message of salvation can break the heart of stone "as with a hammer;" how if we cast our bread by the side of all waters, it shall and will return to us after many days. Kendal to High Hesket. — Having to-day to cross that wild and desolate district of mountain, called the Shap Fells, fine weather was of some consequence to us ; and though dark, stormy clouds were flying about, and occasionally hovered over us, yet they only threatened, and did us no hurt. Brightness and gloom rapidly succeeded one another. Sometimes under such circum- stances, the feeling of exemption is very pleasant, and illustrates a truth, holding good in matters of more consequence. In them also I doubt not that the alternating sun and cloud are oftentimes in their combination, more productive of true happiness in life, than if no cause of appre- hension ever came nigh us, as a thing to be deprecated, or ever was transformed into a boon, have been very ill since that time, and then I read the book you gave me, and it did me a deal of good." After a little more conversation, I bade him farewell, and went on my way rejoicing at this fresh testimony to the power of God's Holy Word, where, perhaps, there was the least possible ground for anticipating such effects, according to our own faithless and narrow views. May these instances encourage many who may have to deal with rough and hardened characters, such as those of whom I have now spoken ! D 3 58 SHAP FELLS. through the sense of exemption from its stroke. But to return from this short digression on a very interesting subject, as connected with our appointed journey in life, to the minor subject of our journey this day. Our first stage — a long one, certainly — was from Kendal to Shap ; and during this course we ascended and descended a very steep moun- tain height, which in wildness and desolation was unequalled by any thing which I have hitherto witnessed in England. But even this barren range was not without its usefulness, inasmuch as it offered abundance of peat for fuel, exactly resembling that of an Irish bog, and cut here just in the same manner, dark black pits being excavated in the soil. Unpromising as such a district would seem to the traveller, while pursuing the present road, as a prospective line of railway, still the engineering and speculative enterprise of the day has already commenced this very undertaking. As we approached Shap, we came in sight of the railroad works, and of the wooden huts erected as tem- porary dwellings for the workmen. The land- lady at Shap told me much of their habits and character in this neighbourhood, and described them as in no slight degree turbulent and un- manageable. Among other things, she narrated RATLROAD WORK. 59 her schemes for accommodating - them, as visitors to her house, without danger to her crockery, premises, and property in general. She prepared a room expressly for them outside her house, put in it a strong table, and some dozen of tin mugs, and had it plentifully strewed with saw- dust. This is their reception room. According to her account, breakage and fighting neces- sitated these measures. Lately there were no less than eight hundred railroad men here, though the number is now diminished ; and I was glad to hear that a temporary chapel had been established at Shapwell Spa, and a chaplain appointed by the directors for the benefit of their labourers on the line. During our sojourn of a few hours at this inn, we had an exemplification of the hazardous manner, as regards life and limb, with which the peculiar work of railroad making is attended — why, I cannot tell. We saw from the window 7 a railroad man gallop by on a large cart-horse towards the neighbouring village. On inquiry, we found that he was a messenger going with all speed for a surgeon in behalf of one of his companions, who had just had his leg smashed in a dreadful manner by a waggon, at the critical moment of " tipping," a process which has involved a vast amount of death and mutilation. Well do I remember the number of men wounded 60 ITS DANGER. by the same means, who used to be carried by my house to the hospital at Reading. The danger of the system will be seen at once, when I mention that, in tipping, a man runs by the side of a horse attached to a waggon of soil until the moment when, loosing a kind of pin or peg, he thus causes the waggon to tip over its contents, while the horse turns round and escapes as he can. Another very frequent cause in the same vicinity, was that of excavation, and espe- cially at the deep cut near Sonning. A large body of railroad men used to undermine, or ''hole" (as it was called) the gravel beneath, while another stood on the top to watch the moment of the soil's cracking, preparatory to its descent, and to give warning accordingly. On his observation and celerity in so doing the limbs and lives of the men depended ; and I have seen five or six men bounding backwards, at the imminent hazard of their lives, from among the falling soil and fragments, slipping from above in immense weight and magnitude. As the slightest appearance of fear would have been as much scoffed at in the " gang " as among soldiers on a field of battle, and, as the most cul- pable hardihood was frequently displayed, many terrific accidents occurred. It used to be a mournful thing to see — as I frequently did— the EXEMPLIFIED AT READING. 61 slow procession of workmen walking away from the works in the neighbourhood above-mentioned, and carrying the covered frame employed for the melancholy purpose of conveying the maimed, and perhaps dying sufferer to the hospital. Fear- fully appropriate to the period, to which I refer, was the erection and establishment of that most important institution, at Reading, w r here I well remember praying with the first patient received, who was, to the best of mv recollection, a wounded railroad labourer. One of the surgeons, a gentle- man, too, who has seen much practice, assured me that, during the two first years of the progress of the line in the neighbourhood of Reading, he had to operate on, and had attended more wound- ed men than during his whole professional life before. Surely there is something most culpable in those who have authority, if any dangerous process is permitted, which precaution or atten- tion on their parts could by any means obviate. I cannot help apprehending that this must be admitted as no unfrequent case. 62 SUPERIOR FARM HOUSE, CHAPTER VI. Superior Farm-house — Penrith — Lord Brougham — The White Ox — Carlisle— Paley — Gretna Green — The Scotch Church — Patronage. After advancing three or four miles beyond Shap, we entered a fine wooded district, backed on the right by lofty ranges of mountain. The aged and luxuriant w T oods, and the general appearance of the country here seemed to betoken the neighbourhood of some wealthy and long- established proprietor. Presently w r e passed a first-rate farm-house and offices on the left. I thought it quite a model of a wealthy tenant- farmer's residence : for, while it had no pretence or assumption of gentility, or of being any thing but a bond fide farm-house, it united every appli- ance for comfort and convenience of the family with proximity to the yards, out-buildings, and all those offices, from which the master's eye should at no time be long absent. PENRITH. 63 I found on inquiry that Lord Lonsdale was the landlord, and that we were now close to Lowther Castle ; but on asking a man who was working at the road-side whether we could see it from the road : — " Nam," said he, with a pro- nunciation very different to that which I have been accustomed to as the well-known svllable of negation. Shortly after we passed through a very neat and decorated village, called, I believe, Hack- throp, of the most pleasing character as to all the objects connected with it, saving and except- ing one, viz . : that in a small garden close by the road-side, some armless and legless statues, large as life, were very prominently exhibited. Certainly these figures raise no unpleasant feeling as seen in galleries of statuary, but my thoughts on the poor railroad sufferer, amputations, &c, gave me this day a peculiar distaste for any such spectacle. The next town which we came to was Penrith, or the " Red Hill," and well it deserves its name, from the deep red hue of the stone visible all around, and employed in its buildings. About a mile before reaching Penrith, we observed a fine baronial castle rising out of lofty and clustered woods upon our left hand. I inquired to whom it belonged, and was answered to Lord Brougham. 64 LORD BROUGHAM. As parliament was sitting, and his Lordship is generally at his post, unless reporters fabri- cate and issue speeches in his name, I did not for an instant think of his being now at home ; and, as there is no lodge-gate, we went up to the house, intending to ask whether strangers were allowed to seethe castle during his Lordship's absence. We were led to do this as the edifice is of no ordinary character ; and the title, which I saw ascribed to it in the pages of a local guide-book, " The Windsor of the North," conveys a testimony by no means inappropriate to its extent, as well as to the massive and simple grandeur with which it is constructed. As it happened, however, we only had a glimpse of the outside walls and into the two court- yards ; for, just as we reached the entrance gate, with the intention of asking, whether, in the supposed absence of the noble owner, we might be allowed to see the place, a workman, who passed by, mentioned that he was at home. Without more inquiries we retreated as quickly as possible, having too much respect for the privacy of a gentleman's country residence to wish to be seen hovering about his premises without the slightest claim of introduction ; and, let me confess it, somewhat apprehensive of seeing the noble owner appear, and of receiving THE WHITE OX. 65 a rebuke, for our trespass and curiosity, from one so unpleasant and dangerous to face in any " keen encounter of the wits," or in any predica- ment where the copia fandi might be brought into action. Shortly after our flight from these precincts, we crossed two rivers at picturesque points, passed into Cumberland, went through Penrith without stopping, and after a hilly, but unin- teresting drive, during which we met with heavy rain — the first which had hitherto damped the pleasure of our journey — reached High Hesket, where we slept at the widow Pearson's White Ox Inn ; a worthy landlady, whom I think myself bound to mention, as having charged to us the very smallest sum, in propor- tion to the supplies provided, which I have ever met with at any inn whatsoever, whether at home or abroad. I remember in one of the Pyrenean passages to have had supper, bed, and breakfast for half-a-crown, and sometimes in the midland and southern parts of France to have been quite surprised at the moderation of the bills for copious and luxurious fare. I may speak also very favourably as to the demands on our purse in all those pleasant country inns, frequented by us during this journey in the north of England ; but the widow Pearson's bill 66 CARLISLE. was one which, for its trifling amount, certainly stands unparalleled in my locomotive expe- rience, and I could not help making her a small present in addition to her claim. Whether the White Ox can prosper on such terms, is a question which I leave to be decided by a jury of landlords ; but, while some journals are full of accounts of imposition, I think that a notice of a contrary character should not be withheld. Having introduced this pecuniary subject, I add an amusing qualification attributed to my ponies on their way, in addition to the many merits for which they have attracted some portion of interest from their French and Spanish expedition. The qualification is that of payiny bills, for this is the literal characteristic with which they were honoured two or three days ago at one of the inns where we stopped for the night. It had not been usual to charge for our servant's bed. At one place I saw this item, and mentioned it. The waiter said, " Oh, there is a mistake. The ponies pay for his bed," an observation, which translated into less technical language, signified that where a horse was entertained and paid for, the groom's bed was gratis. High Hesket to Lockerby in Scotland. — The first stage of our journey to-day was to Carlisle, PALEY. 67 a city with an interesting local history attached. In years, comparatively recent, there are two points to be observed in its records of an important character, as connected with the annals of our country. Firstly, the Siege of the City by the Parliamentary forces in the year 1644, which ended in its capitulation on the 28th June in the succeeding year, after extreme privation and endurance, underwent by the garrison and citizens ; and secondly, its surrender in 1745 to the Pretender ; though certainly on this occasion there was so much feebleness and weakness displayed on both sides, that no honour whatsoever was gained either by the yielding or the successful party. To call the former defeated, or the latter victorious would be quite an abuse of the two respective terms. As to the Carlisle Cathedral, only half of the original structure remains. Cromwell was the author of this semi-destruction. The edifice reminded me of the Cathedral of Tulle, in France, which suffered a similar fate in the Revolution. There, however, the nave remains, and the choir is no longer in existence. Here the case is reversed. A part of the ruined frag- ments has been turned into a small parish church, where I believe that service is regularly held. The admirers of Paley — and in a certain 68 GRETNA GREEN. line of writing, I mean the investigation and exhibition of the external evidences of Chris- tianity, he deserves the admiration of all — may see his monument here. The tablet is as simple as the inscription : WILLIAM PALEY, ARCHDEACON AND CHANCELLOR OF THE DIOCESE, DIED MAY 23, 1805, AGED 62. Our next stage was to that celebrated locality, Gretna Green, or, as it is spelt here, Graitna Green. Just before its conclusion, we crossed a small stream which forms the division between England and Scotland. A turnpike gate is situated at the very confines on the Scotch side ; and, accordingly, many couples have been married at the very house occupied by the gate-keeper, as being the first on the south side of the border. However, the inn at which the matrimonial engagement is usually contracted, stands about a mile farther on, and occupies a very pleasant situation in the middle of a sloping green of considerable extent, and scattered over with orchard trees. Resting here for luncheon, we were shown into the very apartment usually occupied by the fugitive couples — a handsome and well-furnished room. We were told that the last marriage was about a week ago. THE SCOTCH CHURCH. 69 Here I saw the first specimen of a parish church in this country, and, certainly, it was any thing but graceful or prepossessing in its form and architecture. While I was looking at it, an old man, apparently of the humblest class in society, came down to wait for the stage coach, which was expected in a few minutes. Entering into conversation with him, I asked him where the old blacksmith lived, of whom we in Eng- land had heard so much, as officiating here on matrimonial occasions. " Oh," said he, " he is dead monny a genera- tion ago. The maun up at the inn, he marries them noo, and the maun at the toll-gate below, he marries heaps o' 'em. But we hear it's all ganging to be din away, and a gude thing too. There's monny a young couple comes here without kenning what they're aboot, and gets thenselves fashed and into trouble all their life afterwards." Turning to another subject, on which I was very desirous of ascertaining the feeling of all classes, and speaking to one who showed that he had some common sense in his head, by the answer just reported, I pointed to the church, and said: " Is that church well filled with people on a Sunday ?" " Weel, I canna just say that it is." 70 PATRONAGE. "And why ?" I inquired. " Oh ! there's monny reasons." "Perhaps you will oblige me by telling me some of them." " He's a patronage man, and none of us here, — that js, varry few like them. It's a bad thing, that patronage. It ought to be all din away. They don't applee themselves as they ought. We dinna like them here." I had thus, before I had been half an hour in Scotland, a strong and decided instance of the feeling so prevalent among the common people of Scotland on a subject totally disregarded in England, but of such an exciting character throughout the length and breadth of this land in which we now are. The man said much on the subject, which I have not introduced, and with more strength of feeling than accurate apprehension of the question. This, however, must always be the case with many, on any great controversial subject of the kind. LOCKERBY. 71 CHAPTER VII. Lockerby— Annandale — Scotch cottagers — Weather — Hamilton Palace — The Ponies — Glasgow — The Scotch Sabbath — Charitable Institutions. We went on to Lockerby for the night, passing on our way many cottages of the poor. They were decidedly inferior to those of England, and the marked difference is thus speedily observable to one crossing the border. In appearance they were more allied to the Irish cabin, but I saw none so miserable as those which, I lament to say, so frequently meet the eye in that country. At the inn at Lockerby (the King's Arms, where we had a very civil landlord) we were soon reminded of being in the " land of cakes." Two or three sorts, with marmalade and jelly, in addition to the usual fare of the tea-table, were here set before us. Just as we were retiring to bed, I heard a car- riage pass by at a very speedy rate, but not too 72 ANNANDALE. fast for the accompaniment and pursuit of a large number of people, who were shouting loudlyi whether in praise or blame I could not at the time ascertain. But, on asking about the noise in the morning, I was informed by the maid " that it was an expression of public feeling regarding an inhabitant of the town, who had just returned, after an acquittal on a charge of the most serious kind." The population were evidently strong in their feelings against the individual in question, notwithstanding the deci- sion of the Court, and were giving vent to their opinion in no measured terms. To Abingdon. — Our first stage to-day was to Beatock Bridge, where w 7 e found a commodious and well-furnished inn, built by government, (as I heard) for the benefit of travellers on this new line of road. The earlier part of our drive to- day was through the fair valley of Annandale, and was rendered extremely pleasant by the sight of very accurate and superior cultivation of the soil, of well ordered farmsteads, and (with a few exceptions) of very neat and convenient habitations for the poor. Asking who the chief proprietors were, I was answered : — " The Duke, Sir, (which here, and usually in the south of Scotland means his Grace of Buccleugh) and Hope Johnstone." Heather-clad hills, with a SCOTCH COTTAGERS. 73 considerable share of good pasture on them, rose on each side, chiefly grazed by sheep. Shortly after leaving Beatock Bridge, we en- tered a lonely mountainous district, through which our course continued during the rest of the day. The road ascended, though not steeply, for a considerable distance, and nothing but mountain was in sight for above twenty miles. Having accomplished this stage, and, coming into the vicinity of Abingdon, where the termi- nation of our day's course was to be, I inquired for an inn, of which we had previously heard. A by-stander showed me a handsome house a few hundred yards off, which at that distance looked exactly like a private gentleman's resi- dence. There we lodged for the night, and found that it had been built by Sir E. Colebroke, a large proprietor in the neighbourhood. The rooms were extremely well furnished, and around us we had views of fine mountain scenery, while the more immediate foreground was raised and enlivened by trees, a broad sparkling river, and very compact and comfortable farm-houses. During the evening we entered into conver- sation with some cottagers' wives ; and very merry, intelligent, and communicative women they were, although our ignorance of the Scotch diction and accent rendered us unable to catch VOL. I. E 74 WEATHER, all they said, as on the other hand our language was heard by them with the same disadvantage. We went into three cottages to examine their condition. In each of them the beds occupied recesses in the room on the ground floor, where the family lived, and very much resembled berths on board of a ship. Two of them were neat, with plentiful furniture and crockery. We asked one of them how her husband was employed. The answer was : "In draining the hills yonder." His wages were twelve shillings a week. It amused us to see the little Scotch boys skilfully managing their plaids, during the heavy showers which occasionally fell to-day, and making with them a complete covering for their bodies, shifting them here and there, according to the point of the wind. The drive of to-day would have been dreary, had it not been for weather exactly of that character best suited for effect in passing through mountainous scenery. We had a quick suc- cession of bright blue sky, of thick dark clouds flying fast over the heights around, and of warm glowing sunshine. These colours and changes of the sky, as marking the heather-clad hills, had a very fine effect, and quite obviated any thing like dreariness or monotony in our course. HAMILTON PALACE. 75 August 2. Abingdon to Glasgow. — Our course to-day led us through eight additional miles of moor and mountain scenery, during the early part of our journey. We then reached a fertile and verdant country, which continued until our arrival at Glasgow. Near the town of Hamilton we first saw the Clyde — in this vicinity a narrow river, but with steep, pictu- resque, wooded banks. We visited Hamilton Palace, a real palace in size and character j more convenient too as a place of residence than most residences of the kind, and in some measure reminding me of palaces abroad occupied by royal families of minor rank and condition. I may cite, for instance, the Palace of Manheim, familiar to travellers on the Rhine, and belong- ing to the Princess Stephanie, whose daughter has lately been married to the Duke of Hamilton's son. The day was wet, chilly, and unfavourable. Hence the scantiness of my notices. The effect, which is made on a passing stranger by the scenery of any district, must be so lowered by bad weather, that the less said on the subject the better, when under such influence, except, indeed, when there is such surpassing gran- deur and sublimity of local feature, as in some measure to render the place independent of all e 2 76 THE PONIES. accidental circumstances. I say, in some mea- sure, because while there are variations of those of sun and gloom, the dim east, and the clear north-west w T ind, the rapid showers which gush forth in sparkling drops from some fleeting cloud, on a bright April day, and the heavy, hopeless, unceasing pour, no scenery whatever can be altogether independent of weather, and hence oftentimes arises the extraordinary discrepancy, with which the very same locality is often described by two travellers, or even viewed by the same individual at two distinct periods. I have often experienced myself more pleasure in the sight of a few tufts of grass, or a little tangled coppice-wood on a sunny day, than when gazing at forests and all kinds of magnificent objects, but with the unfavourable accompani- ments of dimness or gloom in the atmosphere. Light — light is the grand beautifier — both in natural and spiritual things. We entered Glasgow late on Saturday even- ing, having accomplished the journey from Manchester to Glasgow since Monday morning. This seems to have been considered rather an extraordinary performance for my little ponies, and judges in equestrian matters have said that it would have tried the powers of most full-grown horses. My servant and myself GLASGOW. 77 watched them most carefully, to see whether they were exhibiting the slightest sign of fatigue or indisposition ; and, had this been the case, we should of course have adopted a more tardy course. I must say that the weather and the state of the roads were both most favourable for our expedition ; and far from the ponies showing any signs of overwork or exhaustion, one of them continued so fat, that an ostler pushing in her side with much apparent satis- faction, and gazing at her, as an artist at some picture, said : " Well, you look as if you were always at home at dinner-time !" I admired much the broad and symmetrical streets of Glasgow, as well as the many fine statues and monuments with which it is richly adorned. The residences in the new town are large, commodious, and built of stone. I know no town whose residents seem to me better lodged than the citizens of Glasgow. The Sunday appeared to me admirably kept. My expectations were highly raised as to the due observance of the Sabbath in Scotland ; and on this, my first occasion of being able to judge as an eye-witness, I can undoubtedly testify that all my expectations were abundantly fulfilled. I looked up the long line formed by the Tron- gate and Argyle Street, just at the time when 78 THE SCOTCH SABBATH. the chief stir might have been expected, and I could not see one single vehicle abroad. What a contrast with a similar view, at the same time of day, down Oxford Street or Picca- dilly, the corresponding thoroughfares of London. At each hour of public worship the people were to be seen crossing one another in dense throngs on their way to service : the men, even to the class of manual labourers, clad for the most part in good habiliments of black cloth. Close to our hotel — that of Mr. Josez, near to the railway station, and one, by the bye, which I can highly recommend for cleanliness, attention, and general superiority of accommodation — was an immense chapel, of which Dr. Wardlaw was the minister. Such a full body of song proceeded from the numerous worshippers at his chapel, that I heard it a considerable distance in the neighbouring streets. My time, and indeed my opportunities for obtaining information on religious matters in Glasgow, whether as regards the Episcopal, the Established, or the Free Church, were so extremely limited, that I shall prefer, as yet, to keep silence on the subject, and will beg my readers to remember that this is my first Sunday in Scotland. At Glasgow we had the gratification of meet- ing my father-in-law, and other members of his CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 79 family. They had been for some weeks in Scot- land, were warm in their appreciation of the country and its inhabitants, and gave us most cheering accounts of the grand scenery which they had traversed, of the hospitality which they had received, and of the characters which they had metin various classes of life. In their company and under the kind and intelligent guidance of J. C. C — , Esq., M.P. for N— , whose country place is within a few miles of the town, we visited, on Monday, the Glasgow Asylum for the Blind, and the Lunatic Asylum in the im- mediate neighbourhood of the city. Mr. C — , told me there was a third institution of the most interesting character, which, if possible, I should see. He alluded to the Training School, under the able superintendence of David Stowe, Esq. I had brought a line of introduc- tion to that gentleman from a friend in England; but circumstances prevented my seeing him, or the institution under his care, during this visit to Glasgow, and I regret to say that he was absent from town when I called on a subsequent occasion. In the ensuing chapters, I shall give an account of those two interesting institutions which we visited this day. 80 BLIND ASYLUM. CHAPTER VIII. Blind Asylum — Blind Readers— Geography — Astronomy — Manual Labour — Success of the Institution — Institution for Blind at Leamington — Address to the Blind — Mr. Alstone. The Blind Asylum is situated on high and healthy ground near the Cathedral. On our arrival, we were introduced to Mr. Alstone, the Honorary Treasurer, and able acting manager of the whole institution. The cause of the blind is the special department of Christian benevo- lence to which he has devoted his energies ; and, as most evidently appears from all which is seen in the Asylum, with the utmost efficiency, suc- cess, and blessing on his efforts. I will first mention what we saw ourselves, and then add a few particulars as to the insti- tution in general. We first entered a room where about twenty blind young women were employed in knitting. Some of the articles on which they were BLIND READERS. 81 engaged, required the finest and most delicate work. After a little time, we heard them read extremely well with their fingers; and, although this would have seemed marvellous indeed not many years ago, yet now the process has been witnessed by so many in public meetings and elsewhere, and the system adopted is so well known, that I shall only add two observations on this part of the subject. The first is, that the Roman alphabet, or letters similar to those in common use for our own reading, in every thing except their raised or embossed form, is employed here, in preference to any of those arbitrary characters, recommended by Gall, Lucas, and others. The second is, that I have seldom witnessed the delightful sight of the blind reading by the touch, without applying the passage from St. Paul's speech at Athens, and rejoicing that " they should (thus) seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find Him." At the termination of the reading we examined the arithmetical class, formed of nine blind boys. I do not think that I can explain their proceedings in detail with any probability of its being under- stood by mere description, and therefore only mention that the sums are done on aboard, fitted up with holes, and moveable pegs, which form e 3 82 GEOGRAPHY. different numbers according to the mode of their insertion. This may give some faint notion of the system in use. We then heard some hymns, very beautifully sung, with the accompaniment of an organ. The next branch of education to which we were conducted, was that of geography. In facilitating geographical instruction, among other means employed, a very large globe, measuring about nine feet and a half, is used. " The water is made smooth, and the land is distinguished from it by being slightly elevated, and its surface rendered rough by a coating of fine sand, painted in oil of various colours, in order to distinguish to the eye the political divisions. These divi- sions are also surrounded by a slight prominence, for the purpose of enabling those, for whom the globe is more particularly intended, to grope their way. Rivers are denoted by smooth and slightly raised sinuous lines, traversing the rough land in their proper direction ; mountains by a series of elevations, indicating the position of the range ; and towns by a small brass knob." # I asked a blind boy several questions requiring a very accurate knowledge of geogra- phy throughout the world, and he did not fail * Statements of the arrangements of the Asylum for the Blind. Glasgow, 1844. ASTRONOMY. 83 in one instance. The comparative size and course of rivers, and the comparative heights of mountains are, as may be expected, represented by raised charts and tables ; nor is the know- ledge of God's work in creation, as conveyed to the blind, limited only to the earth ; no difficulty being found in introducing to their minds, through the organ of touch, the principles of astronomy. The mode of doing this may be easily supposed by any one to whom an orrery is familiar. Geometry and mathematics are the last mental acquisitions which I have to mention here, as being attained by the inmates of the institution ; and surely it is one of the most blessed applications of modern art, thus to supply means of interest and occupation to those, who till of late years had little done for their improvement, and were not only shut out from knowledge, as conveyed by the main inlet of the senses, but received little systematic attention as to the faculties remaining for their use. The grievousness of this omission now appears enhanced by the remembrance that, in the case of the blind, the remaining senses are not only as strong as in the seeing, but stronger and clearer still. Hence a loud call for special development of those powers which remain. I shall not waste time by entering into the 84 MANUAL LABOUR. question as to the value of knowledge to the blind. I mean of knowledge such as that which I have here described. All that could be said against it in their case has been said times with- out number against it as conferred on those who can see ; and times without number all these objections have been utterly refuted. Our course through another department — that of manual labour and trades, as carried on bv the blind — led us first into a room, where ten or twelve individuals, some of them grown up, were employed in weaving coarse sacks. We then saw T nine or ten basket-makers, and finally some rope makers. But these are only specimens of the occupations in which blindness appears no impedi- ment to industrious and profitable exertion. In the pamphlet already quoted, I have before me a most interesting page of engraving, representing no less than ten specimens of manual labour, all exemplified and realized in this place. These are net making, winding on a wheel, sewing, knitting, sack printing, flax dressing, mattress making, weaving, basket making and rope making. Such is the success of the industrial training adopted in the institution, that many, who have been instructed in the house, are now earning from eight to ten shillings a week ; and SUCCESS OF THE INSTITUTION. 85 thus their hands are made available in the acquisition of an honest maintenance, while their minds are stored with that various know- ledge, without which their course of life would have been, comparatively speaking, a mere intellectual blank. The founder of this asylum was John Leitch, of Glasgow. " He himself had suffered under a partial infirmity of sight, and bequeathed the sum of £5000 towards opening and maintaining the institution." It is surely a most appropriate evidence of sympathy when the rich sufferer thus provides for those among his poorer brethren, who may so closely and literally be termed his fellow-sufferers. Perhaps those who never have known the loss or defalcation of that grand blessing, sight, are as urgently called to show their gratitude to God by abundant liberality in behalf of the blind ; but leaving that subject now, I will just mention here that I am acquainted with a lady at Leamington, who, afflicted with blindness herself, and acting in Christian love towards those similarly visited, has so successfully exerted herself, that a small but very interesting institution for the blind is established in that town. From a Report of this year in my possession I see that at the present moment there are ten inmates of the residence, 86 INSTITUTION FOR BLIND and four day pupils, while there are other candidates for admission. I copy with much pleasure the first sentence of this Report, as illustrating the simple measures adopted as a commencement at Leamington, and which might be adopted elsewhere with similar ease, and at an expenditure, if need be, of very moderate amount. It will be observed, from the seventh rule of the institution, which I insert below,* that a certain sum is paid by those received, or for them, and also what are the means and qualifications for admission. "This establishment was first opened on a very small scale in November, 1843, when three day pupils, two men, and a little girl, began to receive instruction in reading in embossed characters. A short time after, a few girls were received as inmates ; and in the course of 1844 the number wishing for instruction was so great that a larger house was taken in October, and boys also were received as inmates and taught basket and mat making, besides finger reading. * " That candidates for admission to the institution, with a cer- tificate of good character, shall be recommended by a subscriber, or by the clergyman of the parish in which they are living ; and on being admitted, they shall bring with them payment for three months' board and washing in advance, on the following terms : Boys and girls under 15 years, 4s. a week — Men 5s. 6d. — and Women, 5s. a week. The pupils who do not board in the house shall pay nothing for tuition." AT LEAMINGTON. 8? The blessing that has attended the effort has encouraged the individual, who commenced the work, to hope that it may become an institu- tion of extensive usefulness for this and the neighbouring counties, as no School for the Instruction of the Blind is yet established in the centre of England. She is, therefore, anxious to give the conduct of it to a more methodical character ; and by the kindness of those whose names now appear she is enabled to effect this object, sending forth this first Report, with thankfulness for the past, and trusting that it may please the Almighty to continue His blessing to the undertaking." I am glad to mention an unpretending and comparatively humble establishment like this, because my statement may probably procure for it some contributions, and may also lead others who have it in their power to arrange, in their own sphere, some similar plans. Notwithstand- ing that much is done for the blind, the visitation is so frequent that the demand for charitable efforts of benevolence in this line very far exceeds the supply ; and surely such labours of love seem most appropriate to all the followers of that Saviour, whom prophecy specially announced, as one who should open the eyes of the blind, and of whom it was proved by his 88 ADDRESS TO THE BLIND. gracious deeds upon earth, that this declaration included both the body and the soul of suffering and sinful man. A chaplain attends at the Glasgow Asylum every morning and evening, for the purpose of conducting family-worship ; and on Saturday to give the pupils instruction in the principles of religion. My father-in-law, Dr. M — , address- ed the inmates of the place before we took our leave of them ; and, as usual, his language of love and of truth, close and applicable to his hearers on the one hand, in reference to their peculiar condition, and at the same time so delicate and refined, that no feelings could be hurt thereby, made a deep impression on all present, and solemnized, while it enhanced, the vivid interest derived by our whole party from the scene, to which we had the privilege of being witnesses to-day. 1 do not wish to bring to a conclusion these observations in the Glasgow Asylum for the Blind without mentioning that one unanimous testimony is and has been, year after year, ren- dered to the Honorary Treasurer, John Alstone, Esq. As to his unerring zeal in behalf of the inmates, and his comprehensive measures for their welfare, I just quote on this subject the remark of the Directors, in renewing their MR. ALSTONE. 89 annual vote of thanks for the present year. Volumes could not say more. " To their Honorary Treasurer, John Alstone, Esq., of Rosemount, the Directors would renew their annual vote of thanks. They can only repeat what they have so often had occasion to express, that to his ceaseless exertions and unwearied assiduity, the prosperity of this insti- tution, under the blessing of Providence, has been, in a great measure, owing ; and they sincerely trust that he will be long spared to continue his praiseworthy exertions in this field of usefulness."* * Eighteenth Report, 20th June, 1S45. 90 LUNATIC ASYLUM. CHAPTER IX. Lunatic Asylum — Arrangements — Dr. Hutcheson — Prevention of Insanity — Causes of Insanity — Occupation for the Insane — Means of Grace — Lunatics in Scotland — Parliamentary State- ments — Country Visit — Glasgow Cathedral — Advance of Popery — Our Danger and Duty. Having seen how much could be achieved for the blind, and how much of unquestionable and effectual alleviation they, under their grievous privation might receive, we went, as it were, in the strength of these impressions, to see other means of relief adapted to other woes ; to see what means, skill, science, zeal, and bene- volence could render available for curing and relieving the deranged. The institution, to which I allude, is the Glasgow Royal Asylum for Lunatics, situated on a high and healthy site at a few miles distance from the town. This Asylum has been built within the last ARRANGEMENTS. 9 1 few years, and is a very grand edifice. In order to secure the utmost excellence of arrangement, the architect and the physician, at the desire of the committee, made a visit of inquiry both to the principal Asylums of England and to those in Paris and its neighbourhood. On their return, the plans which they prepared received the unanimous approbation of the Directors, and were as speedily as possible carried into effect. Such is the interesting history of that magni- ficent and commodious structure which meets the eye of the visitor, on his approach to the place. The accommodation will finally be provided for six hundred patients. The institution is arranged for sufferers of all ranks, from those of large property, whose means enable them to pay proportionately for the accommodation to the insane poor, who are sent from the various parishes of the City of Glasgow, and various other localities, which, paying a certain annual sum in proportion to their population, thereby acquire the right of recommending their insane poor as inmates of the institution on the same terms as the City of Glasgow. We were kindly received at the Asylum by the physician to the establishment, Dr. William Hutcheson, who has acquired, and so well deserves the highest reputation for his treatment 92 DR. HUTCHESON. of insanity. I was very much pleased and interested with his conversation and demeanour, which seemed to me that of a man uniting in no ordinary degree the different qualities of gentle- ness, firmness, judgment, and benevolence. To give any general detail of the system, or of what we saw, would not be appropriate to these pages, such subjects being at the present time — and I am glad to be able to say it — so generally known, not only by those who have read the accounts of similar institutions, but also by those, who, from motives of laudable inquiry, and sympathy for suffering, have themselves been visitors of such scenes. I shall therefore confine myself to a few scattered remarks. From the physician's Report for 1844, 1 extract the following most observable statement : — " Regarding the treatment, I may remark that, as before, the Asylum hasbeen satisfactorily managed, without mechanical restraint being applied to a single patient during the year, and that under peculiar circumstances. When it is considered that upwards of two hundred and forty patients were removed from the old asylum to the new ; that within three months we had an accession to our numbers of one hundred indi- viduals, who had been indifferently managed, or left at large for years ; that, while the ordinary business was going on, the institution had to be PREVENTION OF INSANITY. 93 furnished and arranged, the grounds cleared and brought into order, and new attendants procured and trained, — it will be admitted that the system of non-restraint has been put to the severest test, and that nothing but unremitting labour and vigilance could have ensured success. The activity, judgment, and zeal of my medical assist- ants, deserve thewarmest acknowledgments ; and the patience, industry, and anxiety to promote the welfare of the establishment, displayed by the attendants, merit the highest commendation."* I had a little conversation with Dr. Hutcheson on the subject of means to be adopted in educa- tion towards the prevention of insanity, when it was known that there was an hereditary predisposition to it. This subject seemed to him one of the deepest interest ; and I find the following remark in one of his Reports. Speaking on education, as a means of prevention, he says : — " I am not aware that the experiment has as yet been made to any extent ; but I trust that an institution having for its object the education of those, who, by hereditary predisposition or constitution are more than usually liable to the malady, may at no distant period be organised, and take a place among the philanthropic establish- ments of the country. In the mean time, I * Pages 31, 32. 94 CAUSES OF INSANITY. shall briefly enumerate the points most worthy of attention."* Then follow several important remarks on preventive measures, as at present available. Dr. H , in the same Report, men- tions, that, " next to hereditary predisposition, the most frequent causes of the disease in the cases admitted last year, were intemperance and want." A very serious and important statement follows, which all who are interested in the welfare of their fellow-creatures, would do well to ponder over with attentive care : — " For some years the number of patients, whose malady may be attributed to these causes, has been increasing. The increase has been among the lower classes. In 1841, the cases which could be traced to intemperance were thirty ; in 1842, they were forty-six. In 1841, those arising from want amounted to five; in 1842, to seven- teen. I have no doubt that the cause of the increase of both is manufacturing and commer- cial distress, giving rise to lowness of wages and want of employment. It may be said, that when wages are low, and occupation difficult to be obtained, men will have less money to spend, and, consequently, will drink less. A pretty extensive observation of the different grades of * Physician's second Annual Report, pp. 11, 12. OCCUPATION FOR THE INSANE. 95 the working classes for upwards of fifteen years, lias convinced me that this opinion is erroneous ; for I have generally found, that want and intem- perance go hand in hand. Whenever a man falls below a certain point in physical comfort, he becomes reckless, and sensual enjoyment forms his only pleasure. To this he will sacrifice every thing ; and habits of intemperance are frequently acquired in seasons of distress, which the individual in more favourable circumstances finds it impossible to lay aside." The same Report contains remarks at con- siderable length on the large number of patients who have become deranged from the intemperate use of spirituous liquors. After certain tabular details, the Report con- cludes with some interesting statements on the absence of all mechanical constraint as applied to the patients ; on their occupation and amuse- ments, among which is that of printing a perio- dical, towards which the contributions of the inmates, " exclusive of those too absurd to be printed, were far more than sufficient to fill its pages ;" on the management and value of a circulating library, and on the state of religion, and the means of grace as exhibited in the institution. On this point I select one short passage : — 96 MEANS OF GRACE. " As noted in our last Report, the patients assemble every morning and evening in chapel for divine worship. About three-fourths of the whole inmates attend regularly, though no com- pulsory measures are employed ; and, since none are present who do not come voluntarily, and all are excluded who would disturb others, or distract their attention, the service proceeds with all due solemnity, and the congregation is quiet and orderly. As, in consequence of other duties unconnected with the Asylum which de- volve on the chaplain, we have been able to procure his services only three times a week, I have, with the aid of my assistants, endeavoured, though inadequately, I am convinced, to supply his place on the other occasions." After a few farther remarks, including a notice on the habit of the patients to read and converse upon the passages heard explained in the chapel, as evidencing a permanency of the impres- sions made upon their minds, the Doctor thus concludes his observations on this most important part of his subject: — "I have no hesitation, therefore, in saying, that the services of a judicious and benevolent chap- lain must prove highly beneficial in every Asylum." Dr. Hutcheson has a statement of a con- LUNATICS IN SCOTLAND. 97 firmatory nature as to the same topic in his Report of another year : — " Religious instruction has not only been continued, as heretofore, but, in consequence of Mr. B , who has laboured for fourteen years in the institution, having become resident, it has been carried on to a greater extent. In addition to his other duties he has undertaken the teaching and training of some of our inmates, who had never been deemed capable of receiving instruction of anv kind, and the success hitherto has been highly encouraging." We took leave of Dr. Hutcheson with earnest wishes for the welfare of the whole establishment, and with a firm conviction that much was in progress here towards the relief, restoration, and happiness of many fellow-creatures, visited by that grievous affliction, once so much increased by the ignorance, mismanagement, and cruelty of man, but now so much alleviated by skill, judgment, and true Christian love. This institution, as realized in Scotland, is peculiarly interesting, from the fact, that hitherto provision for pauper lunatics throughout the country has been altogether inadequate to the wants of the population, under those most urgent of all demands — I mean cases of insanity among the poor. During the well-known debate, or, to VOL. I. F 98 PARLIAMENTARY STATEMENTS, speak more accurately, at the delivery of the Lord Advocate's address, at once so luminous and so detailed on the Scotch Poor Law Bill in the House of Commons, April 2, 1845, I find several statements confirmatory of this fact. His Lordship, speaking of the laws relative to Lunatics in Scotland, said : — " that he did not think they were altogether satisfactory." He referred at some length to a paper of Dr. Hutcheson relative to some abuses in regard to pauper lunatics sent to the Island of Arran, and to the active steps taken to remedy those abuses by which in August, 1843, sixty-eight lunatics were removed from thence. His proposition as to pauper lunatics was : — " that they should be sent to an asylum of some kind, unless the Board of Supervision should dispense with such removal in any particular case."* Mr. Ellice, Jun., said on the same occasion: — " With regard to Lunatics, every body knew that the present system of taking care of Lunatics in Scotland was a disgrace to any civilized country. But there were no Lunatic Asylums there for the purpose ; and to suppose that the Scotch were going to build any was an idea not to be entertained for a moment." I scarcely * Speech of the Lord Advocate, &c, reprinted by Blackwood and Sons, p. 24. COUNTRY VISIT. 99 understand what the Honourable Gentleman meant by this last remark. If Christian benevo- lence and sound policy require Asylums for the insane poor in Scotland, why should there be no expectation of having them introduced ? Mr. Hawes, who considered that " the Govern- ment deserved great thanks for the Bill," said : " With regard to Lunatics, in particular, he hoped the learned Lord would see the necessity for some provision. Although the learned Lord stated, that the Lunatics, who had been illegally confined on the Isle of Arran had been released, he was not satisfied that they were much better off now ; and, unless they provided public Asylums, or compelled the parishes to furnish proper medical aid at an early period of the disease, they would not have taken all the means in their power to mitigate this greatest of all calamities." All these statements prove the extreme importance of diligent and speedy attention to this subject in Scotland; and the Glasgow Asylum may become both a model and a stimulus to many other kindred establishments in the land. On quitting the Asylum we proceeded to K , where we were engaged to dine. Those of my readers who have the privilege of being acquainted with our host — and few are more known and valued both in public and social life — need not p 2 100 GLASGOW CATHEDRAL. be told that we enjoyed our evening in no slight degree. On our way to his house, Mr. C took us through the adjoining grounds of Sir A C . They are very beautiful, having among other interesting features, steep hanging woods, and a fine river, which curves in a most picturesque loop just before the house. Sir A C was at home, and kindly showed us his beautiful conservatory, some fine pictures, ancient carved wood, and, in a word, his most pleasant home. He built the house himself a few years ago, and nothing can be more complete than this, my first specimen of a Scotch country- house. The Cathedral at Glasgow is now under repair both within and without, after having been long abandoned to neglect and decay. The choir alone is applied to purposes of worship ; and Presbvterian service is still held there. At one period, three Presbyterian congregations used to assemble in the edifice at the same time — one in the choir, another in the nave, and another in the crypt. I heard that the service in the crypt was given up forty-two years ago, and that in the nave fourteen years ago. The crypt is very handsome, and is well known to the readers of Sir Walter Scott, as the scene of a celebrated passage in Rob Roy ADVANCE OF POPERY. 101 The person who conducted us through the edi- fice told us that one of the late visitors to this Cathedral, said, while viewing it, "We shall not have this as our own again under twenty years, I am afraid. We shall get on much faster in England than we shall in this country ; but we shall have this and all the other Cathe- drals in about twenty years." The speaker was a Romanist ; and though some may utterly deride all such anticipations, yet, perhaps, twenty years ago they would have utterly derided the thought of all which has taken place in our day at Oxford, and among so many Ministers and educated laymen in the English Church. Who would then have thought of such principles as those now asserted in universities, in pulpits, and in all forms of literature ? Who would then have dreamed of such practices as those now introduced in manv a church of our land ? Who would then have thought it possible that long lists of clergymen and gentlemen, as converts to Popery, might now be drawn up from the columns of the daily press ? These events are all now embodied, as facts, in the religious history of our country. Who will venture, after this, to limit the events, in a similar direction, of the next twenty years ? May God preserve 102 OUR DANGER AND DUTY. us from supineness, fancied security, and all that judicial blindness, which is the sure prepara- tive for ruin ! May He enable the true Pro- testants of England, Ireland, and Scotland to " strive together for the Faith of the Gospel," " to strengthen the things that remain," and still to preserve inviolate that glorious princi- ple — that indispensable watch-word of their Faith — no peace with Rome ! LOCH LOMOND. 10 a CHAPTER X. Loch Lomond — Rob Roy — His real History— Rob Roy's Death — Loch Katrine — Overladen boat — The Trosachs— Scott's descrip- tion — Scotch Piper — Evening Prayers — Walk to Callender — Stirling — French connection — Beautiful scene. August 5. To the Trosachs. — Intending to make our excursion chiefly by water for the next two days, we sent oar pony-carriage on to Stirling, and set off early this morning with Dr. M and my wife's sister for Loch Lomond and Loch Katrine. The day was bright and calm ; indeed, in every way adapted for our object. After a drive of about twenty miles, during which we passed the rock and fortress of Dumbarton, rising aloft in abrupt, solitary, and eccentric grandeur from the flat plain beneath, as if for the very purpose of guarding the passage up the river Clyde, which flows at its base, we embarked on a stream at the southern end of Loch Lomond, and pro- ceeded to Inversnaid, where we, and several 104 ROB ROY. other passengers landed close to a small inn, standing picturesquely on the side of the steep, shelving bank. During our whole course we were encircled by grand ranges of mountains, among which Ben Lomond rose in front, far above all its neighbouring competitors, and our vessel went on, winding hither and thither among a multitude of rocky and well-wooded islands. The clearness of the sky above was only rivalled by that of the calm water beneath ; and, with- out making comparisons, depreciating other lakes, or exalting this at their expense, we all felt that Scotland might well be proud of such an expanse as this, and set in such a frame. At Inversnaid, it is necessary for those pro- ceeding to Loch Katrine, either to ride, walk, or drive, (the worst method of progress from the badness of the road) for a few miles dis- tance, and here the guide-books threatened us with all sorts of extraordinary imposition and incivility ; but we found neither one nor the other ; and I suppose that the evil, after having arrived at a certain height, had been cured either by competition or by shame. Dr. M — and the two ladies were soon provided with ponies, and I accompanied them on foot through HIS REAL HISTORY. 105 the mountain-pass valleys, by which the two lakes are connected. We were now in the territory, which was the scene of the life and exploits — if they deserve such an exalted name — of that celebrated character, Rob Roy Macgre- gor. I shall here notice a few particulars of his real and actual history. Perhaps some, who, in their imagination, have thrown him back into distant ages, will be surprised on hearing the fact, that it is only about one hundred vears since the individual so named departed from this life. His real name was Macgregor, or Campbell. In fact, either appellation would be appropriate, as he was one of that extraordinary clan, the Macgre- gors, who were the subjects of such relentless and persevering animosity on the part, not only of their stronger neighbours, but of the State also, even to the prohibition, forbidding any one whatever to bear the dreaded name. If it had not been for this, Rob Roy's name would have appeared in public documents as a Macgregor; but as it is, he is called Campbell — I believe, from some temporary adhesion to the family of Argyll. Inversnaid, where we mounted our ponies, was the very place of which we hear as his first residence. While living there, he pursued the occupation of an extensive dealer f 3 106 ROB ROY. in cattle, which went under his protection to the Lowland fairs. He dealt and acted on his own account, and on the account of several large proprietors of the neighbourhood, for whom he seems to have been employed as a kind of agent. This went on for some time, and he was prosperous in his concerns for a certain period ; but subsequently a turn in his affairs happened, and he became responsible for a large sum, both on his own account, and on the account of those who had entrusted him with the management of their business. Instead of a more peaceable endeavour to pay his debts, or of a surrender to his creditors, he all at once had recourse to a new system. He took up his abode at no great distance from his previous haunts, but far up among the rough and wild mountains of this neighbourhood, north of In- versnaid, on the east bank of Loch Lomond. Here he gathered about him a band of daring and lawless men, and for a while it certainly appears that he lived by making incursions on the property of his neighbours — chiefly, if not exclusively, cattle — and appropriating it to himself and his adherents. But before long his name grew so famous, that he was enabled to apply his power in a new and more regular way, so as to secure and realize for himself — HIS REAL HISTORY. 107 without so much danger, opposition to the laws of his country, and uncertainty — a syste- matic and regular income. This was accom- plished in a most extraordinary way — by black mail. The fact was, that the neighbouring proprietors, who had suffered much from his predatory attacks, and from similar depreda- tions among themselves, or from other quar- ters, agreed to pay Rob Roy, each for himself, a certain annual sum, as a consideration for his undertaking to seek and restore any cattle which they might lose, by any of the various incursions to which they were constantly sub- ject. This, of course, preserved them from Rob Roy's attacks too ; and in a great measure secured them from any other losses, — so thoroughly was he and his party acquainted with the neighbouring fastnesses, and with all the proceedings of their respective inhabi- tants. Thus then lived Rob Roy for many years, occa- sionally engaged in other frays and expeditions, but usually occupied as a kind of protector of his neighbours' cattle, and as a recipient of considerable annual sums paid to him on this account. In fact, just as the best guardiano on the roads of Spain is frequently the trans- formed chieftain of banditti, so Rob Roy became 108 rob roy's death. the guardiano for those who engaged him by their annual retaining fee. He lived, pursuing this line of business, to an advanced period of life, and died safely in his bed. He seems, on the approach of dis- solution, to have had some strong compunction as to various transactions of his life, and bit- terly reproved his wife, who seems to have been a very Lady Macbeth in disposition, for some haughty and inappropriate words, as to his humiliation and contrition before God. I have been desirous to sketch out a real life and character, as brieflv as I can. For Rob Roy's real life, as a matter of history, is nationally and socially speaking, a subject well worthy of attention. The romance attached to his name may be, to many persons, a kind of stepping-stone towards inquiries and obser- vations of no little historical importance, as illustrating the times in which he flourished — to use an old Harrovian expression, as to every individual mentioned in Lempriere's Dictionary, whether good, bad, or indifferent. On finishing our short land-expedition, and arriving at the border of Loch Katrine, a row- boat, with a large number of passengers, was just setting off. The boatmen called out to know whether we would embark also. Little LOCH KATRINE. 109 or no time being given to us for consideration, we hurried down, and got in, amid doubts audibly expressed by some standers by, as to the sufficiency of room, or the safety of our proceeding. When we entered the boat, we discovered that it was so full of tourists and luggage, that we could only find space for ourselves forward, in the bow of the boat, where the addition of our number to the passengers barely left room for the rowers to bend to their oars. However, we four sat down with the most limited accom- modation, as new bales among the heap of luggage previously piled up. We soon found that the inconvenience was only a minor con- sideration to any one who knew anything of boating, as it immediately became evident that our load was far beyond that which ought to have been taken. The boatmen would not admit it, but the fact was clear. Besides the two rowers there was another man in the party, who seemed to have the direction. He moved, when necessary, with the greatest precaution, while no one else moved at all, or seemed inclined to do so, from the evident effect of the slightest stir of any passenger on the over- burdened craft. 1 1 OVERLADEN BOAT. The weather was perfectly calm, when we commenced our ten mile course ; but presently, and just as we were in the middle of the lake, a breeze came down from the mountains, and caused much more swell than I should have thought possible, considering how slight it was. The boat could not rise to the wave in the smallest degree, and therefore went through it with a dead, straight, horizontal motion, which would have been most hazardous had the wind increased even a little more. Hap- pily, however, it soon decreased instead of increasing, and we were no longer in any unpleasant predicament. Had there been only a fair cargo on board, there would not have been the slightest danger, even had the surface been ten times as much agitated ; but as the case was, with a long, thin, much over-loaded boat, our position for about half an hour was by no means satisfactory ; and, as one fond of the water, I could not help feeling how disagreeable the motion was, contrasted with the play of a boat, springing over or breasting the waves. From their whispering, and other signs, my opinion was that the rowers, who knew most about the matter, did not themselves like our position, when, at one particular point, THE TROSACHS. Ill the breeze began to freshen, and the cloud darkly to sweep past in our direction from Ben Lomond's towering height. On approaching the farther end of the lake, the sights around us were as peculiar as they were beautiful. The opposite banks approxi- mate closely to each other, and form, by their wooded projections, irregularly shaped rocks, and fantastic natural features of various descrip- tions. This is the commencement of that sin- gular locality known by the name of the "Trosachs" — a word, which I believe signifies "jutting eminences," and most characteristic of the place to which it is applied. We passed close by " Ellen's Isle," and other spots ren- dered famous by Sir Walter in the poetic literature of his country — or rather, I should say, of Europe. Scott's description of this most singular scene is so exquisitely finished, that it seems quite a supererogatory work for any one else to attempt its delineation. It is too long for quotation, and besides it is so well known, and so easily attainable on desire, that its insertion here would be altogether needless. However, I cannot refuse presenting to the notice of my readers the commencement of his true and 1 1 2 scott's description. most graphic account. In which portion of verse I may also mention that the chief pecu- liarities of the scene are contained — t« JW^ovt*, as Aristotle would say; not so much, I would observe, the chief beauties, as the chief pecu- liarities of the place — the things which make it differ from all other spots which I have ever seen, an opinion common to many travellers whom I have heard speaking of it. The western waves of ebbing day, Roll'd o'er the glen their level way ; Each purple peak, each flinty spire, Was bathed in floods of living fire. But not a setting beam could glow Within the dark ravine below, Where twined the path, in shadow hid, Round many a rocky pyramid, Shooting abruptly from the dell Its thunder-splinter'd pinnacle, Round many an insulated mass, The native bulwarks of the pass. Huge as the tower, which builders vain, Presumptuous piled on Shinar's plain. The rogky summits, split and rent, Form'd turret, dome, or battlement, Or seemed fantastically set With cupola, or minaret, Wild crests as Pagod ever deck'd, Or mosque of Eastern architect. LADY OF THE LAKE. Canto I. The inn, where we intended to pass the night, and the only one in the neighbourhood, was SCOTCH PIPER. 113 about a mile from our landing-place, and from all accounts which we had previously received, as well as from the fine w r eather and consequent crowd of tourists on the move to-day, we had reason to doubt of finding accommodation. However, though the apartments were very small, smaller than any I have ever seen at an inn, except on the top of the Righi, in Switzerland — still they were so numerous, that our fears were needless, and we passed a most pleasant evening in this truly delightful spot, wandering about, talking to the boatmen and porters, who congregate here in great numbers, and listening to the first Scotch piper whom we had hitherto met. I can- not yet enjoy the bag-pipe, though not difficult to please in instruments of music of any kind whatever. On the subject of this Highland music, Skene, in his interesting work, " The Highlands of Scotland," observes : " The use of the harp appears to have rapidly declined in the Highlands during the seventeenth century, in consequence of the civil wars which commenced at that period ; and at length it was entirely superseded by the more martial instrument, the bag-pipe, the origin of which is altogether unknown, although, from the character of the music, there 1 I 4 EVENING PRAYERS. is greater probability of supposing it an ancient instrument of the Highlanders than of foreign introduction." In the evening we gathered a little congrega- tion to our prayers, and having listened to one, himself of a thankful, holy, loving spirit, and skilled in communicating to others the same feeling as his own, we retired to our rest, thankful to God, not only for the gifts of His grace, but also for the beauties of this earth, and specially thankful for the privilege of seeing a portion thereof, as we had been permitted to enjoy them this day. August 6. To Stirling. — The morning was so fine, and the appearance of the country so tempting for pedestrianism, that I set off this morning an hour earlier than the rest of the party, in order to walk to Callender, eight miles on the way to Stirling. The nar- row road, which I had to pursue, disclosed at each turn most pleasing views of lake, wood, coppice, and mountain, and at one particular point I was suddenly arrested by the picturesque beauty of a small ancient bridge, which no artist should, I think, pass without an attempt to transfer the scene to his sketch-book. From consideration of the number of persons WALK TO CALLENDER. 115 employed in the fields, of the cottages near the inn at the Trosachs, of the boatmen and porters, who serve the crowd of summer travellers, and of the travellers themselves detained here on the Sabbath, it seems very needful that a small church should be built and maintained in this immediate neighbourhood. At present, I under- stand there is no public service within many miles, except once in a month. During my walk, I joined a farmer of the neighbourhood, and had some interesting con- versation on subjects of local and agricultural interest. Among other things, he told me that he held five hundred acres, including upland and lowland, for which he paid £200 a year. He paid his men two shillings a day in harvest time. To those labourers, who worked for him all the year round, he gave ten guineas a year in addition to their food, which consisted of mutton, broth, kail, bread, cheese, and porridge. I joined my relatives at Callender, after a most agreeable walk, and we all went on together to Stirling. Its rock and castle first met our view, and truly magnificent were these objects. The agriculture of this neighbourhood is most skilfully managed, and among other farms of celebrity is that of Mr. Smith, at Deanstone, only a few miles off. 116 STIRLING. During the evening I walked through various parts of Stirling, a town of no slight interest to the stranger, both from the passages connecting it with Scotch history, as well as from its general features, and local position. The houses and streets have a very foreign appearance ; indeed they seemed to me more foreign than those of any town, which I have seen in Great Britain. Many of the houses had small round turrets, with the conical roof so well known in old French dwellings, and many of them have a close resemblance to the architecture of Ghent and Bruges. One large house, now used as a military hospital and called " Argyll's Lodgings" looked exactly as if it had stepped over from Rouen or Angers, or some other town on the banks of the Seine or the Loire. 1 also saw many of those irregular squares, called in French, " places," and here and there high walls with intervening thoroughfares, just like so many abroad. These similarities are easily accounted for and explained by the close and long continued con- nexion of Scotch and French History. Among the courtiers and upper classes of society, the partiality to French fashions and tastes was at one time very strong in Scotland ; and as no doubt the fact of the French Kings being guarded FRENCH CONNECTION. 117 by a body drawn and filled up, as vacancies occurred, from Scotland, with many other kindred circumstances, would have much weight on the matter. The attachment of Mary Queen of Scots to French habits is a matter of history. It is curious to hear French words Scotticized, as so often occurs. For instance, " assiette," a plate, forms a word of the same meaning, and is contained in MegDod's celebrated Book of Cook- ery, in the receipt for a certain dish entitled " Petticoat-tails !" This is nothing less or more than the " petits gatelles" (for gateaux, the more usual word) of the French cook and con- fectioner. Another word of French origin, is that of " an haverel," which signifies a fool or simpleton. This is derived from the word " Avril," French for April, an " April fool." The view from Stirling Castle is most varied and extensive — framed on the right by a lofty ridge of mountains bending round to the left. A nearer line of heathy and w T ell-wooded heights, stretching away from the left, blends most harmoniously with that line which I hare previously described as converging from the right. The smooth turf of the race-ground, the low- lands covered with golden crops and sprinkled with portions of wood, and dotted with the 1 1 8 BEAUTIFUL SCENE. very neatest farmsteads — the remains of the old royal garden with its circular and now grass-grown terraces, at the foot of the rock, and immediately below your feet, steep, craggy, leaf covered precipices — such is the scene spread before you as on a map, and many other fair objects might be added to the list without exag- geration or untruth. LINLITHGOW. 119 CHAPTER XL Linlithgow — Linlithgow Palace — Arrival in Edinburgh— Presby- terian Service — Autumn Migration — Letters of Introduction — A Saturday Visit — Notice for Travellers — Impression of Edin- burgh. August 7. To Edinburgh. — We passed to-day many handsome country-houses and much highly cultivated ground ; but with the exception of Linlithgow Palace, which we carefully examined, there was nothing which called my note-book into use. That abode of royalty in former times; that " excelling" abode, to use the words of the song in its praise, is, for a ruin, by no means in bad order for restoration, if desired. With the trifling addition of roofs, floors, and such supplementary parts of the structure, the apartments might with ease be again rendered habitable. James the First built one side of this palace after he became King of England ; and accordingly over one window the date of 1619 is inscribed. On another side, 120 LINLITHGOW PALACE. he caused the crown and the thistle to be carved in stone-work over the windows of the room, where his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots, was born. Here again, as I have remarked in the local features of Stirling, tall narrow towers remind the spectator of France, and of the long-continued and close connexion of Scotland with that country. One apartment was employed for the double purpose of a Parliament Hall and a Banquetting Hall. It has a gallery above, and is still a very handsome room. There is a curious little secret and dungeon-looking place below one of the chief bed-rooms, which makes a place of retreat for any one sleeping there, and sud- denly aroused in the night by assailants. Our guide told us that James III. hid himself there three weeks at one time, and a fortnight at another. Whether this is true or not, the existence of such a chamber shows the character of the times. There is a beautiful view from the turrets : and two-thirds of this building are encircled by a pretty lake, approaching to the foot of the walls. Beyond this is a pleasant and extensive meadow, and the whole country around is now glowing with its rich yellow harvests. Near Linlithgow is a very lofty and most ARRIVAL IN EDINBURGH. 121 graceful viaduct for the transit of the railway- carriages. Just as the sun was setting, we came in sight of Edinburgh ; and, as we approached, the lofty, extensive, and precipitous rock, on which the Castle is built, and that fine crowning edifice rose high in the air before us, and gleamed on our eyes in the rich mellow light of a delightful summer's evening, .Congratulating ourselves on our first and very favourable impression of this beautiful city, and anticipating much interest and admiration in examining its local features, architecture, and surrounding scenery, we entered Scotland's capital without passing any suburbs whatsoever, and driving up to George Street, were soon most comfortably lodged in one of its ample and well-built abodes. I was present this day, for the first time, at the service of the established Church of Scotland. Dr. M , who is considered one of the most able of the ministers remaining in the establishment, officiated. On another occasion, during my stay at Edinburgh, I attended the Free Church service, and heard Dr. G , of great celebrity as a preacher. I admired much his powerful argument, his sim- plicity of delivery, and altogether the impressive character of his address. Every time that I VOL. I. G 122 PRESBYTERIAN SERVICE. may have attended at any service, except that to which I am accustomed — I mean, of course, the service of our English Church — I may say without hesitation, as faithful and true in my admiration of her Liturgy and public ritual, that I have been thankful for belonging to our own branch of Christ's Church, for this as well as many other causes — I mean, the excellency of her worship as adapted to the great congregation on the Lord's day. The very small proportion of Scripture read in the Scotch Church, is, to my mind, a very great deficiency and loss ; and, while, with our form of prayer, we are secure of sound and effective doctrine through a large portion of the services — in fact, until the sermon commences — according to the Presbyterian form of worship, too much depends on the individual who ministers, from the beginning to the end. Edinburgh, August 7 to August 26. — We remained at Edinburgh for nearly three weeks ; and though during our sojourn we experienced two circumstances of a character disadvantageous to our full enjoyment of the place, yet, notwith- standing this, we felt that the fair capital of Scotland commanded at first, and sustained afterwards an interest of its own, independent of all accidental circumstances, in which, as strangers, we were placed. AUTUMN MIGRATION. 123 Our first disadvantage was, that we had very cold, wet, dark, stormy, and unseasonable weather during the main time of our stay. Our second, that very few, indeed, among the many persons to whom we brought letters of introduction, or with whom we had other means of forming immediate and agreeable acquaintance, were in Edinburgh itself, or in the neighbourhood at the time. Many towns, including our own metropolis, are, in some measure, thinned of their wealthier inhabitants during the months of summer and autumn, when a certain portion of the metropolitan residents, whose means allow them so to do, go for health or recreation to the country, visit some sea-bathing place, or pass a few weeks abroad. But I never was in any city where this system appears to be carried to such an extent as it is at Edinburgh. The common phraseology which met my ears continually was : — " Oh ! nobody is in town now." And certainly that part of Edinburgh inhabited by many of the wealthier classes, literally seemed almost depopulated. Neither shall I affront its citizens, but rather pay a compliment to their taste for summer recreation in the country, when I mention the truth, that in some of the finest streets the grass was plentifully visible among the stones, and that I have more than once g 2 124 LETTERS OF INTRODUCTION. walked round a large square near our lodging, without meeting one single individual, and that, too, in fine weather, and in mid-day. I am not one of those travellers who speak at all in a slighting or indifferent manner with regard to letters of introduction, but, on the contrary, as a general rule value them highly, and have personally found, in all countries, amply sufficient reason so to do. Through the kindness of friends in England we had brought with us a very fair supply for Edinburgh and its neigh- bourhood ; but, on making a circuit of calls on my arrival, with the intention of leaving them with those to whom they were addressed, 1 found very few available. The kind attention, and the truly cordial reception which I speedily received in every instance where the recipients of these letters did happen to be at Edinburgh or in its neighbourhood, only proved how much the stranger, who has the proper disposition to value society of that very superior and intelligent description here met with, is entitled to regret this complete summer migration from the town. At one of the first houses to which we were invited, and where we passed a day in the most agreeable manner, our kind hostess said that she had endeavoured to arrange for our meeting under her roof those two truly distinguished A SATURDAY VISIT. 125 men, Dr. Chalmers, and Dr. Keith ; but they were both far away. Neither Dr. Guthrie nor Dr. Candlish were to be heard for the same cause, though there was but one report of the great power ami effect of their eloquence in the pulpit. The ministers of all denominations, so far as their duties will admit, partake of and enjoy these rural tastes ; and of the temporary lack of Episcopal clergy in the town, I had rather an amusing exemplification in the extreme delight and air of official triumph with which a clerk of one of the Episcopal chapels secured, on a certain Saturday, the services of that humble individual who writes these pages. I was sitting in my room when the door was opened, and a stranger was announced. A little short man, clad in black, entered, and requested me to take the service of an Episcopal chapel which he mentioned. After a few preliminary questions, I most readily assented, and immedi- ately my visitor's face brightened up with an expression, denoting the accomplishment of some most important objects, on the successful attainment of which there had evidently been no slight misgivings. — " Well, I am glad," said he, " I was on my legs all yesterday, and we hardly knew, Sir, where to turn for assistance. It's a good thing you are here, Sir." Again, during 126 NOTICE FOR TRAVELLERS. one of the weeks which we spent at Edinburgh, the Inverness meeting (of which I shall have to speak somewhat copiously by and by) took northward a large number of ministers and able laymen — advocates of the Free Church princi- ples into the Highlands. I need not add that the landowners and sportsmen were all gathered to their country homes, or shooting quarters, in pursuit of the grouse. I have mentioned these circumstances, be- cause, as being of annual occurrence, (except so far as relates to the Inverness meeting) travellers to Scotland ought to be aware of them, so that, according to their object, whether that of seeing people or scenery, they may time and order their arrangements. To unite a visit to Scotland at the appropriate period for climbing its mountains and skimming its lakes, and also for enjoying the superior and distinguished society of Edinburgh, is not, so far as I see, practicable, except by a sojourn of some duration, so as to include either a part of the autumn and winter, or a part of the spring and summer. And to those who have not so much time at command, and yet wish to realize the two objects above-mentioned — both so desirable to all who can attain them — I would recommend, in these days of speedy locomotion, two distinct visits. IMPRESSIONS OF EDINBURGH. 127 I write these observations, fully convinced that they may prove of considerable value to some of my readers. However, as I mentioned before, notwith- standing bad weather, and the absence of so many whom we should have been truly pleased to meet, we greatly enjoyed our sojourn in Edinburgh ; and I shall mention in the next chapter a few of those objects and scenes which afforded me the principal interest in this noble city. 128 blackwood's magazine. CHAPTER XII. Blackwood's Magazine — Professor Wilson — Parliament House — The Cowgate — The Cemetery — Vaults — Botanical Gardens — Interesting Walk — Friendly reception. Perhaps on no occasion had I more advantages for seeing the town, as a stranger, in a favourable manner, than during a course or circuit of considerable extent, under the friendly and most courteous guidance of the Solicitor-General, who gave up to me several hours of his valuable time, and showed me in one day the various scenes which I am about to describe. Our first call was at the establishment of the Messrs. Blackwood, as I was desirous of seeing those gentlemen, as well as the officina of a periodical so distinguished for the talent exhi- bited in its pages, and so long known in the political and literary world as that magazine which bears their name. I was also in hopes of seeing Professor Wilson, as a man of true genius and deep feeling, not to speak of the remarkable originality of his character. Like so many others, PROFESSOR WILSON. 129 the professor was absent from Edinburgh, so that I could only see his portraits, of which there are two in the reading-room attached to the premises of Messrs. Blackwood — a reading- room to which a friendly and general invita- tion was at once given to me on my intro- duction. One of these portraits represents Pro- fessor Wilson in a shooting-jacket, somewhat with the aspect of a bold and heroic mountaineer ; and, as was well expressed to me by Sir J. M'N , in whose presence I was looking at it, sets forth, in a very skilful and graphic manner one aspect of a character, in which there are, undoubtedly, some icliosyncracies. That his character has other aspects, such as softness and tenderness of the most delicate nature, no one who has read his writings — for instance, the "Trials of Margaret Lyndsay," and "The Foresters" — will, for a moment, either doubt or forget. My call here proved very agreeable to me, as I thus became acquainted with the two gentlemen to whom this celebrated literary establishment, as well as the publication above-named, belong. From them I received every mark of kindness and attention, inclusive of much valuable infor- mation as to a tour in Perth, which I was shortly g 3 130 PARLIAMENT HOUSE. to commence, and the loan of one of that extended and valuable series of topographical volumes, in which the whole of Scotland has, through their means, been most judiciously and accurately delineated. When this visit was concluded we crossed the valley, which separates the new from the old town, and went through the Parliament House, which, of course, accompanied as I was, I saw to the best advantage. This edifice answers in many respects to Westminster Hall as to its use, since it is here that all the chief courts of Scotland are held. The large hall is very handsome and capacious. It has a carved massive hanging roof of oak, partially gilt ; and contains a few statues of a very superior order and interest. Within the precincts of the Parliament House are two admirable libraries : one called the Advocate's Library, the other the Signet Library. The former is one of the five collections in Great Britain, which by law have a right to a copy of every work published in the country. There is here every facility and comfort for reading and writing, and I saw modern reviews and publications in abundance scattered on the tables. Close to the site of the present Parliament THE COWGATE. 131 House once stood the Old Tolbooth, from whence Porteous was dragged forth by the infuriated mob, and carried down to the Grass-market for execution. No vestige of this prison now remains. The other Tolbooth prison, still existing, is a very old and strange building too. It is in the Canongate, which, strictly speaking, is a suburb of Edinburgh, and was once divided by a gate from the upper portion of the town. After seeing the Parliament House we pro- ceeded by a steep and winding descent to examine various parts of the ancient town, including the large old square called the Grass-market, with its strange and fantastic houses, as varied in their size and shape as in the different grada- tions of rank, for whom they seem to have been originally designed. The Black Bull Inn was pointed out to me, once the chief hostelry for travellers of the upper class to be found in the whole town, and often spoken of in old memoirs, diaries, &c. We then went up the whole line of the Cowgate, a long narrow street of considerable length, so deeply and preci- pitously sunk beneath the adjoining part of the town, that the roofs of its houses are not so high as the very foundations of the streets immediately above. During our course we passed under lofty arches supporting bridges 132 CEMETERY. far above our heads, but only on a level with the thoroughfares above, and being in fact, crowded thoroughfares themselves. These features correspond with many singular arrangements of the same kind exemplified in many parts of Edinburgh. As the French would say, it is, indeed, tr£s accidente, a word which I have often thought of as more accurately describing the locality and streets of Edinburgh than any English epithet, which I can recall to mind. The population of the Cowgate is very dense, and for the most part, poor. It includes a large proportion of Irish. We then crossed the town, and directed our steps to the cemetery, a receptacle for the dead, established within the last few years. This cemetery is extensive, and has a pleasant appear- ance, from its general arrangement, its turf, shrubs, and flowers. From it there is a most beautiful view of Edinburgh. The great draw- back to its fitness and propriety, as a calm and solemn resting-place for the bodies of the dead, is nothing less than the passage of a railway right across it. I heard that this could not be avoided, but it is nevertheless to be regretted. Part of the ground has been consecrated, for the special use of the members of the Episcopal VAULTS. 1 33 Church ; and on this ground a little chapel, of very pure and graceful architecture, has lately been erected for performing that part of the burial service which is carried on within our churches. It is now just approaching to com- pletion. It appeared to me that if the light had been admitted in less abundance, and if a more dark and sober colouring had been introduced in the painted glass, the whole effect inside would have been far superior than can be expected under the present arrangement. Underneath this chapel there is a chamber of vaults, which seems very well laid out, a separate place being assigned to each coffin. I understood that the stone, which, being cut into slabs, forms the niches, in which the coffins lie, is of such durable description that time has upon it no visible effect. The coffins here used are of lead ; and when the coffin is placed in its appointed niche, and the stone leaf, or door, in front, is put in, all is hermetically sealed up, and every prospect of the body's preservation, for an indefinite period, is thus apparently secured. I understood that the price for thus depositing a coffin was about seven pounds ; and that all the affairs of the cemetery are very well con- ducted ; and that while all things are done " decently and in order," there is no depart- 134 BOTANICAL GARDENS. ment connected with its arrangements that extravagance of funereal charges, which not long ago gave rise to an article in the Quarterly, among many other animadversions on the sub- ject. Our circuit ended with a survey of the Botanical Gardens, which are at no great distance from the cemetery. Mr. M'Nab, the experienced and accomplished Curator, accom- panied us through the long range of conser- vatories, in which we saw many very curious plants. The collection of epifytes is fine, though I saw none approaching the magnificent speci- men, belonging to my friend, J — J — B — , Esq. of Reading, which gained the chief prize, and caused such a sensation when exhibited at the great meeting of the Horticultural Society last spring. An Indian oak, which is a very small tree, as to height and general dimensions, but with enormous leaves, was pointed out to us, and we heard that, small as the tree itself is, there was no larger specimen in Europe. But it appeared to me that the collection of heaths was by far the most attractive and interesting object which the whole place contained. They were, in many instances, quite like large shrubs ; and some of the flowers were not only profuse as to abundance, but of exquisite form and colour. INTERESTING WALK. 135 I thought that nothing could be more appro- priate to a fine Scottish garden than this mag- nificent assemblage of heaths. We then went into a very large and lofty glass house chiefly occupied by palms. Here there are some fine specimens of that extraor- dinary exotic, the screw-pine (Pandanus Odora- tissimus) a plant, for whose growth the Almighty Creator has made a peculiar provision, in causing it, as its height and weight may require, to put forth, and to lower from the trunk into the ground, at distances varying from one to three feet, strong, straight shoots, as buttresses in a building, so as to give support and strength to the stalks above. I counted between twenty and thirty of these singular shoots, half in air and half in earth. Never having seen the plant before, I was extremely interested with the peculiarity of this natural provision and development for its growth. Here our walk ended, and I have seldom seen more in a day, and certainly was never more indebted to a guide and companion than on this occasion. My questions regarding Edinburgh were as freely put as they were obligingly and fully answered. For my acquaint- ance with the Solicitor-General, as well as 136 FRIENDLY RECEPTION. with his brother, at whose house, near Edin- burgh we had dined the evening before, I was indebted to my friend the Honourable and Reverend G — Y — , who, for some years ful- filled ministerial duties in Edinburgh, and was evidently remembered with much affection by all who mentioned him here. BEAUTY OF EDINBURGH. 137 CHAPTER XIII. Beauty of Edinburgh — Our first View — Farther impressions — Arthur's Seat — Splendid view — Praise to God. I am much disposed to agree in the statements made to me on various occasions, both in Eng- land and abroad, as to there being no city which, from its general magnificence, beauty, and romantic variety of scenes and structures, has more claim on the admiration of a traveller, than that where I now write, and which I have lately been traversing from end to end, and viewing from various points and distances, with keen and unfailing interest. Accordingly, having usually pursued the habit of putting my impressions of such scenes on paper, I have not failed here to follow my usual plan, and I have done so with no slight pleasure and alacrity, constantly encouraged and led on by each remarkable object, feature, and pecu- 138 OUR FIRST VIEW. liarity of edifice or site, which here meets the eye in quick and unfailing succession. Our first view of Edinburgh, though snatched in the midst of very unsettled weather, was most attractive, as we entered the town at sun- set ; when for about half an hour the golden rays were lighting up each near or distant crag; and the castle, and some monument meet- ing us at each turn, and the ancient abodes of men, unexampled for their height in any known city, and the wide streets and symmetrical squares, soon expanded themselves before us on our way. I subsequently was confirmed in my first and vivid appreciation of this town, by frequent and repeated observation both from within and from without, referring as well to its general mien, when viewed from a distance, as to the special details on which its distinctive character depends, when viewed in their imme- diate proximity. I have heard many persons say, that no description of the pen can give any idea of the scene which Edinburgh presents. Therefore, it perhaps is presumption in me to make any attempt of the kind. But I remember that the observation, charitably taken, may pos- sibly be of a favourable application to my intended remarks, since this allowed difficulty will be an FARTHER IMPRESSIONS. 139 excuse, if not for total failure, at least for very partial success. Although, as to individuals, I heartily concur in the old and wise saying, that " comparisons are odious," yet as to localities, I consider them certainly desirable, if they can be aptly made ; as, while they help the imagination, nobody is personally offended by them, or displeased by this sort of comparison, other- wise than just so far as arises from a declared preference, or ascription of superiority, as to one scene over another, which is in their mind undeserved, or, at all events, contrary to their own national feelings, local attachments, and pre-conceived impressions. Thinking therefore that, in the description of scenery, whether rural or civic, if it is possible to offer any resemblance or comparison drawn from elsewhere, it should be done, and I would so act if I could. But, premising that the beauty and magnificent features of Edinburgh are admitted and recog- nized, I recur in my own mind to those splendid cities, in various parts of Europe, which I have visited at various periods of my life, and I make the endeavour to assimilate the city, in which I now am, to any one among them. But I make it in vain, though referring in my mind to the cities of Italy and France, all of which, 140 FARTHER IMPRESSIONS. having a claim to peculiar grandeur and beauty, I have seen, including Naples, Genoa, and Bor- deaux ; nor forgetting Palermo or Dublin, nor some on English ground, such for instance as Oxford, Plymouth, Lancaster, Durham, and Bath. But in none of these, whether at home or abroad, can I find any adequate materials of illustration or comparison with Scotland's romantic capital. I must therefore make a similitude, and observe that it looks to me like some small and picturesque continental town — partly ancient and partly new — greatly magni- fied, greatly extended, and filling the gaze on all sides, instead of merely offering a few striking features on a small and contracted scale. But having said that I have never seen any exist- ing town to which I could liken Edinburgh, I will also add that I have never seen any town, which, according to my conception of the subject, surpasses it in local interest — in the combina- tion of natural beauty, with which its precincts are girt on all sides, and in the striking and attractive features which those precincts contain. Let me propose a walk to Arthur's Seat, such as I have just enjoyed. You quit the town skirting the walls of Holy rood Palace ; and, without passing through any suburb whatsoever, you find yourself at once in the midst of a fresh Arthur's seat, 141 and fair meadow. You might turn to the right, and wind along the path up Salisbury Crags, but there on one side your prospect would be limited by the rocky barrier behind you ; and, therefore, instead of taking that line, you advance onward with the more ambitious aim of Teaching Arthur's Seat, which stands so loftily, as to offer no contemptible challenge, even to one experienced in mountain walks. At a few hundred yards' distance from Holyrood, a steep, broken height faces you in front ; but, as you advance, you discover a valley (previously hid by a shoulder of the hill) curving and sweeping down towards you from the right ; and along this valley you direct your steps upward. But how picturesque and beautiful is this very foreground ! Let us pause, and regard it for a moment ! If you can forget the city and its busy scenes, the " fumum et opes strepitumque .Edinse," from whose streets you have emerged only a few minutes ago, you may here, on this very spot, imagine yourself, with little stretch of fancy, as entering the outer border of some Alpine solitude. Rocks close in beside you. Precipitous heights stand aloft before you. Little gushing rills of clear water spring forth and trickle around you among the turf, and that turf is close, soft, and mountain- like. 142 SPLENDID VIEW. As you advance, the labour of ascending is just enough to call the bodily powers into action, but not enough to fatigue the limbs of an average man, even om vZv fyoroi sa-psv. And now we are on Arthur's Seat — a lofty point of rock crowning the hill, and admitting on every side a wide and panoramic scene of land, sea, and city! Wide is the prospect ; and, as in general, we first turn to water, as the gem, the attraction, and the ornament of any landscape, however beautiful throughout, so here, in all probability, you first gaze on the wide inlet of the sea, called the Firth of Forth, with its expanse of waves, rolling towards you under a fresh northern breeze, and sparkling in the sun, and yet minute by minute assuming a different hue under the swiftly-coursing clouds of this glorious day. You mark its far-stretching reach as it penetrates the country towards the direction of Stirling, while the Bass rock at its mouth, with Inchkeith and Cramond Island, as nearer spots and features on its surface, will, probably, arrest your eye. Beyond these waters lie woods and cultivated slopes ; and then succeed ridges of mountain — the only fit girdle, boundary, or frame of Scottish landscape like this. Look now on that populous and noble city, here as clinging to some lofty slope or hill, SPLENDID VIEW. 143 there sinking deep into some valley, and willingly yielding itself to the varied* form of the ground which it covers and adorns so well. See Calton Hill, with its classical constructions and monu- ments, crowning an eminence rising from the very town, but as bold in form, and faced with rock no less rugged and rude, than if it stood in the midst of some far distant solitude among the wild mountains, and far apart from all the dwellings of man ! The New and Old town stretch away on two distinct and extended ridges, between which lies a deep valley covered with verdure and foliage ; while churches and fine public edifices, and graceful monuments stand before you, scattered numerously through the city, and just in those localities best chosen for beauty and effect. But neither here nor any where else will the superb Castle pass unnoticed, standing in its towering and solitary grandeur, with the natural foundation of prominent basaltic rock so mingled with the stone-work of man's hand, that at a distance scarcely can the separation be distinguished. Strange clusters of houses, with ten or twelve stories in each, * The French phrase accidente, now very much in use, as referring to natural scenes, appears to me peculiarly expressive when applied to Edinburgh and its immediate vicinity. I do not think it can be translated into an English word, but it is just the opposition to the idea of " tame," " regular," " formal." 144 SPLENDID VIEW. rise here and there in all the shapeless architec- tural confusion prevalent in ancient days ; while, as in the most determined contrast to such structures, you see on the farther side of the city wide streets and symmetrical squares, and all the beautiful arrangements which modern improvement brings. You now take in an extensive range with the eye, and, turning a little to the left you see a wide corn-covered valley, lying between the verdant and wooded slopes on the one side, (where many a fair villa peeps forth) , and the bold range of the Pentland Hills on the other ; and then — but what new features have I now left to dwell on or describe ? We have already gazed on mountain and bay, and island, and a mighty city, and a feudal structure, and meadows, and corn-fields, and the fair residences of man. What more can I present ? Turn a little farther round, and pass rapidly over that far-spreading expanse of land, now yellow with harvest, and well sprinkled with wood, and say what meets your eye, as the circle of its gaze is nigh concluded at the point where it first commenced ? Nothing less than the sea ! The broad, boundless ocean is there. And now, after one more survey of the whole let us descend, giving glory to Him, " which made Heaven and Earth, the Sea, PRAISE TO GOD. 145 and all that therein is," " who giveth the earth to the children of men," that they may build for themselves " cities of habitation," and praise Him for His rich bounty in providence, while they praise Him in still louder tone for His gifts in redemption and grace ! Shall we behold such a spectacle as I have seen to-day, standing on one of God's own " everlasting hills," and hesitate in our response to the call of the Psalmist: — "Oh! that men would therefore praise the Lord for His goodness, and declare the wonders that He doeth for the children of men!"— (Ps. 107— S.) VOL. T. H 146 ATHENS AND EDINBURGH. CHAPTER XIV. Athens and Edinburgh — Holyrood — Rizzio — John Knox — High Street— Carlyle, on Hero Worship — Houses of Edinburgh- Scotland's Worthies — The Castle — Old and New Town. I walked one morning with a relative who is well acquainted with Athens and its vici- nity, round Calton Hill ; his remarks at each step of our progress, as to the evident similitude between that town and Edinburgh, were to me a very strong and confirmatory proof as to the truth of this well-known comparison. He did not merely make a general admission or state- ment of the likeness between the two cities and their immediate neighbourhood ; but, when we had once touched on the subject, he at every step illustrated the fact, saying: — "There is Hymettus — there is the Piraeus," and so on ; just as if there had been an absolute identity between what he saw at the moment, and what he remembered to have seen in Greece. I might HOLYROOD. 147 have met with the comparison stated and re-stated in Guide-books, or heard it repeated as a matter of local fame, without the least approach to that conviction of its truth and reality, which a few quick observations, pro- ceeding from one in the manner I have just described, produced on my mind with the most vivid effect. His words and his manner was exactly that of one who was in Athens itself, and with Attic environs around. Holyrood Palace may, from its historical associations, claim perhaps the first place on the list of especial objects, which as strangers we visited during our sojourn here. Except, however, for historical recollections, there would be but little to awaken interest or attraction at the place. The structure is massive, but has no very ancient appearance, and is neither strong enough to give one the idea of a place of defence, nor open enough to give the idea of a pleasant and attractive habitable dwelling. The state rooms are gloomy, with but little furniture, and still less ornamental decoration. The pic- tures, of which there are several in one of these apartments, are of the most ordinary description; and the representation of George IV. as a kilted Highlander in full costume, is calculated to awaken a most disloyal risibility. I literally h 2 148 rizzio. can recal nothing worthy of notice within the edifice, until we entered the small antique suite of rooms which were occupied by Mary, Queen of Scots, when Rizzio was murdered, and in which the very deed was done. Four rooms are shown as connected with that dark transaction : — the Queen's bed-room, two small closets in two adjoining turrets, and a kind of ante-room, where Rizzio was stabbed to death. This was once a part of the bed-chamber, but separated from it at Mary's commands, by a partition put up after the murder, and remaining still. In these apartments there are several articles of furniture which were in use during the days of Mary, and some specimens of her work in embroidery and other arts of drawing- room craft, fashionable in her day. In one of the small closets Mary was at supper with some ladies of her Court and Rizzio, when the conspirators came through her bed- room, entered the closet, and dragged their victim from her presence. It is to us a singular characteristic of the lack of refinement in those days, as compared with our own, to observe that the only entrance into this room — the only means by which the attendants could have brought any thing into the presence of the Queen — was through the very bed-room which JOHN KNOX. 149 she herself occupied. In this small closet is a picture of Rizzio, looking very young and boyish, and by no means of Italian mien, as to the caste or expression of his countenance. There is also a small picture of the Virgin painted on alabaster, and which has evidently been broken into fragments, but is now re-united. Our guide told us that John Knox had been the iconoclast : with what truth for her assertion I am unable to say. He certainly was " mighty to pull down the strongholds of superstition, and every high thing which exalted itself" against the knowledge of the one only mediator between God and man ; neither, had circumstances made the deed requisite, would he have hesitated for one moment in the performance of this or any similar act, where the path of duty seemed clear; but his enemies and libellers have attributed to him many personal acts, in regard to his Sovereign, which are of the most apocryphal character. This may or may not be one of the number. There are still stains on the boards at the spot where Rizzio's blood was shed under the daggers of the band of his assailants. Neither is it any strange thing that they should be the marks of his blood, for it is well known that Mary 150 HIGH STREET. forbade their removal at the time of the deed ; and we may well suppose that a kind of super- stitious unwillingness to have them effaced has subsequently prevailed. Neither should I imagine that, when once engrained in the wood, they could be removed, except by the use of the plane. The magnificent ideas of the Greeks,* relative to the permanency of the murderous stain, recurred to my mind, while I was looking this dark memorial of guilt, and hearing the usual comment made by the guardian of the place to each successive visitor. Between Holyrood Palace and the Castle extends a long line of street — famous in old 'times — most curious to the eye still, and full of remembrances, on which the observing traveller must love to dwell. In this street, once the abode of the wealthiest nobles of Scotland, Queens- berry House and other residences of fine ancient architecture, not only by their names, but also by their grandeur and size, still speak of those who formerly tenanted their halls. Opposite to them stands a quaint, and apparently most aged edifice, called the Tolbooth. It is not, however, the Tolbooth renowned in history ; for that was * As to the Ocean itself being inadequate to wash them out, and other similar conceptions expressed by their poets. JOHN KNOX. 151 situated at the other end of the street, and of it not one stone now remains. Advancing a little farther we reach a corner house jutting into the street, at a point where the thoroughfare suddenly becomes of far wider dimensions than below. At this corner house — now, so far as I could ascertain, shared by a perfumer and a spirit-seller — once dwelt John Knox — the man, if ever there was such, raised up and fitted for the work which God had given him to do in his " troublous times." — "Honour to him," says one,* able to grasp the position, appreciate the spirit, and prize the deeds of that great man : — " honour to him ! His works have not died. The letter of his work dies, as of all men's, but the spirit of it never." Of Knox, maligned as he was, and is, the same noble- minded writer speaks again, and testifies, that he was an " honest-hearted, brotherly man — brother to the high, brother also to the low; sincere in his sympathy with both." High characteristics ! Like Paul of old, he continued in his lot and day, " witnessing both to small and great" in behalf of the truth of the Gospel : " reasoning of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, so that crowned heads and courtiers trembled." He went on "in nothing * Carlyle, on Hero Worship. 152 HOUSES OF EDINBURGH. terrified by his adversaries" — and laying so well the foundation of true, vital, scriptural religion in the land of his labours, that still the edifice, once built thereon, stands firmly and gloriously, defying each secret mine, no less than each violent and fierce assault of the foe. The little painted wooden figure representing Knox in his preaching dress, is somewhat ludicrous in its character ; but the quaint, grotesque, and ancient form of the house to which it is affixed, and all the scene around, carries the mind back into former ages, and makes the figure appear less strange and unsuitable, than it would have been in almost any other scene. One just thinks of some family representation of the preacher brought out of the room within, and shown to the public without, for the friendly and familiar gaze of some admiring multitude. Proceeding up the street we pass the site of the old Tolbooth, and some fine churches, public offices, &c, of newer construction, are let into this ancient part of the town. But the great curiosity of the walk consists in the tall, aged dwellings, which rise on each side. Their fronts usually end in a kind of gable top above. In some instances projections extend far over the street. Outside stone staircases are met on the Scotland's worthies. 153 way, descending in the most daring manner half way across the pavement, and long dark " wynds," or closes, branch out at each side, especially towards the right. All this region is quite what may be called the classic ground of Edinburgh. In it and its neighbourhood once dwelt nobles, and literary men, and official characters, of whom the world has heard so much — some of that goodly number of Scot- land's sons, of whom history is full, and whose tmoc 7rr££0£i/Ta have flown over the inhabited earth. Towards the farther end of the street, and as you draw nigh to the castle, some of the houses are quite untenanted, and most dilapidated. They look as if they only held together by the attraction of cohesion, and not by any more trustworthy combination of materials. Of these houses I saw some exquisite representations, in sketches made by Dr. G . The book which contained them had also some beautiful coloured views taken in the County of Sutherlandshire, where there must be scenes not less grand than rare, and peculiar in their character, if I mav judge from these delineations kindly shown to us during a visit to Lord M 's in the neigh- bourhood of Edinburgh. I allude especially to some coloured sketches representing deep indentures of the sea, flowing in between straight h 3 154 THE CASTLE. and precipitous walls of rock, and other kindred features of that bold and sea-beaten coast. But, to return to our walk. Advancing straight onward in the direction of the Castle, you reach the termination of its approach or avenue — substituting houses for trees — and you cross an open space, from which you have on each side, and deeply set below you, a view of the city of both the Old and New Town, indeed of Edinburgh at large ; and it was from hence that I first saw that imposing and symmetrical building — Heriot's Hospital — occupying its broad open site, far apart from any edifices able to rival it in the smallest degree, whether as to size or as to magnificence. The Castle has a fine and feudal mien, both within and without ; and the numerous soldiers, apparelled in the full costume of the Highlands— which, by the by, is a most splendid dress — and standing on guard, or moving about singly, or in rank, will, probably, amuse and interest the traveller who sees them, if not for the first time, at least for the first time in their own clime and territory. Such is my humble attempt to seize and transfer to these pages a few of the most striking and attractive features of this remarkable city. And I may here observe one of its most peculiar characteristics, viz., that the whole of the Old OLD AND NEW TOWN. 155 Town — containing those scenes which I have sought to describe in my walk through its pre- cincts, and have already mentioned in the present volume — is encircled by the structures of com- paratively recent date. And an additional pecu- liarity is, that this Old Town positively refuses to be hid. It stands so loftily, and is reared up so abruptly between two valleys, that it mil be seen, and will not be cast into oblivion by its younger rivals, by streets, squares, and dwell- ings of more modern date. On this in part, as well as on the shape of the ground, depends, I believe, the sense of singularity as well as grandeur with which Edinburgh strikes every traveller's eye. I allude both to foreigners as well as to my own countrymen, and speak from what I have so often heard both at home and abroad. 156 REFUGE OF THE DESTITUTE. CHAPTER XV. Refuge of the Destitute — Night Refuge — The Report — Plaids — Book Shops — Periodicals — Lodgings — Religion in Scotland — Distinct Professions. During one of my walks, I paid a visit to the House of Refuge for the Destitute, and bestowed particular attention on that part of the system which has been introduced with the joint object of checking mendicity, and at the same time of affording needful relief, on a judicious plan. I am well aware that mendicity is often men- dacity, and of course, as having been a clergy- man, in a large town, I have, perhaps, had as much experience as most individuals, in the nature and character of the system — for men- dicity is a system. Nevertheless I have long held, and hold still, that a stern, positive, unbending prohibition of begging is a cruel, unwarrantable act, when nothing systematic and effective is done to obviate its necessity, on right and proper- principles. First establish real and available help NIGHT REFUGE. 157 for the shelterless wanderer, or for the poor and hungry sufferer, whose case the Poor Law will not meet, and to whom, if the case is genuine, relief in alms some way ought, on every prin- ciple of religion and humanity, to he given most willingly — and then alms may he discouraged, but not till then. The Mendicity institutions, if well managed, supported, and attended to, have, in some towns, accomplished this most desirable result. The House of Refuge which I visited is held in a building which was once the dwelling of a Scotch nobleman. The average number in the house during the last year was three hundred and seventy-six, independent of those in the Night Refuge department. One of the prominent rules is, that " all who are not incapacitated by old age, infirmity, or sickness, must be occu- pied. The young attend school, the adults are kept at useful work ; none are permitted to remain idle." The department of the Night Refuge provides a shelter for the houseless poor men, women, or children, who may be obliged to avail themselves of such temporary home. All who come and make application are supplied with an evening meal, and a well-warmed, well-lighted place of rest for the night, and abundance of hot water 158 THE REPORT. for thorough washing. A large number of the poor and destitute is received in this manner during the course of the year. I quote from the Report : " The numbers admitted during the year 1842, amounted to 15,415, and during the year 1843, to 19,524 ; making a total amount thus relieved during the last two years of no less than 34,939. It is therefore manifest that there is an absolute necessity for maintaining this portion of your institution in full operation." And again it is interesting to know, as an additional piece of information connected with this subject, that " the individuals under notice have not merely had a temporary provision made for their immediate wants for a night or two, but their cases having been under the notice of the Visiting Directors, many of them have been transferred to the General Department, or have otherwise had more permanent relief secured to them." I saw the rooms which were allotted to their nightly reception. It is melancholy to think that such measures should be requisite ; but, this point being admitted, it should be a subject of thankfulness to all who feel for the sufferings of the poor, that such plans are now in progress of adoption through the great cities of our land, THE REPORT. 159 as an immediate provision against the extremity of want. I have mentioned before that the rooms are well warmed and lighted, and they are carefully washed and cleaned every day. During the night previous to my visit no less than sixty-nine had been accommodated in this place. In the Report are some statistical tables which might be of value for ascertaining the respective state of destitution experienced among the inhabitants of different localities in the vicinity of Edinburgh, and, among other classes, are many who make applications for nightly relief. I see in the last three months of 1841, and subsequent nine months of 1842, the applicants from Edinburgh, St. Cuthbert's and Canongate, were 5,692 in number ; for Leith, 529 ; for the parishes of Dalkeith, Duddington, Musselburgh, and Portobello, 445 ; for Lanark and Renfrew- shires, 1,960; for all other parts of Scotland, 4,282; for England, 1,030; for Ireland, 1,325; and of foreigners 152 ; the sum total amounts to 15,45. In 1842 — 3 the number was larger still. It was no less than 19,524. The proportions were, generally speaking, on the same ratio, but they were rather diminished under the respective heads of Leith and England. 1 60 PLAIDS. I did not observe any peculiarities as to the dress of the people in the streets worthy of remark, except that now and then a man passed wearing that most convenient article, the plaid or tartan shawl — a wrap which so well illus- trates the oft-repeated remark that the simplest thing is often the best. It is inconceivable to a stranger in how many ways this article may be worn by one experienced in its use ; how it may be shifted to cover different parts of the frame, or according to the quarter of the rain and the wind. I am sure that nothing except the singularity of the dress, when worn in England, prevents those who have once tried it in Scot- land from continuing its use elsewhere. How- ever one sees more specimens than formerly, particularly among travellers by railroad, &c. I was for several days exposed to very wet in- clement weather, and I certainly can say, that nothing I ever wore as an outward garment, afforded me so much protection as a common shepherd's plaid, which I bought at Galashiels — a choice place for the fabric. In speaking however of dress, as seen at Edinburgh, I must not omit the costume of the Leith fish -women, w T hich is an attire peculiarly picturesque. Many of the shops in the chief thoroughfares display plaids and tartans of much beauty and variety, BOOK SHOPS. 161 in silk and other materials. But mentioning shops', I must refer to certain trades, which appear to have most abundant encouragement in this city. One is that, of which the reader will be reminded by one of Scotland's old titles, The Land o' Cakes. The cake-shops are innumerable, and their number is equalled by the profusion and excellence of their supplies. Fine fruit too seems abundant, though I cannot help thinking how much more, this year at all events, its maturity and exhibition for sale must depend on the skill of the gardener than on the ripening effect of the unaided sun. But Scotch gardeners are renowned all over the world. Most observable, however, are libraries and book-shops, which , in proportion to the number of other shops and to the number of the in- habitants of Edinburgh, far surpass any thing which I have ever witnessed in any other town, either at home or abroad. And here I do not so much allude to showy establishments half filled with ornamental stationery and glittering with gay bindings, though these are not wanting, but rather to plain business-like houses, filled with good collections of stock books, to which you might fancy that the middle classes and in- dustrious students would repair, in search of 162 PERIODICALS. literary information, or of means of pursuing those various studies, to which the youth of Scotland apply themselves with such assiduity and zeal. Surely the existence of these vast number of libraries is a fact, which (to use a phrase appro- priate to the subject) must speak volumes as to that exercise of intellectual faculties, for which, throughout all classes, Scotland has been long famed, and is famed still. The publishing and printing establishments of Scotland are very numerous, including those which issue the Edin- burgh Review, Blackwood's Magazine, Tait's Edinburgh Magazine, the North British Review, and many other periodicals devoted to religion, politics, and literature. The amount of mental and manual employment which the maintainance of such publications must, year after year occa- sion in a town of this size, has, of course, a considerable influence on the intelligence, and prosperity of the inhabitants. That best encouragement, the encouragement of the public, ensures an attention to literature and the arts connected with publishing, which otherwise would lie dormant, or, at all events, seek its development elsewhere. For the information of strangers, I will just mentionthat a street in Edinburgh very commonly is represented by a word strange enough to the LODGINGS. 1 63 ears of a Southern, when visiting this city for the first time — also, that the position of the different localities is described by a reference not to the right or the left, but to the points of the compass. On my first arrival I pulled up the ponies shortly after entering the town, and inquired my way to George street. The answer given me was, " Second diveesion, west." This rendered me in no respect whatever wiser than I was before in regard to the subject of inquiry ; but I was instructed, as to my way, in phraseology more familiar to my ear. The meaning was, " Second Street, left." At the time of year when we were at Edin- burgh there was no lack of lodgings, of a very superior character, as to size and accommoda- tion, in the New Town. The house where we resided, like so many others in the neighbour- hood, was lit by gas, and in an evening the bowls of brilliant light all about the house had a very cheering and inspiriting effect. All these houses are supplied at an annual charge, in proportion to the gas consumed at each residence. There are means of ascertaining this point with complete accuracy. I think that, in general, the owners of the houses, where the system is adopted, and with whom I spoke on the subject, seem to like the plan 164 RELIGION IN SCOTLAND. extremely ; but some were strong against its introduction. The expence is very moderate, compared with other means applied to the same purpose. One gentleman told me that gas was burnt throughout his house with great freedom from the top to the bottom of his residence, and in his stable too. The sum he paid was only twelve pounds a year. Another gentleman, in whose dwelling it was burnt more moderately and yet without stint, said that he paid eight pounds a year. There are some amusing accounts of the plentiful gaseous illuminations, as constantly used in Sir Walter Scott's, at Abbotsford, given in his life by Mr. Lockhart. It is known that he used to write with a strong glare just above his paper. The light in our house was most manageable : one could have a little speck not bigger than a pea, burning dimly in a bed-room, or by one bowl quite illuminate a drawing-room of no inconsiderable size. The various religious professions, denomina- tions, or churches to which the upper classes in Scotland belong, present a singular contrast to the uniformity in that matter generally prevalent in England. In England the far greater number of persons in that rank are of the established Church ; and, if DISTINCT PROFESSIONS. 165 you hear any other account given regarding any person in that class, their case is considered as peculiar. Under ordinary circumstances, you are accustomed to take it for granted that all present are of the established Episcopal Church, dissent only extending to a small and limited number among the upper classes of England. There are no less than four* distinct Protestant bodies, (speaking as to the religious profession of each) to which persons of corresponding rank in Scotland, met in society during a stranger's sojourn in Edinburgh, are respectively attached. Some are Scotch Episcopalians, some are English Episcopalians, that is, removed from connexion with the Scotch Episcopal Church, as for instance, Mr. Drummond's congregation. Some are Presbyterians, adhering to the Established Church, and some belong to the Free or Seces- sion Church. While on the one hand the knowledge of this fact will make any one of right feeling careful and tender in general con- versation on Church discipline and other kindred * The Quarterly Review for the 1st of January, 1846, in an article connected with the present religious state of Scotland, but chiefly employed on the subject of the existing circumstances prevailing in the Episcopal Church in that country, commences with a special detail regarding these four distinct bodies. It treats also of a fifth — of those who hold the Romish faith. I shall, in all probability, have occasion to refer to this article again on some future occasion. 166 DISTINCT PROFESSIONS. subjects, it also gives to the inquirer the great advantage of being able, without difficulty, to enter into such conversation as mav cause him at to hear all sides on the important questions connected with these religious distinctions, and to form his opinion on fair and advantageous grounds. EPISCOPAL SERVICES. 16 - CHAPTER XVI. Kpiscopal Services — Scotch Episcopal Church — The Free Church — Progress of the Free Church — Refusal of Sites — Importance of the Subject — Spirit of the Scotch — Points at Issue — Inten- tions of the Writer — Position of the Writer — Inverness Meeting — Position of Inverness — Object of the Assembly — Place of meeting — Numbers in attendance — Opening of the Assembly— — Proceedings — Missions — Sabbath question — Ecclesiastical questions — Translation of Ministers — Inverary — Removal of Pastors — Presbyterian Polity — Braemar — Dr. Candlish — Sab- bath Services — Small Isles. On two of the three Sundays which I spent at Edinburgh, I was fully employed in assisting at the services of the Episcopal Church, and preached four times during my stay in that city. On one of these occasions it was at St. John's, the large and beautiful Church, which is the first among the many and fair structures of this capital, attracting the admiring gaze of the traveller on his arrival from Glasgow and the west. The edifice is lofty, graceful, and highly finished, both within and without. The minister of St. John's is the Rev. E. B. Ramsay, Dean of Edinburgh. We passed a 168 SCOTCH EPISCOPAL CHURCH. very pleasant evening at his house, and I felt much interested in communicating with one, who, from his long standing in the place, from the active part which he has taken in all the affairs of the Scottish Episcopal Church, and, above all, from that friendly and sympathizing disposition which renders him so much beloved and esteemed among his brethren, must be so highly qualified to give a stranger much and trustworthy information concerning that body, in which he occupies a high and very responsible position. Among other matters he gave me some particulars of the Scottish Episcopal Church Society, to which he is the Secretary, and mentioned that the poverty existing among some of the Episcopal clergy was of such a character, that there were more than thirty of the number, whose incomes were under eighty pounds a year ; and in order to raise them to that small amount it required an expenditure by this Society of eight or nine hundred pounds from a subscription fund applicable to that purpose. I shall henceforth have frequently to speak of the state of religion in Scotland, and of the various questions by which the prominent branches of the Church in this country are at the present moment so remarkably occupied, if not, to speak more accurately, agitated. And THE FREE CHURCH. 169 here appears to be a fit place for making a few general allusions to the subject. I shall first speak of the Free Church, whose proceedings have of late drawn attention, and not without ample cause. Every one who is at all interested in public affairs, has heard of the late Disruption or Secession in the established (of course, I mean the Presbyterian Church) of Scotland ; and, in all probability, remembering that the question has been prominently brought before Parliament, will also have observed how completely State- legislation has failed in effecting its intended purpose. And whoever has not let the subject pass away altogether from his mind, will un- doubtedly have heard in vague and general terms of the vast numbers who have sided with the Free Church, of the able and distinguished preachers who are now counted among its adherents, of the vast hold and influence obtained by them over a large proportion of the Scottish* * In the early part of the present year £700,000 had been sub- scribed towards the promotion and accomplishment of the objects held in view by the members of the Free Church. At the time to which I refer not less than five hundred and forty churches had been raised, and it was expected that six hundred would be finished before the close of the year. A salary of £120 had been voted to every minister of the Church from the common fund. Means have been taken with a view to the erection of a manse and school-house in every parish where there was a Church. A college has been undertaken, towards which ten individuals in two or three VOL. I. I 170 PROGRESS OF THE FREE CHURCH. population, and of the great success and activity with which their religious measures, both at home and abroad, have been hitherto days subscribed £1,000 eacb. And to mention tbat which is, per- haps, the most remarkable fact of all, amidst all these exertions and contributions, the subscriptions of the Free Church body, towards the furtherance of missions to the Jews and the Heathens, have by no means diminished, but, on the contrary, have abso- lutely exceeded the amount previously subscribed by the whole undivided Presbyterian Church of Scotland. This is only a short abstract of some of its proceedings, and much more might be told. Making every allowance for the temporary enthusiasm of any exciting religious crisis, as well as for the eS'ects which rivalry and competition ever has had and ever will have in all human affairs, not excluding those of a religious character, these exertions must claim and fix the attention of all observers, and the motives which arouse a cautious and discriminating people to such efforts and expenditure, must be of no common order, and of no common strength. One instance of the enthusiasm in behalf of any measure undertaken by the leading members of the body, may be drawn from the fact that, of one book published under the superintend- ance of a committee appointed for the purpose of bringing out a certain number of religious publications in a cheap form, no less than forty thousand copies were bespoke, before the work had issued from the press. I may as well mention here that the series, (of which the volume alluded to was one) has proved so valuable in its character, and at the same time so attainable by its low price, as to have been since purchased with avidity, and read with deep interest by multitudes throughout the realm. The series is called that of the Works of Scotch Reformers and Divines, and four volumes are supplied for the annual subscription of four shillings. Those issued for the first year are : — Practical Writings of Knox ; Practical Writings of Traill ; Rutherford's Trial and Triumph of Faith ; Lives of Mrs. Veitch, Mr. Thomas Hog, and Rev. Henry Erskine. Those for the first issue of the second year consist of Fleming's Fulfilling of the Scripture, and Select Writings of David Dickson. REFUSAL OF SITES. 1/1 conducted. Some too have heard much of the refusal to give sites for erecting Free Churches, on the part of different landed proprietors hold- ing the exclusive possession of vast districts in various parts of Scotland — of the strong feelings and excitement consequent on these refusals, and of assemblages for public worship in tents, on the sea-shore, on the hill-side or the open road, from the difficulties experienced by the members of the Free Church in gaining or establishing any better means of meeting together on the Lord's Day. Neither is it altogether unknown in England that this Secession has originated, or influenced various newspapers, periodicals, and other publications, so that they specially advocate its cause, and in some instances, may be looked upon as the direct organs of that body. Among the publications occupying one or the other of these two positions are the Witness, the North British Review, the Home and Foreign Mis- sionary Record, and the Free Church Magazine. These general outlines may be, and are known in a limited degree to the English public at large, and more accurately from their respective position and circumstances, to the Members of the Legislature, to the English Clergy, and to all who watch with interest the various religious movements, by which our times are so distinctly •i 2 172 IMPORTANCE OF THE SUBJECT. marked. Nevertheless, in many quarters very confused notions prevail in regard to the Free Church of Scotland, to the grounds on which it acts, and to its general principles. Nor indeed except by close special study of the individual question, both as to recent facts and as to its connection with Scottish history, (speaking both constitutionally and religiously), from the very time of the Reformation up to the present moment— except, I repeat, by this special study, combined with personal communication on the matter with the Scottish people in all ranks, and in various localities, or at all events, as a substitute for the second measure, without a close and diligent attention to what is related, as to their present feelings and convictions, by trustworthy witnesses — can I conceive how it is possible for any one either to act, or to speak with decision of opinion on the subject, as one satisfied that he has had the means of right judgment thereupon ? It is my firm belief that it is impossi- ble to overrate the magnitude, importance, and extensive bearings of the Free Church question. Much and most evidently have they been deceived, who thought that the excitement was but for a moment ; that great things were announced and prophesied, but that little would ensue : that few ministers would Carry out their SPIRIT OF THE SCOTCH. 173 professed declarations, in leaving the Established Church of the land ; and, finally, that if they did, few out of the laity would be their adhe- rents at the day of trial. These anticipations have proved utterly erroneous ; and I fully believe that all anticipations formed on the same basis, and in the same school, as suggesting any return or retrograde movement whatever among the members of the Free Church, will prove exactly of the same character — erroneous, and unable to bear the test of experience and fact. It will not, I think, suit the character of these pages, and, indeed, it would prove far too protracted a task, were I to dwell histori- cally on the character of that portion of the Scotch people, who, in each succeeding genera- tion, have been at different times imbued with the strong feelings of their ancestors and coun- trymen as to religious doctrine and ecclesias- tical discipline, or to show that when the current has once evidently taken that special direction, which it has of late taken in that body, nothing can effectually stop it. I only suggest due attention to this matter of his- torical experience and truth, and I do so, having no doubt whatever that such attention will ensure assent to this statement, if not recognized at once, without denial or dispute. 174 POINTS AT ISSUE. Neither shall 1 enter here into the legal, or it should rather be called, the constitutional points at issue on the matter, but prefer to reserve that part of the question for another part of this work. All therefore which I say here is, that so far from the adherents of the Free Church considering themselves to be disobedient to the law of the land, or to be acting in a manner adverse to its constitution, they hold that the law and constitution is on their side, but that from the interpretation issued by authority, they cannot, with consistency, retain the advan- tages of an Established Church, though they consider them as de jure theirs. Whether haA^- ing seceded and given them up they would accept them again, on any terms at all similar to those on which they held them before, is quite another topic. Another intention, which might be attributed to the writer of these pages, or by some might be expected from him, is one which he is most anxious to disclaim — I mean that of passing any systematic judgment of his own as to the fundamental and essential principles on which the two parties — that of the Establish- ment, and that of the Secession — are guided respectively in their course. I say, fundamen- tal and essential principles, because I think that INTENTIONS OF THE WRITER. 175 one, who has hitherto had no personal con- nexion with the country or its inhabitants, and has only given to its history and interests that very scanty share of attention, to which mere general reading and desultory observation on current public affairs would lead, is quite incapable of forming a decision as to these principles, with any adequate security for sound judgment and accurate views. But having said this, I desire also to add, that I would not extend this restriction to comments, and expression of opinion, on the proceedings of the two parties, although I am well aware that principles and their results must always, more or less, be connected, even as matters on which mere opinion is exercised. While, therefore, the old saying, yvuh