/?-'■ SOCIAL IN SCOTLA^nT FEOM EARLY TO RECENT TIMES BY THE Rev. CHARLES ROGERS, D.D, LL.D., F.S.A. Scot. ETC., ETC., ETC. VOLUME FIRST. EDINBURGH WILLIAM PATEESOX, 67 PEIKCES STEEET TT. 1884. liaUVEHSU V (»| ( Af.lFORNIA SAM A JMUJi AlU PREFACE. Conversing with Priucipal Robertson about history, Dr Samuel Johnson remarked, " I wish much to have one branch well clone, and that is the history of the manners of common life." Towards effecting, in con- nection with Scotland, what the great lexicographer regarded as important in relation to any country, I early dedicated a share of my attention. From my father, a parish minister in Fife, whose power in delineating the manners of a former age Avas only surpassed by his acuteness of observation, 1 derived a first impulse. What in expressive phraseology he delighted to set forth, I with juvenile ardour rejoiced to record; hence commenced those researches which I have sought diligently to sustain and carry out. When, in 1869, my gleanings for nearly a quarter of a century had considerably accumulated, I put them together, in a work, entitled " Scotland, Social and Domestic," which I then published. As my researches were desultory, so was this first record of them ; yet the volume experienced a recep- VI PREFACE. tiou which far exceeded my expectation. There were two salutary results. On the one hand, persons in diflferent parts of the country favoured me with valuable additions ; on the other, I was led to pursue my enquiries in more systematic form. And now, reviewing my labours during the last fifteen years, I am not aware that I have allowed to remain unexamined any known work or MS. in which the social condition of the kingdom has been portrayed or even referred to. Nevertheless, I am fully con- scious that I have merely touched the subject, not exhausted it. The history of Scotland is not to be found in the chronicles of her kings, or in the narrative of her contendings with a powerful neighbour ; not even in the records of her commerce. While by the blending of Celt and Teuton a distinctive nationality was formed, its development was effected by those who in conflict with a ruo^o'cd soil and a rigorous climate, struggled diligently for subsistence. What were the earlier and latter surroundinos of those who so struggled ; how from inconsiderable beginnings the nation acquired that moral and intellectual superiority which induced Professor Rivet, a learned foreigner, early in the seventeenth century, to speak of the 'praefervidum ingenium Scotorum, it has been my object to discover. Or more plainly, how has a people occupying a mainland 285 miles at greatest PREFACE. Vll length, by 160 miles at greatest breadth, made from age to age a steady and persistent progress ? For at the accession of Robert II. in 1371 the population was about 470,000, while in 15 GO it had increased to 700,000 ; and at the union of the crowns, to 100,000 more. At the political union, in 1707, it was reckoned at 1,100,000, in 1755 at 1,255,663, and in 1791 at 1,514,999. During the following ninety years the numbers more than doubled, the census of 1881 representing a population of 3,735,573. And if progress is to be further estimated by the revenue returns, we would from data supplied in the " Exche- quer Rolls " and the " Treasurer's Accounts " estimate the annual receipts in the reign of Alexander III. as not exceeding £30,000 of modern money, and in the reign of James IV. as considerably under £70,000. The Scottish national revenue in 1658 was actually £143,652 sterling. There was a subsequent falling off, the revenue at the Revolution in 1688 not ex- ceeding £100,000, while at the Union it was about £110,700, and on the average of five years there- after, £122,825. In 1882-3 the state revenues of North Britain amounted, in round numbers, to up- wards of nine millions. For a progress so consider- able we must search the cot rather than the castle. Too frequently the nobles wasted what the people gathered in. Culture for a time found refuge in the monasteries, but at length corruption supervened, Vlil PREFACE. and thereupon arose that overwhelming passion, which swept ruthlessly away that which, fashioned by art, was consecrated by religion. In these pages have been traced the rise and progress of every branch of the social system, and an effort made to show how the usages of one age have influenced the manners of the next, and at length fixed the condition and destiny of the people. Studying to be succinct, I have avoided prolixity on the one hand, and epigrammatic baldness upon the other. Nor have I burdened the narrative with refer- ences which might not strictly indicate the sources whence had been derived materials from which, in the first instance, error had to be purged and fiction eliminated. Therefore when sources of information are not denoted in text or in foot-note, I charge my- self with individual responsibility for what has been written. While the work will extend to three volumes, I issue two volumes now, and these will embrace that portion of my subject wherein error is more likely to occur, than in the chapters which may follow. Till the concluding volume is put to press, one year hence, my jDortfolio will remain open to receive corrections. Nor will the most rio;orous censor be deemed harsh should his remarks tend towards rendering less un- worthy of its object a work of which the permanent value must wholly rest upon its substantial accuracy. With the needful appendices, the third volume will PREFACE. IX embrace a narrative of the national superstitions, along with details of social humour, and of scholastic and literary history. An exhaustive index will be added. A wi'iter indebted to numerous correspondents during a period of years, may not be expected to present a list of all who by their communications have favoured him. Of those who have helped in the present work, some have passed away ; and those who remain will, in the consciousness that they have been useful, doubtless excuse any specific acknowledgment. But it is imperative that I should fulfil an obvious duty by cordially thanking the Keepers of Libraries, the Curators of Museums, and the Secretaries of Public Institutions, who have courteously opened their treasures, and so facili- tated my enquiries. In the General Eegister House I have been so frequent a visitor, that I must have utterly exhausted patience, unless those with whom I came in contact had possessed kindred tastes, and indulofcd a generous forbearance. From Mr Thomas Dickson, Curator of its Historical Depart- ment, I have experienced a full share of that obliging attention which he generously extends to all. In the Justiciary Department, Mr Veitch has refreshed me by genial co-operation, and Mr Malcolm Nicolson b}^ his intelligent aid in the matter of Gaelic deriva- tions. To thank Mr Walter Macleod, the most learned b X PREFACE. of all inofficial record searchers, for assistance wil- lingly rendered, is no less a pleasing duty than a hearty satisfaction. In conclusion, it may be remarked that while what Dr Johnson suggested could not, in reference to Scot- land, have been accomplished prior to our own times, when the records of the kingdom have been made generally accessible, one precious source of historical materials is still unavailable. The Kirk- session, Presbytery, and Synod Minute Books remain closed in the hands of their custodiers. Some of these commence in times bordering on the Keformation, while nearly all cover the years of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. If under a civil "or eccle- siastical enactment these records were calendered, much new light would be reflected on the national history. CHAELES ROGERS. 6 Bakxton Terrace, Edinburgh, October 1884. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE PREHISTORIC MODES ....... 1 CHAPTEEII. DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES 43 CHAPTEE III. MARRIAGE RITES AND CUSTOMS 103 CHAPTEE IV. BIRTHS AND BAPTISMAL REGISTERS 135 CHAPTEE V. DEATH AND FUNERAL PRACTICES . . , . .152 CHAPTEE VI. THE LAND AND ITS CULTIVATORS . . . . .176 xii CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI I. RURAL LIFE AND MANNERS CHAPTER VI 11. THE MUNICIPAL AND MERCANTILE CHAPTER IX. ARTS AND 'MANUFACTURES 230 284 365 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. CHAPTER I. PREHISTORIC MODES. The Palseolitliic age, or tliat wliicli precedes tlie period of polished stone, has two epochs. The earlier presents man chipping into tools flint nodules and pebbles ; in the latter he is fashioning imple- ments from the flake after it has been detached from the nodule. Within Scottish caves are traces of the posterior epoch only. And in examining these scenes of archaic life, whether on the sea-board, or b}^ the river bank, it is to be kept in view that there are generally present not traces only of primeval occupancy, but of possession at several eras of a later age. In caverns on the eastern coast, the viking sought shelter from the storm. And there long afterwards did the Christian missionary establish his oratory, or resort for meditation. Within the iveems of Dysart, St Serf of the fifth century performed his ascetic vows, and in the caves of A SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. Caiplie and Fifeness, St Adrian four centuries later sought repose amidst liis evangelistic labours. In the caves by each class of occupants have been left memorials of their presence, in tools or weapons, or incised markings, and in Christian times by the symbol of the cross. The later period of the Palaeo- lithic age, commencing before Britain was separated from the Continent, extends to that point of human history when some of the dispersed at Babel pene- trated to north-western shores. On the part of the posterior cave-men there was an intelligent construc- tiveness. Their implements were of two sorts ; those used in procuring food, and those adapted for provid- ing lodgment. For the slaughter of birds and land animals were formed arrow-heads of flint and bone, which were attached to reeds, or slips of wood, and then propelled from a bow. Fish-spears were of deer-horn. A flake of pebble or quartzite was used as the hunter's knife. The skins of slain animals were sun-dried and then used as garments, being made fast to the shoulders by pins of bone. Fire was obtained by friction, that is by rubbing smartly together portions of hard wood, or striking flint against a piece of iron pyrites. By fire so kindled boulder stones were made hot, which were then ap]3lied to the carcases intended for use as food. There was no pottery, a stone-slab forming the rude platter. To secure the marrow, bones were broken PEEHISTORIC MODES. 3 with water - worn stones gathered on tlie strand. When hunting did not yiekl the needed suppUes, tlie cave-man satisfied his hunger by feeding on the whelk and limpet. The ordinary food of the Cale- donian cave-man was the flesh of deer, also of the goat and the wild boar. The tools by which domi- ciliary comfort was secured, consisted of chisels and hatchets, constructed of flint and splits of the harder rock. The hatchet rano;ed in lenoth from four to fifteen inches, and in breadth from one to four ; at one end it was made sharp. By thongs attached to a wooden handle, it was vigorously applied to the tree till a deep indentation was produced. Thereafter, at the point of cleavage, fire was applied, and the work of felling perfected. Into the fallen trunk flint chisels were driven by mallets, and logs thereby secured. From the mountains of Central Asia various tribes penetrated into Europe, and with them introduced the Neolithic ao;e. These Uo-ric settlers reached the British coast in coracles of wicker covered with hides. From the Palaeolithic races they difiered, inasmuch as their tools and weapons were not rough but polished. The smoothness of their implements indi- cated their own advance in civilization. Tool manu- factories were established, at which weapons were formed of symmetrical shapes, and with holes bored in them for the reception of handles. The pur- chase of tools at these manufactories orio-inated inland 4 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. commerce. With the new and better formed stone implements were felled the larger trees, which, scooped by hatchets, were converted into canoes, as substitutes for the earlier coracles. These canoes were often forty feet in length, and of an average breadth of four feet. Sharp at prow and stern, so as to be moved either way, they were propelled by paddles, sails being unknown. The Ugric or Turanian settlers of the Neolithic age used hides as clothing, as had done the earlier races. By fishing and by the chase they derived subsistence. They also raised grain, for querns or grain crushers are found in their dwellings. Some of these querns are of wood. A chief feature in the Neolithic age is the forma- tion of sepulchres. How the cave races disjDOsed of their dead does not appear ; the Turanians had recourse to burial. Yet the word burial does not convey with absolute precision the intention of the Ugric races in the disposal of bodies. It was their doctrine that a material existence continued after death, and that those departed from this life con- tinued the invisible occupants of their former haunts. In Turanian ftmcy the tomb was a theatre of activity, from which the deceased could chase the deer upon the mountain, or track the wild boar to his lair in the forest. Hence was the life dwelling of the chief reserved as his habitation in the viewless world after PREHISTOrJC MODES. 5 lie was gone. Thus the mythical Somiramis is said to have buried her husband in the palace of Nineveh, and the early Egyptians reared pyramids over the bodies of their kings. British settlers of the Neolithic age at first con- signed their dead to the lesser caves. But this practice was not long continued. Their dwellings, like the primitive Asiatic tent, were formed of logs, in conical shape and converging to a point. The occupant, when he died, was, in a sitting posture, placed in the centre, surrounded by his weapons and household implements. The entrance was now made fast, and the dwelling abandoned : when it fell by age or by the ravages of the tempest, the wreck was gathered into a heap. Hence arose the primeval cairn. The log dwelling was superseded by the tent-like house of mud and stone, a structure common at the Pioman invasion, and which in recent times was represented in the Bur of the Hebrides, and by the lowland Caer. The tribes of the Neolithic period varied in physique. Those which settled in South Britain were short in stature, with large heads, dark eyes, and prominent cheek-bones. By Tacitus they are de- scribed as planted in South Wales, where they were known as the Silures. Apparently a Basque family, they probably migrated from Spain. The Ugric races of the north were large-boned and muscular ; they 6 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. were probably descendants of the Jetten, a gigantic race commemorated in Danish leg-end. In the popular superstitions linger memories of the Neolithic age. In Sweden a polished stone is used as a protection against lightning, and in the Scottish highlands and in Ireland elf arrows, mounted in silver, are worn around the neck as a preventive of sorcery. By the Celts, a great Aryan family which from the eastern shores of the Casjiian sea had made early settlements in Germany and Gaul, was established in Britain a new epoch. To these shores they were attracted by the mineral treasures on the Cornish coast. Crossinof the channel in their canoes, the Celts first settled at the mines of Cornwall, the Silures on their approach retiring into Wales. But they soon spread everywhere, and were hailed as bene- factors : their manners were gentle, and they gave instruction in religion and the arts. Familiar with the mode of fusing and working and mixing metals, they constructed weapons and implements of bronze. They introduced the bronze age. Of the bronze age, the earlier imjilements were moulded in forms resemblino; those of the Neolithic period. For a time, indeed, tools of bronze and polished stone were used simultaneously, a circum- stance which implies that the intruding race did not attempt the general displacement of their Ugric pre- PREHISTORIC MODES. 7 clecessors. At length tlie British races, Aryan and Ugric, merged into one family. What form of speech was used by the earlier race may not be ascertained. Place-names, derived from the Basque language, occasionally occur ; but these might have been imposed by those who accompanied the pioneers of commerce from Iberian shores. As a rule, place-names are of Celtic origin. In South Devon and Cornwall place-names and prefixes occur, which are also common in Fife and Argyle, and in all the provinces of Ireland. To their localities the Celts imparted names, solely in reference to their topical features. The island was called Britain from the compound word Brait-an, signifying a high country. The northern part was styled Albyn — that is, the region of the high moun- tains. Separated into two divisions, the Celts estab- lished distim^t settlements ; the Cimbri were planted in the south, the Cruithne in Ireland. From Ireland the Cruithne sent colonies into Albyn. By the Romans the Cimbri and Cruithne were distinguished as the southern and northern Picts. Deriving from the same source, and undisturbed by any influences which were not common to both, the two races were unlikely, at the expiry of a thousand years, to evince any prominent variety. When Csesar sets forth that they painted with woad, he referred to the practice whereby these early races described coloured stripes on 8 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. their knees and lower limbs, so denoting the families or septs to which they belonged. This practice ori- ginated the tartan of Celtic clans. The Cruithne who effected settlements in Scotland were styled Albanach, subsequently Caledonians, from the words coille, a forest, and dun, enclosed or impregnable. Subsequent to the plantation in Britain of the Celtic race a refining influence supervened. From their terri- tories on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean sea the Phoenicians sent colonies eastward and west- ward. They were brethren of the ancient Hittites, that people whom Joshua dispossessed, and with whose descendants, the Philistines, the Hebrews were perpetually at war. Unlike the Hittites, who were idle and sensual, the Phoenicians were frugal and industrious. By skilled workmen, tliey felled the oaks of Lebanon, which at Sidon and Tyre they con- verted into ships. Sidon was founded B.C. 2200, and a few centuries later Phoenician colonies studded the coasts of the Mediterranean, also the shores of the ^o-ean and the Euxine. Sailing into the Atlantic, the Phoenicians planted Gades or Cadiz, and from thence procured, with other metals, tin and lead.^ It is held by Sir John Lubbock^ that Cadiz was founded between B.C. 1500 and B.C. 1200, and if this opinion is ^ Ezek. xxvii. 12. 2 "Prehistoric Times," London, 1865, p. 46. PREHISTORIC MODES. correct, it is not improbable tiiat the tin and lead which, B.C. 1452, the Hebrews obtained among the sj^oils of Midian ^ were by way of Spain brought from the shores of Britain. That the Phoenicians traded with Britain, or rather with the isles of the Cassi- terides, we learn from Herodotus, and as the fleets of Solomon and Hiram, which proceeded to Cadiz together 2 nearly a thousand years before our era, occupied three years in a single voyage, it is probable that the delay arose in waiting the return from Britain of the mineral-laden ships. In Cornwall, about eighteen miles W.S.W. of Fal- mouth, is Marazion, a small town occupied by workers in the tin and copper mines of that neighbourhood. The name is of Hebrew derivation. During the Saxon period Jews were numerous in the south of Britain. May some of the Hebrew people have accompanied into this country the Phoenician traders? The tribe of Asher included in their original inherit- ance " the strong city Tyre,"^ and Zebulon dwelt "at the haven of ships, with his border unto Zidon."* Of these tribes, some members may have been employed as wood-hewers in the forests of Lebanon, or at Tyre as ship-builders. In the reign of Solomon, most prolxably also in that of David, Phoenician and Israelitish merchantmen traded in common. When 1 Numbers xxxi. 22. 2 i Kings x. 22 ; 2 Chronicles ix. 21. 3 Joshua xix. 29. '' Gen. xlix. 13. 10 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. afterwards tlie Jews fell upon evil times, those made captives in war were enslaved by the Phoenicians.^ The name Marazion may point to a bitter w^ail from captive Hebrews. And the prediction of Moses, when he spoke of the tribe of Zebulon as partaking of " the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand," ^ may have reference to their planting colonies on a distant sea-board, and digging metallic dust on the shores of Britain. Through the port of Cadiz did British Celts main- tain with Phoenicia a close and uninterrupted trade. From Tyre, Sidon, and other Mediterranean ports were brought into this country, in exchange for metals, commodities such as salt and pottery ; also flax and wool. The art of weavino; was carried west- ward. So was ornamental work in jewels. Foreign artists fashioned, of amber found upon the coasts, beads, perforated knobs, and brooches ; shells were converted into drinking vessels. In the days of Ossian drinking shells were " studded with gems." In memory of Eden, the early settlers in Mesopo- tamia consecrated groves, and worshipped under the canopy of oaks. Abraham, we are informed, " planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the Lord." 3 In the earlier times God was in the grove worshipped under the name of Baal, that is as master or possessor — the universe being regarded as 1 Joel iii. 4-8. ^ Pcut. xxxiii. 19. ^ Gen. xxi. 33. PREHISTORIC MODES. 1 1 his temple, the earth as his altar. As the benignant source of light and heat, the sun was revered as Baal's chief vicegerent ; latterly, the sun was called Baal and worshipped. Ashtaroth, or the moon, became " the c:oddess of the Zidonians." ^ The grove of worship originally stood in tlie sheltered vale. Next it was planted on the hill-side, afterwards on eminences. At length its shelter was dispensed with, and religious ceremonies were performed on high places, unsheltered and unenclosed. So degraded had become the Canaanitish votaries of Baal Peor, that not their worship only was proscribed, but them- selves doomed to extinction. To the Hebrews was the command given to destroy their altars " upon the high mountains, upon the hills, and under every green tree."^ Yet the rites of Baal proved a constant stumbling-block to the Israelites, and at the expiry of a thousand years, after the first public condemna- tion of the idol, it became needful for a prophet to express the Divine command, " Call me no more Baali." ^ From Mesopotamia, the idolatrous rites of Baal spread to India on the east, and by Phoenician traders were carried north-westward to Gaul and Britain. In the latter countries the j^riests of Baal were termed Druids — a word which, both in the Greek language 1 Kings xi. 5. ^ Exod. xx. 24-26 j Deut. xii. 2. 2 Hosea ii. 16. 12 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. and in the Celtic, signifies oaks or oak-worsliippers. In northern Europe Baal became a common prefix. Familiar in tlie Lofodclen Isles, to which the Phoeni- cians traded, it gave, through the same instru- mentality, a name to the Baltic Sea. Throughout Britain and Ireland, the prefix Baal or Bel occurs everywhere. There are Baal hills in Yorkshire. On the mountains of Moab and the hills of Philistia, sacrificial fires had blazed to the idol god. Bullocks were originally ofiered, but as degeneracy made its baneful progress, the votaries of Baal surrendered in sacrifice their sons and daughters. This " passing through the fire to Moloch " was especially condemned by the Hebrew prophets.^ Within the area of twelve Scottish counties may be traced on fifty hill-tops the remains of ancient fires. These fires exhibit a fusion of portions of the harder rock as in a reverberatory furnace. Described as vitrified forts, it is forgotten that such forts had no real existence. Nor do the sjDots at w^hich these fused masses are found exhibit any traces of structural arrangement. They were the scenes of Baal fires at which sacrifices were rendered to the sun and moon.^ " Eaise my standard on high," ^ Deut. xviii. 10; 1 Kings xviii. 23; 2 Kings xxiii. 10; 2 Chron. xxviii. 3 ; Jer. xix, 4, 5. 2 Large boulders, ascribed to volcanic origin, and scattered on northern moors, are popularly known as " heathens." May not these be the remains of Draidic altars or sacrificial heaps 1 PREHISTORIC MODES. 13 cried Fingal, "spread tliem on Lena's wind, like the flames of an hundred hills." The prevalence of Druidic sacrifices in North Britain is testified by existing usages. On Beltane (Baal's fire), or May-day, the Druids upon their altars celebrated the renewal by the sun of his vernal power. Two fires were kindled, one upon a heap of stones, the other upon the soil. Between these were passed the animals which were devoted in sacrifice. Human victims were enclosed in willow baskets, and in these cast upon the flames. Such practices are by existing observances ob- viously perpetuated. Through a perforated monolith at Burnham, in Yorkshire, also through the great stones of Odin at Stennis, sick children are on May- day passed by their parents, in the hope of cure. At the Beltane festival, observed in the northern counties, children kindle great fires, and, as part of a ceremonial, rush wildly through the flames. In the counties of Boss and Sutherland, young men formerly walked round the Baal fires carrying- branches of the mountain ash garnished with sprigs of heath. On their feast days the Druids carried about oak branches bearing the misletoe. Water boiled at Beltane fires is believed to acquire medi- cinal virtues. Cakes toasted at Baal fires are held to be spiritually sustaining. These fires were kindled by peculiar rites. On the evening of the 30 th April, 14 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. the usual fires were extinguished. Early next morn- ing men selected for the duty assembled secretly to raise teine-eigin, or need fire. They rubbed together portions of hard wood, or turned an augur in a dry log till fire was produced. Into fire so raised young men dipped torches, which they bore hastily to their respective villages, and thence to the nearest eminence. Horns were blown, and a procession formed. Formerly Beltane sports were continued from early morn till late at eve. In Scotland they can be traced to the time of James L, who reigned from 1424 to 1437. In his poem of "Peebles to the Play," James refers to the Beltane sports in these lines : — " At Beltane, when ilk body bounis To Peebles to the play, To hear the singin' and the soundis, The solace, sooth to say. By firth and forest, f urth they foun,^ They graithit them fu' gay ; God wot, that wald they do that stoun,^ For it was their feast day, They said Of Peebles to the play." Beltane rites, with the worship of the sun and moon, were condemned by Canute early in the eleventh century. The festival of Hallowe'en is, in the Highlands, per- 1 wend. 2 occasion. PI^EHISTORTC MODES. 15 petiuated by fires upon tlie li ill-sides ; aud iu the Lowlands by a course of domestic rites. As the feast of ingathering, Hallowe'en was formerly cele- brated at cairns, and hence is the harvest -home familiarly known as the him. Yule, the modern Christmas, was also kept as a Druidic feast ; the sun was then supposed to begin his increase. The two fires of Baal are perpetuated in a Gaelic proverb ; when, in the Highlands, anyone is in difficulty, or on the horns of a dilemma, he is described as " between the fires of Baal." In the practice of their rites British Druids in- dulgjed a course of lustration. Commemorative of the waters of the deluge purifying the earth, a peculiar reverence was attached to water proceeding from the clouds. Hand- washing in snow-water is, as an emblem of innocency, mentioned in the book of Job.^ Cisterns for rain water were prized by the Hebrews, and it was a pledge by Rabshakeh to the besieged of Jeru- salem that each would receive his own cistern.^ Rain water in different forms was, by the Syrians and Arabians, used in their religious rites. In Egypt, rain, which seldom falls, was collected in troughs, and appropriated to sacred uses. The Egyptians purified themselves with snow water. The Greeks used rain- water in their libations ; they also sprinkled them- selves with dew. ^ Job ix. 30. 2 2 Kings xviii. 31. 16 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. At their altars, the Druids used rain-water cisterns, which were scooped in rocks, also in flags and upon rocking-stones. From these, the priests, after perform- ing personal ablutions, sprinkled the people. Near these cisterns, we learn from Pliny, were grown certain plants which, immersed in rain-water, were supposed to yield healing qualities. Of these plants the more reputed were the selago and the samolus, or round leaved water-pimpernel. Before pulling the selago, the priest made per- sonal ablution and clothed himself in a surplice or white vestment. In rain-water in which the selasfo was dipped, sick children were bathed for cure. The leaves of the samolus were gathered by the priest fasting, and then plunged into a small cistern, for the cure of cattle. The more remarkable rock-basins of this country exist in Cornwall and South Wales. Of the former we are informed in his "Antiquities,"^ by Borlase; of the latter, by Leland in his " Itinerary." Borlase describes circumstantially the rock-basins of Karnbie Hill in the parish of Illogan ; also those on a group of rocks at Bosworlar, near Penwith. At both places the 1 " Antiquities of Cornwall," by "William Borlase, LL.D., r.R.S. Lond., 17G9; folio. To this erudite work, much too little known among northern antiquaries, we have j^leasure in referring. Those desirous of prosecuting the study of archaic customs ought to become acquainted with this book. PEEHISTORIC MODES. 1 7 basins are isolated, also in groups ; and are scooped in the level surfaces of rocks rising about twenty feet above the common level. The rock- basins of Cornwall vary from six feet to a few inches in diameter, and from three feet to a few inches in depth. Where the basins exist in groups they are connected by grooves, through which the contents of the upper cavities are conducted to those on a lower level, and ultimately discharged into the soil. Rain-\vater cisterns resembling those of Cornwall and South Wales are to be found in the rocks of Plumpton in Yorkshire. In a valuable paper on " Cup-marked Stones," ^ lately contributed to the Scottish Society of Antiquaries, Mr William Jolly, F.R.S.E., refers to several rock-basins discovered by him in Inverness-shire. Among these he found in a field near Fingal's Hill, at the head of Strathglass, a small block of hornblende schist, containing a basin six inches in diameter ; also in the old graveyard of Comar on the banks of the Beauly, two blocks of whinstone, each pierced with basins about eight inches in diameter. Near the " hut circles," in the Black Isle of Taendore (house of treasure), he found a stone embedded in the soil presenting a basin eight inches in diameter and of similar depth. And we learn from ^ Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1881-2 ; new series, vol. iv., pp. 482-6. B 18 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. the "New Stcatistical Account of Scotland" that at Kiltearn in Ross-shire there formerly existed near a meo;alithic circle a basin of the diameter of eio^ht feet.^ Four miles to the south of St Andrews, near the parish church of Dunino, is a rock basin, resembling in form those of Cornwall and Wales. Scooped in the level summit of a sandstone rock, which rises with perpen- dicular front towards the channel of a small stream, it is four feet eight inches in upper diameter, with a depth of two feet four inches. It receives its contents solely from the clouds, and is without any visible out- let. A mass of stones, which resembled those of a cromlech, lay on a portion of rising ground about forty yards to the eastward. This heajD was removed early in the century. In the locality of the basin the plant selago grows luxuriantly. A system of lustration lingers among the peasantry. On the morning of May-day country maidens ascend the hills to anoint their faces in dew, thereby to secure beauty and good fortune. Dij^piug in a tub for apples is one of the diversions at Hallowe'en. Another of these consists in three tubs being placed on the hearth, into one of which is poured clean, and into a second foul water, while the third is kept empty. From a given point a party of young bachelors advance blindfolded, each to dip a finger in one of the vessels. He who dips in the clean water 1 New Statistical Account, vol. xiv., p. 321. PREHISTORIC MODES. 1 9 lias augury of wedding a maid ; he who dips in the soiled water will many a widow ; and to the dipper in the empty tub is reserved a life of celibacy. By the early Christian teachers, rock-basins, as associated with Pagan mysteries, were discounten- anced, while wells of spring-water were recommended in their stead. At spring wells were converts bap- tised and received into the Church, and many wells are in consequence associated with the early teachers, and denoted by their names. Pilgrimages to wells were common at the period of the Eeformation, and the frequenting of wells supposed to be consecrated, was a prevalent custom of the seventeenth century. In some parts of the Highlands the practice con- tinues. In the east a small round pebble was worshipped as a symbol of the sun. By the Druids a water- worn crystal of oval shape was worn round the neck ; it was styled glan - nathair, or the adder- cleanser. Rain water, in which it was dipped, was held to possess the power of healing, and was with this intent sprinkled among the sickly. Amulets worn by the Druids were, when Chris- tianity was introduced, not thrown wholly aside. By St Columba a white stone or pebble was sent to the Pictish sovereign in token of his regard. To sceptres, maces, and pastoral staves were rock crystals affixed. An egg-shaped crystal is inserted in 20 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. front of the pendant part of the quigrich or crosier of St Fillan. The quigrich was, at the battle of Ban- nockbiirn, hekl up by the Abbot of Inchaffray, to encourage the Scottish army on the eve of conflict.^ Eock crystals, belonging to the families of Stewart of Ardvoirlich and Lockhart of Lee, were formerly believed to impart to water a healing efficacy. On the marmns of lakes and rivers are found balls of greenstone, also of bronze, which are associated with superstitious rites. In shape both round and oval, they vary in diameter from one and a half to three inches. Some are divided into hemispheres, ornamented with incised spirals ; others represent scrolls and zoomorphic emblems. Of Druidic authority, a chief symbol was the rocking-stone. In presence of a priesthood, who could move rocks by touch, their votaries trembled. Rock- ing stones are found at Druidic centres. They were styled dacha hretli, or stones of judgment. The rocking- stones of Cornwall and of the Scilly isles are of vast bulk. In Scotland the more con- spicuous dacha hreth are those at Kilbarchan in Renfrewshire, at Kells, Kirkcudbrightshire, and at Balvaird and Dron, Perthshire. The majority of these stones are artificially poised ; the others are natural. ^ St Fillan's crosier is now deposited in tlie Museum at Edin- burgh of the Scottish Society of Antiquaries. PREHISTORIC MODES. 21 Tlie rocking-stone seems to have suggested the cromlech or stone - in - suspension. Upon two or four upright stones or flags a few feet apart was placed a dolmen or cromlech. As the people passed under it, the Druid priest blessed and sprinkled them. In his "Antiquities," Borlase describes a remarkable dolmen at Constantino, in Cornwall. Placed on the points of two natural rocks in a manner so that a man might walk beneath it, the cromlech is 97 feet in circumference, and weighs about 750 tons. On the summit it is honey-combed into basins or cisterns. Within the megalithic circle, the cromlech was usually assigned a central place. In earlier times grove- worship obtained extensively. A space of ground, varying in extent, was secluded from common use and dedicated to religion. At Karnbie Hill, Cornwall, the scene of rock basins and other Druidic remains, appears an ancient enclosure equal to an English acre. About one hundred yards from the rock basin at Dunino is the parish church- yard, in which, about twenty years ago, was dug up the frao-ment of a Celtic cross : ^ while a farm-home- stead to the eastward is called Balcaithly — that is, Baal in the Jielcl — the farm-homestead on the west being designated Balelie, or Baal on the other side. At some distance to the north-westward is Pitandreich, 1 Stuart's "Sculptured Stones of Scotland," 1867, fol., vol. ii. p. 3, Plate IX. 22 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. the burial place of the Druids. At Diinino the reli- gious enclosure was probably two miles in circuit. Localities consecrated as groves or scenes of early- worship are known ^^ firtli-splots. The superstitious rites of the firth-splot long survived the rites with which it was associated. In the year 967, King Edgar forbade well-worshipping, and the superstitious usages of the firth-splot. But Scottish firth-splot practices proved a source of discomfort to the Church long after the Reformation. In some districts of the country the firth-splot is distinguished as the good man's croft ; in certain parts of the Highlands it is protected from tillage. By the early Celts were the dead buried within the enclosure of four flags capped by a fifth. The body was placed witli the knees drawn up to the chin, as in a sitting posture. Cairns or grave mounds were placed side by side, and being united became Barrows. A commemorative pillar stone was at first planted in the centre of the cairn ; subsequently, upright stones were placed in circular form upon its edge. The practice was introduced by the Phcenicians. At Bethel, Jacob commemorated his vision of angels by planting a monolith.^ By a pillar stone, enclosed by a heap, he at Galeed perpetuated his covenant with Laban.2 When Rachel was buried, he j)laced a })ilh^r upon her grave.^ At the base of Sinai Moses reared 1 Gen. xxviii. 18. ^ Qgn. xxxi. 45 52. ^ Gen. xxxv. 20. PREHISTORIC! MODES- 23 an altar, also twelve pillars, according to tlic number of the tribes.^ By twelve stones at Gilgal, Joshua commemorated the miraculous passage of the Jordan.'^ By a pillar at Ebenezer, Samuel celebrated a victory over the Philistines.^ In Bible lands the rearing of pillars, originally commemorative, came to be associated with the corrupt practices of Baal. Pillars so associated the Israelites were commanded to destroy.* ^> By means of their bronze wedges the Celts of Britain {.^^ readily broke up and separated the sedimentary rocks. ^ From distant quarries were brought rude but majestic >«Billars to surround the cairns of chiefs and heroes. In ^^ the progress of ages circles increased in circum- ference and in columnar dignity. Under pillars heroes were buried. Upon single arose concentric circles. Next followed circles in groups and with various intersections. Expatiating beyond their original firth-splots, the Druidic j^i'iesthood appro- priated to the purposes of their religion spots and erections hallowed in popular memories. The mega- lithic circle was converted into a sanctuary or place of worship. There sacrifices were offered, and a deluded people gratified by the sprinkling of heaven- descended water. Hecatseus, a Greek historian, who wrote five centuries before Christ, remarks that 1 Ex, xxiv. 4. 2 Joshua iv. 19-24. 3 1 Sam. vii. 12. ^ Deut. xii. 2. V" 24 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. Britain was remarkable for a magnificent sacred en- closure dedicated to Apollo ; also for a circular temple celebrated for its riches. The places so described were doubtless the megalithic structures of Avebury and Stonehenge. When, under the influences of the Christian faith Druidism had ceased, the megalithic circle was still recrarded with reverential awe. As places of sepulture, Avebury and Stonehenge were restored to their pristine use. At the great circle of Stennis in Orkney, interments have been conducted within the Christian period. Near megalithic circles were built the earlier churches, and on the practice of burial within these enclosures was engrafted the system of interment in the parish church. When the Highlander desires to be informed whether his neighbour has been at church, he uses words in his enquiry which literally signify, " Have you been at the stones *? " By exercising at cairns a religious ceremonial, the Druidic priesthood were designated carnach or cairn- worshippers. At cairn funerals they sacrificed oxen, and accepted animals for use at the public festivals. Appropriating to their rites the monumental circles, they protected the ashes of the dead, and thus secured the affection of the living. In eastern countries, where the early disposal of dead bodies is essential to health, arose the system of cremation, the cinerary remains being collected in PREHISTORIC MODES. 25 an earthen vessel or vase. This method preceded that of embalmment, which existed in Egypt so early as the time of Joseph, and in the adjacent countries was continued long afterwards. In Palestine, the remains of royal persons were burned on a funeral pile. Public contempt was evinced towards Jehoram, the wicked king of Judah, inasmuch that no burn- ing for him was made, "like the burning of his fathers." 1 By the Phoenicians the system of crema- tion was brou2:ht into Britain, and while it did not entirely supersede the former mode of burial, it became general. British cinerary urns, unlike those of Etruria,, were without ornament. Of circular shape, tapering towards the base, the common urn was about ten inches in height and eight inches in diameter. It was placed in the soil on its base, but occasionally with the mouth downward, resting on a stone. Along with it were deposited small vessels with food and drink ; also weapons, household implements, and per- sonal ornaments. Inosculating^ with the funeral urn is the cham- bered cairn, including stone passages by which the chambers may be reached. To the same age may be assigned the bell-shaped structures peculiar to the northern Celts. These erections, called Bothan (huts) in the Hebrides, are in southern counties styled Burians, and in northern Brochs; they are now 1 2 Chron. xxi. 1 9. 26 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. generally named hurr/hs or mud-liouses. The greater number are to be found in the counties of Sutherland and Caithness ; they are also common in Orkney and Shetland. Built of undressed stones and with- out cement, tliey present to the eye a circular mass of unbroken masonry. The walls, fifteen and twenty feet in thickness, contain within their compass cham- bers which open into a court. The court, accessible only by a passage through which a single individual might pass, w^as protected by a stone door, which no lever miolit dislodo;e. Nor would a forcible entrance into the interior court have much availed, since the intruders would have become victims to the besieged, by being smitten with missiles from the galleries and loopholes. Built upon the banks of rivers, also in the more fertile districts, burghs have been described as store houses. Within the ruins have been found weapons of bronze, and also gold ornaments, impressed with Christian symbols. The Celtic burghs were proto- types of the Christian bell towers, of which specimens remain at Abernethy and Brechin. During the Neolithic period defence against attacks was maintained by such gigantic earth- works as those of Eatlio and Lincluden. The chambered cairn was probably the prototype of the fortifications of Cathairdun (tlie place of judgment). Of the White Cathairdun, the circumvallating wall, of PREHISTORIC MODES. 27 undressed stone, is in breadth twenty-seven feet. But four and five circumvallating walls were not uncommon in Caledonian forts. They were ordi- narily approached by underground roadways, roofed with large stones, and which opened from a covered gallery, effectually concealed. The precaution which led the Phoenicians to build their city of Tyre upon an island induced their colonists who settled in Britain to suggest the cran- nog, and to construct it. In some of the larger lakes, crannoof- builders selected shallows or small islets, on which they raised platforms of clay and stone, supported by timber stakes. Upon these platforms they erected log dwellings, into which in times of peril they conveyed their stores. Scottish crannoo's were most numerous: their remains are found in the lochs of the southern and western counties ; also in the northern provinces, except in the two northernmost counties. Within crannog-islets have been found carved ornaments in bone and jet, also handles of deer horn, querns, and bronze imple- ments. In the Ayrshire crannogs have been picked up articles in wood-work, incised with Druidic sym- bols, and remains associated with the early Christian age. Crannog-building, from first to last, extended over a period of about fifteen hundred years. The crannog dwellers lived on venison, water-fowl, and shell-fish.^ 1 Dr Eobert Munro's work on " Ancient Scottish Lake Dwell- 28 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. The crannog preceded the stone-built castle, also surrounded by water. The earlier stone strongholds were built on islets, then on edges of lakes and rivers, and partly enclosed by them ; latterly in situations which admitted of fosse and rampart. The earlier means of offensive warfare were most imperfect. But the Phoenicians brought with them the war chariot ; every other mode of explaining the introduction of so destructive an appliance is unsatis- fying. The war chariot was an important ec[uipment in Philistian armies, and from the time of Joshua was much dreaded by the Hebrews. Brought into Britain it proved against the rebellious natives most for- midable and resistless. The British war chariot was balanced so as not to overturn. Studded with spears, it was among the enemy's ranks driven furiously. Ossian thus describes the chariot of CucliuUin — " The car, the car of war, comes on, like the flame of death ! the rapid car of CuchuUin, the noble son of Semo ! It bends behind like a wave near a rock — like the sun-streaked mist of the heath. Its sides are embossed with stones, and sparkle like the sea round the boat of night. Of polished yew is its beam ; its seat of the smoothest bone. The sides are replenished with spears ; the bottom is the footstool of heroes ! Before the rio-ht side of the car is seen the snortinof horse. ings," published in 1882, maybe advantageously consulted. This work forms an important addition to our archaic literature. PREHISTORIC MODES. 29 Tlie high-maned, l3road-breasted, proud, wide-leaping, strono; steed of the hill. Loud and resoundinof is his hoof ; the spreading of his mane above is like a stream of smoke on the ridge of rocks." When, in a.d. 80, Agricola led the Roman legion- aries into Caledonia, he made an easy conquest of a people ignorant of his approach, and therefore unpre- jDared to resist him. But the conquerors of the world soon found that the inhabitants of the north were more formidable antagonists than the Britons, who had already succumbed to the Roman yoke. Accord- ing to Tacitus, the Caledonians were large limbed and otherwise resembled the German races. Inter- mingling with the Ugric race which had preceded them, they also shared the blood of the Scandinavian vikings. At the battle of the Grampians, fought on the heights of Ardoch, they effectively wielded the war chariot, and though ultimately defeated by a people whose profession was conquest, they continued to wage with their invaders a ceaseless conflict. A chain of forts raised by Agricola between the Forth and Clyde, did not prevent combined resistance against the common enemy. Nor did the rampart reared A.D. 120, between the Tyne and Solway, nor the wall between the Forth and Clyde, erected twenty years later, depress the ardour of a valorous people. They refused to acknowledge the supremacy of a race, strange to them in manners and religion, and when 30 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. after an occupation of three centuries and a half, the Romans retired, their language and habits remained unchanged. Yet the Romans occupied the country with benefit to the natives. By their axes were cut down the forests, and by their implements were morasses drained and embankments formed against intrusion by unfenced waters. They interlaced the country with roads and causeways. Upon the hills they introduced fallow-deer, and into enclosures, the domestic fowl. They imparted a knowledge of the culinary and ceramic arts. To the present day a model of the Roman camp-kettle is found in the hroth-pot of every Scottish cottage. Prior to the Roman invasion, the Fins, a migra- tory race, passed over Northern Europe. Of these, one or more tribes settled on the eastern sea-board. There they constructed underground habitations, or eirde houses, where they lived in concealment. Remains of eirde dwellings are frequently discovered in the counties of Forfar and Aberdeen, within one or two miles from the shore. In character they are nearly uniform. There is a central chamber con- nected with narrow and winding galleries. The sides are formed of rude stones, and the roofs of boughs and sods. Of short stature, the occupants corre- sponded with the svartalfer, a small dark people, named in northern sagas. By Tacitus they are described as poor and mean. In the eirde house are PREHISTORIC MODES. 31 found round stones for pounding grain, but no speci- men of the quern or hand-mill. To the existence of their occupants may be ascribed the superstitious notions of bro^^^lies and hobgoblins with subterraneous homes and capricious habits. About the year 423 the Romans finally withdrew from Britain, when both on the eastern and western shores appeared a new and adventurous race. Of this race, the Sarmatian founders had from the shores of the Danube and of the Euxine pene- trated northward, ultimately effecting settlements between the Baltic and the extremities of the north. The Scandinavians, as they were called, proceeded to exercise their enterprise and employ their energies upon the ocean. From the period of the Fins, they made inroads upon our northern shores. Inlets in which they harboured are to the present day known as wicks ; not a few localities, are so named, such as Aberbrothwick on the east coast, and Prestwick upon the west. By intermarriage Scandinavian settlers and the Cruithne became as a single people. From their Norwegian homes, a body of Scandi- navians planted themselves in Antrim, along its northern shore. By the Cruithne they were designated Sgeadaich, clothed, in allusion to their woollen garments. Their place of settlement was styled Dal- riada, from the words Dal and ruadli, which together signify the plain of the red-haired. 32 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. The Sgeadaich or wool-clotlied settlers at Antrim formed an alliance with the Picts, and crossing to Kintyre, only fourteen miles distant, assisted them against the Romans. At length, as we learn from Tighernach, the Irish abbot, they, in 498, under the leadership of Fergus Mor Mac Earca, found outlet for their increasing numbers, on the south part of Argyleshire, north of the Clyde. That new settle- ment embraced the districts of Cowall, Kintyre, Knap- dale, and Argyle, including the isles of Isla, lona, and Arrau ; it also was called Dalriada. The people were now called Scots. Converts to the Christian faith, prior to their advent in Argyle, the Scots hailed the advent of St Columba, and as a home, granted him lona. This was in the year 563. By the Scots was the Irish apostle made known to the Pictish king, who listening to his teaching, embraced the Christian faith. Already had the southern Celts, the people of Strathclyde, accepted the Gospel, through the labours of St Ninian. No sooner had the Scots settled on the western shore than the Saxons began to occupy the coast from the Humber to the Forth. Their settlement was effected without bloodshed, for the invading races were by the Caledonians regarded as brethren rather than as strangers. In planting the southern counties, the Teutons commemorated the previous occupants, by retaining their place names. The hills near Edin- PREHISTORIC MODES. 33 burgh were named by them as those of PcntLand or Pictland ; and to the channel between the mainland and the Orkneys they gave the name of the Pentland or Pictland Firth. With a view to conciliation, the immediate fol- lowers of St Columba, and other early apostles of the Christian faith, sought to engraft the new religion ou the modes and observances of the old. Christian worship was therefore conducted at cairns and in caverns, also at circles and cromlechs. At ancient firth splots were reared chapels and churches, and portions of ground were there laid out for burial. Even in the mode of interment the converts to the faith of the Gospel did not abolish pre-existing customs. In the graves were deposited the orna- ments which the deceased had worn in life. Gentle- women were buried with their fino;er - rin^s : the higher clergy in their robes, and with ecclesiastical insignia. As in Pagan times, charcoal was strewn upon the remains. Vessels of holy water and per- forated vases of incense were placed in the graves. Incense vessels were so deposited up to the fourteenth century. In tracing the progress of Druidic rites, we have hitherto left untouched the subject of archaic sym- bolism. The more ancient symbols on cup-marked stones may be traced from the Pyrenees to Scandi- navia. Abounding largely in Britain they are espe- c 34 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. cically common in tliose localities associated with the Celtic race. Cup-marks, or round and oval indentations in rocks or in slabs, vary from 1^ to 3 inches in diameter, and in depth from half an inch to 1^ inches. They appear both singly and in groups. One or two pits on a wide surface are not uncom- mon, while on a small slab or rock surface these may be traced by hundreds. These archaic marks appear chiefly on the softer rocks, but they are also incised in granite, porphyry and mica-schist. They are common on cromlechs, the stones of cairns, and megalithic circles. Cup-marks are at times environed by circular grooves, while two adjoining cups, enclosed by circles, are united by a groove. Some concentric circles present seven rings with a groove passing through each, from the centre to the extremity.^ Whence the origin and purpose of these archaic sculptures ? In common with the cup-markings have been found at Ohio and Kentucky the polished stone piercers which produced them, and it may therefore be affirmed that they are not less ancient ' For most important and interesting details respecting the cup-marked stones of Scotland, see Papers by Sir James Y. Simpson, Bart.; J. Eomilly Allen, Esq.; and William Jolly, Esq., F.R.S.E., in the "Proceedings of the Scottish Society of Anti- quaries," vol. vi., appendix i. ; vol. iv., new series, pp. 79-143, 300401. PREHISTORIC MODES. 35 than the transition period of the bronze age, which followed the Neolithic. On the other hand, cup- marked stones are built into the petrified structures of Laws and of TajDpoch, implying that at the period of the Eoman invasion these symbolisms were forgotten. In this country jDit-marked stones are unassociated with the national legends. But the Swedish peasantry call the pits elf-stones, and place in them needles, buttons, and other small articles as offerings to the elves. A similar belief exists in Prussia, where pit marks are still sculptured on the walls of churches. In comparing cup-marked stones with the rock- basins of Cornwall and Wales, with which they inosculate, there appears an identity of origin. The sculptures are sacred books, which the awe-inspired worshipjDer was required to revere and, probably, to salute with reverence. A single circle represented the sun, two circles in union, the sun and moon — Baal and Ashtaroth. The wavy groove passing across the circle pointed to the course of water from the clouds, as dis- charged upon the earth. Groups of pit marks pointed to the stars, or, more probably, to the oaks of the primeval temples. At its next stage symbolism is more significant. The prevailing symbol is the double disc or spectacle ornament. The discs are united, not by a groove, but a zig-zag. Not improbably the protot\'pe is an arm 3'6 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. bent at the elbow ; the zig-zag developed into a broken spear with floriated terminals. The crescent is a common symbol. If in the double disc we remark a representation of the sun and moon, in the crescent we recognise the moon only. As a symbol the crescent appeared at first simple and alone, subsequently as penetrated by a zig-zag or broken spear. At the third stage of archaic art we are presented with zoom Orphic figures, also with representations of articles in household use. Amono- the animals of an oriental type are the serpent and griffin, each imper- sonating evil ; also the Asiatic elephant, embodying sagacity and strength. The serpent pierced by a spear may symbolise that evil has been overcome. The comb and mirror are symbols associated with women. By the early Celts females were held in honour, as preserving the continuity of families. In the superstitious rites of Hallowe'en a comb and mirror are still used by females as divining symbols. On stone monuments in the Hebrides is represented a mermaid holdinor a comb and mirror. The mermaid is still regarded in the isles with a sujDcrstitious reverence. Associated with the mermaid on Hebridean monu- ments is the galley of the Scandinavian viking, its prow and stern standing high above the deck, on which are displayed a mast and rigging with furled sails. PREHISTORIC MODES. 37 According to Camden, Greek traders brought into Britain articles of merchandise about 160 B.C. To this era the introduction of iron may be assigned. When iron became in common use, cremation was superseded by burial in enclosed chambers, in which the bodies were extended at full length. Upon the tombs of chiefs were incised representations of battle- axes and unbarbed shields, and on the tombs of females, scissors in the form of sheep shears — that is, working from a spring. When Christianity w^as publicly accepted, sculp- tural forms underwent a material change. In pre- Christian monuments no symbol was duplicated, and figures were incised and of single lines, without any decorative accessories. Sculptures were engraved on one side only. Dedicating to sacred uses the pillars associated with an archaic creed, the early missionaries adorned them with Christian symbols. The figure of the cross was incised on the walls of caverns, and sculptured on sandstone blocks, which were laid on the graves of notable persons. In the sculptured memorial stone the cross occupied a central place, to which other symbols were subordinated. As archaic sculptures disappeared, there were introduced figures of armed warriors, horses, and war chariots ; also of animals in all varieties of shape. Sculptures were no longer incised, but made in relief, and on both sides. 38 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. The Celtic memorial cross was reared at first to denote prominent fields of missionary labour. Thus were commemorated the ministrations of St Columba, St Cuthbert, St Kentigern, and St Briged. Sub- sequently the cross was placed to mark boundaries, also to commemorate the virtues of noted chiefs and perpetuate national events. The period of the sculptured stone cross extends from the seventh cen- tury to the tenth. Its conception was wholly Celtic. Symbol stones are unknown both in the Scottish and Irish Dalriada, also in Saxonia, or the Northumbrian kingdom, which extended to the Forth. The Celtic cross was, on the other hand, common to the Irish Celts and the northern Picts — serving to establish their common origin and general identity. In addition to its distinctive symbolism, the celtic stone cross exhibits a style of ornamentation singu- larly ornate. In its double and triple roll mould- ings, spiral and diagonal figures, and its ribbon and lacustrine patterns may be discovered some traces of the zig-zag, the concentric circle, the wavy groove, the crescent and the double disk. In the interlaced tracery may also be distinguished the willow plait- ing of the ancient coracle, the celtic wicker-basket, and the rude framework of the earlier Christian church. Yet the more 2;raceful combinations of the Celtic pattern cannot be explained by any PEEHISTORIC MODES. 39 reference to native models. The flowing lines, tlie flamboyants, and otlier graceful devices were pro- bably bronglit into Britain by Etruscan traders, who in quest of amber are known to have sent fleets into Northern Europe from Mediterranean waters. Inosculatinn: with the celtic memorial cross is that elaborate ornamentation which appears in the Book of Kells and other Irish MSS. Decorative art was from Ireland borne to lona by St Columba, who by an accomplished scribe, whom he retained, instructed others. As each Columban monastery was founded, a skilled illuminator was placed upon the monastic stafl". When Aidan and his brethren penetrated into Northumbria, they carried with them an accomplished scribe, and hence by Saxon hands in the monastery of Lindisfarne were executed those illuminated gospels, with which the history of that institution is so memorably associated. The decorative art used in adorning MSS. and memorial stones was also applied to metals ; it appears on maces and pastoral staves, also on the decorated shrines which encased the hand-bells of Christian missionaries. By Julius Caesar we are informed that the Druids made use of the Greek letters. But writing was rarely indulged. On their memory they preserved the metrical chronicles, which they taught sedu- lously to their disciples. One third of this priestly 40 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. order were bards, some of whom composed religious odes, while others in song commemorated their annals. According to Diodorus Siculus, who flourished half a century before the Christian era, the Celtic bards accompanied their verses on an instrument, which resembled the lyre. From an eastern source the Druids obtained their songs and music. Yet the Phoenicians, from whom they immediately derived, were not musical. May not the coronach sung at cairns, latterly at Christian interments, have proceeded from that people who in captivity at Babylon hung their harps upon the willows ? Who in the strains of Ossian may fail to remark the fervent imagery of the Hebrew prophets ? These combine the same thrilling words, the same love of nature, similar metaphors, and like forms of speech. Ossian laments __ that the words of the elder bards had come to him *' only by halves." His warriors light as do " con- tending winds." Battles dart from his hero's eyes, and upon beams of fire ride the ghosts of the departed virtuous. In the leafless grave of Lochlin, the poet marks " five stones " which guard the warrior's cairn. He sings of " the circle of Loda," and cele- brates " the mossy stone of power." Ossian flourished sixteen centuries ago, and Koman legionaries might not subdue his voice. His father, the valiant Fingal, had contended with Caracalla, " Caracul, son of the PREHISTORIC -M^^Sr 'r' 'I^^T^T^. 41^ kinsT of the world." His son Oscar- conflict with the emperor Ca:i;Qi|sius, of ships." What Ossian in the third Christian century initiated, was by a long line of bards, actively per- petuated. The minstrel survived the ancient priest- hood, with which he was associated. Successors of the son of Fins^al flourished in the halls of chiefs. Their minstrelsy has perished, but the legends created by their fancy remain. When Borlase composed his " Antiquities," upwards of a century ago, the Welsh bards assembled yearly at Bala in Merionetlishire, where sixty or seventy harpers discoursed music to words of their own com- posing, though few could write or even read. At the close of the century, there was in the Highlands an organised system of pipe music. Every clan had its minstrel ; every chief his bard. When, in 731, Bede completed his history, the country to the north of the Forth retained its Pictish inhabitants ; it was known as Alba or Pictavia. The Scots of Dalriada in Argvle retained their former limits. South of the Forth was Saxonia, with its Teutons ; while Galloway in the south-west yet represented the ancient Cimbri. Two centuries later ensued important changes. On the coast had Danes and Norwegians made warlike incursions. Wresting from the Celts the islands of Orkney and 42 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. Shetland, they there j)lanted colonies. In the year 794 the monastery of lona was wrecked by Scandi- navian pirates, who thereafter ravaged the adjacent isles, till, becoming masters of the Hebrides, with a por- tion of the mainland and the Isle of Man, they incor- porated the whole into a new kingdom. Impoverished by lengthened conflicts, the Pictish monarchy under- went slow yet sure decay. The red-haired Scots of Dalriada pushed to the east and north. At length, in the tenth century, the entire country was named Scotland. At the court of King Malcolm Canmore, his queen, the Saxon Princess Margaret, introduced the apparel and culture of the south. For the Gaelic tongue, which Scandinavian settlers had used hereto- fore. Queen Margaret substituted the Saxon speech. During the reigns of her sons Edgar, Alexander, and David, the Teutonic dialect spoken south of the Forth rapidly spread northward, till in the twelfth century the Saxon tongue overspread the eastern low- lands. Under King David, Saxon and Norman families made settlements in the country, while with the money received for royal charters the king reared and endowed great churches. In the twelfth century the kingdom of Strathclyde, and in the thirteenth that of the Isles, owned as sovereign the Scottish king. The Celts retired to the uplands ; those who lingered became serfs or labourers. CHAPTER 11. DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. In tlie Locli of the Clans in tlie county of Nairn, out of which the water has been drained, appears an oval chamber, enclosed by a stone wall ; this seems to have been lined with wood. The roof and floor were of undressed oak. The crannos; had beo-un to merse into the castle. The structure in the Loch of the Clans presents a wall twenty feet in extreme width, while the interior chamber is eighteen feet long, sixteen broad, and ten high. These measurements point to its existence at or before the Roman period. But the Celts reared forts of timber long afterwards. If we except the burghs and caers, latterly built of stone, the chief strongholds were up to the tenth century formed of lo2;s. Forts and great houses of timber existed in Morayshire till the thirteenth century. Mansions and strongholds of stone began to prevail in the eleventh century. Prior to the war of inde- pendence, the state of architecture in Scotland and England was nearly identical. In an interesting publication, the Marquess of Bute 44 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. lias described the manor-liouse of the thirteenth cen- tury as " a tower of massive strength, about three or four storeys high, with one room on each storey ; the ground floor a vaulted cellar, the first floor a sort of general kitchen and living-room, with stone vaulting between or above them ; then the single private chamber, appropriated to the lady of the house and her family ; the whole crowned with a high-pitched roof, covered with shingle, through which the shaft or shafts of the chimneys pierced up into the air. The hall," adds the Marquess, " was the main feature of houses of this period ; and indeed, besides the ordinary offices of stables, byres, store-houses, and such like, and a larder or pantry — doubtless near the kitchen, there seem to have been only two domestic apartments of any importance — the kitchen and the private chamber — for the use of the family." ^ The Border and other towers of the fourteenth cen- tury were, in the lower walls, twelve feet thick. There was a lower room or vault in which cattle were kept safe against marauding hordes. Access to the dwelling was obtained by a ladder which was thrown down from an entrance on the second floor ; the place was otherwise impregnable. By a circular newelled staircase within the walls were reached the upper rooms. At all points the structure presented em- 1 "The Early Days of Sir William Wallace," by John, Marquess of Bute, Paisley, 1876, 4to, p. 31. DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 45 brasures or narrow loop-holes for admitting light, and, in the event of attack, for discharging upon the assailants arrows or musketry. Ground-floor apartments were vaulted ; the upper rooms also were occasionally arched. The doors were backed by ponderous interlaced or cross-barred iron gates, secured by bolts, which passed into the wall. In Norman structures, timber was unused. Slates also were absent, the roof being constructed of stone. By means of a small opening in the substance of the wall, proceeding from the lower storey to the hall or family room, communication with the kitchen was maintained by rope and pulley. The fortified towers of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries lack ornament, being formed solely with a \iew to strength. Like the latter burghs or stone dwellings, castles were constructed with subterranean or vaulted passages. By a vaulted passage in the Castle of Kildrummy, the horses of that fort could, during a siege, be conveyed for water to a neighbour- ing loch. Every fort had a draw-well. The well usually occupied the centre of the court ; at an earlier period it was dug under the tower, from which water was by pulleys brought direct into the hall. Sculp- tured fountains were occasionally reared ; one of these, in the court of Linlithgow Palace, was especi- ally ornate. Some castles of the fifteenth century were made 46 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. to enclose an area of tliree and four acres. The larger structures stood near the banks of lakes or rivers, and were otherwise environed by ditch and rampart. Cas- tellated structures, such as Glammis Castle, may not be identified with any particular age. From dark, low, round-roofed vaults, thick walls, and narrow orifices in the lower storey, they in the upper apartments, pass into the castellated style of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In fortified structures of the fifteenth century, are included a great hall with an arched roof; also ranges of corridors and passages and vaults, strong, deep, and gloomy. AVith the sixteenth century, Scottish native archi- tecture began to blend the sterner features of the French and Flemish styles. Dwellings hitherto built of mud and timber, were reared of stone ; these varying in height from three to twelve storeys. Houses of the latter height were placed at Edinburgh along the lofty ridge proceeding from the rock-fenced fortalice to Holyrood Palace. Subsequently prevailed the French style with its princely towers, coronetted turrets, sharp gables, dormer windows, and richly decorated mouldings. In the English manor-house, plastering and white- washing of interior stone-work were common in the thirteenth century ; in Scotland these modes were not introduced till considerably later. AVhen plaster was introduced the ceilings were ornamented with that DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 47 white pargettecl work wliicli is found in Moray House, also in the mansions of Pinkie, Winton, and Gkammis. These decorations usually represent scriptural or classic subjects. Till gypsum or plaster of Paris came to be used, the walls of the hall or principal chamber were covered with cloth, of which two folds concealed doors worked in iron, which protected the entrance. On the lower part of the walls wainscotting was adopted ; in the fifteenth century it was nearly uni- versal. The walls in the upper parts were by Flemish artists painted in fresco with heraldic devices, or adorned with Arras tapestry. When in the fourteenth century Arras hangings were first imported, they were used in royal residences solely. Deemed precious, they were borne from one palace to another. Eoyal arras were of wool and silk, interwoven with gold thread ; they were embroidered with devices, which included leopards, falcons, and eagles. During the sixteenth century and subsequently, the principal apartments were surrounded with oak, and so long as this style prevailed, the painted decorations of the former period were covered with boards. The painted Gallery of Pinkie House, 120 feet long, and lighted by a fine oriel window, has its timber- lined walls adorned with Latin and other inscrip- tions ; also with paintings of classic scenes. Towards the close of the seventeenth century, dining-halls and reception rooms were ornamented 48 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. with a covering of leather, stamped and gilded. This material, a Spanish invention, was originally imported; it latterly was manufactured at Edinburgh. Painted glass, though known in the twelfth century, was not used in domestic architecture. The window of the ancient manor-house admitted lio;ht and air together. With the view of promoting ventilation, while excluding draughts, windows were ranged high on one side of the apartment. Externally present- ing a narrow aperture, they splayed widely towards the interior. If the orifice was large enough to admit intruders, iron bolts or stanchions were built into the wall. Occasionally strong shutters were attached to the outside, which, by a simple contrivance, could be closed and made secure. Prior to the use of glass, a coarse fabric resembling canvas was, both in churches and private houses, stretched across the casements. Glass casements became common in the fourteenth century. Of small weight, they were carried from one dwelling to another ; in the portable baggage of the sovereign ^ they were uniformly included. When glass window frames were made stationary, the uj)per part only was glazed, the lower being supplied with timber folds. Early domestic furniture was of simple construc- tion. Benches and settles of solid timber w^ere placed along the interior walls. During the fifteenth century ^ "Treasurer's Accounts,'' vol. i., preface, cc.-cciii. DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 49 these were, in tlie better houses, covered with arras. The clease or dais, a seat with a support for the back, was occasionally provided with a canopy. One sort of dease, by a process of folding, might be changed into a table. The dining-table was of plain timber, the boards being moveable ; these were in the fifteenth century covered with silk, but afterwards with damask. In primitive times, the huist and amhry stood in the principal apartment — the former a plain oaken chest, the latter a cupboard. In the buist were stored superfluous hangings, and the other napery of the household ; the ambry contained the family jewellery. The cupboard was pioneer of the modern sideboard ; an erect open cabinet, on its shelves rested the house- property, both in gold and silver. From the top, under a canopy of carved oak, were suspended tapestry or arras. There were other articles, such as the hoyne or hoivie, for storing liquor ; the bossie, a large wooden dish ; the maivn, a bread basket ; the hcmkoiir, or wool cushion for chairs of state ; and the dorseur, or wall- covering. Among the officers of the royal household was a keeper of the wardrobe. Assisted by yeomen and grooms, he bore the contents of the wardrobe and cupboard in the royal progresses. The bedsteads which, in the fifteenth and sixteenth D 50 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. centuries, were used by the king and barons, were magnificent and costly. To tlieir large frames, richly carved by foreign artists, were affixed hangings of embroidered silk. According to a notable tourist, Scottish bedsteads in the sixteenth century " were like cupboards in the wall, with doors." ^ Blankets in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were of fustian ; sheets of fine linen. Bed-pillows were covered with silk or fur or cloth of gold. The beds were of flock, but more commonly of the skins of animals, spread upon heath or rushes. The bed which Lord Darnley occupied at Kirk o' Field, at the time of his death, in 1567, was of violet velvet, with double hangings, braided with gold and silver. Officers of the royal household and the chief attendants on the nobles had bedsteads carried into their apartments each evening, and from thence removed before breakfast. Baths were introduced by the Romans, and were used in North Britain at an early period. They were common in the thirteenth century. Moveable baths, with canopies and hangings, were in the sleeping apartments of the opulent introduced two centuries later. Wash-hand stands, surmounted by tanks, were placed in bedrooms. Prior to tlie fifteenth century fire - grates were 1 *' An Itinerary, written by Fynes Moryson, Gent." London, 1G17, I'ul. ji. 156. Moryson was in Scotland in 1598. DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 51 unknown ; tlie smoke which issued from the fire on the hearth found egress by a wide opening in the wall which narrowed towards the roof Fires were in superior dwellings formed of logs and broom. Broom was used chiefly in the kitchen ; it was planted near the principal homesteads, and every seven years was cut down for fuel. It was then built in stacks, each stack containing twelve cart- loads.^ Peats were used in farmers' houses, also by the poor. Coal was first worked by the monks of New- battle, in Midlothian. To the monks Leger de Quinci, Earl of Winchester, granted the coalfield situated between the burn of Whytrig and the lands of Pontekyn and Inveresk. As de Quinci was created Earl of "Winchester about 1210 and died in 1219, the date of the gift is ascertained. The coal originally showed itself on the surface of the sea-clifl", and the seam was followed wher- ever the level allowed. The monks of Dunfermline soon afterwards worked coal in their lands of Pinkie and Inveresk.^ But "black stone," as coal was at first called, was for more than a century after its discovery burnt chiefly by the peasantry. Ad- ^ In 1750 green broom sold for three shillings per cart-load; it was then used solely for kindling. 2 " Sketches of Early Scotch History," by Cosmo Inncs, Edinburgh, 1861. 8vo, pp. 131-133. 52 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. mitted into the manor- liouse as kitchen fuel, it was, when logs became rare, consequent on the planta tions being cut down, brought into tlie hall. At length the demand so increased beyond the power of inexperienced miners to procure a steady supply that the cost became excessive, and the Privy Council fixed the price at seven shillings per horse- load. This occurred in 1621, but consequent on resistance by the coal-owners, the provision was modified. On the introduction of coal followed the invention of the fire-grate. The fire-grate was at first placed in the centre of the hearth ; fireplaces of stately proportions were subsequently constructed. These were profusely adorned with graceful mouldings, also emblazoned with the family arms and grotesque figures. At the fireplaces of plastered rooms were presented rich sculptures, bordered by pillars supporting human figures extending upward to the ceiling. The Earl of Stirling's manor-house at Stirling, in 1632, displayed in its oak-panelled hall a massive chimney-piece pro- fusely gilded. The houses of the principal merchants of the seventeenth century were ornamented with neatly carved chimney-pieces. Not infrequently were the designs incorporated with the initials of the owner and his wife, along witli family mottoes and Scriptural maxims. Lengtliy inscriptions, in prose and verse, imiiiediately over the fireplace, were not DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 53 nncommon. An EnMisli tourist remarked the fol- o lowing quaint poetical inscription over a fireplace, with the date 1694 : — "As with the fire, So with thy God do stand ; Keep not far off, Nor come thou too near hand." In districts remote from the coalfields peat fuel was procured in the marshes. The farmers of the Abbey of Cupar were bound to dig peats, and to convey them to the monastery ; they also stored the abbey granaries with decayed roots and fallen branches. For " the ovens of the monastery " the monks of Cupar cultivated a park of broom in the vicinity.^ Domestic state was much observed. In the fifteenth century the royal household had as chief ofiicers the master, the steward, the treasurer, and the comp- troller. Other jDrominent ofiicials were the carver, the cupbearer, the eleemosynar, the armourer, the physi- cian, and the apothecary. An establishment of cor- resj^onding dignity existed in the manor-house. Each baron and knight had squires of attendance, carvers, servers, cupl^earers, henchmen and pages. Many of these were young persons of birth, as early service under one of higher rank was agreeable to the laws of chivalry.^ In his castle or keep the Highland chief ^ " Eental Book of the Abbey of Cupar." Grampian Chib 1879-80. 2 vols. 8vo. Vol. II., xvi. xix. 1G8. 2 " Treasurer's Accounts," Vol. 1., preface, cxc, cxci. 54 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. of tlie fifteenth century accommodated his henchman or secretary, his bard, his spokesman, his sword- bearer, his carrier- over-fords, the leader of his horse, his baggage- bearer, and his principal piper. The henchman was an indispensable officer at a period when leaders of clans disdained to use an instrument so feeble as the pen, and were not ashamed to confess an entire ignorance of letters. Those duties which the henchman discharged with the pen, the bard fulfilled by his voice ; he sang old ballads and composed new, each tending to induce the chief to emulate the piety and the generosity, but more especially the gallantry of his ancestors. The bard's office was hereditary ; be was allowed a portion of land, in the best culti- vated portion of the estate. In Galloway, the dignity of territorial magnates was, up to the commencement of the eighteenth century, ceremoniously maintained. In his " MS. History of an Ayrshii^e Manse Household," Professor Josiah Walker remarks, that Sir Archibald Kennedy, Bart, of Culzean, " maintained the establishment of a gi'eat hereditary chief of the elder days, with his hall and chapel, and host of retainers." In ancient Scotland, venison was among the upper classes held in much regard. The hart was shot with arrows or hunted down with a rough greyhound, known as the deerhound. When the pursuit of game had menaced the extermination of tlie deer, the Act DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 55 of 1367 was passed, whereby the striking down of game — both beasts and birds — with culverings, cross- bows, and hand-bows was prohibited.^ Durinof the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, tlie abbot and monks of Cupar reared their own cattle, and in addition to money and grain, received as rent from their tenants, calves, lambs, hogs, and kids ; also geese, capons, and other domestic fowls. Through their fowlers, the monks of Cupar secured for their larder the wild-goose, the crane or swan, the partridge, the plover, the dottrel, the curlew, the wild- duck, the red -shank, the lapwing, and the teal.^ Eabbit warrens under charge of " warrenders," were preserved everywhere. In these hares and rabbits were secured as food for the inhabitants of towns or the better class of yeomen. The bittern, heron, solan- goose, and other coarse birds, were allowed to the peasant and the wayfarer. Taylor, the water poet, who visited Scotland in 1618, in describing the food of nobles and knights whom he accompanied in hunt- ing, mentions " venison, baked, sodden, roast, and stewed ; mutton, goats, kid, hares, fresh salmon, pigeons, hens, capons, chickens, partridge, moor- cocks, heath-cocks, capercailzies, and termagants." The capercailzie was found in Perthshire in 1651, but 1 " Acta Pari. Scot.," iii. 26. 2 « Rental Book of the Abbey of Cupar," XL, 203. 241. 254, and jjassim. 56 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. soon thereafter disappeared, till restored in our own time in the Breadalbane plantations.^ Fish abounded in estuaries, lochs, and rivers. In the thirteenth century were supplied to the royal table salmon, the royal sturgeon, the lamprey, and the porpoise, both fresh and cured. In 1424 an Act was passed prohibiting the slaying of salmon from the Feast of the Assumption (15th August) until the Feast of Saint Andrew (30th November). Her- rings from the western, and eels from inland lochs were especially valued. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries shell-fish was much in use. At the banquet which followed the baptism of Prince Henry at Stirling Castle in 1594 were presented herrings, whitings, and flounders, along with " oysters, buckles, limpets, partans (lobsters), crabs, spout-fish, and clamms."^ Prior to the fifteenth century, colonies of fishers from Flanders efi'ected settlements at St Andrews, Auchmithie, Findon, and other localities on the east sea-board ; also at Cellardyke, Buckhaven, and Newhaven, on the Firth of Forth. Their descendants retain some peculiar habits, including a reluctance to unite with other races. 1 Innes's " Early Scotcli History," Edin., 1861, 8vo, p. 387. 2 "A True Eepartarie of the most triumphant and royal accomplishment of the Baptism of Frederick-Henry, Prince of Scotland, solemnised the 30 day of August 1593." Edinburgh: R. Waldegrave. DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 57 Prior to tlie sixteenth century, Scottisli culinary utensils were rudely constructed. At table, the nobility and gentry used knives and spoons only. The dinner fork was not quite common at the Union of the Crowns. The ordinary dinner knife was known as the Jochteleg, so called from its original manufiicturer, John of Liege. When in the seventeenth century knives and forks were deemed essential to comfort, ministers and physicians carried pocket knives and forks folded in leathern cases. After use in eating, these were wiped with the table napkin, and replaced in the pocket. Dessert knives and forks of silver were also made portable ; gentlewomen carried them in their reticules. At the dawn of history the drinking vessels were of shell. In the third century Ossian refers to potent liquor as "the strength of the shells," and as composing "the shell of joy." He refers to " shells studded with gems." From the ninth century till the twelfth, drinking vessels were com- posed of horn and timber. The methir, a wooden vessel from six to twelve inches high, and containing from one to three pints, was used anciently both in Scotland and Ireland. Includino; a handle at each side, it was cut out of the solid timber, the bottom being inserted in a groove. A silver-mounted methir is preserved in Dun vegan Castle. Pewter drinking vessels were used in the fourteenth century ; 58 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. also silver tankards. Thereafter were used goblets or bowls, known as skales. The tassie, or cup, was common in the seventeenth century. In the houses of bonnet lairds and tenant farmers glass vessels were even a century ago rarely to be found. A liquor- loving border laird, Armstrong of Sorbie, who flourished early in the eighteenth century, facetiously remarked that "it was a better world when there were more bottles and fewer glasses." The furniture used in the sixteenth century and subsequently is represented in the public inventories. In the lease by Alexander Macbroke of the abbot of Cupar's seat at Campsie Craig, dated 6th July 1551, the lessee becomes bound, on twenty-four hours' notice, to provide for the abbot and his brethren and household, four feather beds and four other beds, along with towels and table-linen, broom and other fuel. He also pledges himself to furnish " pottis, pannis, platis, diseliis, and utheris neces- sary s."^ James Campbell of Lawers, a considerable land- owner in the county of Perth, died in 1723. His principal apartments were adorned with arras, of which the most costly set are valued at £24 sterling ; " blue and yellow hangings " in his own chamber are estimated at £10. The hano-ino-s are described as of " damask " and of " Mussclburgli stuff." Five 1 "Kontal Book of tlie Abbey of Cupar," ii. 68-71. DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 59 bedsteads with curtains are valued at £36 eacli. " Seven tables big and small," with " two kitchen tables," are unitedly valued at £7, these being of native timber. Chairs are estimated at one guinea each ; some are described as " black-coloured," others as of " leather," others as " in kain." Chests of drawers were usually adorned with carvings. Two chests at Lawers are together valued at £60. The silver plate included " fifteen silver spoons, a large silver gravy spoon, a porringer (soup basin), two salters, six forks, six knives, two servers (salvers), and three casters " (cruet vessels). These together, deducting the knife- handles, weighed 9 lbs. 10 J ounces, which, valued at five shillings an ounce, brought a total amount of £421, 10s. Many of the culinary articles, also the bedroom ware, were of pewter. Mr Campbell's watch and gold seal, together with his wife's earrings, are valued at £240. Among the articles of napery are included thirty-five table napkins.^ In Celtic times the chief and his family sat in the great hall at a central table ; their dependants, armed as if on guard, forming a wider circle, and regaling themselves on long benches raised very slightly above the ground. At table all were waited upon by boys and girls. When eating was finished, the chief called for a glass of liquor, when all drank. At these feasts women were duly honoured, and were allowed to leave ^ " Dunblane Commissariot Kegister," vol. xviii. 60 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. early. During tlie entertainment bards repeated their compositions, using tlie harp to serious airs, the pipe to those which were mirthful. In the fourteenth century the king and barons had two principal meals — dinner and supper. The former was served at eleven o'clock a.m., the latter at five P.M. Queen Mary dined at noon ; her husband, Lord Darnley, when alone, dined at two. Queen Mary was supping in Holyrood Palace on the 9th March 1566 between five and six o'clock, when in her presence David Eizzio was assailed and slain. James VI. dined at one o'clock. At the commencement of the eighteenth century, the chief citizens of Edinburgh dined at one p.m. Two o'clock was the ftishionable dining hour a century ago. From 1806 to 1820 gentlemen of rank dined at five ; at six up to 1840, and from that date till 1800, at half-past six and seven. Latterly the genteel dining hour has been fixed in winter at half-past seven, and in summer at eight o'clock. The present dinner hour in "good" society is half-past seven. The gong which for a century has intimated that dinner has been served, had its precursor in the trum- pet or horn. During the seventeenth century, when dinner was announced, the ladies proceeded from the drawing-room together, the gentlemen in single file following them. When all had reached the dining- room, each gentleman selected a lady as his associate DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 61 and took a seat at her right hand. An attendant then handed to each guest a silver basin, another following with towels. The ceremony of di])ping the fingers in water was rej)eated when dinner had closed. In the earlier times two persons ate together from the same plate. Anciently of wood, the j^lates were afterwards of pewter, latterly earthenware became universal. When less gentility was affected, each guest received as his platter a barley bannock, which at the close of the entertainment he thrust into an alms-basket which was carried round. Anciently one drinking vessel sufficed for the more costly liquors, and it was passed from hand to hand. James I. (1424-1437) employed a French cook, but the cuisine at his court has not been ascertained. For some particulars as to the mode of dining in genteel society at the latter part of the sixteenth century, we are indebted to Moryson, the English traveller. Moryson, who visited Scotland in 1598, remarks that the Scots " eat much red cole wort and cabbage, but little fresh meat, using to salt their mutton and geese, which made me more wonder that thev used to eat beefe without saltino-." . . . He adds, "Myself was at a knight's house, who had many servants to attend him, that brought in his meat with their heads covered with blew caps, the table being more than half furnished with great platters of porridge, each having a little piece 62 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. of sodden meate. And when the table was served, the servands did sit dovvne with us, but the upper messe, instead of porridge, had a pullet with some prunes in the broth. And I observed no art of cookery or promotion of household stuffe, but rather rude neglect of both, though myself and my com- panion, sent from the Governour of Barwick about bordering affaires, were entertained after their best manner. . . . They vulgarly ate harth cakes of oates, but in cities have also wheaten bread, which for the most part was bought by courtiers gentle- men and the best sort of citizens. . . . They drink pure wines, not with sugar as the English, yet at feasts they put comfits in the wine, after the French manner, but they had not our vintners fraud to mix their wines." ^ On tlie 23d May 1.590, the Danish gentlemen who to this country had attended Anne, Queen of James VL, were entertained by the magistrates of Edinburgh at a formal banquet. The feast was celebrated in a hall in the Cowgate belonging to the Master of the Mint, and of which the walls were hung with tapestry. But while the tables were decorated with elegant napery and " flowers and chandlers," and there was a display of great vessels, and the contents of the city " cupboards," the viands consisted of "bread and meat, with ^ Moryson's "Itinerary," Part iii. p. 15. DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 63 four binns [casks] of beer, four gang of ale, and four puncheons of wine." ^ In the seventeenth and early in the eighteenth century a genteel dinner was constituted in this fashion : — Barley-broth was served first ; it consisted of the liquor of beef, boiled with colewort and thick- ened with barley. The beef was rough-grained, since cattle were fed only on the natural grasses. Cole- wort raised without manure was, when imperfectly boiled, somewhat unpalatable. Neither milled nor scaled, pot barley was bruised in a trough, rubbed with a coarse cloth, and partially winnowed. All sorts of fish were in use, save salmon and grilse, which, deemed common, were reserved for export- ation or preserving. Cabbie-claw, consisting of cod- fish served with horse-radish and egg-sauce, was in high favour. Oysters and other shell-fish were welcomed. A goose and ducklings and baked pigeons were much relished. Greatly in request was friar - chicken, a dish formerly common in religious houses ; it consisted of chickens cut into small portions, and boiled with eggs, parsley, and cinnamon. Equally popular was cocky - leeky — a well-fed cock boiled with young leeks. Mutton boiled with cauliflowers, turnips, and carrots, was held as a special delicacy. Eoasted fare was un- common, since the only instrument used in broiling ^ Chambers's "Domestic Annals," i. 199. 64 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. was a spit, turned by the younger handmaiden, and occasionally by a dog. The entertainment was fol- lowed up l^y a haggis, marrow-bones, cheese, and fruit. In the kitchens of Highland chiefs, venison was prepared for the table in a fashion revolting to modern tastes. The use of fire was dispensed with, steaks or slices being compressed between two battens of wood, so as to force out the blood. During dinner, liquor was used sparingly. So long indeed as the ladies remained in the dining- hall excess was eschewed. But there was a signal toast, on the proposing of which the ladies with- drew. Eighty years ago, the signal toast at Glasgow was " the trade of Glasgow and the outward hound;" in Fife, when a Lady Balgonie was a celebrated toast, the travesty " Lady he-gone-ye " was adopted. Few guests remained sufficiently sober to rejoin the ladies in the drawing-room — those who restrained drinking, and returned to their female friends, were pronounced effeminate, Moryson relates that on his visit to Scotland in 1.598 he found that the country people and mer- chants were inclined to excess, and that persons of the better sort spent the greater part of the night in drinking " not only wine, but even beere." ^ Referring to the convivial practices of the last cen- tury, Dr John Strang writes, " The retiring of a guest ^ Morysou's "Itinerary," Part iii. 156. DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. Go to the drawing-room was a rare occurrence indeed ; and hence the poor lady of the house was generally left to sip her tea in solitude, while her husband and friends were getting royal over their sherbet."^ A century ago, post-prandial talk was rough and unseemly, while the songs and tales sung or spoken were utterly licentious. When the ladies had left a punch-bowl was brought in. In form and capa- city this vessel resembled the English wassail-bowl. It was in early times charged with mulled claret, but its contents latterly consisted of whisky mixed with hot water and sugar. Whisky was introduced in the bowl at the rate of half a pint for each guest. The liquor was mixed with a silver spoon aflBxed to a whalebone handle. The contents of the ladle corresponded with the size of the drinking vessel, which was considerably larger than those now in use. The use of punch bowls ceased about sixty years ago ; thereafter each one was allowed to prepare his liquor in his own mode. Crystal goblets with silver ladles, or earthenware mugs with a small crystal pestle were substituted. To each toast a bumper was demanded ; while, in evidence that it had been drunk, every guest turned up his glass. " To drink fair " or " without hedg- ing " was a special commendation. Toasts were 1 " Glasgow and its Clubs," by John Strang, LL.D. Glasgow : 1857, p. 42. E 06 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. numerous. On public and political occasions the Sovereign, the Army, and Cabinet Ministers, also local maofnates were toasted with Hio;liland honours. In rendering these honours, each guest, glass in hand, mounted his chair, and placing his right foot on the table named the toast, — then drinking off his glass cheered lastily. Sentimental toasts, to each of which a glass was drained, were such as these, "May ne'er waur be amang us," "The Land o' Cakes," "Horn, corn, wool, and yarn," "May the honest heart never feel distress," " May the mouse ne'er leave^ the meal-pock wi' the tear in its e'e," *' May the pleasures of the evening bear the reflec- tions of the morning." In some companies the ladies were privileged before retiring to share in a species of toast-giving, which occasioned merriment. At the call of the host one of the company named an unmarried lady ; another guest named a suitor for her, and both were toasted together. During the seventeenth, and the earlier portion of the eighteenth century, after-dinner drinking was protracted for eight and ten hours. AVhen a bachelor gave an entertainment he was expected to continue the jollities till all his guests were helplessly intoxicated. In 1643 Henry Lord Ker, only son of Robert, first Earl of Roxburgh, died at Perth "after ane great drink." His premature death led to the famous lawsuit of 1808-1812, the DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 67 result of wbich gave the Dukedom of Roxburgh to Sir James Innes. In his " Journal " Lord Cockburn relates an anecdote communicated to him by the celebrated Henry Mackenzie. " Mackenzie," his Lordship proceeds, " was once at a festival at Kil- ravock Castle, towards the close of which the ex- hausted topers sank gradually back and down on their chairs till little of them was seen above the table except their noses, and at last they disappeared altogether and fell on the floor. Those who were too far gone to rise lay still from necessity ; while those who, like the Man of Feeling, were glad of a pretence for escaping fell into a dose from policy. AVhile Mackenzie was in this state he was alarmed by feeling a hand w^orking about his throat, and called out. A voice answered " Dinna be feared, sir, it's me." "And who are youl" "A'm the lad that louses the craavats."^ When, at a later period, Grant of Lurg was dining at Castle Grant, he w^as heard soliloquizing on his way from the dining-room, " Oich ! Oich ! this is the first time she ever dined at Castle Grant, and was able to gae up the stair by hersel' ! " At the country mansion, when guests had come from a distance, and were expected to tarry for the night, convivialities were protracted till early 1 "Journal of Henry Cockburn." Edinburgh, 1874. Vol. II., 67. 68 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. morn. On these occasions all were borne to tlieir bedrooms by stout attendants retained for tliis service. The attendants were recompensed by vails, or gratuities, offered by retiring guests. That each visitor might have an ojoportunity of tendering a valedictory offering, the attendants waited in the hall in single file. Vail-tendering was a costly office, and those gentry whose rent-roll did not justify the bestowal of handsome largesses after a feast, declined invitations and remained at home. At leno^tli the evil increased to an extent which rendered the possibility of accepting hospitality the privilege of only a few. A farce called " High Life below Stairs" was, about the year 1750, pro- duced on the boards at Edinburgh. The scourge of satire applied to their exactions aroused the footmen to desperation. Seventy of their number subscribed a missive addressed to the manager of the theatre, informing him that in order to suppress the satire they had resolved to make strong sacrifices. When the farce was again produced they, by a noisy demonstration, interrupted the performance. But their combination was repressed ; and while already the landed gentry of a great northern county had prohibited their servants from accepting vails the gentlemen of Edinburgh issued similar commands. For a century vail-giving has ceased. The last act of manorial hospitality was enacted DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 69 on tlie lawn. Lawns wonderfully resembled each other. Decorations were in the Dutch fashion — plants of holly and box being shaped into grotesque figures of men and animals. In front of each mansion was on the lawn constructed a platform of masonry — the loupiri-oii stane. From this stone gentlemen mounted their horses, and as they did so were supplied with the doch-an-dorius, or stirrup- cup. Drunk from a quaich/ or wooden cup, it was otherwise known as a bonalay, from the French bonne alUe. The bibulous propensities of burghal and rural magnates were a source of constant disquietude. Ministers and elders inveighed against their practices, as in a more formal manner did Presbyteries and Synods and other public bodies. In 1625, the Town Council of Aberdeen ordained that no person should, at any public or private meeting, presume to compel his neighbour at table with him to drink more wine or beer than what he pleased, under the penalty of forty pounds.^ This edict was needful, since for many years prior to its being passed com- pulsory drinking was rampant. To prevent " shirk- ing," or reluctance to drink, a rule obtained in Perth- shire that if the glass was not emptied the offending guest was compelled to drink to the same toast a ^ A timber bowl with two ears. 2 "Kennedy's Annals of Aberdeen," i. p. 176. 70 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. second time from a full cjlass which was presented to him. The practice was called " Keltic's mends." Some hosts got the feet struck from their wine- glasses. Mr William Maule, of Panmure, late in the eighteenth century, locked the door upon his guests, and then passed round bottles so constructed that they could not stand ; as these could pass only from hand to hand drinking was continuous. Another Forfarshire laird who had followed his guest, a London merchant, to his bedroom with a bottle and glass, was met with the remark that his " hospitality bordered upon brutality."^ Fashion imposed strong fetters. An anecdote is related of a dinner at Foss in Perthshire, given on a Sunday afternoon, being protracted till the sound of the church bell on the morning of the following Sun- day awoke the party to reflection. At Cambo, Fife- shire, a branch of the noble house of Erskine main- tained a perpetual dinner party, from which guests might retire, subsequently to return. When Colonel Monypenny of Pitmilly was about to proceed to India to take command of his regiment, he called at Cambo to express an adieu. Mr Erskine was at dinner ; but the Colonel, who was invited to join the party, speedily retired. On his return from India, four years afterwards, the Colonel again waited 1 Dean Eamsay's " Eeminiscences of Scottish Life," 20th ed., 1871, p. 55. DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 71 on Mr Erskine, who was still dining. Unconscious of his friend's long absence, he asked the Colonel to " take his chair, and pass round the bottle." These convivial practices, now difficult to realize, were common in rural mansions in the days of our grand- fathers. About a century ago a custom prevailed at Edinburofh known as "savino- the ladies." When after any fashionable assembly the male guests had conducted their fair partners to their homes, they returned to the supper-room. Then one of the number would drink to the health of the lady he professed specially to admire, and in so doing empty his glass. Another gentleman would name another lady, also drinking a bumper in her honour. The former would reply by swallowing a second glass to his lady, followed by the other, each com- batant persisting till one of the two fell upon the floor. Other couples followed in like fashion. These drinking competitions were regarded with much interest by gentlewomen, who next morning enquired as to the prowess of their champions. By the famous Henry Erskine this degrading practice was stoutly resisted. He composed in ridicule of it a scourging satire, which thus concluded — " So the gay youth, at midnight's frolick hour Stung by the truant love's all-conquering power, Vows from damnation her he loves to save, Or on the floor to find an early grave ; 72 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. Among the table's feet supine to lie, And for Miss Molly's sake to drink or die."^ At every social meeting imprecation was common. Lord Cockburn remarks, that swearing was, in his youth, deemed " the right and mark of a gentleman." " The naval chaplain," he adds, "justified his cursing the sailors, because it made them listen to him. In the army it was universal by officers towards soldiers ; and far more frequent than is now credible by masters towards servants." ^ The heir who swore lustily at the feast celebrating his majority, was regarded as possessing a jocund nature and amiable manners. " A young Scots woman," writes Dean Eamsay, *' while lamenting that her brother used oaths, added, apologetically, ' Nae dout it is a great aff- set to conversation.' " A century ago, Lady Wallace, sister of the celebrated Jane Duchess of Gordon, produced several dramas, which contained passages so freely expressed, that they were refused the Lord Chamberlain's license. For their own convenience and that of their fjuests, Highland chiefs provided hostelries, or places of entertainment, in convenient centres. To the laird of Glenurchy, in the sixteenth century, Hew Hay and Cristiane Stennes undertook to keep a hostelry at 1 " Life of Hon. Henry Erskine," by Lieut.-Colonel Alexander Fergusson. Edin., 1882; 8vo, pp. 116, 117. 2 " Lord Cockburn's Memorials," p. 32. DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 73 Cagell, " with sufficient ale, and bread and other furnishing, at all times in readiness to serve the country."^ By religious houses, hospices were in the adjacent towns leased on condition that strangers as well as their own members might be lodged and entertained. By the Cistercian Abbey of Cupar were owned two hospices at Perth and one at Dundee. The Abbey also provided " spitals " or houses of refreshment in isolated localities. These were leased with the condition that food and provender were kept for man and horse.^ James V., in 1535, en- joined innkeepers to supply flesh, fish, bread, and ale at the usual rates ; also to provide proper stabling.^ During the eighteenth century, bargain- making was negotiated chiefly in the taverns. There, too, lawyers met their clients, and physicians advised with their patients. At Patrick Steil's tavern in the High Street of Edinburgh, politicians assembled in 1706 to devise measures against the Union. In the public inns at Edinburgh, gentlewomen, a century ago, accompanied their male friends to oyster suppers. From the Tliane of Cawdor's narrative of his travelling expenses in 1591, we obtain some particu- 1 Innes's " Sketches of Early Scotch History," Edm., 1861, p. 385. 2 " Eental Book of Abbey of Cupar," vol, i. xlvii. 145 ; vol. ii. viii. 64, 206, 2 Chambers's " Domestic Annals of Scotland," iii. 575-1. 74 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. lars as to the cliarrjes at inns durino: the sixteenth century. For a quart of ale the thane paid 2s. ; for a quart of wine, 13s. 4d. ; for a mutchkin of whisky, 5s. A wheaten loaf cost him 8d. His bedroom per night was charged 6s. 8d. The cook, porter, and chamber- maid severally demanded 6s. 8d. for four days' attend- ance. For the same period of service the waiter was paid 15s} Epicurism was repressed. In 1551, "in order to the eschewing of dearth," it was provided that the lieges should be restricted in diet, each according to his degree. To an archbishop and earl were allowed eight dishes of meat ; to abbots, lords, priors, and deans, six ; to barons and freeholders, four ; to burgesses, three. The prohibition of flesh during the season of Lent, though ignored by Presbyterians, was by the Privy Council periodically renewed. On the 12th February 1561, the Council ordained that " none of his Graces lieges tak upon hand to eit ony flesche in ony tyme heireftir, quhill the said xxix. day of Marche next to cum, except sik persons as ar vesit with extreme sicknes."^ To the prohibition a preamble sets forth " that in the spring of the yeir called Lentyme, all kyndis of flesche debilitattis and decayis and growis out of seasoun that thai ar nocht 1 Innes's " Sketches of Early Scottish History," 1861, 8yo, pp. 523-527. 2 Acta Pari. Scot., ii. 488. DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 75 tlian meit for eating ; and als, that be the tempestu- ous stormys of the last winter and utheris precedand, the hale guclis are sa trakit, smorit, and deit, that the prices of the flesche ar rissin to sik extreme derth that the like has nocht bene sene within this realme ; and gif sik derth continue it will be to the greit hurte of the commone weill thairof." In March 1567, the Act was repeated, on the plea that "it is convenient for the commoun weill that thai [animals] be sparit during that tyme, to the end that thai may be mair plenteous and bettir chaip the rest of the yeir." ^ Inasmuch as " throw troubles past and the insolence and delicacie of sundry folkes the law has been contempnit and planelie violat thir diverse years bipast,"^ the Privy Council repeated the enactment in 1574. It was continued from 1576 to 1578, but licenses were granted to particular families, dispensing with the restriction. In February 1585 all licences were revoked, and decree was given that none further should be granted without a testimonial subscribed " be ane phisitioin and twa honest wit- nesses of the aige, seiknes or infirmitie of the per- sones sutaris." ^ Proclamation was, in February 1586, made at Edinburgh, prohibiting the cooking or eating 1 " Register of the Privy Council of Scotland," voLi. pp. 200, 611. 2 Ibid. ii. 337, 500, 593. s Ibid. iiL 722. / 6 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. of flesh in " tyme of Lentren, also upon Wednesdayis, Frydayis, and Satirdayis." ^ The prohibitory enactment was in force in 1635, for in that year a license, subscribed by the Lords of Exchequer, was granted to Thomas Forbes of Water- toun, and his spouse, servants, and guests, permitting them to eat flesh in Lent, also on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays weekly "for the space of one year."^ Assemblies of the lieges for political purposes were disallowed. But social gatherings were much in vogue. The birth of an heir to an estate was, by the tenantry and domestics, celebrated for a course of days. When a member of the laird's family was about to leave home, he received hi^foy (feu-de-joie), that is, his parents handed him a sum of money to be expended in entertaining his friends. The majority of an heir was a chief occasion of festivity. At a suc- cession banqueting was limitless. One could not be properly invested in his ancestral inheritance without the verdict of a jury, the for- malities attendant upon which were accompanied by an entertainment. The process of sasine, that is, of giving an heir corporal possession of his lands by the delivery to him or his representative of eird and ^ " Eegister of the Privy Council of Scotland," vol. iv. p. 49. 2 Memoranda relating to the Family of Forbes of Waterton, from a MS. of the deceased John Forbes, born 1754. Privately printed at Aberdeen, 1857. DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 77 stane, otherwise, earth and stone, was also followed by feasting. About a year after he had got settled in liis inheritance, the new landowner gave a great dinner. This was usually accompanied by a noisy demonstra- tion. At Forfar, ninety years ago, succession banquets were closed by athletic exhibitions, the stronger guests attempting to throw the others across the table. Keck- less persons would occasionally toss about the furni- ture and fracture it. Among the Caledonians the love of music amounted to a passion. A piper is represented among the early sculptures of the abbey of Melrose. This abbey was founded by David I., in 1136, but the sculptures belong to the fourteenth century. To the pipers of David II. was made in 1362 a payment of forty shillings.^ James I., in his poem of " Peebles to the Play," celebrates bagpipe music in these verses : — • " The bag-pipe blew and they out-threw Out of the townis untauld ; Lord ! sic ane schout was thame amaug Quhen they were owre the wald. * * • * With that Will Swain came sweitand out Ane mickle miller man ; Gif I sail dance, have done, let se Blaw up the bagpipe than." In form, the bagpipe ranged from the small instru- ment of Northumbria with its mild notes through the warlike dron of the northern Highlands, to the higher ^ Exchequer Eolls, il, 115. 78 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. and perfect forms of the Western Isles. Pipers from England performed at the Scottish Court in 1489, but native pipers were afterwards retained, both by the sovereign and the nobles. During the eighteenth century every considerable Scottish burgh kept a piper as one of its burghal stafif. In 1800 a piper is named among the public functionaries at Perth. There are three hundred pibrochs or pieces of pipe music. Schools for instructing novices in piping, styled '' colleges " by Dr Johnson,^ existed at Skye and Mull, and professional performers enrolled them- selves under the government of a chief, who issued rules for their guidance.^ In "The Howlat," a poem composed in 1453, twenty-three musical instruments are named ; some of these were moved by the breath, others by percussion, others by twanging, others by the bow.^ Devoted to the musical arts, James III. invited skilful artists to his court. The lute-player was a prominent officer of his household ; he wore a livery of green. To Dr William Rogers, an English musician, eminently proficient in his art, James gave many benefactions ; he converted the Chapel Eoyal at Stirling into a musical college, and constituted him its president. He dubbed him knight, and granted 1 "Journey to the Western Islands," pp. 237-239. 2 " History of the House of Moray," 1827, 4to., p. 275. 3 " The Buke of The Howlat," Edin., 1823, stanza 59. DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 79 him a seat in the Privy Council : procedure which disgusted the nobles. At their hands, in 1482, Eogers was with other royal favourites cruelly slain. Cherishini]: musical tastes, James IV. endowed the musical college erected by his father. He brought vocalists from Italy, tabroners from France, and harpers and trumpeters from England. A lover of melody, James V. performed exquisitely on the lute, and entertained at his court musicians, both instrumental and vocal. Queen Mary employed a choir in which David Ei/zio was bass singer. The queen also re- tained at court a company of youths who played upon the viol. The or^an or re2:als existed in the fourteenth century ; it is the subject of a sculpture in the abbey of Melrose. The instrument was of two forms, the stationary and portable. The portable instrument, styled the portative, was borne in royal progresses. Stationary regals were placed in churches, and used in worship.^ Prior to the Reformation, organs of superior construction erected in the principal churches were played by skilful performers with liberal salaries. The harp was in early use by the Celtic race. In May 1490, an Irish harper received at the king's command, a bounty of eighteen shillings. In 1496 and 1497, James Mylsone the harper. Pate the harper, and Fowlis the harper, and the " harper with a (one) ^ Treasurer's Accounts. 80 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. hand " were rewarded for playing at court.^ Two harps which formerly belonged to John Stewart of Dalguise, Master of the Supreme Court at the Cape of Good Hope, are now in the Museum of the Society of Scottish Antiquaries. The larger harp is known as Clarshach Lumanach, that is, the Lamont Harp; it was brought from Argyllshire by a daughter of the family of Lamont, on her marriage in 1464 with Eobertson of Lude. It is thirty-eight inches in length, and in width eiohteen and a half inches. There are thirty-two strings and five holes. The box, which is hollowed from one piece of wood, is at the top thirty inches in length and four in breadth. Kespecting the other harp, there is a tradition that when Queen Mary was on a hunting excursion in Perthshire in 1563 she presented it to Beatrix, daughter of Gardyn of Ban- chory, whose family is now represented by Gardyn of Troup. Miss Gardyn married Findla More, from whom the families of Farquharson and Lude descend ; the harp fell to the Lude family. The length of this harp is thirty-one inches, and from front to back eio-hteen inches. On the box and comb are 2:eometri- cal decorations, accompanied with some fine foliagi- ous scroll work. On the two sides of the bow are circular spaces with figures of animals and other orna- ments. On the front of the comb are the remains of nails which fastened decorations, and which are said to * Treasurer's Accounts. DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 81 have included Queen Mary's j^ortrait set in jewels.^ The Scottish harp was at length superseded by the violin, and the sinecure choristers of the Chapel-Royal permanently disj^ensed with. A taste for o|)eratic music was created by the Duke of York when, as High Commissioner in 1681-2, he kept court at Holyrood. Though his musical demonstrations were condemned by the Church and denounced by the multitude, they were acceptable to persons of taste, and when the excitement attending the Revolution had allayed, a desire for the renewal of dramatic music grew and prevailed. On the 10th January 1694, one Beck, with several associate musi- cians, conducted a great concert at Edinburgh. This was followed by the feast of St Cecilia, a concert of vocal and instrumental music held on the 22nd November 1695. On this occasion the performances included pieces by famous Italian masters, such as Corelli and Bassani, which were executed by first and second violins, flutes, and hautbois — the open piece giving seven first violins, five second violins, six flutes, and two hautbois. Of thirty performers, eleven were professional persons, the others being gentlemen amateurs. Of the amateurs, several were expert players on the violin, flute, and harpsichord.^ Among ^"Proceedings of Scottish Society of Antiquaries," EJin., 1881, vol. XV., pp. 10-35. ^ " Dissertation on the Scottish Music," by W. Tytler, Esq. of Woodhouselee. Archceologia Scotica, i., 4G9. 82 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. tlie professional musicians were persons destined to become further associated with the national melody. In creating a taste for music at Edinl)urgh, Henry Crumbden, a German, was much noted. William Thomson, a young performer at St Cecilia's Feast, produced in 1725, the well known collection of Scot- tish Songs with music known as Orpheus Caledonius. Another performer, Matthew M'Gibbon, had a son William, who produced in 1 742 a collection of Scottish tunes, which attained celel3rity. Among other ardent promoters of music at the beginning of the eighteenth century were Robert, Lord Colville of Ochiltree, one Steil, landlord of the Cross Keys Tavern, Gordon, a vocalist, and Adam Craig, whose collection of tunes for the harpsichord or spinet, published in 1730, eminently conduced to the progress of melody. In 1728 was formed at Edinburgh the Musical Society of St Mary's Chapel, consisting of seventy members.^ At Edinburgh in 1762 two hundred gentlemen con- tributed to the erection of an assembly room, for the practice of music. This structure, designated St Cecilia Hall, was reared at the junction of the Cow- gate with Niddry's Wynd, a locality which was at the time a fashionable centre. In reference to St Cecilia Hall, Lord Cockburu writes : " There have I myself seen most of our literary and fiishionable gentlemen, predominating with their side curls, and frills and 1 Chambers's "Domestic Annals," iii., 89, 139, 432-5. DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 83 ruffles, and silver buckles ; and our stately matrons stiflfened in their hoops and gorgeoua satin..; and our beauties with high -heeled slioes,' powdered- and ponijtv^ turned hair, and lofty and «ompasite^ b,ead-dresses;""L' All this was in the Cowgate/'iWlast. retreat iiMir-a- days, of destitution and disease. "^""~-'-S£..,/^^i:j^ p By Herodian, and other ancient writers, the people of North Britain are described as half-naked. Their unclothed limbs they discoloured with woad ; they also painted with mineral pigments. From the fifth century both Celts and Scandinavians made their garments of fleeces. The art of weaving was known in the eighth century. In the reign of David I. (1124-1153), woollen cloth was manufactured in every province. During the fifteenth century, a desire for superior attire prevailed generally. This induced the enact- ment by Parliament in 1430 of a sumptuary law, specifying that no person under knightly rank, or having less than two hundred merks of yearly income, should wear clothes made of silk, or adorned with superior furs. And in 1 45 7 the Parliament of James II. declared that " the realme is groatumlie pured throwe sumptous claithing baith of men and women ;" it was consequently enacted that "na man within burgh that lives be merchandise, bot gif he be a person consti- tute in dignitie as alderman, or baillie or uthir gudc 1 Lord Cockburn's " Memorials," p. 29. 84 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. worthy men, that ar of the council of the towne and their wives, weare claithes of silk nor costly scarlettis in gownes or furrings with mertrickes." Daughters of traders were not to use gowns " with tailes unfit in length nor furred under, bot on the Halie-daie." Labourers and husbandmen were enjoined to " weare on the wark daye bot gray and quhite, and on the Halie-daie bot licht blew, greene, and redde and their wives richt-swa and courchies of their awin making, and that it exceed not the price of xi pennyes the elne." It is added, " As to the clerkes (clergymen), that nane weare gownes of scarlet, nor furring of mertrikis, bot gif he be ane person constitute in dignitie in cathedral or colledge kirk, or else, that he may spende two hundreth merkes, or great nobiles — or doctoures." During the fifteenth century and subsequently, male attire consisted chiefly of these articles, a gown, a doublet and hose. These, as accorded with the sumptuary laws, were fashioned in materials of varied quality. A special gown was used on horseback, but ordinary vestments were of two kinds — the long and short. The long gown was open in front, reached to the feet, was fashioned with or without sleeves, and was gathered round the waist by a girdle. In a long gown of broad cloth were comprehended about five ells — an ell measuring thirty-seven inches — or of narrow cloth, as in velvet, satin, or damask, from DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 85 eight to fifteen ells. James V. wore a gown of cloth of gold, whicli on the hood and front was adorned with 49,500 " orient pearls." Gowns were lined witli ermine, also with satin and velvet ; and were edged with rich and costly trimmings. The short gown — also the gowns used in riding, were lesser garments, the former embracing from six to nine, and the latter from five and a half to nine ells of narrow cloth. Like the gown, tlie doublet was composed of materials suited in quality to the wearer's rank. The sovereign wore a doublet of satin or velvet, also of leather. A close-fitting garment, the doublet might be used without sleeves ; a doublet with sleeves was trimmed with small or narrow ribbons. Worn partially open, the doublet had under it a silk waist- coat richly embroidered, and resting upon a stomacher of satin or velvet. Riding, hawking, and hunting coats or doublets and jackets, reaching to the haunches were fashioned for the king and courtiers. Hose were a species of pantaloons, which fitted closely to the limbs and were attached to the waist- coat by strings or laces tipped with metal, called points. One descrij^tion of hose covered the feet, with soles attached ; others reached to the ankles, others only to the knees, where they were joined by leggings and gaiters. Hose were of varied hue, the right and left sides presenting such contrasted 86 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. colours as red and yellow, green and red, or wliite and black. In walking out a tippet or short cloak was used. This anciently lay on the shoulders like the modern cape ; it was latterly extended till it enclosed the person. A hood was attached. A disposition on the part of gentlemen of rank to clothe expensively was not readily overcome. At his marriage in 1711, a gentleman of fortune paid £340 Scots for two suits, including; a nio-ht-sfown and a suit to his servant.^ Till the period of the Eevolution, gentlemen in the lowlands carried walking -swords ; highland chiefs wore dirks and pistols. In the unsettled condition of the country the custom may have been permissible, but it was frequently attended with broils. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries gentlemen's head- coverings consisted of caps, hats, and bonnets. Caps made of cloth and furnished with flaps to cover the ear, were used in riding ; hats were composed of beaver. The hat-piece, a coin of James VI., produced in 1591, represents the style of hat used at that period. Bod nets were of scarlet or black cloth, and fitted closely to the head. The feet were protected by sandals, called millings, made of untanned sealskin, worn with the hair-side outwards, and bound to the feet with leather thongs. 1 Chambers's " Domestic Annals," iii. 571. DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 87 During the eigliteentli century every gentleman wore a wig, sprinkled with hair-powdei'. When at night he retired to rest he placed his wig upon a block at his bedroom door, that by the man-servant it might be powdered and dressed. In cities elderly gentlemen wore cocked hats, the younger used velvet caps. To their individual importance some persons invited attention by fringing their hats with gold or silver lace. Tartan, or chequered woollen cloth, was worn by the Celtic tribes ; it was variegated in conformity with the hreacan or chequer of the several clans or tribes. The name is derived from the French tire- taine or tii'taine, signifying cheap cloth. Bishop Laing of Glasgow, treasurer of James III,, had in 1471 an account for tartan to be used by the King, and for double tartan for the Queen's use. The fabric was used at the court of James Y., and six tartan plaids were purchased for Queen Mary in 1562 at the cost of eighteen pounds. Black clothes were worn only at funerals. The street coat was of blue or gray, or a sort of dingy brown ; the waistcoat of a gaudy buff or striped. Shirt ruffles were universal, and were conspicuously displayed. A white cravat enclosed the neck. Drab breeches with white stockings, and shoes with large buckles or boots with tops, enveloped and adorned the limbs. A watch - pocket was 88 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. placed in tlie waistband of the breeches, and to liis watch chain or ribbon every gentleman appended his watch key and a large seal. The dignified citizen as he walked abroad strived to maintain an erect position, while in his right hand he grasped a long staff, which he moved forward as if groping his way. In moist weather were worn scarlet cloaks. At the close of the eighteenth century the staff was substituted by the gold-headed cane. During the last century a gentleman's evening- dress was most imposing. Under a blue or brown coat was worn a vest of white satin. The breeches were of dark silk, joined under the knees by black silk stockings. Wig and whiskers were turned by the curling irons, and sprinkled with fragrant hair- powder. When Magnus Olafseii, King of Norway, returned from ravaging the western coasts on the death of Malcolm III., he on his return, according to the Sagas, adopted the costume of the islanders, with short krilles and upper wraps, whereby he was called Barelegs.^ To our correspondent, Colonel Eoss of Cromarty, we are indebted for a correct description of the High- land dress. The Colonel proceeds : — " Their ancient dress was the hreacan feile or kilted plaid. This 1 " Ancient Scottish "Weapons," by James Dnimmond, RS.A., edited hy Josei)h Anderson, LL.l)., 1881, fol. p. 2. DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 89 consisted of from seven to twelve yards of tartan sewn up tlie middle so as to form a plaid of double width varying from four to six yards long, by two yards in width. Highland looms did not fabricate tartan wider than one yard. A portion of this length was laid on the ground with the belt under it ; the lower and middle j)ortion being then plaited so as to form a kilt, leaving a flap at each side. The High- lander now lay down upon it, crossed the right flap, and next placed the left flap over it, and buckled his belt. When he got up, the upper j^art of the plaid which formed a sort of double kilt was fastened with a brooch on his left shoulder, and part of the plaid on the right side was tucked under the belt. To the waist-belt was attached the sporran, usually made of leather with a brass or silver mouth-piece, so constructed that persons unacquainted with the secret could not open it. The ancient sporran did not hang loose, but the waist - belt was passed through two rings on the mouth-piece which made it fast to the person. A dirk and one or two pistols were also worn on the waist-belt. By undoing the waist - belt the plaid was made to form a blanket, in which the High- lander could at night envelop himself. The plaid was frequently worn by chiefs. The feile hcg, or little kilt, was invented by Thomas Eawlinson, an Englishman, who came to Glengarry about the year 90 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. 1770. Kawlinson had the lower part of the hreacan feile cut ofi', and the plaits sewn, thus forming the modern kilt." In allusion to the Highland dress, Taylor, the water-poet, writing in 1618, thus expresses him- self : — " They wear shoes with one sole ; stockings which they call short hose, made of a warm stuff of divers colours, which they call tartan. As for breeches, many of them (nor their forefathers) never wore any, but a jerkin of the same stuff that their hose is of, their garters being bands, or wreaths of hay or straw, with a plaid about their shoulders, which is a mantle of divers colours of much finer and lighter stuff than the hose, with flat blue caps on their head [and], a handkerchief knit with two knots about their neck. Their weapons are long bows and forked arrows, swords and targets, harquebusses, muskets, durks, and Lochaber axes." The modern Highlander wore a plume, and stuck in his hose a knife and fork. Except as a military uniform, the Highland dress was proscribed in 1746. The Aberdeen Journal of 1750 informs us that Kobert Pirie, servant to the minister of Cabrach, was brought into the city, and imprisoned for wearing the philibeg. In earlier times females of the upper class wore white woollen robes, and jackets without sleeves. On public occasions they were clothed in a party- DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. .91 coloured saque or plaid of fine texture, and wore on their necks chains of gold. During the fifteenth century,^ female attire con- sisted of a kirtle, a stomacher, and gown and tippet. The kirtle, a close-fitting garment, enveloped the body from neck to heel. Over the kirtle and enclosing the breast, was the stomacher, composed of satin or velvet, and lined with fur. The gown was a loose garment, open in front, and exhibiting the stomacher and kirtle. The tippet was a species of collar, of fur-lined satin, which enclosed the neck, and rested upon the shoulders. The head-dress or turatis, con- sisted of artificial hair, contrived so as to resemble two horns, from which descended the kerchief or veil. At the commencement of the eighteenth century, Scottish gentlewomen wore distended skirts. A lady born in 1714, wdiose reminiscences cast some light on the manners of her period, writes : — " Hoops were constantly worn four-and-half yards wide, which required much silk to cover them ; and gold and silver were much used for trimming, never less than three rows round the petticoat ; so that though the silk was slight the price was increased by the trim- 1 To the preface of tlie first printed volume of " The Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer," drawn up by Mr Thomas Dickson, Curator of the Historical Department of the General Eegister House, we are indebted for many particulars respecting male and female attire during the fifteenth century. 92 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. ming." Eobert Ker, an intrepid cynic, who had his home at Lasswade, near Edinburgh, issued in 1719 a publication entitled " A short and true description of the great incumbrances and damages that city and country is like to sustain by women's girded tails, if it be not speedily prevented, with a dedication to those that wear them," In this publication the satirist sets forth that " bordered by metallic cooper- age, men walked the streets under hazard of breaking their shin bones." In order to accommodate the fashion he facetiously calls for alteration in churches, coaches and staircases, and expresses his belief that John Knox would have condemned a practice which, on account of their wives and dauo;hters, relio-ious teachers hesitated to impugn. Respecting the wide- skirt style of dress, Allan Ramsay took a milder view. He writes : — " If N'elly's hoop be twice as wide, As her two pretty limbs can stride What then ? Will any man of sense Take umbrage or the least offence ] " During the eighteenth century gentlewomen wore gowns with long waists, had high-heeled and sharp- pointed shoes, and used hair-powder. Upon their foreheads they drew down their front locks, and applied to their faces small patches. When at Edin- burgh a gentlewoman appeared on the street in undress, she wore a mask or enveloped her head and DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 93 sliouklers in a plaid of black silk. Green paper fans nearly two feet long, and attached to their waists by a ribbon, gentlewomen used in place of parasols, which were yet unknown. Elderly spinsters wore white aprons, and in walking out were attended by their handmaidens, clad in close-fitting short-sleeved gowns, and white mutches, but without shoes. The usual head-dress was of Flanders lace, adorned with ribbons. Every lady carried in her reticule a small snuff-mull, which in talking she exchanged with her friends. No unusual gift from a gentleman to the object of his affections, was a mull adorned with devices emblematical of constancy. At the beginning of the present century, gowns in the long-waist fashion disappeared, extremely short waists beincr substituted. This mode continued till about the year 1830, when the former style was revived. Hoops, long abandoned, were again in requisi- tion. Bonnets of large size were worn, and the hair dressed in curls in front, was on the top gathered in a, roll, and there secured by a high comb. Scottish gentlewomen assumed a deportment suited to the times. For about a century after the Keforma- tion ladies of the upper circles avoided frivolity, and by domestic industry proved an example to their maidens. Subsequent to the Eestoration female habits changed, and ladies were found who encouraged domestic gambling and loose talk, — 94 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. even using oatlis. They commenced the day by drinking a cup of Malvoisie ; thereafter breakfast- ing on a pair of plovers or partridges, with a libation of sack. At five or six o'clock they supped, enjoying to their repast a cup of Ehenish wine, and were entertained while eating by the sound of music from the lute or organ. A century ago the gentlewomen of Edinburgh held conversational sallies in the oyster cellars. On this subject Major Topham, in 1774, writes thus: — "When the door opened, I had the pleasure of being ushered in, not to one lady, as I expected, but to a large and brilliant company of both sexes, most of whom I had the honour of being acquainted with. The large table, round which they were seated, was covered with dishes full of oysters and pots of porter. For a long time I could not sup- pose that this was the only entertainment we were to have, and I sat waiting in expectation of a repast that was never to make its appearance. This I soon found verified, as the table was cleared and glasses introduced. The ladies were now asked whether they would choose brandy or rum punch ? I thought this question an odd one, but I was soon informed by the gentleman who sat next me that no wine was sold here ; but that punch was quite ' the thing.' The ladies, who always love what is best, fixed upon brandy punch. DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 95 and a large bowl was immediately introduced. The conversation bad bitlierto been insipid, and at in- tervals ; it now became general and lively. The women, who, to do them justice, are much more entertaininof than their neio-hbours in Enorland, dis- covered a great deal of vivacity and fondness for repartee. A thousand things were hazarded, and met with applause ; to which the oddity of the scene gave propriety ; and which could have been produced in no other place. The general ease with which they conducted themselves, the inno- cent freedom of their manners, and their unaffected good-nature, all conspired to make us forget that we were regaling in a cellar ; and was a convinc- ing proof that, let local customs operate as they may, a truly polite woman is everywhere the same. . . . When the company were tired of con- versation, they began to dance reels, their favourite dance, which they performed with great agility and perseverance." ^ Sir John Carr, who published his " Caledonian Sketches" in 1809, found that the ladies of Edinburgh walked at a late hour in Queen Street, " especially in moonlio-ht." Frivolous and inconsiderate in their demeanour, Scottish gentlewomen unwittingly led their attendants into most mischievous habits. In 1 " Letters from Edinburgh in 1774 and 1775," by Major Edward Topham. London, 1776, 8vo, pp. 128-131. 96 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. tlie Hebrides at the close of last century every maid- servant received from the hands of her mistress a morning dram, or glass of whisky. The usage jDrevailed elsewhere, with the very worst results. Writing in 1805, Mr Robert Forsyth, in his "Beau- ties of Scotland," remarks that " a woman of low rank is scarcely to be found, whatever her character in other respects may be, who does not at forty- five years of age become less or more addicted to the use of spirituous liquors." ^ From the reign of Charles II. to the close of the eighteenth century, the majority of Scottish gentlewomen exhibited a haughty demeanour and chilling reserve. The Duchess of Buccleuch, widow of the Duke of Monmouth, who died in 1732, claimed royal honours. Under a canopy, she was served by pages uj)on their knees. At her ban- quets she expected her guests to eat standing. When Elizabeth Gunning, the celebrated beauty, was wife of James, sixth Duke of Hamilton, she and the Duke walked to dinner together before their company ; they then sat together at the head of the table, and both eating from the same plate, drank wine only with those who held not lower rank than that of an earl. When the Duchess became wife of John, fifth Duke of Argyle, she ^ " The Beauties of Scotland," by Eobert Forsyth. Edin., 18G5, 8vo, i. 35. DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 97 indulged the satisfaction of ignoring at her own table James Boswell, when along wdth Dr Samuel Johnson, he was in October 1773, entertained by her husband at Inverary. Bos well's apology for her has often been quoted. He said that in "punishment being inflicted by so dignified a beauty, he had the consolation wdiich a man would feel who is strangled by a silken cord." Even in rural districts, where society was scanty, and visitors were few, matrons of fashion seldom smiled, and were never betrayed into a laugh. They instructed their daughters to repel the ad- vances of every suitor whom they met in society, or if any were to be favoured, to receive their attentions coldly and with indifierence. "When admirers of their daughters sought to become agree- able they were discountenanced, and when accept- able suitors intimated that they had won their daughters' consent and asked their blessing, it was granted with an intimation that they were likely to repent their choice. From the vanity and arrogance of high-bred dames in former times, it is pleasing to notify an inter- esting exception. Susanna Kennedy, daughter of Sir Archibald Kennedy of Culzean, born in 1G90, became in 1709 third wife of Alexander, ninth Earl of Egiinton. Six feet in height, with a hand- some figure, and a countenance and complexion of G 98 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. bewitching loveliness, slie was recognised as the most charming woman of her time. By George II. she was described, even when her children w^ere grown up, as the most beautiful lady in his dominions. Yet much as she was admired in society of the highest rank, she preferred the intercourse of men of letters. To Allan Ramsay's request that he might be allowed to dedicate to her his " Gentle Shepherd," she cordially acceded, while long afterwards she accorded to Dr Samuel Johnson and James Boswell during their tour a gracious and honourable reception. The travellers visited her at Auchans on the 1st November 1773. Boswell chronicles the event in these terms : — " Dr Johnson was delighted w^ith his reception. ... In the course of our conversation it came out that Lady Eglinton was married the year before Dr Johnson was born, upon which she graciously said to him that she might have been his mother, and that she now adopted him. When we were going away, she embraced him, saying, * My dear son, farewell.' " In their political prin- ciples the lexicographer and the countess were at one. In his " Journey," Dr Johnson praises her vivacity, and remarks that " at the age of eighty- four she had little reason to accuse time of depre- dations on her beauty." Two years after their interview, she entrusted Boswell with this message, DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 99 " Tell Mr Johnson that I love him exceedingly." Professor Josiah Walker, the friend and biographer of the poet Burns, was in childhood privileged with her ladyship's favour. His father was minister of Dundonald, the parish in which Auchans, her jointure-house, was situated. From the Professor's MS. we have the following : — " At Auchans, not- withstanding her repugnance to Protestant doctrine, more especially to Presbytery, she thankfully accepted weekly visits from the parish minister, also from members of his family. But," proceeds the Profes- sor, "I soon superseded them all in her affection. In my eleventh year, after an imperfect recovery from an attack of measles, my health was thought so delicate that I was forbidden all outside exercise. When the Countess heard of this, she, with her usual overflow of kindness, said that she would take me out every day for a drive in her close carriao-e. Accordingly, at six every evening throughout the summer, she arrived at the manse, whose inmates were not a little elated, at a time when carriao-es were so few, to see the most splendid of all stop daily at their gate, and my little heart swelled with pride in feeling myself the cause of the high honour thus publicly conferred on them. Of the carriage itself I must say a word. It had been given by George III. to Earl Alexander, who was a favoui-ite Lord of his Bed-chamber, and by the latter from his 100 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. earnest desire to gratify liis mother, had been trans- ferred to her. ... As the Countess drank tea at an earlier hour than tliat at which this refreshment was taken at the manse, she, lest I should miss it, kindly brought with her a large basin of tea, covered with a soft biscuit, and made me consume these provisions during our drive. Sometimes she brought me straw- berries, or some other nice substitute, and as we become attached to pets by feeding them, I had the pleasure of seeing her become warmly attached to me. My prattle entertained her; and it was an incon- testable proof of her benevolence that at the age of eighty- three she could exert herself, as she always did, to keep a child, and a child of such inferior rank, in constant amusement and enjoyment." The Professor proceeds to describe how, that up to the age of ninety-one, when she passed away peacefully,^ this remarkable specimen of female gentility continued to exhibit towards him the same affectionate solicitude which she had extended in his childhood. He adds, *' If I have any elevation of spirit, if I have escaped any vulgarities of thought or feeling, if I have learnt to put its proper value on the precious combination of high rank and virtue, I am indebted chiefly to the many hours I passed at the residence of this admirable woman." The lofty demeanour which characterized gentle- 1 The Countess died on tlie 18th March 1780. DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL USAGES. 101 women, who conformed to fashion, was in the pride of certain noblemen of high rank fully reciprocated. In the reign of Charles II. the Duke of Lauderdale caused at Ham House a raised recess to be constructed at the upper part of a gallery, where, seated in chairs of state, he and his duchess received visitors. John James, ninth Earl of Abercorn, w^as extremely proud. In the manner of his period, he sat without touching his chair back ; and it was said of him that he made the tour of Europe without touching the back of his (carriage. In his privately printed volume of " Scotch Stories," Captain Alexander Sinclair has recorded several anecdotes in connection with " the proud " Duke of Hamilton. Tracing descent from the Scottish royal house, through a daughter of James II., his grace conceived himself entitled to rank as a prince of the blood. " Passionately fond of art," writes Sir Archibald Alison, " he constructed, at the expense of upwards of £30,000, a mausoleum in Hamilton Park, to which he removed the remains of a long line of ancestors from the adjacent church- yard. He possessed liimself of an Egyptian alalmster sarcophagus, covered with hieroglyphics, which he acquired when travelling in Upper Egypt. This he designed for his own coffin, and as it had been made for a female, he, after making trial of it by extending himself in it in various attitudes, left directions that, if 102 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. necessary, the breast bone sliould be sawn tlirougb, so that his body might be doubled up, without injur- ing the exquisite piece of sculpture.' >' 1 1 Some Account of my Life and Writings, by Sir Archibald Alison, Bart., 1883, 8vo, vol. ii. p. 71. CHAPTER III. MARRIAGE RITES AND CUSTOMS. Of marriao^e rites and customs in the earlier times no memorial exists. Prior to the introduction of Christianity, and even subsequently, notions respect- ing the obligations of marriage were crude and imperfect. There is no evidence that the early clergy were concerned in sanctioning the nuptial bond ; nor can marriage, as an ecclesiastical office, be traced earlier than the eighth century, when the civil authorities recoo^nised wedlock as solemnized by the Church. The system of handfasting — that is, of a man and woman engaging to live together for the period of a year, being held free at its expiry, except they elected otherwise, was derived from a Celtic usage which still prevails in Wales under the name of bundling. The chronicler Lindsay of Pitscottie, in writing of Alexander Dunbar, son of James, sixth Earl of Moray, and Isobel Innes, remarks — " This Isobel was but handfast with him, and deceased before the marriage." When Queen Margaret Tudor sued for a divorce from the Earl 104 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. of Angus, she pleaded that he had been handfasted to Jane Douglas, " who bare a child to him, and by reason of that pre-contract could not be her lawful husband." Divorce was granted by the Pope, but the child of the union between Angus and the Queen was declared legitimate. In reporting to Sir John Sinclair's " Statistical Account," the minister of Eskdalemuir refers to the 23ractice of handfasting having existed in his parish, under ecclesiastical sanction, at a period preceding the Eeformation. At a fair held in the parish at the confluence of the Black and the White Esk rivers, unmarried men chose female companions with whom to be handfasted, and as the parish was under the supervision of the monks of Melrose, a priest of that monastery j)roceeded thither periodically in order to render these engagements permanent. As he carried in the breast pocket of his dress a copy of the marriage office, he was familiarly known as Booh ^' Bosom. In 1562 the Kirksession of Aberdeen decreed that persons living together under handfast contracts should forthwith be united in wedlock. Handfasting ceased about twenty years after the Eeformation. Though a system repugnant to social order was discontinued, the Scottish law of marriage yet remained in an unsatisfactory condition. While all persons who respected the social proprieties MARRIAGE RITES AND CUSTOMS. 105 sou2:lit in contractino; marriasre the sanction of the Cliurch, the union might otherwise be legally constituted. An acknowledgment by parties of being husband and wife, made whether by word or writing, and followed or preceded by their living together, was held as a valid marriage. But the General Assembly ruled, in 1563, that no contract of marriage made secretly, with subsequent cohabitation, should be recognised till the ofienders, as " breakers of good order," submitted to discipline, and by " famous and unsuspect witnesses " the con- tract was verified. Prior to the twelfth century the regular as well as the secular clergy practised matrimony. But the conduct of ecclesiastics in alienatino; to their children the lands of the Church induced David I. to pre- scribe celibacy to the priestly order. The rule was not strictly kept, nor were penalties for the violation enforced. From churchmen have descended High- land chiefs and lowland barons. Macnab is the son of the abbot, Mactaggart the son of the priest, Macpherson the son of the parson, Macvicar son of the vicar, and MacClery the son of the clerk. These are traditional descents, but the children of notable churchmen are historically named. Cardinal Beaton, who had five children, openly gave one of his daughters in marriage to the eldest son of Lord Crawford. To the Cardinal's successor in the 106 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. primacy^ Archbishop Hamilton, were born three children. Bishop William Chisholm of Dunblane, who died in 1564, had a son and two daughters; one of the latter was wife of Sir James Stirling of Keir. Bishop William Gordon of Aberdeen acknowledged several children. To Bishop Patrick Hepburn were born eight sons and two daughters, who were in 1533 and 1545 publicly legitimated. Donald Campbell, abbot of Cupar, had five sons, to whom he granted lands which belonged to the monastery. A marriage tax, known as the merchet was, under the feudal system, exacted by superiors from their vassals on the marriao-e of dauo-hters. Proceedinsj on the principle that when daughters were given in wedlock, the overlord was deprived of their services, merchet was leviable alike by the baron from his bondmen, and from the baron by his sovereign. Durino; the reiorns of James YI. and Charles I. the merchet leviable from persons of opulence was granted by the crown to individuals in reward of service. Matrimonial customs considerably varied. In betrothal, the parties usually moistened with the tongue the thumbs of their right hands, and then pressed them together. The violation of a contract so consecrated, was considered tantamount to an act of perjury. In northern counties silver coins were exchanged by plighted lovers. Writing about 1736, MARRIAGE RITES AND CUSTOMS. 107 George Halket, schoolmaster of Rathen, Aberdeen- shire, in his song of " Logic o' Buchan," represents the breaking of a sixpence between two lovers as constituting their love-pledge. His heroine sings — "I sit on my creepie, and spin at my wheel, And think on the laddie that loe'd me sae weel, He had but a'e sixpence — he brak' it in twa, And he gie'd me the half o't when he gaed awa'." As much sacredness was associated with any con- tract made across the channel of a running water, so plighting troth across a stream became a mode of betrothal. In vowing mutual fidelity, Burns and Mary Campbell clasped hands across the Fail stream in the grounds of Coilsfield. Betrothal among the Lowland peasantry was made without parental sanction, but immediately subsequent to the event, it was deemed proper that " the old folks " should be informed, and their countenance invoked. When, in the middle or upper ranks, an engagement was formed, the relatives of the parties assembled as a committee of ways and means. On such occasions convivialities were protracted. During the eighteenth century opulent persons provided a hogshead of claret to be used in arranp-insr the con- o do tract. The subscribing of the contract was an occa- sion of further feasting. Subsequent to the completion of the contract, the affianced parties were known as bridegroom and bride. 108 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. To the bride were assigned two maidens as lier attendants, while two male kinsmen, one from each side, were appointed as her protectors. The " booking " of parties was an early cere- monial. In the Kirksessiou Register of Stirling, under the 7th June 1579, James Duncanson, " Reader," and "Notary Public," certifies that Archibald Alex- ander, brother of the laird of Menstrie, and Elizabeth, daugliter of Robert Alexander, had appeared before him personally, and " bayth in ane voyce granted mutuall promeis of marriage, whereupon he ad- monished bayth" not to cohabit till the legal com- pletion of the union ; and further, that " they and their companies abstain fra all jmblict dansein and playeis in the gaitts of the burgh on the day of the marriage, under the paine of 10 lib. money." Archi- bald Allan became cautioner that the promise made by the parties would be fulfilled. A legal ceremonial enacted in presence of a notary having, in former times, been deemed sufficient to constitute the nuptial bond, the question was submitted to the General Assembly of 1575 as to whether the system of mutual declaration prior to publication of banns sliould be longer continued. The Assembly ruled that the names of parties desiring proclamation should be intimated simply. Thereafter arose the practice of two male friends of the parties waiting on the session- clerk, and, wdtli their names, depositing the MARRIAGE RITES AND CUSTOMS. 109 stipulated fee. Therewith was conjoined what was termed "laying doou the pawns" — that is, the making of a small consignment in guarantee that the mar- riage would be solemnized. In the parish of Bal- lingry, Fifeshire, the consignment was in 1G70 fixed at two dollars. It was ruled by a Kirksession in 1666 that "the pawn" or consignation money should "remain in the clerk's hand for the space of three quarters of a year after the marriage." At the Reformation it was enacted by the General Assembly that all who wished to marry must submit their names to the minister or session-clerk for pro- clamation of banns on three successive Sundays. Subsequently it was permitted on payment of a larger fee that banns might be completed by one public announcement, the words " for the first, second, and third time " being added. In times immediately subsequent to the Reforma- tion forty days were required to ensue between the time of " booking " and the day of marriage. During the interval the bride was supposed to receive no visitors save her relations and early friends. Young folks rubbed shoulders with the bride so as to obtain matrimonial infection. A process of feet-washing was enacted. One or two evenings before the nuptial ceremony a party of the bridcOTOom's friends assembled at his dwellins". Into his spence or parlour they bore a washing- 1 1 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. tub, with towels and soap. Volunteering to wash his feet as a respectful service the privilege was readily granted to them. But no sooner was the bridegroom's unclothed limbs plunged into the water than commenced a horrible saturnalia. The limbs were besmeared with grease and soot. Then were applied brushes of coarse bristle, and when the cleansing process was completed the besmearing was renewed. The merriment was pro- tracted till both the performers and the bridegroom were utterly exhausted. Feasting followed at the brideo-room's cost. On the morning of the wedding the bride was attired with ceremony. On such occasions ladies of rank personally decorated those who had served them. The lowliest bride was expected to be clad for marriage in garments wholly new. Her dress could not, with any regard to her happiness, be fitted on prior to the day of marriage, nor might it be altered then, though fitting imperfectly. In the sixteenth century a bride's dress was ordinarily valued at one hundred merks. A marriage was held to augur good fortune only when prior to the ceremony every knot in the apparel of both parties had been unloosed. In the Highlands marriage was usually solemnized in church, and in the lowlands either in the residence of the bride's parents or at the parochial manse. MARRIAGE RITES AND CUSTOMS. Ill When the marriage was about to be solemnized young men from the neiglibouring farms assembled bearing firelocks, which, as a feu de joie, they discharged. In rural districts it was held that a bride should on her marriage day appear uncovered, but wear a cap ever afterwards. All declined to marry in May. Pennant relates that, in 1772, when he comjjosed his work, the people of Perthshire avoided wedlock in January. The lowlander was averse to marrying on Friday, but the High- lander chose that day as the most hopeful. During the increase of the moon wedlock was in Orkney carefully eschewed. In the Presbyterian Church there is no prescribed form of marriage ; hence in performing the nuptial rite each clergyman adopts a style or method of his own. The ceremony is ordinarily commenced and closed by prayer, while, prior to the nuptial vow, are expressed words of earnest exhortation. But some clergymen omit exhortation, and are content to read to the parties selected passages of scripture. A century ago, in the Highlands, the bride at the close of the nuptial ceremony walked round her party, saluting each with a kiss. Thereafter was passed among the company a small dish, in which each deposited a coin, the amount collected being handed to the bride to purchase some useful article for her new home. At the marriage of persons belonging to the 112 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. middle and upper ranks, favours, consisting of portions of ribbon and lace, were attaclied to the bride's dress. After the ceremony all endeavoured to seize these, as matter of good luck. When the con- fusion had ceased, the bridegroom's attendant was expected to pull off the bride's garter ; this she modestly dropped. Composed of white and silver ribbon, the garter was sejDarated into portions, which were divided among the comj^any. After joining the company at the wedding break- fast, the bride and bridegroom left their friends amidst a noisy demonstration. The domestics had previously collected old shoes, with which they be- labored the bridegroom as, with the bride on his arm, he proceeded to his carriage. To the bridegroom's attendant was assigned the duty of publicly notifying the marriage. In newspaper notices were formerly intimated the supposed amount of the bride's dowry, also a eulogy of her charms. The Edinburgh journals of September 1720, announced that the Earl of Wemyss was " married to the only child of Colonel Charteris, with a fortune of five hundred thousand pounds sterling, English money, which probably in a short time may be double that sum." But," adds the flattering chronicler, " that is nothing at all in com- parison of the young lady herself, who is truly for goodness, wit, beauty, and fine shapes, inferior to no lady of Great Britain." From the " Glasgow Journal" MARRIAGE RITES AND CUSTOMS. 113 of the 24tli March 1744, we have the followinir : " On Monday hist, James Dennistoun, junior, of Colgreine, Esq., was married to Miss Jenny Baird, a beautiful young kdy." ''May 4, 1747. On Monday last, Dr Robert Hamilton, Professor of Anatomy and Botany in the University of Glasgow, was married to Miss Molly Baird, a beautiful young lady, with a hand- some fortune." "August 3, 1747. On Monday last, Mr James Johnstone, merchant in this place, was married to Miss Peggy Norvall, an agreeable young lady, with £4000." From the " Aberdeen Journal " of 1750 we have the following: "Yesternight was married here, Mr Walter Cochran, Depute Town- Clerk, to Miss Nelly Udney, daughter to James Udney, advocate, a young lady of distinguished merit and virtue." " Last Tuesday, Alex. Aberdein, of Cairnbulg, late Provost of this city, was married at Montrose, to Miss Nelly Carnegie, sister to Sir James Carnegie of Pitarrow, a young lady of celebrated beauty and distinguished merit." In the same journal in 1755, a bride is described as "of distinguished beauty and superlative merit." In rural districts marriage feasting was substituted for that merry-making which in pre-Reformation times had been associated with saints' anniversaries and other holidays. Till early in the present century a practice associated with marriage, styled ivinning the hroose, obtained widely. Immediately after the H 114 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. marriage ceremony young persons in the company, who valued themselves on their agility, set out on a foot race from the bride's dwelling to the residence of the bridegroom. When the distance was consider- able the competitors were mounted. In the Glasgow Courier of the 16th January 1813, it is set forth that at a broose tournament which on the 29th March took place at Mauchline, one of the competitors, a female, after a ride of thirteen miles, won the broose over four males who contested with her. The heroine, Jean Wyllie, survived to the age of 102 ; she passed away while these sheets were preparing for press. The broose was a nominal prize, consist- ing simply of a dish of brose or soup. Marriage feasts, styled " penny l>ridals," were so designated, consequent on a contribution of one shilling Scots, equal to one penny sterling, being made by each of the neighbours towards the enter- tainment. During the eighteenth century neigh- bours contributed in ample fashion. Landowners supplied joints of venison, beef, and mutton ; farmers sent poultry and dairy produce, and the minister and schoolmaster gave in loan culinary utensils. The bride's parents were understood to suj^ply one dish, the hrides j)ie, and every guest was expected to partake of it. In Highland districts, the bride, attended by her maidens and two male kinsmen, constituting her \ MAEKIAGE RITES AND CUSTOMS. 115 body guard, proceeded some days prior to the wedding to the dwellings of her friends to invite them to the celebration. Bridal feasts were conducted with no inconsider- able formality. Into the place of banqueting the bride and her party walked first, at the sound of lively music. Next entered the bridegroom and his friends, who were also received with musical demon- strations. The general company followed up, the women in pairs, then the men in the order of seniority. Not infrequently one hundred persons would assemble to a wedding feast. The bridal pair occu- pied the head of the board. Of the guests some were accommodated at the table ; others sat on logs or beams of timber resting upon stones. To each was in the first instance handed a horn spoon with a cog of kail or broth. Next was served hotch-potch ; next a lump of flesh or fowl. Last was ate the bride's pie. But the fare varied. In describing a rural bridal, the poet, Francis Semple, proceeds — " There'll be lang-kale and pottage, And bannocks o' barley meal, And there'll be good saut herrin' To relish a cogue of gude yill ; " There'll be tarten, dragen, and brachen, An' fouth o' guid gabbocks o' skate. Powsoudie and drammock an' crowdie, An' callar nowt-fcet on a plate ; 116 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. "An' there'll be meal-kail, an' castocks, Wi' skink to sup till ye rive ; An' roasts to roast on a brander, Of flouks that were taken alive." Dancing, when the weather permitted, was con- ducted upon the green. The first reel was danced by the newly-married pair ; next on the floor were the bride's maidens and her male body guard. When all had danced the company returned to the banqueting room, where supper was served. It usually consisted of cheese and bannocks, ale and whisky. By the younger guests dancing was resumed. The concluding diversion was a dance, called " Bab at the Bowster." It was begun by one of the unmarried guests, who, taking a cushion in his hand, danced round the room and at the end of the tune placed the cushion before one of the opposite sex, who, kneeling upon it, was saluted by the dancer. The party then took up the cushion, when both danced together. It was continued till all the unmarried portion of the company had shared in it. Marriaere festivities were in certain districts con- tinned for several days. Within the course of the present century the merry-making and jollities were prolonged from the day of marriage to the close of the week. During the interval the nuptial party made visits to the neighbours of their own MARRIAGE RITES AND CUSTOMS. 117 rank, and j)erambulated the district, accompanied by a piper and other mirthful attendants. By Captain Burt we are informed that early in the eighteenth century, on the evening which fol- lowed a marriage, the company present at the cere- mony, took possession of the bridegroom's dwelling, sending him and his wife to the barn or out- house, there to remain for the night upon straw or heath. In some districts of the Highlands, a century ago, a portion of the guests were permitted to enter the nuptial chamber. To the bridegroom was handed a wine glass, of which he drank the contents, bidding his visitors good-night. The stocking of the bride's left foot was then tossed into the air, the person near whom it fell being thereby augured as the next to wed. In the morning the married pair were awakened early to hold a levee of their friends and receive congratulations. Creeling the bridegroom was during the last century practised in Berwickshire. Early on the morning after marriage there was strapped to the bridegroom's back a basket of stones or gravel, and a large-handled broom laid on his left shoulder. Thus equipped, he was forced to run fleetly, while the bride was expected to follow and to disengage him of his burden. By sundry rites w^as the newly married wife 118 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. "welcomed to her home. At the threshold was held over her a sieve containing bread and cheese, and as she entered the dwelling there was broken upon her head the infar-cake, a cake of shortbread specially prepared, while all joined in the song, " Welcome to your ain fireside, Health and wealth attend the bride ! Wanters noo your true weird make, Joes are spaed by th' infar-cake." ^ This custom of the infar-cake had its origin in the rite of confarreation whereby the Romans constituted matrimony by causing the contracting parties to eat together of a salted cake, or a portion of wheaten bread which had been consecrated. Portions of the infar-cake were distributed among the young of both sexes. The bride's welcome was completed when she had received the fire-tongs, and with a long broom had swept the hearth. While emphatically maintaining the non-sacra- mental character of the nuptial rite, Scottish Re- formers were desirous that a religious solemnity should be associated with the event of marriage. By the twenty-second General Assembly, held in March 1.571, it was ruled "that all marriages be made solemnly in the face of a congregation," and the practice was to celebrate the union at the close of the morning service. For the accommodation of persons ^ Bits from Blinhbonny, p. 274. MARRIAGE RITES AND CUSTOMS. 1 1 contracting matrimony, a special pew was provided, into which the parties were ceremoniously conducted, by the church officer. In May 1674 the Kirksession of Dunfermline ordained that " if brides and bride- grooms come not into the kirk, before the first psalm be closed, they shall pay twelve shillings or more as the minister shall please." In order to check the unseemly disturbances which followed Sunday marriages at St Andrews, the Kirk- session of that parish, on the 13th September 1570, " ordain it ane supplicatioun to be directed to the magistrates for reformation of the grete abuse usit be new mareit persons in violation of the Sabbat day, and in special that the day of their marriage aftern- wise they resort not to hering of the doctrine, and at evin after supper, insolentlie, in evil example of uthers, perturbis the town witlial rynning thairthrow in min- stralye and harlotry." Similar irregularities in con- nection with Sunday marriages occurred in other places, hence, on the subject being considered by the General Assembly of 1579, it was ruled that if a sufficient number of witnesses were present, parties might be married on any day of the week. A deliverance by the General Assembly of 1581 pro- hibiting the celebration of marriages in private houses, led the Kirksession of St Andrews to enact, on the 4th November 1584, that all seeking marriage, " baith riche and puir, be contractit in the counsall- 120 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. hous " on AVeclnesclay of every week, and " in na vtlier place." By the Kirksession of Abercromby, it was ruled in 1630 that none shall be married on the Sabbath except they pay to the use of the poor 58s., and oblige themselves to keep good order. The suppression of nuptial festivities, usually at- tended with disorderly proceedings might not readily be accomplished. In November 1583, the Kirk- session of Glasgow decreed that there should be no superfluous gatherings at bridals, and that the lawiyi, or cost of the dinner or supper, should not exceed "eighteen pennies." While permitting a lawin of five shillings, the Kirksession of Stirling, in 159,9, decreed that no marriages should be solemnized unless the parties gave in pledge four pounds, that no greater cost would be incurred. To elude clerical surveillance the inhabitants of Stirling celebrated their nuptial festivi- ties under tents in the fields. To overcome this subterfuge, the Kirksession and Town Council of Stirling issued a joint deliverance, in these terms : " December 1, 1608. The brethren of the kirk ratifies the Act of Counsell underwritten anent brydellis, and ordaris that na testimoniall be given but according thairto in all points. ' The quliilk day the Counsell statutes and ordain es that all and quhatsumevir per- sones dwelland within this burgh or parrochin, quha sal happin to be proclaimit for marriage contractit betwix thame, sail mak thair brydellis and ban- MARRIAGE RTTES AND CUSTOMS. 121 quittis witliiii this burgh, fra thyncefurth ; and if thaye fealye, being proclaimit within the paroche kirk of this burgh be the rainisteris thairof, and mak thair brydellis outwith the said burgh, in that caice the partie or parties that sal happin to contra vein, sal pay to the towne the sume of twenty poundis money^ provyding alwayes that this act be onelie extendit against the men and women quha sal happin to be joyned in marriage, bayth dwelland within this burgh or parochin thairof. And if ony persone dwelland within this burgh marie an outland woman, in that caice it is statute and ordainit that it sail not be lessum to him to desyr any ma persones, nychtbouris of this burgh nor twenty persones ; and if it be fund or tryed that he dois in the contrar, in that caice he sail pay to the towne the summe of ten poundis ; and willis that the kirk, befoir they grant testimonials tak ane pund thairfor. Lykas if any outhmd man marie any woman dwelland within this burgh, and if the woman contravein thairanent, in that caice sail pay uther twenty pundis ; and that befoir any testimonial! be granted be the minister or reader, or yet befoir marriage be solemnizit that they take ane pund for the said soume." Stringent as this enactment was, it proved practi- cally inoperative, for in 1614 we find the Kirksession of Stirling issuing a decree that the marriage rite be celebrated only in church, after divine service, and 122 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. that all merry-making of every kind should wholly cease. On the 9th April 1646, the Kirksession of St Cuthbert's ordained that, under a penalty of ten pounds, couples should not invite to their weddings more than twenty-four persons. And in 1647 the Presbyteries of Haddington and Dunbar denounced bridal feasts as " seminaries of all profanation," restricting the attendance at each wedding to twenty persons. At Dumfries it was, in July 1657, ruled by the Town Council, " that not more than twenty-four persons assemble at a wedding, and that the expense do not exceed eight pounds, and that under the payne of twenty punds, whereof the one half is to be payt by the bridegroom, and the other half by the iukiepar quhar the brydle is kept." The existence of dancino; at marriaoje feasts was a chief reason why the Church was so persistently opposed to them. The ancient dances were unseemly, while the gyrations introduced at the court of Queen Mary, and which became common, were by the sober- minded regarded with absolute aversion. In 1599 the Kirksession of St Andrews dealt with David Wemyss in Raderny, for being present at a dance. He acknowledged that he had, but justified himself by saying that " he never saw that dancing was stayit (stopped) before, and that the custom was kept at Raderny before any of the Session was born." MARRIAGE RITES AND CUSTOMS. 123 Wemyss was imprisoned in tlie church steeple for contumacy ; he latterly submitted himself. In May 1649, the General Assembly " iuliibited dancing," and referred " the censure thereof to the care and diligence" of Presbyteries. On the 8th February 1628, "William Wallace, pyper," was sentenced by the Kirksession of St Cuthbert's "to stand one day upon the pillar and therafter to remove furth of the parochin, ay and untill he be ane renewit man of his maneris ; and get leif of the Presbyterie to returne, after they see amendment in his lyf and conversa- tioun." For " pypiug at bridals," Adam Moffat, piper, was, by the Kirksession of Ashkirk on the 16th November 1638, ordained "the next Sabbath to stand at the kirk door with ane pair of scheittis (sheets) about him, beirfutt and beirlegitt, and efter the pepill wes in, to go to the place of repentance, and so to continew Sabbathlie induring their willis." In September 1649 the Kirksession of Cambusnethan enacted that " there sould be no pypers at brydells, and whoever sould have a pyper playing at their brydell on their marriage day, sail lose their con- signed money, and be furder punished as the Session thinks fitt." The Kirksession of Mouswald, on the 23rd December 1653, *' requyrit John Wright, pyper, to stand twa dayes in the publick place of repentance, and to pay the penaltie of 20 lib., or utherwayes give over his pyping." 124 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. In 1677, the Presbytery of Gariocli prohibited at bridals " all promiscuous dancing," and enjoined " that the master of the feast lay down two dollars in pledge that if there be anie abuse be any persons the bride- groom and bryde hath not invited, the master of the feast his pledge sail fael, and anie abuse committed be anie person invited be either of the parties, then they sail pay for it." One of the latest of Kirksession decrees against bridal festivities was made at Hawick in 1703, when John Hart, one of the elders, was summoned for " making a penny-bryddall at his daughter Chris- tian's marriage, which ended in scolding and fliteing." Hart was reminded that " such meetings had been laid aside this twelve months," and were contrary to the Acts of Assembly and the laws of the kingdom, whereupon he " upon his knees acknowledged his guilt," and " prayer was made to God for him to grant him repentance and pardon for what he had done, tending to revive the cursed custom of penny bryddels." The privilege of marrying was, by the Church, bounded by certain restraints. On the 7th July 1578, the Kirksession of Perth, considering that those who "give up their banns of marriage are almost alto- gether ignorant and misknow the causes why they should marry, ordained all to compear before the reader to be instructed in the true knowledge of the MARRIAGE RITES AND CUSTOMS. 125 causes of marriage." In August 1579, the Kirk- session of St Andrews decreed that " nane be resaivit to compleit the bond of matrimonye without they reherse to the redar the Lord's Prayer, the Beleive, and the Commandments." Persons labouring under financial difficulties were not allowed to marry. On the 28th January 1594, the Presbytery of Glasgow decreed that " in respect that James Annan is in greit dett, tharefor can nocht ordein Helen Bar to be mareit upone him." The right of controlling matrimonial concerns was by the Church strictly asserted. In the parish register of the Canongate there are three entries relative to Queen Mary's marriage with Lord Darnley. In the first entry permission for celebrating the banns is thus set forth: "The 21 of Julij, anno Domini 1565. The quhilk day Johne Brand, mynister, j)re- sentit to the kirk ane writting, written be the Justice Clark hand, desyring the kirk of the cannogait and mynister thairof to proclame Harie, Duk of Abbynye, erle of Rois, etc., on the one part, and Marie, be the grace of God qvene Souerane of this realme on the vther part. The quhilk the kirk ordanis the mynister so to do with inwocation of the name of God." Next follows an entry of the banns being published — thus : " Henry, Duk of Albany, erll of Rois ; Marie, be the grace of God, quen souerane of this realme. Married in the chappell." The 126 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. Queen's marriage is attested by a further entry in these words : " The 29 day of Julij anno 1565, Henry and Marie, Kyng and Qwene of Scottis." When on Darnley's assassination, the Earl of Bothwell sought to have his banns of marriage with the Queen pub- lished in the Canongate churcli, he was rigorously questioned by the minister, Mr John Craig. And inasmuch as he answered unsatisfactorily, Mr Craig, in publishing the banns, " took heaven and earth to witness that he abhorred and detested that marriage, because it was odious and sclanderous to the world." Though allowing without comment the Queen's marriage with Lord Darnley in the Chapel Eoyal of Holyrood, the Kirksession of the Canongate refused to sanction the chapel for the ordinary celebration of the nuptial rite. In September 1566, they resolved that " they would na wayes authoris any thing that is done in that idolatrie chappell, contrare to God and his word." The chapel so denounced has long since disappeared.^ The Abbey Church of Holyrood was for many years subsequent to the Keformation the church of Canongate 23arish. In 1579 the General Assembly ordained that any marriage performed by a " Popish priest," without proclamation of banns, should be regarded as null, while a rule obtained denying banns to those who 1 History of the Cliapel Royal of Scotland. Gramjjian Club, 1882, 8vo., pp. XV., xciv., xcv. MARRIAGE RITES AND CUSi'^MS. ' ^27^ cherished the Romish faith. In l58B; the. Pres- bytery of Edinburgh allowed theNbi^ns of George, * Earl of Huntly, to be published on condrEfofi-i:^ib heV subscribed, the articles of reHgion. It was further stipulated that before the celebration of his marriage, the Earl would accept the doctrines of the Confession of Faith. Marriage rites performed by Roman Catholic priests or by clergymen of the Episcopal communion were equally disallowed. On the 26 th April 1718, the Kirksession of Crathie summoned before them Donald Gordon and Alexander Shaw, for " marrying Popish wives," and further, for being "irregularly married by a priest," and thereafter consulted the Presbytery as to the mode of dealinor with them. Before the Kii'ksession of Eaglesham, in 1724, were summoned Robert Watson and Mar2:aret Stewart, for havinof their marriage solemnized by an Episcopal clergy- man. The parties, by command of the Presbytery, had to appear as penitents in the parish church. By the Kirksession of Colintou, near Edinburgh, in 1726 and subsequent years, married couples were frequently sentenced to public rebuke " for breaking the established order of the Church," in being married by Episcopal clergymen. Matrimonial alliances with the sister country were openly discouraged. In 1639, an overture was adopted by the General Assembly, " for restraining 128 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. people from j)^ssing into England to marry," and Parliament was invoked " to appoint a pecunial sum to be paid by the contraveners." No native of Scot- land might wed an English spouse without rebuke. By the Presbytery of Lanark, on the 28th June 1655. baptism was refused to the child of Marian Somerell, inasmuch that " contrarie to the Acts of the kirke of Scotland," she had " married ane Inglishman." The Presbytery at length agreed to grant baptism on the woman making public satisfaction, and her husband giving promise that he would bring up the child " according to the Confession of Faith." Clandestine marriages were especially obnoxious. It was ruled by Parliament in 1661, that "whatsoever person or persons shall hereafter marry, or procure themselves to be married, in a clandestine and in- orderly way, or by Jesuit priests, or any other not authorised by this kirk, shall be imprisoned for three months ; and beside their said imprisonment, shall pay, each nobleman, one thousand pounds Scots ; each baron and landed gentleman, one thousand merks ; each gentleman and burgess, five hundred pounds ; each other person, one hundred merks, and shall remain in prison ay, and until they make pay- ment of these respective penalties." To this statute it is added, " The celebrator of such marriage shall be banished, and never again to return under pain of death." MARRIAGE RITES AND CUSTOMS. 129 For the convenience of mariners, the provision as to a forty days' settlement being essential to the publi- cation of banns, was relaxed at the seaports. This indulgence led to much irregularity. Portpatrick marriages became notorious. To that place proceeded many persons from Ireland who, in their own country, could not be united in wedlock unless under circum- stances of inconvenient publicity. At Portpatrick no obstacle intervened. The session-clerk, on receiving the fee of one guinea, entered the village church and there proclaimed the banns. That which was irre- gularly begun, the parochial clergyman irregularly completed, and the parties were within an hour back to their ship, bearing a marriage certificate. For his part of the service the clergyman latterly received a fee of ten pounds. In 1826, Portpatrick marriages were prohibited by the Church. Within the preceding fifty years thirteen noblemen had been united by the Portpatrick system ; their names are recorded in the parish register. Eutherglen marriages had local fame. At Rutherglen, persons who desired to contract mar- riage without the cost of banns, waited on the Town-clerk, and tendered five shillings as a penalty for being married without proclamation, the receipt for the fine being held as a certification of marriao-e. The ower hogie, or half mark marriages, as they 1 130 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. were familiarly called, had noted headquarters at Coldstream on the Tweed, and at Gretna Green, upon the Solway. At these places as on Scottish soil, natives of England, who desired to marry without consent, could accomplish their purpose by simply declaring that they were spouses. Most runaways chose Gretna, for there one or two persoDS were con- stantly at hand with printed forms, which could hastily be filled up. Large fees were expected, and by these, the unworthy performers became rich. Eobert Elliot, the last of the so-called " Border priests," published a book entitled " The Gretna Green Memoirs," in which he sets forth that between the years 1811 and 1839, no fewer than 7744 per- sons were married by his certificates. Elliot adopted a form or ritual founded upon the marriage office of the Ensflish Church/ The grave irregularities which attended Border marriages at length evoked Parliamentary interference. Accordingly, on the 29th July 1856, it was enacted " that no irrec^ular marriage contracted in Scotland by declaration, acknowledgment, or ceremony, shall be valid, unless one of the parties had, at the date thereof, his or her usual place of residence there, and had lived in Scotland for twenty-one days next pre- ^ An interesting narrative resj)ecting Gretna Green marriages will Le found in Mr Andrews' Historical Eomance. Lond., 1883, 12mo, pp. 131-9. MARRIAGE RITES AND CUSTOMS. 131 ceding such marriage." By this simple provision Border marriages were suppressed. Consequent on the large dissent from the Established Church, also from other causes, it was felt that the only mode of initiating regular marriages in Scotland, viz., by proclamation of banns in the parish church ought to be relieved by some other alternative. Accordingly on the 8th August 1878, a statute was passed, which provided that banns might be dispensed with, if the names of parties intending to contract matrimony were exhibited for seven consecutive days at the office of the parish registrar. By the statute anyone who has resided in a particular parish for fifteen days is held to have obtained a legal settlement. The registering of marriages is provided for hy the General Registration Act, passed on the 7th August 1854. This Act stipulates that a schedule of mar- riage signed by the contracting parties, the presiding clergyman, and two witnesses, must be deposited with the parish registrar within three days after the celebration. It was, in 1600, ruled by the General Assembly that no minister should unite in matrimony any couple in which the male was under fourteen, and the female under twelve years of age. Yet devia- tions from this rule are to be remarked. ]\Iary Countess of Buccleuch was, on the 9 th February 1659, in her eleventh vear, married to Walter Scott 132 SOCIAL LIFE TN SCOTLAND. of Hio-licbester, of tlie ao-e of fourteen. The maiTiao:e of heiresses under the ao;e of twelve was not infrequent in the seventeenth century, guardians pleading in defence that they appre- hended the abduction of their wards. So recently as tlie 1st June 1859 was married at 15 St James Square, Edinburgh, a girl, who was entered by the registrar as in her eleventh year. In examining the return the official inspector suspected error, but on inquiry being instituted, the entry was found to be correct. By an Act of Assembly passed in 156.5, it was ruled that every minister who celebrated a marriage without the proclamation of banns would be liable to censure. Not long afterwards one of the most zealous and exemplary of the reformed clergy was guilty of the offence. This was John Eow, minister of Perth, who, at the request of his Kirksession, more especially of the Provost of the city, Lord Ruthven, afterwards Earl of Gowrie, united in mar- riage, without banns, David Lindsay, afterwards ninth Ea>:l of Crawford, and Lilias, third daughter of David, second Lord Drummond. The marriage was cele- brated by Row on the 12th February 1572-3, at the evening prayer meeting. On the Gth March thereafter he was censured for his irregularity by the General Assembly. When episcopal rule obtained in the Church, a bishop's license was occasionally sub- MARRIAGE RITES AND CUSTOMS. 1.33 stituted for publication of banns. Ratlier tlian marry on ej)iscopal authority, some of the clergy celebrated marriage without either banns or license. From the parisli register of Ballingry, Fife, we have the following: — "April 18, 1G85. Was con- tracted Alexander Dick and Margaret Betson, both in this parish — the man aged eighty, the woman twenty." In his " History of Banff," our late correspondent, James Imlach, states that his grand- father, who died at the age of ninety-six, married his second wife when he was ninety -two. ^ A few illustrations of curious connections formed by marriage may be added. John Knox was twice married. His first wife, Marjory Bowes, was daughter of Captain Bowes, a recreant Eomanist ; his second wife, Margaret Stewart, daughter of Lord Ochiltree, was a relative of Queen Mary. Donald Cargill, the great Covenanter, who died a martyr to his principles, married Margaret Browne, a widow, whose former husband, Andrew Bcthune of Blebo, was a relative of Cardinal Beaton or Bethune. Mrs Caroill died on the 12th August 1656.' o o Major John Colt, deputy-governor of Edinburgh Castle, who was noted for his piety, espoused in October 1693, Anna Knox, of the family which had produced the founder of Scottish Presbytery ; secondly, in September 1706, Mary, sister of Principal 1 History of Banff, by James Imlach, 1868, 12mo., p. 65. 2 Glasgow Commissariot Eogister, 21st March 1657. 134 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. William Carstares, through whose counsel Scottish Presbytery was restored.^ Dr Alexander Webster, of the Tolbooth Church, Edinburgh, founder of the Ministers' Widows Fund, and a zealous upholder of the National establishment, was, through his sister Mary, brother-in-law of Eben- ezer Erskine, who founded the Secession Church. In the parish register of Muthill is the following entry : — " Sunday, Oct. 25, 1691. Contracted William Gloag and Janet Seatoun, both in this parroch, their pledges ane leg. [legal] dollar. Were proclaimed, pro j9nma" Janet Seatoun died early, leaving a daughter, who about her fifteenth year, experienced from her father's second wife much oppression. Daufyhter of a crofter. Miss Gloao^ was unwillinoj to enter domestic service ; she preferred to emigrate. But the vessel in which she souejht to reach America was seized by pirates, who carried passengers and crew to the African coast. Thrown into slavery. Miss Gloag was conveyed to Morocco, where she was married by the Emperor and so became Empress. On the death of the emperor, a relative of the royal house sought to dispossess her sons, and on their behalf, as descended from a British mother, the aid of the British Government was invoked. The claim was admitted, and a small fleet was being fitted out at Gibraltar for their defence, when intelligence reached that, by the usurper, they had been slain. ' Edinburgh Marriage Piegister. CHAPTER IV. BIRTHS AND BAPTISMAL REGISTERS. In anticipation of a birth, the women of the family prepared a large and rich cheese called the kenno, as the males of the household were supposed to be ignorant of its existence. After the birth, it was cut m portions and distributed among the matrons who were in attendance. The mother and child were then sained, that is, a fir-candle was whirled round the bed three several times. By means of this rite evil influence was held to be averted. The new-born child was plunged in a vessel of cold water, into which was cast a live coal. Thereafter was the infant, if a male, wrapped in a woman's shift ; if a girl, in a man's shirt. Before touching the little one, female visitors were expected to cross themselves with a burning brand. The child was not to be un- duly commended, lest it should he forespokeii, which implied consequences detrimental to fortune. After the mother's recovery persons of both sexes assembled to offer congratulations, also to drink to the child's welfare. The occasion was known as the gossip's wake or cummerfealls, and it was deemed essential 136 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. to the infant's prosperity, tliat in drinking, each should swallow the entire contents of his glass. In March 1645 the Kirksession of Dunfermline en- acted thus: "Takinof to their consideration the abuse of mixt meetings of men and women meerlie for drinking of cummerf calls as they call it — and the inconveniences arising therefrom, as mainlie the losse and abuseing of so much tyme, which may be better employed in attending to businisse at home, be such as frequent the occasions thereof — the preju- dice which persons lying in child-bed receave both in health and means, being forced not onlie to beare companie to such as come to visit, but also to provide for there coming, more than either is necessarie or theire estate may beare. Considering also that per- sons of the better sort carrie a secret dislike to it, and would be gladlie content of ane act of this kynd that there might be to them some warrand against excep- tions, which might be taken be freinds and neighbors if the ancient custome were not keeped be such. Upon these considerations the minister and elders of the sessioun discharges, and inhibits all visits of this kynd, and for the end foresaid under the paine of being for the first fault censured be the session, and there to be obliged humblie to acknowledge their fault, and for the nixt to make publick confession of their fault before the whole congregatioun. And the session appoynts this to be intimat publicklie the nixt BIRTHS AND BAPTISMAL REGISTERS. 137 Sabbath clay, that none plead ignorance, — which ^Yas done." When a child was baptized, the infant was placed in a basket, on which was spread a white clotli, with portions of bread and cheese ; it was then suspended by a crook over the fire-place, which was three times moved round. Thereby was destroyed, the noxious influence of the fairies and of other malio-nant powers. When baptism was to be performed in church, the bearer carried portions of bread and cheese, which she offered to the person first met ; if the offer was rejected, bad luck for the child was apprehended. AVhen several children were baptized together, it was deemed essential that the males should be presented first ; when a giid was prior to a boy handed uj), it was apprehended that she would be disfigured by a beard. Without the pale of their own communion the Scottish clergy did not admit of baptism being j)erformed. On the 31st December 1567, the Countess of Argyle, being complained of for assist- ing at the baptism of the infant James VI. " in a papistical manner," submitted herself to the Assembly, who ordained her " to make public repent- ance in the Chapel Royal of Striveling ane Sonday in time of preaching." So recently as 1716, the parish minister of Colinton near Edinburgh, declined regis- tration of haptism to the son of Sir James Foulis Bart., one of his heritors, inasmuch as his infant 138 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. daughter had been baptized by an episcopal clergy- man. The refusal was resisted sternly. Procuring the Baptismal Register from the session-clerk, Mr Foulis, with his own hand made an entry of his daughter's baptism — thereto adding the followmg protest : " I, the said Mr Harry Foulis, advocate, was obliged to write as above with mine own hand, in respect that Mr Walter Allan, then incumbent at Collintoun alias Hailes, had discharged his session- clerk to insert my children's baptisms in the register, because they were baptized by an Episcopall Minister." Some of the more zealous of the Presbyterian clergy were included in the eight brethren who, in 1740, formed the nucleus of the Secession Church. By the seceding ministers their followers were enjoined to avoid making record of births or baptisms in the parochial registers. The registrar of Stirling in his register at the close of 1742 writes, "What mistakes or neglects may be found in these last two years, is occasioned by the disorderlyness of the Associats." He adds at the close of 1743, "If any names are wanting in this year, it is by the disorderlyness of the Associats, ivho ivill not "pay their dues." While landowners belonging to the Episcopal Church were refused registration, those heritors who conformed to Presbytery were in the baptismal reo;isters honoured to excess. The most inconsider- able landowner and his wife, who resided upon their BIRTHS AND BAPTISMAL REGISTERS. 139 estates, were on baptismal occasions registered as "the lainl" and "lady." Thus, when Margaret Lauder, wife of John Fairholm of Baberton, brought liim a son on the 21st May 1705, the session-clerk of Currie intimated in the register that on that day " George, son to the Laird and Laidy Baberton, was born." According to the form prescribed in " The Book of Common Order," every chikl was to be presented for baptism by one of the parents, accompanied by a god-father. Two god-fatliers usually attended, but these are in the registers, in Presbyterian times, named simply as witnesses. By parochial authorities, deserted children were properly cared for, and efforts to discover their parents diligently put forth. On the 1.5th November 1646, the Kirksession of St Andrews havinof learned that "ane bairne was found in the West Burne Wynd, layd doun at John Yule's stair foot," resolved that " the lieall elders of the several quarters and bailyies thereof shall go throw their own quarters with their roues [rolls] and search if any try all can be found, and to be communicat to the Presbyterie that ilk minister may search and try his ain parish for tryall thereof." In tlie parish register of Canongate, we learn tliat on the 19th June 1668, was baptized by the name of Theophilus a child found three days previously. To 140 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. the child's dress was attached a slip of paper with the words " For Jesus Christ's sake, baptize." The slip is preserved on the margin of the register. Foundlings obtained baptismal names on no regular system. Some were designated after the parish or the district or locality in which they were found. Thus, a female child picked up by a market gardener in the parish of St Machar, Aberdeenshire, was baptized Ann Garden. A child which, in 1736, was found by John Gordon at New Park, Ordiquhill, Banffshire, was baptized " Charles Park." This foundling surmounted the disadvantages of his birth, married, and became prosperous. On the subject of foundlings a brief narrative may be added. When Georo;e IV. visited Scotland in 1822, an old man presented himself at Holyrood as " the last of His Majesty's enemies." This was Peter Grant, a sergeant in the Prince's army at Culloden. Peter's statement was verified by the Hon. William Maule, of Panmure, and the king, in acknowledging the visit, bestowed on " the last of his enemies " a pension of fifty pounds. Peter was born at Braemar, and the circumstances of his birth are thus detailed in the parish register of Crathie. "October 9, 1720, The gentlewoman that lately came into James Shaw's family, had brought forth a child, and as they [the elders] were certainly informed, a gentleman of the name of Grant is the father of the child, and that BIRTHS AJSID BAPTISMAL REGISTERS. 141 the gentleman lived in the parish of Strathdown." Peter Grant died at Invercaidd on the 11th February 1824. On his tombstone at Invercauld he is described as having^ reached the ac^e of 110 : his actual ao-e was 104. To the cliildren of those who were personally un- baptized, were in baptism denied the usual christian names. Thus, when the child of one Pierce, the negro servant of Sheriff Rankin at Forfar, was baptized in 1794, he was named "Offspring" Pierce. Female children have been baptized by names in- appropriate to their sex. Thus, in the Edinburgh register of l)aptisms, the wife of William Dick of Grange is named " Charles Leslie." At South Leith in 1786, David Pitkethly had his daughter baptized David. In the same year at Cramond, a daughter baptized to Hugh Paterson was named Peter Rock- head. In 1803, Duncan Campbell in the parish of Kilninian, gave his daughter his own christian name. The desire of some parents to designate their children by a plurality of names, has had singular illustrations. The register of the Grey friars' Churchyard, Edinburgh, contains the following : — "July 7, 1785, Washington- Franklin-Nisbet-Bruno-Fox-Aitchison, youngest son of Alexander Aitchison, jeweller, Edinburgh, died the 5th July 1785, having been previously half- starved, half-murdered by his nurse, and her drunken 142 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. husband, aetatis eiglit months ten days and 1 1 1 hours." Charles Christian, a retired soldier, settled in the parish of Lochlee, has in the names of his children commemorated old battle-scenes, and his former com- manders and comrades. To his son, baptized in 1866, he gave the names: David- Walter- Charles- Essex-M'Laren-Hay-Robert. His daughter born in 1867, he named Jean- Ann -Alma- Alay dyne- Lydia- Florence-Mary-Euphemia- Christina. His daughter, l)orn in 1869 he designated Jcssie-Falconer-Betsy- Guthrie - Agenith - Catchka - Mamelon - MalakofF. And to a son, born in 1870, he gave the expressive appella- tive of Cambridge-Duke-Campbell-Colin. From the Baptismal Registers may be gathered examples of remarkable fecundity. In the register of Brechin parish, we have the following: — "June 3, 1626, John Gib, skinner, spous to Grizell Nicol had a man bairne baptized named James. June 4, the said John Gib had ane ither man chyld baptized, born of the said Grizel, named John. Upon the sext day of Junij the said Grizel broclit furtli the tlirid, quhilk was dead borne, and thairefter died herself." The occurrence of four children at a birth, is in the register of Currie, thus notified : — " September 30, 1694, James Cald walls and Jannet Frizzell in Currie toun had four children at one birth; two of whom were born dead, the other two alive. They were born the 29th of September and baptized the 30th day thereof." BIRTHS AND BAPTISMAL REGISTEllS. 143 A most extraordinary instance of fertility is re- corded in tlie Baptismal Eegister of Falkland. It is therein set forth, that Euphemia Galloway wife of William Portor, blacksmith, gave birth to twin child- ren, boy and girl, on the 13th December 1858 ; and that on the 18th November 1859, eleven months and five days thereafter, she produced other three children, two boys and a girl, being five children born of her within twelve months. By a Parliamentary statute passed on the 7th August 1854, it is provided that the parish registers of births and baptisms, also those of marriages and deaths previous to the year 1820, should be deposited in the " Registry Office," then constituted at Edin- burgh. In that office are now preserved registers wdiich formerly belonged to the Kirksessions of about nine hundred parishes. Many of these have been injured by damp, while others have suffered from fire, and others from general neglect. Blanks are frequent. The majority of Births' registers commence about the middle of the seventeenth century ; only fifteen parishes possess registers wdiich extend to the century preceding. The Baptismal Register of Errol, Perth- shire, commences in December 1553, but the entries preceding the year 1573 are transcribed from a former record which has been lost. Of the same parish the Marriage Register for 1553 is actually extant. Under the registration system as provided by the 144 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. Act of 1854, and by supplemental statutes passed in 1855 and 1860, parish registers are kept by paro- chial registrars in strong iron boxes, while from year to year the entries are inspected by exam- iners appointed by the Treasury. The births and other registers prior to the year 1820, are in the Registry Office, open without charge to those engaged in literary research. To others, permission for a general search is accorded by the payment of one pound. For a particular search the fee is one shilling ; and for an official extract of any single entry is payable a further fee of 2s. Id., which includes stamp duty. Since the registration enactment of 1854, indexes of the registers are prepared from year to year. By some parish or session clerks in the sixteenth century were chronicled contemporaneous events un- connected with the locality. Thus the parish clerk of Aberdeen notifies in his register the birth of James VI. which took place at Edinburgh. The entry, which was evidently made subsequent to Queen Mary's abdication, which took place on the 27th July 1567, is in these words : " On Wednisday the nyntin day of June, this year of God 1566 yeiris, oure Kyng grace, James the Saxt, Kyng of Scotland, was boirin in ye Caistell of Edinburg, quha ryngis nowe aboye ws, quhame God moitt preserve in guid helth and in the feir of God, to do justice in punishing of wrayng and BIRTHS AND BAPTISMAL REGISTERS. 145 in manttinyeu the trewlit all the dais of his lyfe. So be itt." By the following entry in the Baptismal Register of the Canongate, a point of literary history, hitherto misinterpreted, is made clear: "17 Apryll 1622. Baptized to Alexander Erskine, son to the Earl of Mar, great treasurer of Scotland, a son named Alex- ander, gotten under promeis of marriage with Mistress Anna, sister to ane noLill and potent Lord, John Lord Holyrudhouse." In a note attached to a ballad which he entitles, " Lady Anne Bothwell's Lament," Dr Robert Chambers writes : ^ " The present editor, by the assistance of a valued antiquarian friend, is enabled now to lay a true and certain history of the heroine before tlie f)ublic. Lady Anne Bothwell was no other than the Honourable Anna Bothwell, daugh- ter of Bothwell, Bishop of Orkney at the Reforma- tion, but who was afterwards raised to a temporal peerage, under the title of Lord Holyroodhouse. . . . As Miss Bothw^ell's father died in 1593, and as Sir Alexander [Erskine] had a letter of provision of the abbacy of Cambuskenneth in 1608, there arises a pre- sumption, considering the age of the parties, that the unhappy circumstance which occasioned the 'Lament' took place early in the seventeenth century. This indeed, is set almost beyond a question by the occur- rence of a poem, apparently the first edition of Miss 1 Scottish Ballads, 1829, 12mo, pp. 118-121. K 146 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. Botliwell's *' Lament," in a publication of the year 1606, "The Northern Lass; or, The Nest of Fools." In a subsequent work,^ Dr Robert Chambers names as his "antiquarian friend," Mr Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, whose belief, he adds, was " founded on family traditions, su23ported by a passage in Father Hay's manuscripts, " contained in the Advocates Library." In the light of the Canongate register the respectable historical authorities, we have quoted prove severally at fault. For Anne Both well now appears as daughter not of Bishop Adam Bothwell, but of his son, John, the first Lord Holyroodhouse, and to whom in 1609 succeeded as second peer, his son John named as " Lord Holyroodhouse," in the Canongate register. By the entry we further learn that Alexander Erskine made acknowledgment as to his promise of marriage, and presented his child for baptism. That he did not fulfil his matrimonial pledge, was clearly owing to the corrupt inclinations of the Bothwell family. In the Canongate register, from 1623 to 1629, Lord Holyroodhouse appears as the father of three illegiti- mate children by different mothers, who were severally baptized to his valet. Tlie association of the pa- triotic ballad " Balow my boy," with the family of Bothwell is clearly unwarranted. So long as parish registers remained in the hands of the local custodiers, biographical and historical ^ Songs of Scotland, prior to Burns, 18G2, 12mo, p. 268. BIKTHS AND BAPTISMAL REGISTERS. 147 writers were liable to be at fault both in fixing dates and determining pedigrees. Thus, Mr Donald Cargill, the celebrated covenanter, is described as the eldest son of Cargill of Hatton, and as born at Rattray about the year 1619.^ By the parish register of Rattray we learn differently. Thus : "6th April 1610, Quhilk day Thomas Cargill, cotter, in Chappel toune, and Janet Steill his spouse, haid ane son baptized, callit Donald — the witnesses Donald Cargill, vicar of Rattray, and Andro Quliyt in Chapel toune." The witness Donald Cargill, was reader at Rattray, deriving a very small salary from the vicarage teind. By his biographers, the celebrated Marshal Iveith is named James Francis Edward. The Baptismal Register of St Fergus designates him diff'erently. Thus:— "June 16th 1696. The Earl of Marischall had a son baptized, called James Charles Edward, before these wituesses, John Earl of Erroll, Charles Lord Hay, and Sir William Keith of Londquhairn." In some national works, the nativity of Alexander Cruden, author of the " Concordance of the Bible," is described as occurrino- on the 31st Mav 1700, also in 1701.^ The Aberdeen register of baptisms cer- tifies thus : — " June 4, 1699, William Cruden, mer- chant, and late master of mortifications, and Isobell 1 Fasti Eccl. Scot. 11. 39. 2 Chambers's Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen, and Anderson's Scottish ^Nation. 148 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. Pyper his spouse, had a son named Alexander, baptized by Mr [John] Reid, minister of the gospell at [Diirris]. Alexander Kay and Alexander Orem present bailies, Alexander Ray younger, burges, and Alexander Lumsdell, son to William Lumsdell, burges and maltman, godfathers." ^ By his biographers, James Boswell is described as born on the 29th October 1740, but the Edinburgh Baptismal Register reports otherwise : — Thus, " Oct. 18, 1740; To Mr Alexander Boswell younger of Auchinleck, advocate, and Mrs Eupham Erskine his spouse, a son named James, witnesses Walter M'Farlane of that Ilk, Allan Whitefoord, receiver general for North Britain, and Dr John Pringle, physician in Edinburgh. Born the same day in the morning, and baptized by the Rev. Mr Robert Wallace, one of the ministers of the city. A usually accurate chronicler, the late Earl of Crawford, in his " Lives of the Lindsays," describes his relative. Lady Anne Lindsay, afterw\ards Barnard, authoress of " Auld Robin Gray," as born on the 8th December 1750. From the Baptismal Register of Kilconquhar, we have the following; "December 1, 1750. The Right Hon. James, Earle of Balcarres, 1 Mr John Eeid, minister of Durris, a non-jurist, married Mar- garet Cruden, father's sister of the author of the Concordance. In 1716 he was deposed for " contumacy " and " concurring in the late rebellion," BIRTHS AND BAPTISMAL REGLSTERS. 149 and his Lady Anne Dalrymple, had a child baptized named Anne, witnesses, Mr James Dalrymple and Robert Hamilton of Kilbrackmont, Esqs., and Doctor James Smith in Pearth. Born on the 27th November 1750." Biographers differ respecting the birth of John Home, the author of " The Tragedy of Douglas." In his sketch of the poet, Henry Mackenzie alleges that he was born on the 22d September 1722, old style, while by the editor of the " Scottish Nation " he is described as born at Ancrum, on the 22nd September, new style. The Births Register of South Leith records Home's birth in these terms : " Alex- ander Home, clerk of Leith, and Christian Hay his spouse, had a son named John, born 2d and baptized 3d September 1722 ; witnesses, John Hay, Inspec- tor of His Majesty's Customs, Alexander Douglas, merchant, Joseph Gibson, chirurgcon apothecary, and Alexander Innes, depute-clerk there." On his tombstone at Portmoak, the poet Michael Bruce has his natal day described as the 27th March 1746, and his various biographers concur. But the Portmoak register informs us that the short-lived poet was baptized some days previous to that named as his birthday. Thus :" March 24 [1746]. Baptized Michael, son to Alexander Bruce, dissenter in Kinness- wood." According to the memoir- writers, Professor Sir John 150 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. Leslie, tlie celebrated mathematician, was born at Largo on the 16th April 1766. In the Largo register we have this entry : " April 17, 1766. Was born John, son to Robert Lesslie, wright in Kirktown of Largo, and Ann Carstairs his spouse, and baptized 20th of same month, in presence of the congregation." By his biographer, Mr George Robert Gleig, is the dis- tinguished General, Sir Thomas Munro, described as born on the 27th May 1761.^ The Glasgow register has the following : " Alexander Monro, merchant, and Margaret Stark, a lawful son, Thomas, born 25th May 1761." The Ettrick SheijJierd, James Hogg, imagined that his birthday was the same as that of Robert Burns ; he was born, he reports in his autobiography, " on the 25th January 1772." But the register of Ettrick parish shows that the Bard of the Forest saw the light sooner. Thus: "December 9, 1769, James, lawful son to Robert Hosf2f and Maro-aret Laidlaw, tenant in Ettrickhall, was baptized." By the editor of the " Scottish Nation " we are informed that Professor John Wilson was born at Paisley on the 19th May 1785. In the Paisley register we read, under the year 1785, " John, lawful son of Mr John Wilson, merchant, and Margaret Syme, born 18th May." Hitherto the parentage of Mungo Park, the cele- 1 Gleig's Life of Sir Thomas Munro, Loud., 1849, 8vo. BIRTHS AND BAPTISMAL REGISTERS. 151 brated traveller, has been unknown. But the Selkirk register informs us in these words: "September 11 (1771) Mungo Park, tenant in Foulshiels, and Elspeth Hislop, his spouse, had a child baptized by the Rev. Mr George Lawson, of the Associate Congregation in Selkirk, named Mungo." Baptismal registers show that the philosophers, Adam Smith, James Beattie, and David Hume, were each baptized on the day of his birth. Hume was the first of his family who substituted u for o in his family name. His baptism is thus notified in the Edinburgh register: "1711, 26 ApriL Mr Joseph Home of ISIine wells, advocate, and Katherin Falconer his lady, a son named David. Witnesses, George, Master of Polwarth, Sir John Home of Blackadder, Sir Andrew Home, advocat, and Mr Andrew Fal- coner, junior, advocat. Born this day." By the Act of 1854, the registration of births is made compulsory. A supplementary Act for the recovery and preservation in the Register Office of Births Registers connected with Dissenting churches is still desiderated. CHAPTER V. DEATH AND FUNERAL PRACTICES. Prognostications of death were superstitiously en- tertained. When a tallow candle shed grease over the edge in a semicircular form, it was held to betoken that the person to whom it was turned was about to die. When after moving across a dead body, a cat proceeded to the roof of a house, it was deemed an omen that the head of the house was to be gathered to his fathers. The issue of an ailment was de- termined by the invalid having drawn round him, the methyr, a girdle formed by the interlacing of male and female garters. When a sick person was believed to be at the point of death, no occupant of his dwelling was allowed to sleep. On the event of death, the house clock was stopped, and the dial-plate concealed. When a body was enshrouded, the house mirrors were covered, and a bell was placed under the head, and a small vessel with earth and salt laid upon the breast. When the head of a family was removed, white paint was scattered upon the door of his dwelling, the spots so formed beinof held to denote the tears of the household. DEATH AND FUNERAL PRACTICES. 153 In hamlets and small towns, death was announced by the churcli officer ringing at intervals a small bell. When Captain Burt wrote (in 1740) a death was publicly announced in these words : — " All brethren and sisters, I let you to wot, that there is a brother departed this life, at the pleasure of Almighty God ; they called him, &c., — he lived at, &c." Funeral intimations were in like manner pro- claimed. By the General Assembly of 1638, funeral sermons were prohibited. Printed elegies were common at the close of the seventeenth, and early in the eighteenth centuries. Humphrey Milne, watchmaker at Edin- burgh, who died in 1695, was thus commemorated. I will not name his parentage, his breeding, nor his birth ; But he that runs may read his life — he was a man of worth. He valued not this earth below, although it had been satis, He loved to lay his stock above, and now he is heatus. In July 1700, Lord Elcho was deprived of his young and beautiful wife, consequent on her dress catching fire. He was comforted by these lines : — Only well-grounded hopes of her blest state Can his excessive agonies abate, And the two hopeful boys she left behind, May mitigate the sorrows of his mind Allan Ramsay held in contempt those who traded upon mortuary rhymes. Respecting them he wrote thus : — 154 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. None of all the rhyming herd Are more encouraged and revered. By heavy souls to their's allied, Than such who tell v^fho lately died. The latewake, a watching of the body from the moment of departure till the hour of burial, was practised till about a century ago. In the act of watching, all the neighbours, even persons from a great distance, took part. As the vigil was continued day and night, one party of watchers relieved the other. Silence was enjoined, but liquor-drinking was unrestrained. When the vigils were protracted, the watchers pro- secuted in silence a variety of games, especially card- playing. Captain Burt supplies these particulars : "After the death of anyone, not in the lowest circumstances, the friends and acquaintances of the deceased, assemble to keep the relations company the first night ; and they dance, as if it were at a wedding, till the next morning, though all the time the corpse lies before them, in the same room. If the deceased be a woman, the widower leads up the first dance ; if a man, the widow. But this Highland custom, I knew to my disturbance, within less than a quarter of a mile of Edinburgh, before I had been among the mountains. It was upon the death of a smith, next door to my lodgings, who was a Highlander." To avoid the cost of a protracted latewake, the DEATH AND FUNERAL PRACTICES. 155 bodies of the poor were buried soon after death. But it was deemed proper that the coffiued bodies of the opulent should remain at least a week uninterred, that vigil hospitalities might be largely ofifered and enjoyed. The latewakes of persons of quality, were occasionally protracted for two and three weeks. Notable latewakes terminated in a banquet on the evening which preceded the funeral. The festi- vities closed by the funeral dance, with bagpipe music. Funeral dances were largely shared by females. In October 1760, the death of George II. was celebrated at Aberdeen by a mourning concert. The occasion is in the Aberdeen Journal of the time thus described : — " On Tuesday night last there was a mourning concert at the Concert Hall, on account of his late Majesty's death. There were upwards of one hundred ladies, all in deep mourning, besides a great number of gentlemen. There were anthems sung^, and the music solemn and suitable to the occasion ; and the whole performance was reckoned by connoisseurs exquisitely good, and gave great satisfaction to the audience." Funerals were attended by a degrading dissipation, in which persons of all ranks lamentably shared. When at the funeral of an ordinary husbandman, one o'clock was named as the hour of "lifting," 156 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. the funeral pcarty began to assemble two hours previously. At the gate opening to the farm- yard one of the hinds waited with a supply of whisky, which in a cup or bicker he offered to all comers. Each took a draus^ht in silence. Amonoj those who passed were beggars of both sexes ; these assembled from all quarters in the farm- barn, where they tarried patiently till the funeral party had been served. What remained of viands and liquor fell to their share. To funeral-guests as they crossed the threshold was offered a second bicker of whisky ; it was drunk reverently. A third attendant waited in the guest chamber, and silently placed in the hand of each who entered a cog of liquor. This was swallowed along with a portion of shortbread. According to Burt, the tables of funeral parties usually displayed pyramids of plumcake and sweet- meats, together with pipes and tobacco. When the company had fully assembled, the parish minister commenced a religious service, which continued about forty minutes. Then were distributed copious refresh- ments. First were handed round portions of oaten cake, cheese, and w^hisky. Next followed a service of whisky and shortbread. When the fifth glass of liquor was consumed, the company prepared for the lifting, that is, for start- DEATH AND FUNERAL PRACTICES. 157 ing with the body for the churchyard. Those who were ictoxicatcd remained behind. At the funeral of WilHam Alexander, seaman, who died at Alloa in 1725, these items were incurred: Twentie pints eall [ale] , £13 6 Two pints aquavit 36 [whisky], 2 Bread [shortbread], 2 3 6 Tobacco and pipes. 10 Four pound chees, 12 As a Scottish pint was equal to two quarts of present measure, it appears that William Alexander's friends had at his funeral imbibed one gallon of whisky, and ten gallons of ale ! Eeferrino; to the funeral customs of a recent period, Dr R H. Story remarks, "At funerals, four rounds of whisky were considered due to wounded affection and departed worth, and respect was shown to the dead by the intoxication of the living."^ When persons of substance were interred, those attendino; their funerals were entertained with viands in curious variety. At the first service were offered meat and ale ; at the second, shortbread and whisky ; at the third, seedcake and wine ; at the fourth, currant-bun and rum ; at the last, sugar biscuits and brandy. During the funeral banquet of Andrew 1 Memoirs of the Rev. Eobert Story, by Eobert Herbert Story. Cambridge, 1862, 12mo, p. 50. 158 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. Alexander, "malster" at Stirling, who died in 1729, were served shortbread, wine, and whisky. The costs were these : — James Alexander, merchant, for aquavitae, -£13 6 James Dow, merchant, for wine, . 15 6 Bread (shortbread), . . . 6 0^ The aquavitse or whisky must have filled forty and the wine upwards of forty bottles. These mortuary festivities were relished not only by the living, but the departed comforted their later hours by contemplating their occurrence. Dean Ramsay relates that an aged spinster lady in Strath- spey, when she was on her deathbed, called to her bedside her grand-nephew and heir, and affection- ately charged him that as much whisky was to be used at her funeral as had been drunk at her baptism. Unaware as to the extent of the potations on the earlier occasion, the heir allowed each one who attended the funeral to drink what he pleased. The result was a contretemjJS which the aged gentle- woman could not have foreseen without emotion. AVhen the funeral party reached the churchyard, a distance of ten miles from the place of starting, the sexton's enquiry of the chief mourner, ' Captain, whaur's Miss Kitty ? ' aroused the company to the recollection that in resting at an inn they had there 1 Commissariot Eegister of Stirling, Unrecorded Wills. DEATH AND FUNERAL PRACTICES. 159 left the body on a dyke, and liad started witliout it." In connection with the Lord President Forbes a similar incident occurred. At his mother's funeral he entertained his neighbours with such profuse hospitahty, that he and his friends were startled on reaching the churchyard by the discovery that the coffin had been forgotten. At the funeral of the Hon. Alexander Eraser of Lovat in 1815, several persons overcome witli liquor fell into the vault ; and the carousals which in 1817 attended the funeral of the Chisholm were accompanied with some fatal incidents. Funeral festivities have led to strife, even to fatal conflicts. At a funeral procession at Meigle, in 1707, David Ogilvie of Clunie, quarrelling by the way with his neighbour, Andrew Couper, younger of Lochblair, discharged a pistol at him, when he fell from his horse mortally wounded. Ogilvie who was thoroughly inebriated, was sheltered for some weeks by the writer's great-grandfather, who resided in the district. Thereafter he found shelter in France. At another funeral tragedy, an ancestor of the writer Avas unhappily a chief offender. James Car- negie of Finhaven, grandson of David, second Earl of Northesk, had been attending at Forfar the funeral of a niece, a daughter of Carnegie of Lour. After the funeral he adjourned to a tavern along with Lyon of 160 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. Brido-eton and the Earl of Stratlimore. Carnefrie and Lyon drank heavily, and the latter, who was of an overbearing temper, began to upbraid the former 'wdth harsh and unbecoming epithets. At length as they walked out, he pitched Carnegie into a ditch. Mad with resentment Carnegie, who had hitherto been silent, plunged his sword towards his assailant. Per- ceiving his purpose, Lord Strathmore pushed Lyon aside, but unhappily received in his own body a fatal wound. On a trial, Carnegie was acquitted. Among persons of rank funeral festivities were seriously expensive. The cost incurred in interring a baron of Roslin, led to an Act of Parliament being passed in 1681 "restraining the exorbitant expense of marriages, baptisms, and funerals." The Act restricts the attendance at funerals to numbers pro- portioned to the rank of the deceased ; it also " pro- hibits and discharges the using or carrying of any branches, banners, and other honours at church, except only the eight branches to be upon the pall, or upon the coffin w^here there is no pall." At the funeral of a nobleman might only be present one hundred persons. The enactment of 1681 seems scarcely to have touched the evil which it was intended to overcome. Extravagant expenditure at funerals continued, both in the Hio-hlands and Lowlands. The festivities at the burial of Lachlan Mackintosh of Mackintosh, in DEATH AND FUNERAL PRACTICES. IGl December 1731, involved a cost which embarrassed the cliief of clan Mackintosh for a century. Sir William Hamilton, a Lord of Session by the title of Lord Whitelaw, who died in 1704, was interred with a ceremonial which cost £5189 Scots, being more than two years of his salary as a judge. The bills were settled by his widow, but when she contracted a second marriao-e she souo-ht and obtained a decree, transferrino- the burden to the heir. The funeral expenses of Hugh Campbell of Calder, in 1G16, amounted to £1647, 16s., 4d. This expenditure included a charge for whisky equal to one-fourth of the amount. Funeral rites varied. In the seventeenth century, persons who had approved a high ritual were buried at nioht bv torch-lig;ht. In this manner were interred at Stirling, in 1636, the remains of Sir Anthony Alexander, second son of Sir William Alexander, Earl of Stirling. During the same cen- tury, were conducted, under direction of the Lord Lyon, several funeral processions of imposing mag- nificence. Great state attended the funeral of Walter first Earl of Buccleuch, in 1654. The funeral party proceeded from Branxholm to Hawick, some on foot, others on horseback. In front marched forty- six salies or hired mourners, with hoods and bear- ing black staves. Preceded by a trumpeter, followed on horseback the landed representatives of the clan L 162 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. Scott, bearing a vast banner displaying the arms of the departed. A vast concourse followed. A descrip- tion of the funeral procession of Chancellor the Duke of Rothes, as performed on the 23rd August 1681, occupies six quarto pages of Hugo Arnot's " History of Edinburcrh." The funerals of Highland chiefs were attended by thousands, the processions extending to between one and two miles in length. At these processions were chanted, at intervals, the coronach or lamentation. Poured forth by an hundred voices it awakened the echoes, and as an expression of tragic grief was singu- larly effective. At Highland funerals, the coronach was latterly superseded by the pibroch. When a Lord Provost of Edinburo^h died in office his remains were conducted to the place of burial by an imposing pro- cession, of which an account was recorded in the civic reg^ister. Under the persistent efforts of the clergy, the people became at length aroused to the impropriety of assuaging grief by intoxicants. For half a century the refreshments offered to funeral parties have consisted chiefly in edibles. We have been favoured with the account for refreshments incurred in October 1811, at the funeral of Samuel BrowTi, farm-overseer at Ballochneil in Carrick, and maternal uncle of the poet Burns. The principal item is " plain short- DEATH AND FUNERAL PRACTICES. 1G3 bread," of which were used " four pecks, at seven shillings per peck." Bell-riu frill q; at funerals, common in Roman Catholic times, was continued after the Reformation. Early in the seventeenth century, the church officer of St Cuthbert's walked in front of every funeral party, ringing a handbell ; he received for this service a small fee. Bell-rino-ino: arrano^ements varied. At Alloa the beadle's fee for the funeral bell was thirteen shillings and fourpence. During the seventeenth century, persons of quality at Airth in Stirlingsliire were exjDccted to make liberal pay- ments for the tolling of the parish bell when their relatives Avere buried. To the Kirksession of that parish in March 1683 were paid £2, 18s. for the use of the bell at the funeral of " Lady Airth," and when the laird of Airth died in the July following, his executors presented to the session a bell-fee of eight rix-dollars.^ When in 1734 forty-two of the principal parish- ioners of Tough parish, Aberdeenshire, purchased a new church bell, they stipulated that at deaths in their families " the bell be runo- once before the CD day of interment, that is, when the officer gets the first notice of a contributor's death, and then upon the day of interment from morning until the coffin be laid down in the ground, in the manner that ^ Airth Parish Eegister. 164 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. bells ought to be rung at funerals, and that by no other person than the officer allenarlie,"^ At Inverness were kept two sets of funeral bells, one for tJie rich, the other for the poor. In the parish burial register the words " bio; bells " are added to the funeral entries of persons of quality. When a funeral procession enters the churchyard the beadle or sexton reverently spreads over the coffin a funeral pall. This pall, or mortcloth, is a parochial investment for behoof of the poor ; hence its use, though left to discretion, is attended with a compulsory fee. In Banffshire parishes, opulent families were for the mortcloth expected to pay thirty shillings, and husbandmen and others eighteen shillings. Practically the tax was a fee upon inter- ments. At Stirhng, in 1729, the mortcloth fee was £4,. 10s. Scots; at Alloa, about the same period, £3, 13s. 4d.' To primitive modes of burial we referred in a former chapter. Mound interments preceded the Christian age. The early ecclesiastics were buried in their churches, and when interment within places of worship had ceased elsewhere, clergymen in the isles desired that their remains miQ;ht rest within the walls in which they had preached. Mr Aulay ]\Iacaulay, minister of Harris, who died 1 Tough Parish Eegister. 2 Funeral Accounts of Andrew and William Alexander. DEATH AND FUNERAL PRACTICES. 1G5 in 1736, had liis remains deposited within the parish cliureh at the entrance j)assage. The shell was placed at a small depth, and when some twenty years afterwards, the church officer was repairing the earthen floor, the minister's skull was found protruding from the surface. The General Assembly of October 1576 ruled that burials " should not be made in the kirk," those who contravened the injunction being held liable to excommunication. But a practice which largely prevailed prior to the Eeformation might not readily be overcome. Accordingly, landowners and others long continued to insist on intramural interment. Landowners were buried under their pews. From the Records of the Presbytery of Lanark we, on this subject, glean some curious par- ticulars. Before the Presbytery appeared, on the 31st March 1625, John Mure, laird of Ancistoun, who " confessit his fault both in taking the key of the kirk doore of Symington frome the minister, as also in burying his father within the samyn." Mure was dismissed with an admonition, on be- coming bound " to abstain from all kirk burial in tyme coming." Before the Presbytery appeared, on the 28th March 1639, the laird of Shieldhill, who acknowledo;ed his offence " in burieinof his wyffe in the kirk of Quothquan, by forcibly enter- ing the structure ; " he was sentenced to publicly 166 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. avow " liis fault " in presence of the congregation. A more flagrant off'encler was reported to the Pres- bytery in September 1642. One of the brethren stated that " John Bertram, younger, his ruling elder, did wyle the key of the kirk from his kirk officer, under pretence of seeking something he had lost, and did quietlie make a grave in the kirk, just foragainst the pulpitt, contrare to the actes of the Generall Assemblie, and wold no wayes be stopped, nor hindered by him to bury within the kirk." Bertram was summoned, but the issue does not appear. A strict injunction against bury- ing in places of worship was issued by the General Assembly of 1643, and the practice all but ceased. Yet, if we are to accept the testimony of Father Hay, the St Clairs, barons of Roslin, were up to the year 1650 deposited in a vault of Roslin Chaj)el, while each baron of the house was in death borne forth panoplied in the armour he had used in life. In the Isles, the mode of sej)ulture was strangely primitive. In Orkney, Shetland, and the Hebrides, bodies were buried clad in graveclothes, but un- coffined. The graves were in depth only one or two feet. At Caithness, bodies were placed with the heads northward ; in the eastern lowlands tlie graves were uniformly fashioned, so that the feet rested to- wards the east. In certain localities, a superstition DEATH AND FUNERAL PRACTICES. 167 prevailed, that the body was in the grave only safe from evil influence if prior to interment it was three several times carried round the church in the direction of the sun. In 1641 the Presbytery of St Andrews specially condemned this usage and prohibited its observance. On the 8th ]\Iarch 1G48, the same Presbytery resolved that " whereas there is a super- stitious practice of makeing graves upon the Lord's day, qulieu it may be convenientlie eschewed, the Presbyterie do appoint that no graves be made vpon the Lord's day, bot in case of urgent necessitie allowed by the minister and session." At Cleish, in Kinross-shire, a portion of rock situated about a quarter of a mile to the east of the parish church is po^Dularly known as " the lecture stone ; " it was in pre-Reformation times used at funerals as a rest for the coffin during the perform- ance of a religious ceremonial. At Orwell, in the same county, at the west end of the old glebe is another " lecture stone " associated with the same practice. The latter is referred to in a Kinross-shire sasine, dated 22nd March 1746. In pre-Reformation times a funeral mass of re- quiem was observed annually in commemoration of those of the departed who had by endowment or other- wise provided for this service. Survivors of the loved or notable also made provision for this annual solemnity. On the eve of celebration-day was in the residence of survivors observed the dergen, which 168 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. consisted in the utterance of words of lamentation. The mass of requiem which next day followed was held as efficacious in purifying the soul from the stain of sin, and so advancing it in blessedness. Till a recent period the bodies of unbaptized children were buried apart from the graves of the baptized ; in some parishes their remains were deposited under the eaves of the clmrch. At Edinburgh, a lonely graveyard at St Leonard's Hill was apportioned to suicides. These were ordi- narily buried on the march between two counties, on mountain tops, and at low-water mark on the sea beach. Lowland funerals are attended only by men, but in the uplands w^omen clad in red cloaks are occasionally present. Conformably with the Registration Act of 1854, the Death Registers, prior to 1820, have been deposited in the General Registry Office, and it is now provided that after the occurrence of a death, the nearest relative present is bound to j^ersonally attend at the office of the registrar to certify the event. The earliest registers of deaths are those of Aberdeen, which commence in 1560; Perth, beginning in 1561; and the Canono-ate, bemnninsf in 1565. The Burial Registers of the Canongate andGreyfriars' churchyards, Edinburgh, severally commence in 1612 and 1658. Death Registers in rural parishes generally begin in the eighteenth century ; they are usually defective. DEATH AND FUNEEAL PEACTICES. 1G9 Members of the Associate Churcli had a few burial- places of their own, and in connection with these preserved special registers. Embittered feelings be- tween the Established Churcli and their dissenting brethren was surely at its height, when the session- clerk of Mauchline, writing in 1768, inserted in tlie register these words, in capital letters : " Iliigli Campbell, a Seceder, cut his own throat on the 3rd of January " ! In the Death Register of the Canongate, the as- sassination of David Rizzio is notified amono- the O earlier entries. The event is recorded thus : "Monsr. Singnor David ves slane in Halyrudhous the ix day of Merche anno 1565." In the Canongate register Lord Darnley's murder is thus entered : " The Kyng's grace blawen vp with buder in the Kirk of Feild the x of Februar 1566." The event is more circumstantially chronicled in the Register of Aberdeen, but under a wrong date. Thus: "The nynt day of Fabruar the zeir of God 1566 zeris, hendry Stwartt lord Darly, Kyng of Scotland, quha maratt Mare Stwartt, queyne of Scot- land, doathar to Kyng James the fyft, was crwelly niwrdryst wnder nyt. in Edinburg in the Kowgeatt at the Kyrk of fydall, be James habewn, wyquhell Erll of Boydwall, and odris his assisteris quhais deed God to rewnge. So be it." The slaughter of the Earl of Murray is notified in 170 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. various registers. Giving an inaccurate date, tlie registrar at Perth writes : — " The xviii day of Januar anno LXIX years, wes tlie regeant slayne in Lythko at X houris afore nvyn." Tlie session-clerk of Aber- deen records the event thus : " The twenty -tlire day of Januar, the yeir of God 1569 zyrs, James, erll of Murray, Lord Abernethie, regent to the Kyng and realme of Scotland, was crwelly murderist and schoitt in the toun of Lythco, be ane false traytoure, James Hamyltoun of bodywallhaucht, be the cosspyrase and traissvn of his aun servant Wilyem Kyrcaldy, and Johne Hamyltoun, bludy bischoip of Sanctandrois, quhois deicl we pray God to rewenge. So be itt." With much particularity does the Aberdeen registrar make record of the massacre of St Bartholomew, and the murder of Admiral Coligny on the 24th August 1572. The latter event he "prays God to rewenge." From the parish records of Kinghorn we learn that Mr John Moncreiff, minister of that parish, being most zealous on behalf of the Covenant, in- duced many of his elders and parishioners to join the standard of General Baillie prior to the battle of Kilsyth. At that battle, fought on the 15th August 1645, the General was, with great slaughter, defeated by the Marquis of Montrose, a result which involved many families at Kinghorn in bereavement and consequent distress. Many of the elders were among the slain. There was much bitter reflection, DEATH AND FUNERAL PRACTICES. 171 for few of the bereaved understood the real nature of the controversy which had made them desolate. On the 11th October, or about two months after the battle, Janet Smith was arraigned before the Session for railling on one of the bailies, calling him "muckle keited carle," and "wishing or saying the curse of God would come on him who had made so manie fatherless bairns in the town be sending them to Kilsyth." And on the 4th November, Janet Moyes was summoned for " cursing Patrick Boswell, as causing the death of her sonne at Kilsyth." Some time thereafter, Margaret Wallace, whose husband was also slain, was brought up for expressing a wish that " there was not a living man in all Kino;horne." At the Restoration, those who had suffered on behalf of the royal family were honoured and elevated. The Marquis of Montrose was dead, but his remains were disinterred at the Burgh Muir, and from thence conveyed to Edinburgh, where, after remaining four months in state in the Abbey Church of Holyrood, they were borne to St Giles' Church, and there deposited with great pomp. In the Edinburgh Register of Burials is the event thus chronicled : — " 11 May 1G61. The Ry*- Hon'^- James Marquis of Montros, Erlle of Kincairdin, Lord Grahame and Mugdok, His Maiesties lait commissioner and Capi- taine Generall for the kingdome of Scotland, and kyn' 172 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. of most hon^'- order of tlie Gairter, was conveyit from the kirk of Halyrudlious with great honour and solemnitie to Sanct Gills kirk and buiyed." At a subsequent period, some of those who had suffered in the cause of Presbytery and arbi- trary government, were in their remains similarly honoured. This is notified in the Greyfriars Eegister by the following entry : — " Eobert Garvock, Patrick Forman, James Stewart, David Fernie, Alexander Russell, wes execute in the Gallowlee for owning the truth, upon the 10 day of October 1681 years, and ther heads fixt upon Bristo Port, taken doun and buried privatlie in Louristone Yeards, now accidentlie dug up upon the 15 day of October 1726, and buried decentlie upon the 19 day of the said month in the Greyfriere Church yeard, close to the Martiers Tomb." In the Greyfriars Register the following entry records the death and burial of the learned Sir Robert Sibbald : — " Sir Robert Sibbald of Kippo, Doctor of Medicine, aged eighty-two years. Died 9th August 1722. Buried 12th, within Phesdo's ground, near to the east end thereof." According to the popular biographers. Sir Robert Sibbald died "about the year 1712." Jane Baillie Welsh, the accomplished wife of Thomas Carlyle, has been erroneously described as a descend- ant of John Knox. She sprung from the Dumfries- DEATH AND FUNERAL/PffSjCHCffiS^:; -^ 73 sliire family of Walsh or y^sli, wljicli prodaceclC a John AVelsh, husband of Elizabeth, thkd and'yotitigi^t \ daufrhter of the orrcat reformer. l!Nfedlas:W^!^,~tibbot^ of Tongland in 1488, belonged to a family two members, Dean Robert Welsh, vicar of Tynron, and John Welsh, vicar of Dunscore, embraced the Protestant doctrines. John Welsh, owner of the lands of Colliston and others in the parishes of Dunscore and Holywood, was ancestor of John Welsh of Craigen- puttock, progenitor of Mrs Carlyle. This gentleman died in February 1772, and his testament and inven- tory are recorded in the Commissariot Eegister of Dumfriesshire. According to the inventory, his house- hold effects were of the total value of £27, Os. 2d. sterlino;, includino- the sum of £11, the estimated value of his live stock, which consisted of thirty-four ewes and lambs, thirteen " old yell sheep, ten hogs, a cow, and a stirk." By entries in the Death Registers do we discover some remarkable instances of longevity. In the Register of Mauchline it is recorded that Margaret Paton died on the 15th March 1807, aged 106 years, 7 months, and 1 days ; and that John Mair, " in- dweller in Mauchline," died on the 21st November 1807, at the age of 105. In the Crieff Baptismal Register, we learn that Isabel, daughter of John Taylor in Greenhead, was baptized on the 5th May 1717 ; she died at Edinburgh on the 23rd April 1818, 174 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. at the age of 101. A.nii Wallace, sister of Kobert Wallace of Kelly, M.P., died in 1872 ; she was born in the Barony parish on the 1st July 1770. Mrs Murray, nee Katherine Bell, died at Crail on the 1st August 1862. While in the possession of perfect health she sustained an accidental fall attended with a frac- ture, which proved fatal. Mrs Murray was born in the parish of Kingsbarns on the 19th September 1761. The parish of Dunnet in Caithness is remarkable for the longevity of its inhabitants. George Cowper, who was baptized on the 3rd March 1771, died on the 10th July 1872. Donald Sutherland, a native of Eddrachillis, died at Brough in Dunnet, on the 8th September 1876, aged 102; and there on the 5th May 1875, died James Jack at the age of 101. Mr James Ingram, minister of the Free Church, Unst, died on tlie 3rd March 1879 ; he was born at Logie-Colston, Aberdeenshire, on the 3rd April 1776. His father lived to the age of 100, and his grand- father died in his 105th year. At Unst, on the 29th August 1882, died at Colvidale, Anne Nisbet, who had two weeks before reached her 10 2d birthday. At Brechin, on the 7th March 1883, died Mrs John Alexander, nee Jean Wyllie ; she was born on the farm of Beatson, near Stewarton, on the 2nd Septem- ber 1781. From the register of the united parishes of Glen- DEATH RITES AND FUNEKAL PEACTICES. 1 75 orcliay and Inishail we have the following : " August 24, 1790. Baptized William, son to John Macfaiiane, piper. At the baptism of the above child to John Macfarlane, piper, were present the father and mother, the grandfather and grandmother, and the great- grandfather and great-grandmother, the two last stronof and vi2;orous, viz., John Morrison and Anne Macdougall, in Edendorrich." In the Burial Registers of Edinburgh, the mor- tality entries are yearly summarized. These annual reckonings show that early in the eighteenth century, nearly two-thirds of the population died in childhood, and that the deaths of adult females doubled those of adult males. A diminution in the death-rate appears in 1741, when the interments include 276 males, 401 females, and 942 children. This compu- tation embraces both the city and the landward parish of St Cuthberts. Accepting the commonly received report that the inhabitants of the place, in 1741, numbered 50,000, we discover that the mor- tality was at the rate of 34 per 1000. The mean mortality of the city for the years 1869-1878, as derived from the Registrar- General's returns, is 24 per 1000, showing a decrease in the death-rate since 1741 of 10 per 1000. It further appears that while, in 1741, for every seven adults there died ten children, four children for every seven adults is the present average. CHAPTER VI. THE LAND AND ITS CULTIVATORS. Writes Mr Tudor : " The source or fountain from which all honour and riglits of property were derived, lying in the land itself, the first occupancy of which was held to confer, as it were, a patent of nobility on all descendants of the first possessor, the tenant for life was the Odaller, or Udaller, as in more modern times he has come to be called, a name derived from Odal, allodium as contradistinguished from feodum, whilst his male descendants were Odal-born, having rights infuturo over their fathers' land or real pro- perty, of which they were unable to divest them- selves. Society was thus divided into two classes, the Odal-born or Freemen and the Thralls, Serfs or Un- free. An Odaller's real estate, on his decease, became equally divisible amongst all his family ; the only privilege accorded to seniority being that the eldest son could claim the head Bud or Chemis place, i.e., the chief manor or farm. If disputes arose as to the due division of the property, it was settled by a Schynd, or inquest held by the Odallers who con- stituted the local Thing, or court of the district.^ ^ " The Orkneys and Shetland, their Past and Present State," by John II. Tudor. Lond., 1 <<:^ Three days were occupied in tftcjourney. Tnl'S^B a \ stage-coach drawn by four hors^s^^egjin^o ;£[ly weekly between Aberdeen and Inverness. In connection with the soil, the eighteenth century opened under a system which to landlords and occu- pants was alike unsatisfactory and injurious. In many districts, and universally in the West High- lands, the lands were leased to tacksmen who, not personally engaging in land-culture, established upon their holdings a body of sub-tenants, without con- tinuity of tenure, and w^hose domestic condition was allowed to resemble that of the earlier serfs. The degraded state of the land-cultivators on his vast estate attracted the attention of the Duke of Argyle and Greenwich, who sought and obtained the counsel of the celebrated Duncan Forbes of Culloden. Not less remarkable for his agricultural skill than for his high judicial Cjualities, Forbes agreed to manage the Duke's estate during his absence in Spain ; he also did so subsequently. As administrator of the lands, he broke up a system which impoverished the actual tenants, and morally and physically de- graded them. In his earlier efforts, he had to contend with the prejudices and prepossessions of the people themselves, many of whom preferred to drag on in the track of their progenitors. But at length a 224 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. complete change was effected, the hind being let to the actual cultivators, on leases direct from the proprietor, and which were made to subsist for a term of years. In these leases were substituted for personal services, and other troublesome exactions, a stated rent in money. Except in the Hebrides and the northern isles, where up to the present time the cause of husbandry has languished, Forl^es's manage- ment of the Argyle estates was widely imitated, and middle-men finally dispensed with. On the 9th November 1723, a "Society for improving in the knowledge of Agriculture " was formed at Edinburgh, with a membership of three hundred persons, chiefly landowners. Under its auspices was established at Cliftonhill a model farm, which resulted in converting a place of marshes into a fertile and beautiful demesne. In landscape culture Mr Hope of Kankeillor took a prominent part; he drained the meadows south of Edinburgh, changing an insalubrious morass into a graceful and healthy sulmrb. But prominent members of the society cherislied wayward fancies. A section insisted on the special importance of liuen-bleaching, other members expatiated on the importance of checking the introduction of foreign spirits ; others held that certain woollen manufactories should be patronized to the exclusion of others. A volume of " Proceedings " was issued in 1743, when also the society ceased. THE LAND AND ITS CULTIVATORS. 225 Undigested speculation had received a final quietus in the famine of 1740. A late winter was accom- panied with a terrible frost, which binding loch and river, also restrained the husbandman. The frost continued to the end of April, no seed being sown till May. Rough and sunless weather prevailed during summer, resulting in a stunted and almost useless crop. For rent there was no provision, while the fodder was barely sufficient to sustain the cattle. On account of this terrible visitation the progenitors of Robert Burns, who had held a respectable rank as Kincardineshire yeomen were reduced to poverty, and the poet's father was compelled to migrate southward in quest of work. Other northern farmers shared in the common ruin. Many landlords, too, were im- poverished, especially those who forty years before had suffered from the collapse of the iVfrican Company. The scarcity of 1740 was followed four years later by an event which menaced more formidable mischief. But the rebellion of 1745 proved otherwise, for the extensive forfeiture of lands held by those who for generations had used the sword in j^reference to the plough, became an important feature in agricultural progress. In 1773 the Commissioners of Forfeited Estates entered on a system of agricultural enquiry. They selected as their agent Andrew AVight, farmer, at 226 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. Ormiston, who, to great agricultural skill, added vast powers of observation. In a series of surveys, ex- tending over a period of ten years, and tlie results of which he published in four octavo volumes, he laid open the real condition of the country. In his Pre- face, he wrote thus : — " Fifty years ago a survey of this kind would have been of no avail, because one practice cramped by custom, was the same every- where, and there was nothing to be learned. Fifty years hence the knowledge and practice of husbandry will probably be spread everywhere, and nothing will remain to be learned." Mr Wight found that farmers generally were wedded to the miserable husbandry of former times. On the other hand he found some strongly inclined to reformation. The more intelligent improvers he discovered among the landowners ; of these he honourably names Henry Home, Lord Kames. Succeeding in 1746 to the estate of Blair Drummond, his lordship warmly interested himself in the cause of husbandry. For existing evils his remedy was twofold. He con- ceived that the condition of the husbandman and of his hinds would be materially improved if the pfarden of the homestead were better cultivated, and vegetables largely reared. But his grand panacea was tree planting. Personally he did not plant much, for the moss upon his lands rejDelled vegetation. But others planted on his counsel, and vast districts of THE LAND AND ITS CULTIVATORS. 227 moorland were studded witli trees. The mania, for such it was, continued till the century closed. Intensely whimsical, Lord Karnes clung to many parts of the old system, and was to be commended mainly for stimulating inquiry. In his wake arose Sir John Sinclair, Bart., whose claim to national grati- tude cannot be over-estimated. The estate of Ulbster, in Caithness, to which he succeeded in his eighteenth year, extended to 100,000 acres, and was peopled by the families of 900 crofters. Of these, the women acted as pack-horses, carrying on their backs for long distances baskets of peat, grain, and manure. Improving roads and building bridges, Sir John transferred loads and burdens to carts and waggons. Mud huts he swejot away, substituting cottages of stone and lime, each containing three and four apartments. For peat as the universal fuel, he substituted coal and logs. To the locality inviting ingenious mechanics he secured the best implements. He obtained superior seed, instructed in the use of lime and manure, and taught a suitable rotation. To the estate he brought improved breeds of cattle, and introduced the fine woolled sheep of South Wales and the Cheviots. The Ulbster crofters lacked both capital and enter- prise. Those thoroughly incapable Sir John relieved of their holdings, with a due provision for their sup- port, while he invested small farms in the hands of 228 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. tliose willing and able to adopt his system. He subsequently established the Board of Agriculture, and had surveys prepared and printed of every Scottish county. He induced the parochial clergy to contribute an account of their several parishes, which, under his editorship, appeared in twenty-one volumes. By establishing a society for the improve- ment of wool, he effected general reform in sheep farming, and, inducing the Commissioners of Forfeited Estates to make loans for reclaiming waste lands, he converted vast swamps into regions of fertility. What Sir John Sinclair commenced in 1772 led in 1784 to the formation of the Highland and Agricul- tural Society, which three years later was incorporated by Royal Charter. By receiving from Government out of the monies realised from the forfeited estates a benefaction of £3000, and an annuity of £800 from the public exchequer, the Society was enabled to conduct operations on a liberal scale. Offering premiums for improved agricultural implements, and in all departments of husbandry, they excited a wide and general interest. To the father of the present writer, James Eogcr, afterwards minister of Dunino, the Society awarded in 1796 their gold medal for an essay on the best means of improving the Highlands. In association with George Dempster, of Dunnichen, who on his retirement from political life became a zealous agriculturist, Mr Roger prepared a general THE LAND AND ITS CULTIVATORS. 229 "View of the Agriculture of the County of Angus or Forfiir " which was included in the eight volumes of County Reports, issued under the authority of the Board of Agriculture ; he also conjointly with Mr Dempster originated the Lunan and Vinney AVater Farming Society, one of the earliest of those district associations which eminently advanced the cause of husbandry. Within twenty years after its institution, the High- land and Agricultural Society remarked that outfield lands had ceased, since every portion of the farm received its due share of attention and culture. Clay soils, under the application of lime and manure, became friable. Marl, which in England had upon light soils been used profitably, was, after a trial, found upon northern fields to be worse than useless. Bestial, which in summer had been wretchedly sus- tained Ijy souming and rouming, that is by outfield pasturing in summer and foddering in winter on the coarse bent of the meadow, were now grazed on fields of artificial grass, and in winter fattened in covered sheds on hay and turnips. The best arable land in Ayrshire which in 1750 was leased at two and three shillings an acre, had before the century closed increased in value eight and ten fold. The average prices of farm produce at different epochs may be denoted. The cost of grain during 230 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. tlie reign of Alexander III. (1249-1296) is thus set forth by Wyntoun : — " A l)oll of atys pennys foure Of Scottys mone past noucht oure ; A boll of here for awcht or ten In comowne prys sawld wes then, For saxtene a boll off qwhete Or for twenty, the derth wes grete." In 1329 barley brought 2s. 5d. per boll, oats lid. In 1424 the prices of wheat, barley, and oats were severally 2s., Is. 4d., and 6d. per boll. Towards the close of the sixteenth century a boll of oats with the straw sold in Perthshire for lis., while at the same time a boll of meal, also of bear, was valued at £3. In 1656 oats with fodder sold at £3 per boll. According to Eoger's " View " oats sold per boll in 1^94 at 12s. sterling, wheat about 20s. The rental of the entire lands in Scotland in 1664 was £319,000 scots; it had in 1748 increased to £822,857 sterling, and in 1813 to £6,285,389. Now the rental is slightly under twenty millions. It is not unimportant to add that only 11*05 per cent, of the population contribute to the national taxes. CHAPTER VII. KURAL LIFE AND MANNERS. The condition of the Scottish peasantry had under- gone only perceptible amelioration from the com- mencement of the fourteenth to the early part of the eighteenth century. Writing in 1661, Dr John Ray, the naturalist, who then visited Scotland, re- marks : " The ordinary country houses are pitiful cots, built of stone, and covered with turves, having in them but one room, many of them no chimneys, the windows very small, broke, and not glazed." The " cou'dna be fash'd " system so admirably portrayed by Mi^ Elizabeth Hamilton in the "Cottagers of Glen- burnie" was no overstrained picture of rural life up to the period of the last rebellion. When, as Mrs Hamil- ton depicts, a village bridge was only half repaired and yet insecure, the remark " it'll do weel eneuch," settled all questions as to its stability. Describing the state of Ayrshire husbandry in 1750, Colonel Fullarton remarks that " the farm-houses were hovels, moated with clay, having an open hearth or fire-place in the middle and a dunghill at the door." When 232 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. William Burnes, crofter at Alio way, resolved in the autumn of 1757 to enter into matrimony, he with his own hands reared his future dwelling. Composed of mud walls, it was covered with straw. About the 5th of February 1759, some ten days after his first- born appeared on the scene, a violent gale threw down one of the gables, to the great peril of the mother and of her son. That son was the poet, Eobert Burns. An improved style of farm -dwelling proceeded about the close of the century. Farm-houses were now erected in stone, each containing from three to six apartments. But the door still opened into the farm-yard, as did nearly all the windows. This arrangement was intended to secure a constant sur- O veillance of the hinds and maidens, also to discover the condition of the calves, pigs, and domestic fowl, which severally disported within a central enclosure named the reed. At the farm-house door a stone seat cushioned with turf, and projecting from the wall, formed the summer afternoon resting-place of the gudewife as she knitted her stocking and superintended her maidens. This seat was called the dais; it had its counterpart in the loupin-on-stane, a small erection of masonry for accommodating the gudewife in mounting and dismounting from her horse, on which she sat behind her husband as she accompanied him to kirk and market. RUKAL LIFE AND MANNERS. 233 The farm-liousG was the headquarters of those who worked upon the farm, for though the hinds at night were lodged elsewhere, it was to all, including the married labourers, who occupied huts, a place of daily resort. Breakfast was simply gone about. The farmer, with his wife and children, breakfasted on porridge. In porridge-making, water was boiled in a sauce-pan, into which oatmeal with salt was poured slowly, and constantly stirred with a wooden spurtle or theedle. The meal so prepared was supped with a horn spoon, each spoonful being dipped in a bowl of milk. The farm-labourer cooked his breakfixst in simple fashion. He used brose. This dish was prepared by the straininsf of several handfuls of oatmeal in a small cog of hot water, which by continuous stirring- attained a firm consistency. Like porridge, it was supped along with unskimmed milk. Dinner for the entire household was served in the ha' or kitchen. At noon the gudewife, with her maidens, proceeded in the centre of the well-swept earthen floor to erect the timber or iron trestles and thereon to extend the tajil or dinner-boards. In the better class farm-houses the upper part of the dinner- boards was covered with a linen cloth. More fre- quently the upper part of the table, at which sat the farmer and family, was separated from the lower part by a chalk-line. Occasionally the distinction was 234 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. indicated by the position of the salt-dish ; those who sat above it were of the farmer's kin, those beneath it were his hirehngs. When all were seated — the farmer and his wife and children and other relatives in the place of honour, and the hinds — each ranking according to seniority or length of service — they uncovered and bowed their heads for " grace," or blessing. This was expressed in few and simple words, except by office-bearers of the Secession Church, who prolonged their utterances. Grace said, all the males resumed their bonnets, which, summer and winter, they retained in eating. Before taking his seat the farmer washed his hands, but the hinds were expected to eat without attempting an ablution. Broth was usually the first dish. From a large family broth-pot, in form resembling the Roman camp-kettle, the liquor was transferred to a boyne or wooden tub, and from thence conveyed in timber coo^s to those who dined. The cosj was afterwards laid aside unwashed, since the application of water was supposed to rend and ruin it ; but each member of the household kept his own cog and spoon and bicker, which w^ere severally inscribed with his selected mark, or with the initials of his name. In Hebridean crofts Av ere used for bearing broth or milk to those who dined in the field the craggan, a narrow-necked earthen vessel, manufactured by women. RURAL LIFE AND MANNERS. 235 The broth of the farm-ha' had as a constituent a kind of pot barley, neither milled nor scaled, but bruised or beaten on the knocking-stone. Pot barley- was knocked by the younger maid-servant, who also winnowed the product in a iveclit or sieve. Another constituent of farm-broth was tlie great nettle, wtica dioica, which grew luxuriantly in ditches and waste nooks. During the eighteenth century, and even earlier, the great nettle was in many districts, as a broth-vegetable, displaced by kale or colewort. Subsequently were added the carrot, onion, and turnip cut into small portions. Long after nettle-broth had ceased to be in general use, Stewart of luvernahyle, the contemporary and friend of Sir Walter Scott, partook of it at dinner on three successive days each spring, under the belief that thereby he would, for the remainder of the year, profit by its diuretic virtues.^ In every pot of broth was boiled a joint of beef or mutton or of fresh pork. After the broth had been served the meat was supplied in portions by the gudeiuife, each of these being thrust into the cogs as severally they were passed round. When colewort was in use, the joint was served along with its stems, or castocks, but more commonly with bannocks baked that morning on the hearth. 1 " ISTether Lochaber," by tbe Kev. Alexander Stewart. Edin., 1883, 8vo, pp. 235, 349. 236 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. Farm-lioiise bread varied in quality. During the sixteenth century bread was of four sorts — the first was manchet, the second trencher, the third ravelled, the fourth masliloch. Eavelled bread was of bruised grain as it came from the mill, including both flour and bran. The mashloch was of sifted flour con- joined with rye. According to Dr Somerville, the bannocks of the farm-house in 1760 were composed of oatmeal, also of a mixture of pease-meal and barley-flour.^ At the farm-kitchen dinner butcher meat was presented four times a week. On other or meagre days, dinner was commenced with a cog of sowens, derived from the liquor of bruised oats. Next followed cheese and hard-boiled eggs, also oaten cakes and butter. The cheese, usually prepared from skimmed milk, was imperfectly nutritious. In Strathmore and elsewhere near the banks of rivers salmon was by a portion of the tenantry substituted at dinner for broth and butcher meat. But hinds at hiring made a stipulation that they would not be required to eat salmon or fresh-water trout oftener than thrice a week. On Sunday the farmer and his wife and children dined apart from the hinds in the spence or hen house. This apartment, with its uncarpeted wooden floor, 1 Dr Thomas SomervUle's " Life and Times," 1714-18 14. Edin. 1861, 8\o, 2)assim. RURAL LIFE AND MANNERS. 237 always contained a box-bed with sliding doors, also a sort of fire-grate, on wliicli might be burned turf and peat or wood and coal. Wlieu on Sundays the gude- man preferred a hot instead of the usual " cold Sab- bath denner," he was privileged with a dish of sheep's head and trotters. The preparation of this dish is thus humorously described in the vernacular : " It needs Httle watchin', and disna gang wrang wi' owre lang boilin'. Cleek it on an' get it fair through the boil, then cleek it up so as it'll no boil ower an' pit oot the fire, an' ye may lock the door an' gang a' to the kirk, an' come oot when you like. It disna matter for an hour or twa, either ; 'deed it's a' the better o' plenty o' the fire, especially if ye hae a handfu' o' the blue pat-pea in't an' plenty barley. Then what's like the broth on a cauld day."^ There were a few other occasions on which the farmer and his wife abandoned at dinner the society of their hinds. A notable occasion was that on which they gave to the neighbours the spare-inh dinner after the slaughter of the mart. Another was that of the minister's pastoral visit. Dinner at these times was served in the spence. As each guest arrived the gudewife proceeded to wipe with a linen towel the chair which he was expected to occupy. Cooking preparations had been commenced at early morn. The principal joint was broiled, but the roast- 1 " Bits from Eliukbonuy." Ediu., 1882 ; p. 186. 238 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. ing jack was prior to 1750 unknown in tlie farm- house. A spit was used, to which was attached a wooden wheel, which was turned by a dog or one of the younger servants. The guest-dining hour at the farm-house varied at different periods. In 1514 every husbandman gave his dinner entertainments so early as ten o'clock. During the eighteenth century, the farmer entertained his friends at the hour of one. Profusion was the prevailing characteristic. There were stacks of bread and heaps of vegetables. Along with the principal dish were piles of chickens, sir- loins of mutton, loads of pork, and a prodigious liaggis. Wooden cogs were dispensed with, the eating plates being of pewter or earthenware. The substantial part of the entertainment was placed on the table at once, when the maidens who brought it in stood back and smiled. Of waiting in the modern sense they were wholly ignorant, nor could the mis- tress offer a suggestion. When the guests were seated, the mistress took her place at her husband's right hand ; she stood there, for she was not yet expected to occupy her seat. From her point of eminence she could better Gfuide her husband and direct her maidens. At her nod the latter carried off used or empty dishes, and brought in fresh relays of hot potatoes or other steaming vegetables. When potatoes were first in- troduced they were presented in the skins, which EURAL LIFE AND MANNERS. 239 each removed by his fingers. If tlie guJemau omitted to specially attend to some honoured guest, his wife reminded him by a nudge. Some gudewives sought to entertain their guests by dry jests or humorous references. Every farm housewife in Forfarshire, as the first course was being served, exhorted her guests to " stick weel to the skink, and no trust to the castocks " — that is, to indulge copiously in broth and not to expect too much from the after-j^art of the entertainment. Pressing to eat was the universal rule, and the gudewife was expected to du-ect her speeches in the way of urgence so long as the meal continued. Eoast beef and boiled fowl were recom- mended by turns. The haggis, as prepared by her own hands, the gudewife specially urged upon the company. Some phrases of urgence would strike strangely upon modern ears, such as " I say, minister, what ails ye at the swine that ye're no' tastin' the pork;" "Dominie," addressing the parish schoolmaster, " dinna crack [talk] yersell out o' yer denner, my man ; pree the guse, and dab it weel wi' mustard." " Macgersicawber and Glentulichan," naming two farmers by their farms, " ye maun tak' a spaul [leg] o' the chuckle [fowlj or a weng o' the jeukie [duck], or a big scklice o' the bublie-jock [turkey]. Tak a bit o' the mert [mart], Saunders Tamson ; o'd, man, it was felled be Jock, yer gudebrithcr." Amidst such speeches, rough or simple, but each received in the 240 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. good humour in which it Wcas expressed, did the guests in the farm-spence continue their repast. When the meat viands were removed, which was done by huddling them together in a large wicker- basket, the gudewife took her seat opposite her hus- band and proceeded to serve cheese and pudding. Thereafter she tarried a little to sanction the " grace- drink." For there was a tradition that the good Queen Margaret had ruled that when grace was invoked after eating, strong liquor might be drunk subsequently. From its usual resting-place in the oak cabinet or upon the mahogany chest of drawers which stood in the apartment, the china punch- bowl was transferred to the dinino;-table and there placed in front of the gudeman. Charged with half a gallon of gin or brandy, for whisky was deemed unworthy of those who assembled at a farm- feast, the other contents were added according to the experienced taste of the elder guests. When the family toasts were disposed of, the gudewife joined her maidens in the kitchen. Amidst frequent renewals of the punch-bowl there were songs and sentiments, and perhaps some tunes upon the violin or flageolet. The snuff-mull was constantly passed round, each guest leaving on the floor or on the table, also u^Don his knees and on the folds of his dress, evidence of his indulgence in a habit at once absurd, pernicious and wasteful. RURAL LIFE AND MANNERS. 241 The gudewife now returned to her guests, placing before them some substantial refreshment to negative the effect of excessive drinkincf. Those who attended a spare-rib dinner generally departed about nine o'clock, but rarely quite sober. Yet excess was not universal. To some it was altogether obnoxious. The writer's paternal ancestors were small land- owners and tenant-farmers in the counties of Forfar and Perth, and with a pardonable satisfaction he ventures to record that they were, from one genera- tion to another, noted for their abstinence. The writer's grandfather, Peter Koger, who a century ago rented the lands of Laws in Forfarshire, was by his neighbours known as " Water Laws," a sobriquet which, as indicating his perfect sobriety, is at once a credit to his memory, and the legacy of an example to his race. In the farmer's kitclien suj^per was served at seven o'clock. There were ordinarily two courses — first, kale-brose, then oat cakes and milk. Kale-bro^e consisted of cole wort cut into portions and boiled in a saucepan along with oatmeal and salt ; or a handful of oatmeal was thrown into a large vessel, and the boiling liquor of the colewort cast over it and mixed. During harvest, reapers and hinds had for supper a species of food in which turnips and barley flour were boiled to a consistence ; mustard was added in eating. AVhen potatoes became common, these were Q 242 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. substituted as the eveniiio: meal. Potatoes boiled in their skins were toppled from the saucepan on the tafil, or dinner boards, when all, some standing and others seated, extended their fingers to the heap. The practice existed in the writer's youth, and the juvenile elevation which he experienced in occasion- ally sharing this kitchen cheer, he at the lapse of half a century gratefully recalls. The farmer, who ordinarily took supper apart from his servants, enjoyed at this meal some little delicacy carefully prepared by the gudewife. Those who farmed near the seaboard were regaled with shell-fish — crab, mussel, and wiiilks ; those near the banks of rivers had pike, perch, and salmon trout, while dwellers near the muir and coney - warren were privileged with stewed rabbit and hare-soup. When a stranger was expected at supper a boiled pullet or roasted duck was added to the evening fare. When strangers were not present, spirituous liquor was used sparingly. The usual beverage of the farm-house was skimmed milk, or milk unskimmed and mixed with water. Beside the bullock killed at Martinmas, and consequently called tlie mart, crock ewes, or those whicli had ceased to jDroduce lambs, were killed at intervals. Tlie flesh of sheep whicli died of any ordinary ailment was, as " braxy," preserved for food. At Christmas hoi^s were slaughtered ; these, HURAL LIFE AND MANNERS. 243 cut ill pieces, were salted, and tlieu sm'6'im. ARTS AND MANUFACTURES. 379 in lake bottoms, have been picked up bronze swords, resembling those subsequently formed of iron, and of patterns still in use. These may be assigned to the seventh and eisfhth centuries. The ancient Scots O used oak targets, covered with bull-hide ; also long shields, narrow below and broad above, formed of oak or willow, and girt with iron. Subsequently shields were constructed of iron, each weighing about twenty pounds. Each chief had an armour-bearer, who preceded him in war, and was his follower in peace. Sir James Douglas of Dalkeith, in his testa- ment executed in 1390 and 1392, mentions "belts, a pair of plates," and " suits of armour," one of which was adapted for a tournament.^ At the combat which in 139G took place on the North Inch of Perth between the clans Kay and Glenquhattan, were used bows, axes, swords and daggers ; also the long Scottish spear. To the monks of Cupar, their tenants in 1475 and subse- quently became bound to provide themselves with armour for personal and national defence. That armour was to consist of "jakkis" or loose coats of stout leather, " hattis and splentis," or plated armour for the head and legs, " bowis and schawls," or bows and arrows, and " swurdis, bukklaris, and aksys," or swords, bucklers, and battle axes. The abbey tenants were also required to plant and rear young 1 " Innes's Sketches of Early Scotch History," pp. 332-3. 380 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. asli trees to be used as oars and handles.^ Among the family treasures of Sir Colin Campbell of Glenorchy, inventoried in 1640, are included field- pieces and hackbuts of copper and iron, muskets indented with pearl and gilded bone, and engraved with " the laird's armes ; " also '' cut-throat pistols of copper," a two-handed sword, the handle "over- layed with velvet;" steel and cork targets, corslets and head-pieces, " ring craiges " or throat protectors, gauntlet gloves, shoulder pieces, and other mditary appliances.^ During the fifteenth century the principal tenants of Cupar abbey bound themselves to be in readi- ness to attend the district w^eapon-shaws, held four times a year. Scottish yeoman and burgesses were appointed to be armed with bows and sheaves, swords, bucklers, knives, and spears ; also in lack of a bow, with a Lochaber axe. Buro^hers wore brio-ht steel caps, and were compelled to attend the weapon - shaws, under their bailies or aldermen. Iron was used in Britain at the time of the Eoman invasion, but the legionaries materially advanced the manufacture. There are traces of early forges at Car- linwark Loch, Kirkcudl)rightshire, Dalziel, Lanark- shire, and Blair Athole, Perthshire. Many localities, ^ " Eegister of the Cistercian Abbey of Cupar," Grampian Club, 1880-1, vol. i., pp. 194-6. 2 " Innes's Sketches," p. 509. ARTS AND MANUFACTUKES. 381 both ill the Highlands and Lowlands, retain names which in Gaelic connect them with the forge or the blacksmith's dwelling. By native smiths Avere con- structed the ancient chariots, also the iron handbell used alike by Druidic priests and the earlier mis- sionaries. The iron handbell was fashioned out of a plate of hammered iron, the ring which forms the handle projecting internally, so as to produce a loop for sus- pending the clapper. The hammered bells of the Druidic age are from 2^ to 4^ inches in height. Those used at the wattled fane for summoning the brethren to meals and the neophytes to devotion, are in length from 10 to 12 inches. Named in honour of ancient saints they were in Wales and Ireland, also among Scottish tribes, used for receiving the oaths of the uneducated. To the iron bell of St Fillan, a saint of the seventh century, was ascribed a miraculous effi- cacy, for when placed in a pool it was believed that any one labouring under lunacy, who was there- after dipped in the water, would experience cure. During the tenth century and subsequently, many iron bells were enclosed in brass and silver shrines, decorated with Celtic ornament. So long as iron was rare, it was worked by the same artificers who operated in the more jDrecious metals. The iron-working of native smiths in the fifteenth century is singularly ornate in door locks, 382 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. keys and hinges, also in rails and balustrades. On the 23d April 1585, the Town Council of Edinburgh having purchased for £55 the clock of Lindores Abbey, employed a smith at Blantyre to erect it in the tower of St Giles' church, also " for dressinir of the sam with twa hands." Prior to the eighteenth century iron was produced sparingly. In 1686 John Meikle had secured to him by the authority of Parliament the privilege for nineteen years of casting balls and cannon. The first iron -smelting furnaces on an important scale w^ere the Carron Works, established in 1760, but the demand for manufactured iron so rapidly increased that before the close of the century seventeen great furnaces were established. These were built chiefly in the counties of Lanark, Ayr, and Fife. Iron nails were substituted by joiners for wooden pins, while of iron were fabricated ploughs and harrows, and other agricultural implements previously constructed of timber. Iron ship-building which was commenced on the Clyde in 1818, has since become a vast national industry. But a chief use of iron has been found in uniting, by means of the railway system, the outlying parts of the country with the centres of commerce. The first Scottish railway was in 1812 constructed between Kilmarnock and Troon ; the second in 1831 between Edinburgh and Dalkeith. On both of these horses were employed. ARTS AND MANUFACTURES. 383 By tlie iuvcntion of tlic hot-blast in 1827, and of the steam-hammer in 1839, the production of iron and its adaptation to economic uses have been marvellously facilitated. During the year 1883, 1,129,024 tons of pig-iron were produced in Scot- land. The manufacture of steel lately introduced is, in the western countries, advancing with an amazing rapidity. Lead was discovered in Scotland by the Romans. At Leadhills it has been worked since the beginning of the sixteenth century. At Wanloch- head, in the same neighbourhood, the ore is mixed with silver, which, by the process of smelting, is extracted. On the 7th January 1635, Charles L, with advice of his Privy Council, granted to James Colquhoun, citizen of Glasgow, licence for the period of twenty- one years " in working, casting, moulding, and frame- ing of all sorts of works of lead, fitt not onlie for theiking, covering, strenthining, and decoreing of all sorts of housse work and structurs, there vu to belonging, as weel for vse or ornament and decencie, as also of all conduit pypis for conducting and raising of watters for many necessarie vses." In continua- tion the royal letter bears that the patent had been granted mainly in consideration that " the said James Colquhoun, by his long experience in searching out the secrets of that trade, hath fund out a peculiar way, never heretofore practized, wherby he will 384 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. mak a sclieet of lead weying twelff stane weglit to be more vsefull, of longer continuance, and to abyd greater extremiteis of wind and weather, nor any scheet of lead vsed lieirtofore weyand saxteen stane weiclit, in regard to his artifice of making thairof more solide, less poris, and consequintlie more voyd of all cracks, holls or po23ill, and speciallie in the exact squarring and proportioning of the evennesse to the thickness of the saidis scheets."^ The ordinary products of native and other metal- workers are to be remarked in the Commissariot and other registers. In the third volume of the " Ke- gality Kegister of Dunfermline " in 1650 is exhibited " the luventar of ane Burges airschipe which is the best of ilk sorte of all moveable goods or gear the defunct had pertaining to him the tym of his deceas within his dwelling house." In the " inventar " are named among articles of gold and silver " ane Portu- gal ducate of the best peice of gold, or money com- monlie called ane purse pennie ; ane silver qwhissell ; an silver pyke tooth ; a piklug ; ane house knock " [clock]; in timber-work, "the standard of ane bassone called the knaive ; " in iron, " ane streatching goose," " ane iron for rosting of egges," and " ane bullet for breaking of coalls ; " and in brass, " ane hinging chandler of brass with flowers, commonly hung in the midst of the hall," " ane pair of the best candle 1 Earl of Stirling's " Eegister of Koyal Letters," ii., 819. ARTS AND MANUFACTURES. 385 sclieeres " [snuffers], " anc broo [broth] pott, and ane litle posno [posset] pott, ane broo plaitt, ane dozen of tin plaitts ; ane dozen best trunclieris, and saceris, an inamblet stourpt, ane tin ilaccot." Among articles of napery are included " ane pair of spreinzed [em- broidered] bed plattis ; ane dozen of the best servitors [napkins]." With other articles of armour are quoted " the best two-handed suord, the best capper or short suord, ane steel bonnet, ane corslet with taisellis, and ane gamfflet gluve." The early history of coal-mining has been de- scribed.^ It was held, both by statute and canon law, that labourers in mines and saltpits were "neces- sary servants," and as such were bound, with their children, to work in mines and pits in perpetual servitude. This rule serves to explain an advertise- ment which, in the Caledonian Mercury of the 6th March 1G61, appears in these words : — " If there be any ingenious spirits that would improve their fortunes by the trade of coal and salt, let them come to George Thomson's over against Blackfryer-AVynd, on the north side of the street, where the gentleman shall be found to treat with them touchino- a barfrain of a flourishing coal, in the parish of Tranent, and five salt-men in Prestonpans : these things rightly con- sidered will undoubtedly prove advantageous to the undertakers." 1 See supra, pp. 51-2. 2 B 386 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. In 1775 an Act with tlie following preamble was added in tlie statute-book, " That whereas by the law of Scotland, as explained by the judges of the courts of law there, many colliers and coal-bearers, and salters, are in a state of slavery or bondage, bound to the collieries or salt-works where they work for life, transferable with the collieries and salt- works." In this Act it is stipulated that coal- workers under twenty-one years should be liberated in seven, and those between twenty-one and thirty- five in ten years. By a further enactment passed in 1799, it was declared that all colliers in Scotland were henceforth free. The manufacture of oil from bituminous coal and shale, which for thirty years has been conducted as an important industry, was at a former period unknown. The glass beads and amulets found in mounds and cairns were probably brought into the island by Phoenician traders. Among the more curious trin- kets are glass rings, known as glan naidyr. Half the width of modern finger-rings, but of greater thickness, they usually present a green colour. Others are blue, or variegated with wavy streaks of blue, red, and white, and the whole are of exquisite workmanship. According to Adamnan, the Picts used glass drinking vessels. Glass was manufactured in Northumberland so ARTS AND MANUFACTURES. 387 early as a.d. 674 ; it is mentioned by tlie Venerable Bede. But glass was not used for windows till the fifteenth century. And even in royal palaces in 1661, the princi2:)al apartments only had windows of glass. The stained or painted glass windows of ancient churches^ which exhibit in their fragments bold handling and rich colouring, were, it is believed, brought from Venice and Flanders. As a native industry, the manufacture of glass was unknown prior to the reign of James VI. By that sovereign a patent was granted to George Hay, empowering him to work in glass for a period of thirty-one years. Hay opened a glass manufactory in a cave at Wemyss, but the concern proved unre- munerative, and was abandoned. A glass manufac- tory was established at Leith in 1682, and subse- quently at Prestonpans. Glass painting as a native art began in Scotland so recently as 1830. Of ancient stone-pits there are few traces. When in house-building, mud and timber were the chief mate- rials, stone was undisturbed. The principal quarries are not older than tlie sixteenth century. Those of freestone more approved are situated at Craigleith, Kedhall, Binnie, and Hailes, near Edinburgh ; at Dunmore and Plcan, Stirlingshire; at Grange, near Burntisland; and at Wish aw, in Lanarkshii-e. Granite is worked in the counties of Aberdeen, Inverness, and Kirkcudbright. For roofing purposes slate has been 388 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. used since the beginning of the seventeenth century ; it is chiefly obtained in the island of Easdale, and at the great quarries of Ballachulish, Aberfoyle, and Dunkeld. Tlie production in Scotland of fictile ware dates from the age of bronze, when cinerary urns and other clay vessels were formed simj^ly by the hand. Urns were constructed and baked at the same fires which consumed the bodies of which they were to contain the ashes. Articles of earthenware were subsecjuently fashioned on the potter's wheel, and marked by a modelling tool of wood or bone. Urns had now assumed sizes varying from one to two feet in height, and in which could be gathered together and preserved the ashes of a household. Next followed the more artistic work of the Eoman potter, with the embossed Samian ware, also the glazed urns in which were deposited the ashes of bodies cremated towards the close of the Druidic age. These latter vessels are formed with projecting ears and rims, and provided with lids. If, as is generally supposed, the manufacture of fictile ware was discontinued from about the eighth till the beginning of the eighteenth century, then we are driven to the conclusion that the tiles, plain and glazed, with which were paved the greater churches, must have been imported from foreign countries. In the thirteenth century, Germany pro- ARTS AND MANUFACTURES. 389 duced enamelled wares remarkable for a fine green glaze. But the Scottish trade was chiefly conducted with Delft in Holland, of which the ceramic produc- tion were, in the sixteenth century, known and valued for their fantastic designs, bright colours, and exquisite enamel, tinged with blue. The lack of earthenware factories was in 1703 found to occasion " the yearly export of large sums of money out of the kingdom;" also to cause many house- hold articles to be sold at " double charges of what they cost abroad," ^ therefore Parliamentary authority was granted to two enterprising persons at Edinburgh to set up a "pot-house, and all conveniences for making up laim, purslane, and earthenware," and for bringing from foreign countries workmen skilled in the manufacture. In order to their encourao-ement. Parliament granted to the adventurers an exclusive right of producing fictile goods for the space of fif- teen years. The undertaking was partially success- ful, but no other pottery was ventured upon till 1748, when a delft ware manufactory was established in Glasgow. China was first manufactured in Scot- land in 1777, at a pottery which in that year was established at Yerreville, near Glasgow. The Garnkirk terra-cotta works were erected about half a century ago.^ 1 Chambers' "Domestic Annals," iii., 156-7. 2 For a full account of recent and existing potteries in Scotland, 390 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. To tlie origin of native woollen manufactures no precise date may be assigned. Our Caledonian ances- tors, when they ceased to clothe themselves in un- dressed hides and sheep's skins, prepared garments from fleeces. Wool was certainly woven in Scotland in the eighth century, while, four centuries later, David I. introduced in the principal towns, from England, wooldressers, dyers, and weavers. Under royal sanction, wool was at the same period largely imported ; and in the reign of Alexander III., a century later, it was exchanged with Flemish mer- chants for linen, silks, and broadcloth. During the fifteenth century, both male and female garments were prepared by men, the mantua-maker being unknown. Eobert Spittal, who fashioned the garments of Margaret, Queen of James IV., attained considerable opulence. He erected a stone bridge across the Teith, and founded and endowed the hos- pital at StMing, which bears his name. ^Voollen manufactures were largely conducted at Galashiels so early as 1622, while articles of hosiery were, in 1640, produced at Hawick. An attempt by an English company to manufacture woollen fabrics at Haddington in 1681 proved unprofitable, and was abandoned. Prior to the reign of Queen Mary carpets were see " The Ceramic Art of Great Britain," by Llewellyn Jewett, RS.A., new edit., Lond. 1883, imp. Svo, pp. 610-625. ARTS AND MANUFACTURES. 391 unused. And till two centuries later, even the better class of dwellinojs had their floors covered with mats and rugs, more frequently with rushes, even when the walls were clothed with tapestry. The first Scot- tish carpet manufactory was, in 1777, established at Kilmarnock. The tweed trade now extensively con- ducted in tlie Border towns arose in 1830. Con- sisting of a fabric in which two or more yarns of different colours are intertwisted, it was originally called tweel, but owino- to tlie misreadiuo; of the final letter by a London dealer, to whom early specimens were transmitted, tweed became the aj^pellative. The wool now used in the Scottish manufactures is chiefly imported from Australia, New Zealand, the Cape, and Buenos Ay res. In Scotland, the manufacture of cloth from flax was understood in the thirteenth century, but the art may have been practised earlier. Originally flax was grown, dressed, spun, and woven upon the farm or croft : latterly it was converted into cloth by litsters. Towards the close of the seventeenth century com- panies for the manufacture of linen were formed ; and with a view to their promotion, the Parliament of 1686 enacted that the bodies of deceased ptersons should be swathed in linen only. By a further enactment the exportation of lint was prohibited ; it was also to be imported duty free. In 1725 linen manufactures were commenced at 392 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. Glasgow. Seven years earlier, damask weaving was started at Dunfermline. Imported by a manufacturer at Dundee in 1822, jute was not converted into yam as a separate product till twelve years afterwards. In 1847 the first Scottish floorcloth manufactory was established at Kirkcaldy. Cotton was manufactured in Scotland in 1641, but the first cotton mill was erected in 1778 at Kothesay in Bute. A paper manufactory was attempted in 1590 without success; but in 1673 a paper mill at the Water of Leith, in which French operatives were employed, proved fortunate. An important manu- factory for producing writing and printing papers was erected at Edinburgh in 1695, which was fol- lowed in 1709 by the great works at Penicuik. The principal paper- works in Scotland are those conducted in the counties of Aberdeen, Lanark, and Midlothian. In Scotland, book printing commenced about thirty years after the art had by Caxton been introduced in England. On the 15th September 1507, James IV. appointed Walter Chepman and Andro Myllar, booksellers, his royal printers. By their patent they were empowered to print " the bukes of our lawes, acts of Parliament, croniclis and mass buikis." Their premises were situated in the Cowgate, then called the South Gaitt, and near the spot now spanned by George the Fourth's Bridge. In 1509 Chepman printed on his own account. In 1509-10 he pro- ARTS AND MANUFACTURES. 393 duced in two volumes the breviary of Bishop Elphin- stone.^ In gratitude for his commercial success, Chepman founded and endowed two chaplainries, which he connected with altarages in the cathedral of St Giles. In 1541 some recent Acts of Parliament were printed by Thomas Davidson, the King's printer. The Catechism commonly known as Arch- bishop Hamilton's was, in 1551, printed at St Andrews. The Act of the Estates, passed on the 19 th March 1543, and which provided that all might read the Old and New Testaments in the mother tono-ue, was fol- lowed by an extensive importation of English Bibles. Knox remarks that " there mycht have been seen the By bill lying upon maist every gentlemannis table." Yet the Scriptures were not printed in Scotland till many years later. The projDrietors of the fii'st Scottish issue were the printers Thomas Bassandyne and Alexander Arbuthnot, who, in 1576 completed in folio a verbatim reprint of the Geneva version. Under- taken under the sanction and encouragement of the Eegent Morton, every parish was by the Privy Council, called upon to advance the sum of £4, 13s. 4d. in payment of a copy. The Bassandyne Bible 1 In the Advocates Library are preserved a number of tracts issued by Cbepman and Myllar; these were, in 1827, reproduced in facsimile. A copy of Elphinstone's " Breviary," printed by Chepman, is preserved in the same library. 394 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. was rare in 1610, when Andrew Hart, printer at Edinburgh, produced his folio issue. Hart's edition in its turn became scarce, since we find that in 1695 the Kirksession of Crail, in providing a Bible for the church jDulj^it, despatched to Holland the sum of six- teen pounds for a copy.^ In 1582 Alexander Arbuthnot printed a folio edition of Buchanan's History. Eobert Leprivick, printer to James VI., established printing presses at Edinburgh, St Andrews, and Stirling; he produced at each some important works. Among the other printers of the reign of James VI., the more conspicu- ous are Nefield, Waldegrave, Eaban, and Bryson. Robert Young, printer to Charles X., produced in May 1637 the celebrated "Service Book," which, though otherwise censured, was admired for its elegant typography. During the Commonwealth, Evan Tyler, who had as King's printer been associated with Young, conducted printing under the sanction of the Protector. He was followed by Christopher Higgins, an English- man, who, in connection with a company of London stationers, was followed by Patrick Ramsay, a native of Scotland. In 1671 Andrew Anderson, formerly of Glasgow, having induced the various printers at Edinburgh to associate with him in a sort of co- partnership, obtained a patent as King's printer, which w^as to subsist for forty-one years. He died in 1679, 1 Crail Parish Eegister. ARTS AND MANUFACTURES. 395 and tliG privileges of his co-partners being surrendered to his widow, she in 1683 asserted her right to a printing monopoly. James Watson, merchant in Al)erdeen, who had aided with money Charles 11. during his exile, was in acknowledgment of the favour appointed printer to the King's household ; in 1684 he opened a press at Edinburgh. Dying in 1687, he was succeeded by his son, of the same name, the author of the " History of Printing." The Scottish contemporaries of the younger ^Vatson were Robert Freebairn, and Thomas and Walter Euddiman. Freebairn had as a silent partner David Graham of Orchill, a Perthshire land- owner. In possession of this gentleman were found at his death in 1724,^ two hundred and fifty-nine copies of the collected edition of Buchanan's Works, edited by Thomas Euddiman, and which Freebairn had printed in 1715, in two folio volumes. In 1740 the afterwards celebrated press of Messrs Foulis was established at Glasgow ; and the national reputation which it induced was subsequently main- tained by the elegant issues of the Ballantyne press. In 1763 six printing offices existed at Edinburgh ; in 1790 the number had increased to sixteen ; it is now a principal industry of the city. By the widow of Andrew Anderson, King's ^ " Testament and Inventory of David Graham of Orcliill," Dunblane Com. Eeg., XVIIL, fol. 321. 396 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. printer, was maintained a sole right of printing and publishing the Scriptures, while those who con- travened her privilege were rigorously prosecuted. At length the Privy Council, in consideration of the numerous inaccuracies in her Scriptural issues, can- celled her monopoly. A monopoly in printing the sacred volume existed in Scotland up to our own times ; the privilege was enjoyed by Messrs Blair & Bruce, two opulent landowners. When in 1837 their patent expired, an attempt was made to gain the monopoly for the Universities. But this proposal was resisted, and while by legislative authority the right of producing copies of the Scriptures was con- ceded to the general public, those who dreaded that such unlimited permission might conduce to textual errors, were tranquillized by the provision that Bible- printers should be licensed by the Lord Advocate, and their issues revised by a Board. The system of licensing is continued, but the duties of the Bible Board have ceased to be onerous. A newspaper, Mercurius Caledonius, was started at Edinburgh on the 8th January 1661, but it stopped after the ninth weekly issue. By the Privy Council in December of the same year Eobert Mein, Keeper of the Letter Office at Edinburgh, was authorized " to print and publish ane diurnal weekly for preventing false news which may be invented by evil and disaffected persons." But the proposed ARTS AND MANHFACTURES. 397 joiirDal, though sanctioned by the public executive, was not ventured upon. In 1G80 a newspaper was started as the Edinburgh Gazette; this speedily collapsed, but it was followed in 1699 by a journal bearing the same name, which existed eight years. The Edinburgh Coiirant, a small print issued thrice a week, was commenced |in 1705, and in 1710 was placed under the editorship of the celebrated Defoe; but its existence was ephemeral. The increased pros- perity of the country, based on a settled government, and the prosperity, commercial and agricultural, which followed the Union, at length justified jour- nalistic adventures of a higher order. The Edinburgh Evening Courant, commenced in December 1713, was followed by the Caledonian Mercury about two years later. Weekly journals at the same period were permanently established at Glasgow. Stereotyping, or block-printing, was invented by William Ged, whose hapless career has been denoted. Originally a goldsmith, he, in order to carry out his invention, abandoned his craft ; but his efforts to introduce his art were resolutely opposed by master and journeymen printers both in Edinburgh and London. In 1741 he refused an offer made to him by Dutch printers to settle among them, preferring that his own countrymen should mainly profit by his discovery. He died in 1749; his invention improved by Tilloch and Professor Alexander Wilson, and per- 398 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. fected b}^ Lord Stanhope, is now in universal use. The father of Scottish letter-founders, Professor Alexander Wilson, a native of St Andrews, opened in that city a type-foundry conjointly with a fellow- townsman named Bain. After two years, the partners removed in 1744 to Camlachie, near Glas- gow, where by constructing types for the edition of the Greek classics issued by Messrs Foulis, Dr Wilson much added to his fame. In 1760 he was appointed Professor of Practical Astronomy in the University of Glasgow; he died in 1786 at the age of seventy- two. The white cattle which roamed in Caledonian forests, and which when Sir Pobert Sibbald wrote ' about the close of the seventeenth century wandered upon the mountains, were in south-western districts early domesticated. A portion of the breed subjected to culture in the enclosures of Galloway were during the sixteenth century remarked for their large size, handsome shape, and well-flavoured flesh. Intro- duced to the rich pastures of Carrick, their existence is depicted in the rhyme : — " Kyle for a man, Carrick for a coo ; Cunningham for butter and cheese. And Galloway for woo'." The celebrated Ayrshire cattle derive from a union of the Carrick breed with a race which early in the AKTS AND MANUFACTURES. 399 eigliteentli century was imported from the Western Highlands. Ayrsliire milk is on large dairy farms manufactured into cheese, which, in general use at home, is largely exported. Leather was worked at Edinburgh in the middle of the sixteenth century, and at Perth early in the reign of James VI. tanning on an important scale was largely conducted. The navigator Pytheas, a contemporary of Alex- ander the Great, who visited Britain B.C. 330, remarks that the natives used a liquor prepared from wheat and honey. From the mountain heath the Picts derived a species of liquor, which they fermented with sugar. Their breweries, known as hist vaen, are those pear-shaped enclosures, found resting on southern hill-slopes near clear, swift-running streams. Kist vaen are common in the counties of Wigton and Kirkcudbright, abounding largely in the parishes of Minnigaff and Kirkmabreck in the latter province. Each Jcist vaen or kiln is about sixteen feet in length, by eight at greatest breadth, the side wall being about three feet in height. The liquor prepared in the kist vaen was latterly known as mead. The practice of brewing ol or ale from grain or malt, derived from the Saxons, was conducted by women. By the Leges Burgormn of the reign of David I., a licence duty of fourpence a year was imposed on " broustaris." By another burgh law it 400 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. was provided that " wliat woman that wil brew ale Ho sell sail brew al the yhere thruch eftir the custume of the toune ; and gif scho dois nocht scho sal be suspendit of hir office be the space of a yhere and a day. And gif sho makis ivil ale, and dois agane the custome of the toun and be convykyt of it, scho sail gif til her mercyment viii s. or than thole the lauch of the toun,^ that is to say, be put on the kukstule, and the ale sail be gyffen to the pure folk the tua part, and the thyrt part sent to the brethyrn of the hospitale. And rycht sic dome sal be done of meide as of ale. And ilke broustare sal put hir alewande ututli hir house at hir window, or abune.hir door, that it may be seabill commonly til al men, the whilk, gif scho dois nocht, scho sal pay for hir default iiijs." The alewande was known in England as the ale -stake, latterly as an ale post. During the reign of David I. ale was sold at one halfpenny per gallon. According to Wyntoun, the death of Alexander III., in 1286, which much affected the national prosperity, raised the price of ale as of other commodities. The chronicler writes : "Quhen Alysandyr, oure Kyng, wes dede, That Scotland led in luwe and le', ^ The origin and object of the kukstule, the pioneer of the civic pillory and ecclesiastical repentance-stool, is here plainly set forth. Placed upon it, the offender was exposed to public deri- sion, that is, " the lauch of the toun." ARTS AND MANUFACTURES. 401 Away wes sons of ale and brede, Oif wyne and wax, off gamyn and gle, Our gold wes chang'yd into lede — Cryst, born into virgynyte Succour Scotland, and remede, That stad [is in] perplexyte." From Germany, in the fourteenth century, was derived the mode of manufacturing bier or beer. From ale it differed, inasmuch that the product con- tained hops. Beer was at first imported, but in the fifteenth century brewers from Germany planted themselves in the principal towns. The quality of beer was regulated by a public taster, and the prices fixed by the district magistracy. On the 12th May 1495 the abbots and monks of Cupar granted to certain tenants the right of brewing ; in the same lease is named '' the common ailhous perteyning till our myl of Kethik." A specified measure of ale was allowed to the brethren, also to the workmen, as their daily portion. In the Eental Book of the abbey are mentioned "convent ale," "better ale," and "drink of the masons." In Kinross-shire, " the browst " which the gudewife o' Lochrin produced from a peck o' maut, is com- memorated thus : " Twenty pints o' strong ale. Twenty pints o' snia'. Twenty pints o' binkie-pinkie. Twenty pints o' plooman's driukie, 2 c 402 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. Twenty pints o' splitter-splatter, And twenty pints wes waur than water." In tlie eighteenth century ale was usually brewed in three qualities — described as ostlei' ale, household ale, and strong ale — the last being reserved for holi- day times. As an ordinary beverage, mead had, prior to the fourteenth century, been discontinued. But ale or beer prevailed as a universal beverage till about a century ago, when the general use of tea tended naturally to lessen the consumption. Prior to 1784, a brewery existed for every hundred persons. " Drink money " or " drink silver " is an item included in the Burgh Records of Edinburgh and Aberdeen in con- nection with tradesmen's claims ; it meant the usual allowance of beer. The universality of the consump- tion, and its vast extent, induced the Town Council of Edinburgh in 1690 to impose on the manufac- turer a tax of 2d. per pint; this in 1723 produced no less a revenue than £7939. But half a century later, the demand had so diminished that the produce of the tax in 1776 was only £2197. A century ago household ale was retailed at 2d. per pint, hence the liquor was popularly known as tw^openny. In " Tarn o' Shanter," Burns writes : " Wi' tippenny we fear nae evil." The inhabitants of Nairnshire and other northern ARTS AND MANUFACTURES. 403 counties regaled themselves with a species of liquor derived from the birch. Writing in 1669, Pennant remarks that while with the bark of the birch High- landers tan their own leather, " a great deal of excellent wine is extracted from the live tree." The process was conducted in spring, when on the birch being punctured the liquor flowed copiously. In Shetland the peasantry used a beverage called bland, and which they prepared by pouring hot water into churned milk.^ Whisky, that is uisge-heatha, or water of life, was manufactured in the fifteenth century. In 1495, Friar John Cor received from the Exchequer eight bolls of malt ad faciendum aquavitCB? At first used as medicine it was dispensed only by persons specially authorized. In 1505 the Town Council of Edinburgh provided "that na persoun man nor woman within this burgh mak nor sell ony aquavite within the samyn, except the saidis maisteris brether and frie- men of the saidis craftis [surgeons and barbers] under the paine of escheit of the samyn but favouris." ^ By the magistrates of Edinburgh in 1557, Bessy Campbell was ordered to cease from whisky-making, also from selling it, except upon the market day. The 1 Brand's "Orkney and Zetland," 1701, 8vo, p. 114. 2 Exchequer Eolls, No. 305. 3 Gairdner's " Historical Sketch of Eoyal College of Surgeons," Edin., 18 GO, Bvo, p. 6. 404 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. manufacture was, in 1579, restricted by Parliament on account of the scarcity of grain — those who con- travened the statute being punished by a confiscation of the Hquor and other penalties. But persons of substance were allowed to manufacture whisky for use in their own families. AVriting in 1598, the traveller Fynes Moryson remarks that the inhabitants of the western parts of Scotland carried into Ireland red and pickled herrings sea-coals, and aqiiavitae," in exchange for yarn and cowhides.^ In enumerating the articles of food and drink used in the great highland hunt of 1618, Taylor, the water poet, remarks that with different sorts of wine there was " most potent aquavitae." During the seventeenth century occur in the Kirksession records cases of discipline, inflicted upon those who had got drunk on whisky. To check the consumption, which had become mischievous, a duty of one pound sterling per gallon was, in 1707, imposed on all spirits distilled within the kingdom. This stringent policy essentially failed, for malt made in Morayshire was shipped at Findhorn and illicitly received back, distilled into gin. To restrain this new evil, a legislative measure was passed in 1742 recalling the high duty and substitut- ino- one merely nominal. But a taste for foreign spirits having been created, home-made liquor ceased to be in demand. Smuggling became a species of 1 Moryson's "Itinerary," Part III., 155. ARTS AND MANUFACTURES. 405 trade, preferred by many tenant-farmers on both coasts to irksome labour in the fields. From the time of the Union till the close of the century, contrabandists stood high in popular esteem. Commended for ven- turous daring, they were regarded as benefactors by lessening the price of commodities ; also by defying " our auld enemies of England," as the shirking of the excise duties was supposed effectually to do. On this account, the uneducated from a delusive patriotism, and the educated from strong self-interest, were ready to aid the law defiers, and by every means to deceive the exciseman. Referrinsf to the smuo-- gling trade at Dundonald, on the Clyde, Professor Walker in his " MS. History " remarks : *' This demoralizing trade was carried on so extensively, and with so little disguise, that the principals constituted a sort of recognised corporation, claiming a rank second only to that of the landowners, and bearing themselves as the petite nohlesse of the com- munity. In church they occupied as a body the front pew of the gallery, which was spoken of as * the smuggler's loft,' and this not sneeringly, but with a feeling of respect. The illegality of their employment was forgotten or disregarded in a neighbourhood where persons of all ranks were openly and unscrupulously their customers. . . . The smuo-o-lers dwelt in excel- lent houses, wore fine clothes, rode showy horses, and exercised a cordial hospitality." 406 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. From Fifeness to Peterhead on tlie eastern sea- board, and on south-western shores from the Solway Firtli to the Clyde, smuggling was practised at every sheltered creek. Those who by sea conducted the traffic were persons lawless and desperate, whose characters and aims have, in " Guy Mannering," been accurately pourtrayed by Sir Walter Scott, in the representation of Dirk Hatteraick. In running to strand their luggers laden with kegs of gin, brandy, and rum, also with chests of tea, and other contraband stores, the adventurous seamen were guided by special signals from the shore. These by day consisted of white sheets or shirts, suspended as if to dry, on cottage roofs or corn-stacks, or other elevations. By night the signals were bonfires kindled upon the cliflfs, and at which was conducted a rude merri- ment, as the watchers thrust each other roughly into the flames. In connection with these rouo-h modes existed a superstition that jostling by midnight fires perpetuated the rites of an earlier faith. When the lugger crews had brought their vessels to the shore, the fires were extinguished and each watcher 2;ave active aid in the work of disembarkino-. In less than an hour chests and kegs were borne from the hold to the shore, whereupon the lugger at once bore off. Next were the goods transferred to the nearest caverns, or if caverns were distant, to holes dug into the sand, or by the sea-margin. From ARTS AND MANUFACTURES. 407 thence at the earliest opportunity all were borne inland on wheelless waggons, to be placed in smug- gling depots improvised in shady nooks or infre- quented solitudes. Some places of concealment were guarded by superstition. On the coast of Carrick, mischievous apparitions were supposed to linger ; at night they had been known to attack the too adven- turous gauger. Aged women who received and con- cealed contraband stores were content to be reputed as witches, so that their premises might be unin- vaded. Near such beldames' dwellings were supposed to be seen at nightfall, coffins carried on the backs of demons; at times by the Evil One himself, sur- rounded by a retinue of his unhorned retainers. About a century ago Kate Steen, a reputed sorceress, flourished at Kirkoswald ; she was so popular among the tenant-farmers as to be sustained by their bene- ficence. In her one-roomed house was contained a deep hold in which the contents of many a smuggling lugger found a temporary dcpositure. Over its entrance, covered with grass and rushes, she sat at her spinning-wheeL Her existence in association with Kirkoswald traditions suggested to the poet Burns the witch-scene in his tale of " Tarn o' Shanter." In every smuggling district the inhabitants were bound to secrecy. No one, the writer was informed by an aged gauger, ever informed upon the smugglers, 408 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. save those who had been employed by them and were dismissed for practices as dishonest as their own. Contraband goods were purchased readily. Even the leadinjT merchants of Edinburg-h, Glaso'ow, Perth, Dundee, and Aberdeen were not unwilling, with half mysterious air, to inform their customers that their articles of tea and foreign liquor had not paid the statutory duty. Smugglers became rich. Some estates in eastern Fifeshire were thus acquired by the families of the present owners, and not a few persons on south-western shores prospered in like manner. The smuggler was popular in proportion as the vigilant revenue officer was disliked. But there were excise- men everywhere who willingly were bound and fettered till the contents of the lugger were dis- embarked. In the year 1800, about 10,000 gallons of foreign spirits were smuggled into the country every month. Contraband traffic at length fell by judicious legislation. The commutation law of Mr Pitt, by reducing the duties upon exciseable articles, assailed the contrabandist with his own weapons, and ultimately overwhelmed him. When the smuggling of foreign goods was suppressed, the demand for liquor other than native gradually ceased. At the same time illicit distillation was revived. Unlicensed stills arose in highland glens and on low- land muirs ; also in the back-yards of hamlets and in ARTS AND MANUFACTURES. 409 ordinary farm-courts. The process of distilling was so simple that the crofter's wife could conduct it in a booth, while her husband laboured on the farm. Those who would have disdained to over-reach a neighbour were from early association not reluctant to plunder the public purse. When peculation was effected with outward decency, the conscience of the pilferer was quiescent. As the pious minister of Rosneath early in the century was remonstrating with a parishioner, who acknowledged that he distilled without licence, he was met with the rejoinder — " I alloo nae sweerin' at the still, and everything's dune dacently and in order ; I canna see ony harm in't."^ At leno-th in 1806 illicit distillation was made the subject of a stern enactment, which was rigidly enforced, with eminent benefit to the revenue. The duty derived from spirits in Scotland in 1777 was £8000 ; in 1806 it increased to a quarter of a million. To the Celts are we indebted for our sailing vessels in their earlier forms. The hide-covered canoe survived the Roman occupation, and was in occasional use up to the ninth century. By native workmen were in the eleventh century constructed sailing vessels, which in shape and rigging resembled the galleys of the Norsemen. Of these vessels the chief promoters were churchmen, for foreign merchandise 1 " Life of the Eev. Robert Story, Minister of Eoseneath," by Eobert Herbert Story, Cambridge, 1862, pp. 48-49. 410 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. was initiated by the clergy and tlie monastic orders. By David I. and liis royal successors were members of the religious houses exempted from customs in connection with their shipping. As a place of shipbuilding Inverness enjoyed so early as the thirteenth century a considerable repu- tation. Two centuries later ship - carpenters pro- secuted an active trade at Aberdeen and Leith. In 1475 the citizens of Aberdeen fitted out, at their own cost, three ships for the royal service. And in 1511, according to Lindsay of Pitscottie, there was Ijuilt for James IV. at Newhaven, near Leith, a large ship named the Great St Michael, which in its construction gave employment to all the timber- workers of the kingdom for the period of a year. Measuring 240 feet in length, by 36 feet across the beams, the walls were 10 feet thick, while the mate- rial used in the construction exhausted the oak forests of Fife, besides all the timber which had been imported from Norway. On completion the Great Michael was provided with powerful cannon, manned by 120 gunners ; it also received on board 300 sailors, and could also have accommodated one thousand soldiers. Placed under cliarge of the admirals Sir Andrew Wood and Robert Barton, it was found too costly an acquisition, and so for 40,000 livres was transferred to Louis XII. of France. ARTS AND MANUFACTURES. 411 Scottish Fisheries, which had made some progress in the reign of David I., proved in that of Alex- ander III. a considerable source of revenue. In Alexander's reign the Isle of May had become the headquarters of a flotilla which for fishing purposes resorted to the Forth from all joarts of Scotland and England ; also from the coasts of Holland and Flanders. The chief ports whence fish were imported were Berwick and Aberdeen. The former is in " Lanercost's Chronicle " set forth as " the Alexandria of the north," and from another source we learn that its customs were in the reign of Alexander III. farmed for a sum equal to upwards of a quarter of the marine revenues of Eno^land. When in 1281 Edward I. prepared to invade Wales, he purchased at Aberdeen one hundred barrels of sturgeons as part of his com- missariat stores. At this period Aberdeen had so high a reputation for curing that its fish was in demand at the great English fishing port of Yarmouth, while from Greenock on the Clyde, were the herrings of Lochfyne despatched to several foreign countries. Prior to the fourteenth century fisheries on the eastern sea-board were carried on in the small villages which studded the coast from Buchanness to Eye- mouth. Luggers, wherries, and cobles, rarely exceed- ing in burden 100 tons, were usually employed. On the 26th May 1424 Parliament enacted, under the authority of James I., that " there be paid to the 412 SOCIAL LTFE IN SCOTLAND. king, for custom of ilk thousand of frescli herrings saukl, of the seUar ane penny, and of the last^ of herrings barrelled foure shillings ; and of ilk thousand red herrings made in the realm, foure pennies." And by a Parliament of James III. it was enjoined in 1474 that " Lordes, Barrones, and Burro wes, gar make schippis, busches, and great pinck boats, with nettes and all abuilzements for fishino;." In 1488 James IV. enacted "that strangers buy na fish but salted and baralled, nor buy nane other merchandice but at free burrowes, and then pay their deuties and customes, and take their cocquet as eflfeiris, and that they make na merchandice at the Lewis, nor other places, but at free burrowes." This Act was ex- tended in 1491, when it was ruled that " townes and burrowes have the schippes and busches according to the substance of ilk town ;" also, that " the least of the said schippes and busches be of twentie tun." In 1540 it was ruled that the prices of white and other fish should be fixed by the magistrates of burghs, and that white fish should not be exported, yet resident foreign merchants might for ready money obtain supplies. Cadgers who conveyed provisions to the country were in the markets to be supplied in the morning, other purchasers in the afternoon. Fur- ther, it was ruled that " ane binde and measure be made for salmounde, herring, and kieling ; and that 1 A last of fish consisted of ten barrels. AETS AND MANUFACTURES. 413 ilk cowpcr have ane burning irone of bis marke to marke ilk barrel," while unmarked barrels were "to be escheit." In 1573 each barrel of herrings was fixed to contain nine gallons " striveling mea- sure." Early in the seventeenth century Scottish seamen began to accompany Dutch fishermen to the deep sea fisheries. By a royal letter dated, 2.5th October 1G26, the Commissioners of Exchequer were empowered by Charles I. to grant to Mr John Archibald a lease for five years of the excise duty on all white fish " taken within the seas and laiks .... from Pentland furth to the Mull of Galloway . . . togeddir with all others of assyse dewtis, ... of all herring to be takin within the ylandis of the Lewis, Orkney, and Zetland, and within Murray firth and other northern parts." ^ A Royal Commission, which in 1630 was appointed under the direction of Sir William Alex- ander, afterw^ards Earl of Stirling, to inquire into the state of the fisheries, led to the establishment of a great fishery in the Hebrides. Scottish fisheries, dis- continued by Cromwell, were resumed by Charles II., who in 1669 established the "Eoyal Fishing Society," which, including £5000 which he personally sub- scribed, commenced with a capital of £25,000 ster- ling. The Royal Society enjoyed immunity from custom and excise duties ; also an exclusive right of 1 Earl of Stirling's " Register of Eoyal Letters," i. 85. 414 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. fishing upon tlie coasts, and of granting fishing licences to others. Notwithstanding statutory impediments, the coast fisheries continued a source of revenue to those landowners whose estates skirted the sea-board. In 1696 three fishermen on the Don were by the proprietor of Foveran claimed as " addict! glebae," and incapable of rendering service on fisheries other than his own. But the Court of Session found that there was no law restricting; fishermen to the ground where they were born, and that the custom was not general but confined to particular localities. And the custom was by the Court con- demned as unlawful, and tending " to introduce slavery, contrary to the principles of the Christian religion and the mildness of our Government." ^ The Scottish fisheries derived a new impulse by the creation, on the 12th July 1727, of "The Board of Trustees for Manufactures and Fisheries." This Board owed its existence to a provision in the Treaty of Union, whereby, in return for certain duties then first imposed upon Scotland, the sum of £2000 was granted as an annuity for improving the national manufac- tures and fisheries. Of the sum so granted, a moiety was applied to the deep-sea fisheries. From 1808 to 1839 the grant was administered under a separate trust, but in tlie latter year the Board of ^ " Decisions of Court of Session," vol. xi., 4427-8. ARTS AND MANUFACTURES. 415 Fisheries was amalg^amated anew with that of Manu- factures. In August 1882 a "Fishery Board for Scothmd" was constituted by Parliament, charged with the duties of superintending and inspecting the wliole herring and sahnon fisheries of North Britain. Scottish whale-fishing commenced in 1730, when, however, only a single vessel was despatched to northern waters. To Scottish enterprise steam navigation owes its existence, also its rapid development. After expe- rimenting for some years with double and triple vessels propelled by paddle-wheels worked by manual labour, Patrick Miller of Dalswinton, on the 14th October 1788, had on Dalswinton Loch a boat pro- pelled by Symington's steam-engine. The boat was twenty-five feet long by seven in breadth, the wheels being driven at the rate of five miles an hour. Fur- ther experiments were in 1801 conducted by Mr Symington on the Forth and Clyde Canal, and in 1812 Henry Bell, after much patient labour, and incurring the imputation of being a lunatic or a visionary, demonstrated by his "Comet" which sailed upon the Clyde, the possibility of steam navigation. In 1816 an adequate steamboat plied on the Moray Frith ; and in 18 GO chiefiy through Scottish enter- prise w^a.s established the Cunard Line of steamers between Liverpool and New York. In surmounting some early difticultics arising from 416 SOCIAL LIFE IN SCOTLAND. a financial controversy between the Governors of the Eoyal Bank and the Bank of Scotland, the Board of Trustees for Manufactures were much indebted to the judicious counsel of the patriotic Lord Advocate, Duncan Forbes of Culloden. The Board for many years offered premiums for discoveries in connection with the national industries. In 1843 it was in a measure reconstituted, the funds being rendered chiefly applicable to the advancement of the fine arts. Under the direction of the Board have build- ings been erected at the cost of £100,000, for the accommodation of the Royal Institution and of the National Gallery ."t" END OF VOL. 1. TURNBULL AND SPEARS, PRINTERS, EDINBCHGH. THE LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara STACK COLLECTION THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW. ^^ .^i^ :r-~T!y;i--ng-nci iiiiijaJi i Tr">i I Tir I HTj U BKif li a^'^ i^ 5ifii_:.aM:5o 10)H-5,'65(F445884)476D AA 000 238 435 2 3 1 205 00148 6164 ^